After the announcement concluded, Alen walked down the corridor and stepped out onto the battlefield.

The tournament grounds shone warmly under the golden afternoon sun. As the final battle of the tournament had finally arrived, the massive audience was in a frenzy of crazed excitement. After a tense thirty-minute wait, they were finally going to witness the most highly anticipated match of the day.

From the opposite tunnel, L walked out calmly. His hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword, and he strode across the field with an aura of absolute confidence.

Alen stood completely opposite him. He stared at the cloaked boy, knowing full well he couldn’t take him lightly. He had watched L’s earlier matches; the mysterious fighter had won all of them with overwhelming precision and blinding speed. And the most terrifying part was that he hadn’t even unleashed his full power yet.

As both opponents successfully took their positions on the battlefield, the referee raised his hand.

<Now that both opponents have finally arrived, let’s decide the ultimate victor!>

<Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to witness the final battle! This match will decide the winner of the entire tournament, who will take home a massive fortune in gold and earn the opportunity to meet the Hero of Vale City, ’Hydro-Man’ Kalos Seinhart!> 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

<Without wasting any more time, let’s focus on the match!>

<Are both opponents ready?>

Alen and L both gave a slight nod.

<The battle... begins!>

Alen didn’t waste a single second. He attacked immediately.

[Nexus Elemental Art: Sound Type - Shockwave of Death!]

He unleashed a concentrated blast of pure sound waves straight toward L. The shockwave contained an incredibly high frequency designed to instantly burst a normal Awakener’s eardrums and completely disorient them.

*BOOOM!*

The invisible shockwave slammed into L, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. But as the dust settled, L hadn’t even moved an inch. The devastating sound waves had passed right over him without hurting him in the slightest, almost as if he were completely immune to sonic attacks.

"Hehe... That’s the first time I’ve seen an attack like that," L chuckled from beneath his hood.

"Impressive, but worthless..."

He smoothly unsheathed his sword and swung the blade in a vertical arc.

[Luminous Ascension Art: Radiant Wave]

A crescent wave of brilliant silver light erupted from his sword, slicing toward Alen at the speed of light.

Alen knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge an attack moving that fast. He immediately channeled a massive amount of mana into his own sword.

[Nexus Elemental Art: Maximum Concentration - Overload Shot!]

He concentrated a terrifyingly dense amount of mana at the very tip of his sword and thrust it directly into the center of the incoming silver wave.

*BOOOOOOOOOM!*

The massive concentration of raw mana clashed violently with the silver light. The impact created a heavy, explosive shockwave of air pressure. Alen was launched backward by the sheer force of the blast he had just parried.

As the dust cleared from the field, Alen stood up, his boots sliding against the ground. Fortunately, he stabilized himself just centimeters away from stepping out of bounds.

"Sigh... It seems my attack didn’t work on you either."

"What a pity... Let’s try something different then."

Before Alen could even blink, L vanished from his spot.

He appeared directly in front of Alen, moving with such incredible speed that Alen was genuinely startled. Alen tried to jump back to create distance, but he wasn’t fast enough.

[Luminous Ascension Art: Radiant Glow!]

A burst of pure, blinding silver light erupted from L’s entire body, completely washing out Alen’s vision like a flashbang.

Seizing the perfect opportunity while his opponent was blind, L swiftly brought the heavy steel scabbard of his sword down toward Alen’s head with enough force to shatter a boulder.

*BOOOM!*

Debris flew away from the sheer pressure the attack generated.

However, the scabbard was completely blocked. Alen had caught the weapon perfectly with his bare hand. Even though he was temporarily blinded, his highly attuned Sound magic allowed him to easily hear the exact trajectory and direction the attack was coming from.

Not missing a beat, Alen imbued a massive amount of mana into his leg and retaliated with all his might.

[Maximum Concentration: Overload Kick!]

The glowing kick landed squarely in L’s stomach. The explosive impact launched the cloaked boy backward, sending him flying several feet through the air. The sheer force of Alen’s kick was enough to shatter the ground where L finally crashed and tumbled.

Alen wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. He stared at his opponent with a completely blank face, refusing to show any external emotion or exhaustion.

"Cough!... Cough!..." L groaned, slowly pushing himself off the ground.

"Damn... That really hurt."

L wiped a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth as he stood up calmly, dusting the dirt off his dark clothes. He looked up at Alen, the playful glint leaving his purple eyes as they turned noticeably darker. He was done joking around.

[Luminous Ascension Art: Starlight!]

L swung his sword in a wide vertical slash. Suddenly, dozens of radiant, spear-like beams of silver light materialized from thin air and launched toward Alen at the speed of light.

Alen simply couldn’t react fast enough. The overwhelming swarm of light beams slammed into him.

*BOOOOOM!*

The blinding light of the explosions covered the whole field, rocking the arena with massive detonations. The crowd gasped in awe at the sheer destructive power of the attack, shielding their eyes from the glare.

L stood quietly, waiting for the smoke to clear to see if the boy had finally been defeated.

But suddenly, L’s heightened senses picked up an incredibly irritating sound. It sounded exactly like the high-pitched buzzing of a mosquito, but multiplied—as if thousands of mosquitoes were buzzing directly inside his head at the exact same time.

L winced, instinctively covering his ears to block out the agonizing noise.

Suddenly, he heard the distinct sound of fast footsteps rushing up behind him.

L spun around and launched a devastating kick to intercept the sneak attack.

But his foot only hit empty air. There was no one there.

Suddenly, a heavy kick slammed into his ribs from his blind side.

*BOOOOOOOOOM!*

L was launched sideways by the immense impact of the kick. He skidded violently across the ground, only managing to stabilize his footing a few inches away from the arena’s boundary line.

As the glowing light in the arena finally normalized, L looked across the field.

Alen was standing there. There were several bloody wounds and scorch marks across his body, but he was still standing tall. Even after taking the full brunt of the Starlight barrage, he physically endure it.

A genuine smile tugged at the corners of L’s mouth as he straightened his posture.

"Well... I can’t say I’m not surprised," L chuckled, brushing the dust off his shoulder.

"You’re impressive, I’ll give you that."

L raised his silver-coated sword, his purple eyes locking onto Alen.

"But now... it’s my turn."