Chapter 96: Awakened Tournament Crisis (2)

The arena fell silent.

For a moment, neither Lucy nor Luvian moved.

They stood on opposite ends of the enormous battlefield, separated by hundreds of meters of cracked stone and reinforced ground. Above them, thousands of spectators watched from the stadium seats, while countless cameras hovered around the arena, broadcasting every movement to the nation.

The announcer raised his voice.

"AND THE FIRST MATCH OF THE THIRD ROUND IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!"

The crowd erupted.

Lucy rolled her shoulders.

Across from her, Luvian slowly flexed his fingers.

Neither of them looked particularly impressed.

They had fought before.

They knew what the other was capable of.

But neither of them was the same person they had been the last time they met.

A holographic display appeared above the arena.

The display flickered.

Then the Association’s system updated their ranks.

A murmur immediately spread through the stadium.

Luvian — B-Rank.

Lucy — B-Rank.

The announcer practically shouted the revelation.

"BOTH PARTICIPANTS HAVE ADVANCED TO B-RANK!"

The crowd exploded.

"WHAT?! BOTH OF THEM?!"

"THEY WERE BOTH C-RANKS DURING THE FIRST ROUND!"

"HOW DID THEY ADVANCE THIS FAST?!"

"THIS MATCH IS GOING TO BE INSANE!"

Eden watched from the participant area.

He leaned back in his seat, arms crossed.

"So Luvian made it too."

Beside him, Sonne nodded.

"He probably trained like crazy after the first round."

Eden’s eyes remained fixed on the arena.

"Probably."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Let’s see how much."

The announcer’s voice boomed across the stadium.

"BEGIN!"

Lucy disappeared.

A burst of pink Essence erupted beneath her feet.

[Quick Charge]

She crossed the distance between herself and Luvian almost instantly.

Luvian’s eyes widened.

’Fast!’

Lucy drove her fist forward.

"Got you."

The first explosion erupted directly against Luvian’s chest.

Before the smoke had even cleared, Lucy’s body twisted.

Her second fist connected.

A second explosion ripped through the arena.

Then the third.

The combined force sent a shockwave racing across the battlefield.

Dust and debris were thrown hundreds of meters into the air.

The ground beneath Luvian cracked apart as his body was launched backward.

He dug his feet into the stone, sliding nearly fifty meters before finally stopping.

The audience went wild.

Lucy landed lightly.

She exhaled.

"Still standing?"

A crimson flame suddenly erupted from the dust.

Luvian stepped out.

His clothes were scorched.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"You’ll have to hit harder than that if you want to take me down."

The fire around him exploded outward.

"I’m not that easy to put down anymore."

His Essence ignited.

The flames surrounding his body burned with such intensity that the air itself distorted around him.

Luvian raised one hand.

"Let’s try this on for starters."

A pillar of fire erupted toward Lucy.

Lucy immediately crossed her arms.

The flames swallowed her.

For several seconds, nothing could be seen.

Then pink Essence burst through the inferno.

Lucy punched her way out.

"Too slow!"

She rushed forward.

Luvian responded by spreading his fire across the ground.

The entire battlefield suddenly became a sea of flames.

Fire erupted from every direction.

Lucy leapt over one.

Another erupted beneath her.

She twisted midair and narrowly avoided it before landing on a shattered slab of stone.

Luvian didn’t give her time to breathe.

His flames formed several enormous spears.

They shot forward.

Lucy sprinted between them.

One spear passed inches from her face.

Another destroyed the stone beneath her.

The third exploded against her shoulder.

Lucy gritted her teeth.

"Damn it!"

She retaliated immediately.

Pink Essence gathered around her fist.

[Quick Charge]

She slammed her fist into the ground.

A massive pink explosion erupted outward.

The shockwave tore through Luvian’s flames and sent burning debris flying in every direction.

Luvian crossed his arms.

The explosion struck him head-on.

He was pushed backward.

But he didn’t fall.

Instead, his flames intensified.

"You’ve grown stronger!"

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"So have you."

Luvian grinned.

"But you’re still not enough."

His body blurred.

He appeared directly in front of her.

Lucy barely managed to raise her arms.

His flaming fist struck.

Lucy was launched backward.

She flipped through the air, landed on one foot, and slid across the ground.

Luvian followed.

His fire wasn’t merely destructive.

It was versatile.

He could form blades, spears, walls, projectiles, waves, concentrated beams and explosive bursts.

Every time Lucy tried to approach him, another attack appeared in her path.

The battlefield slowly transformed.

The once-pristine arena was becoming a wasteland.

Several hundred meters of ground had already been reduced to shattered stone.

Flames burned across the battlefield.

Cracks extended outward from countless impact points.

Large chunks of reinforced arena flooring had been blown completely away.

And neither fighter had even begun using their strongest abilities.

Luvian’s eyes narrowed.

His flames surged.

"Come on!"

Lucy rushed through the fire.

Luvian met her head-on.

Pink Essence collided with crimson flame.

The impact created a circular shockwave.

Lucy punched.

Luvian blocked.

Luvian kicked.

Lucy deflected.

Lucy struck again.

Luvian’s flame-coated fist met hers.

The two B-Ranks moved faster and faster with each exchange.

To the average spectator, the battle had already become difficult to follow.

To Eden, however, every movement was clear.

He noticed the difference immediately.

Luvian was gradually gaining ground.

Not because his raw power was necessarily superior.

Because his fire gave him more options.

He could control the battlefield.

He could force Lucy into unfavorable positions.

He could attack from multiple angles simultaneously.

And slowly, Lucy was being pushed backward.

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

"Luvian’s doing well."

Sonne glanced at him.

"You sound surprised."

"I am."

Lucy narrowly avoided another flame spear.

Luvian immediately transformed it into a whip of fire, swinging it around and forcing her to retreat.

"Your range is terrible!" he shouted.

Lucy ducked.

The flame passed over her head.

She lunged.

Luvian formed a wall.

Lucy smashed through it.

The wall exploded.

Luvian appeared behind her.

"Too predictable."

His palm struck Lucy’s back.

Lucy was launched forward.

She slammed into the ground and bounced several times before stopping.

The stadium erupted in cheers.

Luvian stood amid the flames.

He breathed heavily.

But his expression was confident.

’I can win.’

He looked toward Lucy.

’I have to.’

His eyes briefly shifted toward the participant area.

Toward Eden.

Luvian clenched his fist.

He had spent every day since his defeat training.

Every day.

Every night.

He had pushed his body until it hurt.

He had burned his Essence until his veins felt like they were on fire.

And finally, he had reached B-Rank.

But so had the girl in front of him somehow.

"I’m not losing to you." he muttered.

"To any of you."

Lucy slowly stood.

She wiped blood from the corner of her mouth.

Then she smiled.

"You know..."

Luvian frowned.

"What?"

"I was going to save this for later."

Pink Essence began gathering around Lucy’s body.

Luvian’s expression changed.

’That skill again...’

Lucy raised her hand.

[Essence Accelerator]

The pink aura intensified.

[V2]

The atmosphere changed.

Luvian’s eyes widened.

The increase was the polar opposite of subtle.

Lucy’s Essence output suddenly surged.

It multiplied.

Her pink Essence became denser.

Heavier.

More violent.

Luvian barely had time to react.

"What—?!"

Her fist slammed into his stomach.

The explosion was enormous.

The shockwave tore through the battlefield.

Luvian’s body flew backward like a projectile, smashing through a massive stone formation before continuing another hundred meters.

The formation collapsed behind him.

The audience went completely insane.

Lucy landed.

She exhaled slowly.

Luvian emerged from the rubble.

His eyes twitched.

Blood dripped from his mouth.

His mind was racing.

’What the hell...?’

He stared at Lucy.

’How did she get this strong?’

He had barely managed to reach B-Rank.

It had taken him everything.

So how could the girl in front of him confidently stand up to him?

Was the cruel difference just a matter of Talent?

If it was, did that mean Luvian’s hard work was useless in the face of absolute Talent?

His irritation grew.

"No..."

His flames erupted.

"I refuse to believe this."

The crimson fire around him suddenly became darker.

Lucy immediately sensed the change.

Luvian’s expression hardened.

"If that’s how we’re doing this..."

He clenched his fist.

"...then I’ll stop holding back too."