Chapter 298: It’s Over [2]

"Do you wanna see something interesting?"

"..." Ethea kept staring at Princess Roya, or more precisely, at the Puppeteer who was controlling her body.

The next moment, the surroundings started blurring, and in just a few seconds, Ethea found herself looking at the arena, as if she were standing in the middle of it. Sounds of battles reached her ears: clash of weapons, desperate shouts, explosions, and the ground cracking apart.

The arena had truly become a battlefield.

"Let’s zoom in a little," Puppeteer said as he flicked his finger again.

The view shifted, the scene rushing forward until it focused on two figures near the center of the chaos. Soren and Raven, the Nullifier.

"!" Ethea’s breath caught in her throat.

Soren was a mess. Blood covered him from head to toe, his clothes torn and hanging in shreds. His face was swollen, bruised, and barely recognizable. The Nullifier’s fists rained down on him without pause, each blow heavy enough to crack the ground beneath them. Soren could only raise his arms to shield himself, his body buckling under the relentless assault.

"I guess your husband overestimated himself." Puppeteer’s voice dripped with mockery as he watched the scene unfold. "Look at him now. A few more punches from Raven, and he’s good as dead. Don’t worry, I told Raven not to kill him, at least not yet."

"..." Ethea clenched her fists, her heart beating faster. She wanted to deny it, to call it an illusion or some kind of mental trick. But through the bond between her and Soren, she could feel it, that it was real...

"Still think you’ve won?" Puppeteer asked, tilting his head. "Your husband’s life is in my hands. And do you know why? Yeah, it’s because of you! If you had warned him or stopped him from messing with us, perhaps I would have spared you both. But no, you had to meddle in things that didn’t concern you."

"..."

"Everything that happens to him from now on... is your fault," Puppeteer whispered in an accusatory tone. "Remember that as you watch."

Ethea bit her lip as Raven suddenly hit Soren and sent him flying.

’...No. He said he had a plan.’ She recalled what he said and promised. ’I have to trust him...’

Ethea steeled her heart and forced herself to keep watching.

Swoosh-!

Raven stomped forward, his massive frame casting a shadow over Soren’s crumpled form. He raised his fist for another strike, the air distorting from sheer force, and brought it down like a hammer to end it all.

Thwack-!

Soren’s hand shot up and caught it.

Swoosh-!

The impact sent a shockwave rippling outward, dust exploding around them, but Soren’s arm didn’t buckle or break. His fingers wrapped around Raven’s fist and held it in place.

Raven’s eye widened in surprise. After all, he poured all his strength into that strike.

"...This is quite a twist." Puppeteer also voiced his surprise, though his smile thinned slightly, and his fingers tapped once against his knee. For a brief moment, something flickered in his gaze, but he quickly masked it away. "But I guess it’s just a dying man’s last struggle."

’No...’ Ethea squinted as she remembered something. ’This must be the Limit Break ability he told me about before!’

That was the only explanation for the sudden increase in his strength.

But... She was certain it had side effects and a time limit. Unless he finished his opponent in the next few minutes, his body would give out on its own.

’...Dear.’

She whispered in her heart as she continued to watch.

Meanwhile, Soren’s cold gaze remained locked on Raven. Without a word, he tightened his grip on the massive fist, his fingers digging in until the bones beneath shifted. Raven tried to pull back, but Soren’s hold didn’t loosen.

"Grr..." Growing irritated, Raven punched Soren with his other fist.

Thwack-!

The blow caught Soren square in the jaw, snapping his head to the side. Blood dripped from his split lip as he turned back.

"Tfu." He spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground and muttered, "My... turn."

Swoosh-!

Soren’s free hand shot forward, knuckles driving into Raven’s face and whipping his head sideways. Blood exploded from his nose, the bone cracking under Soren’s fist, and Raven let out a strangled grunt as his face twisted in pain. Soren didn’t stop there; he twisted Raven’s arm and yanked him forward, driving his knee into his ribs.

The crack echoed through the arena.

Raven staggered back, his breathing coming in ragged gasps. Soren didn’t give him room to breathe. Stepping close, he grabbed the back of Raven’s head with both hands and pulled him down while driving his knee up.

THWACK-!

The collision was brutal, Raven’s head snapping back from the impact, blood and spit flying from his mouth as his body reeled.

Soren followed up with a horizontal elbow that connected with a heavy thud. The big man’s eyes rolled back, his large frame swaying for a long second before he crashed face-first into the ground.

"..."

Deathly silence settled over the arena as the dust slowly began to clear. Everyone froze, their eyes fixated on Soren, who stood in the center of the destruction like an unshaken pillar. Blood streaked his body, and his clothes hung in tatters, but his posture remained upright, his breathing steady, as if the brutal exchange had been nothing more than a warm-up. The sight of him standing over monstrous Raven’s fallen body sent a chill through every witness.

Then Soren’s head turned slowly, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield until it landed on the Leech. The assassin, who had been locked in fierce combat with Commander Ervin just moments before, went completely still. It was exactly like the stillness of prey that had just realized it was being hunted.

Leech’s eyes widened, his body tensing, and his instincts screaming at him to move, but for a single heartbeat, he couldn’t. Those cold eyes held him in place, and in that moment, it felt like death itself was staring down at him.

’Gulp.’ He swallowed hard, goosebumps across his skin as a cold shiver ran down his spine. ’W-Wait! Where did he go?!’