Chapter 209: Queen Vs King

Kimberly Vane stood alone in the center of the shattered arena stage. The wind was blowing hard now, swirling dust around her boots.

Her long dark hair fluttered in the wind, and her dark Void uniform was slightly scorched from the dust and the shockwaves, but her eyes burned with an intense, furious light.

She held three tournament slots on her own. She was not like the others. She was Void’s absolute ace, the undefeated Queen of Void Blessed Academy, the girl who had never lost a single official match in three years.

She looked at Lynx. Her teeth gritted tightly, her hands clenched into tight fists that shook.

On her right hand, her heavy obsidian cheat ring glowed with a deep, ominous violet light. It was a little bit bigger than the others. But way more Stronger.

"You..." Kimberly hissed, her voice filled with pure hatred, her voice cracking. She looked at all her teammates lying broken on the floor.

"You... you ruined everything. My team, my academy’s glory, our ten year winning streak... you destroyed all of it! You broke them! You broke Kain!"

Lynx walked slowly toward her. His footsteps echoed in the quiet stadium. Tap. Tap. Tap. His uniform was still spotless. His posture completely relaxed. His hands in his pockets. He looked like he was taking a walk in a garden.

"Your academy cheated," Lynx replied casually, his voice flat and cold. "You used illegal booster rings because you knew you couldn’t win fairly. You knew Aether had better fighters. And then you hurt my women. You stomped on Ava when she was down. You really thought I’d let any of you walk off this stage on your own two feet? You thought I’d shake your hand after that?"

Kimberly let out a cold, bitter laugh. It was a laugh full of pain and madness. "Do you think you’ve won, Azarion?! Do you think it’s over?! I hold Triple S Rank affinities! Fire, Lightning, and Ice! Combined with my artifact, which is stronger than the rest, my power is beyond anything a human blessed student can reach! I am not like those fodder you just beat! I am a Queen! I am Void’s Blessed Academy Queen!"

BOOM!

Kimberly flared her full power. She screamed as she did it. A monumental storm of Fire, Lightning, and Ice erupted around her body.

The stage under her cracked into three different colors. Three massive elemental dragons, one made of blazing blue fire, one made of crackling white lightning, and one made of jagged, translucent ice, formed behind her back, roaring into the sky! They were fifty meters long each, coiling around each other.

The crowd gasped in awe and terror. People shielded their children. The commentators ducked.

"KIMBERLY IS SHOWING WHY SHE IS NUMBER ONE!" the announcer shrieked into his microphone, his voice breaking. "QUEEN KIMBERLY VANE IS UNLEASHING HER ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM POWER! THE THREE ELEMENTAL DRAGONS ARE COVERING THE ENTIRE ARENA! THIS IS THE POWER THAT BEAT AVA AND OPELIA! CAN LYNX SURVIVE THIS?!"

On the Void balcony, the remaining professors stood up, shouting in desperation, holding onto the railing. "KIMBERLY! CRUSH HIM! REGAIN OUR HONOR! SHOW HIM THE POWER OF VOID BLESSED ACADEMY!"

On the Aether balcony, Professor Rose stood tall, her arms crossed, her eyes gleaming with absolute trust and a small smile. She didn’t shout. She just whispered. "He won’t be touched. He is above that."

Kimberly raised both hands high above her head, her face twisting into a demonic scowl, her veins glowing with power. The three dragons opened their mouths.

"DIE, LYNX AZARION! TRIPLE ELEMENTAL DESTRUCTION DRAGONS! BURN AND FREEZE AND SHATTER!"

The three massive elemental dragons roared, charging down from the sky straight toward Lynx with enough destructive power to vaporize a mountain and freeze a lake at the same time! The air turned hot and cold at once. The granite melted and froze in patches.

Lynx stopped walking. He looked up at the three giant elemental dragons descending upon him, his dark eyes calm, his smirk widening into a confident, dangerous, almost divine smile. He wasn’t scared. He was excited.

He raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers wide toward the sky. He took a deep breath.

For the first time in the entire tournament, for the first time in front of the whole world, Lynx activated all five of his core elemental masteries simultaneously! He stopped holding back!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A divine, five colored elemental wheel, composed of golden Fire, white Lightning, blue Ice, green Wind, and brown Earth, erupted behind Lynx’s back.

It was massive, a hundred meters wide, spinning slowly, humming with the power of creation itself.

The sheer atmospheric pressure radiating from Lynx was so immense, so absolute, so majestic that the entire stadium ground trembled, and the protective barrier around the arena that was already cracking instantly shattered into dust and light! The VIP windows cracked!

"WHAT IS THAT?!" the announcer screamed, falling out of his chair in pure shock, his headset flying off. "FIVE ABOVE S RANK ELEMENTAL AFFINITIES COMBINED AT ONCE?! FIVE?! IMPOSSIBLE! IMPOSSIBLE! NO ONE IN HISTORY HAS EVER HELD ABOVE S RANKS! THIS IS NOT HUMAN!"

The whole stadium screamed. People were on their feet.

The three elemental dragons struck Lynx’s five colored elemental wheel. They hit it with all their force, all of Kimberly’s hate and power.

BOOM!

There was no struggle. There was no push and pull. There was no explosion.

The moment Kimberly’s fire, lightning, and ice dragons touched Lynx’s five colored wheel, they were instantly absorbed, neutralized, and completely dismantled into harmless sparks that fell like snow

The dragons didn’t explode, they were eaten. The five colored wheel just spun and the dragons vanished into it, like they were never there.

Kimberly’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. Her body froze in absolute, mind-numbing horror. Her mouth hung open. Her hands were still raised, but nothing was happening. Her strongest attack had done nothing. Zero.

"My... my dragons... absorbed?!" she whispered, her voice tiny. "My triple... no..."

"My turn," Lynx whispered smoothly, his voice carrying across the silent arena. His five colored wheel spun faster behind him, glowing brighter.

BOOM!

Lynx vanished using Lightning Stride. But this time it was different. He didn’t just vanish, he teleported. The five elements around him blurred.

Before Kimberly could even blink, before her brain could tell her eyes to move, Lynx materialized directly in front of her face. So close she could feel his breath.

The sheer speed of his movement created an atmospheric shockwave that blew away her defensive elemental barrier, her hair, and even her earrings in a fraction of a second.

Kimberly panicked, her survival instinct kicking in. She raised her hand to try to activate her cheat ring again, to try to punch him, to do anything.

GRAB!

Lynx caught her right wrist in mid air. His grip was like a vice forged from adamantium and divine fire. He held her effortlessly. She struggled, but she couldn’t move her arm at all.

"No more cheats," Lynx said softly, looking into her eyes. His eyes were not angry now. They were disappointed. "It ends here."

He squeezed his fingers gently. Just a gentle squeeze.

CRACK! SHATTER!

Kimberly’s heavy, violet obsidian ring, shattered into dust, into fine black and violet powder, its dark power dissipating harmlessly into the air with a sad hiss. The light went out.

Kimberly let out a gasp of shock, her eyes filling with real, unadulterated terror as she realized she was completely helpless. For the first time in years, Queen Kimberly Vane felt powerless.

"You tried to stomp on Ava when she couldn’t move," Lynx murmured, his voice dripping with icy calm, remembering every detail. "You told her to tell me, that I was next. You stepped on her chest. I saw and heard everything."

Kimberly trembled, her voice shaking violently, tears starting to form. Her queen persona was gone. Now she was just a scared girl. "I... I yield, I yield! Stop! I..."

Lynx didn’t give her the chance to finish the word. He believed in justice, not mercy for those who hurt his people.

He swept his leg low, kicking her feet out from under her in a smooth, Aikido like motion, and delivered a swift, precise palm strike straight to her chest. Not a killing blow. A pushing, disarming blow.

BOOM!

A gentle but irresistible wave of compressed air, soft as a pillow but strong as a hurricane, slammed into Kimberly, blasting her backward across the stage.

She didn’t fly like a cannonball, she floated, then skidded fifty meters across the granite floor, tumbling into the soft sand pit at the edge, completely exhausted, her mana dry, her legs unable to stand, and her consciousness fading into black. She landed softly in the sand.

"OUT OF BOUNDS! KIMBERLY VANE IS ELIMINATED!" the referee shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing across the silent stadium, his whole body shaking. "VOID HAS NO FIGHTERS LEFT!"

Silence fell over the arena. For one full second, no one breathed.

The entire platform was littered with twenty two unconscious, battered Void fighters. Ruined stone, craters, broken equipment, shattered obsidian dust, and puddles of melted granite covered the floor.

And right in the center of the devastation stood Lynx Azarion.

His uniform was still completely spotless. His hair was neat. He wasn’t panting. He wasn’t bleeding. He didn’t have a single scratch on his skin. His five colored wheel slowly faded behind him, leaving golden sparkles in the air. They were lucky he was going easy on them, he thought.

He stood alone as the sole victor of the 1v22 gauntlet. The Last Man Standing who beat an army.

The head referee raised his whistle high into the air, his hands trembling with emotion, shock, rage, helplessness, all swirling.

"MATCH CONCLUDED! ALL TWENTY FOUR VOID SLOTS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED! TWENTY TWO FIGHTERS DEFEATED BY LYNZ AZARION! WINNER OF THE SUPREME BLESSED TOURNAMENT: AETHER BLESSED ACADEMY."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The stadium exploded.

Hundreds of thousands of people leapt from their seats, screaming, cheering, and crying at the top of their lungs. The noise was so loud it shook the very sky above the arena! It shook the clouds! People threw their hats, their scarves, their flags!

"LYNX! LYNX! LYNX! LYNX!"

The entire stadium began chanting his name in unison. Tens of thousands of voices joined together in a deafening roar that reverberated across the entire city! It was the loudest sound in the tournament’s years of history!

Down in the Aether enclosure, the first year students broke into tears of pure joy, hugging each other and jumping wildly, falling over.

"HE DID IT! HE ACTUALLY DID IT! HE BEAT ALL TWENTY TWO OF THEM! HE BEAT THE QUEEN!"

Eleanor stood near the railing, a breathless smile on her face, tears of excitement glittering in her eyes, her hands over her mouth. "He really brought the trophy home... he really did it..."

Nadia let out a long breath, a genuine, stunned smile breaking across her face for the first time in a while. She shook her head, laughing. "That crazy freshie... he really is untouchable. He really is a monster... our monster."

Professor Rose stood near the back, holding her faculty clipboard against her chest, her eyes shining with deep pride and affection and love as she watched her man stand atop the world. She mouthed the words "I knew it."

Far beyond the stadium, across the vast expanse of the Aether Empire, millions of citizens were watching the live broadcast on their screens, televisions, and handheld devices.

In the bustling capital cities, in middle class apartments, in small houses, and in crowded public squares, people stood in front of massive viewing screens, cheering and crying with joy.

Aether Blessed Academy had won the Supreme Blessed Tournament for the first time in ten whole years. Ten years of losing to Void, ended by one boy!

In the grand palace of the Aether Empire, the King stood up from his throne, looking at the viewing screen in his private chambers with a rare, approving smile.

He clapped slowly. "Lynx Azarion... the strongest student this empire has ever produced. Bring him to me. I want to meet this boy."

In the sacred temple of the Goddess Shiva Church, Seraphine the Holy Daughter and Celestia the Saintess stood side by side, watching the broadcast with gentle, proud smiles, their hands clasped in prayer.

"He won," Seraphine whispered softly, her eyes shining.

"Of course he did," Celestia replied gently, smiling. "He is Lynx. He never loses. That is who he is."

In Void Empire. Down on the ruined stage, Lynx stood tall amidst the chanting of hundreds of thousands of people.

The golden confetti that was reserved for champions started falling from the sky, covering the ruined granite in gold.

He looked up at the floating victory board, which now said AETHER BLESSED ACADEMY - CHAMPIONS, then turned his head toward the Aether enclosure.

He caught Eleanor’s eye through the crowd and flashed her a smooth, mischievous wink, reminding her of their bet. Eleanor blushed deeply, laughing as she shook her head, nodding yes.

Lynx turned back toward the cheering crowd, raising his right hand into the air slowly. The stadium roared even louder, ten times louder, the name LYNX AZARION etched forever into the history of the world as the absolute, undisputed Champion, the boy who defeated an army alone.