Chapter 518: The Swordswomans Spotlight (Part 4)

Chapter 518: The Swordswoman's Spotlight (Part 4)

"His eyes!"

Just as the audience cried out in shock, Arsen's voice rang across the arena. "Contestant Selby has successfully struck at Contestant Vlozrada's eye! Will this become the decisive turning point of the finals?"

Boom!

Forced to shut his eye, Damian still managed to effortlessly neutralize Blood Moon Shattered Lake. Instead of counterattacking, he quickly retreated. Sonya pressed her advantage, hoping to seize this opening and secure victory in one decisive push.

"Brilliant," Nidala commented. "However, Damian and the swordsmasters of the Vlozrada lineage are never opponents to be defeated through tricks or cunning. Only absolute superiority in strength can overcome the Starforger bloodline because... they are practically flawless."

Damian wiped the blood from his eye, opening it to reveal it was already fully healed. Even in the midst of an intense battle, he could efficiently restore his own injuries.

Thus, Sonya's hidden trump card was neutralized.

Damian traced a circle with his blade. The curve, drawn with the raw power of the Wave spirit, nearly shattered everything around him, forcing Sonya back into a defensive stance.

He stepped forward and spoke clearly. "I understand your thoughts now, Miss Selby. You are right. My suggestion of a draw was nothing more than condescension. Your brilliance would not diminish in the slightest without one. On the contrary, accepting would only tarnish it. My impulsive proposal was poorly considered, and I apologize for the trouble. To show my respect, I will defeat you with everything I have. Furthermore, I should apologize in advance because I am a little angry right now. From here on, this is no longer just a contest for glory under the gaze of the stars. I am also venting some frustration, so watch yourself."

Boom!

Damian unleashed the Sacred Realm-level Vlozrada Wave Swordsmanship at full display.

It was fiercer than a rampaging wyvern, more savage than a feral beast, and sharper than a lightning-fast predator. To Sonya, she seemed to face a monstrous creature from another dimension. In his hands, the refined Wave spirit transformed into fangs and claws, tearing savagely into her flesh.

Water Moon! Blood Moon Shattered Lake!

Sonya fought back with all her might, yet she simply could not break through Damian's Sacred Realm. Driven back repeatedly, her ferocity only grew. She refused to yield a single step, meeting Damian head-on in a close-quarters clash of matching swordcraft.

Slash!

With a thunderous impact, the Scarlet Swordswoman was sent flying, crashing into the ruins and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Damian steadied himself and spat out a small piece of bloodied tongue. Moments earlier, Sonya had locked onto the inside of his mouth at close range. Her Hidden Blade had nearly pierced through the back of his neck.

Under the protection of a Sacred Realm, any attack failing to reach the core could at most cause minor trouble. The obsession Sacred Realm sorcerers had with cross-spatial attacks only proved how ineffective ordinary attacks were against peers of their own level.

Damian's expression mixed irritation with admiration. "Do you really want to win that badly?"

Sonya pushed herself up with her wooden sword. Her battle suit was unrecognizable, covered in dust, debris, blood, and grime.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because the more dazzling I am, the more attention I draw, and the stronger I become." She paused. "Right now, I am still too weak."

"I can feel your resolve, but I will not hold back, nor do you need a victory given out of charity." He sheathed his sword. "In that case, I will end this magnificent final with the highest-tier Miracle in my arsenal. Now, witness Inversion Annihilation Wave!"

Inversion Annihilation Wave was the secret technique passed down within the Vlozrada family, an Upper-Glorious Rainbow-tier Miracle capable of wiping the entire battlefield clean in an instant. It was the very move that had crushed the Crimson Lotus Sword Formation into a pool of blood, destroying the technique Nagus had placed such high hopes on.

Had Damian used this from the start, Sonya would have already lost. Forcing him to unleash it was, in the eyes of everyone present, as good as victory.

As one would put it, "A glorious defeat was still a defeat."

Sonya raised her head, meeting the gaze of the audience. Countless emotions intermingled. Some spectators looked curious, some envious, some delighted, while others looked regretful.

At this moment, the Scarlet Swordswoman had captured everyone's attention. But...

Why haven't I grown stronger? Isn't the Gold Blessing, Radiant Star, supposed to make me stronger the more attention I draw in battle and the more people like me? Dang you, Watcher, you deceived me again, thought Sonya.

The Meteor Calamity's final was the highest stage she could currently reach. Failing to break through here would render the Gold Blessing utterly worthless.

She had obtained the Hidden Blade from Professor Trosan, yet she remained aware that her current level was insufficient to defeat Damian. She had stepped forward to fight in the hope that her Gold Blessing would bring about a miracle. In the end, her Hidden Blade still failed to reach Damian's core, just as she failed to feel the Watcher's warmth with her hand.

She had truly tried her best. Yet she still could not draw strength from the gazes of the crowd, nor could she find encouragement in their cheers. All the vanity she had once longed to indulge in now felt hollow, as if something were missing.

Perhaps, among these countless gazes, the single pair of eyes she hoped for was absent. Perhaps, among all the cheering, the one voice she longed to hear was missing.

So this is how it feels, she thought. Two people clearly thinking of each other, caring for each other, and missing each other, yet remaining apart. We are like two stars drifting close to one another, separated by an immeasurable distance.

Sonya looked at Damian, knowing defeat was near.

She possessed no Miracle capable of resisting the Inversion Annihilation Wave unless the Watcher intervened. Just as before with Water Moon and Blood Moon Shattered Lake, she needed divine intervention to break through mid-battle and grasp a tide-turning Miracle. Unfortunately, nothing came. The only power left to her, her Gold Blessing named Radiant Star, proved utterly useless.

The name implied she was a radiant star, but Sonya knew better. She was merely chasing that brilliance, craving its attention and admiration. She could not warm others, nor could she become the light in another heart. Rather than becoming a radiant star, what she truly wanted now was to chase the star that belonged to her. If she became stronger, if she shone brighter, perhaps the distance between those stars would shrink just a little.

At that moment, it felt as if the stars had finally heard her prayer. Starlight transformed into a patient, guiding teacher. Countless streams of knowledge reassembled and intertwined within her mind, forming a stunning, composite Miracle.

Sonya raised her wooden sword, holding it level as threads of light wrapped around her body. ⅇ

Damian immediately recognized the technique. "Water Moon?"

By all rights, the range of Water Moon fell far short. In contrast, the Inversion Annihilation Wave covered the entire arena, making a simple counter-type Miracle useless. With a swift, lightning-fast movement, Damian swung his blade.

A sound like the toll of a bell from a distant shore echoed through the hearts of the audience. The arena itself seemed carved into a perfect sphere, sealing everything inside away from the outside world.

After Nidala's explanation, the audience could tell at a glance that Damian had made himself the origin point, unleashing an indiscriminate attack across the entire spherical space. This time, the Scarlet Swordswoman seemed doomed to fall in silence.

Suddenly, the spatial sphere shattered the instant it formed. No sign of the Inversion Annihilation Wave swept across the arena. Similarly, the threads of Water Moon around Sonya vanished without a trace. Only a near-invisible blade remained, hovering beside her right hand. She had activated the Hidden Blade.

Damian stood calmly before her and said, "Using water as the medium, space as the pathway, accelerating time, and harmonizing it with swordsmanship... You merged the Unceasing spirit into your counter Miracle. Through spatial ripples, you bound the threads to me to lock onto my spatial coordinates. Then, with time acceleration, you shortened the process and finished it with the Hidden Blade. What do you call this composite Miracle that spans multiple sorcery classes?"

Sonya raised her head. A meteor streaked across the night sky. Whenever a victor was decided, a falling star appeared as the ceremonial signal marking the end of the Meteor Calamity.

"Look," she said, pointing upward. "There is a tail trailing behind it. That is the gaze of another meteor watching over it. A meteor that can never be reached still carries a bond of life, death, and longing that follows it to the very end. This Miracle..."

She smiled faintly. "It is called Meteor Calamity."

Damian froze for a moment, then let out a wry smile. "You are really not very good at naming things, are you?"

Before his words fully settled, his body burst into sprays of blood. His limbs were severed, and his flesh was torn apart. His entire form collapsed into pieces, triggering the Death Prohibition Miracle.

For a brief moment, silence fell over the arena. Then, the crowd erupted into roars loud enough to shake the heavens of Cailleach.

"The winner of the Meteor Calamity finals is..." Arsen's voice echoed across the sky, spreading throughout the Starry Kingdom. "Sonya Selby!"

— End of Volume Three —

Thank you for reading.