BOOM!
The moment the signal was givenâ
Daemon vanished, lightning snakes coiling around his body.
His speed was unreal for someone built like a tank.
In an instant, he appeared at Frey's side, driving a rocket-like punch straight toward his face.
Frey barely managed to block it with his swordâ
But the sheer momentum launched him across the arena, smashing into the barrier.
Daemon didn't give him a moment to recover.
He immediately clasped his hands together ,Gathering a terrifying amount of lightning aura.
"Let me show you the differenceâŠ"
The difference between a true warriorâ
And someone like you.
"Lightning Artillery."
From between his hands, a monstrous beam of lightning shot outâ
Slamming violently into where Frey had landed.
Frey barely dodged in time, his speed saving him from the blast.
But Daemon relentlessly tracked himâ
Keeping the lightning barrage aimed at him wherever he fled.
In a situation like that ...
Instead of running...
Frey charged straight toward his opponent.
Dark aura ignited around his sword, forming a shadowy blaze.
He surged forward like a black arrow.
Daemon immediately switched tacticsâ
As if he had been waiting for this.
Twin dragon heads of lightning formed around his fists.
"Come!"
Frey's sword slashed with forceâ
Daemon's fists crashed forward like explosionsâ
The two collided violently, exchanging blow after blow at breakneck speed.
Frey attacked and defended at onceâ
While Daemon focused solely on offense.
His reinforced body absorbed most of Frey's strikes.
"Your attacks tickle, Frey Starlight!"
Each time, Daemon deflected Frey's swordâ
His fists harder than steel.
With every punch that landedâ
Daemon gradually gained the upper hand.
He could see it clearlyâ
And so he pressed harderâ
Gathering lightning in his fists to form his strongest weapon yet.
"Black Lightning."
With a single, blinding strikeâ
He hit Frey's side directlyâ
Causing him to cough up blood.
Frey was dragged across the ground ...
And Daemon followed mercilessly ...
Driving devastating punches into his face, his gutâanywhere he could reach.
Daemon had no interest in dragging out this fight.
It meant nothing to him.
After a brutal series of blowsâ
After tearing into his opponentâ
Daemon's fists were stained red with Frey's blood.
BZZZZT
BZZZZZT
Crackles of lightning burst around him as he finally pulled backâ
Leaving Frey embedded in the shattered wall.
The audience watched ...
Then erupted into cheers for Daemon.
A display of overwhelming power,
Just as they had expected.
Fulfilling every expectation.
Ada's face darkened.
Iris Sunlight shook his head slowly.
"What a shame..."
Frey Starlight ..
The boy who had reached heights his peers could only dream of ...
Yet with such limited potential ..
Now standing against Daemon Valerion,
Blessed from the moment of his birth.
Fate had been brutally cruel to that young man.
In Iris's eyes ..
The match was already over.
And everyone agreed with him.
Even Daemon knew he had already won.
But the matchâ
Wasn't finished yet.
From amidst the rubbleâ
Frey rose, his head drenched in blood.
The audience stared in disbelief as the battered boy stood once more.
"You're still able to fight?"
Daemon asked with a frown.
Meanwhileâ
Frey chuckled, blood streaming into his eyes, blurring his vision.
"Yeah⊠I guess I should thank you."
His thoughts had been spiraling recentlyâ
After witnessing Snow's overwhelming strength,
Frey had been trapped in a whirlpool of negative emotions ...
Drifting aimlessly, lost in despair.
"Thanks to you⊠I've finally come back to my senses.
After all that beating you gave me..."
"What bullshit are you spouting?"
Daemon couldn't understand what he was talking about.
But Frey didn't care.
He didn't need to explain anything to his enemies.
He only needed to crush them.
"Let's continue!"
With a violent stomp of his footâ
Frey surged forward, shrouded in a whirlwind of dark aura.
Daemon answered immediatelyâ
Gathering dark lightning aura once more.
BOOOOM!!!
Againâ
They clashed at terrifying speeds.
The black arcs of energy Frey launchedâ
Colliding with the lightning rockets fired from Daemon's crushing fists.
This timeâ
Frey fought with greater efficiency.
Greater power.
His sword reached his opponentâ
Leaving wounds across Daemon's body.
Daemon now found himself needing not just to attackâ
But to defend.
Stillâ
With his perfect physique ..
And his ability to fight from every position ..
Daemon remained overwhelming.
Once again ...
His blows smashed Frey's body even further.
Locked in a storm of slashes and punchesâ
Frey staggered violently.
"You can't defeat me!"
In a single decisive momentâ
Daemon broke through Frey's guard,
Sending him flying.
He immediately followed upâ
Leaping high into the air, gathering crackling lightning around himself.
"Thunderclap Strike!"
Daemon came crashing down upon Frey like a meteor ...
Burying him deep into the ground amidst a vortex of lightning.
Amid the rising dust and devastationâ
Daemon pulled back, taking a deep breath.
He had completely crushed him this time.
That was how it should have ended.
But ...
Frey emerged againâ
Swinging his right arm, the one still holding his swordâ
Covered in dirt and bloodâ
Grinning like a madman.
"Why the hell are you smiling ?"
Daemon asked, thrown off by the sight.
"If you won't come to me..."
Frey charged forward again.
"Then I'll come to you!"
"You bastard!!"
Once moreâ
They collided violently.
This time ...
Black dragon heads gathered around Daemon's fists ..
As he struck with devastating force.
Meanwhile ..
Frey unleashed the full extent of his Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow technique.
That footwork ..
Allowed him to fight Daemon head-on.
Daemon clenched his teeth,
Releasing a battle roar that surpassed even the rage of furious beasts.
His fists rained down at impossible speeds. .
Like a rocket launcher with infinite ammunition.
Storms of black lightning engulfed the arena ..
Tearing through it ..
Breaking it apart ..
And mercilessly battering Frey's body.
Daemon cared for nothing nowâ
Except crushing his opponent.
All or nothing.
In pure strength ..
He was far superior.
He should crush him.
He should obliterate him.
Frey shouldn't have been able to endure even a second against him.
"Dragon Gate."
Daemon Valerion's ultimate strength.
He grabbed Frey's face and smashed him brutally into the ground,
Dragging him all the way to the edge of the barrier.
With Frey's head pinned in his gripâ
The sky darkened above them,
As Daemon summoned a raging storm of lightningâ
Which crashed down, enveloping both their bodies.
"Let's see you get up after thisâŠ"
BOOOOOOM!!!
The blast erased everything around themâ
Leaving Daemon standing there,
Still holding Frey's face aloft.
Daemon panted heavilyâ
Convinced it was over.
But thenâ
The burning pain from his abdomen jolted him back to reality.
Frey's swordâ
Had pierced him.
Not deeply ..
Daemon had tensed his muscles just in time to stop the blade from driving further in.
But it was there.
Immediately, he threw Frey aside.
Frey Starlight ..
Rose again.
Wounded.
Burned.
His body caked in dirt and blood.
Yetâ
Even to the bitter endâ
He had prevented any fatal blows from landing.
He had taken everything else gladly.
Daemon stared at his opponent through labored breaths.
Freyâ
Began walking toward him again.