ONLINE: Blades of Eternity

As soon as Kent gave the command—

Sylphie's golden eyes burned with divine radiance.

A regal golden bow suddenly materialized in her grasp, its celestial aura causing the very air around her to shimmer.

Then—

She unleashed her mana domain—

Heaven's Judgment.

Behind her, the sky cracked open.

And from the ethereal rift—

Gigantic bows, each easily the size of a warship, materialized.

Thousands of radiant mana arrows were already nocked, their tips glowing with an apocalyptic light.

The sheer pressure alone forced cracks to spread across the already weakened barrier.

The spectators felt suffocated—their breaths stolen from their lungs.

Kent's expression remained indifferent.

Kaelen and Kelvin instinctively tightened their grips on their weapons since they couldn't go to help because if they do, Kent will inevitably intervene.

But yet—

Before Sylphie could loose her divine judgment upon them—

Someone suddenly stepped forward.

It was Forbes.

His figure—though wounded and drained—moved with purpose.

His battered sword rested lightly in his grip, its edge dulled from relentless combat.

Behind him, Morris' anxious voice rang out.

"Forbes—! Don't be reckless! We need to retreat!"

But—

Forbes ignored him.

He simply kept walking forward.

Then—

He closed his eyes.

And the moment he did—

The entire coliseum shifted.

The roaring mana—

The deafening cries—

The very battlefield itself—

Everything fell into absolute silence.

A chilling, unprecedented stillness settled upon the coliseum.

One of King Alexandria's eyebrows suddenly rosed due to how instant the atmosphere suddenly shifted again.

Castenada currently has a relieved look on his face when he witnessed it since he knew what will happen after.

Even Kent's mocking smirk froze.

As for Kaelen and Kelvin, they felt something primal stir within their chests.

And in the midst of the silence—

Forbes' calm voice whispered into the void.

"Mana Domain—Silent Requiem."

And at that moment—

Everything changed.

As soon as Forbes' Mana Domain—Silent Requiem unfolded—

The world lost its sound.

Sylphie's Heaven's Judgment—her divine bows, her thousands of radiant arrows—

All of it shattered.

The celestial constructs behind her dissolved into scattered motes of golden light.

Her bow, once an instrument of divine retribution—vanished from her grasp.

"H....How?"

Sylphie staggered backward, her golden eyes wide in disbelief.

She tried to summon mana.

Tried to resist.

But in Forbes' domain—mana did not exist.

The only thing left was his sword.

And then—

He moved.

Faster than the eye could follow.

One moment, he was standing still.

The next—

A silver flash cut through the silent battlefield.

A single stroke—precise, absolute.

Sylphie didn't even see it.

She only felt—cold.

Then—

Her body split in two at the waist.

Her golden eyes dimmed, her lips parting as if to say something—

But in this silent requiem, no words would be heard.

And then—she was gone.

Her lifeless halves collapsed onto the ground, her once-proud form reduced to nothing.

The moment Sylphie fell—

Everyone who witnessed this were struck with disbelief. Even up in the VIP section, Kael Dragonyx, First Magi and even Lysander had a surprised looks on there faces.

Elena who was quietly observing this battle was incredibly intrigued by what Forbes just did. But Lockwood had a starkly different expression on his face.

"This is bad, really bad" he muttered as his face is currently extremely glum, but despite that, he decided on not doing anything rash as he remained on his place close to the barrier since he is reinforcing it.

Back in the arena, Kent's eyes narrowed when he witnessed this.

"You will pay for that dearly"

And in the next moment, his hand blurred forward, unleashing a monstrous wave of elemental energy meant to annihilate Forbes in an instant.

But—

Forbes turned.

And without even looking—

He swung his sword.

A crescent arc of silence expanded outward, neutralizing Kent's attack effortlessly.

For the first time, Kent's smirk faded.

He stepped forward, his scepter trembling as the very elements around him distorted—

And yet—

Forbes moved first.

One step.

One silent slash.

And—

Kent's body was flung backward across the coliseum, crashing through layers of reinforced barriers.

The crowd gasped.

Even Kaelen and Kelvin were stunned.

This was Kent.

The one dominating them moments ago.

And Forbes just sent him flying.

But—

Forbes did not continue.

Because the moment his attack landed—

His strength finally gave out.

His vision blurred.

His knees buckled.

And the last thing he saw before darkness claimed him—

Was Kaelen rushing toward him.

And in a flash, Kaelen caught Forbes before he hit the ground.

He could feel Forbes' mana fading rapidly.

Without hesitation, he carried him back toward Lila, Morris, Guinevere, and the others—who had already retreated to a safer distance.

Lila's eyes widened in shock as she saw Forbes' state.

Morris rushed forward, his voice shaking.

"Is he—?"

"He's alive," Kaelen muttered. "But just barely. But we have to do something about it if we don't want it to get worse."

"Too bad Sofia isn't–"

"Guinevere!" The moment Guinevere began speaking, Ethan suddenly cut her short with a serious look on his face. Although Ethan's response startled Guinevere for a moment, she suddenly understood why he did that as soon as he saw the state she saw Morris in.

"Am sorry"

When Kaelen saw this, he quickly looked at Lila to confirm something. And when he saw her nod at him, he quickly became completely silent.

With that, he set Forbes down gently.

Then, without looking back—

He turned away.

And walked back toward Kent.

At this moment though, Kent had already recovered, hovering above the coliseum like an untouchable deity.

His face was expressionless.

But his aura—

Was darker than ever as he muttered in a chilly tone

"You guys have really done it this time"

Kaelen stopped beside Kelvin.

Both of them stood together, their weapons gripped tightly.

Kent's eyes flickered down at them.

His voice was cold, distant.

"You still think you can win?"

Kaelen's grip on the Blade of Eternity tightened.

Kelvin's pitch-black eyes gleamed with a newfound resolve.

And then—

Kaelen exhaled.

Cold.

Unwavering.

"Let's end this."

But Right before the next clash could ignite between Kaelen, Kelvin, and Kent, a commotion erupted near the coveted Battle Crown. Out of the corner of his eye, Kent caught a fleeting movement—a shadow darting towards the crown. With lightning-fast reflexes, he pinpointed the intruder: it was Alaric, a desperate soul trying to seize the prize unnoticed.

"You quite bold huh?"

In a heartbeat, Kent's expression twisted into something dark and remorseless. Before anyone could cry out, he snatched Alaric from the fray. With a single, brutal motion, he unleashed a torrent of mana that obliterated Alaric's form—leaving nothing but a brief, echoing silence in his wake.

"That should be your reward for your boldness" Kent then muttered as a dark glint suddenly appeared on his face.

The crowd gasped as the display of raw power washed over the arena, but even more startling was the change that came over Kent immediately afterward.

Where moments ago he had seemed composed in his arrogance, now a sinister, almost sadistic gleam crept into his eyes. His aura, already formidable, darkened further, pulsing with a cruel energy that spoke of a hunger for pain and domination.

Kaelen's grip on the Blade of Eternity tightened as he exchanged a tense glance with Kelvin. They both sensed it: the battle had just taken a turn toward the grotesque.

"That… was not enough," Kent murmured in a voice that dripped with malevolence, his tone low and chilling.

For a long, excruciating moment, the three warriors stood poised for the next move. The air itself felt heavy with impending doom.

Kent slowly began to descend into sadism for the second time in this brutal convention—a transformation marked by the twisting of his features into an expression of dark pleasure as he recalled past transgressions and sought to exert his will through pain.

Kaelen's eyes narrowed, his muscles coiled in anticipation.

Kelvin's gaze hardened, every sense alert to the threat that Kent now posed.

"If you want to play games, then let's see who survives," Kaelen growled, his voice resonating with both determination and a hint of sorrow at what they might be forced to do.

The tension in the arena was palpable—each breath, each heartbeat echoing the inevitability of the clash to come.

As the officials watched with bated breath, the stage was set. The remnants of the last encounter, the echo of Alaric's disappearance, and the looming presence of a now sadistic Kent filled the battlefield with an ominous energy.

And then, as if on cue, the three combatants surged forward.

Kaelen and Kelvin moved in synchronized fury, their weapons raised in a combined assault aimed directly at Kent's now twisted, cruel form.

The battle resumed with a violent roar—

blows exchanged at speeds that blurred the lines between reality and fury.

Mana collided with mana.

Steel met sorcery.

All the while, the shadow of that fateful moment—Alaric's obliteration and Kent's subsequent descent—hung heavy over the combat, reminding everyone that in this final stage, no mercy would be granted, and only the ruthless would survive.