The third round of the Legacy Clash came to a swift yet thrilling conclusion, with Devon Ashbourne emerging as the clear victor.
After that, the audience received a thirty-minute break after the announcement before the following match started.
The people rushed out of the arena to move around while getting more drinks and food before returning to their seats, where people continued discussing Devon's victory and Darius's loss.
.....
The thirty-minute mark passed, and by the time the break ended the arena was once again alive with excitement and voices.
Then, the massive holographic display above the arena suddenly flickered again, displaying the upcoming match for all spectators in the stands.
[ Round 4 ]——[ Legacy Clash ]
[ Cindy Ashbourne: SS-Rank "Render Twilight" ]
VS
[ Leonidas Vermillion: SS-Rank "Ancient Legion" ]
Moments after the match was displayed, the Arena Announcer's powerful voice surprised the arena.
[ Arena Announcer ]: "ALL RIGHT! AFTER THE INTENSE QUICK BATTLE OF THE THIRD ROUND OF THE LEGACY CLASH, WE ARE NOW AGAIN BLESSED WITH ANOTHER FIGHT!!!"
[ Arena Announcer ]: "LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR THE NEXT CONTESTANTS!! CINDY ASHBOURNE VS LEONIDAS VERMILLION!!!"
The crowd roared back to full strength, their voices full of anticipation for the fourth round of the legacy clash.
Two figures stepped into the arena from opposing gates...
From the eastern side came Cindy Ashbourne, her presence unshaken despite the roars of the crowd.
Cindy Ashbourne emerged from the eastern side with an unyielding composure while the audience roared in the background.
She moved with natural elegance through each step while her short blue hair danced with the movement of her walking pace.
Standing at a petite 5'1 height, with blue eyes and a curvy body shape, displayed a composed demeanor that seemed to contradict the approaching chaos.
She wore an office-style Ashbourne outfit that created whispers among the crowd because it seemed she had stepped out of a corporate boardroom instead of entering a combat zone.
She wore no armor and no weapon but her peaceful expression and her commanding presence.
People who knew her name understood that her bold display of her name signified strength instead of vulnerability.
Leonidas Vermillion entered the arena from the opposite side while keeping his body relaxed and his hands tucked into his pockets as if he had entered by accident.
The crowd's surprise stemmed from his uninterested walk, but his unusual clothing choice brought even greater astonishment.
He entered the battle without armor just like Cindy did, treating this fight as if it were nothing special.
Standing at 5'8 ft tall, he had a black unruly hair that surrounded his exhausted-looking face.
His half-closed golden eyes moved listlessly through the arena while showing no combatant passion.
[ Leonidas Vermillion ]: "Ehhhhh... What a hassle..."
Leonidas spoke lazily, his tone filled with tiredness and boredom.
As Leonidas walked, his steps dragging with the weight of disinterest, the air around him shimmered like a mirage.
[ Ancient Legion Spawn ][1]
From that golden distortion appeared in the floor, dozens of knights began to manifest—figures clad in worn, battle-scarred armor that bore the style of countless forgotten eras.
The knights towered above human height while their helmets lacked faces and their visors displayed runes which glowed with the remaining light of past conflicts.
The legion spawns carried different weapons, including longswords and halberds, tower shields, and bows that emitted dim spectral glows which seemed to carry the distant sounds of battles from the past.
The knights moved with perfect coordination as if they operated under a single command, which Leonidas gave with complete nonchalance.
Their presence alone filled the arena with the oppressive weight of history, as if centuries of conquest and slaughter now stood resurrected at the call of one lazy Vermillion.
[ Leonidas Vermillion ]: "Let's get started, shall we..."
He muttered lazily, as the Ancient Legions or army—a dozen spectral knights thundered across, their synchronized march shaking the very foundations of the arena.
Their weapons raised and shields locked, as they advanced.
From the opposite side, Cindy Ashbourne's eyes widened, her lips parting slightly in awe. Even she, bearer of an SS-Rank Sigil herself, could feel the oppressive weight of Leonidas' power pressing against her chest.
For a brief moment, she was silent, studying the endless tide of warriors that had come forth from one man's casual whim.
[ Cindy Ashbourne ]: "Hmmm~ An army summoning? Interesting~"
Her awe slowly sharpened into focus, the twilight aura around her body beginning to shimmer in response.
Cindy raised a hand...
Suddenly...
[ Twilight Oppression ][2]
The approaching army started to crumble, all cracking before withering very slowly.
Suddenly, a suffocating aura rolled across the arena like a tide, seeping into every crevice.
The charging Ancient Legion faltered mid-stride as metal clanged, their spectral armor cracked, and one by one the knights began to crumble.
The unstoppable advance of the knights turned into a slow motion as their bodies started to break apart while Cindy's power crushed them.
The audience watched in shock as the undefeatable army turned into disappearing shadows, which vanished like windblown dust.
[ Cindy Ashbourne ]: "Is that all of it?"
Cindy spoke her voice in a calm tone.
From across the arena, Leonidas yawned, scratching the back of his head.
[ Leonidas Vermillion ]: "Haaa… troublesome... Guess I can't nap through this one after all."
And with a snap of his fingers, cracks of golden light began forming across the ground, more armored silhouettes materialized into existence.
However, after newly being materialized, they soon cracked, crumbled, and withered...
The audience watched in stunned silence as the entire legion vanished instantly through a process that was neither fire nor steel but the gradual, inevitable decline.
Cindy's blue eyes sparkled while she kept her hand elevated as twilight energy continued to flow from her body.
[ Cindy Ashbourne ]: "Summon as many as you want… They'll all share the same fate!"
Across from her, Leonidas rubbed his neck, unimpressed, his lazy eyes scanning the battlefield as if this outcome hardly surprised him.
[ Leonidas Vermillion ]: "Man… What a pain. Guess I'll have to try just a little harder."
Leonidas exhaled sharply, his usual lethargy giving way to a faint trace of annoyance.
This time, the golden cracks on the arena floor widened by a little, surging with radiance.
From the fissures emerged a single towering figure — a knight clad in ancient, jagged plate armor, its frame easily twice the height of a man.
[ Elite Ancient Legion Spawn ][3]
Unlike the brittle legion before it, this one radiated an oppressive presence, its aura almost tangible.
The armor displayed etched runes that extended across its surface, and its helmet contained a thin, burning golden light that served as its eyes.
Its greatsword in its hand displayed ancient sigils which produced weak pulses of light whenever it moved.
The elite knight launched itself into motion with a deafening earthquake that allowed its massive body to move at unnatural velocities.
Stone floors shattered beneath its boots as the knight advanced forward with each step while powerful shockwaves spread from its massive body.
The oppressive aura that destroyed numerous weaker soldiers earlier remained on its armor.
Yet the knight continued its advance without hesitation as if its willpower had become part of its metal body.
The elite knight lunged its greatsword as it sliced through the air with a deafening sound, as its golden aura illuminated the blade.
The sheer momentum of its charge made the audience gasp.
This was no shambling summon like the legion before. This was a weapon of war, a single strike carrying the weight of an army.
[ Cindy Ashbourne ]: "Hmmm~"
Cindy hummed with amused interest, her tone light and almost playful.
At her side, a single orb of twilight condensed into existence, glowing faintly like a miniature sun slipping beneath the horizon.
[ Twilight Orb ][4]
With a flicker, the orb shot forward, streaking across the battlefield and striking the charging knight mid-dash.
The instant it touched the armored summon, its massive frame ruptured violently—golden cracks splitting across its side before erupting in a blast of shimmering twilight.
The towering knight staggered, its momentum shattered, before its form crumbled into fragments of broken light and dust that scattered across the arena floor.
——[ 1:32 PM ]—[ Sigil Battle Arena ]—[ Individual Waiting Chambers ]
Thaddeus sat slouched in the cold metal chair of his waiting room, the soft hum of the television filling the silence.
His eyes were fixed on the screen, unblinking, as Cindy Ashbourne and Leonidas Vermillion clashed with powers that seemed almost godlike.
Twilight orbs are rupturing armored legion knights into dust.
Each exchange shook the arena, every blow radiating with a force that dwarfed anything he could even imagine himself performing.
His jaw tightened...
Cindy displayed her oppressive abilities to conquer Leonidas's forces, yet he responded with an even stronger display of power, which summoned more ancient legions.
The crowd burst into loud cheers, which managed to reach his room through the walls, and they created a distant sound that made him feel his low position in society.
Thaddeus's hands trembled slightly before he clenched them into fists. His nails dug into his palms as a cold knot twisted in his stomach.
The thought of it stung like a needle in his heart...
Compared to them, his strength was nothing but barely a candle trying to stand against a storm.
Thaddeus turned around and looked at the mirror...
His reflection only deepened the bitterness; the face staring back at him looked weak, small, unworthy.
Thaddeus lowered his gaze, his fists still trembling.
[ Thaddeus Ashbourne]: "I need to be stronger..."
He muttered under his breath, almost a plea to himself.
"This power... It's terrifying... an SS-Ranks Power..."
[1] Leonidas tears open a rift in time, summoning a legion of spectral knights clad in battle-scarred armor from forgotten eras. Their faceless helms glow faintly with golden runes, their diverse weapons—swords, halberds, shields, bows, and more that are shrouded in spectral haze. The legion moves as one, their strikes carrying the weight of iron and memory, forming both shield and spear at Leonidas’ command.
[2] By invoking the essence of encroaching twilight, the user summons a suffocating aura that steadily wears down their opponent. Within its reach, enemies experience a gradual decline of strength, speed, and clarity, as if their very vitality is being pulled into the coming dusk. Muscles grow heavier, reflexes dull, and concentration wavers, while the sensation of unseen chains coils tighter with every passing moment.
[3] Leonidas tears wider rifts into the battlefield, summoning forth the Elite Legion—ancient champions who once stood above the common phalanx. Unlike the legion soldiers of his standard summon, these figures are towering and strong, their armor etched with gilded runes that blaze like molten fire. Their presence distorts the very air, and when they march, the ground trembles under the weight of their eternal discipline.
[4] A concentrated sphere of twilight energy that detonates upon impact, rupturing targets, exploding in a blast of shimmering dusk, reducing even mighty constructs to fragments of fading light and dust.