The massive tower shield was still vibrating where it had embedded itself in the arena wall.
Ezekiel stared at his empty left arm, his brain struggling to process the impossible. A Rank D+ Holy Barrier, blessed by the Bishop himself, shattered by a rusted sword?
"Witchcraft," Ezekiel spat, his voice trembling with righteous fury. "You used a hex!"
"Physics," Kaelen corrected again, circling the giant knight. "You confuse miracles with mechanics. That's why you'll lose."
In the stands, the booing had died down. Thirty thousand people were leaning forward. They expected a massacre; instead, they were watching a dissection. In the VIP box, Inquisitor Silas stood up, his blind face turning sharply toward the arena floor, listening to the hum of the air.
'He's listening for the Abyss,' Kaelen noted, his [PER] stat analyzing the Inquisitor's posture. 'If I use one drop of dark mana, he jumps the rail.'
"Die, Heretic!"
Ezekiel abandoned defense. He gripped his glowing mace with two hands. The silver plate armor he wore began to hum with white light.
[Enemy Skill: Holy Fervor.]
[Effect: STR +10, Pain Suppression: 100%.]
He charged. It wasn't a tactical advance; it was a stampede. The mace came down in a flurry of swings, each one cracking the stone floor and sending shockwaves of light across the arena.
Kaelen didn't block. He couldn't. His [STR] was 22. Ezekiel's, buffed by the System and Faith, was pushing 45. One hit would turn Kaelen into paste.
So Kaelen danced.
He utilized the [Null-Breaker] footwork. It wasn't graceful like an elf; it was jagged. Staccato. He moved in the half-beats between Ezekiel's swings.
Whoosh. Crash. Whoosh.
The mace missed Kaelen's head by inches. The wind of the swing ruffled his hair.
"Stand still!" Ezekiel roared, swinging horizontally.
Kaelen ducked under the blow and stepped inside the Paladin's guard.
He placed the tip of his sword against the elbow joint of Ezekiel's armor.
'Frequency matching. Iron vibrates at 300 Hz. The enchantment binds it at 450.'
Kaelen flicked his wrist.
[Mana Sever]
PING.
The vibration shot through the armor. The magical rivets holding the elbow cop together snapped. The metal plate fell off, clattering to the floor.
Ezekiel faltered, his arm exposed.
"You rely on the armor," Kaelen whispered, spinning behind him.
He struck the back of the knee.
PING.
The greave snapped loose. Ezekiel's leg buckled.
"You rely on the System."
Kaelen struck the shoulder pauldron.
PING.
The massive shoulder piece detached, sliding off Ezekiel's body like shed skin.
The crowd gasped. Kaelen wasn't just beating him; he was stripping him. With every strike, another piece of the invincible silver knight fell away, revealing the sweaty, terrified man underneath.
"Stop it!" Ezekiel screamed, swinging wildly. "I am chosen! I am the Hammer of Dawn!"
"You're a turtle," Kaelen said, kicking the fallen breastplate across the sand. "And I just cracked your shell."
Ezekiel stood panting in his chainmail underlayer. He was humiliated. The crowd wasn't cheering for the Church anymore. They were whispering.
"Is the Paladin losing?" "That boy... he hasn't used a single spell."
The doubt in the air was palpable. Faith required absolute conviction. Kaelen was introducing the poison of uncertainty.
Ezekiel felt it too. The mana in his veins flickered.
"No," Ezekiel muttered, his eyes wide and manic. "I will not fail the Church. I will not fail Silas."
He dropped his mace. He reached into his tunic and pulled out a small crystal vial filled with a golden liquid.
[System Warning.]
[Item Detected: Tears of the Seraph.]
[Effect: Consumes User's Life Force to trigger a Rank B Spell.]
"Martyrdom," Kaelen recognized it instantly. "He's going to nuke the arena."
"If I cannot purge you," Ezekiel wept, crushing the vial in his hand, "then I will burn us both for the glory of the Light!"
Golden fire erupted from Ezekiel's body. It wasn't the controlled light of a spell; it was a wildfire. It swirled around him, melting the sand into glass. The temperature spiked.
[Warning: High-Energy Reaction Detected.]
[Estimated Impact: 5 Seconds.]
The crowd screamed and scrambled back.
In the VIP box, Rian smiled. 'Do it, you fool. Kill him.'
Kaelen stood his ground. The heat singed his eyebrows. He couldn't tank this. He couldn't use [Abyssal Sun] to eat it.
He had to turn it off.
'The Null-Breaker style works on constructs. Can it work on a living bomb?'
Kaelen took a deep breath. He sheathed his sword.
He didn't need the blade. He needed contact.
He sprinted into the fire.
"Die!" Ezekiel screamed, his skin blistering as the holy fire consumed him. He raised his hands to detonate.
Kaelen slid on the glass floor, ignoring the burns on his arms. He launched himself upward, tackling Ezekiel.
He didn't strike the body. He grabbed Ezekiel's wrists—the focal point of the spell.
"Your god isn't answering," Kaelen roared over the roar of the flames.
He channeled every ounce of his Stamina into his hands. He didn't use mana. He used pure, kinetic vibration.
[Technique: Grand Severance.]
He shook Ezekiel's mana circuits. He vibrated the very flow of magic in the Paladin's veins, creating a dissonant frequency that clashed with the Tears of the Seraph.
It was the magical equivalent of screeching feedback into a microphone.
SCREEEEEEECH.
The golden fire shuddered. It turned erratic, flashing white, then grey, then... nothing.
The spell collapsed.
The energy didn't explode outward. It dissipated, fizzling out like a wet firework.
Ezekiel stood there, his hands held by Kaelen, looking at the empty air where his glorious death should have been.
"My light..." Ezekiel whispered, his voice broken. "Where is my light?"
"It went out," Kaelen said coldly.
He headbutted Ezekiel.
CRACK.
The Paladin's nose shattered. Ezekiel collapsed to his knees, his eyes vacant. He wasn't unconscious. He was catatonic. His worldview had been dismantled. He had sacrificed his life, and nothing happened.
Kaelen stood over him. He was burned, bleeding, and exhausted. But he was the only one standing.
[Ding!]
[Quest Complete: The Saint and the Sinner.]
[Objective Met: Defeated Brother Ezekiel without Dark Magic.]
[Reward: 5,000 XP. Reputation (Church): Caution.]
[Bonus Reward: Inquisitor Silas is confused.]
The arena was dead silent. Even the announcer forgot to speak.
Kaelen turned slowly. He didn't look at the crowd. He didn't look at Rian.
He looked directly at the Church section. He locked eyes with the blind Inquisitor Silas.
Kaelen raised his hand—his left hand, the [Sin Eater] hand.
He pointed a finger at Silas.
Then, he pointed at the ground. You're next.
It was a declaration of war so blatant that half the nobles gasped.
"Winner..." the announcer finally choked out. "KAELEN VANCE!"
The crowd erupted. It wasn't the polite applause of the nobility. It was the roar of the mob. They loved a winner. They loved violence. And Kaelen had given them a show that defied the gods.
Kaelen walked away, leaving the broken Paladin kneeling in the sand.
As he entered the tunnel, away from the prying eyes, Kaelen leaned against the wall and vomited blood.
[System Alert.]
[Stamina Depleted.]
[Null-Breaker Recoil: Muscle micro-tears detected in both arms.]
"Messy," Kaelen wheezed, wiping his mouth.
Vex emerged from the shadows of the tunnel, handing him a potion.
"You crazy bastard," she grinned, her yellow eyes shining. "You actually cancelled a suicide bombing with a handshake. I might have to raise my rates."
"Did you get the bets?" Kaelen asked, drinking the potion.
"Oh yeah," Vex jingled a heavy sack of coins. "Odds were 10-to-1 against you. We just made 20,000 gold."
"Good," Kaelen pushed off the wall. "Reinvest it. Buy everything in the shop."
"Everything?"
"Everything," Kaelen's eyes were hard. "Because Rian isn't going to send a Paladin next time. He's going to send something worse."
He looked back at the bright light of the arena exit.
"He's going to enter the ring himself."