[The Void Arena — 1 Minute Remaining]
Saina's body blurred, her feet barely touching the obsidian floor as the massive greatsword whistled past her ear, missing her by millimeters.
"Too slow!" she panted, her Dominator Sunglasses glowing a frantic, overheated red.
But Bahamu didn't miss a beat. He followed the momentum of his throw, vanishing into the shadows and reappearing behind her. He caught the hilt of his weapon mid-air and swung downward in a single, fluid motion. Saina twisted her body, sliding across the stone.
"You're fast," Saina shouted, trying to mask the tremor in her voice. "But moving with that heavy slab of metal is a death sentence for you! I can see your weight, and I can see your lag!"
He can never catch me, she thought, her internal mana-sensors analyzing his movements. That sword is too rigid for these speeds.
Bahamu let out a hollow, metallic growl. "Is that what you believe?"
With a sickening clack-clack-clack sound, the segments of the greatsword suddenly detached, held together by a glowing red mana-chain. The "slab of metal" transformed instantly into a Giant Bladed Whip. Bahamu swung his arm, and the segmented blade lashed out, snaking through the air with the speed of a strike-viper.
"What?!" Siyo and Kokoi screamed from the stands.
The whip-sword carved a deep trench into the obsidian floor, nearly catching Saina's leg as she leaped backward. The range and unpredictable angle of the weapon changed everything.
"I... I can't always dodge this," Saina whispered, her sunglasses sparking. "If I don't end this now, I'm dead."
She landed, her knees buckling as her mana-bar hit the 5% mark. "This is it! MAXIMUM OUTPUT: FULL VIRTUAL ENERGY BLAST!"
The millions of mana-drones hovering in the air let out a synchronized shriek. They rushed toward her right arm, melding together in a flurry of mechanical light. In seconds, her arm was encased in a Large Mana-Machine Gun—a massive, multi-barreled cannon of pure Dominator technology.
Up in the stands, Lapis recognized the catastrophic energy buildup. He stepped forward, his Honoured Eyes glowing. "[SPACE WARPING: DIMENSIONAL AEGIS]!"
A shimmering purple barrier wrapped around the entire spectator area. "Everyone, stay behind me!" Lapis commanded. "This isn't an attack anymore—it's a localized collapse of mana! Be ready!"
Saina's cannon roared. A continuous stream of high-density photon bullets began to shred the arena, moving so fast they looked like a solid beam of white light.
Bahamu didn't retreat. He yanked the chain of his sword back, the segments snapping together with a thunderous thoom. As the first photon bullets hit him, the greatsword expanded, its edges folding outward to transform into a Giant Obsidian Shield etched with red-flame runes.
The light and the shield collided, and the entire dungeon began to groan under the pressure.
[The Void Arena — 0 Minutes Remaining]
The blinding white light of Saina's final blast faded, leaving behind a thick, acrid smoke that smelled of ozone and burnt obsidian. The silence that followed was terrifying.
"Did she do it?" Kokoi whispered, her hands gripping the railing. "Is he gone?"
"She must have," Siyo added, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Nothing could survive a point-blank blast like that."
But Cynthia's expression remained like stone. Her gaze wasn't on the crater in the center of the arena—it was scanning the shadows. "No," she breathed. "Saina, get out of there!"
Down in the arena, the glow of the Dominator Sunglasses flickered one last time and died. Saina's legs finally gave out. She fell to her knees, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her mana core completely empty. She couldn't even lift her head.
The smoke parted. Bahamu hadn't been destroyed; he had used the flash of the explosion to step into the void once more. He materialized directly behind the defenseless girl, his giant greatsword raised high. The red flames on his armor were dim, but the killing intent was sharper than ever.
The sword began its descent. It was a millisecond from ending Saina's life.
CLANG!
The sound of metal meeting metal echoed like a thunderclap.
Saina opened her eyes to see a massive, armored hand gripping the sharp edge of Bahamu's blade. Captain Carod stood there, his mechanical joints hissing and his boots buried deep in the obsidian floor from the force of the impact.
"Enough," Carod rumbled, his voice a low, mechanical growl. He didn't even flinch as the dark flames licked his gauntlet. "The girl has done her part. I am the next Challenger."
With a powerful shove, Carod pushed the giant sword back, forcing Bahamu to take a step. Before the Gladiator could retaliate, a green blur swept through the arena. Fraxy appeared beside Saina, gently lifting her and vanishing back to the spectator stands in a heartbeat.
As Fraxy began to chant a high-level Restoration Hymn, Saina's pale face began to regain some color. At that same moment, a low groan came from the back of the stands.
Goto sat up, rubbing his head and squinting at the neon-charred arena. "What... what happened?" he muttered, his voice dazed. "Why is the sky glowing? And why is Carod standing in the ring?"
Yoru didn't even look back at him. Her eyes were fixed on Carod. "You missed a lot, Goto. Saina just showed us what a 'Lesser Path' warrior can really do. Now, the Captain is going to finish it."
[The VIP Seats — Healing Ward]
As the green light of Fraxy's healing magic stabilized Saina's breathing, Gaia stepped closer, her golden eyes shimmering with a mix of awe and recognition.
"The way you manipulated those photons... it wasn't just training," Gaia said softly. "Saina, you are the daughter of the Arcon of Energy, aren't you?"
Saina, still pale and trembling, shook her head weakly. "No... I'm just a fan of the Elites. I'm just a Z-ranker."
Gaia didn't back down. "Tell me then. What was your mother's name?"
Saina hesitated, her gaze dropping to her lap. "...Han."
The air in the stands seemed to freeze. Gaia's breath hitched, and without a word, she reached forward and pulled Saina into a tight, maternal hug. "We know it now," Gaia whispered into her hair. "Han Reidan. The Radiant Valkyrie. You are the daughter of the Arcon of Energy."
Ruta let out a low, booming whistle of disbelief. "Wait... it means you didn't tell us your real name when we signed those autographs. What is it? What is your full name?"
The girl took a shaky breath and straightened her back, her pride finally overcoming her exhaustion. "My name is Saina Reidan."
Cynthia, who had been watching the arena with her usual cold detachment, suddenly whipped around. Her eyes widened, her white flames flickering in a moment of genuine shock. "What? That means... we're weird cousins?"
Saina blinked, looking confused. "How?"
Neweland stepped forward, his deep voice sounding like a historical record. "Saina, what is your father's name?"
"Sohan Reidan," she replied.
Neweland nodded slowly, a small smile appearing on his weathered face. "The family tree is complex, but the math is clear. Your father, Sohan, is Cynthia's mother's uncle's sister's younger cousin brother's son. The connection is distant by years, but the bloodline is identical."
Cynthia stood frozen for a moment, her gaze moving from the cratered arena back to the exhausted girl. "He's right," Cynthia said, her voice softer than anyone had ever heard it. "My mother was also from the Reidan Clan. The 'White Flame' and the 'Visual Energy'... they come from the same ancient root."
Techyon watched the exchange, his mind reeling. The girl he thought was just a loud-mouthed fan-girl was actually a princess of one of the most powerful bloodlines in history.
But the moment of family bonding was cut short by a massive explosion of kinetic energy from the arena below. Captain Carod had just engaged Gladiator Bahamu, and the impact of their blades sent a shockwave that rattled the very seats they sat on.