Chapter 38: The Night End's In Blood

Some time had passed since the last duel, and the Doom Master's patience was slowly reaching its limit when Hanz finally arrived.

"My Lord!" Hanz bowed as he entered the Doom Master's chamber. "All the preparations are complete. We are ready to begin the semi-finals."

The Doom Master tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne. "Very well." With a strike of his trident, he vanished, teleporting to the arena.

The coliseum stood beneath a full moon, its pale light casting an eerie glow over the battlefield. The spectators roared with anticipation, eager for the semi-finals to commence.

As always, Hanz stepped forward. "Welcome, dear spectators!" The crowd erupted into applause.

"Yes! Finally! It's been too long! We are about to witness the semi-finals!"

Hanz raised a hand, silencing the cheers. "Save your energy for the battle ahead!" After a brief pause, he continued, "Now, without further delay, let me introduce our first semi-finalists! The Ghost, Xylais Siens, and his partner, The Cyborg-Orc, Manu!"

The crowd roared once more as the first team appeared in the arena.

"And their opponents! The Golem, Lambda, and The Orc, Faded Vision!"

With a flash, the opposing team materialized. Hanz gestured toward the moonlit sky. "To ensure fairness and allow every combatant to use their full power, the full moon will remain in the sky for the next ten minutes!"

The coliseum burst into mixed reactions.

"That's unfair!"

"Where's the balance in that?!"

"Good decision!"

Xylais smirked, stepping forward. "Hah! You need buffs just to fight me? Pathetic."

Faded Vision shoved him in the chest. "Oh yeah? Then this 'weakling' is gonna wipe the floor with you."

Hanz raised his arm. "Let the duel begin!"

Flames erupted around the coliseum as the battle commenced, accompanied by the deafening cheers of the crowd.

Lambda attacked first, firing a laser from his fingertips.

Manu countered instantly, manipulating water to refract the beam skyward. "Hey! That's pretty rude!" he taunted before retaliating with a barrage of water spears.

Faded wasted no time. He grabbed Lambda and hurled a bamboo spear at Manu, piercing his shoulder. Machine oil spilled onto the arena floor.

"Useless." Xylais scoffed at Manu. "Give me your war flail. It's wasted in your hands."

Without hesitation, Manu tossed it to him. "Fine. Do what you want."

Xylais vanished in an instant.

"Where did he—" Lambda barely had time to react before Faded raised his hand and concentrated moonlight into a powerful beam.

Xylais narrowly evaded the blast, but it grazed his shoulder. He chuckled. "Not bad. But that won't be enough to stop me." His eyes glowed ominously.

Suddenly, Faded and Lambda found themselves standing in an endless field. Shadows surrounded them—dozens, no, hundreds of Xylais copies, all sneering.

"This is the end for you," Xylais' voice echoed from all directions. "Not even the moon's power will save you."

The army of Xylais illusions attacked at once.

But Faded slammed his fist into the ground, releasing a pulse of moon energy. The earth trembled, the impact shattering Xylais' balance. His illusions collapsed.

"Got you!" Faded lunged forward, landing a devastating blow to Xylais' stomach. The Ghost coughed up blood as he staggered backward.

At the same time, Lambda clashed with Manu. Manu, already injured, could barely fight back. Lambda seized the opportunity, striking with a powerful swing and beheading him with ease. Oil splattered across the ground as Manu's body collapsed.

With his partner gone, Xylais found himself cornered. Faded pressed the attack, delivering relentless punches.

"What happened to all that confidence?!" Faded shouted, driving Xylais against the wall. His fist crashed through the stone, sending debris flying.

Xylais barely managed to dodge, but before he could counter, Lambda appeared behind him, machete raised.

Lambda swung.

CLANG!

His weapon shattered against Xylais' war flail.

Xylais wasted no time. With a swift, brutal strike, he crushed Lambda's head, the stone fragments scattering across the arena.

He turned to Faded, the last opponent standing. "Here's your partner's orb." He crushed it in his hand. "Now, it's just us. And the night won't last much longer."

Faded clenched his fists. "That's still enough time for me!"

With a mighty roar, Faded rushed Xylais and delivered an earth-shattering uppercut, launching him into the air. The crowd gasped.

Xylais crashed back down, skidding across the ground. He groaned, shaking his head.

Faded didn't give him a chance to recover. He dashed forward, ready to end it.

But Xylais smirked.

Faded's punch landed—on empty air.

"An illusion—?!"

Xylais reappeared behind him. A moment later, the war flail smashed into Faded's spine.

Faded stumbled forward, coughing blood. But he refused to fall. He turned, swung wildly.

Xylais sidestepped, grabbed Faded's arm—

And tore it off.

Faded howled in agony, blood spraying from the ragged stump.

Just then—

Hanz's voice echoed across the arena.

"The night has ended."

Faded's eyes widened in horror. "No… no, no, NOOOO!!!"

The moonlight that once empowered him vanished in an instant. His muscles withered, his strength drained. His once-mighty form shrank, becoming frail and powerless.

Xylais grinned. "Perfect timing."

With ruthless precision, he grabbed Faded's remaining arm and ripped it free.

Faded collapsed, gasping, unable to fight back. Xylais placed his foot on Faded's thigh.

CRACK.

The bone shattered as Xylais twisted, tearing the leg free from its socket. Blood and muscle strands stretched before snapping apart.

Another yank—his last leg came off.

Faded's torso lay twitching in the sand, nothing but a limbless, bleeding mess.

Xylais crouched beside him. "Still breathing? Tough bastard." He grabbed Faded's jaw, fingers sinking into his skin. "Let's fix that."

With a sickening crunch, he twisted Faded's head clean off.

The coliseum fell silent for a moment—then erupted into chaos.

Xylais held up the severed head, blood dripping onto his chest. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed it into the crowd.

"Souvenir," he said with a smirk.

The spectators screamed in excitement.

Hanz raised his hand to calm them. "Once again, Xylais stuns us with a spectacular victory! And now, he moves on to the finals!"

With a snap of his fingers, Manu's body reassembled, reviving him.

"You useless bastard!" The crowd jeered at Manu. "Do something next time!"

Hanz snapped his fingers again, teleporting the winners away.

The Doom Master leaned forward, his voice filled with irritation. "Hanz. Start the next match. Now."

"Yes, my lord," Hanz replied, his voice trembling.