Breakthrough

Seraphina stood frozen, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Arthur… he can't be dead. That can't be true!"

Tenmei clenched her fists, voice trembling. "Then how do you explain the blood?!"

"No… Arthur!! Wake up!!" Seraphina screamed, her voice echoing through the silent arena.

As the dust and cold air began to settle, a figure slowly emerged. Arthur was on one knee, panting heavily. Blood trickled down his leg, and the audience gasped, then erupted in cheers.

Arthur gritted his teeth and slowly drew his blade from his own leg, wincing in pain.

Julius chuckled. "Well done, Arthur. You never fail to surprise me… Stabbing yourself in the leg to break free from your fear-induced paralysis? Clever. I had a feeling you might try something desperate like that." He folded his arms and tilted his head. "But I was prepared for it. Now, what's your next move?"

Eldric watched from the stands, both amazed and disturbed. Did he actually predict Arthur's survival too? That's not normal... It's like he has foresight... His eyes shifted to Arthur, who was glaring at Julius with intensity. This battle… It may be Arthur versus Kaelith on the surface, but in truth, it's Arthur versus Julius. And they both know it. We're just watching two masterminds clash in front of the crowd.

Arthur clenched his fist, his voice low but determined. "I'll break through every single one of your plans… one by one."

He raised his sword and pointed it at Kaelith. "Sorry for the wait."

Kaelith smirked. "Took you long enough."

Alaric leaned toward Aldric and smiled. "You've got one hell of a son."

Garrick nodded. "Who would've thought… Stabbing himself just to wake up. That takes guts."

Without wasting a second, Arthur dashed forward, Kaelith doing the same. Their blades clashed in a fierce flurry of strikes, each blow shaking the ground beneath them.

Arthur slashed upward, but Kaelith blocked with his hardened rock fist. Kaelith countered with a powerful downward strike, but Arthur grabbed Kaelith's arm and rolled around him.

"Ice Magic… Frost Touch!"

Kaelith froze instantly. Arthur backed away—but the moment didn't last. Kaelith shattered the ice, launching chunks of rock toward Arthur.

Arthur reacted fast. "Water Magic… Sea Cradle!"

A sphere of water enveloped him, shielding him. Kaelith grinned. "Not bad."

He raised his hand. "Sand Magic… Falling Sand!"

Arthur's eyes widened. "He can use sand magic too?!"

Balls of sand formed midair and rained down, sinking into the water shield. But the waterlogged sand just dropped harmlessly.

Julius smirked from the stands. "Arthur, I've already analyzed your magic. Sand may be weak to water, but that's why Kaelith uses Earth magic too. Sand is just support. He's got all your bases covered. So… what now?"

Arthur watched as the sand that had sunk into his water shield hardened, forming rocks beneath him. Kaelith stomped, activating them. They shot up toward Arthur.

Thinking quickly, Arthur dispelled the Sea Cradle and leapt into the air. But as he was about to land, the ground below turned to quicksand.

"Sand Magic… Quicksand!" Kaelith grinned. "Nowhere to run."

Arthur slammed his palm down. "Ice Slide!"

An icy slope formed beneath him, redirecting his fall and carrying him to safety. The slide vanished behind him.

Arthur caught his breath. This fight's going nowhere. If I want to win, I have to destroy his armor. But how? Ice doesn't work. Water doesn't work. And I'm running low on mana…

Kaelith interrupted his thoughts. "Standing still? That's a bad idea."

"Sand and Earth Magic… Falling Earth!"

Huge spheres of sand and stone formed in the sky and came crashing down. Arthur ran, slicing through debris—but Kaelith saw his chance and kicked Arthur hard in the gut, sending him flying.

Arthur coughed and staggered, barely dodging the next barrage.

I can't use Sea Cradle again—it'll trap me like before. Ice and water aren't enough… So what can I do?!

Then Hyorinmaru's voice echoed in his head.

"It doesn't matter. Just keep hitting the armor until it breaks."

That's not logical. I'm almost out of mana!

"If you had fire magic, that would help. The armor's tough… but it can't handle heat."

No time to complain now.

Kaelith launched more sand and rocks. Arthur deflected them mid-air, twisting his body to dodge the rest.

Suddenly, Kaelith paused.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. Is he out of mana?

He dashed forward. "Water Magic… Flowing Wheel!"

Water coiled around his blade like a ribbon as he charged.

But Kaelith grinned. "Got you."

Rocks and sand he had hidden earlier fell from above. The arena exploded in dust again.

"I set those up while you were thinking."

As the dust cleared, Arthur was kneeling. One hand had summoned a thick wall of ice above him, the other held his sword pressed to the ground. The ice cracked and fell. He coughed up blood.

"Arthur, are you okay?" Hyorinmaru asked.

Arthur scoffed. Do I look okay?

"All we need is heat to break his armor."

Yeah, but we don't have any.

Suddenly, Arthur's eyes widened.

Wait… I might have something. It's untested, but maybe…

"Go ahead."

Arthur dropped to the ground, placing his palm against the dirt.

"I need mana... but the well underneath is too deep. I'll use mana threading!"

Blue threads spread from his palm, glowing beneath the surface.

Kaelith noticed. "Whatever you're planning, it won't work!"

He launched more attacks. Arthur ran, still keeping his hand on the ground, dodging and absorbing mana at the same time.

"Just hold on a little longer," Hyorinmaru said. "Be defensive."

Arthur finally drew his hand back and blocked an incoming rock. He stood still, breathing deeply.

"Alright… concentrate. Raise the temperature of my water magic… slowly."

Steam hissed from his body, surprising the crowd.

Kaelith narrowed his eyes. "Is this another type of magic? Just how many does he have?"

He rushed at Arthur—but Arthur opened his eyes, steam trailing from his mouth.

"Water Magic… Steam Blade!"

A sharp wave of steam surged forward. Kaelith braced—then staggered as the force smashed into his armor, burning through it.

The crowd gasped.

Riven blinked. "That… was hot."

Felix grinned. "At this point, I'm not even surprised anymore."

Ronan nodded. "That's Arthur for you."

Garrick crossed his arms. "Steam magic… So he can even do that now?"

Alaric looked at Aldric and smiled. "He really is your son."

Eldric was stunned. "He actually broke through Kaelith's armor…"

He looked at Julius—who was still smiling.

"Why are you smiling? He just broke through."

Julius replied calmly, "You think I'd rely on Kaelith's armor for the entire match? That was just a test."

"A test?"

"Yes. I couldn't have Kaelith fight seriously against someone who couldn't even break his armor. Now that Arthur passed… Kaelith can go all out."

He signaled Kaelith, who nodded.

Kaelith's mana suddenly surged. Winds rippled violently, pushing Arthur back.

Arthur's eyes widened. "Where… is all this mana coming from? You're telling me he was holding back this much?"

Julius leaned forward, grinning. "I love that look on your face, Arthur. Yes… the real match begins now."