“Hey reader.”
For the first time in a while, Noctis’s voice directly addressed the void beyond the story itself while the gigantic arena of Aetherion Academy slowly reconstructed behind him.
“I hope everything’s going well in your universe.
Since losing my omnipotence, I can’t really observe your reality anymore, so I’ll just assume you’re still alive and mentally stable… or at least one of the two.”
A faint smirk crossed his face afterward while he casually rested his scythe over one shoulder.
“Anyway, I’m going to be honest with you.
I’m not narrating every single 1v1 fight.
Half of them were painfully boring.
One guy summoned chickens.
Another screamed for six minutes before getting one-shot.
So… let’s skip directly to the grand finale, shall we?”
The fourth wall quietly shattered.
Then the world returned to normal.
The atmosphere inside the arena had become completely unreal.
Tens of thousands of spectators filled the colossal stadium while magical screens floated high above the battlefield, all focused entirely on the three figures standing near the center arena.
Even the surviving candidates watched in complete silence now.
After witnessing the previous fights, everyone understood one thing clearly.
The final battle would be different.
Not simply stronger.
Different.
Dangerous.
At the central platform overlooking the arena, the director of Aetherion Academy slowly stepped forward before extending both hands toward the battlefield.
Enormous magical formations immediately erupted around the arena while dozens of additional barriers materialized layer after layer around the combat zone itself.
The crowd reacted instantly.
“That many barriers?!”
“What are they expecting?!”
Even several professors exchanged uneasy looks while the mana pressure surrounding the arena continued rising absurdly higher.
Then the sky itself distorted slightly as golden particles slowly descended through the stadium.
Aetherion raised one hand.
And reality stabilized.
Silence immediately fell across the arena afterward because everyone understood.
The God himself was reinforcing the battlefield.
Not for spectacle.
For survival.
One professor swallowed visibly beside the central platform.
“…What exactly did we admit this year?”
Meanwhile, inside the arena itself, the three S Ranks slowly approached one another.
No hostility.
No arrogance.
Only excitement.
Raizen Virel rested one glowing plasma blade against his shoulder casually while violet energy flowed across the weapon in unstable waves capable of melting the stone beneath his feet.
The blond noble’s expression carried a calm smile filled with anticipation rather than pride.
Across from him stood Magnus Solvar, the massive warrior resting his colossal solar hammer against one shoulder while crimson-gold heat radiated constantly around his body.
The air itself distorted from temperature alone while tiny fragments of melted stone floated around his boots.
Then there was Noctis.
Darkness flowed quietly around his scythe while abyssal shadows twisted unnaturally beneath his feet.
Compared to the violent presence of the two other S Ranks, his aura felt calmer.
Deeper.
Like staring into an endless abyss waiting patiently to consume everything.
Raizen smiled first.
“I’ve been waiting for this since the Battle Royale.”
Magnus laughed loudly afterward while gripping his hammer harder.
“HAHA!
Finally!
A real fight!”
Noctis slowly twirled his scythe once before answering calmly.
“Try not to disappoint me.”
That was enough.
The arena exploded into cheers.
Even the professors looked visibly excited now while countless magical recording artifacts activated across the stadium.
“This generation is absurd…”
“They’re only first years…”
“What exactly are we supposed to teach monsters like these?”
Near the spectator platforms, Kael leaned so far over the railing Lyra physically grabbed his jacket to stop him from falling.
“THIS IS GONNA BE INSANE.”
“You are way too excited.”
“Correct.”
Meanwhile, Faelyn’s expression remained focused while Varkas silently observed the three fighters below with narrowed eyes.
Unlike most spectators, they understood something important already.
It would be a catastrophe.
The professor responsible for officiating the fight slowly raised one trembling hand afterward.
Even his voice sounded nervous now.
“Final S Rank exhibition match… begin.”
Magnus attacked instantly.
The gigantic warrior slammed his solar hammer directly against the arena floor.
The world exploded.
A crimson-gold shockwave erupted across the battlefield while enormous waves of solar fire expanded outward like miniature suns detonating across the arena itself.
The reinforced ground shattered instantly beneath the impact while heat intense enough to vaporize stone flooded the battlefield in every direction.
Several spectators screamed despite the barriers.
Noctis vanished into darkness immediately while Raizen accelerated sideways through an explosion of violet plasma, both narrowly escaping the first attack a fraction of a second before the solar wave swallowed their previous positions entirely.
The arena shook violently.
And the fight had only just begun.
The explosion from Magnus Solvar’s opening attack had barely faded when Raizen Virel counterattacked instantly.
Violet plasma erupted around both of his swords while the blond noble accelerated across the battlefield at monstrous speed, leaving burning trails of ionized air behind him.
The arena itself screamed beneath the pressure of his movement as the plasma surrounding his blades reached temperatures absurd enough to melt the reinforced combat floor without direct contact.
Fast.
Far too fast for ordinary spectators to properly follow.
Even several professors lost track of him for brief moments.
Raizen appeared directly beside Magnus in less than a second, both plasma swords carving toward the giant warrior’s torso in a cross-shaped slash capable of cutting through steel like paper.
Magnus reacted immediately, raising his solar hammer just before impact.
The collision detonated like a miniature star.
Plasma and solar mana exploded outward violently while the shockwave alone shattered entire sections of the battlefield.
The arena barriers flickered for the first time under the pressure, causing several spectators to instinctively recoil backward despite the protection surrounding them.
And then darkness swallowed both fighters.
Noctis emerged from the shadows directly behind Raizen, his scythe already descending toward the plasma swordsman’s neck.
Raizen twisted instantly, one plasma blade intercepting the strike while the second lashed toward Noctis’s ribs in the same movement.
Smooth.
Precise.
Beautiful.
Noctis smiled for the first time since the battle began.
Interesting.
No.
Perfect.
Darkness erupted around him before a shadow clone materialized beside Raizen without warning, forcing the plasma user backward through a violent burst of violet energy.
The clone immediately attacked alongside Noctis in synchronized movements while abyssal slashes tore across the battlefield from multiple angles simultaneously.
The crowd exploded into chaos.
“There’s TWO of him?!”
“What kind of magic is that?!”
“That’s not normal shadow manipulation!”
Meanwhile, Magnus laughed loudly in the middle of the destruction while solar mana continued erupting from his body in violent waves.
“HAHAHAHA!
YES!
THIS IS WHAT I WANTED!”
The giant warrior slammed his hammer downward again.
The arena cracked apart instantly.
Massive eruptions of crimson-gold solar fire exploded upward from beneath the battlefield while molten stone flooded across the combat zone like volcanic waves.
The temperature inside the arena rose so quickly that even the reinforced magical barriers started glowing under the pressure.
Noctis and Raizen immediately separated to avoid the attack, both realizing the same thing simultaneously.
Magnus was too dangerous to ignore.
Raizen accelerated first.
Plasma exploded around his body while both swords extended into pure energy blades several meters long.
The blond noble crossed the battlefield in a flash of violet light before unleashing dozens of plasma slashes simultaneously toward Magnus from every direction.
At the same moment, Noctis attacked from above.
Darkness condensed around his scythe while abyssal energy flooded the weapon completely.
The shadows beneath Magnus’s feet suddenly erupted upward like living beasts, restricting the massive warrior’s movements for a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
Raizen’s plasma blades connected first.
The battlefield exploded again.
Dozens of molten scars carved themselves across Magnus’s solar armor while plasma detonations flooded the arena in violent bursts of purple-white light.
Noctis descended immediately afterward, his scythe crashing directly against the solar warrior’s shoulder with enough force to split the arena floor beneath them.
For the first time since the fight began…
Magnus got pushed backward.
The crowd lost its mind.
“They moved him!”
“Those monsters are insane!”
“How are first years doing this?!”
Even the professors looked increasingly disturbed now.
One of the barriers surrounding the battlefield suddenly cracked.
Then another.
The director’s expression immediately darkened while additional magical formations erupted around the arena to stabilize the combat zone.
Beside him, even Aetherion watched the battlefield more attentively now, golden particles slowly circulating around his body as reality itself struggled to endure the pressure generated by the three S Ranks. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Meanwhile, inside the arena, Magnus slowly raised his head again.
And smiled.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Excitement.
Real excitement.
Solar mana exploded outward from his body afterward with enough force to vaporize entire sections of the battlefield instantly.
The molten ground beneath his feet collapsed completely while a crimson-gold aura rose around him like the birth of a star itself.
Then Magnus gripped his hammer with both hands.
And the sky inside the arena started burning.
The entire arena trembled beneath the overwhelming pressure radiating from Magnus Solvar’s body.
Crimson-gold mana flooded the battlefield in violent waves while the sky above the combat zone slowly started changing color, as though an artificial sunset was being forced into existence through sheer magical power alone.
Even the spectators understood instinctively now that something catastrophic was about to happen.
The professors reacted immediately.
“More barriers!”
“Stabilize the eastern side!”
“The temperature is still rising!”
Massive magical formations erupted around the stadium while the director of Aetherion Academy reinforced the battlefield once more, additional layers of protection forming continuously around the combat zone.
And yet… it still wasn’t enough.
Several barriers continued cracking beneath the pressure leaking from Magnus’s mana alone.
Then Aetherion moved.
The God calmly raised one hand while golden light spread silently through the arena.
Reality itself stabilized afterward.
The fractured barriers instantly reconstructed while entirely new divine protections materialized around the battlefield, layered so densely that the arena now resembled a prison forged directly by the heavens themselves.
Noctis noticed it immediately.
Interesting.
No.
Terrifying.
Aetherion had reacted before Magnus even released the attack.
As if he had already seen the future.
Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield, Magnus laughed loudly while solar mana continued erupting around his gigantic frame.
“HAHAHAHA!
Tell me something, you two!”
Raizen narrowed his eyes while violet plasma flickered violently around his blades.
Nearby, Noctis’s shadows twisted more aggressively across the battlefield as Authority of Knowledge desperately attempted calculating the absurd mana density building around Magnus.
The result made no sense.
Magnus rested the colossal hammer against one shoulder while looking between both opponents with pure excitement burning inside his eyes.
“With our level… you guys think we can get our licenses during the first year or not?!”
Even in the middle of a battlefield collapsing beneath their power, Raizen laughed.
“Now that sounds interesting.”
Noctis slowly smiled while darkness spiraled around his scythe.
“I’d be disappointed if we couldn’t.”
Magnus grinned wider afterward.
“GOOD.”
Then his expression sharpened completely.
“Alright then… I’m throwing my signature attack.”
The atmosphere inside the arena instantly changed.
Several professors visibly paled.
Even the surviving candidates watching from the stands instinctively stepped backward beneath the pressure building inside the combat zone.
Magnus slowly raised his hammer toward the burning sky above them.
“Honestly, the only reason I can even use this safely…”
Crimson-gold mana exploded upward violently.
“…is because of these barriers.”
The arena started shaking uncontrollably.
Molten cracks spread across the battlefield while gravity itself felt heavier beneath the sheer density of mana condensing overhead.
Then the sky split apart.
A gigantic sphere of crimson solar fire slowly started forming high above the battlefield, growing larger and larger every second while overwhelming heat flooded the entire arena.
The thing no longer resembled magic.
It looked like an actual star being born.
“…otherwise,” Magnus continued while staring upward toward the expanding sun, “I’d probably swallow the entire planet.”
Silence.
Pure silence.
Even the crowd had stopped screaming.
Because instinctively…
Everyone understood he wasn’t joking.
The newborn sun continued expanding above the battlefield while the divine barriers surrounding the arena trembled violently beneath the pressure radiating from the spell alone.
Plasma crackled wildly around Raizen’s swords while even Noctis’s shadows recoiled instinctively from the overwhelming solar presence filling the sky.
Then Magnus smiled.
And brought the hammer down.
“Solar Creation.”