A profound, suffocating silence settled over the arena—a silence that did not resemble stillness, but rather the collective holding of breath before a catastrophe. Nico Sigmund stood at the center, slowly raising his hand toward his opponent, while his eyes glowed with a deep crimson light that pierced through the charged atmosphere. A faint, confident smile played on his lips as he gestured with his hand, inviting Zorua to initiate the attack.

  Zorua did not wait long.

  He lunged forward with explosive speed, tearing through the air and forming a massive sword of solid ice in his grip. He swung the icy blade inches from Nico's face—a strike that would have decapitated him had Nico not tilted his head back with uncanny precision.

  Without pausing, Zorua used his momentum to launch a second surprise attack from below.

  But Nico was faster.

  He caught the icy blade with his bare hand and shattered it with a massive burst of fire, forcing Zorua to retreat as the searing heat of the explosion scorched the air.

  Rage etched itself onto Zorua's features. For the first time, he realized that his opponent was not merely a "student" as Natalia had claimed.

  Zorua slammed his foot onto the arena floor.

  Jagged ice spikes erupted from the ground toward Nico with insane velocity.

  Nico didn't retreat.

  He formed a massive fireball in his fist and slammed it into the ground with all his might. The impact thundered across the arena. The ice spikes vanished instantly, turning into scalding steam under the sheer intensity of the heat.

  Amidst the thick fog of steam, Zorua ambushed Nico from above, taking advantage of the distraction. The strike was so precise that the edge of his frost blade managed to graze Nico's neck.

  Nico stopped.

  He slowly touched the wound and looked at the blood staining his fingers.

  In that moment, his expression shifted.

  The cold calm vanished, replaced by something darker—something predatory.

  "I see..." Nico spoke in a low voice.

  "So in the end, this isn't just a duel. You truly intend to kill me."

  Zorua raised another weapon of frost.

  "Next time, Nico," he replied coldly, "I won't show mercy. So do not hold back your power."

  Before he could finish his sentence—

  Nico vanished.

  He didn't appear to move. The distance between them simply disappeared.

  Zorua's eyes widened.

  Before he could react, Nico's hand clamped onto his face.

  With terrifying force, Nico slammed him into the arena floor. The impact shook the entire battlefield, cracks spreading across the reinforced metal as a shockwave rippled outward.

  Zorua stumbled backward, blood running down his forehead.

  When he looked up again—

  His blood ran cold.

  Nico's eyes burned like crimson embers, as if a beast from the Dark Age had awakened within him.

  Without warning, Nico released a massive torrent of flames from his entire body.

  The arena erupted into a raging inferno.

  Zorua desperately created layers of ice shields, but they melted the moment they touched the superheated air. Steam exploded around him as he poured mana into maintaining even a thin protective layer of frost over his skin.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  It was like standing before a living sun.

  Nico watched him struggle.

  Then he smiled faintly.

  The flames intensified.

  Orange fire shifted into a blinding blue inferno.

  Zorua's skin began to redden as the heat gnawed at his defenses. He raised his arm to shield his eyes from the unbearable glare.

  In a final desperate gamble, Zorua gathered the last of his energy.

  A colossal ice sword manifested high above Nico.

  With a roar, Zorua brought it crashing down with everything he had left.

  Nico didn't move.

  He didn't even extinguish his flames.

  Instead, he raised a single finger.

  The fire around him condensed into an extremely concentrated point.

  Then—

  A thermal beam shot forward like a spear of light.

  The beam pierced straight through the massive ice sword, shattering it into countless fragments that rained down across the arena.

  Zorua seized the chaos.

  With the last of his strength, he lunged forward.

  A frost dagger formed in his hand as he thrust it toward Nico's heart.

  Silence fell across the arena.

  The blade struck.

  Blood splattered across the white floor.

  The audience gasped.

  Zorua stood frozen.

  His dagger had pierced flesh—

  But not Nico's chest.

  Nico had deliberately allowed the dagger to stab through his hand.

  His grip locked around Zorua's arm, trapping him in place.

  And at that exact moment—

  The beam Nico had fired earlier struck from behind.

  The fragments of shattered ice above them had reflected the beam perfectly.

  The thermal laser slammed into Zorua's back with devastating force.

  Zorua's eyes widened in disbelief.

  Nico smiled calmly.

  "Well done, Zorua… a good try."

  Zorua whispered a single word.

  "Impossible…"

  His strength collapsed.

  He fell to the ground, unconscious.

  Nico pulled the frost dagger from his hand, tossed it beside Zorua's body, and turned to leave the arena without looking back.

  From the observation deck, General Akaria watched her fallen deputy in silence.

  For a long moment, she said nothing.

  Then she whispered quietly,

  "I'm sorry, Zorua… but it really is over."

  She stood and left the viewing platform.

  Medics rushed into the arena.

  As they lifted Zorua onto a stretcher, his fading consciousness forced out a weak whisper.

  "I knew it…"

  The Aftermath

  A heavy silence lingered across the arena.

  Only the frantic footsteps of the medical team broke the stillness as they rushed to save what remained of Zorua's strength and dignity.

  Shock was written across every face in the stadium.

  The legendary deputy had fallen.

  The greatest shock struck the Elite Quartet.

  Jackson stared at Natalia, his voice trembling.

  "Impossible… was the Deputy Commander really defeated?"

  He swallowed hard.

  "That man… Nico… he is terrifying. There's no way he is an ordinary human. The way he used fire—it's beyond logic. Even if I trained every day for ten years, I wouldn't reach his shadow."

  "He's… a disaster waiting to happen."

  Natalia continued staring at Zorua's unconscious body as it was carried away.

  Her voice shook.

  "What just happened…?"

  "Did Zorua really fall…?"

  "The invincible leader… the pride of our frost power…"

  A chill ran through her entire body.

  "Was I really messing with that monster during our time at the university…?"

  Now she understood.

  That calm confidence.

  That overwhelming presence.

  He had never even seen her as a real opponent.

  Her terror slowly twisted into rage.

  "Who are you…?"

  "How could a lowly human race surpass the superior Jin race?"

  Elsewhere in the stands, Elara was trembling.

  Only hours ago, she had been sitting beside this same person in the quiet library, discussing books and the mysteries of the stars.

  Now she realized she had been sitting beside something far more dangerous.

  Her hand covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out.

  Tears streamed down her face.

  "Lord Zorua… is it really over like this…?"

  Professor Suzuna Hikari watched Nico's departing figure with deep concern.

  "I knew you were different, Nico… from the moment you left the university…"

  "But not to this extent."

  "Who exactly are you…?"

  "And what secret hides behind those red eyes?"

  The arena slowly emptied.

  People left in stunned silence, realizing that the balance of power in Arcadia had changed forever.

  Only one person remained frozen in the stands.

  Melina Aethel.

  Tears slid silently down her cheeks.

  She remembered the boy she once knew.

  His persistence.

  His strange words.

  His challenge to General Akaria.

  "I was his friend…"

  "I was the closest person to him…"

  "Who are you really, Nico Sigmund…?"

  "And how did I miss your truth for so long…?"

  The Encounter

  Nico walked calmly toward the locker rooms, indifferent to the countless stares following him.

  He only wanted to change his blood-stained clothes.

  At the entrance, a figure waited.

  Professor Lazarus Simon.

  His expression was cold and severe.

  "Did you really intend to kill Lord Zorua, Nico?"

  Nico passed him without stopping.

  "Why don't you ask him, Professor?"

  "As for me, I saw this battle as mere training… nothing more."

  Nico continued walking.

  Lazarus turned sharply.

  "Listen, Nico."

  "If you try to hurt anyone here, you will find me standing in your way."

  "I won't let you go too far."

  Nico stopped.

  For a brief moment, he stood still.

  He didn't turn around.

  He spoke a single word.

  "Try."

  Then he walked away.

  Lazarus remained standing in the hallway, staring at Nico's departing back with a mixture of hostility and unease.

  He understood one thing clearly.

  The next confrontation would not be training.

  [End of Chapter 31]