Leo rushed in with his tachi, his blade moving, finally landing strikes on Moros.

  Moros raised several boulders, sending them towards Leo.

  Leo used his shadow tendrils to destroy the boulders.

  Then he rushed in using death's touch to grab Moros neck.

  He twisted to his side, grabbing Leo's arm, then he raised his blade upwards before bringing it down on Moros.

  Leo kicked Moros back, creating some distance before clashing swords again

  Each sword created shockwaves that threaten to disintegrate anyone who interferes

  The power boost from Thantos had increased Leo's power, and it showed

  Leo became more aggressive, attacking with force and speed

  Leo shot out the eclipse shot like a railgun

  Moros blocked with an earth wall before then rushing towards Leo

  Moros slashed, aiming for his neck

  Leonidas dodged to the side before then lunging forward

  Moros blocked and aimed for his side

  Leo twirled a bit, using his shadow to stabilise himself

  He sent out 4 shadow tendrils to Moros

  Moros dodged easily and rushed towards Leo

  Leo gripped the blade with both hands

  And then hit Moros with a crossguard

  Moros withstood the attack

  He then used his Zweih?nder to slash Leo's neck, aiming to finish it

  Leo used his shadow to dodge, then he leaned on his shadow, using it as a launch to kick Moros to the other side of the arena

  "Very impressive", Moros said as the Rift energy exploded with power

  "I should have used my real power, but oh well, you shall die now", Moros said

  Black roses began to bloom all around the arena

  Spores came out of them and slowly rotted the ground below them

  A thorn crown appeared on his head

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Moros sent several spores to Leo

  Leo used his shadow to block, but some things went wrong that shouldn't have happened

  His shadow grew old and began to slowly wither away, heck, cracking

  Moros swung his sword

  Thousands of spores appeared towards Leo

  Leo dodged, trying not to die

  Leonidas used his eclipse manipulation to fire a wide-range attack

  The attack weakened and rotted

  As the second Prince ran towards the fifth Prince with his great sword

  He summoned four black roses around the fifth Prince

  Leo realised that he couldn't win

  The system rang out an option [EMERGENCY OPTION AVAILABLE]

  [Divine Heritage: Force unseal to 75%]

  [WARNING: May cause permanent soul damage]

  [WARNING: May lose humanity completely]

  [Accept? YES/NO]

  Leo hesitated

  If he picked yes, he could win, but he could lose his humanity

  Leo pressed no, he wasn't going to fight the second Prince as a god, but as a human trying to survive

  Leo decided to burn everything and use all of his power, no conversation

  He uses his death touch, eclipse manipulation, and his shadow pulling it to his blade

  It creates an energy that could unmake anything

  "Are you mad using such a surgical technique?"

  Leonidas rushed in as the ground trembled

  The second Prince removed his crown of thorns, turning it into piercing vines

  The two attacks met each other simultaneously

  The space around them bent as the energy released could destroy the empire

  Yet such great power was focused into a small force

  Arjuna and Bharati were thrown back

  A mushroom ground of gold and black appeared

  When the dust cleared, both princes were still standing.

  But barely.

  The fifth Prince had collapsed to one knee, bleeding everywhere, and he could barely breathe

  The second Prince was still standing, but Wounded, there was a deep gash across his chest, and his left arm was useless

  Both are out of energy

  Next hit decided it

  "You are worthy, little brother, but you shall die now"

  Leo couldn't move out of the way

  The second Prince's blade moved down like a hammer

  Suddenly, a figure moved in front of Leo, grabbing the blade

  "That is enough", Acheron, their sister, the fourth Prince

  "Shut up, Acheron. This doesn't concern you"

  "It does now", Acheron said

  "He passed the test," Acheron said

  "What test? This was EXECUTION." Moros asked confused

  "And he's proven himself. He fought a SECOND Prince with hours of training. He drew your blood. Made you USE your inheritance. He EARNED his place."

  Acheron help Leo stand up

  "The first prince is dead, his throne is empty. A new Prince had to claim it, which is now Leonidas," Acheron said

  "The First Throne is yours. if you can KEEP it." Acheron said

  "What?" Leo said, confused yet dying

  "She's right," the second Prince said

  "You didn't have to WIN. You had to SURVIVE," he said

  [TRIAL BY COMBAT: COMPLETE]

  [Status: SURVIVED]

  [Achievement: Drew blood from Second Prince]

  [Recognition: UNDERWORLD acknowledges Fifth Prince]

  [New Title: CLAIMANT TO FIRST THRONE]

  [Five Princes → Four Princes + One Claimant]

  [War for succession: CONTINUING]

  Moros sheathed his sword before then summoning his portal

  He left with his herald, "This isn't over"

  Acheron helped Leo before then telling him, "The third Prince Erebos will soon come for you"

  Acheron dispersed, leaving Leo

  Leo fell down Bharati quickly caught him

  "I got you", Bharati said, annoying

  "Is he-"

  "he is barely alive, his soul is fractured"

  "Did I win?" Leo asked

  "You survived that better", Leo said

  "Good because I can't move for shit", Leo said, then passed out

  Arjuna and Leo quickly carried him to the medical Wing

  ***

  In a dark room below the earth, a man with white hair and green eyes sat on a throne when

  Suddenly, a skeleton rose up delivering news of the fifth Prince

  "Interesting", Leo said

  [Quest Complete: Survive the Second Prince]

  [Reward: First Throne Claimancy]

  [Level Up: Divine Heritage 62% → 70%]

  [New Abilities Unlocked]

  [Recovery time required: 7 DAYS]

  [WARNING: Third Prince's arrival in 30 DAYS