The battle was still raging on between Reiza and Lunatic, a breathtaking display of power and skill. For the fighters and mages in the crowd, it was a great inspiration.
They watched in awe, learning how efficiently those two used magic spells without wasting a drop of mana, how they countered specific moves with perfect timing, and how they integrated their system's skills into their fighting style. The combo of these three things made the fight so fascinating to watch.
It was worth it for them to take the risk of being so close to the action. One of the painters, his face smudged with charcoal, had even finished his painting.
It was a masterpiece, capturing an earlier move where Lunatic was floating a few meters in the air, using her "Chains of Enslavement" to grab large boulders from the ground and hurl them towards Reiza.
Meanwhile, Reiza was depicted standing firmly on the ground, her muscles bulging with power, her hands almost smashing one of the boulders with a single, powerful punch. It was quite a detailed and dramatic painting.
Of course, those "Chains of Enslavement" were not like the old ones, It was a special move recognized by almost everyone who had suffered at the hands of the past Lunatic.
They would immediately realize that Lunatic had some great connection with Tiathmet and Lunaria. That's why she had long abandoned its original use. Instead, she had turned it into a purely offensive move.
Meanwhile, sitting on their seats quietly, with each time Reiza and Lunatic clashed, a shockwave would come with a loud bang, making their hair fly away before settling down again.
And then again.
And then again.
And then again.
At this point, there was not even a flicker of change in their expressions. It was like they had grown used to it already, their faces as calm as if they were watching a play from a comfortable distance.
"The way they are using rare skills so efficiently, it's just amazing. I thought rare skills were just useless side abilities. I always thought only true skills were unique skills," Chiyoko said lightly, his eyes fixed on the battle.
He had some rare skills himself, such as 'Charm,' but as long as people were resilient enough, it didn't really affect them. Especially Scarlett. His charm was basically non-existent to her. That's why he always had low expectations from any rare skills, thinking they were just minor tricks.
"This is something I would agree with you. Skills are truly useful," Aoto agreed, nodding his head. He didn't have many rare skills, but his unique skill, Reality Warping, also let him imitate other skills to a certain level by warping reality. However, he needed to set some gesture or a certain action for it to activate.
For example, whenever he ran his finger through his hair in a gentle way, 'Charm' would activate. If he put two fingers on his right eye and opened it wide, a certain level of 'Appraisal effect' would come to his eyes, letting him see details others couldn't.
His unique skill was very versatile, although he wasn't sure how long he would survive against monsters like Reiza and Lunatic if he had to fight them for real.
He turns to look at Scarlett, who was sitting in the middle, her posture relaxed. "What's your thoughts on it?" he asked, curious to hear the opinion of the strongest person there.
Scarlett thinks for a few seconds, her expression already making it clear that she wasn't that interested in the topic. Her eyes had a distant, bored look.
"I don't know. I got two, well, three unique skills, but all three of them are support type. I got one rare skill, but it feels useless to me as well. My physical strength is more than enough to handle any enemy. At best, I just use nuclear magic and BOOM! Problem solved. None have survived after these two things," she says, her tone full of boredom, as if she were talking about swatting a fly.
"Don't know about ultimate skills, though. I mean, how strong can they be? I defeated Lunatic once when she was using her ultimate skill. So I don't have any great expectations. But Miss Lilith is so serious about them, so I guess there might be something I'm missing," she answers with a slight shrug.
"I guess skills aren't made for you," Aoto sighs, a little disappointed by her casual dismissal of something he found fascinating.
At that moment, Richard points towards the front. "Forget about skills, why is Irish just standing there? Did she finally give up?"
Everyone immediately looks to the front. While Lunatic and Reiza's intense battle was going on, Irish was just standing there off to the side, with an expressionless face. The only thing moving around her was her thick black death aura, which seemed to be getting darker and more oppressive. She wasn't moving, just kept looking at both Reiza and Lunatic without blinking once.
It was as if she had finally given up on grabbing their attention and involving herself in the fight.
Scarlett immediately realized what kind of volcano was boiling inside Irish's mind.
"She's pissed. She's definitely pissed," Scarlett thought, closing her eyes and trying not to show much facial expression, a slight sigh escaping her lips.
****
Meanwhile, Lunatic and Reiza were in their own world. The only thing they were focused on was each other.
Both of them were covered in sweat, especially Reiza. They even started to pant a little, and the exhaustion on their faces was starting to show.
"Go!" Lunatic raised her hand, and several dark chains shot out from her back, going towards Reiza at a rapid speed.
The chains immediately wrapped around Reiza, binding her arms and legs. But this was exactly what Reiza wanted.
She put strength into her legs, and her feet immediately dug deep into the ground, her muscles bulging up with power.
She then used her sheer strength to pull on the chains, twisting them with all her might. Since the chains were still linked to Lunatic, it made her go flying through the air and then directly smash into the ground, creating a deep crater where she crashed.
The chains immediately turned into thin air particles. Without wasting a second, Reiza runs towards the crater where Lunatic fell.
"Take my punch, bitch!" Reiza shouts, jumping into the air with her fist raised high.
Lunatic was about to stand up and defend, but it was too late.
BAM!...
The punch hits her face directly, breaking a few bones with a sickening crack. But Lunatic didn't fall. Her regeneration kicked in immediately, and the bones healed in an instant, though a trickle of blood still ran from her nose.
BAM!...
She gives a revenge punch to Reiza, sending her flying several meters away. Her body rubbed and bounced against the ground before she skidded to a stop, standing up on her feet again, her breathing heavy.
"I've been noticing it for a while now. Why are you holding back?" Lunatic asks, panting a little, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Reiza patted the dust off her clothes, panting herself. "I'm not holding back," she grumbled.
"Yes, you are. Are you taking me lightly? The succubus queen? You have a unique skill, right? Use it!" Lunatic shouts back, her pride stinging. She didn't want others to see that she won just because Reiza was holding back. Her instincts were clearly telling her that Reiza wasn't giving her best at all.
That's why Lunatic had also been dragging out this fight a little, hoping that Reiza would use all her trump cards.
"There's no need," Reiza says, taking her fighting position again and running towards Lunatic once more.
"I'm already telling you, I'm not holding back!" she shouts, punching directly towards Lunatic's face once again.
But this time, Lunatic was faster. She grabs Reiza's fist with one hand, stopping it cold.
"Then don't mind me playing dirty," Lunatic replies with a wicked grin.
Zzzz....
A weird, high-frequency sensation spread through Reiza's arm and then her entire body. It wasn't painful, just incredibly strange and tingly. The vibration was so strong that, in an instant, it blasts away Reiza's all clothes in one go, making her go completely naked in front of everyone.
Reiza steps back immediately, her arms crossing over her chest in a desperate attempt to cover herself, but it was already too late.
Lunatic knew very well that Reiza was a tsundere. These kinds of situations always made her overly frustrated and unable to think straight.
"Hah. You're not Scarlett after all, who can fight without caring about anything else," Lunatic says lightly, a triumphant smirk on her face.
Reiza looks at the others who were far away. She saw the whole crowd, and then her eyes locked on Scarlett.
Her face becomes burning red. Smokes literally comes out of her head as if her brain had overheated. With a soft whimper, her eyes rolled back, and she falls down on the ground, unconscious from sheer embarrassment.
Lunatic also kneels on the ground, breathing heavily but with a wide, joyous smile on her face. "Yes! I finally won!" she cheered, pumping her fist in the air, her exhaustion forgotten in the thrill of victory.
But when she looks at the front, she notices something strange. Everyone's gazes were fixed on a point behind her, their faces filled with shock and fear.
She felt a flicker of confusion. Why? But then she felt it. A huge shadow fell over her, covering her entire body and plunging her into darkness.
Her lips twitched slightly as she slowly turned around, a bad feeling growing in her stomach.
Irish was standing there, her sword raised high with both of her hands. The sword was overflowing with her mana and her black death aura, making it look like it was forged from pure darkness. The air around it crackled with malevolent energy.
But what was bizarre was the length of it. It was as if the sword had become incredibly long and thick, like a pillar of black smoky light that reached up through the clouds, disappearing from sight. It was a terrifying and unnatural sight.
"What the fuck?" Even Lunatic, who had just won a tough battle, was baffled by what she was seeing.
"DIE, YOU FUCKING SUCCUBUS!" Irish shouts, her voice filled with pure, unadulterated rage. She smashed her sword down with all her might. If it was any normal sword, it would have broken from the sheer force of her aura.
Thankfully, it was a tough blade from the First Hero's treasury, one of the finest crafted swords.
Before Lunatic could even react, the huge cloud-piercing pillar of black smoky light fell down in one go, moving with a speed that defied belief.
It sliced through Lunatic's left half like a piece of cake. There was no scream, no time for one. Her body just split apart, a clean, horrifying cut.
But it didn't stop there. The attack was just too overwhelming to stop just at Lunatic.
"Everyone behind me!" Scarlett shouted, her voice cutting through the stunned silence. She herself had to stand up.
She immediately raises her hand, her palm glowing with immense power as she put up a strong barrier, full of mana.
But the moment Irish's mighty sword wave clashed with her barrier, it cut through it like a hot knife through butter. It didn't even slow down.
"What the—" Even Scarlett was surprised, her eyes froze for a second. She had put so much mana into that barrier, more than enough to stop a army.
But she had forgotten something crucial. Barriers were defense-type magic, not offense. They are made with different formulas and patterns for resilience. Just putting a huge amount of mana into it was only beneficial when there was an army of people trying to break it, but none of them had enough power to break it all at once. Her barrier was designed to withstand many hits hits, not one single, overwhelmingly powerful blow.
Her eyes were still wide as the sword wave just went past her, cutting their entire stage into two perfect halves. The chairs, the wood, everything was sliced cleanly in two.
And it wasn't stopping at all. The massive wave of black energy continued on, reaching towards the DreadHaven.
By the sheer amount of power it had shown, there was no doubt about it.
It would cut DreadHaven into two clean parts.