Just minutes after a fierce battle—in which Yurchi and Lucy fought against Jin Mori and Peter West—the clash ended in a crushing victory that left both Yurchi and Lucy spiritually devastated; they had recklessly drained their energy reserves in record time. Yuta stepped forward to treat them, restoring them not only to their original state but leaving them even better than they had been before.
*Smack! Smack! Smack!*
"You idiots! Do I look like a personal healer on your families' payroll? Stop getting yourselves into such extreme, self-destructive states!"
Yuta's eyes burned with suppressed rage as he scolded his teammates. Grie, attempting to diffuse the tension, patted Yurchi on the shoulder—Yurchi was currently clutching his head, which was swelling from one of Yuta's powerful slaps.
"He's right, you know. You shouldn't have poured all your energy into a single attack; you could have caused permanent damage to your energy channels... isn't that right, Yuta?"
The moment Grie turned toward Yuta, he saw Yuta's hand flying straight at him, his face contorted with visible fury.
*Smack!*
Grie was sent flying several meters away.
"Of all people, you're the last one who should be talking!" Ignoring the grumbling of the others, Yuta fixed his gaze upon the arena, his expression set with firm resolve. As the referee for the fourth round called out, he began to move toward the ring:
"The final bout of the sixth stage will feature Yuta Casiral and Privka Aslahan, facing off against Guther MacTire—known as the 'Prince of Assassins'—and Jian Yi, the 'Legend of the Sword'!"
The Fourth Round Begins
Minutes later, inside the arena, Guther MacTire, Jian Yi, Yuta Casiral, and Privka Aslahan advanced toward the center with steady, deliberate strides—their very presence radiating immense power and absolute authority.
As the four reached the center of the ring, the gazes of Guther and Yuta locked with the intensity of ruthless hawks. Their eyes began to glow: Yuta's shifted into a dark, violet abyss, while Guther's ignited into a blood-red chasm. On both their lips, a look of dark amusement appeared—the expression of beasts preparing for a merciless slaughter.
Suddenly, Yuta cut through the tension with a decisive tone:
"Privka, withdraw—immediately. Do you understand?"
Yuta's voice carried an air of absolute authority; his words were not a request, but a direct, indisputable command. Taken aback by this sudden demand, Privka looked toward him—only to see a man so consumed by a craving for battle that her own presence would be nothing more than an unforgivable hindrance. "He looks like a beast poised to pounce on its prey with savage intent..."
This thought, reflecting an inner tension and an overwhelming sense of astonishment, showed clearly on her face. She raised her hands high, signaling her immediate surrender:
"I, Brevka Aslahan, wish to withdraw from this round."
A sudden silence descended upon the stands. Everyone—from the 'Midnight Beasts' and 'Cannibals' teams to Jian Yi and the referee himself—was left speechless, stunned by the turn of events.
"Are you certain you wish to surrender, young lady?" the referee asked, his voice laced with shock and disbelief.
Brevka, however, remained resolute. She turned and walked calmly toward the gate leading out of the arena, prompting the referee to officially declare her elimination:
"Brevka Aslahan withdraws from the fourth round of the sixth stage—mere seconds before it was set to begin!" "And now, I officially declare the start of the fourth round: Yuta Caseral versus Gother MacTire and his teammate, Jian Yi!"
"Is this overconfidence, Yuta Caseral—or is it sheer arrogance and conceit?"
Jian Yi's voice rang out, carrying a tone that blended both astonishment and mockery. The prospect of facing two elites—each contracted with a "Sovereign" and blessed by a mysterious entity—was daunting. This included the head of the MacTire family, who held a contract with the Polar Wolf Sovereign, and Guther, who was contracted with the Black Phoenix Sovereign (Guther actually held contracts with two Beast Sovereigns, though he had yet to summon the first—likely due to his lack of maturity as an heir—while the Black Phoenix Sovereign granted him the power to manipulate space and time, as well as the ability to copy others' powers). Furthermore, there was Jian, who held a contract with the Sword Sovereign and a blessing from that same mysterious entity. From the perspective of the spectators—and Jian Yi himself—it appeared that Yuta's position hinged on a single trump card. Only Guther truly understood the full, terrifying extent of Yuta Casiral's power.
Yuta cast a gaze as cold as frost toward Jian Yi—a single look that sent a lethal shiver through Jian's entire body. Calmly, Yuta raised his index finger and pointed it at him:
"Your time in this arena is up... Goodbye."
With a simple flick of his finger, an invisible wave of energy tore a deep, non-lethal gash across Jian Yi's chest. The force sent him flying several meters, slamming him violently against the arena wall, where he instantly lost consciousness.
Suddenly, the expressions of everyone present shifted to absolute shock and bewilderment. Jian Yi—one of the greatest talents of this era—had been defeated in a single moment by a newcomer whose true identity remained a complete mystery, even to his own teammates. A Clash of Monsters: Gother vs. Yuta
Ignoring the shock of the onlookers, Gother summoned his weapon. The "North Wolf" sword appeared in his hand, poised against the legendary "Kamish" blade held by Yuta. The two lunged toward each other with lightning speed; their blades collided with such ferocious intensity that they whipped up tempests, tearing rocks from the very earth:
*Clang... Clang... Clang... Clang!*
Each strike unleashed energy capable of rending the fabric of space itself. As Gother retreated a few steps, his gaze turned cold and razor-sharp, and he muttered under his breath:
"Rise."
Instantly, a legion of shadow monsters—manifested by Gother from the remains of previously defeated foes—surged forward. There were fifteen of them: towering orcs, armed with massive, heavy weaponry, all launching devastating assaults toward Yuta. Yet, Yuta did not budge. With a single, effortless flick of the Kamish blade, he erased the entire summoned force from existence.
Yuta's power surpassed that of this world's Rulers by light-years. The Kamish blade was no ordinary weapon; it had been forged from three distinct relics belonging to the Rulers: the Sword of Destruction (imbued with the energy and blood of the Ruler of Destruction), the Sword of Life (imbued with the energy and blood of the Ruler of Life), and the Gem of the Ruler of Space (containing the soul of the former Ruler of Space). Consequently, it possessed the capacity to obliterate infinite universes and sever the very concepts of life, death, and space with absolute ease.
In that same instant, Gother emerged from the void directly behind Yuta, thrusting the North Wolf sword toward a vital, lethal point—leveraging the extensive experience in the arts of assassination he had acquired since the age of six.
*Clang... clang... clang!*
Yuta parried Gother's lightning-fast strikes with absolute mastery, and the two were once again locked in a fierce exchange of sword blows. A faint smile appeared on Gother's face as they traded strikes:
"Using the 'Infinite Evolution' ability to enhance your physique—increasing your size, durability, stamina, and reaction speed... truly well done."
Yuta continued, his voice calm and tinged with a hint of respect:
"Your control over this ability is remarkable. In anyone else's hands, it would have triggered an uncontrolled, all-encompassing evolution—inevitably destroying both body and soul, as they would be unable to withstand such a massive surge in power over such a short period."
With a swift, fluid motion, Yuta delivered a powerful kick to Gother's midsection, sending him flying several meters back. Gother spat out warm blood, only managing to halt his momentum by driving his sword deep into the arena floor.
"Cough... cough... cough... you bastard!" Gother cursed, coughing up blood profusely.
Suddenly, Gother was struck by a sense of bewilderment and astonishment. He felt a terrifying energy surging from the depths of his soul—an energy that had long been trapped and dormant, but was now beginning to seethe and boil within his very being with manic intensity, fueled by every battle against a formidable opponent. Spiritual Awakening and Transformation
A dark-red aura erupted violently from Gother's body, his energy surging far beyond the "Sovereign Ruler" rank—a terrifying leap that drained the color from everyone's faces, leaving them paralyzed with dread.
The world around him seemed to dissolve into a white void, entirely devoid of laws or concepts. Within his spiritual realm—distinct from his physical body, which had been reincarnated from the world of Yuta—he found himself standing in the midst of an abyssal darkness. He appeared as a young man with brown hair and brown eyes.
"What is happening? And where the hell am I?"
His voice carried a hint of tension; the space was absolute darkness—a place beyond existence or non-existence, stripped of all laws and concepts. As he struggled to grasp his surroundings, a familiar voice—one echoing his own from his past life—rang out:
"How have you been? It's been a long time, fellow traveler on the Sovereign's path."
Stunned, Gother turned to find an entity—who identified itself as the "Concept of Assassination"—placing a hand calmly upon his shoulder.
"I know this is a lot to take in, but don't worry... I've come to tell you only one thing: Remember who you are. You are me, and I am you!"
The voice vanished instantly. Within seconds, Gother's spiritual form dissolved into dark-red dust, reintegrating perfectly with his physical body. His energy now surpassed even the most formidable entities in this world—rivaled only by Yuta and a mere handful of others, so few they could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Gowther was reborn, transcending all limitations. Yet, because this transformation was triggered by an external stimulus rather than occurring naturally, it would take him years—perhaps even centuries—to fully refine his soul and gain complete mastery over the reservoir of that mysterious entity and the enigmatic power that had clung to him since his incarnation.
The Ultimate Confrontation
In the physical realm, Gowther's hair shifted to a deep, vivid crimson, with strands falling to partially veil his forehead and cheeks. In his hand, an entirely new, pitch-black sword materialized—a blade that absorbed all light, wreathed in a sharp, blood-red aura:
[ Catastrophic Assassination Sword – A "Beyond-Existence" Rank Weapon ]
Hovering several meters in the air, Gowther was enveloped in an overwhelming, frost-cold aura, his expression devoid of any emotion. He pointed his blade sharply toward Yuta:
"Prepare yourself... this is the end."
Yuta offered a wicked, mocking smile:
"Don't get arrogant, boy... to me, you're still nothing more than a tiny insect."
An aura, far more intense and ferocious than Gowther's, erupted from Yuta. His white hair transformed into a brilliant, shimmering silver as it stood on end. The Kamish sword vanished, replaced by a broad blade of deep, crimson red, burning with a terrifying, incandescent glow:
[ Existence-Severing Sword – A "Beyond-Existence" Rank Weapon ]
In a fraction of a second, both figures surged forward with such insane speed that they vanished entirely from the realms of existence and non-existence, plunging into an absolute void. The moment their blades crossed, a completely silent explosion occurred—an explosion that produced no sound, yet instantly obliterated the entire competition venue, erasing both existence and non-existence at that point, and extinguishing every entity present within it.
Amidst the pure white void created by this erasure of existence and non-existence, Gother collapsed to the ground, blood pouring profusely from his body. Yuta stood over him, his gaze calm, his sword still pointed toward his opponent.
Suddenly, their stern expressions shifted into broad grins, and both erupted into a boisterous, hysterical laughter that shook the void:
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
"That was a truly enjoyable fight! It seems you've evolved significantly—you're now capable of tapping into a small fraction of that latent power... Hahaha!" Yuta said, his tone brimming with respect and admiration.
With a simple snap of his fingers, Yuta restored everything to its former state. He subtly altered the memories of the survivors, erasing the reality of their own deaths and the total annihilation of existence, leaving them to believe only that the venue had been destroyed by an overwhelming force—a belief he instantly manifested within both their minds and their reality.
Catching his breath, Gother muttered, puzzled:
"You're truly powerful, man... but I need to ask you something..."
He stopped abruptly, his face darkening with shock as he realized he had completely forgotten every detail regarding the mysterious entity he had encountered—or, rather, whose voice he had heard—within that spiritual realm. "No... it's nothing. Forget about it," he said, with a hint of nervousness.
Yuta felt a flicker of suspicion, but he chose to let it slide. He reached out to help Gowther to his feet, watching as the latter's injuries healed rapidly.
Meanwhile, the spectators were left in utter shock; the arena and its surroundings had been transformed into a massive crater, dozens of meters deep.
"It seems you won in the end..." Gowther said, his voice low and tinged with a touch of melancholy, as he leaned on Yuta's shoulder. Yuta, in turn, skillfully repaired and reshaped the arena floor, restoring it to its original state and erasing the giant crater.
Gently setting Gowther back down, Yuta raised his fist with a broad grin:
"But the fact that you managed to awaken your most vital potential means that, in the future, you'll be able to wield it permanently—not just temporarily, as you did today."
Gowther offered a faint smile at Yuta's encouraging words, then bumped his fist against Yuta's—a brotherly gesture reflecting the mutual respect between comrades amidst the surrounding ruins.A battle of legends.