A single strike—cleanly cleaving him in two!
The severed surface of his body erupted with golden radiance, as blazing holy flames engulfed his form!
Divine Artifact: Blade of Purifying Flame Judgment.
This—was the weapon she wielded.
Shock filled Shane's eyes.
It wasn't that he hadn't expected her to attack—
It was that he had never imagined her speed could reach such a level.
It was as though she was completely unbound by the limits of velocity.
That instantaneous burst—
Dozens of times faster than his own.
There was no time to react.
And yet—
Even with his body split apart, Shane roared in fury and forced out a counterpunch with everything he had left!
CRACK—
A flash like thunder exploded!
But in the instant before his fist could connect with Yelia's face—
She had already vanished.
When she reappeared—
She was behind him.
Fast.
The entire exchange seemed complex—
But in reality, it all occurred within a single instant.
Shane tried to turn—
"RAAAH!!"
He roared, unleashing a shockwave even as his bisected body burned under the holy flames.
But—
It was useless.
Golden sword-light filled every inch of his body.
There was no better word for it.
Only—
Speed.
Pure, absolute speed.
Shane wanted to fight back.
But there was no opportunity.
No opening.
No possibility of resistance.
Before he could even act—
He was torn apart by the overwhelming storm of blade-light.
His body shattered in an instant.
Split—
Carved—
Reduced into countless fragments.
Each fragment's cut surface flickered with faint golden flames.
It was over.
In the span of just two fleeting exchanges—
That powerful man had been reduced to pieces.
So fast—
That no matter what he did, he could not respond.
So fast—
That the battle had ended before it even truly began.
Clink—
The soft sound of a blade returning to its sheath echoed.
Yelia lowered her sword.
"Yelia—Inheritor of Light, Zhuya."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The score above Shane's head transferred completely—
To Yelia.
"A splendid battle."
Aegmesar's voice drifted faintly from the mist.
Soon—
The burning fragments on the ground began to reverse.
Within a few breaths—
They reassembled.
Shane was restored.
After reforming, his expression was solemn and serious.
He didn't utter any threats.
He simply said:
"You are truly strong."
From above, Kanzaki Rei watched calmly.
He understood Yelia's strength very well.
In his simulations, he had fought her many times.
Her defining trait—
Was speed.
Even now, at full burst, he still couldn't keep up with her.
And paired with that overwhelming speed—
Was her Divine Artifact.
It compensated for her one weakness:
Insufficient attack power.
Without that blade—
She might not even have been able to break defenses.
Kanzaki Rei had already developed considerable understanding of the Light attribute.
Whether mage, warrior, or elemental archer—
Light-based classes all shared one trait:
Extreme speed.
But that speed came at a cost.
Lack of damage.
It wasn't that Light lacked powerful attacks.
It could deal immense damage—
But only after charging.
Which created a fundamental imbalance:
Fast → low damage
High damage → requires charge time
Yelia should have suffered from that same limitation.
But—
Her Divine Artifact was simply too powerful.
It erased that flaw entirely.
"Does anyone else wish to challenge me?"
Yelia swept her gaze across the field.
No one spoke.
They all looked at the ranking.
Second place—
Now belonged to Yelia.
First place—
[??? – 3,201,452,55…]
Who was that?
No one knew.
They scanned the crowd.
One person remained unidentified.
But—
Who?
Many wanted to challenge him.
But without knowing his identity—
They couldn't even call him out.
Kanzaki Rei turned inward.
"Ansu, can you identify the origins of the others here?"
He could verify through direct contact—
But he chose not to act recklessly.
Ansu replied:
"I recognize a few."
"Inheritor of Naraku… Aegmesar's own inheritor… Poga's… Shana's… Banir's…"
"The rest haven't revealed much—but I doubt they're anything harmless."
Oh?
Aegmesar's own inheritor?
Following Ansu's guidance, Kanzaki Rei looked toward a man—
Messy hair standing upright like serpents.
So that was him.
Interesting.
What kind of preferential treatment would he receive?
"I'll… try."
A new voice broke the silence.
Someone stepped forward to challenge Yelia.
It was a man whose body was half-encased in ice.
No need to guess—
Inheritor of Frost, Shana.
"…Come."
Yelia stood radiant, golden light cascading from her hair.
Before the battle, she asked calmly:
"Your name."
"Peyton."
BOOM!
Before the final syllable even faded—
A streak of pure white light pierced through him.
Yelia had already appeared behind him.
Sword-light erupted across his frozen body.
In a single instant—
He was cut into pieces.
Another overwhelming victory.
The inheritor of Light now stood on the battlefield—
Radiating an aura of absolute dominance.
Silence fell again.
The gap…
Was too great.
Yelia remained at the center.
Waiting.
No one stepped forward.
Kanzaki Rei analyzed calmly.
If no one dared challenge her—
That meant they lacked confidence in defeating her.
In that case—
This was a good opportunity.
To fulfill the Warrior's creed.
After all—
There was no risk of death here.
"I will—"
Someone began to speak.
But before finishing—
She suddenly glanced at the rankings.
Right.
There was still that existence—
3.2 billion points.
Why insist on challenging Yelia?
She was about to change her target—
But another voice beat her to it.
"Aegmesar—I challenge Kanzaki Rei!"
"That guy with 3.2 billion points!"
In that instant—
Kanzaki Rei's existence was revealed.
Everyone suddenly remembered him.
Remembered his name.
And immediately—
Voices rose in unison.
All pointing at him.
…Do I really look that easy to bully?
Whoosh—
In a single step—
Kanzaki Rei descended to the center of the battlefield.
Yelia looked at him, her expression complicated.
"You…"
Why couldn't she remember him before?
She clearly had questions—
Yet she hadn't even thought to ask them.
And if he could hide himself from challenges—
Why reveal himself now?
Was it a time-limited ability?
"You… can't fight, can you?"
That was still her impression of him.
He was mysterious—
But harmless.
And now, with 3.2 billion points—
He had become everyone's target.
It almost made her worry for him.
Kanzaki Rei smiled faintly.
"More or less."
"I'm not particularly skilled… but I know a little."
"Not sure if it'll be enough."
Before their conversation could continue—
A figure stepped forward.
A man mounted on a blazing warhorse—
Holding a long halberd—
His entire body wreathed in flames.
There was no need to guess.
Inheritor of War and Flame—Banir.
"Weakling."
"You hid well."
"But unfortunately… I still found you."
Kanzaki Rei replied calmly:
"You're challenging me first?"
"Bold."
"Even if you win, you might not be able to keep the points."
The man's voice was deep and steady:
"You think I fear that woman?"
"No."
"I've been waiting for you."
So that's how it is.
Hiding only obscured identity—
Not suspicion.
But the more hidden variables there were—
The harder it became to guess correctly.
"Very well," Kanzaki Rei said calmly.
"You seem confident."
"Then—"
WHOOM!
In an instant—
The entire battlefield erupted into blazing flames!
No warning.
No buildup.
BOOM!
At the exact same moment—
Kanzaki Rei's body ignited.
Flames surged across him—
Completely engulfing him—
Turning him into a figure of living fire.