A burst of dark, silent energy rippled from Rias's palm.
A pitch-black sword materialized directly into his grip. The blade absorbed the bright sunlight, looking like a tear in the fabric of the world. The crossguard spread out like two dark dragon wings.
The Mythic weapon, Eclipse.
The five massive fireballs crashed down on him.
Rias didn't try to break the ice trapping his feet. He simply raised the black sword and swung it in a wide, horizontal arc.
The blade met the roaring flames.
There was no explosion. There was no loud crash.
The black sword simply cut through the fire. It sliced cleanly through the magic, breaking the structure of the spell and scattering the flames into harmless sparks.
The crowd went dead silent. The mage who cast the spell dropped his staff in absolute shock.
Rias tapped the hilt of his sword against the ice trapping his boots. The ice instantly shattered into fine powder. He stepped forward, raising the black blade.
"Who is next?" Rias asked cheerfully.
The fighters stared at the black sword. They could feel the terrifying pressure radiating from it. But greed and pride pushed them forward.
"It's just a trick!" a noble heir yelled, drawing a glowing silver rapier.
"He has a magic-canceling artifact! Use physical attacks! Charge!"
A group of heavily armored knights rushed forward, raising thick steel shields to bash him.
Rias dashed to meet them.
His [Infinity] talent was working entirely in the background. As he ran toward the knights, his eyes scanned their heavy armor. The talent instantly fed him information. It showed him how they breathed, where they placed their weight, and the exact angle they held their shields.
To Rias, their movements looked painfully slow and incredibly sloppy.
The lead knight slammed his shield forward. Rias spun around the attack, bringing his black sword down.
The blade imbued with mana didn't even slow down when it hit the thick steel shield. It cut through the metal like a hot knife through butter, slicing the shield perfectly in half.
The knight stared at his ruined shield, completely stunned. Rias casually kicked the knight in the stomach, sending him rolling out of the chalk ring.
Rias kept moving.
He flowed through the crowd like a dark wind. He didn't stab anyone fatally. He used the flat of his blade to knock mercenaries out cold. He used the sharp edge to slice through their weapons, destroying their expensive swords and axes with a single swing.
*Clang!* *Snap!*
Weapons broke. Shields shattered. Magic spells were cut out of the air before they could even form.
It wasn't a fight anymore. It was a one-sided beatdown.
The crowd in the massive stadium stopped cheering. The angry screams and death threats died in their throats. They watched in absolute silence as the fifteen-year-old boy systematically dismantled an army.
Up on the royal balcony, Princess Amyra stood up from her chair. Her golden eyes were wide open, locked onto the black sword in Rias's hand.
"What is that weapon?" Emperor Valerius muttered, leaning forward, his crushing aura flaring slightly in surprise.
"It cuts through solid steel and nullifies magic. That is not a standard artifact."
Amyra didn't answer. Her mind was racing.
'He isn't a cripple,' she realized, her heart pounding.
'He has been hiding his strength this entire time. That speed, that precision... he is fighting like a seasoned war general.'
Down in the arena, Rias knocked out three more fighters with the hilt of his sword.
[Enemy defeated. +50 EXP.]
[Enemy defeated. +50 EXP.]
[Enemy defeated. +50 EXP.]
He looked around. The massive crowd of four hundred and ninety-nine fighters had drastically thinned out. There were groaning men lying all over the dirt. Hundreds of people had already been thrown out of the ring.
The remaining fighters were backing away from him. They were terrified. The alliance was completely broken. They realized that attacking the Leonhart boy was a guaranteed way to get eliminated.
But not everyone was ready to give up.
"Step aside, you useless cowards."
The crowd parted. Two fighters stepped forward, walking out from the back of the group.
They wore matching high-end combat gear. One had bright green hair, and the other had spiky red hair. The energy rolling off their bodies was entirely different from the rest of the mercenaries and minor nobles.
They were strong. Very strong.
"We are the twin heirs of the Vane family," the red-haired fighter announced, cracking his knuckles. Flames danced around his fists.
"And we are going to be the ones who finally put you in the dirt, Leonhart," the green-haired twin added. A violent tornado of sharp wind began to swirl around his legs.
Rias looked at them. He quickly analyzed their auras.
'They are both in the Gold rank,' Rias noted calmly.
'Level 2. They are strong enough to wipe out the rest of this batch by themselves. If they both fight together'
But Rias was sitting at Gold Level 4. They were below him.
"A fire user and a wind user," Rias smiled, resting the black sword on his shoulder.
"This should be fun."