Two slashes collided, releasing a terrifying shockwave that shattered the ground around them.
"Flash Blade: Thrust!!"
Arthur pushed off the ground and lunged toward Kaien, thrusting his sword forward.
"Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Beneficent Radiance!!"
Kaien's body was wrapped in blazing flames as he launched a fierce thrust with both hands gripping his blade.
Clang—————!!
Their sword tips collided, light and flame clashing in midair.
Boom boom boom boom————!!
The ground beneath their feet exploded, shockwaves rippling outward with violent force.
"Flash Blade!!"
Arthur's sword slashed with blinding speed.
Kaien swung his blade to parry every single one of Arthur's rapid strikes.
"Sun Breathing, Eighth Form: Sunflower Thrust!"
The tip of Kaien's sword flickered like sunlight on fire. Arthur instantly stepped back to dodge—just when he thought he had successfully evaded and was ready to counter—
Suddenly, his expression changed. The blade that had seemed short a moment ago now appeared to extend unnaturally.
He didn't have time to dodge.
Slice!
A gash opened across Arthur's body.
Arthur retaliated with a wide horizontal sweep.
"Sun Breathing, Fifth Form: Setting Sun Transformation!"
Kaien leapt into the air, twisting his body to dodge and simultaneously unleashed a sweeping horizontal slash.
The sudden counter made Arthur break into a cold sweat as he ducked just in time—the blade passed over his head, slicing off a lock of hair.
Before he could even react, Kaien's next strike came flying in.
"Sun Breathing, Sixth Form: Solar Heat Haze!"
The rotating, flame-imbued slash landed squarely on Arthur.
"Uwahhhhh!!"
Arthur cried out in pain as the force of the blow sent him flying.
Boom——!!
He crashed into the arena wall, smashing it on impact.
"Ooohhh!! Arthur has been blasted away by Yoriichi! Could this be the end of the battle?!"
Arthur forced himself to stand.
"No! Arthur is back on his feet!!"
"You truly live up to your name, Yoriichi. I had originally hoped to challenge you up close and determine a winner through swordplay. But now I see... I was overestimating myself."
Facing Kaien directly, he finally understood why Clay had darted around like a terrified rabbit.
Before every one of Kaien's strikes, Arthur also experienced hallucinations of his own death. It was only through sheer force of will that he resisted them.
He even tried using those illusions to predict Kaien's next move.
But he was still underestimating the gap between them. He thought he was exchanging blows as an equal, but Kaien's attacks had made it clear just how vast the difference truly was.
"..."
Kaien said nothing. Truthfully, he had an opening to finish Arthur the moment he stepped in—but doing so would've been a bit too rude. After all, Arthur was the strongest swordsman of the Kingdom of Sobea. Ending things in a single move would make the host nation lose face.
'Don't bite the hand that feeds you,' as the saying goes.
He'd end the match respectfully.
Arthur's swordsmanship wasn't weak—but his own was stronger.
"But I still want to know what the real gap between us is."
Arthur raised his sword before his chest, channeling his magic into the blade.
A golden radiance shot into the sky, forming a massive golden sword of light. It was the same move he'd used against Erza, but this time it pulsed with even more concentrated magic power.
Kaien didn't like people who went all out like this—it was supposed to be a contest of swordsmanship, yet now it was a contest of raw magical power.
And with such a long wind-up? Honestly, Kaien had enough time to kill him several times over.
Even without going lethal, he could easily dodge the blow.
But he couldn't do that—not here. Interrupting now would seem cheap.
He couldn't strike. He couldn't dodge. That meant… he had to take it head-on.
Kaien poured his magic into his blade.
But the moment the energy entered the sword, he felt something strange.
Using Transparent World, he looked at the magic coursing from his palm into the blade. At the same time, he could feel it with his body—his senses so sharpened it was as if he was understanding magic for the very first time.
His brain surged into overdrive. Countless thoughts and insights flooded his mind.
He didn't know what this feeling was, but he knew—this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If he missed this chance, he would regret it forever.
Kaien chose to forget everything and fully immerse himself in the sea of consciousness.
Arthur, meanwhile, had finished charging his spell. The colossal golden sword, tens of meters long, stood like a divine blade in the center of the arena.
Seeing Kaien spaced out, Arthur had no idea what he was doing. He wasn't assuming any stance. No sign of dodging, no sign of bracing to defend—just standing there.
But there was no time to wonder. The spell was charged, and it had to be released.
"Judgment of Light!!"
With a shout, Arthur brought the massive sword down.
The radiant blade descended like the judgment of the gods, splitting the sky as it aimed for Kaien.
Kaien made no move to react. Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he wouldn't. He didn't dodge, didn't channel power to block—just slowly raised his blade out of instinct, almost absentmindedly.
But how could one sword possibly block a strike like this?
When Arthur had used this against Erza, she'd needed magic barriers—yet they were torn apart. Even her shield and armor had shattered.
This attack was clearly even stronger than that.
Everyone thought this was it. That Kaien was finished. No one could bear to watch him get cut in half.
Clang————!
A crisp, ringing sound echoed through the air—and then, something that shocked the entire stadium occurred.
The edge of Arthur's golden greatsword clashed with Kaien's blade.
But instead of Kaien's sword being shattered—
It was the golden greatsword that snapped.
Yes—snapped clean in two, as if it had been sliced by something impossibly sharp. The light sword then scattered into glowing particles and vanished.
"..."
The arena fell deathly silent.
Arthur stood frozen in place, eyes glazed in disbelief.