"Begin!"
The referee leaped backward immediately after issuing the command, his aged figure retreating to the very edge of the arena without another word.
The moment he left the space between them, an almost suffocating silence settled across the battlefield. Tens of thousands of spectators watched without blinking, waiting for one of the two to make the first move.
Kavin didn't.
He remained exactly where he stood, his black eyes fixed upon the beautiful woman standing opposite him.
It wasn't because of her breathtaking appearance, nor was it because he had been captivated by her beauty.
Rather, every instinct within his body warned him that the very instant he allowed his attention to wander, even for the briefest moment, the battle would already be over.
The cold dread radiating from Lyra seeped into every corner of the arena like an invisible blizzard. It wasn't an aura she deliberately released.
