"What did you think? That you would win?" Caius asked, his eyes glowing in shades of red as he looked at his younger brother, now missing an entire arm.

"I…" Theron tried to speak, but his words were lost as his gaze fell back on his severed arm.

The crowd was just as stunned.

Wasn't Caius the one being pushed around on the platform just seconds ago? Yet now Theron was the one missing an arm—an arm that had disintegrated before their very eyes.

From where to where?

Was this how quickly a battle could change? How quickly one's life could be overturned?

A heavy silence fell as everyone struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

Even the older figures in the crowd were lost in thought.

Theron's arm regenerated soon after, good as new, but his shaken expression remained. He looked at the restored limb, watching it tremble.

"What tremendous force…" a calm male voice echoed across the Federation, drawing everyone's attention.

For the first time, one of the hidden powerhouses had spoken—and he wasn't alone.

"Agreed. This battle is anything but simple. We are about to witness a clash of beasts." Another voice added, and murmurs of agreement followed.

The crowd turned their eyes back to the platform, where Caius and Theron no longer looked like mere humans. To them, they appeared as giant, star-born beasts locked in combat.

"Try again." Theron suddenly lifted his head and challenged Caius.

Caius narrowed his eyes, suspicious, but refused to believe he could suddenly lose.

Boom. Crack.

The ground split as Caius moved swiftly.

Boom. Crack. Pat. Pat. Pat.

Blood spattered across the platform, but the wound closed almost instantly. Still, the shock doubled as everyone realized what had just happened.

Caius' right arm was now clutched in Theron's claws.

Yes—claws. Not hands. Not fingers.

At some point, Theron's body had begun to transform, his skin hardening into scales, his nails elongating into savage talons.

"What are you?" Caius muttered, wide-eyed. Even among the royal siblings, born of powerful bloodlines, this was far beyond expectation.

Caius' mind flashed back to his attack. His speed then had been the fastest he'd shown so far, yet Theron dodged easily and ripped his arm off like paper.

"His entire presence has changed. He resembles a beast more than a man now…" Caius thought, studying him closely.

"Now you're cautious?" Theron sneered, noticing Caius hesitate before making his next move.

"Did you think you were the only one with a bloodline of high potential? Meet the bloodline of the Ancestral Dragon of Stars."

Gasps erupted from the powerhouses.

The crowd was confused.

"Wait—why are they surprised?"

"Is it really that strong?"

An old retired man from the audience stroked his beard and spoke, his voice grave.

"It is. The Ancestral Dragons of Stars are terrifying beings, born directly from the destruction of stars themselves. Their eggs are nurtured within stars, and only when a star explodes can they hatch. The larger the star, the purer the bloodline."

Gasps and gulps spread through the crowd as awe took hold.

"Then how did he inherit such a bloodline?" someone asked the most pressing question.

The old man's eyes narrowed.

"There exist legendary families, long hidden from the world. One of them is the Pious Star-Gazing Clan. It's said their ancestor once saved an Ancestral Dragon of Stars, and in return, they were blessed with its bloodline. That bloodline has run through their veins ever since… and now, apparently, the Crown Prince himself has inherited it. And the purity of his bloodline is…"

His voice trailed off in shock.

"High." Theron continued proudly. "I possess a high-tier Ancestral Dragon of Stars bloodline. There are four stages: Low, Middle, High, and Supreme. And I am just a step below Supreme."

Caius' face turned grim. "I see…"

"Do you? Beyond my true form…" Theron's voice deepened as he growled in pain. His back tore open, and two colossal wings—each spanning two meters—unfurled behind him. His eyes turned golden, and small draconic horns bulged from his forehead.

Boom!

Caius' knees buckled immediately. The platform shook violently, and even the entire Federation trembled beneath the weight of the bloodline pressure.

Everyone realized the truth—if not for General Drezan shielding them, they would have already died.

The pressure was suffocating, godlike. The gap between them and Theron was that of ants to a god.

"I never planned to reveal this form, Caius. I reserved it for Darius. But since you've pushed me this far… you'll face it first." Theron's voice was now colder, darker, echoing with draconic might.

Caius groaned, his body screaming in pain. No matter what he tried, he couldn't withstand the sheer dominance of Theron's bloodline.

Step.

Crackkkk!

The platform sank as fragments shattered into massive chunks. The force behind it alone had reached the level of the Universal Realm.

"What speed?"

"Did he just… disappear?"

Shock gripped the crowd as Theron's body blurred from sight.

His speed was unimaginable. Thousands of light-years? Tens of thousands? No one could even react.

Boom!

A blow landed on Caius' face. His skull cracked instantly, his neck twisted grotesquely, his spine snapped and stretched unnaturally.

Like a ragdoll, Caius collapsed to the ground, twitching in irregular movements.

Silence.

Where Caius had knelt moments ago, Theron now stood, calm and unmoved—as though nothing had happened.

"Did he just… kill Caius instantly?"

The thought echoed in every mind, even General Drezan's.

It wasn't that he couldn't stop it—he was simply frozen in shock.

But just as despair began to settle, a low groan echoed.

Caius' body stirred, blood dripping—but his wounds closed rapidly. Within seconds, he stood again, whole, as if nothing had happened.

Gasps filled the air.

"Wait… wasn't he dead?"

"His neck snapped, his spine broke, but now… he's fine?"

"It must be his bloodline. Eldest Prince Caius has an insane regenerative ability." someone reasoned, and heads nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but no one expected that. Not even Crown Prince Theron. He went for the kill… right then and there."

A chilling realization washed over the Federation.

The earlier words resurfaced in everyone's mind:

"Don't stop until one of us is dead."

Even General Drezan's face darkened. The sheer leap in power was insane. For Caius to nearly die before his eyes—he couldn't help but swallow hard.

"The royal siblings are… terrifying."

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