CHAPTER 245: DEFEATING LANCE

The hero state, it was no ordinary state, no, it was a state by which the hero harnessed the divine power of the goddess for a small time, pushing his body beyond all known limits and giving him power unlike what he had before.

"Lance awakened that state in a battle to save Vermilion, yet somehow he has awakened it already, this isn’t good," Riven thought.

Lance looked at him and pointed his sword at Riven, it kept vibrating even more. "I wanted so badly to defeat you, so badly that I pushed my body to the max, and I got to the second circle.

But I knew that that wasn’t ever going to be enough, and there was no way that I could get to the third circle, going that fast would shatter my spirit zone and probably kill me.

So instead, I focused on harnessing the divine power of Lumis, with the help of the church. While you were away, I finally connected to her and awakened this state.

So, thank you Riven, because it was you that pushed me to reach this level." Lance said and shot forward like an arrow.

His feet pressed against the ground, barely leaving any marks, yet he was extremely fast. Riven didn’t back down, he held his sword forward, it was now or never.

Riven took a deep breath, "even if you are my enemy, I’ll give you the respect and fight with my all."

Suddenly, his flames changed into the orange flames, hellfire. The flames immediately began burning his own skin, but he didn’t mind, he slashed, releasing a powerful flame arc.

Lance cut through the arc and it exploded, blasting him back. He followed through the air and landed on the ground, and without a single pause, he surged forward again.

Riven fired a flame blast, which Lance cut through. They exploded and he burst through the explosion. He caught up fast and leaped into the air.

Holding his sword over his head, he slashed down. Riven blocked, his knee went down, it hit the ground and cracked beneath him, but he blocked the attack.

"How are you still able to block me, it shouldn’t be possible," Lance said.

"You aren’t the only one with some secrets, Lance," Riven said, his flames increased, the heat got so much that Lance had to back away.

Riven stood there, the flame surrounding him. He looked at Lance, "it’s an irony, I have the power of the devil and you have that of a goddess, pretty darn crazy." He said and rushed forward, channeling all those flames into his sword and attacking with a flame blast.

The ground exploded into bits as Lance dodged and it exploded, but Riven was far from done. He leaped into the air, also slashed down, a powerful flame arc cut through the air. Lance tried to block it but was knocked back.

Riven landed on the ground, his sword still in his hands and the flames still burning hot. He walked toward Lance. Lance, filled with even more rage, decided it was time he ended this.

So in the hero state, he activated Amaterasu, the call of a god. The war-raid took its form, bigger than any that he had used before due to the hero state.

Everyone in the arena was shocked, they looked in awe as Lance attacked with his massive sword.

Riven looked at the sword coming for him, so he took a deep breath, it was time he ended this. The hellfire in him surged higher and spun like a vortex, covering his entire body, it rose like a pillar high into the sky.

The sword slashed through it, but the flames stopped the attack. Lance pressed down, but his sword couldn’t cut lower, it was stopped.

Lance pulled back the sword and was about to attack again, but Riven burst through his flames, his sword in his hands, he stabbed down.

The sword penetrated the chest of Amaterasu, then with a blast of hellfire, he burned it from inside, destroying it in only seconds.

Lance fell from the sky and slammed into the ground, he struggled back to his feet, but he couldn’t do anything anymore.

Rage took over his mind, "arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He let out a roar, a strange black energy began leaking out of his body.

Riven looked at it, and dashed forward, and before Lance could do anything, he used the broad side of his sword and slammed it into the back of Lance’s head, knocking him out.

"Not yet Lance, there is a lot I need to know from you now," he muttered.

Riven wanted to kill Lance, but now that they both knew that they were from Earth, there was a lot Riven wanted to know.

Riven’s flames went down, he stood there at the center of the arena, his clothes burnt at certain points.

Everyone watched in silence, the battle had ended just like that, and the hero candidate was lying down on the ground.

After a few seconds of silence, everyone burst into loud cheers, they didn’t need the announcer to know that Riven had won.

Riven walked out of the arena, he didn’t look back, his figure vanishing. He pulled off the mask and changed his clothes, his body stung from the burns, but he endured them all.

Lance on the other hand was taken out on a stretcher, and the battle officially came to an end there. The arena was still in a boil.

"That was insane! Did you see the flames? I thought the whole arena would burn down!" someone shouted.

"I can’t believe it... Lance was in the Hero candidate and still lost!" another cried, clutching at his hair.

A man slammed his palm on the chair. "Damn it! I bet everything on Lance! Everything! How did that Hero lose?!" His companion only smirked and raised a small pouch of coins, mocking his friend.

All around, voices overlapped. Some cursed their losses, others cheered their unexpected gains.

"I made triple! Triple, do you hear me? Drinks are on me tonight!" one man laughed, jingling his winnings.

Another, still dazed, muttered, "that wasn’t ordinary flame. Did you see how it burned his own skin? Who in this world would wield something like that willingly?"

"It was reckless but... powerful," a woman answered, awe in her voice. "He looked like he was burning himself alive, and yet, he didn’t stop."

Arguments sparked here and there, gamblers accusing each other of rigging bets, priests whispering uneasily about Riven’s flames, and young boys mimicking sword swings in excitement, already retelling the fight in exaggerated detail.

The announcer finally declared the official end, but by then, no one needed to hear it. The crowd was already spilling out, buzzing with noise, some still casting glances back at the arena floor where Lance had been carried away.

Riven, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen. He had slipped away the moment the fight ended, vanishing. By the time the streets outside filled with the noise of departing spectators, he was already moving through back alleys, his mask gone.

Riven walked through the capital stress unknown, to everyone else, he was just another man, blending into the endless tide of people, and tear was the reason he wore the mask to fight, he didn’t want to hear known.

Riven’s body ached beneath his calm stride. The burns stung, his muscles throbbed from strain, but his face betrayed none of it. His eyes scanned the streets for somewhere to eat.

He found it at the corner of a narrow street. A modest restaurant, small lanterns hanging at the entrance, the smell of warm broth and roasted meat drifting out. It wasn’t crowded, just a handful of customers enjoying their evening meal.

Riven pushed open the door. Heads turned briefly, then went back to their bowls and chatter. He walked to a table at the side and sat down. A young waitress approached with a polite smile.

"What will you have, sir?"

"Anything filling," Riven replied.

She nodded and left, and he leaned back in his chair, letting the normalcy of the place wash over him. No roaring crowd, no divine light, no hellfire. Just clinking bowls, quiet laughter, and the faint steam of food drifting through the air.

When the food came, rice, broth, and grilled meat, he didn’t hesitate. He ate steadily, each bite grounding him, pushing away the stress of the battle. His hands moved like a man starved, but his face remained calm, composed, as if this were the most ordinary moment in the world.

To anyone watching, he was just another tired person getting his fill. No one here knew he had stood in the arena only an hour ago.

He finished his food and headed back to the Royal estate to rest. He got back before anyone else was back, so he headed to his bed and crashed immediately, he needed the sleep, tomorrow, he would face the system trial.