The world seemed to stagger to a snail''s pace as Grey and Sheila tried to avoid the spell pulling themselves back, confused about their movement being limited. As if someone placed heavy rocks on their backs.

"Don''t be shy, STAY!" Ryuji''s lips opened, and his voice resounded through the arena, an eerie, indistinct sound like a growling beast.

With the snap of his hand, the ground rumbled like drums in the deep. Huge pillars of rock shot up, forming a gigantic wall blocking their retreat. His wall wrapped around the two people before he kicked Erika and Alicia out of the range with an eerie smile on his lips, a faint black light growing inside his eyes.

"What?! Grey, destroy the damn wall!" Sheila streaked, her voice filled with a hysteric panic.

"Ugh... on it!"

Grey lifted his arm, holding his bastard sword with both hands and swinging down with a brutal strike as if to slay the strongest goblin! With a metallic clang, sparks and a tremor running through his arms, the bastard sword''s tip couldn''t even penetrate an inch into the earth.

"HAH! This wall is too strong! What the hell is he?!" Grey''s eyes were wild while the divine ray approached its heat, now causing his armour to sizzle.

"HURRY UP!" Sheila shouted.

"Hahaha, don''t be boring, come closer!"

With his arms forming a hugging motion. The rock walls began to drag closer to him, forcing Grey and Sheila within two metres of Ryuji as the Divine Ray finally hit them.

BOOOOM!

The divine ray felt reminiscent of an atomic bomb up closed. The huge golden rays rained down, with ear-blasting explosions shaking the whole arena. Ryuji stood with both hands forming a blood aura as he resisted the ray, its pressure causing sweat to flow down his skin, with his expression becoming strained.

"How... HOW ARE YOU RESISTING MY DIVINE RAY?!" Miku''s eyes widened, her jaw dropping with disbelief.

Yumiko''s eyes were no different, while Grey Vaun, The templar, screamed the heat from the divine ray. Its intense heat burned his body from the outside like a can boiling the insides in hot water.

"GYAAA!" Grey''s body, unlike Ryuji''s, was burning alive from the divine ray; the armour, which was considered the most expensive piece of equipment by templars, burned like hot coal, the stench causing Sheila to scream and vomit.

"Grey Vaun! You can''t die like this... The Goddess owns your soul! Stand and fight!" Sheila''s body seemed to be protected from the divine magic with a faint golden barrier.

"GYAAAH... I... I''LL SEE YOU BURN WITH ME, BEAST!" Grey Vaun''s hand lifted, trying to grab Ryuji''s leg and burn him, yet as if out of sheer madness or spite.

Ryuji simply let go of the divine ray, removed all resistance and let it crash into them. His hand grabbed Grey Vaun and crushed his skull like a rotten fruit before he held his body like a shield under the divine ray.

Ryuji''s eyes remained wild, a dark, sinister smile curling his lips before the ray enveloped the arena.

BOOOOOOM!

The arena shook; the divine ray was a powerful spell, not because of the destructive power alone but because it contained an enormous amount of holy magic and required a god or goddess to share their magic.

Yumiko''s eyes twitched, and her ears were ringing. The heat and force from the spell made her tails and hair tremble.

Ryuji stood inside the centre of the spell, surrounded by Grey Vaun''s roasted corpse, yet he stood there as if bathing in a shower. His hands were jet black, and his long silver hair draped down his hips like you might imagine a god of war, shirtless, with well-defined muscles resisting the spell with his sheer resistance.

Meanwhile, in the stands, two people''s eyes widened, one filled with concern and excitement, the other with shock, confusion and anger.

Alan knew that nobody in the current competition apart from Anne could truly hurt Ryuji enough to kill him in a single attack. However, the moment he saw the divine ray and sensed the goddess Lumina''s power, his heart dropped. For the first time, he cursed himself for being a hero under her blessing. Unable to save Ryuji from suffering, he could only watch.

Anne, however, watched Ryuji withstand the divine ray and stand within the arena, his body unscathed, just a little burned like he was getting a suntan.

She recalled the first time watching Alan suffer defeat... Those black glove-like hands... the dark, evil sclera and glowing eyes. Luckily, Ryuji didn''t allow himself to transform fully; otherwise, the entire arena would know his secret.

Sheila was desperate; her goddess wasn''t willing to provide her with the divine blessing to heal her body, and her rod was powerless before Ryuji.

"I surrender, I surrender!"

"Tsk..."

*Pah!*

Ryuji slapped her face with the back of his hand, the impact causing her divine barrier to shatter as she spat blood and rolled across the molten sand.

"YOU--"

"SAVE YOUR WORDS, BITCH!" Ryuji''s body was above her, his foot crushing down on the back of her head. She trembled in the sand with his face looming over her like a demon.

"Ah....."

The apostle''s rod lifted and tried to defend her, only for Ryuji''s foot to kick it away and shatter into fragments, leaving Sheila lying on the ground with sand in her mouth and tears running down her cheeks.

"Wait, wait, wait! The match has ended!" Maki, the announcer, shouted, while two people appeared out of nowhere and easily knocked Ryuji away from Sheila...

Honestly, the atmosphere became strange, a little dark and eerie with Ryuji''s eyes, which looked like they might start to spew out darkness and swallow everyone whole at any moment.

However, Yumiko landed beside him and hugged him tightly.

"Who!"

"Calm down, darling." Her hand stroked his shoulders and reached for his cheeks while placing her lips on his own.

"Ah...You transformed and showed me everything...."

Ryuji''s eyes faded back to white like ink draining before his body half collapsed in Yumiko''s arms, his breathing heavy, and blood dripped from his eyes, nose and mouth before countless wounds started appearing, likely from the damage that he suffered during the battle.

"Ryuji?!"

"....I''m just a little tired, okay?"

Yumiko''s eyes were emotional, a sense of helplessness and anger growing within her heart, her tails moving and embracing Ryuji before healing him.

The remaining survivors stood around the arena. All their eyes focused on Ryuji and Yumiko, some filled with delight and awe, while the audience was filled with terror and fear, unsure of what to say. While Maki announced the winners, not a single person in the audience was cheering.

Alan watched Yumiko dragging the team away. He felt regretful, watching the two S-rank knights from the church escorting Sheila to safety.

A priestess could be cultivated, but the Apostle was something unique and special.

This truth made Alan feel worse because of his oath to Lumina; he couldn''t save Ryuji or help him from becoming a monster or bad guy in other people''s eyes.

''It''s even worse because that girl is still hanging in the air...''

He noticed the change in Anne, but before he could speak to her, she left after shattering half the Royal walls...

Alan looked to the sky and felt doubts in Lumina for the first time in his life.

"Ryuji... are we going to have to fight in such an ugly way in the future?" His mind was terrified the goddess might warp his mind or twist his feelings.