CHAPTER 66: THE CHALLENGE

The wind shifted.

Not a breeze.

A pulse.

Lucian’s eyelids twitched, barely.

He didn’t look up—not yet. But he felt it. The weight. The intent. It wasn’t loud. No announcement. No cheer.

Just a single pair of footsteps clicking against the stone.

She came from the north gate. Alone. No escort. No fanfare. The moment she stepped onto the field, the pressure changed.

Not wild like a beast.

Not erratic like a novice.

It was precise. Sharpened. Balanced.

Like a knife held at your neck by someone who’d done it before.

Lucian opened his eyes.

She was already halfway across the field. Black combat boots. Sleeveless top. Tight bindings wrapped around both arms—each marked with silver circuit lines pulsing faint blue. Hair shaved on one side. Her eyes burned gold, not from magic, but will. Trained. Forged.

She stopped five meters from him.

Lucian stood slowly.

"...Name?" he asked.

The woman cracked her neck, loose. "Lira Voss. A-Rank. From Helios Gate."

Lucian gave the smallest nod.

Helios Gate wasn’t known for flare. It was known for killers.

"Permission?" she called toward the judges’ box.

Athena didn’t flinch. "Granted."

The air cracked.

Lira’s left foot dug into the stone and she vanished.

Lucian moved—not backward, but into her.

She appeared in a twist of air, throwing a crescent kick wrapped in kinetic light. Lucian blocked with his forearm, but the force knocked him a step back.

She didn’t give him space. Fists lit with short-range burst runes flew at him in a tight flurry. Left. Right. Elbow. Knee.

Lucian flowed.

He caught her wrist mid-swing and spun low, sweeping her legs. She flipped mid-fall, planted one hand, and kicked off it, flipping back into a stance.

His hand smoked from the contact.

Kinetic burns.

Interesting.

She rotated her shoulder once and came again. No build-up. Just motion. Combat instincts tuned so tight, she didn’t think—she reacted.

Lucian sidestepped a hook and drove a flat palm toward her chest. She caught it with both hands, twisted, and redirected the energy into the ground. The stone cracked. Lucian flickered back and raised an eyebrow.

Lira smirked. "You’re holding back."

"So are you."

Their auras expanded.

Gold light rippled off her like solar fire. Her runes lit up down her arms, trailing into her fists like rails. Her next step shattered the floor.

Lucian exhaled.

Time slowed around him.

Just slightly.

He stepped sideways as Lira’s enhanced fist tore past where his head had been. He leaned in, ducked under her follow-up kick, and jabbed her ribs with two fingers.

Light burst from her side.

She winced, sliding back, but kept her stance.

"You’re using internal flow," she said, breath short.

Lucian didn’t answer.

She activated a burst seal on her left shoulder. It detonated a wave of kinetic shock around her body.

He braced.

But she used the force to launch behind him, reappearing mid-air, and slammed her knee down.

Lucian moved—

But not fast enough.

Her knee slammed into his shoulder, driving him down.

The field cracked beneath his feet.

He rolled instantly and came up just in time to catch her follow-up spin with both arms.

His feet slid back several meters.

She landed, smirked again, blood dripping from her lip.

He wasn’t blocking everything anymore.

Lucian flicked the blood off his mouth with his thumb.

"Better," he said.

Then he vanished.

Blink.

He reappeared behind her.

But she twisted, expected it. Their limbs clashed mid-strike. Kinetic blasts exploded around them with every blow. She dragged runes mid-air, forming a brief shield of force—he broke it with one punch.

She coughed blood.

He grabbed her arm and tossed her over his shoulder—but she twisted mid-air and rebounded off the field wall, launching back with a glowing spiral kick.

Lucian slid low and dodged it by a breath.

Then he stepped inside her guard.

No tricks.

Just a clean right hook to the jaw.

Her head snapped sideways, mouth spraying red.

She staggered—then charged.

Still fighting.

Still pressing.

They collided again.

Fist. Knee. Elbow. Palm. Every hit sharper than the last.

She locked his arm and tried to break his shoulder—he dislocated hers in return. She pulled her bone back in place with a scream and hit him in the face with a rune-boosted knuckle.

He spun.

Grinned.

"You good?"

"Not done."

She launched upward, formed twin rings of light and began firing compressed kinetic bullets. Lucian zig-zagged through them, vanishing between shots, closing the gap.

He appeared above her.

Spun.

And dropped a knee into her gut.

They hit the field together.

Stone exploded. Dust shot up in a wave.

When it cleared, Lira was down.

Breathing hard.

Eyes open.

Barely conscious.

Lucian stood over her, body bruised but calm.

He offered a hand.

She took it.

No words.

Just respect.

They separated.

No cheers.

Just silence.

A different kind this time.

One of awe.

Lucian didn’t wait for the next one to be called.

He turned back to the center and sat again.

The moment he did—

Another stepped out.

This one—taller. Bulkier. A boy wrapped in white armor etched with crimson seals. He said nothing.

Just walked.

And the fight started the second he crossed the line.

This one was raw power. Tank. Barrier-class with brute strength.

Lucian didn’t use speed this time.

He met force with finesse.

Redirected blows. Slipped through gaps. Targeted joints. Snapped one of the boy’s arms out of socket mid-fight and took him down with a brutal counter.

Another one came.

A twin-saber user with mirage movement.

Fast.

Too fast for most.

Lucian didn’t chase him.

He waited. Found the rhythm.

And the moment he struck—it was over in two blows.

Then another came. Then two more. A sniper-type. A gravity mage. A double-caster who tried to lock him in a null-zone.

Lucian tanked through every spell. Broke her guard with one kick. Dropped her before the second barrier could come up.

He wasn’t unbeatable.

But he wasn’t slowing down.

Hours passed.

The sun shifted.

And still he waited, bruised, breathing heavier, but still seated, still upright.

Then—

A voice echoed through the arena.

"That’s enough."

Lucian’s head turned slightly.

The crowd followed.

A figure stepped down from the highest balcony.

Black coat.

Burn-scarred hands.

He didn’t rush.

Didn’t radiate power.

But the way the light bent around him...

Lucian stood.

Finally.

"...You," he said quietly.

The man smiled.

"Me."

The arena exhaled all at once.

Because even before the fight began—

Everyone felt it.

This wasn’t just another match.

This was what Lucian had been waiting for.