CHAPTER 282: CHAPTER 282: NOEL VS DIOR

Steel rang against cursed black in a furious rhythm. Dior’s sword came down with relentless force, sparks scattering as Revenant Fang caught the strike. The crowd roared with every collision, the arena vibrating with the tempo of their duel.

Dior shifted. His off-hand rose, wand glowing with dark mana.

"Shadow Blades!"

Black edges of condensed shadow shot forward, slicing through the air in vicious arcs. Even as they flew, Dior’s sword pressed on, his assault unbroken.

Noel’s grip tightened. Flames erupted around Revenant Fang in a sudden burst.

"Ignition Surge!"

The cursed weapon ignited, its edge glowing crimson, heat waves shimmering across the sand. He cleaved through the shadows, scattering them into embers, and drove Dior back with a blazing strike.

The audience exploded with shouts as fire flared brighter against the surging dark. Dior twisted, deflecting the burning edge, and advanced again. Steel shrieked as it met fire, sparks raining in showers across the stone.

Their feet carved sharp circles into the ground. Each step sent sand and fragments of stone scattering, their blades never separating for more than a heartbeat before clashing again. Dior’s shadows hissed, snapping in from the side. Noel cut them apart, each swing of Revenant Fang burning hotter, searing lines into the arena floor.

Blades rang, flames roared, darkness struck from every angle. The duel had become a storm of fire and shadow, the air itself trembling with heat and pressure. The crowd’s thunderous cheers surged with every strike, the spectacle holding thousands in breathless awe. Neither fighter yielded, every movement faster, sharper—the opening act of a battle that promised only escalation.

The clash shifted as Dior raised his wand high, mana surging.

"Water Whip!"

Liquid surged outward, twisting into snapping lashes that cracked through the air. They struck from every direction, forcing Noel to intercept. A shimmering barrier of water followed, absorbing sparks and dimming the flames that clung to Revenant Fang. Steam hissed upward, veiling the arena in a thin mist.

Noel’s blade cut through the fog, his voice sharp.

"Glacialis!"

A concentrated blast of ice erupted, freezing sections of the water mid-motion. The whips stiffened, their arcs locked in brittle shards. Frost splintered, fragments shattering into jagged spikes that tore forward, scattering across Dior’s barrier in a storm of ice.

Dior twisted his wand downward, shadows wrapping his arm. At the same time, a glint of silver burst from his other hand.

"Steel Lance!"

Metal condensed instantly, forming a short spear that gleamed with lethal weight. With a swift thrust, he hurled it. The weapon spun through the air, cutting across the arena like a missile.

Noel stepped forward, flames bursting across Revenant Fang.

"Fire Arc!"

A burning crescent carved outward, slicing the lance mid-flight. Molten fragments rained across the sand, sizzling as they struck. The blazing arc continued forward, slamming against Dior’s watery shield and exploding in a burst of steam.

The crowd roared, voices rising as fire, ice, water, and steel clashed in violent succession. Mist rolled like smoke, broken apart by surging flames and glinting shards of ice. Dior struck with liquid whips, Noel countered with burning sweeps, each exchange tearing at the ground beneath them.

The arena had become a storm of elements—red fire cutting through blue water, white frost exploding into black shadow, steel shards scattered among molten sparks. The chaos reached its peak, dazzling and deadly, every spell tearing the battlefield apart.

The arena trembled as Dior’s water and shadow lashes struck in a violent storm. Liquid tendrils hissed through the air, coated in black mana, snapping down with crushing force. Noel slid back a step, Revenant Fang raised.

"Voltage Needle!"

A sharp crack of electricity split the mist. A blazing bolt pierced Dior’s defense, the lightning tearing across his shoulder and exploding in sparks. The crowd erupted at the sudden breakthrough, cheers clashing with gasps at the precision of the strike.

Dior staggered but did not falter. His wand slashed across the air.

"Shadow Flood!"

From its tip, water and shadow twisted together, forming thick black tentacles. They whipped forward, slamming the ground and striking like living serpents.

Noel answered instantly, raising his hand.

"Frost Wall!"

A barrier of ice erupted before him, thick and jagged. Tentacles smashed against it, cracking the surface, shards flying outward. One tendril punched through, striking across Noel’s arm and tearing into the sand behind him.

The wall shattered, and Noel’s voice cut through the smoke.

"Chain Flash!"

Lightning burst forward, a spear of raw power that slammed into Dior. The main bolt cracked against him, and arcs split away in branching chains, lashing across the ground and striking in a wild radius. Sparks showered through the arena, the aftershocks reverberating with deafening force.

Dior’s form twisted in the current, shadows shielding him partially, but electricity tore across his frame in jagged lines. Steam rose from the sand, burned black where the lightning struck.

Both fighters stood tense, shoulders heaving, weapons raised. The battlefield between them smoked and sizzled, torn apart by shadow and storm. Neither advanced, both locked in a moment of deadly equilibrium, the crowd screaming louder with every second of the standstill.

The air thickened with mana as Dior raised his wand, both hands gripping it tightly. The ground beneath his feet darkened, rippling like liquid night.

"Eclipse Torrent!"

A surge of black water exploded outward, a rising torrent that hissed with shadow, threatening to engulf the arena whole.

The crowd fell into a stunned silence for a heartbeat, watching the wave build, higher and heavier, like an ocean of darkness ready to crash.

Noel planted his feet. Sparks crawled across his body, arcs snapping from shoulder to blade. His voice cut through the roar.

"Stormpiercer!"

A sharp electric crack split the air. Lightning wrapped around him, consuming his figure in blinding light. Then—he vanished. A streak of pure electricity ripped across the arena, blinding in speed, a straight line of devastation cutting through steam and shadow.

The two spells collided at once. Dior unleashed the full weight of Shadow Flood, a crashing wall of darkened water surging forward. At that same instant, Noel’s lightning form speared through, colliding with the torrent head-on.

The impact was cataclysmic.

Water and shadow erupted upward, split by the piercing streak of light. Thunder exploded, deafening in its force, shaking the very arena walls. Electric arcs tore across the stands, whipping into the sky, while the black flood shattered into thousands of streams, exploding outward in violent sprays.

A storm of water, darkness, and lightning consumed the battlefield. The shockwave hurled dust and smoke across every corner of the coliseum, drowning the crowd’s screams in a single, thunderous blast.

When the light faded, only haze remained. Dust hung heavy in the air, hiding the center of the arena from sight. The audience rose to their feet, shouts overlapping in chaotic uproar. No one could see who was still standing.