The sun rose high over Glory Academy, casting a golden glow across the vast arena. The air was buzzing with excitement, the stands packed with students, teachers, and spectators waiting for the next big clash.
Backstage, Rahul stood tall, clenching his fists with determination in his eyes. His heartbeat echoed in his ears, but his mind was sharp—focused.
"So the day has finally come," he thought, fire already beginning to flicker faintly around his arms. "If I win today… I'll reach the finals. I'll finally get to fight Bright—my brother, my rival. This match… I'll fill it with fire!"
He punched his palm and let out a confident, fiery grin.
"Let's make this battlefield burn!"
The gates opened. Rahul stepped into the arena, flames dancing lightly along his footsteps. Across from him stood his opponent—Leon Blackmane, a composed and serious-looking boy with silver hair and a pitch-black cloak swirling around him. His presence was quiet, yet unnervingly strong.
The crowd's noise dimmed as the announcer's voice boomed through the loudspeakers.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The last semi-final match of Glory Academy's grand tournament begins now!
On the left, the blazing storm—RAHUL VERMA! And on the right, the dark tempest—LEON BLACKMANE!"
The camera zoomed in on both faces, their expressions locked and unmoving.
The announcer continued, "Contestants! Are you ready?!"
Rahul raised his arm, his eyes glowing with a flicker of fire. "Yeah! I'm more than ready!"
Leon simply nodded, calm and sharp, "I'm ready."
The atmosphere turned tense. Sparks of power leaked from both sides, pressuring the air between them.
"Ready... Players! 1… 2… 3… START!!"
And in that moment, the arena lit up with blinding energy, and the semi-final battle began.
The moment the announcer's shout echoed across the arena, Leon vanished.
Rahul's eyes widened.
"What the—?"
Before he could react, a blur of shadows appeared behind him.
CRACK!
Leon's boot slammed into Rahul's back with devastating force, sending him flying across the battlefield. He crashed onto the stone tiles with a grunt, sliding several feet before coming to a halt.
The crowd gasped. Dust lifted. The difference in speed was overwhelming.
Rahul coughed, struggling to stand. His muscles burned. But his eyes—those fiery eyes—narrowed with focus.
"He's fast… too fast. Shadow blink. No sound, no warning…"
He steadied his breathing, eyes locked onto Leon with newfound sharpness.
"I need to read his movements. Watch for patterns. Feel his presence. I can't let him get behind me again."
Leon stood in silence, expression unreadable. From the darkness beneath his feet, a long shadow-blade rose up, forming into his hand like liquid steel.
A necromancer's craft merged with shadowmancy—deadly and elegant.
Suddenly, Leon vanished again.
But this time, Rahul was ready.
Just as the shadow flickered behind him, Rahul pivoted swiftly, turning to block.
WHAM!
Leon's punch still came, strong and precise—but Rahul barely ducked, the attack grazing past his cheek.
The blow landed into the ground behind him instead, shattering the arena floor like glass under pressure.
A shockwave burst out from the impact point, sending debris and dust flying into the air. The crowd erupted in awe.
"Tch… that power…" Rahul muttered, sweat dripping down his brow.
"His attacks aren't just fast—they're deadly. But I can't go down now. Not when I'm this close."
He clenched his fists, fire flaring from his arms, and narrowed his stance.
"Alright then, Leon. Let's turn this up."
Rahul charged forward at full speed, his eyes locked onto Leon. This time, he wasn't holding back — fire flared faintly around his fists, and determination burned in his gaze. As he closed in, his punch was just inches from landing straight onto Leon's face.
But in a flash — barely a centimeter before impact — Leon tilted his head slightly, dodging the punch with impossible precision. Before Rahul could react, Leon appeared behind him like a ghost from the shadows and drove a brutal punch into his back.
Rahul was sent skidding across the arena floor, coughing as dust lifted around him. He groaned, barely catching his breath, and muttered under it, "Even that close... how's it possible to dodge at that range — and appear behind me instantly...?"
He forced himself back on his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. His sharp eyes followed Leon carefully now. He wasn't rushing anymore.
"I need to understand his power... it's shadow-based. He always attacks from behind — never directly. Why? What's he using...?"
Then it hit him. "Of course... that's it. He's using the shadows to teleport — blinking through them. That's why he keeps vanishing and appearing behind me!"
Rahul's lips curled into a smirk. He clenched his fists, fire dancing across his knuckles. "Alright then," he growled, raising his head with fire in his voice.
"Now that I know your trick... things are about to get interesting. Come on, Leon!"
Rahul dashed forward again, flames surging around his fists, but this time, his mind wasn't focused on landing the punch — he had a plan.
"I'll pretend to go for a direct attack," he thought, smirking slightly. "And when he tries to teleport behind me... I'll flip it and strike from behind instead. Let's see how he likes that."
As he rushed toward Leon, his speed a blur, the flames from his body lighting up the battlefield, he prepared himself to twist mid-air — just as Leon blinked.
But then—
Suddenly, dark hands emerged from Rahul's own shadow on the ground, grabbing his legs and torso like ghostly chains. His eyes widened in shock.
"W-What the—?!"
He struggled, trying to move, but the shadowy limbs locked him in place.
Leon appeared before him, calm and grinning — a dangerous grin, one that reeked of confidence and cruelty. His violet eyes gleamed as he tilted his head.
"What did you think?" Leon said, voice low, almost playful. "That I'd keep using the same trick again and again? That I'm like the other weaklings you've fought before?"
He gave a short, amused chuckle, then raised one hand — a swirling, dark sword materialized from the shadows in his palm. Black lightning danced along its blade.
"Then dodge this," Leon growled.
"Shadow Sword Art: Thousand Blade Strikes."
With that, a storm of shadowy blades burst from behind him, rushing toward Rahul like a tidal wave of death, each one sharp enough to slice steel.
Rahul's eyes widened in terror — trapped, unable to move.
The blades closed in.
Just when the thousand shadow blades were about to pierce Rahul, a sudden, deafening blast of flame erupted from the center of the arena. A fiery shockwave burst outward, disintegrating the incoming shadow blades into smoke and ash.
Leon took a surprised step back, his eyes narrowing.
"What the hell...?"
As the smoke cleared, Rahul stood at the heart of the flame — completely transformed.
His body was engulfed in a majestic fire, glowing gold and crimson. His eyes radiated a fiery intensity, and on his forehead, a blazing phoenix symbol shimmered into existence, pulsing with ancient energy.
His voice was low but fierce.
"I didn't expect I'd have to use my phoneix contract so soon..." he muttered, his gaze fixed on Leon.
"But you're stronger than the others. You deserve your top rank in Glory Academy. That much is true."
He raised his flaming fists, eyes burning with determination.
"But that's where your glory ends — within this academy. Because I'm going to defeat you right here, right now."
Then, with a roar, Rahul surged forward, a trail of phoenix fire left in his wake. The heat of his flames cracked the arena floor beneath him.
Leon didn't flinch. Instead, he smirked darkly.
"Interesting..." he whispered, and then raised both hands. "Necromancer Summon: Rise!"
A dark portal opened beneath him, oozing shadows. From the abyss, skeletal warriors clawed their way out — armored knights with rusted swords, skeletal mages wielding dark spells, and towering bone tanks dragging heavy black shields.
The battlefield now looked like something out of an apocalyptic war.
"Let's see how long your flames last against an army of the dead," Leon taunted.
Rahul didn't hesitate.
"Let's begin the real fight."
With that, phoenix flames and dark necromancy collided — lighting the arena in a storm of chaos, fire, and shadow.
Rahul charged through the skeletal army like a blazing comet, his flaming fists tearing through bone and shadow. The first knight leapt toward him, rusted blade raised — but Rahul's flaming punch shattered its skull into ash.
"Too slow," he muttered, spinning and knocking two more knights into pieces.
But just as he moved forward, he noticed something strange. The shattered bones of the skeletons started to rattle and pull themselves together.
A green glow flickered in the air — the skeletal mages, hidden at the rear, were chanting.
With a sinister crackle of dark magic, the defeated skeletons stood once more.
"Tch..." Rahul clicked his tongue, frustrated. "They can revive them? That's going to be a problem."
The fight dragged on. Every time he crushed a knight or shattered a warrior, the mages would restore them like puppets. Rahul's flames danced across the battlefield, but the endless cycle wore him down.
Then suddenly — a tremor shook the arena floor.
BOOM.
The skeleton tank entered the battle, its massive body clad in dark enchanted armor. The ground quaked beneath its every step, and its shield gleamed with an unnatural glow.
Rahul rushed at it, his body still cloaked in phoenix flames. He struck with all his strength — a direct blow to its chest.
CLANG!
The impact echoed, but the tank barely budged. Its armor held. Rahul's eyes widened slightly.
"Its defense is something else…"
He stepped back, breathing heavily. But only for a moment.
With fire building in his palm, he launched himself upward, charging power into his fists.
"I'll blow them all away!"
He landed in the middle of the undead army, and with a fiery war cry, slammed his fist into the ground.
"Phoenix Fist: Infernal Burst!"
A shockwave of fire exploded outward, shaking the arena and consuming half the skeleton army in an inferno. Bones turned to ash. Screams of necrotic spirits echoed and vanished into smoke.
But again — the skeletal mages raised their staffs.
And one by one, the shadows began to pull those bones back together again.
Rahul's breath grew heavier.
"This is turning into a war of attrition… and I don't have infinite stamina."
His eyes scanned the field.
"I need to take out those mages — fast."
Rahul weaved through the onslaught of skeletal warriors, dodging each swipe and thrust with fiery agility. His eyes burned with determination as he closed the distance toward the true threat — the skeletal mages.
Their summons were powerful, but their movement was slow — too slow to catch someone like Rahul when he was focused.
Leon watched from a distance, frustration flickering in his eyes. He couldn't intervene, not now. Maintaining control over so many undead puppets required his complete concentration. If he stepped in to fight directly, the entire army would collapse.
"Tch… he figured it out," Leon muttered.
Within seconds, Rahul burst through the final line of defense and landed a punch that shattered the first mage into ash. The flames of his Phoenix contract flared around his fist like a living creature. The other two mages barely had time to react before they too were reduced to dust under Rahul's burning fists.
With the mages gone, the skeletons faltered — their movements stiffened, then halted, before collapsing into heaps of lifeless bone.
The battlefield fell silent.
Only Leon remained.
Rahul looked up, his eyes fierce. "Now it's just us."
He lunged forward, a roaring flame enveloping his body. "Inferno Flames!" he shouted, hurling a massive wave of fire toward Leon.
Leon's eyes widened. He couldn't teleport — not now. The Phoenix's power was overflowing, the sheer heat warping the space around Rahul. Teleportation in that kind of energy field would be suicide.
"So fast…" Leon whispered. "Phoenix power... even five percent is more than enough to knock me out."
Gritting his teeth, Leon raised his shadow blade — and powered it up.
The blade grew darker, heavier, larger — shadow overflowing from it like ink spreading in water.
"Shadow Sword: Stage Two — Giant Shadow Blade!"
He planted his foot firmly and swung with all his might.
"Vertical Slash!!"
The colossal blade of darkness came crashing down as Rahul met it head-on, summoning Phoenix fire into both hands.
Their attacks collided.
BOOOOM!
An explosion of fire and shadow erupted, shaking the entire arena. The ground beneath them split open and a massive crater formed at the epicenter of the impact.
Dust, ash, and smoke billowed into the air.
Both fighters now stood deep within the gaping pit, surrounded by broken ground and scorched remains of the battlefield.
Leon knelt on one knee, blood trickling from his mouth. His body was bruised and breathing labored.
Rahul stood across from him, flames still flickering faintly around his body. Despite the damage he had taken earlier, the Phoenix flames had already healed most of his wounds.
His eyes remained locked on Leon — calm, unshaken, and ready for more.
A sense of dread began to seep into Leon's thoughts as he wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. His breathing was heavy, his arms trembling from the last clash. Deep within the shattered arena, both he and Rahul stood amidst debris and smoke, the battlefield turned into a crater of fire and shadow.
"Is this it…?" Leon muttered, staring at Rahul, who still stood strong—his body cloaked in flaming feathers, the glowing phoenix crest blazing on his forehead.
The flames around Rahul seemed to whisper ancient power, and though he was injured, the mystical fire was steadily healing him. A cold realization crept into Leon's heart. Am I going to lose? To him? I thought Bright would be my only challenge… but this guy… he's no less.
Just then, a sharp chill spread across his spine.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced—
He was in a secluded cave months ago, deep in training, when a cold voice had echoed from the shadows behind him.
"Bright… he's growing stronger. His power is awakening. Beast power… primal… ancient," the voice whispered.
Leon didn't turn. He already knew who it was.
"You're right," Leon had said softly, "Bright is evolving. And that's why I need to be even stronger…"
The shadow that extended from his back slowly stretched upwards, rising like a second figure.
Yes—unlike ordinary shadow summons, this one could think, speak, even act independently. It had a mind of its own. It wasn't just his shadow. It was Shadow Leon.
A cursed reflection. A devouring force.
Unlike other summons, this shadow had once told him, "I am not a puppet. I can grow, consume, evolve. I can even devour other beings—absorb their powers. I showed you this path. I gave you the necromancer's tome. You became strong because of me."
And now—back in the present—the shadow spoke again.
"Give me your body, Leon…" the voice echoed inside his head like a thousand whispers. "Just for a moment. Let me finish this. Let me take his powers. Let me devour him. Devoooourrrr him…"
Leon's eyes widened. His knees buckled slightly as he fought the internal pressure.
"No… Not yet…" he whispered.
But the shadow pressed on, its voice growing louder, more desperate.
"Let me in. Let me take control. He's injured now… just a little more and we can take him down! GIVE. ME. YOUR. BODY!"
Leon fell to one knee, his hand gripping his chest. The shadow behind him twisted unnaturally, its eyes glowing with hunger.
Back in the battlefield, Rahul noticed something odd. Leon's body was shaking, and a strange, dark mist had begun to rise around him.
"What… the hell?" Rahul whispered, flames flaring around him.
Inside Leon's head, a war raged.
"You're nothing without me."
"I made you strong."
"Let me out!"
With a strained cry, Leon's voice cracked as he clutched his head, "Grahhhh!!"
From behind, the shadow surged, its voice echoing loud and chilling—
"NOW… THE REAL FIGHT BEGINS."
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To be continued...