The air was tense as all eyes locked on Ray and Draven, their impending clash drawing every ounce of attention.
Draven stepped forward, closing the distance by a few paces. He raised his hand, fingers curling mid-air into the shape of an invisible grip around a throat. As his palm lifted, so too did Ray—his feet leaving the ground.
An unseen force coiled around Ray's neck. His hands shot up, instinctively clutching at his own throat, but it was useless. His body continued to rise, his voice glitching with strain as he choked for air.
Draven's voice cut through the silence, calm yet venomous.
"Don't die from just one of my attacks…"
The crowd stared in stunned silence at Ray's helpless form.
Karna's legs shifted, ready to intervene, but Ash's hand shot out to block him.
"Karna, no. Let him face this."
"He'll die!" Karna snapped back.
"No," Ash replied with certainty. "Watch."
Karna's gaze shifted back to Ray. Blood began to stream from Ray's nose and mouth, dripping down onto his hands.
Think, Ray… think! Ebon's powers? That drunken swordsman's skill I absorbed?
Wait… I can bend space. Maybe…
Ray dropped his hands from his neck and rotated one wrist, focusing his thoughts.
SPACE MANIPULATION.
Reality distorted between him and Draven, warping ever so slightly.
Draven's extended hand twisted awkwardly—just enough to break his grip.
Ray dropped to the ground, gasping but wasting no time.
"Telekinesis… I've read about this in plenty of manga. An invisible force—five fingers of pressure from a distance. If I warp the space around me, I can cancel it completely."
Straightening his posture, Ray wiped the blood from his mouth. The mark on his neck faded, healing in moments. Gasps rippled through the onlookers.
Bheesm's voice rang out, awe-stricken:
"He bent space itself… a technique thought lost for thousands of years. How does he know it?"
Draven's expression darkened.
"How did he do that? No more tricks—I'll finish him directly."
A faint blue energy wrapped around Draven's hand. In an instant, he vanished in a burst of dust, reappearing inches from Ray. His fist slammed into Ray's stomach. The impact rippled through Ray's body like a wave. Blood burst from his mouth as Draven's voice echoed:
"Effect of Mellinium."
The blow magnified exponentially, Draven's arm punching through Ray's midsection. Ray's consciousness faded, his limp body hanging in the air before being dropped unceremoniously to the ground.
Draven glanced at his own hand—the blue energy gone. His eyes widened.
"He took the full effect… and yet, his body's intact? That strike should have reduced him to pieces."
A dark purple aura began to pour from Ray's wound. Flesh regenerated at a terrifying speed until the injury was gone, the aura now spilling from his entire body.
Draven narrowed his eyes.
"Purple… I've never seen an aura that color."
Ray's eyes snapped open—now glowing a deep, ominous purple.
"All my fear… all my pain… gone. Just like that night against Ebon. This power—this is my true ability."
"Now," Ray said, his voice steady, "I'll take this seriously."
"Were you playing before?" Draven scoffed.
Ray vanished, reappearing behind Draven with a kick aimed at his head. Draven spun, telekinetic force flaring—but the warped space tangled his defense. His only option was to retreat at blinding speed, avoiding the blow by a hair.
'He's fast… not teleporting—just raw speed', Ray realized.
Draven smirked. "Boy, be careful. Now, I'll get serious."
"Wasn't almost killing me serious enough?" Ray shot back.
Blue energy engulfed Draven's hands. The ground shattered beneath him, rocks erupting into the air before launching toward Ray at incredible speed.
Ray lifted a single hand. The stones disintegrated mid-flight, reduced to dust that scattered in the wind.
Draven's irritation showed.
"It's not telekinesis… it's something else."
Ray appeared before him in a blink, landing a punch to Draven's chest. The counterforce couldn't hold; Draven was hurled backward, coughing blood, his coat shredded and soaked crimson.
"Just a bit of space manipulation… but he's still alive", Ray thought.
"You brat… how dare you," Draven growled.
A violent red aura exploded from his body, his hair beginning to shift to a deep crimson. The very atmosphere darkened; clouds swallowed the sunlight, wind screamed across the battlefield, and the ground split apart in wide, jagged cracks.
With a raised hand, Draven tore massive boulders from the earth, shaping and compressing them until one remained—a dark, spear-like projectile no longer than a meter, enveloped in a suffocating aura of malice.
Ray's eyes widened.
"This… this is dangerous."
"To stop this, boy, you'd have to react before it even reaches you. Unfortunately, you can't," Draven said coldly. "I'll send it at three times the speed of sound."
With a roar, he launched it.
Time seemed to slow—fractions of a second stretching into eternity. The spear hurtled toward Ray with certain death in its wake.
And then—
A blinding yellow beam cut through the battlefield, faster than the projectile itself. The rock shattered into hundreds of fragments before it could reach Ray, the shards scattering harmlessly.
As time snapped back to normal, Karna stood between Ray and Draven, his sword blazing with golden flames.
He turned his head, voice calm but sharp:
"Draven, he'll die if you use forty percent of your strength."