Ray and the Hero of Serenity stood across from each other in complete silence.
Only the wind moved between them.
Ray's face slowly twisted into something darker—rage bubbling in his eyes. He clenched his teeth, and finally broke the silence.
"So… once you move, you stop listening. I guess you can't hear me anymore since you're dead."
He took a breath, hatred seeping into every word.
"I wish you could. But it doesn't matter… in the end, I'll kill you with my own hands."
Without warning, Ray shot forward. The Hero of Serenity moved at the same instant.
Their sealed swords clashed with a force that cracked the air.
Sparks burst into the sky as the sound of metal rang out—louder than any sword clash the spectators had ever heard. Despite both blades still sheathed, the pressure of each blow felt like a cannon blast.
Each strike came faster, sharper. The sound intensified, growing with every impact until it thundered through the field like a war drum.
Among the onlookers, Lucius stood calmly at the front. As if lecturing in the middle of battle, he muttered,
"His movement's still sloppy... too soft."
As if Ray heard him from across the chaos, his posture shifted—faster, sharper, cleaner. Every movement grew heavier, yet more precise.
But to the people watching, it made no sense. Ray didn't look sloppy. In fact, no one could see his movements anymore. They couldn't follow them with the naked eye—only sense them in the vibration of the ground and the gusts of displaced air.
They weren't watching humans fight.
They were watching monsters.
A small smile crept onto Ray's face. The thrill of the battle surged through his veins. He lunged, pressing his opponent relentlessly, not giving a single inch for a counter.
His eyes locked onto the Hero's movements, calculating.
Then—Ray suddenly dropped his sword mid-air, letting it float.
Everyone gasped.
He darted forward with his bare fists.
The Hero slashed horizontally at Ray's neck. In response, Ray leaned backward with impossible precision, the blade grazing past.
Lucius stepped in front of the crowd and, with a swift motion, blocked the flying shockwave from the missed slash using only his forearm—as if it were smoke.
Without hesitation, Ray spun midair and delivered a bone-shattering uppercut, knocking the black mask clean off the Hero's face.
Then a fist—right to the jaw.
The Hero was sent flying, his body spinning through the air like a leaf in a hurricane.
Ray leapt, caught his sword in the air, and descended—
But his opponent had already recovered.
The Hero reappeared in front of him in a blink, slamming his sealed blade into Ray's side. Pain shot across Ray's face as he was flung into the left side of the castle.
Before he could stand, the Hero appeared again—teleporting directly in front of him.
A vertical slash screamed downward.
Ray couldn't block it.
So he stopped it—with his bare hand.
The moment his palm met the blade, blue lightning exploded from Ray's body, encasing him in a furious electric aura.
From the ground—without moving an inch—Ray began attacking.
No arms. No legs.
Just presence.
Each invisible strike sent shockwaves at the Hero.
The spectators were speechless. Even Lucius said nothing—his smile widening with pride.
The Hero of Serenity stumbled back, shielding himself from invisible attacks.
Then, trying to imitate Ray, he dashed forward with the same horizontal slash.
But it was stopped.
Ray's pressure alone blocked it mid-air.
Ray gritted his teeth, jumped back, and stared.
His opponent was leaking translucent particles—wisps of smoke-like light dancing off his skin.
Suddenly, Ray was hurled upward, high into the air.
Controlling his body mid-flight, he zigzagged through the upper levels of the castle, lightning trailing behind him like a comet.
He surged downward with a final strike—but the Hero was waiting in the air, blade drawn.
Ray swung first.
The Hero countered.
Steel sang across the sky, the blades moving at such speed they shimmered like starlight.
Ray shouted mid-clash:
"Can't you say something? It's like fighting a corpse!"
His voice echoed across the field, heavy with pain and fury.
People whispered—confused. Why did he say that?
Lucius stepped forward.
He explained what the Hero truly was.
The moment the truth left his lips, gasps rippled through the crowd.
Everyone was stunned.
Except one.
Felix.
He didn't flinch at the explanation. What shocked him wasn't what he heard, but what he saw.
The boy he once mocked—once dismissed—was now standing toe-to-toe with a force Felix had called a monster.
Back in the sky, the clash continued.
Every attack released pressure that cracked the clouds but left the castle untouched—as if the air itself bore the pain.
Rudolph chuckled, "Well… as you can see, this is what we call a Domain of Dancers. Unless you enter it, you can't truly experience the battle."
Then, everyone saw something different.
Both fighters began using a technique.
A dance.
One was smooth, complete—refined.
The other… raw, imperfect. But powerful.
They weren't copying each other. They simply understood the same language of movement.
The dance was their nature. Their identity.
As they descended, their bodies were wrapped in an eerie aura—purple-black smoke, heavy and thick, bleeding from their skin and cloaking the battlefield.
Wherever they moved, the space distorted. Predictable. Then unpredictable. A war of patterns and chaos.
The final clash on the ground exploded like a collapsing star, launching both of them in opposite directions.
Ray landed hard, blood in his mouth.
He closed his eyes, breathed in deeply… then opened them—steeled.
He dashed.
And unsealed his sword.
Lucius whispered sharply, almost angrily: "You idiot…"
But his smile didn't fade.
Ray's sword gleamed as he raced across the battlefield like lightning incarnate.
The Hero of Serenity unsealed his own blade.
They didn't move.
Both stood still, swords drawn, scabbards spinning in the air above them.
The world held its breath.
Ray looked directly into the Hero's face—no longer hidden. It was older, weathered. His hair, black like a starless night. His eyes—deep pools of shadow, with no pupils, just void.
Ray's own eyes mirrored that same darkness. Hollow. Distant. Furious.
Time stood still.
Then—their scabbards dropped.
The moment they hit the ground, both warriors vanished—
And clashed like monsters.
The world could no longer follow them.