The students' voices rose throughout the training ground, their hearts filled with anticipation. Everyone thought that Saruto and Lucian wouldn't last more than a few moments against the master, especially after their previous failure.
The master stood in the center of the ground, his broad frame surrounded by an explosive black aura. He smiled mockingly and said, "Let's see... Have you learned anything from your previous failure? Or is your expulsion just a matter of time?"
Saruto and Lucian exchanged a silent glance. The master roared, and suddenly his power exploded. He stamped his foot on the ground, scattering stones and shaking the earth. He charged toward them with stealthy speed, but Lucian reacted faster. He raised his hand, and a massive wall of ice formed between them and the master.
With a single blow, the master shattered the wall, but that moment gave Saruto the opportunity to surge forward. With his two swords bound by chains, he gathered his dark energy, and his blades slithered like snakes, coiling around the master's arm, trying to restrain him.
The master chuckled derisively as he effortlessly freed himself from the chains, but suddenly, from a distance, sharp, icy spears shot from Lucian's hand toward his weak points. The master was forced to dodge, his eyes narrowing in astonishment: "They're alternating... between attack and defense...?! When... did they become compatible?"
The students' eyes widened, and whispers began to circulate: "They're... actually cooperating!"
"Impossible...!"
The fight intensified. His energy aura exploded around him like a dark tornado, and a thick spiritual shield appeared on his body. He lunged at Saruto with a devastating blow that nearly shattered the ground beneath him. But at that very moment, Lucian raised a solid icy barrier to deflect the master's attack, allowing Saruto to escape.
He reshaped his swords and charged at the master. A sword strike from his left, icy spears from his right, and a barrage of attacks left the master no choice but to defend. "Damn it...!" the master roared, doubling his strength. Luminous metal gloves appeared on his hands, and he began to deflect every attack directed at him. Even the air trembled from their power.
Saruto and Lucien were backing away, but despite their sweat and wounds, they didn't stop. On the contrary, their synergy grew stronger with every passing moment. The master shouted, gathering his aura throughout his body: "You're finished!"
He surged forward with tremendous force, but suddenly Saruto yelled: "Now, Lucien!"
His dark swords coiled around the master's body to restrict his movement, and at the same moment, hundreds of icy blades shot out from every direction, forming a sharp cage that sealed him in. But the master unleashed his energy with tremendous force, breaking the chains and blades in a single blow, his body glowing with a powerful aura. Lucien smiled despite his exhaustion: "He's stronger than I expected..."
Saruto smiled back, wiping the blood from his mouth, and said: "That's why we'll use everything."
Their auras soared into the sky, their energies merging in preparation for the final assault, two opposing forces becoming one. Then they shouted together, "This is the end for you, you fool! Surrender!"
They launched a coordinated attack toward the instructor. The professor screamed and lunged forward with all his might to block the assault. The ground shook beneath their feet, the air exploded with the force of the impact, and the students screamed, desperately searching for cover.
After seconds of terrifying pressure, a massive explosion of energy filled the arena with a blinding light. When the light dissipated, the professor dropped to his knees, breathing heavily. He smiled, wiping the blood from his mouth, and said in a deep voice, "You have won, you two fools."
The students froze, then gasps of astonishment and disbelief filled the air. Some clapped nervously, while others stared in genuine awe.
Saroto and Lucien stood in the middle of the ring, exhausted, their bodies covered in wounds, but their gazes were full of determination.