The Author's POV

Human domain, broadcasting studios.

"Kevin and Ren look to be evenly matched so far."

Lorena commented whilst staring at the screen in front of her. Sitting beside her, Zack nodded his head in agreement.

"You're absolutely correct. The two contestants seem to be perfectly matched at the moment. Whenever one of the two has the upper hand, the other quickly pulls out a new move to once again regain the upper hand."

Pressing both of his hands on the table, Zack leaned forward to get a better look at the battle.

Staring at the battle, Zack's eyes started to hurt. He was so mesmerized by what he was seeing. So much so that he forgot to blink his eyes multiple times, and when he realized, his eyes had already started to sting.

But he didn't mind the pain. He felt that it was worth it.

Never in his life had he seen two <B> ranks be so strong.

It was truly shocking.

Lorena was also experiencing a similar situation as Zack as she too couldn't take her eyes away from the screen. Fortunately, the two of them weren't the only people present in the studio as one of the staff helped Lorena recollect herself.

Smiling brightly, Lorena looked at Zack and asked.

"Zack, after seeing the match, are you still of the opinion that Kevin will win?"

"Uh?"

Caught by surprise by the sudden question, Zack had a dumb look on his face. Thankfully, he was able to recollect himself quickly. He had plenty of experience, and so, smiling toward the cameras, he nodded his head.

"Yes, of course."

Extending his hand, he pointed toward the main screen and started to share his analysis of the situation.

"As you've most probably seen by now, although the two of them seem evenly matched, if you pay close attention, neither is going all out. Let's be real, the two of them seem to be treating this more like a friendly spar than an actual fight."

Hearing Zack's word from the side, Lorena subconsciously nodded her head.

It was as he said. Although the fight between the two was extremely intense, there was no real sense of crisis like in the previous matches. It felt more like a match between friend more than anything else.

"From the last match, most of you have already done your research on the two contestants. Therefore, you should already know that the two of them are close friends."

"That's correct," Lorena said before adding. "But what does that have to do with you keeping your decision about Kevin being the victor?"

"Nothing really, I just wanted to say that even though they are evenly matched, Kevin has still not gone all out. Once he does, Ren won't be able to beat him, even if he also is holding back." His words were firm when he said this. As he had already declared Kevin to be the victor, he was going to stick to it till the end.

"Mhhh…"

Lorena squinted her eyes. Her eyes were filled with doubt, however, since Zack was an expert in this field, she decided to no longer question his analysis. At the end of the day, only time would reveal the true victor of the fight.

Before Lorena could further comment on the matter, Zack suddenly stood up and his voice raised.

"Oh, it looks like Kevin and Ren will be finally going all out!"

Startled, Lorena turned her head and stared at the screen where the match was currently being broadcasted, and there she saw two enormous hues clashing in the arena.

One red, and one white.

Waves of billowing heat flowed outwardly from Kevin's body, as he channeled the fire psyons in his body.

A sizzling, feverish swelter enveloped the arena grounds as the temperature shot up. With each second that passed, the greater the hue around Kevin's body became.

Standing on the opposite end of him was Ren, similarly, mana began to sprout out of his body.

Howling gales of strong wind formed as a result of his power, scattering in all directions.

The two hues covered half of the arena each and slowly threatened to devour each other.

Standing in the middle of each hue were the blurred figures of Ren and Kevin who held onto their weapons tightly. Neither one of them moved as they both stood motionless.

"…It's finally starting."

Lorena muttered underneath her breath.

It wasn't just her Lorena who saw this, but almost everyone in the world witnessed the same scene as they held their breath, eagerly waiting for the moment when the two figures would finally reveal their true powers to the world.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait for long.

Boooooom—!

A thunderous explosion reverberated throughout the studio speakers as Kevin's and Ren's figures suddenly disappeared from their spot, reappearing in front of each other.

Before either could even unleash their attacks, the tournament ground beneath them cracked apart, and dust instantly rose in the air, masking the eyesight of the viewers watching.

Bang—!

It didn't take long for the dust to clear and once the dust cleared out, there was another deafening sound of an explosion. The momentum of Kevin's braodsword was like a tsunami, and the limitless red hue came crashing down on Ren's body with unstoppable momentum.

As Kevin slashed, he made sure to keep his eyes locked onto Ren. To his shock, he just stared at his attack with a dull look in his eyes. Before Kevin could react, a subtle clicking sound rang out.

Click—!

Ren's hand blurred, and Kevin's broadsword suddenly met an incredible resistance!

"Khhh…"

Pressing both of his feet on the ground, the veins on Kevin's neck protruded outwardly as he used all of his strength to push forward, trying to gain the upper hand against Ren. However, regardless of how much he pushed, Ren's body wouldn't budge.

"Haaaa!"

Kevin let out a low cry. Like a phantasmal ghost, his figure faded into the air before suddenly reappearing by Ren's side. This was so fast that Ren was unable to react on time. Furthermore, before anyone could even realize it, Kevin had switched from a broadsword to a sword!

His movements became incomparably faster, and in a flash, his sword struck out a couple of dozen times.

Sha! Sha! Sha!

A tight net of deadly sword attacks formed around Ren, trapping him completely.

Kevin's swordsmanship dazzled the crowd as they found it to have reached a point near perfection. For someone as young as him to have reached this level of swordsmanship, the crowd opened their mouth in awe.

Even Lorena and Zack were left speechless by Kevin's dazzling sword mastery. It was just too shocking!

Staring at Kevin's lightning-fast attacks, the audience shared the same thought. 'He can't dodge that.' Not only were the strikes incredibly fast and powerful, but they were also incredibly numerous. Creating this sort of net that left him with no way out.

Instantly some of the viewers watching closed their eyes. They didn't want to see what would be made of Ren's body once he came in contact with Kevin's attack.

All these thoughts occurred in an instant. Between Kevin's masterful and extremely fast attacks, almost everyone in the audience thought that Ren was going to sustain heavy injuries, but at this moment, Ren touched the sheath of his sword.

"Nice try."

His soft voice reached Kevin's ears. Before Kevin could even react, the hue revolving around Ren's body sprang out like never before, reaching for the sky at an unimaginable momentum that left the audience baffled. Following this, a subtle and familiar clicking sound rang out.

Kevin's eyes instantly opened wide as he cursed out loud.

"Shit!"

Click—!

Time seemed to have come to a standstill following the subtle clicking sound. The silence did not last for long, however, as everyone's eyes opened wide.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Dissecting into thousands of equal pieces, the area around Ren distorted. The ground cracked, before splitting into multiple even pieces, and the sky itself seemed to be torn apart as Kevin's attack disappeared into nothingness.

Shooting up like projectiles were the remnant pieces of the rocks that had been split by Ren's sudden attack.

The audience who was watching stiffened up on the spot and their hearts froze.

What had they just witnessed?! It felt as though they had watched someone split the world with a single sword. It was incredible!

Puchi!

Following the attack, blood splurted towards the ground.

Bang—!

Crashing onto the other end of the arena was Kevin's haggard figure. Blood dripped down from his body, as his clothes were torn into bits and pieces.

"Fuck."

Weakly standing up, Kevin wiped the side of his mouth. Grabbing onto the side of his shoulder, he cursed to himself.

At this moment, he was counting his lucky stars. The move that Ren had just done. He had seen it before. Back when he had fought him with Jin and the others.

This was Ren's strongest move and was something that he had not used when fighting against Kimor. Had he used it, Kevin was sure that Ren would've had a much easier time in his fight.

But it was also the reason why he knew this skill that he was able to still be standing. Although his injuries looked serious, they weren't anything to be worried about. At the very last moment, when he realized that Ren was about to use that skill, he used overdrive and managed to narrowly avoid his attack. Of course, he had paid a price for this. He had at least cracked a couple of ribs.

"Khhh..."

Holding onto the side of his chest, Kevin grit his teeth and endured the pain he was suffering.

Bang!

Without wasting any time, still under the effects of overdrive, pressing his foot onto the ground, the red hue around Kevin's body expanded rapidly. In a heartbeat, he appeared before Ren. Switching from sword to broadsword once again, he slashed down.

[The first movement of the Levisha style.]

Clank!

Ren's feet sunk onto the ground as his sword met Kevin's broadsword. Not giving Ren enough time to react, Kevin, raised his broadsword again and slashed out.

[The second movement of the Levisha style.]

Clank!

This time the ringing sound became even more powerful as Ren's feet sank beneath the ground even more. Raising his broadsword, Kevin repeated the movement again.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Every time Kevin attacked, the red hue revolving around his body became even firmer. Not only did his attacks become more powerful, but they also increased in speed.

Furthermore, thanks to the effects of 'Overdrive' Kevin was in a state where he could continuously attack without leaving Ren any room to breathe. Slowly but surely, the strength of his attacks increased more and more, and by the time he had reached the twentieth attack, Ren was already on one knee to the ground.

When the audience saw this, their hearts started to palpitate. 'Is this it? Is Kevin going to be the one that will emerge victorious in the end?' Everyone shared the same thought as they watched Ren's figure slowly but surely lower.

Staring at the match from the studio, a pleased smile appeared on Zack's face as he looked at this development. His analysis was once again correct.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it appears as th—"

But just as he was about to finish his sentence, his face froze. Not only him, but everyone that was watching froze as their eyes opened wide in shock.

Clank!

Striking once again, the hue revolving around Kevin's body became even thicker. It was now the twentieth move, and he was preparing to end the match right now. Although he had managed to keep Ren suppressed, for now, he knew that he didn't have much time. The side-effects of Overdrive were starting to kick in!

Raising his broadsword once again, the hue enveloping Kevin's broadsword funneled in the air like a tall pillar as a terrifying pressure bore down on the whole arena.

"Haaaaa!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs as he raised his broadsword above his head. Lowering his head and staring at Ren who had his head lowered, Kevin mumbled.

"Sorry Ren, but this will be my victory!"

However, just as he was about to slash down, Ren finally raised his head and with a playful smile on his face, he asked.

"Had enough fun?"

"W...what?!"

Seeing Ren's smile, a flustered look appeared on Kevin's face as he felt an ominous premonition.

Before Kevin could make out what was happening, to his horror, over thirty rings suddenly sprung out from Ren's body as they completely encircled him. Then, something shocking happened. Slowly moving around him like satellites, Kevin watched as the rings turned resulting in the flame psyons around his body trembling uncontrollably.

His attack which he had stacked up for so long suddenly lost most of his power! And before he could make heads or tails of the situation, a powerful force came crashing down on his chest forcing him onto his knees.

"Kahhakh!"

The force was so strong that Kevin almost felt the urge to puke. Trying his best to breathe, something hard smacked onto his right hand and his broadsword flew towards the distance.

Clank! Clank!

The sound of his broadsword clattering in the distance rang in Kevin's head as realization soon dawned on him.

Weakly lifting his head up, Kevin saw Ren looking at him with a lazy smile on his face. Placing his sword in front of his head, he slowly said.

"Looks like you still have a long way before reaching my level."