The aftermath of the duel still echoed through the coliseum.
Spectators stood, stunned by the battle they'd just witnessed. Rael and Raiden had given everything. The cheers were only just beginning when—
CRACK.
A sound like the sky being torn apart silenced everything. The clouds above the Central Arena ruptured as if split by divine force. A jagged black rift opened high in the sky, and from its depths descended a nightmare.
Greed.
The fourth Demon General of the Demon king Lucifer.
He crashed onto the arena stage like a fallen meteor, shaking the earth. Obsidian armor covered his hulking frame. His horns curled like a ram's, and black chains writhed from his back like sentient serpents. His eyes glowed with unholy crimson fire.
> Greed (voice like a growl of thunder):
"Lucifer wanted patience. But I've grown bored of waiting. You… boy… you carry the scent of Pride's death. Rael Ramos. Found you."
The entire coliseum froze.
Silence turned to chaos.
Screams erupted from the stands. Teachers instantly sprang into action, barriers flaring as they coordinated evacuation.
Dean Alric's voice boomed through the magical intercoms.
> Dean Alric:
"All students retreat to the underground shelter! This is not a drill! High-priority threat in the arena!"
A dome of protective light shimmered over the stands as professors and enchanters herded panicked students toward the exits. Magic flared. Shields shimmered.
Rael stood still at the center, gripping Solstice Edge. Raiden, wounded but conscious, looked up in shock.
> Raiden:
"Damn it… That's one of them…"
Rael clenched his jaw and turned to the teachers helping the younger students.
> Rael:
"I'll buy you time. Get everyone to safety."
> Professor Elwynn (sternly):
"Rael, don't be reckless—"
> Rael:
"I'm not. I'm resolved."
He ran toward the crumbling wall to help a trapped student, lifting fallen debris with ease. A second later, he flared his mana, forming a barrier around three others while shielding them from Greed's emerging aura.
---
Slaughter of the Vanguard
As Rael dashed back toward the battlefield, a squad of Royal Silver Knights arrived from the teleport array. Their armor gleamed, bearing the crest of the Eldorian Crown. High-ranking elite warriors, each at Master-tier.
> Knight Commander:
"Target the demon! Formation Omega-9!"
The knights unleashed a barrage of coordinated spells and sword techniques. Thunder roared. Spears of holy light surged. Ice chained his legs.
For a moment, the crowd dared to hope.
Greed didn't dodge.
He stepped forward.
BOOM.
One swipe of his chain-laced fist disintegrated three knights mid-air. Their bodies crumbled like dust. The rest didn't even have time to scream.
Another wave of his black flame swept out, turning the arena floor to molten lava. The commander was impaled by a whip of living chain. Others lay unconscious or dead in twisted heaps.
> Greed:
"Is this your elite? Tch. Pathetic."
Rael's fists tightened. His cloak fluttered as power rippled beneath his skin.
> Rael (quietly):
"That's enough."
---
Second Awakening: Radiant Ascension
The wind stilled. The light around Rael flickered—then burst.
WHOOM.
Solar mana exploded from his body in a radiant pillar that pierced the sky. A pulse of divine energy knocked Greed back a step. Even spectators hidden under barriers felt the wave like warmth and lightning combined.
Rael's body transformed.
His hair grew long, glowing with a white-blue brilliance, strands drifting like silk in zero gravity. His eyes became golden mirrors, radiating unwavering intensity. His aura sharpened into a solar halo, each ray slicing through the darkness.
The sky darkened. Stars blinked out.
Only a celestial circle of light above the arena remained—like a new sun had appeared just for him.
> Rael (voice echoing with power):
"Second Awakening: Radiant Ascension."
Power x100.
Reflexes. Strength. Agility. Mana Recovery. Time Perception—Enhanced.
He could stop time itself in bursts.
---
The Battle: Radiance vs. Greed
Rael vanished.
Greed barely lifted his arm in time to block a devastating blow that shattered the arena stone. Rael struck again, appearing behind him, his blade gleaming with searing light.
SLASH.
Greed howled as solar fire carved into his side. He retaliated, hurling chains—but Rael slowed time with a pulse of divine will. The chains stopped midair.
He ducked, dashed, slashed—blurring through the battlefield like a storm of light.
> Greed (roaring):
"You insolent child—!"
> Rael (coldly):
"This is for every life your kind has taken."
Greed unleashed his full demonic form—towering wings, black flame bursting outward.
But Rael soared into the air, suspended in a sphere of solar magic. His hands formed a sigil.
> Rael:
"Solari Art: Divine Spear – Sunpiercer."
A javelin of light formed above him, pure and radiant.
He hurled it down.
BOOOOOOOOM.
It pierced Greed's chest, creating a hole of burning radiance. The demon shrieked, his chains flailing, flesh dissolving under holy flame.
Rael landed in front of him.
> Greed (coughing black blood):
"You… damned Brat... Student trash…"
Rael raised Solstice Edge, now glowing brighter than ever.
> Rael:
"Burn in the light you tried to extinguish."
SWOOSH.
With a final strike, he cleaved through Greed's body—splitting the demon's core.
Greed let out one last roar as he erupted into black dust, his chains disintegrating in midair.
---
Silence.
The sun broke through the dark sky.
The crowd didn't cheer.
They stared—shaken, awed, terrified—at the lone figure standing amidst fire and ruin, white-blue hair still glowing, eyes unreadable.
Rael lowered his sword.
Collapsed to one knee.
> Rael (faint whisper):
"Greed is dead."
Dean Alric and the surviving teachers rushed in, quickly stabilizing the collapsed knights and checking Rael's vitals.
Evelyn, Eris, and Lyra were seen sprinting toward the battlefield, faces pale with worry.
Rael stood amid the smoldering ruin of the arena, his breathing steady but his gaze distant. The solar glow around him dimmed, his Second Awakening fading as exhaustion crept into his bones.
He looked toward the blackened sky where Greed had fallen.
(Rael's inner thoughts):
"Pride… now Greed… That makes two down."
"Only Envy and Wrath remain."
"Two generals left… before I reach Lucifer himself."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Then stood.
Still burning with purpose.