The atmosphere in the semi-finals of the tournament was thick and electric. Thousands of spectators were holding their breath, watching from the massive stadium that surrounded the battlefield. After the events in the match between Elysia and Lucy, a deep excitement and adrenaline were palpable among the crowd. In the center of the field, Rex and Aria stood face to face. The sky had darkened, and with the power of Rex's energy, a fierce storm had begun to swirl in the air.
Thunder rumbled over the stadium, shaking the air and sending chills down the spines of the spectators.
"Well then, Aria. I've been eager to fight you for so long. They say you're the strongest between us. I'll defeat you and show everyone what a huge mistake that is," Rex smiled as he raised his hand, lightning crackling around him.
Aria's eyes reflected the glow of the lights around the field, shining like the sharp edge of a sword. She wasn't going to lose today. She refused to lose.
"Me too, Rex. But you should know this... I'm not planning on losing here today."
Rex narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly. "We'll see," he said, and suddenly shot off the ground, speeding toward Aria.
The fight began with the referee's signal.
The cold and dark aura emanating from both of them was so intense that the silence around the field seemed to hold a storm within it.
Rex suddenly charged forward. Driven by a burning desire to win, his movements were erratic, fueled purely by raw power.
"THUNDER STRIKE!"
When Rex swung his fist, he wasn't just using raw power. The clouds above swirled into a vortex. Aria felt something had changed.
"You noticed, didn't you?"
The electricity in the air had covered the ground like a net. In that instant, Aria understood—dodging Rex's attacks would no longer work.
"Thunder Cage!"
The ground glowed like a net. Every step Aria took pulled her deeper into it; it was as though the electricity wasn't just seizing her body but her very soul. Each lightning strike crashed down on her, weighing down her muscles. She realized this wasn't just a physical battle. Rex's power was pulling in her fears as well.
With a jolt, she was knocked back by an electric shock, her feet leaving marks on the ground. Aria tried to fight back, but Rex's attacks kept coming relentlessly. His strikes came like a hurricane, one after another. Thunder from the sky, shockwaves rising from the earth...
As Aria tried to control her breath, Rex stepped back and suddenly opened his palm toward the sky. "Thunderstorm: King's Wrath!"
The sky trembled at Rex's call, as if it had become something entirely different. Every point where lightning struck seemed to shake the world itself. Aria quickly focused all her attention on this catastrophic power, but there was no place to escape. As the lightning struck, stepping back was like something no ghost could ever do fast enough. Rex's "King's Wrath" attack had engulfed every corner of the battlefield. It was the beginning of destruction.
Aria reacted quickly, dodging to the side, but the explosion of lightning energy pushed her away. She tumbled through the air before crashing into the ground. Despite the pain in her back, she tried to get up, but Rex had already started his next attack.
Rex closed in quickly.
"You're fast, but not fast enough!"
Shouting, he spun in the air and gathered lightning at his feet, kicking toward Aria.
At the last moment, Aria raised her shield, absorbing most of the blow, but still being thrown backward. She was breathless. Rex was too strong. When his physical power and elemental control combined, he was almost unbeatable.
She kneeled on the ground. The world around her was starting to blur. The cheers of the crowd echoed in her ears like a distant hum.
"Is this all?"
Rex asked mockingly, but there was respect in his eyes. "Don't disappoint me, Aria."
The lightning danced chaotically around Rex, making him look like a storm god. Every movement of his was like a natural disaster.
Aria clenched her teeth. She took a deep breath. "No..." she whispered. "It's not over yet!"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind. The sound of a child crying... her own voice.
"Please... Help... Is there no one?"
Aria's eyes momentarily lost focus. The sound of the storm faded into a deep silence.
"I can't lose control again... I've been blessed with great power."
Aria, still kneeling, clenched her fist and struck the ground. She quickly stood up and pulled herself together.
"GET IT TOGETHER ARIA! WHAT DID YOU COME HERE FOR? DON'T LET THE CHILDREN WHO NEED YOUR HELP BE DISAPPOINTED, YOUR POWER IS MORE THAN THIS! GET UP!"
Max's voice echoed in her mind like a lightning strike. "Your power is more than this!" At that moment, Aria saw the line between earth and sky. This was just an arena. This was a battle where a person faces their own fate. And she would not lose this battle. Accepting defeat would mean leaving all her past behind.
"You can't do this."
"You're just a child. Even if you have power, it's not enough."
The muffled voices from her past, the fears that had echoed within her for years... helplessness. She knew that voice well. But she couldn't give up now.
"No…"
Aria's eyes darkened, her body trembled but she didn't kneel.
"I didn't come here to be a burden."
"No… This won't end like this. It can't end!"
Aria took a deep breath. Her eyes refocused. Somewhere deep inside, she felt she had reached the source of her power. A divine light enveloped her body, spreading across the battlefield in waves.
The voice of the child in her mind, no longer a gloomy memory, was now a spark of pure fury pouring onto the battlefield. She wouldn't silence that voice. But she could change it. With her own scream, with her own power!
"Max is right. No child should be like me! I'll create a world where no child has to cry!"
The stone floor beneath her feet cracked with light, each crack seemed to hold the stars of the sky. Glimmers of golden dust appeared in the air.
Aria closed her eyes. A small child appeared before her eyes. Her own past. That helpless child was no longer here.
"This is my battle!"
Suddenly, the light emanating from her body illuminated the stadium. A wave of wind exploded, causing the spectators to jump with excitement. Max smiled and nodded.
"I…" he whispered, closing and opening his eyes. "I won't lose here today."
Seeing that Aria had regained herself, a thrilled smile appeared on Rex's face.
"That's it, Aria. SHOW ME YOUR TRUE POWER!"
The chaotic air around them intensified. The intensity of Aria's power stirred the hearts of the onlookers. Everyone was watching Aria with intense excitement.
As Aria's past loomed over her like a shadow, she had learned to accept it, and now Rex was preparing to attack again.