The air itself shattered when Roy unleashed his final attack.
The clash between the bandit leader and the mysterious man had pushed the arena to its limit. Lightning and ice danced violently, but Roy had one last card to play. His voice echoed through the crumbling arena:
"Let's end this—NEGATIVE FREEZE: MINUS ZERO!"
A sudden silence fell.
Then the world turned to frost.
The ground erupted into a chilling wave of absolute zero. Ice darker than midnight began crawling across the arena, freezing everything in its path. Bandits and survivors alike turned to statues within seconds.
Panic set in.
"RUN! IT'S MINUS ZERO!"
"NO ONE'S EVER SURVIVED THAT!"
Masses of bandits scattered like ants, fleeing from the approaching doom. Aryan grabbed Selena's hand. "We need to get out! NOW!"
Kat and Molly sprinted beside them, blades drawn. "Too late to run. We hold it back!"
Aryan's body burst into flames, attempting to fight back the cold. "I'll burn it all if I have to!"
But it wasn't enough.
Roy's apocalyptic spell pushed forward, claiming everything.
Just then—
Blot appeared beside Aryan. His lava aura ignited the ground.
"I got you!" he roared. Lava burst from his arms, forming a fiery shield. Aryan's flames combined with his, forming a barrier against the advancing ice.
Kat and Molly turned, crossing blades. "Sword Vortex!"
A cyclone of sharp slashes exploded from their position, slicing into the edges of the frozen curse.
Selena dropped to her knees, casting mass healing spells. "Stay up! Keep fighting!"
And from the sky, Rin appeared like a comet. "POWER STRIKE!"
A massive crater exploded in the center of the arena, swallowing the cursed ice and halting the spell's core. The temperature finally stopped dropping.
They had survived. Barely.
Across the battlefield, the mysterious man—still standing—had taken damage to his legs, but remained upright.
He whispered: "LIGHT IMPLOSION."
Light burst around him in a brilliant spiral, propelling him away from the epicenter. He dodged Roy's final blast—just barely.
And then, silence.
Smoke rose from the crater. The arena was scorched, frozen, and littered with corpses.
Aryan stood still, catching his breath, flames flickering off his shoulders.
He turned slowly.
His eyes widened.
Because what he saw will something he formed .