Sia's eyes narrowed. She stepped back, drawing her bow to its absolute limit. The elven spirit behind her grew brighter, emerald light coalescing into a massive arrow — longer than she was tall, pulsing with destructive power. The air around the arrowhead warped, reality itself bending from the sheer mana density.
She released.
Absolute Barrage: Fivefold Cataclysm
Five colossal arrows launched in rapid succession — each one bigger than the last, trailing green-black trails of corrosive energy. They screamed through the air, aimed to obliterate everything in their path.
Sato's eye widened slightly.
He planted his feet.
The first arrow hit.
He raised the his sword — not with skill, but raw strength — and met it head-on. The impact rang like a thunderclap. The force pushed him back several meters, boots skidding across marble, cracking the floor in long fissures. He gritted his teeth, muscles straining, and deflected it upward. The arrow exploded against the ceiling in a shower of green sparks.
The second came faster.
Sato twisted his body, redirecting it with the flat of his blade. It veered off, gouging a deep trench in the floor as it passed. Stone shards flew everywhere.
Third.
He blocked again — this time the shockwave sent him sliding back further, knees buckling for a split second. The marble beneath him shattered into a spiderweb crater.
Fourth.
He barely caught it in time. The arrow's tip grazed his shoulder — armor hissed, a thin line of blood appeared. He roared quietly and hurled it aside. It detonated against a pillar, cracking it halfway through.
Fifth — the biggest.
Sato met it dead-center.
The collision shook the entire arena. The floor buckled under his feet — marble tiles exploded outward in a ring. He was pushed back almost to the wall, boots digging trenches. His arms trembled from the strain. But he held. With a final twist, he sent the arrow spiraling upward — it crashed into the ceiling, bringing down chunks of stone and dust.
The floor was ruined — massive craters, spiderweb cracks, scattered debris everywhere. The walls still held, but the ground looked like a warzone.
Habes roared and charged again.
He swung his greatsword in a frenzy — each strike releasing destructive shockwaves that tore up the already broken floor. Stone spikes erupted, flying toward Sato like spears. Shockwaves rippled outward, shattering what remained of the marble.
Sato retreated step by step — not running, but giving ground. He deflected each shockwave with precise sword movements — redirecting the force, sending stone shards flying back at Habes. One spike grazed Habes's arm — he snarled but didn't slow.
More undead rose from Woo's staff — skeletons, death knights, two new Simons — all charging in a black tide.
Sato moved through them like a ghost.
He grabbed a skeleton archer by the neck, threw it into two knights — bones shattered. A Simon swiped — Sato ducked, grabbed its leg, and flipped it over his shoulder into the other bear. They crashed together in a heap.
He weaved between necrotic bolts, slapped aside swords, crushed skulls with open palms — never using a single skill. Just raw movement and strength.
The three attackers pressed harder.
Then — all at once.
Sia fired another massive poison arrow.
Habes unleashed a full-power shockwave slam.
Woo's remaining undead surged forward in a final wave.
Sato stood still for a heartbeat.
Then he laughed — low, cold, almost amused.
"One minute left," he said.
He exploded into motion.
The poison arrow — he caught it mid-flight with one hand, crushed the shaft, and threw the head back at Sia. She dove aside — it exploded behind her in green fire.
Habes's shockwave — Sato stepped into it, sword flat, redirecting the entire force upward. The wave reversed, slamming Habes backward into his own skeletons.
The undead tide — Sato moved through them like wind. One knight stabbed — he sidestepped, grabbed the arm, snapped it, used the broken sword to impale another. A Simon roared — he leaped onto its back, drove his knee into its neck, then jumped off as it collapsed. Skeletons shattered under his boots, mages crumbled when he punched through their skulls.
In under thirty seconds, the floor was clear again — only dust, bone fragments, and broken weapons remained.
Sato stood in the center.
Breathing steady.
Not a scratch added.
He looked up at the timer.
Time elapsed: 4 minutes 28 seconds.
Then he looked at the three exhausted opponents.
"Thirty-two seconds left," he said calmly.
"Anyone still standing?"
Habes, Sia, and Woo stood frozen on their side of the ruined arena, breathing hard, eyes wide with disbelief. The floor was shattered, bone fragments and broken weapons scattered everywhere. The timer hovered above:
Time elapsed: 4 minutes 42 seconds.
They were still standing — barely — but the look on their faces said everything: they had no idea how Sato had dismantled an entire summon army, Habes's full Berserker strength, and Sia's barrage without using a single visible skill.
Sato exhaled slowly.
"Now," he said, voice calm and cold, "we can fight seriously."
He raised his hand — his sword still in his grip — and slammed it point-first into the cracked marble floor. The blade sank deep with a resonant thunk. Black energy immediately poured from the sword, spreading outward like ink in water.
"Order 1," Sato said quietly. "Return to where you came from. And don't come against me again."
The black energy surged.
Every single one of Woo's remaining summons — skeletons, death knights, Simons, undead mages — froze mid-motion. Their purple auras flickered, then died. One by one, they collapsed into piles of dust and bone shards, crumbling as if time itself had reversed on them.
Woo's eyes widened in horror.
"What… what the hell is this?!" he screamed, voice cracking. "My summons—! My soldiers—! How are you doing this?!"
Sato looked at him flatly.
"This is a new skill I learned," he said simply. "That's all."
The arena fell deathly silent.
Then Sato vanished.
Dark Steps.
He reappeared directly in front of Sia — so fast she didn't even have time to raise her bow.
His foot lashed out in a single, precise kick — straight to her stomach.
The impact was devastating. Sia's eyes bulged. Air exploded from her lungs. She flew backward like a ragdoll, crashing into the far wall with bone-jarring force. Her bow clattered away. She slid down the stone, unconscious before she hit the ground.
Time: 4 minutes 50 seconds.
Sato vanished again.
He reappeared behind Woo.
His hand clamped around Woo's head like a vise. Woo barely had time to scream before Sato lifted him off the ground and slammed him downward with terrifying force. Woo's body hit the marble — the impact echoed like a gunshot. Cracks radiated outward from the point of collision. Woo's eyes rolled back. He went limp, unconscious.
Time: 4 minutes 53 seconds.
Habes roared in fury, charging one last time — greatsword raised high, Berserker rage pushing him beyond his limits.
Sato didn't move.
Habes swung.
Sato caught the blade mid-air — bare-handed — and twisted. Habes stumbled forward from his own momentum.
Then Sato unleashed a barrage.
Left fist to Habes's ribs — crack.
Right fist to the jaw — snap.
Knee to the gut — expulsion of air.
Elbow to the temple — lights out.
Habes dropped like a felled tree — unconscious before he hit the ground.
Time: 4 minutes 57 seconds.
Three seconds remained on the clock.
All three opponents lay motionless on the ruined floor — Habes face-down, Sia slumped against the wall, Woo spread-eagled in a crater of his own making.
Sato stood in the center, breathing steady, not a drop of sweat added.
He looked up at the observation platform where Jens watched in stunned silence.
"Time's up," Sato said calmly.
The holographic timer froze.
4 minutes 59 seconds.
The duel was over.