The fight between Magnus and Luminous had been brief, though it felt as though decades had passed.

Many, especially Octavius, couldn’t help but watch Magnus’s display of power with slight shock. It wasn’t surprising that Luminous was this strong—it was noon, and they all knew how much of a power boost that gave him.

So much so that they were wary of him during this time and doubted they could win. But now, even a child could see it: Magnus was winning, overwhelmingly.

Had Magnus always been this strong? That question echoed in each of their minds.

As they heard Oberon’s roar, they each paused. It was well known that Oberon was one of, if not the calmest and most logical, humans they knew. But now, that same man was screaming?

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Oberon’s voice grew louder:

“Look around you—sectors in ruins, cities destroyed, lives hanging by a thread because of your reckless feud! The human domain is already teetering on the edge of ruin, and you both threaten to tip it over.”

“Magnus, I understand your anger, and you’re justified in your rage.” He pointed toward the destruction below. “But look at what it’s costing us! The destruction of our own people, of the human domain itself!”

Oberon’s voice hardened. “You want to kill Luminous, and I understand. But think for a moment—what happens if one of you falls here today? Do you think the other races will hesitate? Do you think our enemies won’t seize the opportunity to tear the rest of us apart while we’re weakened? Every paragon lost is another nail in humanity’s coffin!”

“The human domain is already facing threats from within and without. Do you think we can afford this? Do you think the destruction of one paragon will strengthen us? Do you think the people watching this will see paragons, their protectors, or reckless fools without functioning brains?”

Oberon raised his hand, the air around him crackling with suppressed energy. His aura erupted, an intense warning.

“Stand down, or I will make you stand down. This foolishness ends now.”

The entire area descended into a tense silence, a silence so heavy it was deafening. But Magnus and Luminous were already too far gone.

An intense sunbeam descended from the sky, piercing through the dust and landing where Luminous lay.

Instantly, a searing aura erupted, spreading in every direction, the scorching temperature spiking.

“There’s no way in hell… no way in hell I’ll let this go. I’LL BURN YOU OUT OF EXISTENCE, MAGNUS!”

Luminous’s voice roared through the sky, trembling with rage. His bloodied and battered body recovered with the energy from the sun as he launched into the sky, molten wings of energy sprouting from his back.

He drew more energy from the sun, and the sky turned crimson once again, the temperature rising to unbearable levels.

In the next instant, multiple molten orbs of pure sun energy formed everywhere in the sky, and he hurled them toward Magnus, each one capable of leveling a city and reducing it to cinders.

But Magnus simply blinked out of existence, reappearing miles above the battlefield in a flash of lightning.

He raised his spear high, and the clouds above parted. Another massive bolt of lightning tore through the sky, striking down toward Luminous with intense power.

Luminous blocked with his warhammer, but the force sent him spiraling through the air, his molten wings flickering.

Luminous grunted, his grip on the warhammer tightening. He regenerated the damage instantly and charged back at Magnus with a roar, swinging his hammer with earth-shattering force.

They clashed again.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Each strike felt as though the world was ending. The sky erupted in blinding flashes of light, and the ground below them shattered, sending chunks of earth flying into the air.

Magnus’s spear met Luminous’s hammer over and over, each clash sending ripples of destructive energy through the shield, making the cities behind the shield below tremble.

“What now?” Octavius turned toward Oberon, who had fallen silent. The others did the same. Oberon was the smartest among them—if anyone had a way out of this mess, it was him.

A second passed, and Oberon sighed.

“Nothing. My last threat was an empty one. If we interfere and try to stop the fight, we’ll only make things worse.”

“So we just watch while they destroy everything? We can’t do that,” Thorne added.

“No, we can’t. But it’s a good thing their power levels are different. A winner will soon be decided. Our job for now is to minimize the damage caused by the battle.”

The gazes of each paragon met, nodding in silent understanding before they shot off in different directions, surrounding the battlefield.

The air became heavy, the gravity increasing by an uncountable amount as each of them unleashed their auras, an intense power blanketing the entire space.

The shockwaves that had been reaching Sector 2 and the academy stopped as each of them worked to contain the battle.

…

Sector 3 was in absolute and complete ruin. Buildings had crumbled, and many lives had been lost.

Avalon and many of the other grandmasters had foreseen the clash between Luminous and Magnus and had acted immediately. Had they wasted even a second, Ravenspire and much of Sector 3 would have been lost.

Many would claim that Magnus was cruel for putting Sector 3 in such a situation, but anyone who said that would be a fool.

With Luminous already in Sector 3, there was no other option than forcing him out. Had Magnus delayed, Sector 3 would be in worse condition, if not completely destroyed.

Sector 3 had been saved, but at a high cost.

The veil surrounding Sector 3 began to lift, and the sky cleared. The blinding light that had engulfed Dekai started fading until it vanished completely.

Dekai floated to the ground slowly and landed quietly.

“Why?”

An enraged voice suddenly filled the space, causing Dekai to smile slightly.

“It would have been a waste otherwise. It’s better this way.”

Avalon clenched his fists so hard, his anger shimmered, and white smoke streamed out of his body.