"You reached first," Ervin said softly. "But first place is not decided by arrival alone."
Max nodded. "I know."
Ervin lifted his spear.
Max raised Dragonheart.
Neither of them spoke again.
The battle began without warning.
Ervin's spear thrust forward, and the abyssal aura around him collapsed into a single point. The attack did not feel fast in an ordinary sense. It felt unavoidable, as if the spear had been falling toward Max from the bottom of the abyss long before Ervin moved.
Max's Dimensional Sovereign Body expanded instantly, and he saw the path of the spear, but even seeing it did not make it easy to avoid.
Dragonheart met the spear.
The impact rang across the final platform.
Max's body slid back half a step.
Ervin's eyes flickered.
Max's gaze sharpened.
The next exchange was faster.
