Just as the spectators were wondering what had happened—
Those seated on the stands far behind the Splitter suddenly felt a violent gust of wind crash into them.
What followed was a storm of blood.
Yes—a literal rain of blood.
Countless spectators were drenched from head to toe before chunks of flesh slammed into them, leaving their bodies aching. The ferocious shockwave sent people tumbling uncontrollably.
Those closest to the impact were flung more than ten meters backward.
An area spanning several hundred square meters was devastated—no one escaped unscathed.
At the center of the arena, a horrifying sight awaited them.
A massive hole—over half a meter wide—had been blasted straight through the Splitter's torso.
Where the flesh had gone was obvious.
The entire arena fell into absolute silence.
Lucas slowly withdrew his fist, a faint frown on his face—as if the result had still failed to fully satisfy him.
Then—
The silence shattered.
A deafening roar of cheers nearly lifted the stadium itself.
"TERMINATOR! TERMINATOR!"
The chants thundered through the arena. Lucas did not understand the language, but he knew the meaning well enough.
The remaining two challengers stood frozen in terror.
The blow had not even touched the Splitter—yet it had torn a hole straight through him.
If that strike landed on them…
Their will to fight completely collapsed.
They turned and ran, desperate to escape—anything to get away from this demon.
"Did I say you could leave?"
Lucas's icy voice echoed through the arena.
The moment his right hand lifted, the Demolisher and the Blood Butcher froze mid-stride.
With a mere thought—
Their combined bodies, weighing over two tons, were lifted into the air.
Their eyes filled with sheer terror.
They tried to beg.
They couldn't even move a finger.
"Those who kill," Lucas said coldly,
"will themselves be killed."
His palm clenched.
Instantly, their bodies convulsed.
As if seized by an invisible hand, both were crushed—
compressed violently into two fist-sized balls of flesh.
Massive bodies were condensed into objects no larger than apples.
"So that's it…"
Realization flickered in Lucas's eyes as he murmured to himself.
"High-gravity environments temper ki as well. I see now."
With a flick of his wrist, the two bloody spheres dropped to the ground.
They smashed into the arena floor, carving out deep craters.
After all, compressing over a ton of mass into such a small volume resulted in an impact far beyond what the ground could withstand.
"TERMINATOR! TERMINATOR!"
The crowd went insane.
Lucas ignored them.
Instead, he turned his gaze toward the Grandmaster's chamber.
The meaning was unmistakable.
The Grandmaster clenched his fist near his mouth, visibly excited.
He snapped his fingers.
The restraints around Hela's wrists and ankles disengaged instantly.
She rose from her chair and stepped toward the glass, looking down at Lucas.
Lucas looked back.
No words were exchanged—
Yet everything was understood.
"Next."
Lucas spoke softly, but to the Grandmaster, it rang like thunder.
He turned to one of his attendants.
"Send out Starbreaker."
The attendant hesitated.
"Should I bring in Beta Ray instead?"
"No," the Grandmaster replied calmly.
"It's not time for that yet. Starbreaker will do."
"Yes, my lord."
The attendant hurried away to relay the order.
Lucas closed his eyes and waited, motionless.
About three minutes later, a figure emerged from the opposite gate.
He looked almost human.
Roughly 1.8 meters tall, clad in golden chainmail, with two massive greatswords crossed on his back.
The moment the audience recognized him, the arena erupted again.
"STARBREAKER! STARBREAKER! STARBREAKER!"
The cheers were even more frenzied than before.
Lucas remained still, eyes closed, indifferent to it all.
Only when Starbreaker reached the center of the arena did Lucas finally open his eyes.
"You are strong," Starbreaker said stiffly.
"You flatter me," Lucas replied in Universal Standard.
Hela had taught him the language back on the hell planet.
He wasn't fluent—but it was enough.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the Grandmaster shouted excitedly.
"The true king of the arena has arrived!"
"Three hundred and four battles—zero defeats!"
"No matter the opponent, Starbreaker never disappoints!"
"Today's match will decide supreme glory—
to determine who is the true king of this arena!"
The Grandmaster whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
Starbreaker, however, felt something entirely different.
Pressure.
Crushing, suffocating pressure.
On his homeworld, he had survived tens of thousands of battles.
The number of enemies he had slain was uncountable.
Never—not once—had he felt fear like this.
So he decided to go all out from the very first strike.
Starbreaker drew one of the greatswords and vanished in a flash.
The blade sliced forward—
silently tearing through space itself.
Lucas immediately sensed something unusual.
To ordinary eyes, it looked like a simple slash.
But to someone altered by the Space Stone, the truth was obvious.
If you dodged this strike—
When you stopped moving, the blade would already be at your face.
This attack involved spatial laws.
Against an evenly matched opponent, it would be lethal.
Unfortunately—
Starbreaker had encountered Lucas.
Without sound or flourish, the greatsword was caught—
pinched effortlessly between Lucas's fingers.
Starbreaker's pale blue pupils shrank violently.
From that single exchange, he understood—
Lucas also commanded spatial principles.
Now he knew.
Anything less than 120% of his strength would mean defeat.
Lucas released his grip, allowing Starbreaker to retreat.
Starbreaker drew his second greatsword.
A faint red glow ignited in his eyes.
The real battle—
was about to begin.
_____
T/N:
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