The battlefield had already descended into complete chaos.
Not the chaotic disorder of untrained combatants desperately throwing power at one another without purpose.
No.
This was the chaos born from overwhelming strength colliding at a level beyond what most students in the National Championship could even comprehend.
Frozen terrain shattered beneath explosive force. Silver chains slithered across scorched stone like living serpents. Heatwaves distorted the air in violent ripples while aerial beasts tore through the sky overhead, leaving streaks of light and flame across the massive dome of the Grand Imperial Arena.
Everywhere the eye looked, destruction unfolded.
And yet—
None of it truly mattered anymore.
Not to the crowd.
Not to the nobles.
Not even to the countless experts watching from private observation platforms high above the arena.
Because the attention of the entire empire had narrowed toward a single point at the center of the battlefield.
Aether.
Lion.
