The arena exploded.
Cheers clashed with gasps. Some rose to their feet. Some covered their mouths. Others simply stared, unable to process what they were witnessing.
For months they had watched battle after battle.
But this—
This wasn't a match.
It was a collision of pride. Of jealousy. Of silent confessions disguised as blows.
Steel flashed.
Chella's blade drove forward.
A wet sound followed.
The sword pierced through Sora's back—its tip emerging against her chest, trembling from the force.
For half a second, everything froze.
Then Chella pulled the blade free.
Blood poured.
"SORAAAAAA!!"
Lumei's scream ripped through the arena like a torn banner in a storm.
Chella's grip tightened around her sword. Her face hardened, lips curling into a cold, almost defensive grin.
"Just give up," she breathed, voice unsteady despite the smile. "You've done enough."
Lumei leaned dangerously over the railing near the battlefield.
"That's enough! Stop the match!"
But no one moved.
Yamato stood still.
His brow furrowed. His left hand rested against his chin. His eyes didn't blink.
What would you do?
The question echoed again and again inside his mind.
Sora dropped to one knee.
Her sword slipped from her fingers and clattered against stone. One trembling hand pressed against the wound at her side, trying—failing—to hold the blood in.
Her mouth opened.
No scream came.
Just air.
Pain swallowed her whole.
Chella stood before her, chest rising and falling sharply. Sweat ran down her temple. Her sword dripped red onto broken stone.
She didn't celebrate.
She couldn't.
Her eyes flickered—pain… guilt… expectation.
She waited.
From the stands, Ozaki leaned forward.
A subtle vibration passed through his body.
He felt it.
Before anyone else—
He felt it.
THOOOM!!
A violent burst of air erupted from Sora's body.
Rubble shot outward. Mud sprayed in all directions. Dust spiraled into the sky. The impact pushed Chella backward, her boots grinding harshly against the arena floor as she struggled to stay upright.
The wind changed.
Sora's body tensed.
A brilliant blue light ignited from within her—pulsing once…
Twice…
Like a second heartbeat awakening.
Silence swallowed the arena.
Even the wind hesitated.
Sora's limbs shook violently. Her muscles screamed. Blood continued to drip down her side.
But she rose.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The ground beneath her vibrated.
Lumei's voice cracked as he shouted from the stands, almost in tears but cheering for her.
"Who's the girl?! You're the girl!!"
Chella adjusted her stance.
She felt it.
This wasn't "strong" anymore.
This was something else.
Extreme.
Sora's lips moved.
"God Form: Form— Naah"
She paused.
Her gaze drifted across the stands.
It found him.
Yamato.
Looking directly at her.
A faint, breathless laugh escaped her.
"Ha… hahaha…"
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"Yamato is finally watching me."
She raised one arm toward the sky.
Her palm glowed a deep ocean blue.
A serene aura flowed around her body—smooth… fluid… alive. Like waves folding over one another in perfect rhythm.
Mist gathered at her feet. Tendrils of liquid energy coiled upward, spiraling along her arm, condensing—compressing—sharpening—
Forming an arrow of pure water, dense and radiant.
Blood streamed from both of her eyes as she spoke.
"Water God Arrow."
Chella's pupils contracted.
Her breath hitched.
It was beautiful.
It was terrifying.
Her hands tightened on her sword, but for a moment—just a moment—she couldn't move.
Yamato pushed through the crowd, shoving bodies aside.
A grin split across his face as he reached Lumei's side.
He began clapping.
"That's how you do it!" he laughed. "Limiter is for kids!"
Laughter burst from him—wild and proud.
Ozaki rose from his seat, clapping slowly, eyes gleaming.
He glanced sideways at Regns, whose stunned expression almost slipped past his control.
"She did it," Ozaki said quietly. "Without the Limiter."
The arrow launched.
It didn't whistle.
It screamed.
It tore through the air so fast the space around it warped.
Straight for Chella's heart.
Chella reacted.
Both hands slammed forward.
Stone erupted from the arena floor—thick, layered, reinforced—forming a massive wall between her and the incoming strike.
CRACK!!
The Water God Arrow pierced through it like it was parchment.
Stone shattered.
Fragments exploded outward.
Chella's composure broke.
Her eyes widened in panic.
Her feet tried to move—but fear rooted her in place.
The arrow reached her—
And vanished.
It dissolved into mist inches from her chest.
The pressure alone blasted wind through her hair and rattled her bones.
Then—
Silence.
Sora's glow extinguished instantly.
Her body went limp.
Her eyes rolled back.
She collapsed forward, hitting the ground with a hollow thud.
Motionless.
Chella stood frozen.
Her stone wall crumbled behind her in delayed defeat.
A slow breath left her lungs.
Heavy.
Shaken.
She stepped forward carefully, standing over Sora's fallen body.
A whisper slipped from her lips.
"If she had aimed just a bit lower… the pressure alone would've knocked me out."
A blur dropped from the stands.
Ozaki landed within the shattered arena, boots crunching against broken stone.
He walked calmly to Sora's side.
Kneeling, he placed his hand gently over her wound.
Silver light spread instantly across her body—soft… steady… controlled.
The bleeding slowed.
Stopped.
Sora's chest jerked.
She gasped for air.
Her eyes fluttered open weakly.
Chella extended her hand.
Sora looked at it for a second—
Then accepted.
Chella pulled her up.
And without warning—
She hugged her tightly.
Her grip trembled.
"You didn't have to go all out for him."
The arena remained silent.
Not from shock anymore—
But from understanding.
This had never just been about winning.