Chapter 99: Awakened Tournament Crisis (5)

Lightning exploded as Alexis vanished.

Sonne’s eyes widened.

He appeared beside her.

A lightning-coated fist struck.

Sonne raised a wall made of ice.

It absorbed most of the impact, but the entire wall shattered and Sonne was forced backward.

Alexis followed.

Another lightning strike.

Another Wall.

Another explosion.

’He changed his long range fighting style to a speed build...’ Eden thought as he watched the fight unfold.

’I guess he did his homework on Sonne.’

Sonne barely managed to keep up.

"Fast!" she muttered.

Alexis grinned.

"That’s kind of my thing."

Lightning wrapped around his legs.

He disappeared again.

Sonne formed several ice spears.

She launched them.

Alexis weaved between them effortlessly.

He appeared behind her.

"Too slow."

A lightning kick struck her back.

Sonne flew forward.

She managed to land on one knee.

Alexis immediately raised his hand.

Lightning gathered around his arm.

"Give up?"

Sonne stood.

"Nah."

Alexis smiled.

"Good answer!"

He fired a massive lightning beam.

It tore across the arena.

Sonne raised two enormous walls of ice.

The lightning struck it.

Both Walls shattered in an explosion.

Sonne was forced backward.

Alexis continued attacking.

His lightning was simply too fast.

Every time Sonne attempted to create distance, Alexis closed it.

Every time she formed an attack, he dodged.

Every time she tried to trap him with ice, he escaped before the trap could close.

The first half of the fight was overwhelmingly in Alexis’s favor.

The audience cheered every time he landed another hit.

Even some of the guild representatives nodded approvingly.

"He really is a prodigy."

"His speed is ridiculous."

"He’s controlling the battlefield completely."

Eden watched silently.

"He hasn’t even used his strongest skill yet."

Lucy looked at him.

"He has a stronger skill than this?"

"Yeah."

Sonne suddenly slammed her hand into the ground.

"Domain."

The world changed.

A wave of freezing Essence erupted outward.

Ice spread across the arena.

The temperature dropped dramatically.

The ground froze.

The air became filled with countless tiny crystals.

Alexis’s expression changed.

"Ah."

A massive dome of ice formed around Sonne.

Her Ice Domain.

The entire battlefield became her territory.

Alexis took one step.

Ice immediately formed around his ankle.

He destroyed it with lightning.

Another wave came.

Then another.

Ice spears erupted from every direction.

Alexis dodged.

A wall appeared behind him.

He destroyed it.

Another attack came from above.

He jumped away.

A giant ice lance narrowly missed him.

For the first time, Alexis was being pushed backward.

Sonne moved through her Domain effortlessly.

Her speed wasn’t comparable to his.

But she didn’t need to be fast.

The entire battlefield belonged to her.

Every direction could become an attack.

Every surface could become a weapon.

Every moment Alexis remained inside the Domain made things worse.

"I see," Alexis muttered.

He destroyed another ice spear.

"So this is what fighting inside a domain is like!"

Sonne didn’t answer.

She simply raised her hand.

Hundreds of ice shards appeared.

Alexis’s expression became serious.

"Fine."

Lightning exploded around him.

He raised both hands.

"Guess I’ll just have to break it."

His Essence surged.

Lightning gathered above him.

It formed the shape of a long, gigantic dragon.

The audience gasped.

The creature’s body was made entirely of lightning.

Its jaws opened.

Electricity screamed through the arena.

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

"There it is."

Alexis pointed toward Sonne.

"Try blocking this!"

The lightning dragon descended.

Sonne raised her arms.

The entire Domain reacted.

Walls of ice formed.

Massive pillars emerged from the ground.

A mountain of frozen Essence rose before her.

The dragon struck.

Lightning exploded across the entire Domain.

The blast was enormous.

The ice shattered.

The shockwave tore across the battlefield.

The Domain collapsed.

A massive storm of lightning spread outward.

Even the protective barriers around the stadium activated.

The arena was once again engulfed in smoke.

Alexis stood at the center.

His breathing was heavy.

His arms trembled.

But he smiled.

"That’s it."

He looked toward the smoke.

"A satisfying battle."

The crowd began cheering.

"Alexis won!"

"She couldn’t possibly have survived that!"

Alexis lowered his hand.

He was exhausted.

But he was confident.

Until faint cracking sound came from the smoke.

Alexis’s smile disappeared.

"...What?"

The smoke began to clear.

A figure stood within it.

Sonne.

She was on one knee.

Her clothing was damaged.

Blood trickled down her cheek.

But she was conscious and well.

Alexis stared.

"You’re kidding."

Sonne slowly stood.

She wiped the blood from her cheek.

"You really thought that was enough?"

Alexis’s eyes widened.

Sonne closed her eyes.

She took a slow breath.

Then she whispered.

"I suppose I should stop holding back too."

Her Essence changed.

The temperature plummeted.

Frost began creeping across her body.

It covered her hands.

Her arms.

Her legs.

Her knees.

It was dense with Essence.

A strange pressure filled the arena.

Alexis immediately sensed it.

His smile vanished.

"What..."

Sonne opened her eyes.

A crown of ice slowly manifested above her head.

It floated several inches above her hair.

The audience became silent.

Even Eden leaned forward.

’So she decided to use this skill after all.’

[Ice Lord’s Soul]

Her SS-Rank skill activated.

The stadium temperature dropped again.

Alexis shivered.

For the first time during the fight, he looked genuinely uncertain.

"What the hell is that?"

Sonne didn’t answer.

She simply moved.

Alexis reacted immediately.

Lightning exploded around his body.

He attempted to dodge but it was too late.

Sonne appeared before him.

Her fist struck.

Ice erupted.

Alexis was thrown backward.

He barely stabilized himself.

Sonne was already above him.

She brought her hand down.

A gigantic frozen blade descended.

Alexis blasted it apart with lightning.

The explosion engulfed the sky.

But Sonne emerged from the smoke.

Her crown continued floating above her.

Her body was covered in frost.

She looked almost like an incarnation of winter itself.

Alexis gritted his teeth.

"Not bad!"

Lightning erupted around him.

He rushed forward.

Sonne met him.

Their attacks collided.

A massive explosion of lightning and ice erupted.

Alexis was pushed backward.

Sonne followed.

The second attack came.

A gigantic wave of frost swept across the arena.

Alexis fired lightning into it.

The two attacks collided.

For several seconds, the battlefield became a storm of blue-white lightning and freezing Essence.

Then Sonne raised both hands.

The temperature suddenly dropped to an absurd level.

The entire arena froze.

Ice spread across the battlefield.

Alexis’s eyes widened.

"Shit..."

Sonne’s crown glowed.

"Let’s see you counter this."

A colossal formation of ice appeared above them.

[Winter’s Fall]

The formation descended.

Alexis unleashed every remaining bit of his essence into his lightning.

The resulting explosion was enormous.

For a moment, the entire arena disappeared behind white light.

The dust and frost eventually settled.

Alexis was lying on the ground.

Unconscious.

Sonne remained standing.

The frost covering her body slowly began to disappear.

Her crown shattered into particles of ice.

The announcer stared at the battlefield.

Then finally raised his microphone.

"The winner..."

He paused.

"...is Sonne!"

The crowd erupted.

Sonne exhaled.

She looked toward the participant area.

Her eyes met Eden’s.

For a brief moment, she smiled.

Eden smiled back.

"She’s stronger than I expected."

Lucy nodded.

"Yeah."

Eden leaned back.

The tournament was becoming far more interesting than he had expected.