Chapter 390: The Beginning Of The End [LII]

The fifteen-minute break ended much faster than expected.

The noise in the arena slowly died down as the barriers rose again, but this time, it was much higher, thicker, layered with far more complex runes.

The ground itself had been replaced, reinforced with ancient materials meant to withstand clashes between high-tier gods.

Aestrea stepped back onto the arena floor.

The moment his foot touched the ground, a familiar pressure settled around him. Not oppressive, but expectant.

Thousands of eyes locked onto his back.

The professor floated above the arena, his expression serious now. Gone was the earlier hesitation.

“Attention,” he announced, his voice echoing through the expanded space.

“The next duel will determine entry into Heaven’s List.”

The crowd stirred.

“This is it…”

“The gate.”

“The 200th rank…”

The professor took a breath.

“Challenger… Aestrea.”

A wave of murmurs rolled through the stands.

“And now, shall the 200th-ranked student enter the arena..-”

The air shifted.

A pressure far denser than before descended onto the arena, making weaker students instinctively hold their breath.

A figure slowly descended from above.

Silver-blue light surrounded him, forming sharp, geometric patterns that hovered around his body like floating armor plates.

His aura was stable, deep, and frighteningly refined.

The moment Aestrea sensed it, his eyes narrowed slighly.

This student was definitely stronger than Indrath!

Kael, watching from the sidelines, stiffened slightly, although he was still quite confident in Aestrea.

“That guy… he’s on another level.”

“He hasn’t fought in a long time. I heard he stays at rank 200 by choice.” Tyrian’s expression darkened slightly.

Aestrea’s gaze never left the descending figure.

‘So there are more gods at this level…’ he thought in surprise.

‘It seems that I underestimated the depth of this academy.’

The figure landed softly on the opposite side of the arena.

The ground cracked anyway.

He straightened, his silver-blue eyes calm as he looked directly at Aestrea.

“So you’re the one who defeated Indrath.” He said evenly.

“…..”

Aestrea remained silent.

“Interesting. I was starting to get bored,” the man’s lips curved into a faint smile.

The professor raised his hand.

“This duel will be conducted under Heaven’s List rules. No forfeits once it begins.”

The barrier was finally fully sealed.

BOOOOOOM!

The man didn’t waste a single second, as at that single moment, his aura exploded outward, and a deep green light surged outward.

The ground beneath Aestrea’s feet trembled, then cracked open as thick vines burst out like living serpents.

Trees rose at an insane speed, trunks thicker than towers, leaves spreading until they blocked the sky entirely.

In the span of a breath, the arena had completely vanished and was replaced by an endless Amazon forest.

The air grew heavy with the smell of soil, sap, and danger.

Roots twisted under the ground. Thick fog rolled between the trees. Strange plants glowed faintly in the shadows, their shapes sharp and hostile.

The crowd gasped.

“A plant domain?!”

“This scale is insane!”

“So this is why he stayed at rank 200…”

Aestrea stood still, his glowing crimson eyes scanning his surroundings.

‘…Did he watch my fight with Indrath?’ he pondered, as normally, no one would use their trump card at the beginning of the fight…

The man had clearly studied him and probably knew that his forte was close-combat.

So instead of clashing, he created distance.

And high above the forest, on a massive tree branch, the 200th-ranked student stood calmly.

Green armor formed from leaves and bark covered his body. In his hands was a long bow made of twisted wood, its surface covered in glowing runes.

He pulled the string back, and slowly an arrow formed, condensed by pure plant energy.

The string snapped forward.

TWANG!

The arrow shot down like a green streak, tearing through the air toward Aestrea.

Swish!

Aestrea stepped to the side.

The arrow struck the ground where he had been standing, and vines immediately exploded outward, trying to bind his legs.

Aestrea crushed them underfoot without stopping.

Another arrow followed.

Then another.

TWANG!

TWANG!

TWANG!

Arrows started raining down from different angles, each guided by the domain itself. Some even curved midair, adjusting their path.

Others split just before impact, turning into multiple projectiles aimed at vital points.

“Mhm…” Aestrea moved through them calmly.

He leaned to the left, letting one arrow pass by his shoulder, and then raised his hand and shattered another as it reached him.

But suddenly, just as he stepped forward…

CLICK.

The ground beneath his foot shifted.

Aestrea stopped instantly as spikes erupted from the soil, aiming for his legs.

He jumped back, landing lightly as the spikes barely missed him.

“Traps…?”

Aestrea noted and continued, but to this surprise…

Those traps were everywhere!

Roots that detonated when stepped on. Vines that lashed out the moment he passed, and even flowers that released poisonous mist the instant he drew near.

This was more like a fucking hunting ground than a domain!

“You won’t be able to reach me,” the man’s voice echoed calmly from above, carried through the leaves.

“This domain was made to hunt creatures stronger than me.”

He pulled the bowstring back again, and another arrow formed, glowing with condensed plant energy.

TWANG!

Aestrea caught the arrow midair.

The arrow exploded on contact, releasing sharp thorns in every direction.

Aestrea’s hand smoked slightly as he brushed the fragments away.

“Tsk…” he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

However, as soon as Aestrea tried to approach the man, he moved away, changing his position by jumping from branch to branch with perfect control.

Arrow after arrow kept coming, one after another, never giving Aestrea time to rest.

Aestrea slowly advanced step by step, but unfortunately for him, each step he took triggered something new.

A pit opened beneath him, and he leapt away.

Thorns burst from nearby trees, and he crushed them with a swing of his arm.

Poison mist rolled in thick waves, and he pushed it aside with sheer pressure.

Still, it didn’t stop.

The man continued firing, never allowing the distance to close.

“I know what you’re thinking,” the man said calmly as he pulled the bowstring back once more.

“You want to rush me. You want to end this in one hit.”

Another arrow flew.

Aestrea tilted his head slightly.

Missed.

“But that won’t happen! In my domain, I control the distance!”

He leapt to another tree, landing without a sound.

TWANG!

Another arrow shot out.

Aestrea caught it and crushed it again, the energy dispersing into sparks.

‘…This again?’

That fucker only knew how to keep his distance, stall, and run away.

So this time, Aestrea stepped forward and punched the nearest tree.

BOOM!

The trunk exploded into splinters, the shockwave rippling through the forest. Trees shook violently, and the ground cracked as birds and plant beasts scattered in panic.

The man’s eyes narrowed slightly for the first time as he quickly gathered even more distance.

And soon, more arrows shot towards Aestrea.

Twang, twang!

But at this point, Aestrea stopped dodging one arrow and crushed them midair without even looking.

The pressure around his body increased, causing nearby trees to bend slightly.

The man noticed and frowned as he pulled the bowstring back again.

“Getting irritated?” he asked.

Aestrea looked up through the thick canopy, his crimson eyes locking onto the man’s position despite the distance and shifting leaves.

“I hate this kind of fight,” Aestrea said flatly.

“So, I’ll end it in a single move.”

High above the forest, the man burst into laughter.

“A single move?” he mocked, his voice echoing through the trees.

“You couldn’t even touch me so far. Have you finally lost your patience?”

He pulled the bowstring back again, and another arrow began to form, condensed by pure plant energy.

Aestrea didn’t look at him, and instead, he reached into his storage and drew his sword.

A long, black blade emerged into his hand, its surface dark and silent, as if it swallowed all light around it.

[Midnight].

The moment it appeared, the temperature inside the domain dropped sharply.

Frost crept along the tree trunks, the leaves stopped rustling, and the fog froze midair and shattered into fine crystals.

Aestrea raised the sword slightly and muttered under his breath.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

A cold breath escaped his lips, white mist drifting forward as his crimson eyes burned brighter than ever.

『 Fifth Move! (✯ Thousand-Lotus Guillotine ✯) 』

He stepped forward and swung the sword.

Crackle!

A crossed space crack instantly appeared.

Fwip, fwip, fwip!

His figure blurred across the forest as he continued to swing his sword madly. Every swing of his sword released a crescent of frozen moonlight that split into countless paths.

One slash became ten.

Ten became a hundred.

A hundred became a thousand.

All around the forest, lotus-shaped blades of ice bloomed in midair, each one glowing pale blue under the frozen canopy.

They detonated.

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

BOOOM!

BOOM!

The entire domain shook violently.

Trees were entirely shredded apart, and the vines froze and shattered. The ground split open as wave after wave of icy force tore through the forest.

The man’s laughter stopped instantly.

His eyes widened in horror as the lotus blades reached him.

They were fast… and simply too many of them!

SPLAT, SPLURT!

The thousand frozen slashes tore through his body again and again, carving through armor, flesh, and aura without pause.

His form was overwhelmed, his body torn apart by the sheer number of strikes.

The plant domain was split apart, as countless cracks started spreading across the sky of leaves, splitting the green light apart like broken glass.

CRASH!

The entire domain collapsed.

The Amazon forest vanished, dissolving into fragments of light as the original arena reappeared beneath the falling frost.

The man fell from the air, his body shattered and broken, barely holding together as regeneration magic kicked in almost instantly.

His body quickly rebuilt itself, kept intact only because Aestrea’s God-Killing Authority was inactive.

He hit the ground and didn’t move again, causing a deep silence to fill the grandiose arena.

Until finally, a shocked voice echoed from above.

“T-the w-winner is Aestrea!”

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