Chapter 397: The Beginning Of The End [LIX]

After the short break ended, Aestrea returned to the arena once more.

The barrier flared back to life as layers of multi-colored lights locked into place as the space stabilized.

The crowd, which had been loud only moments ago, gradually quieted down. Everyone leaned forward, eyes fixed on the center of the arena.

This time, Aestrea’s opponent was already waiting.

She was a short girl with brown hair that fell just past her shoulders and steady brown eyes that showed no fear. Her presence was calm, almost plain at first glance, but the dense flow of divine energy around her told a very different story.

It pressed outward in slow, controlled waves, heavy enough that even some of the spectators shifted uneasily.

The professor raised his hand and announced loudly,

“Now… Aestrea, currently ranked ninety-eighth on the Heaven’s List, versus Lina, the twentieth-ranked student!”

A ripple of shock ran through the stands. Many eyes moved back and forth between the two fighters, as if trying to make sense of the matchup.

Lina exhaled softly and extended her hand to the side.

Space folded with a faint shimmer, and a staff slid out from the distortion and into her grip.

It was made of dark wood veined with silver lines, its surface covered in faint runes that pulsed once as she wrapped her fingers around it. The staff settled into her hand as if it had always belonged there.

She lifted her gaze and looked straight at Aestrea.

“I didn’t expect someone like you to have enough authority to challenge me directly,” she said in a strangely normal tone, her grip on the staff tightening slightly.

Aestrea rolled one shoulder and casually drew Midnight from its sheath. The black blade vibrated faintly, reacting to his presence as dark light ran along its edge.

“Neither did I,” he replied.

Lina studied him for a moment longer, her eyes narrowing just a little.

“…Well,” she continued calmly, “I hope you’re strong enough to at least last a few moves from me.”

These words made Aestrea frown slighly, not because he felt threatened or anything, but because he was the one who normally said those words.

Hearing them spoken back at him, especially in that calm, dismissive tone, made him… a little enraged.

Aestrea’s crimson eyes darkened slightly as he adjusted his grip on Midnight.

“…I see.”

The professor glanced between them, swallowed once, and raised his hand.

“Begin!”

The instant the professor’s voice fell, Lina moved.

She did not rush forward like most challengers.

Instead, she planted her staff into the ground, and the air around her twisted violently.

FWRUUUM!

A sharp pressure swept across the arena, fast and cutting, like invisible blades brushing against skin.

Aestrea felt it at once.

“…The wind…”

It wasn’t just an ordinary wind, but compressed divine currents, layered and controlled with frightening precision.

His cloak snapped behind him as the ground beneath his feet cracked in thin lines, unable to withstand the pressure pressing down from all sides.

Lina’s brown eyes sharpened.

The air exploded.

A dozen blades of wind tore forward at once, spiraling toward Aestrea from different angles.

They curved mid-flight, changing direction unpredictably, aiming for his throat, his legs, his sides.

Fwip!

Aestrea stepped back half a pace and swung Midnight in a tight arc.

The black blade cut cleanly through two wind blades, dispersing them instantly, but the rest slipped past, slicing the air near his ribs and shoulders.

Splurt!

One grazed his arm, tearing fabric and drawing a thin line of blood.

The crowd gasped as this was the first time Aestrea had been ACTUALLY injured.

’…Her power is a little higher than the Early 7✯ True God realm, just a bit below the level of my Chaos Energy.’

Lina didn’t smile, but her stance loosened slightly.

“Not bad,” she said calmly.

Aestrea didn’t bother replying, and instead, he shifted his weight forward and pushed off the ground.

Boom.

The stone floor cracked under his step as he shot forward, closing the distance in an instant. Lina reacted immediately, twisting her staff and sending a violent gust downward.

The wind slammed into Aestrea like a wall.

He slid back several meters, boots carving deep lines into the ground, before stabbing Midnight into the floor to stop himself.

The sword vibrated, resisting the crushing pressure.

“…Interesting,” Aestrea muttered.

Lina’s expression remained focused, but the faintest crease appeared between her brows.

Fwoooop!

Wind gathered around her body, lifting her slightly off the ground.

Her hair and clothes moved freely within the storm, untouched by the chaos she controlled.

The pressure increased again, enough that even the barrier around the arena flickered briefly.

“She’s already a Seven-Star True God…”

Several spectators whispered among themselves.

Lina raised her staff and pointed it toward Aestrea.

BOOOOOOOM!

The air screamed.

A massive spiral of wind formed, wide enough to swallow him whole.

It twisted violently, pulling debris from the ground as it rushed forward, tearing up stone and sending shards flying.

“…Fuuu!”

Aestrea exhaled and tightened his grip.

Instead of dodging, he stepped into it.

Fwip!

He slashed upward, his blade cutting through the core of the spiral.

Black light erupted from the sword, splitting the wind attack cleanly in two. The remaining pressure slammed into him, pushing him back again, but he remained on his feet.

Lina’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

She flicked her staff sideways, and the divided wind spirals changed direction, turning mid-air and striking Aestrea from both sides.

This time, Aestrea ducked under one and rolled to the side, the other tearing past his back and exploding against the barrier.

He came up in a low stance and kicked off the ground again.

Their distance vanished.

Lina swung her staff horizontally, wind condensing around it to form a solid, invisible edge.

Clang!

Midnight met it head-on.

The impact sent a shockwave through the arena. The ground cracked outward in a circle, and several spectators flinched as the barrier vibrated loudly.

Aestrea felt his arms jolt from the force.

Lina slid back a step, boots scraping stone, her eyes now fully locked onto him.

“…Tsk! It seems that the rumours about you were true after all!”

Ignoring her words, Aestrea pressed forward before striking three times in quick succession, his sword aiming for her shoulder, waist, and neck.

Lina responded with perfect timing.

She twisted her body, wind pushing her aside just enough to avoid the first strike.

The second was blocked by her staff, reinforced by layered air pressure. The third sliced through her windshield and barely missed her cheek.

A thin line appeared on her skin.

She touched it briefly, then looked at her fingers.

Blood.

Her calm expression cracked for the first time.

“…I see,” Lina said quietly.

The wind around her surged.

She spun her staff overhead, and the air condensed violently, forming a dense sphere of rotating pressure above her.

The temperature dropped slightly as the air compressed, humming loudly with power.

Aestrea felt the pressure instantly.

He stepped back, then changed his stance a little.

At that moment, Lina brought her staff down, and the sphere collapsed instantly.

BAAAM!

A tidal wave of wind exploded outward, flattening everything in its path. The floor shattered, chunks of stone lifting into the air as the pressure rushed toward Aestrea.

He crossed Midnight in front of him and pushed divine energy into the blade.

The black sword glowed faintly.

The wave hit.

For a moment, Aestrea was completely swallowed by the storm. The crowd held its breath as dust and debris filled the arena, obscuring everything.

Fwip!

A dark line cut through the chaos.

Aestrea emerged, sliding across the broken ground, but still standing. His clothes were torn, his arms marked with shallow cuts, but his posture remained steady.

He straightened slowly.

Lina stared at him in complete disbelief, but it wasn’t because he was still standing or because he had survived her attack,

…It was because he hadn’t screamed.

Not even a breath out of place nor a single hiss of pain.

Her grip on the staff tightened.

“That’s… not possible,” Lina muttered, then immediately shook her head and took a step forward.

“No, no, no, did you not feel it? That storm wasn’t just wind pressure. There were layered currents inside it. Tens of thousands of cutting streams. They don’t just cut skin, they grind nerves, they tear through muscle, they…!”

Her words started spilling out faster and faster as she spoke, disbelief turning into agitation.

“You were inside it for more than two seconds! Anyone else would have been screaming! Their movement would slow, their senses would break down! Even a True God would at least flinch!”

She stared straight at him, her eyes widening as her breathing started getting uneven.

“How are you still standing like that? How are you talking like nothing happened? Did you numb your pain? Did you block your nerves?!”

The wind around her began to stir again, reacting to her emotions.

Aestrea looked at her calmly.

There was no pride in his gaze… no mockery, nor was there an attempt to intimidate her.

He simply met her eyes.

“I’ve suffered worse… that’s all.”

The words were plain, and yet the moment they reached her ears, Lina froze.

For just a brief second, something unfamiliar crossed her face.

It wasn’t pity or anything like that, but rather an actual understanding.

Then her jaw tightened.

Her brows furrowed deeply as she dug her feet into the ground.

Fwump!

The wind around her body exploded outward, lifting her hair and clothes as the pressure around the arena rose sharply once more.

Her earlier surprise vanished, replaced by a strangely fierce resolve.

“…Tch,” Lina clicked her tongue, her eyes burning with stubborn intensity. “Don’t say something like that so calmly.”

She raised her staff high, and the sky above the arena darkened as layers of wind began folding into each other, stacking, rotating, compressing.

“If I hold back now,” she shouted, her voice echoing loudly, “then I’d be insulting both you and myself!”

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!

The air screamed.

Invisible lines appeared throughout the arena, bending and twisting as if space itself was being cut apart by flowing blades.

The ground groaned under the pressure, cracks spreading in long, jagged paths.

Lina pointed her staff forward as her expression got a ton more serious than before.

“Domain of the Nine Western Winds!”

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