CLEAVER OF SIN

Chapter 866: Royally Fucked

The crowd stared in grave-like silence at the absolute cinema they had just witnessed. They had seen these two battle it out with weapons before transitioning to their various abilities. They could only stare in awe at the destructive capabilities the two possessed; it had truly caught them off guard.Their eyes shifted toward Zis Zaitsu as he lay on the ground with a gaping hole in his stomach while blood pooled beneath him. Although he had put up a remarkable fight, he had ultimately lost.

With that, the crowd erupted into cheers of exhilaration. They had felt every attack, every shift in the battle’s tempo, every shockwave, and every blast wave.

"WWWOOOAAAHHH!!!" a man screamed at the top of his lungs as he shot to his feet, clapping as though his life depended on it.

"NOW THAT’S WHAT THE FUCK WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT!" another shouted as he whistled in glee.

"ABSOLUTE PEAK! PERFECT DISPLAY!!!"

"TEO!!!"

"TEO!!!"

The air was electric. This was the peak they had been looking forward to, and they had finally gotten it.

Within the Zarethorne Empire, people went absolutely crazy as they shouted Teo’s name nonstop. Buildings shook, earthquakes erupted, and the echoes of stampedes resounded throughout the cities.

Teo stared at Zis Zaitsu’s body. He could hear the crowd screaming his name. Although he was usually the humble and quiet type, at the end of the day, even he was affected by the chants of the fans. Despite his injuries, he stood tall as he raised his glaive toward the sky in victory.

With that, the healer arrived in a blur. He placed a hand on Zis’ body and immediately healed his injuries before proceeding to do the same for Teo Swig. Once that was done, he simply lifted Zis Zaitsu off the ground and vanished as though he had never been there. With that, Teo Swig floated back toward his seat with the same calm expression he always wore.

AlyxAtlas and Thomasinho floated downward with smiles on their faces as they spoke.

"Now, that’s what we’ve been waiting for," AlyxAtlas stated.

"The action, the pacing, the destruction, the determination, the display of abilities... everything was perfect, just perfect, down to the last minute detail," Thomasinho stated with a bright smile on his face.

"Personally, I loved the way Zis Zaitsu’s soul-bound guitar functioned. An expandable shield, tuning pegs that he could enlarge and fire like bullets, then strings he could detach from the guitar and use as whips. Talk about versatility," AlyxAtlas stated.

Thomasinho nodded in agreement. Although Teo had won, they didn’t discuss his ability to wield multiple elements. After all, it wasn’t exactly rare to begin with, so there wasn’t much to talk about.

"The first two battles have been pure cinema. I wonder what the next battle holds," Thomasinho stated with a grin.

Everyone’s eyes moved toward the sky as they gazed at the screen displaying the remaining names, waiting in newfound anticipation.

Asher simply sat with one leg crossed over the other as he held a bowl of grapes, casually eating them while watching without a care in the world. Teo Swig, who had just arrived, saw this, sighed, and decided not to comment on it. To him, Asher was simply an eccentric Wargrave.

"Congratulations on the win. Your display was entertaining," Asher spoke, his purple eyes meeting Teo Swig’s black ones.

"Thank you," Teo Swig replied with a sigh.

He didn’t plan to exchange many words with Asher. Although his injuries had been healed and his stamina restored, he still needed to recover his Astra as quickly as possible before his next battle. After all, who knew? He might end up being paired against someone ridiculous like one of those four students. With that thought, he closed his eyes and drowned out all distractions.

Seeing this, Asher didn’t speak again. He simply shifted his gaze toward the screen everyone was watching.

The next name to appear was Lawrence Shade alongside another student within the top sixteen. The two battled for quite some time before Lawrence ultimately emerged victorious after more than an hour of combat.

Asher was amazed by Lawrence’s ability. She possessed the power to create tangible illusions, ones that were almost impossible to distinguish from reality. They possessed sensation, touch, and every other characteristic of something real. Asher couldn’t help but entertain several ideas inspired by this particular ability.

He also couldn’t help but feel that the Zarethorne Empire was on a roll. After all, Finch, Teo Swig, and Lawrence Shade had all qualified for the top eight. Although he, Asher, had yet to fight, there was no doubt in his mind that he would qualify as well. It was simply a matter of when.

And with that, wouldn’t it mean that the Zarethorne Empire would occupy half of the top eight rankings?

Although people cheered for Lawrence, it wasn’t on the same scale as Teo or Finch. After all, she didn’t possess the same overwhelming destructive abilities they did.

The television began to cycle through the names of the remaining students once more. The next moment, it came to a halt as two golden boxes flashed across the screen.

Asher Wargrave versus Theodore Elox

Asher paused in his seat as it was finally his turn. He sighed as the bowl of fruit in his hand vanished, and he simply waited for the card box to be presented to them.

At the side, Theodore’s face immediately twisted into a frown.

’I’m royally fucked, aren’t I?’ he thought to himself with a heavy expression.

He was perfectly fine facing anyone who wasn’t Arianna Haellight or Asher Wargrave. After all, he knew just how ridiculous those two were. He couldn’t help but sigh as defeat loomed over him, but the next moment, his resolve hardened. Although a Wargrave was his opponent, it didn’t mean he was going to give up without trying.

There wasn’t anything to lose even if he lost the match. The world knew the outcome, he knew the outcome, and his family knew the outcome. All he had to do was show resolve and courage. After all, it wasn’t as though this was a life-or-death battle.

AlyxAtlas appeared in a blur and presented the card box. Asher drew the red card while Theodore drew the green one.

Theodore didn’t bother choosing any sort of favourable environment or location. He could create one himself with his ability if he wished. He channeled his thoughts into the Worldshaper’s Relic, and with that, the terrain from the previous battle vanished as he created an ordinary forest filled with trees, mountains, and everything else one would expect.

It seemed he couldn’t be bothered to get creative like the other students.

Asher’s purple eyes shifted toward the new battlefield, while Theodore simply smiled and nodded at Asher, but Asher didn’t return the gesture. Instead, he vanished from where he sat, his body arriving within the forest in a flicker. Theodore, ever the rich kid, simply burned money and teleported, his body appearing only a few meters away from Asher.

The crowd was delighted that Asher was finally making his move, although they weren’t quite as excited since he wasn’t facing one of the tournament’s top students.

"Begin!" Thomasinho’s voice boomed from above, signaling the start of the battle.