The Ascent Stage disciples were left, and the final battles started.
Juniper was out next, and her opponent had high attacking power that used fire. They had to have been Juniper's worst match.
Juniper wasn't as talented as the others in combat; she became reliant on the Lust Energy from Mazarine. Her opponent had the teachings of his sect pounded into their head, so they were strong-minded, making it more difficult for the Lust Energy to take effect.
The only thing Juniper could do was dodge and try to find an opportunity to counter. However, her opponent was diligent and never let their guard down. Juniper realized this and knew there was no way for her to win, so she did her best to weaken them as much as possible.
Juniper lost, but her opponent was dead tired. The disciple of Heaven Sword was ordered to retreat.
Mila was sent out; her opponent used light magic and had lightning-quick attacking speed. This became a problem for Mila as her attacks were sliced up quickly, and her opponent would rush in, closing the distance between them.
Luckily, even when her opponent was close to her, she had a way to fight in close quarters. Every time she sent out a spike, her opponent would be stalled for a split second as they had to dodge or block the attack; during that time, she would increase the distance between them.
When she gained enough distance, Mila used her higher-grade spells. Her opponent had to exert more force to cut down her attacks quickly; they had to use Light Body. Their entire body was covered in bright energy, and their attacks were 5x stronger.
They quickly cornered Mila; Mila used Tellus's Armor and ran past her opponent, her opponent tried to defeat Mila, but her defense was too strong to be broken. They created slashes in the armor and barrier; some attacks cut into her skin.
When Mila was far enough, she put plenty of mana into Earth Assault and Earthly Multi-Pillar. Her opponent seeing the mass of earth spikes and pillars launching toward them had no choice but to use the Heaven Sword technique.
The Heaven Sword Sect was actually named after a technique their founder created; that combined one's magic and swordsmanship, forming an equilibrium between the two forces.
Mila's opponent only knew the first step, but it fit into their high attack speed.
"First Step: Leviathan!"
Their entire body radiated a bright flash of light, and pressure formed around them. They exploded forward, speeding toward the mass of earth coming right at them. They quickly sliced into the earth attacks and continued dodging or cutting through them.
Mila was shocked by their speed and thought she had to use Blood Form, but that quickly exited her mind when she realized that they could only slice the attacks in front of them and had to dodge the ones that came from the sides or above. She smiled at this and quickly started to create a surprise attack.
Every time her opponent slashed, chunks of the earth would fly. From the audience's point of view, it was like a ball of light trying to escape an earthen cage. Mila's opponent kept getting closer until they finally broke through the attack and rushed at Mila.
However, they were so keen on Mila that they didn't sense the amazingly formed spear above them. Mila waved her hand down, and the spear was shot at breakneck speeds; her opponent realized it too late, and the spear hit them directly.
A giant cloud of dust formed, and when it cleared, Mila's opponent had an amazingly crafted spear stabbed into their back. Healers came and took them away; Mila stayed in the Arena when she gave a fist sign.
The Heaven Sword sect saw Mila stay and became nervous; they already knew that Mila could still use her Blood Form, so they had to send someone to waste it.
The Heaven Sword's Sect Leader knew what they had to do. Despite feeling resentment toward Diego, he was still the strongest disciple on the team, so they had to maintain his perfect condition. They sent out their tired Ascent disciple.
Mila saw the disciple that fought Juniper come on stage and was disappointed when they didn't send their last disciple out. But she still activated her Blood form, thinking, 'Defeating two is better than one.'
Mila's opponent didn't stand a chance; even if they were at their peak condition, Mila's Blood form was far too powerful to take on. Their barrier broke, and Mila was exhausted.
Mila retreated, and now Adonis was left. Adonis knew winning against the Heaven Sword sect's last disciple was slim, but he would still try his hardest.
The team had high hopes for him, and Adonis gave a reassuring smile to them. Lena was the only that noticed the smile was fake.
Adonis walked into the dark hallway and walked toward the Arena.
While walking, he heard a voice.
'You know you're not going to win, right?'
It was his Demon's voice.
Adonis felt his anger rise and said, "You don't think I already know that..."
'No, I just think it doesn't have to be that way~.'
"If you think; I'm going to rely on you, you can go fuck yourself."
'C'mon~, is it a crime to use your own power?'
Adonis remembered when his Demon took away his lightning power and made it theirs. Using lightning now would slowly make Adonis lose his mind and let the Demon take over.
Adonis gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "It is; if it's coming from you..."
'Don't be like that; no matter how tough your fire and ki are, they won't be able to overcome the gap between Refinement and Ascent Stage~.'
Adonis knew this and replied, "That's why I'm going to weaken them as much as possible, so my team will be able to end this match with our win."
'But it's frustrating, isn't it...relying on others to make up for your own shortcomings?'
Adonis stayed quiet, knowing it to be true.
'C'mon, Adonis, rely on me; With my support, you'll defeat this opponent!'
Adonis's dim shadow slowly enlarged and took the form of his Demon.
'It's not just this opponent, but everyone that stands in your way! You'll attain true strength and stand above all!! You will know what it means to be truly strong!!!'
The large shadow wraps itself slowly around Adonis's body, and the Demon looks down on Adonis with a terrifying smile.
That's when the shadow disappeared as the light from the Arena eliminated it.
'Ah, looks like it's about to start. Take my offer into consideration, will you?'
The Demon became silent; Adonis had a shocked and weak expression.
Adonis shook it off and walked into the Arena with resolute steps.