Chapter 592: Samuel vs Ace
Standing before them, Ace’s appeared to be taller than before. His entire frame had taken a drastic change, including his broadened shoulders.
His hair, previously the striking white that had marked him throughout the tournament, had darkened to a shade so deep it was almost black, with silver threading through the strands at his temples. His skin had lost its youthful smoothness, taking on a marble-fine quality that made him look both younger and older at the same time.
His eyes were the biggest change.
Where before Ace’s gaze had been playful, curious, and amused, now it was more serious.
His clothes had changed too. The tournament competitor uniform he had entered the venue in was gone, replaced by dark robes edged with silver. Tom could tell that these were third order items at a glance.
Ace looked at Samuel first before smiling.
Tom’s grin faltered. "Well." His voice came out soft, uncharacteristically quiet. "That’s certainly not the same boy from minutes ago."
Farid’s eyes narrowed to slits as he observed Ace, "That aura... That’s an Ascender’s."
Sierra’s arrow arm didn’t drop, her nocked arrow still aimed in Ace’s direction.
"He was a Surpasser two hours ago. He managed to ascend in such a short period of time... but at the cost of draining an unfathomable number of people."
Tom exhaled slowly as Ace’s smile widened.
He turned his head slowly, his gaze sweeping across the arena until it landed on the four Ascenders standing across from him.
His voice was now deeper. "Thank you all. For waiting."
Ace’s smile widened further.
"Thank you all. For waiting."
Ace’s voice was much deeper than before, as if he had hit puberty during his ascension.
"I do apologize for the delay. As you all know, ascension is never quite as clean as one hopes. So many small details to attend to. So many little rituals that can’t be rushed. I’m sure you understand. As Ascenders."
His gaze drifted across the four Ascenders with the mild interest, "You know, I was beginning to worry you might get bored waiting for me. Standing around for so long while your enemy transforms in front of you must be tedious. I hope I didn’t cost you anything important. Any pressing meetings? Family dinners? Grandchildren waiting at home?"
Tom’s grin came back at that.
Samuel’s grin didn’t change, despite the arrogance beneath Ace’s words.
"Don’t disappoint me now. I’ve been waiting long enough. If you’re going to be my entertainment tonight, at least be worth the wait."
Samuel decided to finally move, he crossed the distance in a single explosive burst.
Tom’s eyes tracked him, but with strain.
’He’s fast! As expected of the father of the second sanctuary monster.’
Mid stride, his stance settled into a low, wide draw, both hands wrapping around the hilt. Power poured into the blade from his core, so much of it that the air around the sword began to distort with heat and pressure. The steel itself lit up with dense red-gold that ran along the length in a great surge.
"Flying Dragon Blaze."
The strike released as a single explosive draw, the intensity leaving the blade in one motion. A blazing flying slash tore forward through the air, its shape coiling into the outline of a dragon mid-flight, its body woven from concentrated red-gold flame that hollowed the space around it as it moved.
The dragon’s mouth opened on a silent roar. Its scales rippled with heat. Everything in its path started to disintegrate before the strike had even fully reached the target.
Ace didn’t move.
He simply raised his hands.
Two new daggers materialized in his palms. They were nothing like the ones he had used against Alaric.
The blades were darker with crimson patterns on its edges, forged from multiple materials that you could only find in the Third Sanctuary,
Ace had clearly come prepared for this exact moment.
The daggers moved.
They crossed in front of Ace’s chest in a precisely calculated interception, their edges catching the dragon at the exact center of its head. The dragon roared silently one more time as its momentum crashed into the daggers.
Red-gold flame met dark crimson steel. The impact rippled outward through the surrounding air in a shockwave that flattened rubble across a kilometer radius.
Their clash was far beyond what the surroundings could endure. As two Ascenders fought without regard for the devastation around them, the environment itself began to break. Weaker Evolvers within a 500-meter radius were killed by the violent surge of energy, while the stronger ones were hurled away, left with grievous injuries that pushed them to the brink of death.
The dragon began to unwind as Ace’s daggers cut through it, pulling the shape apart along the fracture lines his blades had introduced.
Watching Ace deal with his strike, Samuel’s grin widened.
"Not bad. I would have been disappointed with anything less."
Tom, Farid, and Sierra didn’t waste time watching the exchange.
They pivoted toward Klein together.
Klein met them without any fear, his staff rising as water erupted around him, answering his call and striking all three Ascenders at once.
Tom’s golden fire was met by a rushing barrier of water that absorbed the flame. So did Farid’s four elemental attacks.
The three Ascender’s attacks met their match.
Klein wasn’t just holding the fort this time, he was counter attacking, all three of them at once, and attempting to press them back.
Tom’s eyes narrowed at Klein’s display of power.
’He’s stronger than he was during the earlier fight. Significantly.’
The dark crimson aura around Klein rose for a moment with each strike. His mana reserves seemed to be replenishing themselves as he fought, drawing on something outside his own body.
Tom’s eyes landed on Ace who was locked in battle with Samuel before returning to Klein. Either Ace was currently supporting Klein through his own reserves, or they were both using the same power tank to support the two of them. Either way, Klein was now more dangerous than before.
Whatever transformation had happened inside the bubble hadn’t only affected Ace. It had empowered Klein too.