Chapter 299 -: 298 Lyra.
As soon as the announcement echoed throughout the stadium, Kavin stepped forward without the slightest hesitation.
The enormous gate slowly rose before him, allowing brilliant sunlight to pour into the waiting tunnel.
He narrowed his eyes for only a brief moment before walking straight into the arena.
The instant his figure emerged from the darkness, an explosive wave of cheers swept across the entire stadium, shaking the very air itself.
Tens of thousands of spectators rose from their seats, countless eyes locking onto the man who had become the center of every discussion within Sun Clan City over the past several months.
Yet mixed among those deafening cheers were equally loud voices filled with anger, resentment, and undisguised hatred.
The welcoming applause quickly dissolved into a storm of insults as countless fingers pointed directly at him.
"Cheater!"
"He cheated against the Sword Demon!"
"That victory doesn’t count!"
"You spat poison into Lord Masamune’s face!"
"You have no honor!"
The accusations crashed against him one after another like endless waves, each louder than the last.
Even after eight long months, the spectators clearly hadn’t forgotten the controversial conclusion of his battle against Honjo Masamune.
The image of Kavin blinding the legendary Sword Demon with that sudden poisonous powder before securing victory had long since spread throughout the entire region.
To the proud Zlycons, whose culture placed enormous value upon strength, discipline, and honorable combat, such a method was nothing short of disgraceful.
Many still refused to acknowledge his victory, insisting it had been stolen through deception rather than earned through ability.
For them, today’s duel wasn’t merely a ranked battle...it was an opportunity to watch justice finally catch up to the shameless challenger who had dared stain the dignity of one of their greatest warriors.
But...
Did he care?
Not in the slightest.
Kavin’s expression gradually turned colder as he continued walking toward the center of the arena, his footsteps neither hurried nor hesitant.
Every insult entered one ear and left through the other without leaving even the smallest ripple in his mind.
Glory meant nothing. Reputation meant nothing.
Honor... was merely a convenient word invented by those who survived. Since the day he had begun walking this path, there had only ever been one thing that truly mattered.
Results.
If the result he desired was the death of his enemy, then he would use every method available to achieve it.
If that required deception, traps, poison, ambushes, psychological warfare, or anything else, then so be it.
He had never believed battles were won by pride alone. The victor wrote history, while the defeated carried their honor into the grave.
On the other hand, if the result he sought demanded his own defeat for the sake of a greater objective, then he would accept that just as readily.
His pride had never outweighed his goals. Of course... he doubted such a situation would ever arise. Even so, should that day somehow come, he wouldn’t hesitate.
Slowly exhaling, Kavin ignored the sea of hateful voices surrounding him until he finally reached the exact center of the massive arena.
Waiting there was the referee, an elderly Zlycon whose back had long since bent with age.
His silver hair reached nearly to his waist, while countless wrinkles lined his weathered face.
Despite his frail appearance, however, the old man’s eyes remained remarkably sharp, carrying the quiet authority expected of someone entrusted with overseeing battles between the city’s strongest spell casters.
The old referee studied Kavin for several moments before speaking calmly.
"Are you ready, Challenger?"
"Mm."
Kavin answered with nothing more than a short nod.
His gaze shifted forward. From somewhere beyond the opposite entrance, he could already feel it.
A pair of cold eyes....watching him.
The sensation was so sharp it almost felt physical, as though invisible blades were quietly resting against his skin.
Yet rather than searching for the source, Kavin lowered his head and looked at his own hands instead.
His fingers slowly opened...then closed again.
This was the final hurdle.
If he won this battle, he would officially qualify for the Grand Tournament.
And once he reached the Grand Tournament, everything they had endured over the past five years would finally begin bearing fruit.
There, only one objective remained, to fight his way into the top ten.
Only then would he gain the qualification to enter the legendary One Hundred and One Treasure Tower.
That tower...
Contained what he had been searching for all this time.
Everything depended upon reaching it.
Drawing another slow breath, Kavin gradually steadied his heartbeat.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, an unfamiliar sense of unease lingered within his chest today. It wasn’t fear. Nor was it excitement.
It was...apprehension.
A quiet instinct continuously whispered that today’s battle would be unlike any he had fought before.
His hands trembled ever so slightly.
Only for a brief moment. Closing his eyes, he silently calmed himself before reopening them once more.
At that exact moment, the referee’s amplified voice echoed throughout the entire arena.
"And now!"
"Please welcome the spell caster who has remained firmly seated at the Second Rank of Sun Clan City for over a few decades!"
"The undefeated Ice Path genius!"
"The woman whose name has become synonymous with absolute domination..."
"The Goddess of Ice..."
"LYRA!"
The stadium exploded.
If the cheers welcoming Kavin had resembled crashing waves, then the roar that answered Lyra’s name resembled a natural disaster.
The earth itself seemed to tremble beneath the overwhelming applause.
The stone beneath Kavin’s feet vibrated faintly as tens of thousands of spectators shouted with absolute excitement, their voices merging into one earth-shaking roar that seemed capable of collapsing mountains.
Although it was only a metaphor, the sheer intensity of the sound made it feel frighteningly real.
Countless people rose to their feet, waving banners bearing her name while others repeatedly chanted it in perfect rhythm.
"Lyra!"
"Lyra!"
"Lyra!"
The excitement bordering on fanaticism wasn’t surprising.
After all...
It had been years since she had last been forced into a serious battle.
Those fortunate enough to witness her previous fights still spoke of them with reverence, while everyone else had only heard countless stories describing the overwhelming beauty and terror of her ice magic.
For many among the younger generation, today would be their first opportunity to witness the legendary Ice Goddess with their own eyes.
Kavin slowly gritted his teeth.
The pressure weighing upon him became increasingly intense.
Those cold eyes...they had never left him.
The entrance opposite him remained swallowed by darkness.
Then...A figure appeared.
The instant she stepped into the light, every single hair on Kavin’s body stood upright.
A graceful woman slowly emerged from the shadows.
She wore a simple blue tunic that fluttered gently despite the complete absence of wind.
Her silky white hair flowed all the way to her slender waist, gleaming like freshly fallen snow beneath the sunlight.
Every movement carried an effortless elegance, neither hurried nor slow, as though the entire world naturally adjusted itself to her pace.
Then Kavin met her eyes.
Ice-blue....and beautiful.
The moment their gazes met, he felt as though he had been thrown into the middle of an endless frozen wasteland where even breathing became difficult.
She took another step.
The instant her foot touched the arena floor....
Crack...
A thin layer of frost instantly spread outward beneath her feet.
Another step.
More ice quietly followed.
The frost continued expanding with every movement she made, leaving behind glittering crystalline patterns across the stone as though winter itself had descended upon the arena to accompany its queen.
"...Damn..."
Kavin unconsciously gritted his teeth harder. The pressure radiating from her wasn’t something she deliberately released.
It simply existed.
Just her gaze alone carried enough weight to force ordinary spell casters to lower their heads. He could already tell...
The strength hidden beneath that calm exterior far exceeded anything he had encountered until now.
And soon...
He wouldn’t merely witness that strength, he would experience it firsthand.
Biting down on his lower lip until the faint metallic taste of blood spread across his tongue, Kavin never broke eye contact.
His heartbeat gradually accelerated, yet his expression remained completely composed as he silently waited for her to approach.
Lyra continued walking with graceful, measured steps.
Every muscle within her body appeared perfectly relaxed.
Yet beneath that tranquility lay explosive power, like a glacier concealing an unstoppable avalanche.
Finally, she stopped.
Without saying a single unnecessary word, Lyra turned her head toward the referee and gave a small nod, signaling that she was prepared.
Kavin looked directly into those icy blue eyes.
A faint smile slowly appeared on his lips.
’So...I just need to defeat her... huh?’