If Aure had known what Helial's plan was, he would have almost certainly tried to kill him, even at the risk of putting the name of the Sect on the suspects' list. What Helial was about to reveal to the world was much more serious than killing the King's disciple.

Malato's muscles swelled as he quickly lifted the two-handed ax over his head and looked at Helial like a ravenous wolf his prey.

"Die!" Malato screamed, laughing like a madman.

Skill Activated

Violet Blow

The blade of the two-handed ax began to glow with violet and scarlet light, releasing sparks in mid-air as it moved toward Helial like the scythe of the grim reaper.

On the other side of the arena, with his hands resting on the two swords at his sides, a man in black armor said: "If something happens to the boy, I will enter the arena."

"You can't," said a figure who suddenly emerged from the shadows of the stage.

Pseudonym raised an eyebrow under his armour.

The owner and administrator of the Colosseum was standing in front of him.

Probo, with a long flowing hair that fell on his shoulders, stared at Pseudonym with a paternal attitude: “Do not intrude. And, in any case, it's not necessary. Look." Probo raised his hand slightly towards the arena, where suddenly the air had begun to crackle.

As if the Mana around Helial was about to collapse, the space all around him began to distort, but not even a ripple could be seen on Helial's clothes.

Strange Runes shone on the index and middle fingers of his both hands.

A terrifying power began to circulate in his veins and hit the walls of his Meridians, as if trying to reduce them to shreds.

"Compression," Helial murmured in a low voice, while a grimace of pain began to show on his white, refined face. After becoming stronger his bearing changed and his Aura seemed otherworldly and detached from the world.

Helial squeezed Curse of the Demon with both hands and raised his perception of Mana to the maximum.

Skill Activated

Perception

Attention, the quantity of Mana exceeds the limit of the Meridians.

Your meridians are damaged by the excess of Mana.

You lose 205 HP!

Helial looked at Curse of the Demon and saw very complicated patterns forming on the weapon's blade. At that moment, Helial could have entirely analysed the body of a living being without any problem and identified the presence of Mana in his Meridians. He could also have blocked someone's Mana by hitting the right meridians and thus interrupting the use of an ability.

Yet, although Perception had reached a terrifying level, Helial could only see the most superficial Layer of Curse of the Demon.

DING!

You unlocked the first Layer of Curse of the Demon!

Your weapon evolves! You can now use Curse of the Demon as an extension of your body and exploit its Meridians to circulate Mana and exploit them to generate Skills amplified by the intrinsic properties of the weapon!

Helial looked at the Layer's name with the corner of his eye before using it immediately.

Rice with butter!

What?

What the fuck was that name?

Like, really?

Helial was going to feel sick and almost risked losing focus in the middle of the fight!

Cesar watched his disciple stare at nothing as Malato's weapon fell on him.

"What is he doing?" Cesar wondered, shocked by his disciple's behavior.

Lumia, Snowflake and the others looked at Helial equally worried, while everyone wondered what could have distracted him in the middle of the fight.

Circe and Pseudonym had a surprised expression, but they didn't worry too much. Being at the Third Phase and already having the Divine Sense, they had already inspected Helial's body before the battle had even begun; Circe, above all, had made sure that her boyfriend could win the fight without suffering any damage. That monster, Malato, had a body similar to a creature from antiquity. A blow like the one he had just used could have seriously hurt Helial's slim body.

How could Helial get distracted, when he was about to be hit by a brute force like that?

***

In Helial's Soul a childlike voice resounded: "Each level has a name I coined, based on depth and difficulty of its execution. RIce with butter is obviously the simplest and most frugal meal, just the tip of the cuisine iceberg. Therefore, the first Layer of Curse of the Demon has this name. It is only the beginning."

Helial gritted his teeth and tried not to pay too much attention to Iblis, using as much Mana as possible to block Malato's Violet Blow, which was now too close to be dodged.

Goddamn child, he even managed to distract him with nonsense at a dangerous time like that. Unfortunately, Helial was surrounded by a bunch of people ready for an asylum and could not help but accept it.

Rice with butter?

Helial expected a frightening and grandiloquent name, something like "Gates of Hell", "Divine Opening" or "Portal of the Underworld".

What a fucking name was Rice with butter?

Really, Rice with butter?

What names would the next Layers have? Pasta with Sauce and Cheese Toast?

Helial started feeling faint and tried not to think about it.

Just then, the Violet Blow struck Helial on one shoulder.

The blow wasn't strong enough to reach the bone, but it still left a bleeding wound on Helial's body. Malato's offensive power was his strongest asset and thanks Fury Elixir he had managed to unleash an attack worthy of a warrior in the Second Phase. How could Helial get out of this unscathed if he wasn't even trying to protect himself?

Gritting his teeth and holding back vomit because of the shitty name he had just been forced to listen to, Helial squeezed Curse of the Demon again. The huge black Broadsword shone suddenly, resonating with the index and middle finger and dazzling Malato.

Helial's control over his Mana suddenly came to a climax.

Everyone inside the arena covered their eyes in front of that fireworks display.

The human boy had just been hit, but then why was he emitting such a strong light instead of falling to the ground?

Had his teacher put gunpowder all the way up his ass to blow it up at the right time?

HONGGGGGGGG

The air visibly trembled in front of Malato, who laughed like a madman, trying to sink his axe deeper into Helial's shoulder. Yet the muscles around the steel seemed to have contracted and blocked the blade. Malato tried to remove the ax and hit again, but it was blocked.

Malato's face crumbled.

"What's hap-"

As Malato frantically tried to retrieve his axe from Helial's shoulder, Aure's glare became very serious and his body trembled slightly, before Cesar put his hand on his arm.

The leader looked at the King of Orma and suddenly stopped moving.

That gesture was worth more than a thousand words.

Aure had sensed something extremely dangerous inside Helial's body, or at least he thought he sensed it. In fact, he had been able to feel the first seal of Curse of the Demon removed by Helial, who had finally managed to see beyond the surface and reach the First Layer, Rice with Butter.

Helial suddenly drove Demon's Curse into the ground.

You use the First Layer, Rice with Butter!

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