“COUSIN!” Phaeton shouted.

Princess Hildegard was inwardly relieved when she heard Cygnus’ voice. They now had a chance to break the stalemate.

Demetrius looked through the murky barrier and he could see Cygnus’s figure bombarding the barrier with mana, slowly chipping away at its integrity.

It was a miscalculation on Harken’s end. They did not expect that a knight would be stationed here as well. They did not have any other Knight-level warriors aside from himself.

The only reason he could stand toe to toe with Demetrius is due to his ability being an extreme counter. If Cygnus teamed up with Demetrius, it would be certain death for him.

Harken then hurriedly sent another mental message to his subordinates.

“Hopefully these guys aren't as brain dead as the first group to have died just like that.”

________________________

In the left wing of the Arena, most of the guards have already been killed. The few that survived escaped to the inner rooms of the Stadium.

“No escape!!” A man shouted as he cut down the escaping guards.

He had a very insane look to him, he was bald, eyes bloodshot were blood-shot. A tattoo similar to Harken could be seen on centered around his eyes. The only difference was that it didnt have the vectors around it.

There was an unstable energy about. It would seem like he was going on a rampage.

Just a few feet away there was another man. A sloshing sound was heard as he pulled his sword from the neck of a guard, he then proceeded on cleaning the blade. He then look towards the bald man and shouted as the other man was getting farther and farther.

“Finn! Stop chasing them! We aren't here to kill indiscriminately, were here for the princess you idiot!”

Finn stopped in his tracks, his eyes twitched uncontrollably for a few moments and then he replied. “Fuck man! Why do you have to kill my buzz.”

Ignoring the bluster of his companion he called out to Harken. “Boss, we’re already done here. Do you need any help”

Harken replied immediately. “Right on time, the other group got annihilated, you guys will have to do. I cant divert my attention right now, I cant even approach the princess.”

“Hurry! Theres another knight here, we need to wrap up quickly.”

“Got it boss! We’ll proceed right away.”

________________________

Demetrius looked at the murky barrier assessing its integrity. He thought that a few more hits should be able to tear this barrier apart.

“Your ability is impressive. I can only surmise that's why you’re here, to specifically handle me.”

“Combat arts, Physical Strengthening and whatever name you came up for your ability”

After multiple exchanges with Harken, Demetrius had a good grasp of his ability. He deduced that Harken’s ability when active can absorb physical damage. It isn't a passive ability, he must time the attack he wants to block and activate his ability accordingly. Moreover, the energy can be stored and used to enhance his power for counterattacks. It's not yet apparent, how long he can hold on to that energy

Harken sighed and scratched his head. “Cats out of the bag I guess. Although, you know my ability doesn't change anything. You still won't be able to injure me, although it's the same situation for you.”

He was already inwardly shaken up, however, he still put up a front.

“You’re right, nothing has changed”. Demetrius suddenly slashed, this time he didn't even aim for Harken anymore.

Knowing that Cygnus was on the other side, the priority right now was to break this barrier down.

“Are you ignoring me!” Harken felt he was looked down on, however, he was helpless.

He dashed to receive Demetrius’ strike but contrary to his expectations it did not contain as much power. He proceeded to make a counterattack.

"Let's see you defend against this."

The moment Harken’s fist came in contact with Demetrius’ sword, an oppressive force drowned him and his body was blown away.

Harken got back up quickly, with blood dripping from his hands. His knuckles were riddled with lacerations.

“Did you really think that your ability would render me useless against you? I must admit your organization is quite thorough, you made substantial research about us.”

Harken did not answer, in his mind however he was cursing incessantly. “This isn't worth it. Damn you Ciar! I told you I needed more people. And where the hell is those two.”

“No snarky remarks? Suit yourself then” Demetrius gathered mana for another strike.

“Huff..” Harken exhaled deeply. “Even if I get serious, I doubt I can get past this.”

As Demetrius’ attack loomed above him, Harken shuffled his feet, afterimages appeared. An azure light glowed from his arms underneath his cloak.

Demetrius was slow to react and he got hit with Harken's strong attack. It was just as strong as his counterattacks powered by Harken’s ability which stored power.

From this opening Harken made a break for it and dashed straight for the princess. “All I need to do is get to the princess”

The King’s guard naturally had to put Princess Hildegard safety above all else. There is no way Demetrius would go on an all-out attack if I'm close to the Princess, Harken thought to himself.

Demetrius' eyes flashed in anger, he never thought that Harken would fight this way. “I pushed him too much into a corner”

________________________

He's coming this way!! Get in your defensive position.

Based on what they've seen so far, fighting Harken was out of the question for them. They would get killed easily. It might look like Harken was not using any advanced magic, but he is actually a powerhouse.

A person that is able to hold his ground against Demetrius who was a war hero was not something an average warrior could do.

Phaeton was in dreadful condition compared to Azrael. He then turned to him and said. “It's up to us to protect the Princess”

“I know, but I'm not sure how we’re supposed to stop him.” Harken was stronger than them collectively in every aspect. Even Azrael’s speed which was his strongest suit wasn't even faster than Harken’s normal movement.

“I have an idea, are you up for it?” Phaeton asked.

“Hurry up then, we don't have a lot of time” Azrael already decided that he would help the princess get out of this situation, additionally he couldn't abandon Phaeton. It was not something he planned on doing but he had no choice.

Phaeton then explained the plan as quickly as possible. “I'm going to need you to face him for at least 3 seconds. You just need to keep him busy.”

“3 seconds huh.” Azrael then looked at Harken

“Trust me man, I won't be able to injure him but we’ll be able to repel him giving Lord Demetrius a brief opening for him to be able to catch up.”

Azrael shook his head. “It is impossible. I'm all for this plan, however, I'm not confident in even holding Harken for 3 seconds.”

Phaeton looked at Azrael with his bright eyes and patted his arm. “I need you, come on brother. We can do this.”

He was still filled with confidence despite the situation, which eased Azrael’s acceptance.

Azrael gritted his teeth and slowly walked to the front. “Ahh Fine, I can't believe I'm risking my life for this.”

“I won't let you die! That's a promise!”

Judging from their distance, Harken would reach them in less than 10 seconds.

________________________

As Harken was nearing the Princess, he noticed that figure stood in front. As soon as he noticed who it was, he felt greatly annoyed.

“You’re out of your league kid!”

Azrael had almost recovered his mana, he was already using combustion albeit minimally. He no longer had a mindset holding back. The tournament was already over, there was no more point.

This was a matter of survival, he planned on going all out.

‘Light steps’

Azrael moved a great distance instantly and was just a few feet shy of Harken. On the way, He had drawn multiple circles on the light streaks that he left behind when executing ‘Light steps’.

“Your bravery will get you killed.”

Harken circulated his mana and initiated a palm strike. Mana enveloped and rotated violently around his hands.

He did not want to waste his time with Azrael, he simply wanted to swat him away.

Unfortunately dodging was not an option for Azrael. He had to keep him here for a few seconds.

All drawn spells activated simultaneously. Multiple beams of ‘light beams’ were discharged at Harken’s

“That's not going to stop me.” Harken rebuked as flicked his hands to deflect the attacks.

“I'm not done yet.”

‘Blinding Flash’

Azrael’s body suddenly discharged a great amount of light, then he made his move.

“Aggghhh” Harken was briefly disoriented, unfortunately, as he was a veteran warrior, an attack of this caliber would not be sufficient to completely stop him. He recovered almost instantaneously.

A blade made of light had already formed in his left arm. Azrael struck at Harken’s head.

Hmph! Harken dodged the attack and immediately countered with a hard kick in Azrael’s stomach which sent him reeling in pain.

Ughhh!

“Fuck I wasted too much time,” Harken thought. As he prepared to move once again an enormous ball of flame was already headed towards him.

“Sorry for the wait. Eat this!” Phaeton shouted.

‘Lesser Conflagration’

A spread of flames exploded in a cone-like fashion which hit Harken square on. The heat was slowly burning his hands and its force was pushing him back.

Harken in response circulated mana in his hands and made a downward vertical chop with his hands which split the flames in half. The flames scattered and exploded into smaller embers.

Harken’s clothes were incinerated leaving his arm visible in the open. He had light burns in his arms. It revealed a full arm sleeve of what one might think is a magical engraving on his arm.

“You pests” Harken was very irritated, Phaeton and Azrael were far from his match but they were causing interference in critical moments. He had to wrap this up now.

“I’ll crush you all”

The markings on his arm begun glowing, moreover his tattoo on his neck started emitting a faint black light in contrast to his arm.

“No more messing around”

Harken flicked both his arms outward, and a mana shockwave exploded throwing off Azrael and Phaeton aside.

“Ughh.. It was a good try”

Unfortunately, Demetrius had already caught up.

Right at this time screeching sound sounded from the left-wing barrier. The barrier shook and vibrated.

A tear formed as if the barrier was made of paper. From the opening two people jumped out.

Harken had a relieved look. “Finally some back up”