The battlefield had become completely unrecognizable.

What had once been the pristine center stage of the National Championship now resembled the aftermath of a catastrophic war between ancient monsters. Massive cracks spread across the reinforced arena floor in jagged patterns, glowing faintly from residual heat trapped deep within shattered stone. Entire sections of terrain had collapsed inward from repeated impacts, while melted rock hissed beneath lingering frost energy that still struggled to maintain Velka’s battlefield control.

Residual white-gold flames flickered across ruined ground like dying stars.

Everywhere the previous clash had touched, destruction remained.

Even the barrier formations surrounding the Grand Imperial Arena continued glowing under emergency stabilization. Layer after layer of ancient defensive arrays shimmered overhead, reinforced continuously by arena elders whose expressions had long since lost all calm composure.

The semi-final had already exceeded expectations.

And yet—

Everyone could feel it.

The true battle was only beginning now.

At the center of the devastated battlefield, amid drifting ash and distorted heatwaves—

Lion Solvaris slowly lifted his head.

The movement was subtle.

But the moment he did—

The atmosphere changed.

Not the battlefield.

Not the crowd.

Him.

The confidence that had once resembled untouchable arrogance no longer felt shallow or performative. The smile that had defined the empire’s favored genius throughout the tournament had vanished entirely.

What remained was colder.

Sharper.

Dangerously focused.

Because for the first time in years—

Someone had pushed Lion backward publicly.

The realization settled heavily across the entire arena.

Aether had not merely survived the imperial prince’s suppression.

He had matched it.

No—

He had forced it back.

And for someone like Lion Solvaris, whose entire existence had been built upon overwhelming superiority, that reality carried consequences far more dangerous than simple humiliation.

Golden energy erupted violently around Lion’s body.

The flames surged upward in twisting spirals that distorted the surrounding air, but unlike before, the aura no longer felt merely royal or oppressive.

It felt ancient.

Heavy.

Predatory.

The spectators closest to the battlefield instinctively leaned backward as invisible pressure swept outward from him.

Even the temperature shifted unnaturally.

The golden symbols along Lion’s arms spread farther now, glowing brighter beneath his skin as though molten sunlight flowed directly through his veins. The markings crawled upward across his neck, spread partially across his chest, and even reached the edges of his jawline.

Then his eyes changed.

Golden light ignited within them completely.

Not reflected light.

Not spiritual glow.

Something deeper.

Something inherited.

The pressure descending across the arena intensified instantly.

Several weaker spectators turned pale.

One young tamer in the upper seating area nearly lost balance entirely as the suffocating aura swept across the stadium.

"What... what is that?"

"His aura changed again..."

"That pressure feels wrong..."

High above the battlefield, within the imperial viewing platform, several royal elders stood silently.

Their expressions were no longer calm.

One elderly noble slowly narrowed his eyes.

"He’s forcing deeper resonance already..."

Another frowned heavily while gripping the balcony railing.

"This exceeds expected limits for a semi-final."

Yet despite their concern—

None of them intervened.

Because they understood something clearly.

Lion had already made his decision.

He would crush Skygate Academy here.

No matter the cost.

Far above the battlefield, the Solar Drake roared.

The sound thundered across the arena like the cry of a descending celestial beast.

Golden flames spiraled around its enormous body as it descended lower through the sky, its scales glowing brighter than ever before. Every movement radiated overwhelming heat, while solar energy gathered continuously beneath its wings in expanding waves of burning light.

Then Lion slowly raised one hand toward it.

And the entire arena froze.

Because instinctively—

Everyone understood something terrifying was about to happen.

Golden energy exploded upward from Lion’s body.

At the same moment, the Solar Drake unleashed descending streams of blazing solar fire toward him.

The two energies collided midair.

Merged.

The battlefield shook violently.

"He’s fusing?!"

"That’s impossible at his level!"

"It’s incomplete—but it’s real!"

The crowd erupted into absolute chaos.

Even veteran tamers watching from noble platforms stood immediately.

Because beast fusion—even partial fusion—belonged to realms of power far beyond what academy students should normally reach.

And yet Lion Solvaris was doing it publicly.

The Solar Drake’s body dissolved into streams of radiant golden flame.

Those flames spiraled downward like living sunlight before wrapping completely around Lion’s body.

The light intensified.

Brighter.

Hotter.

More unstable.

Then—

The transformation completed.

When the flames faded enough for visibility to return, Lion stood there transformed beneath roaring waves of golden fire.

Sections of draconic armor now covered parts of his body, formed entirely from condensed solar energy. Golden scales shimmered across one shoulder and partially down his arms. Flame-like wings spread faintly behind him, incomplete yet unmistakably real, while streams of solar energy flowed continuously beneath his skin.

And his pressure—

Had doubled.

No.

More than doubled.

The battlefield groaned beneath his presence alone.

Across from him, Aether observed silently.

The Heaven Eye activated deeper beneath the hidden locket resting against his chest. Golden analysis threads spread instantly across Lion’s transformed state, dissecting every fluctuation with terrifying precision.

Energy flow.

Synchronization stability.

Spiritual burden.

Fusion integrity.

Bloodline amplification.

Within seconds, conclusions formed clearly.

Temporary fusion state.

Massive amplification.

Spiritual burden extremely high.

Instability detected.

Danger level: severe.

Despite the instability—

The power increase was real.

Dangerously real.

Golden flames swirled violently around Lion as he slowly flexed one hand. The draconic armor emitted sharp flashes of solar light with every movement.

"You forced this much from me."

His voice carried a faint draconic resonance now, layered strangely beneath his normal tone.

The arena quieted unconsciously.

"Be proud."

Then—

He vanished.

BOOOOM!

The battlefield exploded.

Aether barely shifted aside before Lion’s strike shattered the ground where he had stood completely. The impact detonated like artillery fire, launching molten debris outward in every direction.

The speed was monstrous.

Far beyond earlier exchanges.

Even Valen’s eyes widened briefly while intercepting another brutal assault from the Crimson Battle Ape.

"He got even faster?!"

Lion reappeared instantly beside Aether again.

Another strike descended.

Aether twisted sideways narrowly as golden draconic flames erupted across the battlefield, vaporizing shattered stone upon contact.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Each collision shook the arena harder than the last.

The semi-final accelerated violently.

Valen gritted his teeth while driving the Titancrest Fangbear forward against Rhyss and the Crimson Battle Ape simultaneously.

The battlefield around him had become hellish.

Solar shockwaves erupted unpredictably across the terrain from Lion’s assaults, forcing constant repositioning even while exchanging direct blows.

"Move!" Valen roared.

The Titancrest Fangbear slammed both fists downward, smashing the Crimson Battle Ape backward through shattered terrain before immediately turning to intercept another collapsing wave of solar fire.

The impact rattled his bones.

"Tch... this pressure’s insane..."

Nearby, Liora’s breathing had become visibly heavier.

Sweat traced slowly down the side of her forehead as the Moondream Hare flickered repeatedly across unstable terrain, desperately trying to maintain battlefield flow.

But Lion’s amplified pressure was disrupting spatial distortions themselves.

Every time she attempted repositioning manipulation, the overwhelming solar energy destabilized the distortion field.

"We can’t sustain this pace," she warned sharply.

Her voice remained composed—

But tension hid beneath it.

Aether understood immediately.

The battlefield no longer favored gradual adaptation.

Lion’s fusion state consumed enormous energy.

That much was obvious.

But while active—

It granted overwhelming battlefield momentum.

Which meant there were only two options left.

Endure until instability appeared.

Or break Lion directly before then.

Behind Aether’s shadow, the Fallen Succubus smiled slowly.

The battlefield darkness around her flickered faintly crimson for a brief moment before her voice entered his mind like soft velvet.

"You know..."

Her tone carried dangerous amusement.

"There’s an easier solution."

Aether ignored her initially.

His focus remained entirely on Lion’s movements.

But the Succubus continued anyway.

"Why struggle this much?"

Her crimson eyes gleamed beautifully within the shadows.

"Just let me out properly."

The darkness around Aether subtly deepened for an instant.

"One moment is enough."

The temperature around him dropped strangely despite the surrounding heat.

"I can crush his mind before he even realizes what happened."

The suggestion was real.

Terrifyingly real.

Because Aether knew she was not exaggerating.

If the Fallen Succubus fully manifested—even briefly—

The battle might end immediately.

Lion’s mental defenses would collapse beneath her predatory pressure.

The entire battlefield could descend into chaos instantly.

But so would secrecy.

Everything hidden until now—

The hidden factions.

The academy elders.

The empire.

Every observer watching the tournament.

All attention would shift toward him immediately.

Toward what hid behind his shadow.

Toward the ancient thing slowly awakening inside his consciousness.

And once exposed—

There would be no returning to normal.

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Firm.

Absolute.

The Fallen Succubus pouted slightly.

"You’re stubborn."

"Yes."

For a moment she stared at him quietly.

Then her smile widened faintly instead.

"That’s why this is entertaining."

Golden flames exploded nearby as Lion attacked again.

This time Aether blocked directly with condensed sovereign fire, yet the impact still forced him backward several meters across cracked terrain.

The battlefield trembled.

Lion’s fusion-enhanced pressure continued growing.

But something else was changing too.

Something deeper.

Aether slowly turned his gaze toward the Flame Sovereign Pup.

And for the first time since the battle began—

He stopped suppressing its deeper pressure entirely.

The change was immediate.

CRACK!

Crimson-gold flames exploded outward violently from the Flame Sovereign Pup’s body.

Not unstable like the white-gold condensed flame.

Not compressed.

Not experimental.

Pure sovereign dominance.

The temperature across the battlefield skyrocketed instantly.

The air warped violently around the Pup as ancient flame pressure spread outward in expanding waves.

Even Lion paused briefly.

Because the aura spreading now—

Felt different.

Not merely destructive.

Not merely powerful.

Royal.

Ancient.

Absolute.

Like the awakening of a ruler that had once stood above countless flames.

The Flame Sovereign Pup slowly stepped forward.

Its body remained comparatively small beside the massive Golden War Lion and the towering Solar Drake fusion surrounding Lion.

Yet suddenly—

No one could look down on it anymore.

Because its aura alone distorted the battlefield.

The crimson-gold flames surrounding its body no longer resembled ordinary fire.

They resembled authority itself.

A declaration of superiority.

A beast born to rule over flames.

The audience felt it instinctively.

"That beast..."

"Why does it suddenly feel terrifying?"

"The pressure changed completely..."

Even commander-level beasts within spectator zones became restless uneasily. Several powerful contracted beasts lowered their bodies instinctively beneath the sovereign pressure spreading through the arena.

High above the battlefield, an elder from a military academy slowly exhaled.

"That is not normal fire affinity..."

Another noble muttered quietly:

"It feels like bloodline suppression..."

Lion narrowed his glowing golden eyes.

The draconic flames around him intensified.

Then—

For the first time since activating fusion—

He smiled again.

Not arrogantly.

Not mockingly.

Excitedly.

"So you finally stopped hiding."

The Flame Sovereign Pup answered with a roar.

And sovereign fire erupted across the battlefield like the expansion of a burning kingdom.

Crimson-gold flames spread outward in layered waves.

Silver chains melted instantly.

Frozen terrain evaporated beneath overwhelming heat.

Even the solar flames surrounding Lion struggled briefly against the expanding sovereign pressure.

The battlefield balance shifted again.

Valen burst into loud laughter.

"There it is!"

The Titancrest Fangbear surged forward with renewed momentum, smashing directly through destabilized chain formations before slamming into the Crimson Battle Ape with terrifying force.

BOOM!

Rhyss staggered backward.

Nearby, Liora immediately felt pressure easing slightly.

The Moondream Hare’s battlefield distortions stabilized again as the sovereign flames disrupted enemy formation control.

For the first time since Lion activated fusion—

Skygate regained breathing room.

Aether could feel the Flame Sovereign Pup’s emotions clearly now through their synchronization.

Pride.

Battle hunger.

Dominance.

The desire to crush opposing flames completely.

The sovereign fire no longer wished to remain restrained.

And slowly—

Aether synchronized with that intent fully.

Not recklessly.

Not emotionally.

But completely.

The white-gold flame remained dangerous.

Unstable.

Incomplete.

A weapon still capable of harming its user.

But the sovereign flames themselves—

Were evolving naturally through battle.

Responding to pressure.

Awakening further.

And Aether understood something clearly now.

He did not need forbidden darkness.

Did not need the Succubus to end this battle.

Not yet.

Golden draconic fire collided violently against sovereign crimson flames.

The arena shook beneath colliding royal pressures.

The crowd roared endlessly.

Projection crystals flickered beneath overwhelming spiritual interference.

And standing amidst the burning battlefield—

Aether calmly prepared for the next stage of the semi-final.

Not relying on hidden darkness.

Not relying on forbidden shortcuts.

But on the overwhelming power of the sovereign flame itself.