The moment Ulgath stepped onto the battlefield, Ethan knew he was different.

  The Bonebreaker Brothers were brutes. The Firebrand Knight was a speedster.

  But Ulgath?

  He was pure domination.

  The coliseum shook beneath his heavy steps, the ground cracking under his weight. His armor was midnight bck, shifting like a living shadow. His executioner’s sword crackled with dark energy, tendrils of bck mist trailing from its edge.

  His helmet had no visor—only an abyss of swirling darkness where his face should be.

  "Challenger." His voice rumbled like an earthquake, deep and ancient. "You are unworthy."

  Then he vanished.

  Ethan barely had time to react before Ulgath’s sword came down like a guillotine.

  He moved on instinct. Rolling in the ground. Activating Crimson swordsmanship.

  The ground where he’d been standing exploded, stone shards flying like shrapnel.

  "Shit—"

  Ulgath was already moving.

  A backhanded ssh came next—faster than something that size should be able to move. Ethan barely blocked, his sword screaming under the force. The impact sent him skidding ten feet back, his arms numb from the blow.

  He was too fast. Too strong.

  Lisa fired three enchanted arrows, their tips glowing with condensed energy.

  Ulgath didn’t even flinch.

  He swiped his sword mid-air, and a shockwave of dark energy erupted from the bde.

  The arrows were obliterated on impact.

  Lisa staggered back, eyes wide. "That’s—"

  "—Not gonna work," Ethan finished for her, gritting his teeth.

  He had to go all in.

  His Vital Force surged as he poured everything into Crimson Swordsmanship and Minor Blood Aura. His bde pulsed with red light, infused with his own blood essence.

  Ulgath charged.

  A killing blow.

  Ethan met it head-on.

  Their swords cshed in a fsh of red and bck. The ground beneath them cratered.

  The moment their weapons connected, Ethan felt like he had been hit by a truck.

  His body screamed from the impact. The sheer force of Ulgath’s strike threatened to shatter his arms.

  But he didn’t break.

  He redirected the force, sliding to the side.

  A horizontal ssh came next—Ethan ducked just in time, feeling the wind pressure carve a deep scar into the arena wall.

  He countered.

  A precise, explosive lunge, his sword sshing toward Ulgath’s side.

  His bde cut....and exploded.

  The wound barely bled. Ulgath didn’t react.

  Instead, he just swung again.

  Ethan was sent flying.

  His body smashed into the stone wall, pain exploding in his ribs. Blood dripped from his mouth.

  "Is this all?" Ulgath’s voice was almost mocking. "You are weak."

  Ethan forced himself to stand.

  His vision blurred.

  His arms trembled.

  The Vital force was good but can't make miracles.

  In that moment he murmured.

  "Reyna, help!!" He felt an eye looking from him in an distance too long to an human being comprehend.

  He felt an hand in his head, was pying with his hair. An voice coming from all pces said.

  "You will need to give me so much of your blood, after all I'm going to spend a quite helping you here again." He just nodded,he couldn't move more, his head was almost exploding, he was scared to die.

  Lisa was trembling in the ground, blood and foam getting out of her mouth. She was going to die too.

  He needed to do something and that was the st thing he could make.

  He got up, but wasn't he anymore. Reyna incarnated in his body, she clicked his tong and rose an hand.

  "Die your horrendous thing." An giant red scythe appeared on top of the monster, taking out his life.

  And Ethan fell.