Apocalypse: becoming the hidden Ruler[English]

“The battle begins!”

The moment the referee spoke, energy detonated across the arena. Axel and Lilith moved simultaneously.

Their choices were eerily identical.

Lilith didn’t attack Axel.

Axel didn’t attack Lilith.

Instead—

They went straight for each other’s teammates.

Boom!

Otis was hit first. A pillar of blood slammed into him, sending his rotund body flying through the air. He screamed as the toxic blood invaded his system, paralyzing him completely. He crashed onto the arena floor, unable to move.

Christopher fared slightly better. He dodged part of the attack, but blood splashed across him anyway. His movements faltered, limbs trembling. Seconds later, another blood pillar smashed him into the ground. He convulsed violently, poisoned and stunned.

At the same time, Axel flashed toward Lilith’s two teammates.

A blade of red light cut through the air.

“Aaaagh!”

One of the Awakeners was cleaved clean off the arena, his body exploding into a mist of blood.

The remaining teammate froze, staring at Axel’s blood-soaked gaze and the crimson longsword in his hand.

“D-die!” Axel roared.

The man’s resolve shattered.

“Fuck this!” he shouted, turning and leaping off the arena to concede.

“What a disappointment,” Lilith muttered, shaking her head.

“Slash!”

Axel didn’t give her time to breathe. He swung his blade straight at her.

Lilith’s Force surged, distorting the space around her. In an instant, countless tiny Space Killing Blades materialized around Axel.

Clang!

Pillars of blood intercepted Axel’s strike, stopping it short.

But the Space Killing Blades were silent.

Pffft.

Blood sprayed from Axel’s shoulder and abdomen.

Lilith’s expression shifted.

The next instant, she retreated explosively.

Her reaction speed was terrifying.

A ring of light flared beneath Axel’s feet—the Cloud-Chasing Boots activated.

The Red Flame Blade smashed into the ground, sparks erupting everywhere. Had Lilith been a fraction of a second slower, Axel would’ve cut her down at point-blank range.

A soft green glow enveloped Axel’s wounds, instantly sealing them. Not even a scar remained.

Lilith continued retreating, launching more Space Killing Blades, but every one of them was stopped cold by the green protective shield.

......

Inside the main arena, the bigwigs who had been joking earlier were now dead silent.

William glanced at Philip’s stiffened smile and spoke slowly.

“Mr. Philip… wouldn’t you call this a bit of a surprise?”

“Third-tier Awakening Skill. Mid-Level Rank Five.” Orlando shook his head, letting out a long sigh. “And he’s only nineteen? That’s absurd.”

Maurice stroked his chin, eyes fixed on Axel, admiration flickering across his face as he sank into thought.

......

“Is this kid’s body made of fucking iron?”

Lilith had known Axel possessed a healing Awakening Skill, but she hadn’t expected it to be this fast.

What truly unsettled her, though, was something else entirely.

Her Space Killing Blades were terrifyingly sharp. Against most Awakeners, they sliced straight through flesh and bone alike. Yet just now, they had barely cut past Axel’s skin—failing completely to penetrate his bones.

“The defensive boost from the rock spinal cord really is ridiculous.”

Axel’s eyes darkened as he continued advancing, Red Flame Blade in hand. Lilith summoned torrents of blood, washing over him again and again. Blood pillars surged upward, threaded with Space Killing Blades.

Axel responded like an unthinking brute—swinging wildly, hacking through blood pillars one after another, letting the Space Killing Blades carve deeper into his body.

When the damage reached a threshold—

Return to Origin.

In an instant, his wounds vanished. Not only that—a fresh protective shield wrapped around him.

“Got you.”

Axel’s speed exploded. A surge of terrifying Force erupted, the blade’s edge completely swallowing Lilith’s figure.

“Tch—annoying.”

Lilith’s alluring expression hardened. In the next second, she vanished. Axel’s blade cleaved nothing but empty air.

“A Space Crystal?” Axel panted, narrowing his eyes as Lilith reappeared nearly a hundred meters away.

He knew she had one—after all, the Space Crystal he once owned had come from her.

“No… this feels different.”

Right where she had stood, the space still trembled with residual Force and spatial distortion.

“It’s an Awakening Technique.”

The distance he’d paid for with blood was erased in an instant.

“Still not enough,” Axel thought grimly. “She’s got too many fucking cards.”

In the stands, Ynez clenched her pale fingers together, her nails digging into her palms.

“Again!”

Axel’s Force was draining rapidly, yet he charged without hesitation.

Seeing the faint red creeping across Axel’s skin, Lilith finally felt a sliver of relief.

“As long as the poison keeps spreading… the advantage is mine.”

The toxin in her blood pillars was already infiltrating Axel’s body—numbing nerves, inducing nausea, weakness, cold.

But what made Lilith uneasy—

Axel’s raw Force was higher than hers. Rather than trading blows again, Lilith began circling the arena, widening the distance.

“Explosive Energy!”

Axel’s speed surged again.

“What?!” Shock flashed across Lilith’s face.

When Axel closed within ten meters, her expression changed completely.

“He took the bait.”

Whoosh!

Jets of blood splattered the ground in seemingly chaotic patterns. The moment Axel stepped into the area, the stains rearranged themselves—forming a six-pointed star. A crimson blood array ignited, sealing him inside.

“You forgot this move, didn’t you, Axel?” Lilith lifted her slender white hand calmly.

Blood boiled around him.

“Of course I didn’t.”

The wall of blood blocked Lilith’s vision—but in that brief moment, she saw Axel’s eyes. Calm. Focused.

Three thunderous booms tore through the arena.

The referees stiffened.

“A portable energy cannon?!”

“Is he fucking insane?!”

.....

In the VIP room, everyone except William and Philip twitched.

“This kid really has everything,” someone muttered.

“A Havoc Division sparring match… and he’s fighting like it’s life or death.”

BOOM!

A massive explosion engulfed the arena. Smoke and blackened dust swallowed both figures.

When it cleared—

Lilith stood there, staring at Axel as he emerged from the shattered blood array. Helplessness flickered briefly in her beautiful eyes.

Both of them were breathing hard now, Force nearly depleted.

Looking at the still-young man across from her, Lilith felt oddly dazed.

“I didn’t expect you to push me this far.”

She crouched lightly and took out a pale, wood-colored brush.

“Good thing I never underestimated you.”

A chill ran down Axel’s spine.

During the cannon blast, their positions had shifted. Axel had escaped the array. Lilith now stood at the spot where his blood had first spilled from the Space Killing Blade.

She dipped the brush gently into the few remaining droplets on the ground.

His blood.

“You planned this position,” Axel said quietly.

“Always need backups.” Lilith lifted the brush, aiming it straight at him.

.....

“B-plus grade Original Instrument,” William said slowly from the viewing room.

“Ink Soul Brush.”

Philip exhaled at last, tension draining from his shoulders.

“The outcome… is decided.”

.....

“Huh?”

Axel’s pupils shrank. He broke into a sprint—but no matter how he dodged, twisted, or changed direction, the brush remained perfectly locked onto him.

“Go.”

Lilith’s red lips barely moved.

The bristles of the Ink Soul Brush exploded outward—not toward Axel, but around him.

White strands stretched and thickened in midair, weaving into a cage. The bristles grew longer and heavier, compressing inward, forcing him toward the center.

Sweat streamed down Lilith’s face. Her clothes were soaked, every ounce of focus locked onto maintaining the prison.

She never noticed—

Behind her, a man who had been lying unconscious slowly pushed himself upright.

The next instant, he vanished.

Bang!

Christopher reappeared behind Lilith and slammed his palm squarely into her back.

Lilith’s eyes widened in shock. She spun instinctively, releasing a Space Killing Blade—

—and froze when she saw Christopher’s face.

“How…?”

That single strike had caught her completely off guard. The impact ripped through her defenses, seriously injuring her.

At the same moment—

Swoosh!

The white prison lost control.

From the center, it shattered violently.

A streak of crimson light burst out.

Axel.

The Red Flame Blade descended toward Lilith like a falling star.

Lilith watched the blade close in. Her muscles locked, pupils flaring faintly red.