Chapter 308: The Moment Luke Entered the Battle!

Peiro watched calmly from above.

At this point, he no longer bothered announcing the victory count after every individual battle.

The round would ultimately belong to whichever side had a warrior still standing at the end, so the previous tally no longer mattered in the same way.

The Sunborn Kingdom still had warriors capable of fighting, but their condition was deteriorating, and none of them were confident that they could safely face a Mid-B-rank opponent like Marrec.

Sending them in would simply be throwing away lives.

"Let’s start."

Peiro casually waved his hand.

The next battle began.

Kira immediately demonstrated that she was a mage.

Luke noticed it within the first few exchanges.

Her ranged attacks reminded him of Theia and the Arcane Heart system.

At higher levels, mages could prepare and store spells within their Arcane Hearts, allowing them to unleash multiple techniques quickly and making them especially valuable in large-scale battles where mass destruction was required.

But this was not the kind of battle Kira had prepared for.

Marrec’s combat ability overwhelmed her at close and medium range.

Every time she attempted to create distance, he forced her back.

Every time she prepared a stronger spell, one of his Sear spheres disrupted her before she could fully release it.

Luke watched carefully.

"She doesn’t have many highly concentrated single-target attacks."

Selene, seating beside him, also noticed the same thing.

Kira could produce powerful attacks, but she didn’t seem to have a technique capable of gathering a massive amount of power into one precise point against an opponent as strong as Marrec.

Meanwhile, Nolan watched the fight with growing concern.

He could tell Kira was pushing herself harder than she should.

She knew she wasn’t Marrec’s match.

Yet she kept attacking.

"Idiot." Nolan muttered under his breath.

"He’s not someone you can fight just because you’re angry."

He knew exactly why she was doing this.

She was angry because of what had happened to him.

Kira wanted revenge.

She wanted to repay Marrec for humiliating Nolan.

But that wasn’t enough.

Anger meant nothing if the difference in strength remained this large.

Zeyr, Karon, Alia, Estelle, Isaria, Arwen, Larael, and several others had also noticed the same thing.

"Foolish." This time, Larael was the one who commented.

Kira had forgotten a simple truth.

Anger belonged to the strong.

The weak couldn’t rely on anger to bridge an overwhelming difference in power.

Marrec was stronger.

That was why he had been able to defeat both Nolan and Kira while they couldn’t do the same to him.

If someone stronger than Marrec appeared, then he would be the one unable to behave so confidently.

The fight continued.

Kira threw another spell.

Marrec avoided it and countered.

BOOM!

The impact sent her crashing into a section of broken stone.

She rolled across the ground and forced herself back onto her feet.

Blood ran down the side of her face.

She wiped it away and glared toward Marrec.

Then she attacked again.

She refused to stop.

Nolan’s expression became increasingly worried.

"Kira..."

He could see her body weakening.

Then, after one particularly intense exchange, her movements slowed.

Her balance faltered, since, she had lost too much blood.

She tried to cast another spell. then her hand trembled and the spell never formed.

Because, her eyes had lost focus.

"No!"

Nolan suddenly shouted.

Kira’s body collapsed into the debris scattered across the arena.

She had lost consciousness.

"Lord Peiro!"

Nolan turned toward the blue spirit.

"She can’t fight anymore! Please, take her out!"

Peiro looked down from above. His expression remained calm.

Nolan’s face tightened.

He already knew what would happen if no one intervened.

’Marrec will kill her.’

Marrec wasn’t a saint.

He belonged to the Demon Whisper organization, people who had burned villages and killed innocent civilians without hesitation.

Nolan couldn’t simply sit there and watch Kira die.

"I can’t let her die!"

Gritting his teeth, he tried to leap down from the spectator seat.

But something stopped him.

"What?!"

Nolan’s body collided with an invisible barrier.

His hands pressed against nothing.

Yet something solid was clearly there.

A transparent force prevented him from leaving the spectator area.

They hadn’t felt it earlier.

It seemed the barrier only became active once a battle was underway.

Zeyr examined the invisible wall.

"This barrier is composed of multiple layers of power."

He pressed a hand against it, testing the surface.

"It’s too strong to break quickly."

He shook his head reluctantly.

"I don’t think we can get through it in time."

His expression darkened.

He didn’t want any representative of Empyrean Academy to die here, regardless of their race.

Ivar was already dead.

If Kira died as well, it would leave a terrible impression on him.

His peers, even the dragons, would question how weak he was that he couldn’t bring his own squad back safely.

"This can’t be." Nolan’s eyes widened.

His attention snapped back toward the arena.

Marrec was walking toward Kira.

Slowly.

Step by step.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Although Marrec didn’t particularly enjoy killing the weak, he did enjoy killing talented people, especially when he could break their pride first.

"Another useless human."

His voice carried across the arena.

He glanced toward the Sunborn side.

His eyes first settled on Nolan.

Nolan’s pleading expression brought a smile to Marrec’s face.

Then his gaze shifted toward Luke.

Luke was sitting there calmly, looking directly into Marrec’s eyes without showing any obvious emotion.

"After her, your turn will come."

Marrec smiled broadly and made a slow cutting gesture across his neck before continuing toward the unconscious Kira.

Selene’s expression darkened.

"Should I kill him?"

She clearly didn’t like the idea of a mere Mid-B-rank threatening her husband.

Luke shook his head. "No need."

Selene looked at him in confusion.

"I thought you had gained some pride."

Her tone wasn’t mocking.

She genuinely didn’t understand his reaction.

"Your earlier actions also seemed to show that."

Luke smiled. "Since I’m here, why should my beautiful wife have to deal with that pest?"

He leaned toward her and gently kissed her cheek before standing up.

Their conversation went unnoticed by most of the others.

Everyone’s attention remained fixed on the arena, especially on Marrec, Nolan’s desperate shouting, and Kira’s unconscious body.

"Please! Don’t do this!"

Nolan’s voice echoed through the arena.

"She isn’t in fighting condition anymore!"

"Lord Peiro, please take her back!"

But his voice grew weaker as Marrec continued walking.

Peiro, however, wasn’t watching Nolan.

His gaze was fixed on something else.

Or perhaps someone.

’What will he do?’ A small smile appeared on Peiro’s face.

Below, the answer came.

Luke’s body changed.

Valzareth armor materialized around him, dark metal covering his body in smooth layers.

At the same time, he transformed into the Nyx Titan.

His figure rapidly grew until he reached twenty feet in height.

The black armor covered nearly every part of his body, while his helmet sealed shut over his face.

Only his long black hair escaped from the back, tied into a ponytail that hung behind him.

His appearance had changed completely.

He no longer looked like the relaxed Luke who had been sitting beside Selene.

He looked like an ancient warrior preparing to enter the battlefield.

Selene’s hands rose slightly in amazement.

Luke looked impressive in that form and she couldn’t deny it.

Luke turned toward her.

Through the dark visor of his helmet, his eyes met hers.

Then he winked.

The gesture was completely at odds with his intimidating appearance.

Before she could react, Luke vanished.

*Void Step.*