Chapter 61: The Valkyrie and Her Investor (The Finals - Part 2)

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: The Valkyrie and Her Investor (The Finals - Part 2)

The dust billowing out of the thirty-foot crater was thick and suffocating.

At the bottom of the pit, Evelyn was on one knee. She used the glowing silver blade of her sword to prop herself up, breathing heavily. The sheer kinetic trauma of being slammed into the earth by a mutated S-Rank had rattled her bones. Her aura flickered, fighting to clear the black, tar-like magic clinging to her armor.

Above her, Kaelen stood on the edge of the crater.

The blood-relic had completely consumed whatever humanity he had left. His gray, bulging muscles wept black sludge, his red eyes burning with rabid, mindless hunger. He threw his head back and let out a deafening, sonic roar that shook the red magical barrier trapping them inside the arena.

He bent his knees, preparing to dive into the crater and rip the Valkyrie apart.

He never made it.

A blur of dark motion intercepted him.

Donald didn’t hesitate. He triggered [Bull Rush], letting his 60 Speed stat propel him across the dirt ring like a bullet. He slid down the slope of the crater, placing his body directly between Evelyn and the diving monster.

Evelyn’s eyes widened in horror. "Donald, get out of the way!"

Donald didn’t move. He stood his ground, looking up at the falling mass of corrupted muscle and fangs.

He didn’t need to spend System credits here. He needed to spend mana.

Donald raised his right hand, pouring every single drop of his 62 mana points into his defensive skill.

"[Shield of the Colossus]," Donald grunted.

A towering, curved shield of solid, blinding-gold holy light materialized in the air above them.

Kaelen crashed into it.

CRACK.

The impact was catastrophic. It was the raw, unhinged physical force of a mutated S-Rank slamming directly into the mana shield of a Level 13 Investor. The golden glass held for exactly one microsecond.

Then, it violently shattered.

The kinetic bleed-through hit Donald like a wrecking ball. He was thrown down to one knee, the breath knocked out of his lungs. He felt two ribs snap on his right side. The taste of hot copper flooded his mouth.

But the shield did its job. It completely stopped Kaelen’s momentum, forcing the massive Berserker to land awkwardly in the dirt just three feet away.

Kaelen shrieked, blinded and burned by the holy shrapnel of the shattered shield. He swung his massive, clawed hand wildly, aiming to tear the squishy support in half.

Donald didn’t retreat. He grit his teeth against the searing pain in his ribs and stepped into the monster’s guard.

He drove his left arm forward, jamming the heavy barrel of the Thunderclap Pile Bunker directly into Kaelen’s exposed stomach.

"Checkmate," Donald whispered, blood coating his teeth.

He pulled the trigger.

The B-Rank compressed thunder core detonated. The heavy titanium piston fired with the force of a train crash. A localized, blinding wave of blue lightning exploded at point-blank range, tearing right through the black sludge protecting Kaelen’s body.

The monster screamed as millions of volts of electricity locked its nervous system, paralyzing it instantly. The blast blew Kaelen’s corrupted armor wide open, exposing his pale, mutated chest and neck.

The recoil threw Donald backward. He tumbled across the dirt, his vision swimming.

Evelyn watched Donald hit the ground bleeding.

Something inside the Valkyrie snapped.

Her S-Rank aura didn’t just flare; it went supernova. The entire crater was bathed in searing, celestial light. The ambient temperature skyrocketed.

Evelyn launched herself from the dirt. Her ethereal wings erupted from her back, massive and radiant, casting a golden shadow over the paralyzed Berserker. Her blue eyes were completely gone, replaced by pure, burning holy fire.

She raised the Bloodhound’s Fang. The silver blade hummed, vibrating so fast it looked like a solid beam of star-fire.

"Die," Evelyn commanded.

She swung the sword.

[Divine Pulse] channeled every ounce of her S-Rank kinetic fury into a single point. The blade arced through the air, carving a perfect crescent of holy light across the crater.

It sheared through Kaelen’s thick, mutated neck without the slightest resistance.

The monster’s head detached, spinning through the air before hitting the dirt. The corrupted blood didn’t even have time to spill. The second it touched the air, Evelyn’s holy energy ignited it.

White flames erupted from Kaelen’s severed neck. In seconds, the massive, mutated body was completely consumed by celestial fire, burning down to a pile of harmless dark ash.

Silence fell over the stadium.

The red magical barrier trapping the ring glitched one last time, sparked violently, and completely dropped.

Evelyn landed softly in the dirt. Her wings faded. She dropped her sword and immediately rushed to Donald, sliding to her knees beside him.

"Donald," she gasped, her hands hovering over his chest, terrified to touch his broken ribs. "Hey. Look at me."

Donald coughed, spitting a mouthful of blood into the dirt. He reached up, pressing a hand against his ribs. The pain was sharp, but his passive regeneration was already working, flooding his system with quiet heat to knit the bone back together.

He looked up at her, a tired, arrogant smile hiding behind his gold mask.

"I told you," Donald rasped. "I got better gear."

Evelyn let out a shaky, breathless laugh. She grabbed the lapels of his ruined jacket and pulled him upward, wrapping her arms around him in a tight, desperate hug, completely ignoring the thousands of people watching them.

Up in the rubble of the Association dugout, the referee slowly crawled out from under a broken slab of concrete. He dragged himself to his feet, staring at the smoking pile of ash in the center of the ring. He looked at Evelyn.

His hand was shaking so badly he could barely raise the green flag.

"W-Winner," the referee croaked. The microphone was broken, but the absolute silence in the stadium carried his voice perfectly. "Winner of the tournament... Evelyn Vance!"

The crowd didn’t cheer immediately. They were in absolute shock. They had just watched a monster break the laws of magic, only to be systematically dismantled by a demigod and a support with a very large gun.

Then, the lower-sector sections of the stands exploded.

It started as a roar and evolved into a deafening chant. Evelyn’s name echoed off the concrete walls, shaking the foundations of the arena.

Donald slowly pulled back from the hug. He helped Evelyn stand, letting her support some of his weight.

He didn’t look at the screaming crowd. He looked straight up at the VIP box.

The reinforced glass was completely shattered. Sterling was on his knees among the glass shards. The Guild Master was staring down at the ash pile that used to be his Champion, his face completely slack. Damian was nowhere to be seen. The secretary had already abandoned the sinking ship.

Donald reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He typed a single-word text to Lady Aris Thorne and hit send.

Liquidate.

He put the phone away and looked at Evelyn. The S-Rank Valkyrie was bathed in the stadium lights, looking up at the broken Guild Master.

A flurry of golden text materialized in Donald’s vision.

[Tournament Finals Concluded.]

[Primary Asset ’Evelyn Vance’ Victorious.]

[Opponent Defeated: Mutated S-Rank Berserker.]

[Massive Experience Gained.]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Current Level: 16]

[Notice: Wager Conditions Met. Initiating Asset Seizure Protocols.]

Donald smiled. He adjusted his mask and leaned on Evelyn’s shoulder.

"Come on," Donald said, turning toward the exit tunnel. "We have a building to redecorate."