Chapter 204: The Final Fighter

BOOM!

The granite beneath Ava’s feet detonated into dust as she vanished.

She crossed the entire length of the arena in less than a heartbeat, transformed into a blinding streak of white light. Kimberly snapped her hands up, instantly raising a massive, dense Ice barrier.

Ava’s lightning coated fist punched straight through it. CRACK!

The massive ice wall exploded into fine frost. Kimberly retreated hastily, but Ava was already at her flank, leaving behind a glowing, crackling residual image of herself where she had stood a millisecond before.

Ava drove a devastating, high frequency lightning punch straight toward Kimberly’s head. Kimberly barely raised her forearms in time to block.

BOOM!

The sheer kinetic and electrical blast forced Kimberly back several meters, her boots cutting deep grooves into the granite floor.

Ava didn’t give her a single second to recover. She blurred forward again, her movement so overwhelmingly fast that multiple residual lightning afterimages began filling the stage, lingering in the air like lingering phantoms.

One afterimage. Two. Three. Four.

Kimberly’s eyes darted around frantically, her senses overwhelmed by the crackling static filling the air. "Which one is real?!"

Ava’s voice echoed simultaneously from multiple locations. "Guess."

All four lightning afterimages moved at once, striking from four different angles. Kimberly snapped her hands out, blasting a wave of Fire to incinerate one afterimage, which dissipated into harmless sparks.

BOOM!

However, another afterimage vanished as the real Ava materialized directly behind her, firing a volley of compressed lightning needles straight into her blind spot.

TING! TING! TING!

The high frequency needles punched cleanly through Kimberly’s mana shield. Three needles grazed her ribs, and one cut deeply across her left cheek. Blood welled from the cut, dripping onto her collarbone.

Kimberly paused, touching the blood on her face with her fingers. She looked at the crimson stain on her skin, then looked up at Ava, her expression twisting into pure venom.

"You actually managed to cut me."

Ava stood twenty meters away, surrounded by crackling white electricity and lingering afterimages, a fearless grin on her face.

"Yeah. And I’m just getting started."

Kimberly’s eyes darkened completely.

Ava lunged again. The entire stage descended into a raging storm of white lightning and sonic booms.

Kimberly was forced to deploy her full repertoire, using Fire to counteract incoming lightning blades, dense Earth barriers to block needle volleys, and broad Ice walls to protect her flanks.

Yet Ava’s speed, enhanced by her White Lightning and her afterimage techniques, was relentless.

Every time Kimberly attempted to lock onto her location, she hit a lingering lightning clone. Every time she lowered her guard for a fraction of a second, Ava struck from an unexpected angle.

By the five minute mark, Kimberly had several bleeding cuts along her arms and legs.

By eight minutes, her breaths were coming in deep, harsh gulps.

By ten minutes, Ava’s lightning was still roaring across the stage without losing an ounce of intensity.

"COME ON!" Ava shouted, her voice echoing over the thunder.

She flashed high above the platform, leaving three lightning afterimages in mid air behind her. She raised her right hand, condensing an immense amount of White Lightning into a single point.

"THUNDER SPEAR!"

A massive, dazzling spear of dense, crackling white lightning formed in her grip. She hurled it straight down with all her strength.

Kimberly raised both hands upward, her face pale with effort. "ICE WALL!"

A monumental fortress of multi layered ice rose to meet the attack.

BOOOOOOM!

The lightning spear detonated on impact. The shockwave demolished the ice fortress, sending shards flying across the entire stadium. The sheer force of the blast blew Kimberly backward, her heels skidding helplessly across the stone.

Ava landed on the floor and instantly launched herself forward, leaving another lightning afterimage behind.

She punched, Kimberly blocked. Ava kicked, Kimberly barely parried. Ava spun mid air, sweeping a razor sharp lightning blade across Kimberly’s chest armor.

CRACK!

The metal plating split open, and Kimberly stumbled back, gasping for air.

The crowd in the stands went wild. "Ava is completely overwhelming her! Kimberly can’t keep up with the speed!"

In the Aether dugout, Lynx watched the fight with absolute silence. He knew Ava’s speed was unmatched in this place, but he also recognized the glaring issue, Ava was burning through her mana and stamina at an unsustainable rate, and Kimberly is strong.

She was forced to maintain maximum output continuously because giving Kimberly even a second of breathing room would be deadly and she would instantly regret it.

Ava knew this better than anyone. So she kept pushing, moving faster, leaving afterimages across every square foot of the stage.

Minute twelve...

Minute thirteen...

Minute fourteen...

Kimberly was repeatedly forced backward, her defensive barriers cracking under the relentless barrage. Ava materialized directly behind her.

"Eat this bitch!"

BOOM!

A blinding discharge of white lightning exploded at point blank range. Kimberly’s defensive mana barrier shattered into pieces, and Ava’s lightning coated fist drove deep into her shoulder, forcing Kimberly to stagger sideways with a grunt of pain.

Ava pulled her fist back, preparing to drive a decisive strike straight through Kimberly’s chest guard.

Suddenly, Kimberly stopped retreating. She stood completely still in the center of the platform, her head lowered.

Ava’s eyes narrowed instantly. She halted her charge, hovering ten meters back as a lightning afterimage faded beside her. "What?"

Kimberly slowly raised her head. Her face was bloody, her hair disheveled, but her eyes held a cold, ruthless glare.

"You’ve had your fun, little girl."

Her Aura began to thicken and the obsidian ring on her right hand began to glow with a dark, suffocating radiance, seeping into her Aura.

Ava’s heart sank. "Shit."

Kimberly’s lips pulled back into a cruel smile. "Now it’s my turn."

The ring flashed with terrifying power. 4X.

A monumental aura of dark, boosted plasma exploded outward from her body.

Immediately after, towering walls of Fire, blinding surges of Lightning, and dense formations of Ice erupted simultaneously around her.

All four elemental forces merged into a swirling, chaotic storm of absolute destruction.

The massive granite platform groaned and cracked under the raw weight of her mana.

Ava moved instantly.

She used her maximum lightning acceleration, her body turning into a white blur as she tried to circle around the expanding storm, leaving a trail of afterimages behind her.

However, Kimberly’s attack wasn’t a targeted strike, it was a massive, non discriminatory area of effect wave that expanded outward in every single direction, covering the entire stage.

Ava’s eyes widened in horror. She shifted directions mid stride, Left! The expanding wall of plasma and fire swept toward her.

Right! A wave of jagged ice pillars surged up from the floor.

Behind! Lightning tore through the air, obliterating her afterimages instantly.

Ava gritted her teeth, pushing her White Lightning to its absolute limit as she attempted to blast through a weak point in the expanding ring of fire.

BOOM!

The first wave of boosted elemental energy struck her defensive lightning barrier.

CRACK!

Her shield disintegrated instantly. Ava gasped as the heat and kinetic force scorched her skin, but she pressed forward through the blinding light.

BOOM!

A second shockwave caught her mid air, spinning her body around violently. She forced herself to land, trying to initiate another flash step, but a massive wave of ice and dark plasma swept over her position.

BOOM!

Her remaining defenses exploded into light.

The Aether Citizens audience screamed in horror. "AVA!"

She tried to summon one final spark of White Lightning, but she knew she wouldn’t be fast enough, and she already lost.

Kimberly raised her hand, directing the overwhelming elemental storm to collapse inward directly onto her position.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A colossal explosion of fire, ice, and lightning consumed the entire stage. The protective barrier surrounding the stadium flickered violently under the intense pressure wave, sending dust and debris flying into the lowest rows of the audience.

When the thick smoke finally cleared, the granite platform was almost entirely destroyed, reduced to jagged chunks of broken rock.

Ava lay motionlessly in the center of the crater. Her White Lightning was gone. Her uniform was scorched and torn, her skin covered in severe burns and cuts.

She tried to twitch her fingers, tried to force her body to stand, but her muscles refused to respond.

Kimberly walked slowly through the lingering smoke toward her, her boots crunching on the gravel. She looked down at the helpless girl, a cold, sadistic smile on her face.

"Tell that lover boy of yours... he’s next."

Ava stared up at the sky with blurred vision, her chest rising and falling in shallow gasps.

She looked weakly toward the Aether enclosure, her lips moving without sound.

Kimberly raised her boot, preparing to stamp down on Ava’s chest.

Before her foot could descend, a figure materialized silently between them.

Lynx.

He stood there casually, without leaking a single drop of aura. No sudden shockwave. No grand explosion of power. No killing intent. Nothing. Just an eerie, absolute silence, and that cold, quiet smirk on his face.

Kimberly’s boot froze mid air. Her breath caught in her throat as an instinctual, primal terror gripped her chest.

The entire stadium of tens of thousands of people seemed to go dead silent at the exact same moment.

Lynx didn’t even glance at Kimberly. His expression softened slightly as he looked down at Ava. He bent down, slid his arms beneath her, and gently lifted her into a princess carry.

Ava’s head rested weakly against his chest, her eyes barely open. "Lynx..."

"I’m here," he said softly.

Kimberly stood rooted to the spot, her hand trembling slightly, unable to bring herself to move or speak. Lynx didn’t say a word to her. He simply turned around and carried Ava off the ruined platform.

He walked calmly back to the Aether enclosure and laid her down gently on the medical mat beside Lira and Ophelia. While the healers begin working faster immediately.

Ava’s eyes drifted closed as the healing light took effect. Lira was completely unconscious from exhaustion, and Ophelia was barely holding onto awareness.

Lynx stood up slowly. He turned his head to look up at the giant floating screen hovering over the center of the arena.

The display chimed, updating the final bracket board state.

[REMAINING QUALIFIED SLOTS

AETHER BLESSED ACADEMY:

1 FIGHTER — LYNX AZARION (5 SLOTS)

VOID BLESSED ACADEMY:

22 FIGHTERS — 24 SLOTS — KIMBERLY VANE (3) ]

A heavy, suffocating silence gripped the entire Aether section.

Lynx walked back to his stone bench and sat down quietly. He leaned back, resting his hands loosely in his lap, his gaze sweeping across the arena floor.

On the opposite side, twenty two Void fighters stood together on their balcony. Despite the heavy exhaustion and injuries Kain, Valen, and Kimberly had suffered, the sheer numbers gave them absolute confidence.

They began to laugh, pointing down at Lynx, shouting insults that echoed across the quiet stadium.

"You’re all alone now, Aether Blessed Academy!"

"How long do you think you’ll last?!"

"Twenty two against one! Your little academy is finished!"

"Step up and die, Azarion!"

Lynx didn’t respond. He didn’t shout back. He didn’t even frown. He simply tilted his head up slightly, gazing at the overcast sky above the stadium, that same cold, emotionless smirk remaining fixed on his face.

Slowly, the shouting from the Void section began to die down, replaced by a growing, uneasy quiet that spread throughout the entire audience.

Everyone in the stadium suddenly realized what the board state meant.

Aether had only one fighter left. Void had twenty two.

And that single remaining fighter was Lynx Azarion. Lynx slowly closed his eyes, taking one quiet breath, then opened them again. A faint, crimson glint flashed deep within his golden ringed pupils.

The battle of the survivors had concluded.

Now began the gauntlet.

(PLEASE DON’T SKIP THIS)

A/N: I know this phase of the story is taking quite a while, but I promise there’s a reason for it. This is the final phase of the tournament, and it’s something I really wanted to take my time with. After this tournament ends, I’ll start wrapping up Lynx’s arc on the Human Continent and move the story forward into the next stage of his journey.

And honestly... looking back at everything, I just want to take a moment to say thank you.

I never fr actually planned on becoming a writer. I was just someone who loved reading NovelPhoenixs.

I’ve read so many different stories over the years, stayed up late reading Chapters, getting excited over characters, getting angry at villains and some mc, and sometimes even wishing I could write a story of my own.

Eventually, I thought, "Why not just try?"

So I started this book.

I had no idea where it would go. I didn’t know if anyone would even read it. I wasn’t some experienced author who knew exactly what he was doing. I was simply a reader who decided to take a chance and see what would happen if I created my own world.

And somehow... you guys stayed.

You read my Chapters. You commented. You supported the story. Some of you pointed out things I could improve, some of you encouraged me, most hated though, and some of you have simply been here quietly reading every Chapter.

I genuinely appreciate all of you.

I know My All Powerful System isn’t one of the biggest or most popular books on the platform. I know there are hundreds, probably thousands, of fantasy novels out there that are better written, more polished, or have much larger audiences.

But despite that, you still chose to spend your time reading my story, changing my life in a way, and honestly, that means more to me than I can properly explain.

Every reader, every love and hate comment, every gift, every bit of support, even the smallest encouragement has given me more motivation to continue writing when I probably would’ve given up otherwise.

So if you’ve been here since the beginning, thank you. If you joined somewhere in the middle, thank you.And if you’re someone who just discovered the book recently, thank you too.

You guys turned something I started simply because I wanted to try writing into something that actually feels real.

There are still so many things I want to show you in this story. Lynx’s journey is nowhere near finished, and I hope you’ll continue walking through this world with me.

So yeah... this tournament is taking a while. 😹 But we’re getting there.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for supporting me. And most importantly, thank you for giving my story a chance.

-LYNX104