The tournament''s atmosphere became wild the moment Alicia''s shots were deflected by the tower shield wielded by Albert. His chestnut blond hair fluttered as he showed a fierce glare towards Ryuji, who didn''t even look his way.

Instead, twirling to face the older knight who held a two-handed battle mace.

Wallace swung the weapon towards Ryuji''s neck.

As the sound of metal clashed, Albert looked toward the lovely Erika, who was approaching gracefully while the wind flowed peacefully around her body, holding her twin blades across her chest.

"Aria, watch her," Albert spoke while the black-haired sharpshooter nodded, knocking an arrow and pulling her bowstring back.

"Roger," Aria replied.

"Here I come," Erika spoke softly as a green magic circle appeared under her feet, and a gust of wind pushed her body forward.

Wallace blocked Ryuji''s axe while Albert lifted his shield, blocking Alicia''s arrows.

Erika''s blades twirled as they emitted a green glow. The wind around her body began to swirl as her speed increased, and her feet kicked off the ground, causing sand to fly as her blades sliced toward Albert.

"Tch."

Albert''s shield glowed brightly as a barrier formed, stopping Erika''s blades while the wind caused the surrounding sand to shift, making his footing slip.

"ARIA!!" Wallace''s loud voice boomed while the black-haired archer knocked an arrow and turned, aiming towards Ryuji, who ducked under Wallace''s mace. The brutal swing caused a small swirl of sand to form a storm of sand. Ryuji retaliated, his body twisting around the blow and swinging the axe downward, a ferocious red aura surrounding his body and weapon.

"SHIT!" Aria yelled while Wallace leapt backwards, allowing Ryuji''s axe to hit the ground.

BOOM!

A red wave of energy shot out, and the ground beneath him cracked open, causing a red line of energy to shoot towards Albert. The next moment, five sharp blood lances shot from the ground towards Alberts''s unarmoured crotch, chest, and neck.

"Wallace!!" Aria yelled while Albert was forced to defend, leaving his legs and crotch area open.

Wallace roared, his armour glowing while he sprinted towards Albert, swinging his mace low into the incoming blood lances, breaking two while Erika''s blades, covered in shadow, stabbed forward in a flurry of six piercing blows. Her wind-like speed causes her to vanish and appear like a phantom.

Albert defended four of the strikes while the remaining two struck his unarmoured crotch and neck area, causing a small spurt of blood.

"GURGH!"

Wallace arrived and smashed his mace toward the ground, breaking the incoming blood lance towards Alberts'' chest; however, at this moment, he forgot about Ryuji for too long... before the whimper of Aria sounded. "H-help!"

Ryuji didn''t treat women gently; since they were enemies, he rushed in full power.

His pommel smashed her chin, cracking two of her front teeth and lifting her off the ground, before his body spun in a circle and cleaved across her chest, destroying her bow and tearing through her armour before he followed up with a brutal roundhouse kick to her chest, sending her powerless body shooting into the stone wall with a bang.

The crowd became silent, watching Ryuji''s body fluctuate with a black and red aura, his axe leaning over his right shoulder as he looked at Wallace with a grin. "Your little bitch is done."

"ARIA!!!" Wallace roared while Albert gritted his teeth and tried to stabilise his footing.

"Wallace! Defend!" He yelled while Ryuji vanished, a black trail behind him, appearing like a phantom.

Wallace''s armour glowed brightly while he spun, the mace blocking Ryuji''s axe. However, Ryuji didn''t even blink; releasing his axe, he used the momentum and broken posture of Wallace to leap off his body and land on Alberts''s chest, knocking him down to the ground with a mount.

"What are you talking about, old man? They were holding me back." A distorted voice came from the void. Wallace blinked and Ryuji had vanished from his sight! "Over here."

The next moment, a harsh pain filled his body. A blow smashed into his abdomen, the black axe tearing a chunk out of the knight''s stomach, identical to the wound on Ryuji''s body.

"ARGH!!" Wallace screamed, his golden aura protecting his life while Ryuji laughed, appearing above him and smashing his axe towards the knight''s face, causing the sand below him to explode into the air.

Wallace''s nose bled while his left eye began to swell. Yet his sword sliced through the air and blocked the blow from above. His eyes widened, looking at the image of darkness... all Wallace saw was a shadowy figure with Blue eyes staring from that darkness.

Wallace swung his sword towards Ryuji''s leg, the aura surrounding his sword piercing into the darkness.

"AH!" Wallace screamed while Ryuji didn''t care for the damage, instead head-butting Wallace, crushing his nose, sending the old man powerlessly towards the ground while Ryuji stomped on his sword, causing the blade to crack.

"Wallace!" Aria yelled while Wallace stared in fear.

"Monster...." He muttered; the fear towards Ryuji seemed to surpass that of any demon he could imagine; the darkness approached him, step by step...

Meanwhile, inside the royal box, Alan''s eyes were open wide, his hands grasping the arms of his seat, almost crushing the expensive stone and marble ornaments. "...Ryuji..."

A strange emotion, sorrow, fear, anger, rivalry, defeat.... agony filled Alan''s chest as he felt a familiar aura from his friend, yet the aura to him was deeper, darker and more terrifying than the enemy he fought twice up north.

''My dear friend... what are you?!''

Beside him, the knight princess Anne watched with shining eyes, her hands on the railing almost falling out of the box as she watched Ryuji approach the old knight. Her heart felt strange, a rapid throbbing like never before.

"Only when about to die have I felt this way... ah~ Liana, I want to fight him.... Just a little more... make him stronger..."

***

"Monster?" Ryuji asked. His distorted voice echoed as he reached Wallace on the ground, gazing up at him with terror. "Yes, I am a monster, old man, a monster that will take everything from you and crush it before your eyes."

Wallace trembled while Ryuji lifted the Axe, the edge landing on his shoulder and the weight of the axe forcing it to dig into the knight''s collarbone. However, there was no blood, and out of the corner of his tearful eyes, Wallace also saw his two companions alive and well... "Eh... but your attacks?!"

"Old man... we''re not enemies, so would I really try to kill my classmate and your son-in-law?" Ryuji''s distorted voice questioned, his axe vanishing, and Wallace''s body dimmed, losing the Goddess''s blessing while Ryuji squatted and smiled.

"It''s time to learn more, old man. Thanks for the excitement and feeling of fighting a Rank-A. I think I can somehow manage now."

Ryuji lifted his hand, placing it on Wallace''s forehead while the old knight felt Ryuji''s magic start to envelop him in a warm current. "Relax, Old man, it''s nothing big."

At that moment, the old man couldn''t help but feel bitter. He''d been tricked, his emotions used for this kid''s enjoyment and victory. Wallace could only laugh bitterly and thank the gods that Ryuji didn''t actually kill his partners.

"I surrender," Wallace called out, his fist hitting Ryuji in the cheek while he continued. "You are one terrifying lad. Try to avoid testing people with such power... if I were an apostle of Lumina, it might have led to you being branded a demon. But... good tactics, a weaker team, yet you used my emotions to cloud my judgement...

Well done."

Wallace admitted his defeat with grace while the crowd finally awoke from their silence, roaring.

"AH!!! Ryuji, the terrifying Blood Tyrant, wins a spectacular victory against the knights, Albert, Aria, and Wallace!!"

The announcer yelled as the crowd went wild, the other contestants standing up to applaud his victory, showing respect. However, many felt the same fear and foreboding that Wallace and Alan felt.

''Old man... if only I were actually trying to do that I could take credit... I was just enjoying the fight too much I almost cut that girl in half if I didn''t use my magic to heal her rapidly....''