CHAPTER 287: CHAPTER 287: BREAKING THE WINTER

"Who will remain standing?"

The announcer’s voice thundered across the coliseum, trembling under the weight of silence. Dust and frost still blanketed the field, the aftermath of storm and blizzard clinging to every stone. The crowd leaned forward in unison, breaths held, waiting for the haze to clear.

And then—two silhouettes emerged.

Gasps rippled through the stands as the fog thinned, revealing both combatants still upright. Noel stood with Revenant Fang at his side, his uniform torn, one arm streaked with blood, sparks of electricity still crawling along his body. Across from him, Selene remained firm, her wand of ice in hand, frost shimmering around her frame, a thin line of crimson on her lip.

The announcer’s voice cracked. "They both endure!"

The eruption from the audience shook the very walls of Tharvaldur. Thousands shouted, stomped, and chanted, the noise so loud it drowned out the lingering hiss of steam.

Noel adjusted his stance, chest rising and falling heavily, sweat dripping into the cuts across his skin. Selene brushed frost from her shoulder, her cyan eyes steady, unbroken. They didn’t speak. Words had no place here.

The referee raised his arm again, his shout amplified by magic. "Continue!"

Both fighters surged forward at once. Noel’s blade burst into flame as he swung down. Selene raised her wand, summoning a curtain of ice to catch the strike. The clash erupted in steam, a hiss so violent it echoed like thunder.

Sparks and frost scattered across the battlefield. The deadlock of ultimates had not decided the fight—if anything, it had only sharpened it.

The announcer’s voice returned, his tone almost breathless: "This final... is far from over!"

Selene thrust her wand into the ground. "Zero Point Burst!"

The arena floor warped, gravity twisting violently as debris, dust, and even broken shards of ice were dragged toward the collapsing sphere at its center. Noel staggered against the pull, his boots grinding over cracked stone. He slashed downward, conjuring ice. "Frost Wall!"

A jagged wall of frozen mana erupted before him, only to splinter almost instantly under the crushing force of the gravity field. Shards scattered as the pull intensified, dragging them into the implosion.

Selene raised her wand high. "Frigid Bloom!"

The stone floor beneath Noel burst open, a blooming circle of razor-sharp ice petals spiraling upward. Dozens of crystalline blades tore across his arms and shoulders, red streaks marking his skin as they ripped past.

Noel roared through the storm of ice, thrusting his palm forward. "Flamethrower!"

A torrent of fire engulfed the field, sweeping over the bloom of frost and reducing it to a cloud of boiling steam. The petals hissed as they melted away, vapor rising in thick plumes that obscured the fighters.

Through the mist, Selene’s form advanced, frost crawling with each step. Noel cut forward through the haze, Revenant Fang glowing red-hot from the fire still clinging to its edge.

The crowd exploded at the sight—half chanting Selene’s name, half screaming Noel’s—while the arena floor split between frozen scars and molten burns.

Neither yielded an inch.

At last, both halted at the center, their bodies tense, mana swirling around them in violent waves.

Selene struck first, her wand slamming down. "Cryo Grasp!"

Jagged hands of ice tore up from the ground, seizing Noel’s leg and locking him in place. Frost crackled upward, threatening to spread across his body.

She followed instantly, her form blurring as she invoked gravity upon herself. "Gravity Step!"

Her body shot upward unnaturally, twisting midair before plunging down toward him, wand aimed directly for his chest.

Noel’s body blurred with a ripple of darkness. "Shadow Step!"

The shadows under the ice shattered into black mist, and his form vanished. Selene’s strike pierced nothing but the fractured stone.

She spun sharply, sensing movement—too late. Noel emerged from the elongated shadow behind her, Revenant Fang raised high. Heat flared as flames roared along the cursed blade. "Ignition Surge!"

The sword descended, trailing fire in a burning arc. Selene whirled, lifting her wand to parry. Sparks and embers showered the arena as steel and ice collided.

The impact drove her back several steps, boots sliding across frost-cracked stone. The sleeve of her uniform tore, blood marking her shoulder where the edge grazed through.

Selene steadied herself, frost exploding outward in a shockwave as she thrust her wand again. "Frozen Lance!"

A condensed spear of ice screamed through the air.

Noel raised his blade, answering with a slash of flame. "Fire Arc!"

The fiery crescent carved through the lance, splitting it mid-flight and scattering molten shards across the arena floor. Steam rose in plumes around them as they circled one another again, both panting, both refusing to yield.

The crowd surged to its feet, the announcer’s voice cracking in disbelief: "The duel swings wildly—Selene von Iskandar wounded, but unbroken!"

Frost spread beneath Selene’s boots as she steadied her stance, wand lifted, eyes sharp as a blade. She inhaled once, mana pooling visibly around her. "Frozen Lance!"

A massive spear of solid ice formed in her grasp, sharper and heavier than before, humming with lethal power. She hurled it with a snap of her wrist, the projectile screaming across the battlefield.

Noel’s body jolted with sparks. He vanished into shadow. "Shadow Step!"

The ice spear struck the ground with a thunderous crack, shattering stone and spraying shards across the arena. Selene turned quickly, expecting his reappearance—yet Noel was already behind her. Revenant Fang’s edge blazed with heat. "Ignition Surge!"

Instead of striking her down, Noel twisted his wrist and brought the flat of his blade hard against her arm. The force snapped against bone and muscle, jolting her fingers open.

Her wand slipped from her grasp, clattering across the floor.

Gasps ripped through the crowd.

Selene froze, staring at her empty hand. The icy aura surrounding her collapsed, frost fading into harmless mist. Across from her, Noel lowered Revenant Fang, still burning faintly, his chest heaving with exhaustion. He did not move to finish her.

Silence fell over the coliseum, tens of thousands holding their breath.

Selene bent down slowly, her hand hovering above the wand on the ground—then she stopped. Straightening, she met Noel’s gaze.

"I’ve lost."

Her voice was steady, cold as always, but there was no shame. Only finality.

The referee raised his arm, voice booming with magic. "Victory—Noel Thorne!"

The arena erupted into chaos, cheers shaking the mountain itself.

Selene retrieved her wand, tucking it away before turning. As she walked toward the exit, her cyan eyes flicked back once, meeting Noel’s. For the first time, a sliver of respect glimmered in her gaze.

Noel stood alone in the center of the arena, exhausted yet unbroken—champion of Tharvaldur.

’I won.’