CHAPTER 123: SPACE DEVIL VS PHOENIX FLAME: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Riven closed his eyes, letting the sensation burn itself into memory—

a private treasure, stored deep in the corners of his mind.

He opened them again, and moved.

He leapt from one stone to the next, lava crackling below, still holding Lyra close in his arms.

Lyra’s head turned, eyes scanning the surroundings—

her face burning as red as the lava beneath.

"Why did I do that?"

"In front of the whole world, I held his hand like a fool."

"I want to disappear."

She huffed softly and pouted—midway through a molten warzone.

Suddenly—

a fireball came hurling toward them.

The footing trembled.

Riven pulled her tighter, shielding her with his body.

Lyra could hear everything—

his steady heartbeat, his even breathing, the warm thrum of life under his muscular chest.

Her blush deepened, face now practically glowing like a ripe tomato.

Riven advanced.

He flicked a finger.

A slash of space magic tore forward—appearing out of nowhere.

The defender jumped aside just in time, the air behind him sliced as if space itself had cracked.

Now wary, the defender raised both hands, launching more fireballs—

but this time, with hesitation.

Riven flicked his finger again.

Another space slash.

It appeared suddenly near the defender’s side.

He leapt again—

only to land straight into a third one that ripped across his stomach.

"Arrghhh!"

His scream echoed as he collapsed onto a floating stone.

Riven continued forward, stepping into the next column—

still holding Lyra.

They landed on a larger stone platform.

Lyra quickly stepped out of his embrace, creating some distance between them.

Riven looked at her...

and smiled—warmly, gently.

Just then, a voice echoed across the stadium:

"10 minutes remaining."

Riven’s smile faded.

He looked up at the stormy sky, violet eyes narrowing.

He muttered:

"There’s not much time left."

Riven turned to Lyra and said quietly,

"I’m going first. You can follow, but we don’t have much time—so I won’t be slowing down."

Lyra simply nodded, understanding the urgency burning in his eyes.

Without another word, Riven blinked, vanishing in an instant and reappearing right behind the defender.

Slash!

A scream echoed before the boy even realized what had hit him.

Riven was already gone—

moving to the next column like a storm without warning.

Lyra dashed forward, trailing behind him like a silver stream through the storm.

Column after column, Riven cut down the defenders, his daggers merciless and precise. Each slash was clean. Each victim fell screaming. The crowd gasped, torn between awe and horror.

Then came the roar of the crowd:

"SPACE DEVIL! SPACE DEVIL!"

The chant rolled like thunder across the stadium.

Riven reached the final column.

The arena speakers echoed:

"5 minutes remaining."

He clenched the Dawn-Breaking Daggers, his violet eyes locked onto the boy standing in the centre of the last column—

Kaelan.

Dark-haired, blue-eyed, standing with calm face and seething fury simmering beneath.

Their eyes met.

Suddenly—

the sky turned crimson.

A colossal Fire Phoenix rose behind Kaelan, its wings outstretched, its cry splitting the heavens.

Its burning form shrouded half the battlefield in firelight.

The ground cracked. The oxygen in the air vanished—

space itself warped with heat.

It was suffocating.

Riven’s clothes caught fire.

Sweat streamed down his chest.

He yanked his shirt off and tossed it aside—his lean, sculpted muscles catching the light.

The crowd of girls screamed in collective frenzy.

But Riven didn’t notice—

his focus razor sharp.

He formed a space shield, crude and jagged, wrapping himself in a bubble of distorted space—cutting himself off from the fire-filled world.

Kaelan stood still, his dark red uniform fluttering, untouched by flame.

Not a single drop of sweat marred his face.

Riven grinned—madly.

The grin stretched wide, too wide.

He lifted his hand, and with a casual arc, he sliced the air.

SHLASH!

A rip appeared in space itself—a purple void etched with starlight, hissing and unstable.

It cut through the fire phoenix, slicing it cleanly from neck to tail—

and kept going.

It struck the arena barrier—

And cut through it like a knife through butter.

The slash tore into the sky—

Only to be intercepted by a man in a black suit.

The Principal.

He raised a single hand—

and caught the space slash.

Reality bent, twisted, screamed—

then snapped back into place.

The crowd fell silent.

Kaelan had stumbled a step back—

but then, slowly...

He smiled.

Not calmly.

Not kindly.

But with a crazy, unhinged grin.

"3 MINUTES REMAINING!"

The voice echoed like a thunderclap across the stadium.

Kaelan laughed—loud.

"Hahahaha! Only three minutes now, Riven, you bastard! I’m going to win this!"

Riven crouched, knees bent low, eyes narrowed—ready to blink forward.

He tried—

Nothing.

His eyes widened.

Space was locked.

Frozen like a sealed vault.

Kaelan’s voice came, mocking and proud.

"You think I’d ignore your greatest weapon?"

Riven’s grin returned. Defiant.

"You’re good... but not that good. I’m not handing you this win."

Kaelan’s expression twisted, fire swirling in his eyes.

"We’ll see. I’m almost there."

Riven surged forward, leaping across molten stones.

But—

BOOM!

A flaming mini-phoenix slammed into his shield.

BOOM! BOOM!

Another, and another—like bullets of fire.

Each one hit with brutal force, his crude space shield cracking and groaning, pushing him back.

He stumbled—then ran again.

More phoenix bolts shot like a storm of meteors.

Riven’s shield flared, distorting reality, but even space groaned under the barrage.

Kaelan’s assault was relentless.

One after another—

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Riven growled under his breath, teeth clenched, sweat pouring down his face.

His eyes darted side to side, scanning the battlefield for anything—

any opening,

any gap,

any edge—

But every second he paused—

Another blast slammed into him.

No time to think.

No time to breathe.

Just pure, unending pressure.

"60 SECONDS REMAINING!"

The voice echoed across the arena.

Kaelan threw his head back and laughed.

"Hahahaha!"

His voice thundered across the battlefield, matched by the roar of the Fire Phoenix crowd.

They were already celebrating—their win felt certain.

On the other side, Riven’s jaw tightened.

His fists clenched, a vein bulged on his forehead.

Rage boiled.

The air quivered.

Space itself began to tremble.

Then—

SLASH. SLASH. SLASH.

Space tore open around him like paper, each crack hurling a slash of warped reality.

"30 SECONDS REMAINING!"

In the VIP booth, the Principal stood up, his voice heavy and urgent.

"Teachers—follow me to the arena. Now."

Without delay, Jasper and the staff moved, landing near the field, alert and tense.

—

Back on the battlefield...

Riven heard it.

"Thirty seconds."

His fury erupted.

Dozens—no, hundreds—of tiny space slashes spiraled around him like a galaxy of razors.

He moved.

A blur. A force. A storm.

The slashes rained down on Kaelan like blades from another dimension.

Kaelan’s eyes shot open.

"Wha—?!"

BOOM!

His red aura exploded out, forming a blazing phoenix shield.

Too late.

The space slashes tore through it like starlight through fog.

Kaelan screamed.

"ARGHHHHHH!"

Slashes ripped across his arms.

His chest.

His legs.

His back.

The Phoenix avatar shattered like glass.

Gasps filled the stadium.

And Riven didn’t stop.

He surged forward like a black bullet—

—slash, slash, slash—cutting through the very space before him.

He stepped beyond the final column.

"TIME OVER!"