Chapter 174: Chapter 173: Final Battle Begins – Sovereign Flame vs Endless Eclipse

The Grand Imperial Arena fell into a silence so deep that even the distant rumble of storm clouds seemed unnaturally loud.

Heavy gray skies stretched across the heavens above the Imperial City, casting the massive arena beneath a cold and oppressive shadow. Reinforced barrier formations pulsed continuously around the battlefield, layer after layer of ancient defensive arrays glowing with blinding spiritual light. Countless runes drifted across the transparent walls like floating stars, each one maintained personally by imperial elders throughout the night after the catastrophic destruction caused during the semi-finals.

Nobody dared underestimate the danger of today’s battle anymore.

Not after Lion Solvaris and Aether had nearly torn apart the arena itself.

Not after sovereign flames had shattered defensive formations that were designed to withstand commander-level beasts.

Today was different.

Today, the empire wasn’t merely watching talented students compete.

Today, they were witnessing the collision of monsters.

Tens of thousands of spectators filled every section of the Grand Imperial Arena. Noble houses occupied the elevated crystal platforms high above the battlefield while academy representatives crowded the lower observation levels. Even military officers and high-ranking officials had appeared personally instead of relying on projection transmissions.

Every eye remained fixed on the battlefield below.

Because the final match of the National Championship had finally arrived.

At opposite ends of the enormous arena stood two figures whose very presence distorted the atmosphere around them.

Aether.

Kael Draven.

Two young tamers.

Two completely different kinds of terror.

Aether stood calmly beside the Flame Sovereign Pup, crimson-gold fire drifting lazily around him like living embers from a divine furnace. Though his expression remained composed, the pressure surrounding him radiated unmistakable dominance. Ever since the semi-final against Lion, the sovereign flames felt different. Sharper. Denser. More alive.

As though they had evolved alongside him.

Across the battlefield, Kael Draven waited in absolute stillness.

Black combat attire shifted softly beneath the cold wind sweeping through the arena while his gray eyes remained emotionless and unreadable. No visible aura erupted from him like Lion’s overwhelming imperial pressure.

And somehow—

That made him feel even more dangerous.

Because unlike Lion, Kael did not resemble a blazing ruler standing openly before his enemies.

He resembled darkness hidden beneath still water.

Silent.

Cold.

Patient.

The kind of person who controlled battlefields before opponents even realized they had already lost.

Above him, the Abyss Raven circled slowly through the storm clouds, its massive wings blotting out portions of the sky every time it passed overhead. Dark feathers drifted downward continuously, dissolving into faint spiritual mist before reaching the ground.

The entire arena unconsciously held its breath.

Then finally—

The amplified voice of the announcer thundered across the Grand Imperial Arena.

"Citizens of the empire..."

The crowd immediately erupted.

The sound rolled through the arena like a tidal wave.

But the announcer continued anyway, voice trembling faintly beneath the overwhelming excitement.

"After countless battles... after the rise and fall of the empire’s greatest young geniuses... only two academies remain standing!"

Projection crystals lit the sky overhead instantly, displaying enormous images of both finalists.

"Today, the National Championship reaches its conclusion!"

The roar of the crowd intensified.

"Skygate Academy!"

A massive explosion of cheers erupted from the eastern sections.

"Aether!"

"SKYGATE!"

"SOVEREIGN FLAME!"

Students screamed themselves hoarse while noble spectators leaned forward with tense anticipation.

Then—

"Versus..."

The arena quieted again instinctively.

"Eclipse Monarch Academy!"

Dark-clad students throughout the western audience rose simultaneously, their cheers far quieter than Skygate’s supporters—

Yet somehow more intense.

"And representing Eclipse Monarch Academy..."

The projection crystals shifted toward Kael.

"Kael Draven!"

Unlike Aether’s explosive applause, Kael’s introduction created something stranger.

Silence.

Unease.

Because despite reaching the finals undefeated—

Very few people truly understood his strength.

And that uncertainty created fear.

The announcer inhaled deeply before shouting the final declaration.

"The FINAL MATCH of the National Championship... begins NOW!"

The signal formation ignited.

The battle started instantly.

Kael moved first.

Yet the movement itself appeared almost disappointingly simple.

No explosive charge.

No overwhelming spiritual eruption.

No dramatic declaration.

He merely lifted one hand slightly.

And the battlefield changed.

The Abyss Raven spread its enormous wings overhead.

Dark spiritual ripples descended across the arena like invisible rain.

At the exact same moment—

The Voidscale Serpent vanished.

Not through speed.

Not through concealment.

It simply disappeared from existence entirely.

The crowd froze.

"What happened?!"

"Where did it go?!"

"I can’t sense the serpent anymore!"

Even the experienced elders watching from the imperial platforms narrowed their eyes immediately.

Spatial displacement.

The beast had entered fragmented battlefield space itself.

Dark ripples spread silently across the arena floor as the atmosphere grew strangely heavy. It wasn’t physical pressure like Lion’s blazing imperial aura.

It felt subtler.

More invasive.

As though the battlefield itself no longer obeyed normal rules.

Aether’s eyes sharpened immediately.

The Heaven Eye activated beneath the locket resting against his chest.

Golden threads spread invisibly across the battlefield.

Analysis flooded his mind instantly.

Battlefield layering.

Predictive positioning.

Spiritual influence mapping.

Then Aether realized something alarming.

Kael wasn’t controlling the battlefield through brute force.

He was controlling flow itself.

At that same moment, Eclipse Monarch Academy moved together.

And the crowd finally understood why they were feared throughout the empire.

Perfect synchronization.

No verbal commands were exchanged.

No hesitation appeared.

Each member shifted positions simultaneously as though connected through an invisible network.

Support beasts moved into layered formations.

Mental interference users spread suppression waves through overlapping angles.

Shadow-positioned attackers established control points around the battlefield edges.

Every movement connected flawlessly.

Every adjustment supported another.

The coordination felt terrifyingly unnatural.

Valen reacted first.

"Titancrest Fangbear—forward!"

The massive beast roared and charged explosively across the battlefield, shattering stone beneath its claws as it attempted to break Eclipse Monarch’s setup before it fully stabilized.

But the moment the Fangbear crossed the arena midpoint—

Space twisted.

A dark ripple flashed beside it.

The Voidscale Serpent emerged instantly from distorted space, striking once with terrifying precision before vanishing again.

BOOM!

Valen’s momentum shattered completely.

The Fangbear slid violently backward across broken stone while dark spatial energy exploded around its flank.

The crowd gasped.

"That serpent interrupted him instantly!"

"It appeared from nowhere!"

Valen clicked his tongue sharply.

"It’s not attacking randomly," he growled. "It’s targeting movement timing."

Liora’s silver eyes narrowed immediately.

"And they already predicted our frontline positioning."

Her Moondream Hare released waves of silver distortion across the battlefield in an attempt to disrupt Eclipse Monarch’s layered coordination.

But Kael responded immediately.

Not personally.

The battlefield itself adapted.

Eclipse members adjusted formation angles naturally.

Mental suppression waves shifted direction.

The Abyss Raven altered its aerial pattern overhead.

Liora’s distortion lost effectiveness almost instantly.

Her expression tightened.

"They’re reading everything."

The realization spread quickly across Skygate’s side.

This wasn’t a battle of overwhelming force like the semi-final against Lion.

This was something far more dangerous.

Control.

Precise.

Calculated.

Invisible control.

Kael himself still hadn’t launched a single major attack.

Yet somehow—

Skygate had already lost initiative.

Dark feathers drifted slowly from the Abyss Raven overhead.

The moment they touched the battlefield, faint mental interference spread outward like invisible poison.

Not enough to dominate minds.

Just enough to disrupt timing.

Tiny delays.

Fractional hesitation.

Yet in coordinated combat—

Even a heartbeat mattered.

The Spirit Fairy reacted immediately.

Soft soul energy spread around Skygate’s formation, restoring clarity and stabilizing mental synchronization.

But even that only partially countered Eclipse Monarch’s pressure.

Kael finally spoke.

His calm voice echoed quietly across the battlefield despite the storm winds overhead.

"You attack powerfully."

Gray eyes fixed toward Aether.

"But your battlefield rhythm remains incomplete."

The statement stunned many spectators.

Not because it sounded arrogant.

Because it sounded true.

Aether felt it himself.

Every previous opponent had reacted to his strength.

Kael didn’t.

Instead—

Kael manipulated the battlefield itself until Aether had no choice but to react in return.

That difference changed everything.

The Flame Sovereign Pup finally stepped forward.

Crimson-gold flames exploded outward instantly.

The arena trembled violently beneath the emergence of sovereign pressure.

Heat distorted the battlefield while ancient flame symbols spread across shattered stone beneath the Pup’s paws. The oppressive darkness surrounding Skygate’s side pushed backward under the overwhelming dominance of sovereign fire.

Spectators erupted immediately.

"There it is!"

"Sovereign flames!"

The pressure alone forced weaker students to shield their eyes.

But Kael still didn’t resist directly.

Instead—

The battlefield evolved again.

Dark spiritual patterns spread across the arena floor in multiple overlapping layers.

The Abyss Raven circled higher overhead while the Voidscale Serpent vanished between fragmented spaces repeatedly, altering pressure angles continuously.

Then—

For the first time—

Kael revealed his third beast.

The shadows behind him twisted unnaturally.

The arena temperature dropped instantly.

Something enormous emerged slowly from the darkness itself.

Gasps echoed across the stadium.

The Duskwalker Beast appeared silently behind Kael.

It didn’t resemble a normal beast.

Its body shifted constantly between physical existence and shadow-like distortion, as though it existed halfway between dimensions. Dark mist flowed endlessly from its massive form while glowing gray eyes stared directly toward the Flame Sovereign Pup.

The moment it appeared—

The battlefield darkened further.

Not visually.

Spiritually.

The entire arena felt submerged beneath endless twilight.

Even imperial elders frowned seriously now.

"What kind of attribute is that?"

"I’ve never seen spiritual signatures like this..."

"That beast feels wrong."

Aether’s instincts screamed danger immediately.

Not explosive destruction like Lion.

Not overwhelming domination.

Something colder.

A battlefield designed to slowly consume control itself.

Inside the shadows, even the Fallen Succubus narrowed her crimson eyes slightly.

"Well now..." she murmured softly. "That creature is unusual."

For once—

She sounded genuinely interested.

Kael remained calm as ever.

Yet without launching any massive techniques, Eclipse Monarch had already achieved several terrifying objectives.

They had broken Skygate’s rhythm.

Forced defensive positioning.

Established battlefield authority.

All within minutes.

The spectators gradually realized the truth.

Kael Draven had hidden his strength not through overwhelming power—

But through terrifying efficiency.

Every movement carried meaning.

Every adjustment built future pressure.

Every action quietly pushed opponents toward disadvantage.

Aether slowly exhaled.

Instead of frustration—

His expression became calmer.

Sharper.

Because this battle demanded something different from him too.

Against Lion, overwhelming force met overwhelming force.

Against Kael—

Understanding mattered more.

Adaptation mattered more.

Control mattered more.

The Heaven Eye intensified.

Golden threads expanded across the battlefield in countless directions.

Aether analyzed everything.

The timing of Eclipse Monarch’s movements.

The layered battlefield influence.

The subtle synchronization between Kael and his beasts.

Then he saw it.

Tiny predictive shifts.

Kael wasn’t merely reacting to battle flow.

He was guiding future movement patterns before they fully formed.

Predictive battlefield weaving.

A terrifying synchronization ability.

No wonder Eclipse Monarch moved like a single organism.

Kael wasn’t commanding them traditionally.

He was controlling possibility itself.

Aether’s gaze sharpened.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

The sovereign flames surrounding the Flame Sovereign Pup intensified slowly.

Not explosively.

Deliberately.

White-gold currents flickered faintly beneath the crimson inferno.

The arena pressure shifted immediately.

Kael noticed.

Gray eyes narrowed slightly for the first time since the battle began.

Then—

Aether moved personally.

He vanished forward in a burst of sovereign fire.

BOOM!

The battlefield exploded beneath his acceleration.

But Kael reacted instantly.

Not through panic.

Through preparation.

The Voidscale Serpent emerged from fractured space directly along Aether’s predicted path while the Duskwalker Beast released waves of dark spiritual distortion simultaneously.

A layered interception.

Perfectly timed.

Yet Aether’s Heaven Eye had already seen it.

His body twisted mid-motion unnaturally.

The sovereign flames compressed around his arm before detonating outward in a spiral burst.

The Voidscale Serpent was forced backward instantly.

At the same moment—

The Flame Sovereign Pup lunged toward the Duskwalker Beast.

Crimson-gold fire collided against flowing darkness.

BOOOOOOM!

The arena shook violently.

Darkness and sovereign flame exploded across the battlefield in opposite directions.

For the first time—

Kael’s expression shifted slightly.

Not surprise.

Interest.

The crowd erupted.

"They broke through Eclipse Monarch’s setup!"

"No—wait—the battlefield’s changing again!"

They were right.

Even while forced backward, Eclipse Monarch’s formation adapted immediately.

Shadow pathways shifted.

Mental suppression angles rotated.

The Abyss Raven descended lower overhead, spreading expanding rings of dark pressure through the battlefield.

Skygate found themselves pressured again instantly.

Valen cursed loudly while blocking another spatial ambush.

"This guy’s battlefield control is ridiculous!"

Liora stabilized formation beside him, silver energy flowing continuously around the Moondream Hare.

"He’s predicting group movement patterns," she said quickly. "Not individual attacks."

Aether heard her.

And understood.

Kael’s greatest strength wasn’t any single beast.

It was orchestration.

The ability to turn the battlefield itself into a weapon.

Across the arena, Kael and Aether locked eyes once more.

Gray met gold.

Neither spoke.

Neither displayed arrogance.

Only understanding.

Because both had realized the same truth already.

This final battle would not end quickly.

And whichever side gained true battlefield authority first—

Would likely decide everything afterward.

Storm clouds rumbled overhead.

Crimson sovereign flames spread slowly against endless eclipse darkness.

The Abyss Raven circled above the arena like a harbinger of night while the Duskwalker Beast observed silently behind Kael.

Barrier formations glowed brighter and brighter beneath the growing pressure.

Tens of thousands of spectators watched breathlessly from every corner of the Grand Imperial Arena.

Because beneath the eyes of the entire empire—

The true final battle had finally begun.