The Clash of Two Titans

   Back when I explained the body modifications I received in the facility, I left something out. It wasn’t intentional—more like I literally just forgot. By now, some of you might have already guessed from the latest chapters.

   Yes… just like Lilith, I also possess Sacred Eyes.

   Mine, however, are a little more... dangerous.

   I call them the Sacred Eyes of Insight. With these eyes, I can see anything I desire, limited only by the strength of my mana. I can see through walls and illusions. I can even see things that are normally invisible to the eye, like ghosts... though it’s not like I’ve ever actually seen one. 

   The true danger of these eyes lies in their ability to read the magical formulas. As I mentioned once, each spell has its own, unique formula, and by knowing it you can use that particular spell or cancel it's activation. But more than that, by combining this ability with the natural ability of every Sacred Eye to destroy spells, I created a new technique:

   I call it Trojan.

   Here’s how it works: my eyes unravel the original spell, destroying its structure, and at the same time, I overwrite it with the same spell but casted by me. 

   The catch is that I can't use magic without my Arcana cards. So I firstly need to attach the card to the target for the technique to succeed.

   That’s why I used 118 Arcana cards during my earlier spinning attack. 

   When Liam’s golems reconstructed themselves, fragments of my Arcana were embedded inside their bodies. Through that, I rewrote the control of his creations and made them mine.

   To tell the truth, if anyone were to discover the power of these eyes, they would want them for themselves for sure. That’s why I wear sunglasses whenever I use them, masking the kaleidoscope glow. That’s also why I didn’t activate them to find Liam at the start of the duel—it would have been too obvious. But using them to control golems was different, since all I had to do was to claim that it's just one of my Arcana’s hidden functions.

   Anyway… it’s time I tell you how the duel reached its end.

* * *

   The gigantic golem I now commanded stomped across the battlefield, each step sending tremors through the forest floor. The trees, already splintered and scattered by earlier clashes, were pushed aside like fragile reeds.

   From her platform outside, the referee’s voice rang out, brimming with excitement:
“Unbelievable! Just moments ago, the Naberius heir was cornered, practically finished—and now he stands inside a gigantic golem, turning the duel completely on its head! What a reversal!”

   The crowd’s roar was deafening, though I barely heard it inside my giant. My focus narrowed to one thing only.

   “Liam!” I shouted, my voice echoing from within the construct as the golem tore through trees. “Come out already—?!”

   Suddenly, the forest itself began to shift. Trees groaned and creaked, their trunks bending and intertwining, roots tearing free of the soil as though answering a summons. Slowly, they melded together, shaping into a hulking figure.

   Through my still-active eyes, I saw it clearly: Liam had entered his own construct, pouring his remaining mana into binding hundreds of trees into a single form. The result looked literally like a Godzilla, as a massive wooden titan.

   I couldn’t help but let out a sharp laugh. “So that’s your answer, huh? Liam, you really are a monster.”

* * *

   Meanwhile... (Liam's POV)

   My eyes widened as the vision-link showed me the impossible: Noah Naberius standing inside a giant golem created, from my own spell.

   “No… this… this can’t be real…” 

   My breath hitched, my chest tightening. All this time, I thought I had him. I saw him broken between my mithril golems.

   Frustration clawed at me. I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. 

   But then… I remembered my promise to Nikke.

   “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everything goes as planned.”

   The memory steadied me. I forced myself to breathe. Slowly, I straightened, brushing the sweat from my brow. 

   “...I can’t afford to lose. Not here. Not now.”

   Around me, the trees whispered with the pulse of my mana. My body screamed in protest, but I ignored it. I dug deeper, past the exhaustion, past the pain, and pushed out every last fragment of power I had left.

   The forest responded.

   Roots tore from the soil. Branches coiled like serpents. Trunks splintered, fused, grew into something greater. My vision blurred, but I could feel it—my will taking shape, my mana binding every fiber of wood into a single body.

   As the titan rose, towering higher and higher, I felt a strange exhilaration. My lips curved into a smile despite the blood trickling down my chin. 

   “This is the first time… the first time I’ve had to push myself this far in a duel.”

   The construct roared, a thunderous bellow echoing across the dome. My heart beat in sync with it. I looked through its eyes, and for the first time, I felt like I wasn’t just commanding a golem. I was the golem.

* * *

   The two giants loomed in the arena’s heart—my Arcana-forged colossus blazing with runic light, and Liam’s towering wooden Godzilla radiating raw, untamed mana. The battlefield trembled as if it too feared what was about to happen.

   “I see you finally decided to fight me face-to-face,” I called out, my voice echoing through the resonating chest cavity of my creation.

   From inside his behemoth, Liam’s answer boomed like thunder. 

   “I admit, you’re powerful… but I won’t lose! I can't lose!”

   A grin spread across my face. “That’s the spirit!”

   Then... it started.

   The ground cracked beneath our strides, each step like an earthquake. My golem’s fist swung first, smashing into Liam’s construct with a bone-shattering crack. Liam countered instantly, his giant’s massive arm whipping around and slamming into my colossus’s side. The impact made the entire dome shudder, my armor groaning under the force.

   I steadied myself, retaliating with a sweeping kick. My giant’s leg crashed into Liam’s wooden monstrosity, uprooting trees and flattening everything in its path. The blow sent him staggering, but he regained balance quickly, his titan roaring in defiance.

   The clash was brutal—two monsters trading blows that split the ground and shook the air. Every strike was answered by another, neither side willing to relent.

   He caught me once, his golem’s jagged arms locking around mine in a crushing grapple. Wood creaked and mana flared as he pushed forward, forcing my back to the shattered earth. My teeth clenched, sweat dripping down my face inside the cockpit of light. 

   “Not bad, Liam,” I muttered.

   I poured more mana into my golem, runes blazing along my giant’s frame. With a surge of strength, I broke free, shoving his construct backward. I lunged, landing a flurry of punches—one to the gut, one to the chest, and a final upward smash that knocked his giant’s head back with a cracking BOOM.

   But Liam didn’t falter. His wooden titan roared, roots sprouting from its legs to anchor it to the ground. Then its massive hand shot forward, clawing at my golem’s shoulder. The force twisted me off balance, and before I could react, his construct’s other arm slammed me into the ground, shaking the entire battlefield.

   My colossus’s hands grabbed his giant’s arm, locking it in place. 

   “That all you got?!” I shouted, forcing my creation back to its feet.

   The crowd outside must have been going insane, though I couldn’t hear them. All I could hear was the pounding of my own heart and the sounds of our giants clashing again and again.

   I feinted a left strike, drew him into overextending, and slipped my titan under his guard. My giant’s arms hooked firmly around Liam’s wooden monster’s waist.

   With a roar that shook the arena, I pulled.

   Mana surged, and my colossus bent backward, lifting his massive construct off the ground. The battlefield quaked as I executed a perfect German Suplex, slamming Liam’s wooden Godzilla into the ground with earth-splitting force.

   Dust and shards of broken trees filled the air as the titan’s body collapsed under the impact. My giant rose, standing tall amidst the wreckage, while Liam’s construct lay shattered on the ground, cracks glowing faintly before finally dimming.

   The forest flickered, its trees dissolving into streams of mana as Liam’s shattered construct finally gave out. The ground beneath it was cratered from the impact of the German Suplex, fragments of wood and mana dissipating into the air like ash.

   Inside the colossus, I exhaled slowly, my chest heaving. My creation stood tall, towering over the fallen wooden titan. Across from me, Liam’s form appeared in the wreckage, sprawled on the ground, his body trembling with exhaustion. His bracelet gave a sharp crack before shattering, the shards glowing faintly before vanishing in motes of light together with him.

   The arena went silent for the briefest heartbeat.

   Then the referee’s crystal-clear voice rang out across the stadium, amplified by magic:

   “Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this duel—Noah Naberius!”

   The announcement was swallowed instantly by the thunderous roar of the crowd. The stands shook from the eruption of cheers, applause, and chants of my name.

   On the giant screens, the image of my giant raising its arm in victory blazed bright. 

   This fight—it was more than just exchanging blows.

   With every strike, I felt Liam’s determination. His desperation and resolve bled into each attack.

   But that wasn't all... I could feel that. I could feel his joy in this final showdown. I won't deny, I felt the same.

   I'm sure that both of us wished it could go on just a little longer...