Chapter 94: Next Stop

True growth is not found in victory, nor in the strength unleashed on a battlefield.
It lies in the moment when, against all odds, you choose to continue.

There are moments when the body screams to stop, when the soul cracks and doubt whispers louder than conviction.
And yet, you move forward.
Because something inside you—perhaps a memory, an ideal, a promise—refuses to let you turn back.

Every step taken in the midst of chaos, every decision made on the edge of an abyss, lifts you higher.
Because there are battles not fought to win… but to change.

And on this new scale, where everything blurs, only those who have shattered their own limits can meet the gaze of destiny.

———————————————————————————————————————————

“These fights just don’t stop surprising us!” Raijin roared from atop the commentator’s tower.
“Unique techniques, abnormal powers, unforgettable moments! This tournament has everything!”

Fujin watched the center of the arena, where Adnais stood unmoving—as if the previous battles had left not a single mark on her.

“Adnais,” he said quietly, almost cautiously.

“Yes?”

“Do you need a break? You’ve faced three opponents in less than ten minutes.”

She shook her head gently.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes… besides, I can’t wait to keep having fun.”

Fujin stared at her in disbelief.
One question echoed endlessly in his mind:

What in the world is this girl made of?
She didn’t show a single sign of exhaustion.

“…Understood. We’ll proceed to the next match.”

“Thank you,” Adnais replied, with a calmness that bordered on unsettling.

Raijin, fully aware of what was coming, announced to the crowd with his usual explosive energy:

“What a surprise we’ve just received! The fighter Adnais has requested to continue without rest! Not even a short pause between battles!”

From the waiting area, Yohei heard the announcement with a nervous smile.

“Seriously?”

“This isn’t stopping!” Raijin shouted. “It looks like we’ve got entertainment for a while longer!”

Takahashi turned toward him, face serious.

“Yohei.”

“What now?”

“You must keep your distance from her.”

“Huh?” Yohei blinked. “Did you see the last attack she launched? If she hits me with something like that, I’ll die.”

“I know,” Takahashi nodded. “But right now… you’re faster than she is.”

“What?”

“If my expectations are correct, you should be able to dodge her ranged attacks with ease. I’ve reviewed all your data. At long distance, you’re the best among all of us.”

Yohei fell silent, staring at the boy in surprise.
This guy… how does he know so much?

Takahashi looked away, slightly embarrassed.

“Obviously, she’ll try to corner you, force you into close combat… after that, I don’t have a plan. Sorry. I’m not good at these things… but trust me, okay?”

Yohei sighed. Then, as if the tension had melted, he ruffled Takahashi’s hair with a grin.

“Good job, kid. Leave the rest to me.”

Takahashi froze for a second, startled.

The scene shifted.
The entire coliseum exploded into cheers and roars as a new figure entered the battlefield—crackling armor, resolute stare.

“There he is!” Raijin shouted. “The second participant from Zutarts has arrived!”

“From the GODS Institute… all the way to the grand final!”

“Ladies and gentlemen! Give it up for… Yohei Aktína!”

A deafening wave rose from the stands.
The Greek audience stood up.
The students of GODS shouted his name with everything they had.

“Kick that stuck-up girl’s ass, Yohei!” Zef yelled.

“Show her what a GODS student can do!” Lowa added.

“You better win, or I’ll kick your ass next!” Sebastian teased.

“Teach her a lesson from all of us, lightning boy!” Shu shouted.

Yohei looked up at them and smiled wide.

Leave it to me, he thought.

Adnais watched him from her position, her head slightly tilted.

“You have good companions.”

“Maybe… I doubt you can say the same.”

“Sorry,” she replied, perfectly composed. “But weak people don’t interest me.”

Yohei let out a low laugh.

“You’re like my old self.”

“What made you change?”

“You could say… a dumb demon.”

“A dumb one?”

“Yes. That idiot kept moving forward. No matter how many times he got beaten down, he kept going… and he still does. He made me realize that fighting for someone other than myself… wasn’t that bad.”

Adnais smiled faintly.

“He sounds quite interesting. But there’s nothing better than fighting for yourself.”

Without another word, her body began releasing golden energy.
A colossal pressure dropped over the coliseum—
as if the air itself had grown heavier.
The ground trembled.
The stands creaked.

Yohei swallowed, still wearing his nervous grin.

“Seriously…?”

The perspective shifted.
The gods watched in complete silence as the next outpouring of power began to take shape.

No one said a word.

But everyone felt it.

The next ascension… had already begun.

From the summit of Olympus, Zeus frowned, unable to tear his eyes away from the arena.

“This does not compare to anything we’ve ever witnessed before… how can she be this strong?”

Beside him, Amaterasu maintained her composure, though her thoughts betrayed her calm exterior.

“We knew about Adnais’ power. She is a Celestia, after all… but still… how can someone her age possess so much strength?”

Even Quetzalcóatl, whose composure was legendary, felt a chill run down his spine.

“We may not know Takahashi’s true limits… but that girl is simply absurd…”

The perspective shifted and descended toward Takahashi.
A smile illuminated his face.

“I want to fight her… I want to fight her for real…”

Down on the battlefield, Yohei began to sweat cold.
Adnais’ power kept rising, vibrating through every particle of the air.

“Using fifty percent of my power should be a good demonstration for the audience,” she said calmly, her gaze fixed on him.

“Fifty…?” Yohei swallowed hard. “You have to be kidding.”

The world seemed to hold its breath.
The entire coliseum fell into absolute silence.
Two figures, face to face.

“Begin!” Fujin announced.

A flash of electricity streaked across the arena.
Yohei was already in motion, retreating at high speed, leaving trails of blue sparks behind him.

“Interesting…” murmured Adnais as she saw his choice.

She dashed after him with lethal elegance.
Each step she took made the ground tremble.
Yohei kept his distance, firing bursts of lightning, but Adnais cut through them one by one with surgical precision.

From the stands, Zef clenched his teeth.

“This is the first time I’ve seen Yohei retreating… what is he planning?”

Shu observed with the Eyes of God.
His inner voice was calm and clear.

“I don’t know whether it was Yohei or Takahashi… but someone found a crack in the wall. Even the strongest have weak points.”

In the arena, Yohei came to an abrupt stop, focusing his energy.

“Plasma Arrows!”

Dozens of electric projectiles appeared around him, all aimed at Adnais.
She prepared to dodge them—and succeeded—until the arrows curved mid-air.

“Not bad,” she whispered, stopping.

She closed her eyes.

And then… the dance began.

She spun. Cut. Leaped. Twisted.
Every movement was poetry forged into combat.
One after another, the arrows fell before they could touch her.
When she finished, she returned to her natural stance, sheathed her sword…

…and behind her, the arrows exploded into a glorious bloom of fire and electricity.

The crowd erupted.

“Seriously…?” Yohei smiled wryly.

The city roared with cheers—
but something else was happening.

Tiny electric particles floated around her.

Adnais noticed the traces… too late.

“What…?”

Yohei raised his hand, his mocking smile shining like a lightning bolt.

“Welcome to my game.”

The particles gathered instantly, forming a dome of energy that trapped her without warning.
The audience gasped.

“Are you serious?” Zef shouted.

“Hell yes!” Lowa cried.

“Is this real?!” Raijin screamed. “Am I dreaming?! Adnais—trapped for the first time in the entire tournament!”

The ovation was immediate.

“Well done, Yohei!” Takahashi yelled from the stands.

His inner voice echoed again.

“The first time I saw you… you didn’t impress me. You looked arrogant. Privileged. But I was wrong.”

Flashback

In the dim silence before dawn, Takahashi remembered Yohei training.
Open wounds. Bleeding hands. Ragged breathing.

“More…! I have to be stronger! Much stronger!”

A bolt of lightning was born in his palm.
It struck the training mannequin and burned it to ashes.

Yohei screamed to the sky—
like an animal at war with himself.

End of flashback

“You’ve trained harder than anyone. And because of that… I respect you.”

In the arena, Adnais began to shudder.
The shocks intensified.

“You should give up,” Yohei said. “The more you resist, the stronger the voltage gets.”

She spat blood—
and smiled.

“Then… let’s see which endures more. My will… or your energy.”

A new discharge struck her.
She didn’t scream.

Yohei stayed focused.
His thoughts were clinical.

“Each shock damages not only her body, but her insides too. I’m disrupting her nervous system, interrupting her reactions…”

“This battle… is mine.”

But then, a chill ran down his spine.
Something didn’t add up.

“No way…”

Adnais’ eyes were… closed?

“So you noticed?” she said, her tone lifted, effortless.

“How is that… possible…?”

The prison shattered.
A golden flash filled the field.
Everyone watching froze in disbelief.

“How…?”

Adnais began to heal.
Golden light coursed through every wound.

“I’ll admit it,” she said without resentment. “You caught me off guard. I expected a wilder, more direct style.”

“But… you’re precise. Careful. Admirable.”

“You have talent on the battlefield. So I apologize for underestimating you.”

“Your name?”

“Yohei Aktína.”

“I’ll remember it.”

Yohei swallowed.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why didn’t my technique work?”

Adnais nodded softly.

“Zenka energy has more uses than you imagine: breathing in other worlds, communicating with other races, speaking telepathically… increasing your abilities, protecting yourself.”

“I focused all my energy on shielding my internal system. Your attack was meant to break me from the inside, so I reinforced exactly there.”

“The price was leaving my body completely unguarded… but I knew your technique wouldn’t last forever.”

“Once it weakened… brute force would be enough.”

Yohei looked down with a tense smile.

“She figured all that out… in such a short time?”

He sighed.

“I hate to admit it… but the gap between us is enormous.”

“When I thought I had you in my hands… you had already planned a hundred ways to beat me.”

“It’s frustrating.”

She didn’t answer.
She just watched him—cold, serene—like a goddess judging a mortal.

But Yohei lifted his head.
The sky began to darken with storm clouds.
Lightning snaked through them.

The entire coliseum held its breath.

And then—

“I…”

The sky roared in fury.
Black clouds gathered like starving beasts, and lightning bolts rained down over the arena, as if the world itself sensed the climax of a story written in blood, will, and electricity.

At the center of that storm, Yohei lifted his gaze.

“I’m not going to lose.”

Then it happened.

A colossal lightning bolt descended from the heavens and struck him directly.
The flash blinded every spectator for an instant.
But when the light faded, Yohei emerged… transformed.

He screamed with wild fury as blue currents wrapped around his body, crackling in every direction. Every spark seemed to slice through the air itself.

“This is incredible!” Raijin shouted from the commentator’s tower.
“This is a spectacle on an entirely different level!”

“Just when we thought nothing could surpass it, Yohei transforms and brings this battle to a divine stage!”
“This battle keeps rising… and rising!”

“This is everything I’ve got!” Yohei roared. “I hope you’re ready!”

Adnais said nothing.
She merely lowered her head slightly.
Her gaze sharpened.
Her stance adjusted.

She was ready.

“Time of God.”

The words echoed like a sentence.

Electric currents danced over his skin as Yohei’s body began to expand—muscle, energy, power… His eyes turned pure white, as if he were channeling the heavens themselves.

“I promised I wouldn’t use this form again…”
he thought as his body became wrapped in a monstrous electrical aura.

“…because for every minute I remain in it, I lose a year of my life…”
“…but I have no choice. I don’t want to lose.”

Adnais smiled with genuine excitement.
Her energy rose to match his, as if welcoming this new Yohei.
A greeting without words—only between warriors.

The entire coliseum fell silent.

Until it happened.

Both of them shot forward at maximum speed.
Their first clash of fists was brutal—
an explosion without flames, only pressure, tearing apart the ground beneath their feet.
The wind generated by their blows was so ferocious that Raijin had to cling to his stand to avoid being blown off.

“What a ferocious battle!” he screamed.
“Neither one is stepping back!”

“This isn’t a fight—this is a storm made flesh!”

Their fists didn’t stop.
Every strike generated shockwaves that rattled the foundations of the coliseum.
The earth cracked.
The air burned.
The sound was like a universe collapsing.

Yohei roared with every blow.

“I won’t lose!”

His punches grew faster.
More violent.

Adnais answered each one with equal force.

“Come on!”

They were no longer trading blows—they were inflicting them.
Faces, torsos, arms…
The battle turned personal.
Savage.
Cruel.

One punch from Yohei struck Adnais across the face.
She spat blood and staggered back—but recovered instantly.

With a silent roar, her fist struck Yohei’s chest… and the crack was horrifying.
Multiple ribs broke at once.
Yohei spat blood.
His eyes went blank for a moment.
The image of the coliseum vanished.
Everything was black.

Shit…

But he returned.
Like thunder returning after lightning.
He struck again.
Once, twice, three times.
Not with much strength anymore—
but with his soul.

In the stands, silence settled again.

“He’s reaching his limit,” Zef murmured.

“Yes…” Shu nodded, watching with the Eyes of God. “Each second that passes, his blows get weaker… and she keeps rising.”

Afrodita pressed her lips together.

“Even pushing his body beyond its limits… it wasn’t enough.
Adnais Celestia… she’s a true monster.”

The battle reached a new height of madness.
Screams.
Strength.
Speed.
Pain.
The sky seemed to weep blood.
Rain fell harder and harder.

Yohei bled from everywhere.
Blood seeped from his pores, his ears, his eyes.

His limit—the one he had stretched so far—began to break.

Adnais noticed.
Her gaze shifted.
No longer that of a rival…
but of respect.
And sorrow.

She lifted her fist.
Covered it in Zenka energy.
Her aura was like that of a god preparing judgment.

“You fought well, Yohei Aktína.”

The world froze.

The strike was devastating.

Yohei’s armor shattered.
His body was hurled into the arena barrier like a broken puppet.
Bones cracked.
Blood filled the air.
His eyes went dark completely.

Silence.

Only the echo of that final impact remained.

The rain kept falling.
A wordless funeral.

Yohei, in his normal form, lay on the ground.
Wounded.
Exhausted.
Defeated.

Afrodita watched him in silence.

“You can be proud, Yohei… you gave it everything.”

Adnais approached him.
She closed her eyes.

“It wasn’t bad… I think I had a little fun.”

The entire coliseum rose to its feet.
There were no cheers.
No shouts.

Only applause.
A funeral ovation.

From above, Eden whispered with a faint, almost imperceptible smile:

“Not bad, Yohei.”

And so, under a gray sky and melancholic rain, one of the most memorable battles of the tournament came to an end.
A battle that will not be remembered for who won…

…but for how fiercely it was fought.