As the magician kept chanting her spell, saying the magic words over and over, the power all around her started to get much bigger, like a wave growing taller and taller.
The big magic circle on the ground in front of her, which was glowing with bright white and deep blue colors, didn't just glow; it grew wider, spreading out across the stage.
It also looked like it got thicker, like the light was packing itself together, making it stronger. Tiny sparks of pure energy started popping off the edges of the circle.
They made small crackling sounds, like tiny fireworks going off. The feeling of the spell's power, this strong push of energy, could be felt everywhere, all across the huge stadium. It made the air feel thick and heavy, like a storm was coming.
In a different part of the stadium, sitting higher up, were the important members of the Magician's Council. These were wise old people and magical police, the ones who made sure magic rules were followed. Their eyes squinted, looking concerned, as they watched the glowing circle and felt the rising power.
They looked at each other with worried, tight faces. The spell the magician was casting wasn't just strong; it was dangerous. They knew that if just one little thing went wrong, if the magician made even one small mistake, the spell's power could break free.
It wouldn't just mess up the stadium; it could cause terrible destruction and chaos outside the stadium too, maybe hitting the people watching or even damaging the city walls. Their job was to keep things safe, and this spell made them very nervous.
In the very middle of everything happening, right where the magic circle was aimed and the power was strongest, stood Adam. He was surprisingly calm. He didn't look worried, scared by the huge magic building around him. He just stood there, quiet and not moving much, even with all the energy flowing.
Slowly, Adam bent down. He was reaching for his sword, which was resting on the ground nearby. As his fingers closed around the sword's handle, its hilt, a strong, sharp feeling of energy shot out. It felt like a quick pulse, like a powerful heartbeat that went through the ground right under his feet.
Adam then took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. As he breathed out, he let loose his own inner power, his aura. A wave of raw, strong energy burst out from his body. At first, it was invisible, nobody could see it, but you could maybe feel the air around him change.
But quickly, this invisible energy started to pull together, to condense. It became visible, blue light. This light energy didn't just spread out; it started to coil and twist, wrapping itself around Adam's sword like a living serpent made of light. It moved fast, twisting and turning around the blade.
Then, it seemed to squeeze itself tightly against the sword, binding itself to the metal. As it did this, it vanished from the air around him. All that power didn't just disappear; it went into the sword, feeding the weapon with tremendous energy, making it ready for something big.
At that exact moment, the magician's spell reached its very highest point, its peak. The giant white and blue circle on the ground suddenly shone with unbelievable brightness, blazing fiercely. It looked like all the magic energy in the stadium had been pulled into that one spot.
In the blink of an eye, faster than you could think, a huge bolt of pure lightning shot out from the center of the super bright circle. It wasn't a thin zap of lightning; it was thick and wide, like a giant column, a huge spear of energy. It was blindingly bright, hurting anyone who looked right at it.
This enormous lance of energy screamed through the air with a loud, roaring sound, shooting straight towards where Adam was standing.
The crowd watching from their seats gasped loudly. They were shocked and terrified by the sheer size and speed of the lightning bolt.
And then—in that instant before the lightning hit—Adam simply vanished. He was there, and then he wasn't. Just gone.
The enormous lightning bolt, which had been aimed perfectly at Adam's spot, struck the ground where he had just been standing. When it hit, there was a massive explosion of searing, bright light, like a miniature sun had just appeared on the ground. The stone ground cracked instantly from the heat and force.
The dirt and soil exploded outwards, throwing earth high into the air. A powerful push of air, a shockwave, ripped through the air from the explosion, hitting everyone like a sudden, strong wind. Dust, tons of it, billowed up high into the sky, forming a thick cloud that covered everything, making it impossible to see what had just happened.
Worried cries and gasps echoed through the huge arena after the loud explosion and the rush of wind.
"Is he… gone?" someone whispered, their voice shaky and full of doubt.
The crowd, hidden partly by the dust but still able to see the center, stared hard at the scorched spot where Adam had been standing. There was a black, burned hole in the ground, a crater, and it was still smoking softly.
The air all around smelled burnt, like dirt that had been set on fire, and also carried a strange smell, like the static electricity you feel after a thunderstorm, making the hair on your arms stand up. Even the magician, who had cast the giant lightning spell, stood frozen in place for a moment. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and for that brief second, she actually believed her powerful attack had hit its target.
"Did… did I actually kill the Third Prince?" she mumbled to herself, her voice a mix of total disbelief that she could do such a thing, and a strange sense of relief that her dangerous enemy might be gone.
But then, slowly, the thick smoke began to clear.
The dust scattered, getting thinner and drifting away on the light breeze that now swept through the arena after the shockwave.
Everyone's eyes quickly scanned the arena floor below, trying to see through the remaining haze, looking around in confusion. Where was he? If the lightning didn't get him, where did Adam go? The feeling in the arena was electric; everyone was holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen next, what was hiding in the clearing dust.
Then, suddenly, a voice rang out, clear and strong, coming from above.
"Sword Slash!"
Heads snapped upward instantly. All eyes tilted towards the sky.
High above the magician, Adam was no longer on the ground. He was descending, coming down from the sky itself. His body was angled, and his sword was pointed directly downwards, aimed right at the magician far below. His sword wasn't just a normal sword anymore; it was glowing brightly with blue energy, shimmering with power.
The magician barely had a moment to understand what was happening, barely had any time to react to Adam falling from the sky. With a sudden, desperate rush, she used her magic again.
She quickly summoned a barrier. It wasn't a physical shield, but a shield made of pure, transparent energy. It formed rapidly in the air, appearing quickly like a shimmering wall of clear glass right between her and the falling, glowing blade. It didn't just appear; it shimmered with light and started vibrating under the strain, shaking slightly with the energy of Adam's attack even before it actually hit.
Adam's glowing sword struck the barrier.
There was a violent crack, a sharp, loud sound like something hard breaking quickly. Adam's blade smashed through the transparent energy barrier in an instant. It didn't slow down; it just went straight through, shattering the barrier into countless tiny pieces of bright, broken light.
The pieces flew outwards, shimmering and reflecting the blue energy. The force of the hit and the shattering barrier caused another shockwave to burst outwards, sending pressure and bright blue light across the arena. Adam's descending blade seemed to gain even more power from breaking the barrier, surging with increased energy. And then—
High above the ground, Adam spun his body quickly in mid-air. It was a fast, powerful turn, twisting his entire body into the motion of his falling sword slash.
From his spinning blade, a wide wave of blue energy erupted outwards. It was a massive horizontal arc, a giant curved line of blue power that screamed and roared through the air towards the magician.
The slash was very wide, covering a large area, incredibly sharp in its look, and packed full of condensed force, all the energy Adam had gathered in his sword. It shot forward with incredible speed, cutting through the air faster than you could see. For a fleeting second, this blue energy slash was brighter than the sun itself, a blinding wave rushing closer.
The magician's eyes widened in sheer horror. She saw the massive, fast slash coming at her. She knew instantly she couldn't dodge it. She couldn't possibly cast another spell in time to stop something that powerful moving that fast. She didn't even have time to take a breath before it reached her.
With no hope left, she simply shut her eyes, accepting that this was the end, that she was about to die.
But just as the giant blue energy slash was about to hit the magician, a shadow suddenly stepped in front of her.
The screaming blue slash, moving faster than thought, didn't collide with the magician as expected. Instead, it crashed into the figure cloaked in black armor that had just appeared. This figure held a sword, which was also equally black, and they used it to meet Adam's powerful energy attack head-on.
The newcomer's black blade wasn't plain; it was wrapped in fierce, almost angry-looking red energy. This red energy coiled and pulsed around the sword as he braced himself, holding his ground against the incoming blue force. For a moment, as the two huge waves of energy slammed into each other, time seemed to slow down, to stop completely in the air.
The two different forces clashed violently—bright blue versus fiery red, the powerful energy slash from above hitting the solid defense from the ground. The sheer impact of the collision was so strong that it threw up another wave of wind, a gust strong enough to push some of the mages standing nearby right off their feet, sending them stumbling or falling onto the ground.
The magician girl, who had closed her eyes expecting to die, opened them slowly. To her surprise, she was still alive.
Standing before her, wearing the black armor and holding the black sword against the blue attack, was the First Prince—Raven.
Raven's muscles were pulled tight, straining against the immense pressure of the energy slash. His expression was grim and set, his face showing the great effort he was putting in. He gritted his teeth tightly, the sound maybe barely audible, as he fought with all his might to push back the raging blue slash.
Under the force of the attack, his feet started to skid across the arena floor. They scraped and dug trenches through the dirt and cracked stone as the energy from Adam's attack pushed him back inch by inch, making him slide slowly across the ground despite his strength.
He wasn't left alone to face the attack for long.
With a sudden shimmer of golden light, a second figure appeared right beside Raven. This was Leonard, the Second Prince. As soon as he appeared, he swiftly raised his hand. Using his magic, he quickly created a barrier made of radiant energy, bright golden light that glowed powerfully.
This barrier wasn't aimed at the main slash; it extended high up into the air above Raven, aiming to catch and absorb the leftover power, the residual energy that was still shooting upwards from the main point where the blue slash and red defense were clashing.
Together, the two princes stood their ground firmly. Raven, with his black sword braced against the direct hit of the blue slash, and Leonard, with his golden magic flaring upwards, both poured every ounce of their strength and power into holding Adam's terrifying attack at bay.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of pushing and straining, though it was only a few seconds, the blue energy of the slash began to fade away.
The giant slash lost its sharpness, its edge getting fuzzy. It dimmed down, becoming less bright and less powerful. And then, at long last, the huge blue wave of energy simply vanished into the air, fading away like a dream disappearing when you wake up.