"What is a [Divine flash]?" Gabriele asked.

  “It’s a technique that amplifies the strength and speed of a strike for an instant,” Samael replied, voice calm but firm. “It lets you catch your opponent completely off-guard. But pulling it off intentionally? Nearly impossible. You need perfect [Circuit Fusion]—and the exact moment your mana reaches your fist, you have to strike.”

  “I’ve only ever landed it once,” Jophiel added, eyes narrowing.

  “Then how did he do it?” Adriel asked.

  Jophiel was silent. “I don’t know.”

  Across the shattered ring, Uriel staggered to his feet, his chest still healing. “Like I said... I’m not losing.” His voice trembled, but not from fear—only from strain. He could barely stand. His lungs burned; his legs buckled. And yet his gaze never wavered.

  If I want to win... I have to use the same ability I used against Lord Samael. If I don’t, there’s no path forward, Uriel thought, chest heaving.

  Fafniel grinned, eyes gleaming with mania. “I see the resolve in your eyes—but is that all you’ve got? Come on! Show me everything! Let’s fight until our hearts give out!”

  His voice was deranged—wired and trembling with glee. Mana flooded his brain, overcharging his thoughts, turning battle lust into madness.

  Uriel inhaled deeply, and then his aura exploded. Blazing solar energy surged from his soul, illuminating the battlefield. Every stat, every breath, every nerve—amplified.

  “He’s using your grace?!” Jophiel gasped. “Wasn’t the ring supposed to block that?”

  “It is,” Samael answered, eyes locked on Uriel. “But if the ring calculates that allowing him to use my grace creates a fairer fight, it permits it.”

  “Then Fafniel’s that strong...?” Jophiel whispered.

  Uriel launched forward, a blur of light and fury. Fafniel met him head-on. Their fists collided with thunderous force, but Fafniel still held the upper hand, landing a devastating sidekick that folded Uriel in half.

  “How boring,” Fafniel said, disgusted. “Even with Lord Samael’s grace, you're still beneath me.”

  “Don’t get cocky,” Uriel growled, standing and clutching his stomach as it healed. His eyes blazed. “[Acts X Genesis: Solar and Flame Generator]!”

  White-hot flame and blue solar energy engulfed him, fusing into a radiant inferno.

  He struck again—this time faster. A brutal kick to Fafniel’s thigh dropped him to a knee. Uriel followed with a flying knee aimed at the jaw. Fafniel blocked it, but the impact still launched him backwards. He caught himself midair, palms skidding along the ruined platform.

  “Not bad,” Fafniel said, smirking.

  Uriel gave no reply; he surged forward again. Fafniel summoned a volley of golden spikes, but Uriel weaved between them, agile and precise. They collided midair, fists clashing like falling stars. With each exchange, Uriel pushed harder, his Solar and Flame Generator ramping his speed and strength the longer the fight dragged on.

  Fafniel was forced to dodge multiple blows before leaping back to create distance. He hurled a barrage of miniature black holes, all aimed at Uriel. Uriel’s eyes glowed, iris now a deep blue, sclera shining white. A new power surged through him. He flowed between the void spheres and closed the gap, then slammed his fist into Fafniel’s skull and drove him into the ground.

  The crowd gasped as Uriel followed up, hurling Fafniel across the battlefield. He crashed into the ring’s edge with a tortured grunt. Uriel lunged after him, pummelling relentlessly.

  More. More. Keep going, Fafniel thought, grinning as fists rained down on him. But then, he frowned. His growth... It’s slowing. I’ll have to push harder.

  He caught Uriel’s next punch.

  Uriel’s eyes widened. He’s still this fast?

  Fafniel's eyes flickered—and then, with a thunderous crack, he landed a [Divine Flash] straight to Uriel’s face, blasting him backwards in a thunderous boom of force.

  Uriel tumbled, grunting as his skull stitched itself back together.

  “You want to know how I gained this power?” Fafniel said, intercepting Uriel’s flame lances with a lazy flick. “Don’t interrupt again.”

  He slammed a concussive shockwave into Uriel’s chest, flattening him.

  “As I was saying... when you landed your [Divine Flash] and my Territory cracked, something changed. I saw the principles of reality, every law, every secret, all at once. It was euphoric.”

  Fafniel’s eyes shone with unhinged glee. “So get up. Fight harder. Show me more!”

  Jophiel, Adriel, and Gabriele screamed Uriel’s name. Even Fafniel joined in, mockingly. Uriel pushed himself upright, legs trembling, but his eyes burned with unbreakable resolve.

  With a roar, he invoked [Godspeed], stacking it atop his generator spell. He added [Divine Amplification] for good measure. His soul surged beyond its limit.

  He attacked, and now, Fafniel struggled to keep up.

  They clashed in a blur, neither gaining ground for long. Uriel feinted and went for the eardrum, hoping to wreck Fafniel’s balance. But Fafniel blocked, then drove both palms into Uriel’s chest, shattering his lungs, before following with a brutal elbow to the jaw. Uriel hit the ground so hard he bounced, and Fafniel met him midair with another [Divine Flash], rocketing him away.

  Uriel spat blood, eyes hazy. Then, he stood again, healing his injuries before attacking.

  And this time, Fafniel couldn’t keep up.

  Uriel’s counterstrikes landed. He dodged a [Divine Flash] and answered with one of his own, obliterating Fafniel’s heart and slamming him into the far wall.

  In Uriel’s eyes, a golden circle with four lines from each cardinal direction blinked to life.

  “Wait... isn’t that your eye?” Jophiel asked, staring at Samael.

  Samael nodded, awestruck. “Yes. But it should only activate if the ring deems it absolutely necessary...”

  So, he needs omniscience to win... That alone makes Fafniel terrifying. Win or lose, he is the current ‘Ace’ of Dead End. Samael thought.

  "How can an angel be that strong?" Adriel whispered, shocked by Fafniel’s power.

  Even as Uriel gained omniscience, the symbol blinked—unstable.

  Fafniel laughed as he rose, healed completely. “At last... I can fight without restraint.”

  He brought his hands together. Uriel’s expression tightened.

  A wave of pressure rippled out. The ring cracked. Adriel and Gabriele bled from their noses.

  Samael grinned widely. He can use [Ultimate Domain] with ten chapters? Finally...He might be the one to make me go all out. I have finally found a rival worthy of me.

  “You’re excited?” Jophiel asked.

  “Why wouldn’t I be? Fafniel is doing what even archangels can’t. This is what true combat looks like.”

  Fafniel exploded forward, hammering a [Divine Flash] into Uriel’s sternum. He followed with a rapid flurry of [Divine Flashes], each strike targeting pressure points with terrifying precision.

  Uriel crashed across the field. Flame pillars burst to life in his defence, but Fafniel froze them instantly and launched more attacks. Uriel dodged, barely, but his soul was scraped raw.

  He’s faster… and his use of omniscience is evolving, Fafniel realised, beaming. This is going to be fun. He continued his attack.

  However, Uriel struck back, a vicious counter to the chest that launched Fafniel skyward. Uriel pursued, caving in Fafniel’s head with a punch. As Fafniel regenerated mid-flight, Uriel transported himself behind Fafniel.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  But Fafniel was ready. He turned, fists colliding in a clash of [Divine Flash] techniques. The shockwave hurled them apart.

  Fafniel escalated, blitzing forward. His strikes blurred—Uriel saw them coming but couldn’t react in time. Fafniel drove an uppercut into his ribs, picked him up and slammed him down. Uriel coughed up blood.

  I need another way to win.

  Uriel poured mana into his eyes, pushing his unstable omniscience further, and saw it.

  Fafniel smirked. “It’s over.”

  But Uriel just laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” Fafniel snapped.

  “You really think you’ve won?” Uriel stood.

  “Fine. I’ll end it now.” Fafniel hurled a Godspeed-enhanced [Divine Flash].

  But Uriel dodged. And with one punch, shattered Fafniel’s sternum, flooring him.

  Fafniel gasped. That wasn’t a [Divine Flash]… just a regular punch... why does it hurt so much?

  “How’s it feel to be down for once?” Uriel taunted.

  Fafniel clutched his chest, wincing.

  “Vector manipulation… interesting,” he muttered. Then smirked.

  Uriel attacked again, landing a [Divine Flash] to Fafniel’s head, but Fafniel deflected and stood. The two clashed, [Divine Flash] after [Divine Flash], speed and power peaking beyond their limits.

  “They’re... equal? Even with Uriel’s omniscience?” Jophiel asked, stunned.

  Samael grinned. “Seems the mana in Fafniel’s brain has pushed him to nigh-omniscience.”

  Fafniel slipped past Uriel’s strike and swept his legs, sending him airborne, but Uriel grabbed Fafniel’s arm mid-tumble and hurled him into the ceiling. Fafniel halted himself mid-flight and shot back down. Their [Divine Flashes] collided, triggering a shockwave that hurled Fafniel into the ceiling again and Uriel into the ground.

  “This is nostalgic,” Fafniel muttered, pulling himself from the rubble. Ice lances bloomed at his side. Uriel responded with fire lances, and the two clashed, unleashing a cloud of scalding steam.

  Realising their elemental stalemate, Fafniel formed a colossal ice spike and skated along its surface at high speed. Uriel dodged the main attack, only to be met by a hail of smaller spikes. Using vector manipulation, Uriel redirected them, but Fafniel summoned a miniature black hole, sucking them in as he lunged.

  Just as Uriel prepared a counter, Fafniel reversed the black hole’s pull, releasing a violent shockwave that blasted Uriel across the battlefield.

  Fafniel dashed in, evading fire bolts and landing a solid blow on the unbalanced Uriel. Uriel took the punch and answered with a high kick that staggered Fafniel. They both recovered instantly and exchanged a flurry of divine blows.

  As the battle escalated, the symbols in Uriel’s eyes blinked faster, letting him glimpse deeper into the future. With each passing moment, he gained the upper hand, pushing Fafniel back.

  Then, [Divine Flash]. Uriel’s strike cracked across Fafniel’s skull, dropping him.

  Fafniel rolled aside just in time to avoid Uriel’s stomp and countered with a golden spike that impaled Uriel and slammed him into the ceiling. Fafniel lunged to press the attack, but Uriel shattered the spike and launched the fragments at high speed.

  Fafniel activated [Absolute Stagnate] and [Genesis: Creation], forming a spatial barrier. He froze the rubble and hurled it back. Uriel deflected them, but the distraction gave Fafniel the opening to land another [Divine Flash].

  However, his attack was then reversed.

  A blast of pain shot through his arm as the force rebounded, shattering his fist.

  “Gah—!” Fafniel grunted as Uriel counterpunched him across the arena.

  Fafniel spat blood and a tooth, healing as fast as he could. If I want to hit him, I need to enchant every attack with [Divine Nullification]. What a pain...

  As Uriel advanced, deflecting his barrage of spikes, Fafniel smirked. He can’t keep vector manipulation up forever. I’ll force him to burn out.

  Fafniel unleashed a relentless storm of weapons, forcing Uriel to cast [Divine Nullification] to cancel their effects. Bit by bit, Uriel was pushed back.

  Almost there, just a little more and you’ll be out of mana...

  Suddenly, Uriel flipped the script, using vector pull to yank Fafniel off balance. He tried to resist, but the force was overwhelming. Uriel pummelled him, destroying Fafniel’s head and heart multiple times.

  Fafniel shifted all his mana to healing to survive.

  Uriel, overflowing with light, had amplified his vector control using [Leviticus: Anointing], [Numbers: Amplification], and [Godspeed].

  “How are you doing this?” Fafniel groaned through the punishment.

  “When you land a [Divine Flash], you enter the zone, just like when casting a [Divine Territory],” Uriel explained. “The more you land, the stronger you get.”

  Fafniel’s eyes widened. How many has he landed…? I’m screwed.

  No. If I want to surpass Lord Samael, I have to go insane.

  Grinning, bloodied but defiant, Fafniel recast the ten chapters of his [Ultimate Domain], this time layering [Divine Absorption] into the enchantment.

  When Uriel threw another punch, Fafniel caught it, absorbing its energy.

  Uriel blinked in disbelief. He tried again. Same result

  Fafniel struck with a counter-blow fueled by Uriel’s own power. Though Uriel blocked, the punch shattered his right arm and destroyed his head.

  The crowd was stunned. Samael only smiled.

  Fafniel didn't pause. He rushed Uriel, destroying his heart with a brutal punch. Uriel responded by detonating stored kinetic energy, enhancing the blast with vector manipulation, but Fafniel absorbed it and funnelled it into his next [Divine Flash].

  As he threw the punch, space glitched. The blow erased everything ahead.

  “Fafniel won?” Adriel whispered in disbelief.

  Fafniel smirked.

  But as the smoke cleared, Uriel stood, untouched. He’d dodged at the last instant. The symbols in his eyes had stopped blinking.

  Uriel placed his palm on Fafniel’s chest and unleashed a point-blank solar explosion, incinerating him and sending him flying.

  My [Divine Absorption] failed? No—it was outsped. His speed… It’s unreal!

  Fafniel condensed his [Ultimate Domain] to enhance his reactions.

  Uriel lunged, jabbing at impossible speed. Fafniel deflected and absorbed the energy, returning fire. Uriel dodged. They tossed each other around the arena, both suffering injuries to the head and heart.

  After landing simultaneously [Divine Flashes], both collapsed.

  Out of stamina. Low on mana.

  Dragging themselves upright, they pooled the last of their energy into final attacks.

  Fafniel formed an ice cannon. Uriel conjured a solar sword wrapped in white flame. The blasts met, equal in power.

  To break the deadlock, both sacrificed fragments of their spirit for more mana.

  Fafniel's ice began to push Uriel's sword back briefly. But Uriel used vector manipulation to amplify it. His blade drove forward, impaling Fafniel’s chest.

  Fafniel coughed up blood and tried to pull it out. Uriel overloaded the blade with mana, exploding it.

  For the first time, Fafniel didn’t heal his shirt while healing himself. He was nearly dry of mana. Since angel clothing is both mana and damage resistance, it reduces the attacks of incoming attacks, making it easier to endure.

  “You’re out, aren’t you?” Uriel taunted. “What now?”

  Blood poured from Fafniel’s head as he tried to stand, failing more than once.

  “Stay down, you’ve lost,” Uriel said, struggling to stand up straight.

  “Big words for someone who can barely stand,” he spat, lunging and landing a [Divine Flash] through Uriel’s chest.

  Uriel staggered. How does he still have energy? Did he absorb it from the explosion?

  “Let me return the favour,” Uriel muttered.

  He absorbed the energy from Fafniel’s punch and used it to cast [Genesis: Chains of Heaven], halting Fafniel’s next strike.

  “What the—? When did he—?!”

  Before Fafniel could recover, Uriel morphed his left hand into a blade and slashed Fafniel’s arm clean off, following with a devastating [Divine Flash] to the face.

  Uriel summoned dozens of sun blades—but Fafniel wrapped chains of heaven around his leg and drained his mana.

  Uriel dropped the half-formed blades to finish the fight, but Fafniel jumped back, regrowing his arm.

  Uriel stops his sun blades in mid-air and falls to a knee because of the mana Fafniel is taking from him. Fafniel smirks, pulling Uriel to him while charging up a [Divine flash].

  Uriel dropped to a knee, mana leaking. Fafniel grinned, pulling him closer while charging another [Divine Flash].

  Uriel, desperate, converted Fafniel’s arm inside his chest into mana and absorbed it, empowering himself. They were locked in a tug-of-war.

  But Fafniel was winning. Slowly, surely, he reeled Uriel in.

  Then, Fafniel’s leg was swept from under him.

  Uriel pulled him violently forward and struck with an enchanted punch.

  [Acts: Double Impact].

  The first impact was blocked, but the second, amplified by vector manipulation, shattered Fafniel’s guard and destroyed his heart.

  Uriel followed up, telekinetically hurling Fafniel across the ring, beneath the sun blades, and dropping them.

  When did he create the sun blades? Fafniel pondered as they dropped.

  The blades rained down, impaling his entire soul. Five in the heart. Five in the head. The rest scattered through his spiritual core.

  Uriel drops to the ground, gripping his chest as blood gushes out. Since Uriel didn’t have enough mana to heal, he formed a wall with his mana to keep his blood inside his soul, but now the wall has fallen.

  Uriel collapsed, clutching his chest as blood poured out. With no mana to heal, he’d been using mana walls to keep his blood in. But now those walls had fallen.

  Fafniel, to Uriel’s shock, began to rise.

  How is he still alive? I have to end this now.

  Uriel sacrificed the last of his spirit, restoring mana. He healed his chest, but not his shirt. His reserves were nearly spent.

  Uriel overloaded the sun blades inside Fafniel.

  They exploded.

  Fafniel dropped.

  Uriel dropped to the floor, chest heaving. Though his mana had returned, his stamina was all but gone. Each breath came with effort, sweat dripping from his brow as the echoes of the battle faded.

  After a moment’s rest, he forced himself up, raised a hand with a weary smile, and began walking toward the arena’s edge.

  Cheers erupted from Jophiel, Gabriele, and Adriel. Even Samael smiled—until that smile froze. Gasps rippled through the angels as the unmistakable sound of laughter echoed through the arena.

  Uriel’s eyes narrowed. That laugh…

  He turned, and his heart sank.

  Fafniel stood tall, not a scratch on him.

  “I’ve seen it,” Fafniel said, voice trembling with ecstasy. “I’ve seen how to perfectly cast it.”

  He must’ve done what I did to recover his mana. Damn it, Uriel thought, snapping into a combat stance.

  “What did you see?” Uriel asked, voice low.

  “This,” Fafniel said, bringing his hands together. Mana surged around him like a storm.

  “He’s about to cast [Divine Territory] again,” Jophiel whispered. “If he finishes that spell, Uriel—”

  “Shh. Watch,” Samael said, eyes locked on the battlefield, a grin tugging at his lips.

  Uriel's pupils dilated. If Fafniel completed that spell, it was over.

  I won’t let him.

  Uriel funnelled all his remaining strength into his right leg, vector manipulation amplifying the force to its limit. The bones cracked from the pressure, but he launched himself forward like a cannonball.

  He reached Fafniel in an instant. His fist connected with Fafniel’s chest, shattering his heart.

  Blood sprayed from Fafniel’s mouth, yet he continued the incantation. The space around them shimmered, and their transportation had already begun.

  Uriel gritted his teeth, forced his broken body forward again, and smashed his fist into Fafniel’s head. The impact hurled him across the arena and into the wall.

  Fafniel hit the stone with a heavy thud, grinning even as his eyes rolled back and he slumped to the ground.

  Uriel collapsed, leg twisted at an unnatural angle, arms broken. A second later, he lost consciousness.

  The arena fell into stunned silence, then erupted as Uriel was declared the new number one. Medics rushed both fighters to the infirmary.

  Samael turned to Adriel with a satisfied nod.

  “Since Uriel won, you’re officially reinstated into Dead End.”

  The angels burst into celebration.

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