Angel's arrival had yet to quell the ripples it caused. But by now, the countdown on the light screen had entered its final seconds.
The lights outside the arena dimmed once more, leaving only the Boundless Arena within the Dome glowing faintly.
Everyone's gaze was forced toward the Boundless Arena.
When the countdown returned to zero, Domenico, who had been smiling and trading barbs with Spivey in a theatrical tone, suddenly reined in his aura, drew his sword, and sent phantom roses drifting around him. "Are you ready to raise the curtain on this play, whose ending will be your defeat and my victory?"
"Who wins and who loses is still uncertain." Spivey lightly tapped the scarlet lips of his jester mask with one fingertip, and thick Dark Mist immediately came flooding in.
Domenico seemingly casually lowered his slender sword. The instant its tip touched the ground, a powerful surge of energy abruptly erupted from him.
The trick model he had prepared long ago was finally unleashed. The casting channel flowed from his fingertips into the slender sword, then slowly sank through it into the earth.
Invisible energy accumulated deep beneath the ground.
Spivey only felt a faint tremor beneath his feet, along with a foreboding sense of danger rising from below.
The crisis awareness he had developed while training as a wizard came into play at that moment. The instant he sensed something amiss, Spivey leaped into the air without hesitation.
The moment he left the ground, a greedy maw opened in the earth. Countless thorny roots and vines erupted like an exploding fountain, turning the spot where he had just stood into a savage sea of thorned vines.
"Did you think jumping higher would leave you free of all worries? How naive!"
Spivey whirled around, only to see