His reaction was quick, but it was still too late.
Silver Dragon raised his head.
His face was smeared with blood and sweat, and a fierce light blazed in his eyes.
Gripping his spear with both hands, he raised it level with his shoulders and aimed its tip at the retreating Flowing Wind.
Every bit of power stored in the spear ignited at once, exploding into a pillar of silver-white light.
"Dragonfall: Star Extinction."
The pillar shot from the spear tip. This was no ordinary spear radiance.
It was Silver Dragon's ultimate strike, unleashed after he compressed the very essence of his life, every insight he had gained into the way of the spear, and even all the power he had spent and scattered into a single instant.
Where the pillar passed, space was pierced through and melted away, leaving a scorched passage that still dripped molten fragments of space.
For the first time, a lasting scorch mark appeared on the Arena floor, half an inch deep—a permanent scar left where the reinforced barrier had been breached.
"No!"
Flowing Wind's pupils contracted to pinpoints.
He crossed his twin blades to block it, golden blade intent condensing into a thick shield of light before him.
But the instant the pillar struck, the shield shattered from its center like paper, breaking into countless golden fragments that sprayed in every direction.
The pillar pierced the shield, then Flowing Wind's crossed blades. Both blades melted through and broke in two, golden-red liquid metal streaming from the severed ends.
Without slowing, the pillar struck the center of Flowing Wind's chest, entering through his front and bursting out through his back.
It lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the barrier wall behind the Arena.
The instant Flowing Wind struck the barrier, his whole