Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The bullets tore through the air and slammed into Heavy’s massive belly—but instead of flinching, he grinned, thrilled. He raised the great sword high, his skin hardened, and like something straight out of a stupid cartoon, his abdomen spat the bullets right back out.

  That triggered Nova’s Fatal Omen—his eye glowed, and the vision showed the bullets striking his body, but he also saw—through his Future Vision—one of the possible futures in which he survived.

  Instinctively, he followed the guidance of his own power. He threw himself to the left, rolling across the ground just as the bullets rebounded. One grazed his leg, but the rest flew past him, slamming into the Arena’s shield.

  ‘Shit! My eye!’

  A drop of blood ran down his cheek, and the sharp pain behind his eye erupted like a catastrophe inside his head.

  He clenched his teeth and endured it. If he closed his eye and lost sight of his enemy, he’d be at a massive disadvantage.

  ‘So that’s why Kaulai said his weakness is the head. How convenient… as if it wasn’t mine too!’

  He pushed himself up. Seeing that bullets were useless for now, he holstered the pistol and drew his sword to defend himself.

  Suddenly, his aura intensified along with his abilities. A terrible premonition coursed through every corner of his body. When he looked up a fraction of a second later, he saw Heavy swinging his sword with murderous intent.

  ‘He’s fast!’

  He barely had time to see him move.

  Clang! Crash!

  Nova reacted using his abilities and rolled to the side just a second before the massive blade crashed down beside him, shattering the ground and kicking up dust.

  With no opening to counterattack, he sprinted away from Heavy to regain distance and avoid another strike like that.

  However…

  “Where do you think you’re going, runt?” Heavy said, grabbing Nova by the leg at an absurd speed and lifting him high into the air. “I told you I was going all out!”

  ‘Damn it!’

  Like a tennis ball, Heavy hurled Nova upward, grabbed his sword like a bat, and swung.

  ‘Reaction Acceleration!’

  His body moved on instinct. With his sword, he activated the plasma by pressing the button and placed it in front of himself, blocking Heavy’s massive blade with every ounce of strength his body could muster.

  Clang!

  Metal roared on impact—Nova was sent flying into the shield at the edge of the Arena, which rippled like water around the stage before vanishing after the collision.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Nova fell toward the ground, but like a cat, he twisted his body midair and landed on his feet, knees bent. He straightened up immediately, lifting his gaze toward his target.

  “What—?!”

  To his shock, Heavy was already in front of him, swinging the sword to cleave him in two.

  Fatal Omen activated. Death appeared—his body split in half, blood splattering the wall and the ground. Snapped back to reality, his desperation surged upon seeing that future, but so did his strength and the intensity of his Spectrums.

  Like a fusion of intense emotions, Charged Fusion perfectly merged both Spectrums. Every active buff amplified Nova’s perception and reaction speed, triggering a chain reaction of abilities that culminated in—

  Clang!

  Nova stopping the attack with the edge of his sword.

  Heavy opened all five eyes in surprise. He hadn’t expected the human to grow so strong in such a short time. He almost seemed like a completely different person from the one he had seen fight Manto.

  “That look… I like it,” the monstrosity said.

  Nova’s eye carried a dangerous glint—one only a natural survivor could possess. At the same time, it was the gaze of a warrior who refused to look away from his opponent, because doing so meant death.

  “Your stare disgusts me,” Nova shot back. Using all the strength in his arms, he lifted his sword and forced Heavy to retreat—if only for an instant. “That’s why I’m going to tear it right off your face.”

  Heavy grinned like a psychopath. The horrid, nauseating expression on his face belonged in a horror film. Acting on Nova’s words, he reengaged with a downward slash, repeating the same motion.

  Nova blocked it again, forcing him back once more.

  “Hahaha! Looks like you know what you’re doing!” Heavy exclaimed.

  Of course Nova knew what he was doing. After all, he could see his enemy’s next move overlaid on the present, as if two reels of film were playing at the same time, one atop the other.

  That was why—no matter how many times Heavy repeated the same attack—Nova could evade and block it, as long as he knew how. That was the purpose of Future Vision: not just to foresee danger without the damage caused by Danger Omen, but to seek the best possible decisions.

  Clang! Clang!

  The swords roared, spraying brilliant sparks that illuminated their faces for fractions of a second.

  ‘I’m avoiding danger for now, but if I keep burning energy like this, I’ll be exhausted. I have to avoid that at all costs,’ he thought, ducking under the blade and rolling to get behind Heavy. ‘It’s time to change the terrain in my favor!’

  The presenter hovered over the fight, ecstatic as he narrated the action.

  “Are we really watching the same Nova Asmodai from a few weeks ago?! This doesn’t feel real! This is incredible!”

  The audience shared the sentiment. Most were rooting for Nova, though a small group of reptilian-looking spectators argued otherwise.

  Leading the conversation was none other than Xiurah.

  “Didn’t Heavy beat Taurus last week? This Crimson Blood won’t stand a chance—he’s nothing compared to the planet’s warriors.”

  The shortest of them all—curious but foolish—spoke up.

  “I think the fight looks even. Don’t you think the human might beat you in a one-on-one now?”

  Xiurah laughed.

  “In your dreams. That idiot doesn’t even know how to properly use a sword!”

  “Oh… well…”

  “Just spit it out already, Taotao, or Xiurah’s gonna smash your face in,” said the one whose hair covered his eyes.

  “I think humans are extremely formidable. They’re the type that grow strong very quickly.”

  Xiurah clicked his tongue at Taotao’s comment. Even if that were true, he still believed himself superior to the human fighting in the Arena.

  Soon, he would see the difference.