Falco stumbled backward while feeling the pain in his arms from the clash.
"Impossible! You... you’re an ant!" he roared as the remnants of his arrogance shattered like glass.
The collective roar of the crowd who were now cheering for Vahn, only fueled his rage more.
He had come for victory; he would not be shamed by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator!
"Die, you ant! Power of Thousand Stars!"
With a deafening snarl, Falco poured his entire Golden Core energy into his spear.
The weapon wasn’t just gold; it became a brilliant, blinding supernova.
Hundreds of tiny, rapidly spinning cores of concentrated star energy coalesced around the spearhead, forming a terrifying cone of destructive power.
He didn’t bother to fight Vahn head-on again.
Whoosh!
With a massive heave, he launched the spear like a missile, a literal stream of deadly, condensed stars aimed straight for Vahn’s heart.
"Shsssss"
The air shrieked and tore itself apart as the deadly projectile hurtled across the platform.
And yet Vahn didn’t even flinch.
But a deep resonant pulse of spiritual energy erupted from his body, and with a swift, elegant motion, two massive wings of crimson and gold flame burst into existence from his back.
They were not mere projections but wings of terrifying, kinetic fire: Fire Phoenix Wings.
With a single, powerful flap, Vahn shot straight up into the air, dodging the blinding spear by a hair’s breadth. The spear, robbed of its target, slammed into the stone where Vahn had stood only a moment before.
KA-BOOM!
The resulting explosion was catastrophic. A crater large enough to swallow a small house instantly formed, and the shockwave nearly swept the few remaining spectators from the lower stands.
Falco watched this wide eyes as his killing strike had been evaded so effortlessly.
Vahn landed lightly on the edge of the crater, the Fire Phoenix Wings folding back into his body in a shimmer of gold and red.
He then pointed the massive Nuclear Dragon Greatsword at the stunned Falco.
"You are too proud of your power of stars, Falco. Let me show you a power that devours them!" Vahn declared, his voice echoing with absolute certainty.
With a dramatic, theatrical sweep of his arm, Vahn thrust his Greatsword into the cracked platform.
Instantly, a massive, swirling pillar of intense, purplish-black flame erupted from the ground around him, climbing high into the sky. The temperature in the arena immediately increased, causing gasps and muttered curses from cultivators who felt their protective spiritual energies being strained.
Vahn closed his eyes. Then a single ancient word echoed in the silence between the cheers and the gasps:
"Awaken."
Buzz!
The black flames swirled faster, condensing and solidifying. From the heart of the inferno emerged a being of pure, raw power.
It was a humanoid Fire Spirit, towering over Vahn and Falco, its form made of blazing Flames and Magma. Its skin was the color of volcanic rock, crisscrossed with lines of glowing, red-hot magma.
It had two horns sprouted from its brow, it eyes were like two Infernos.
It exuded a palpable aura of ancient commanding might.
Vahn summoned him using Infernal Spirit Summoning Art!
But even he was surprised by this entity’s aura.
The sheer, crushing pressure emanating from the newly summoned entity sent a paralyzing wave across the entire colosseum.
The Golden Core cultivators found their knees buckling, and even the Elders in the Sky Viewing Boxes felt a shiver of fear run through their spines.
Patriarch Dimidium’s mouth hung open in suprise. "That pressure. It’s must be a Commander-level spirit! No, it’s something more. Could it be a King?!"
The Drunken Master spurted wines from his mouth again, "W-what in the blazes! That’s not any spirit beast! What kind of summoning art is that?! It’s a genuine Infernal Spirit! How could that Foundation Establishment brat summon this?"
Across the arena, Seraphina’s eyes sparkled.
"He always does things spectacularly," she whispered in love.
Flama Astoria, who was just a few feet away from Seraphina, was completely mystified.
’Just what kind of art allowed this ’Damien Infernos’ to summon such a high Level Fire Spirit?!’
And why did she had this familiar feeling as if she had seen him before?
The other Saintesses also took notice. But they said nothing.
Meanwhile, the Infernal Spirit, Vermilion, turned its sapphire gaze toward its new opponent. It didn’t speak, but It’s blazing flames around it spoke the volume of its power.
"Break Him!"
Along with the command, Vahn tossed his massive Nuclear Dragon Greatsword to the spirit.
Vermilion caught the weapon with a nonchalant ease that made the heavy sword look like a toy.
It admired the Greatsword for a moment, then it took a single, deliberate step toward Falco.
The ground beneath its feet cracked further.
Falco, though terrified, was a warrior on his own right. He had to act. He pickrd his spear out of the ground, channeling his spiritual energy one last time.
"Don’t think a summoned beast can frighten me! Taste my power!"
He rushed forward, striking with blinding speed.
CLANG!
Vermilion didn’t dodge. It simply swung the Greatsword with brutal, untamed force.
The clash was bone breaking. Falco’s spear was flung wide, and his arms gone numb.
The spirit was ruthlessly efficient. There was no finesse, only unadulterated power and killing intent.
Bang!
Vermilion stomped its foot, sending a vertical ripple of spiritual force through the platform that slammed into Falco’s chest, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him staggering.
Ahhh!"
Before Falco could recover, Vermilion launched itself into the sky with a massive leap. Then it descended immediately with the enormous Nuclear Dragon Greatsword held high, bathed in the infernal glow of the spirit’s energy.
BAM!
The spirit bashed Falco’s figure with the flat of the enormous blade. The hit was non-lethal, but it was absolute.
CRASH!
Falco was sent flying across the platform, skidding to a stop at the edge, coughing up a mouthful of blood and dust. His armor was dented, his cultivation unstable, and his will completely broken.
He was defeated utterly and definitively by a single hit from a summoned entity.
"Heavens! Truly A Magnificent Victory!"
The entire White Lotus delegation erupted in a delirious cheer that shook the foundations of the Imperial City.