A few minutes ago—

On the arena platform beside where Nyx and Amyra were going all out, Alden stood with his sword gripped tightly as two Cedrics attacked him, one from the front, the other from the back.

His Spirit Domain registered both of them as real, and since his Voidheart hadn’t activated, he knew this wasn’t an illusion. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

There was no time to dodge and yet instead of fear, a wide smile spread across his face.

"So, you have grown stronger as well, huh, Cedric?"

He spoke as he reinforced his legs with an immense surge of mana. Just as he always did with his sword, this time he applied the same principle to his own body, turning his legs into weapons.

Mana burst through them in rapid succession as he drove his foot into the ground, activating the first step of his weapon art.

Ruinous Severance.

He had always known his weapon art wasn’t limited to a single weapon. He simply used a sword because it felt the most natural but there was something even more natural.

His own body.

Wasn’t the body, in a way, a weapon itself?

He had tried using it before too but for some reason this time, it felt different. A missing piece finally clicked into place in his mind as the time seemed to slow.

The blades approaching him crawled forward at an almost imperceptible pace as something unfamiliar flooded his mind.

An enlightenment.

[Congratulations, you have unlocked your unique fourth step of Sevenfold Ruin — Absolute Weapon-Body Convergence.]

The status window flashed before his eyes as the world snapped back to its normal pace. His feet struck the ground, his weapon art fully active and the platform beneath him trembled violently, splitting apart.

Both Cedrics attacking him faltered for a brief moment, thrown off by the sudden tremor.

Alden used the opportunity. Just like before but now, with his newfound enlightenment, he stepped forward and drove a punch into the Cedric in front of him, activating Ruinous Severance once again.

The punch connected.

But instead of being sent flying, Cedric’s body was torn apart, shredded into countless pieces as if sliced by invisible blades.

Then, it dissolved into shadow.

"So, that was the fake one, huh?"

With that thought, Alden jumped back, creating some distance between himself and Cedric. He was surprised by his new technique but something felt off.

Unlike when he had unlocked the previous steps with knowledge from his predecessor, this time he hadn’t received any external insight. Only a refined understanding of how to use the technique itself.

He frowned slightly.

The status window had clearly called it a unique step... but that only made it more confusing.

How exactly did this even work?

But he didn’t dwell on it because this wasn’t the time to think. His gaze shifted back to Cedric, who stood some distance away, coughing up blood.

"What happened?" Alden called out, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Already out of commission?"

There was no rush to end this. If anything, this was the perfect chance to test his newly awakened technique again.

As Cedric steadied himself, Alden’s gaze drifted past him toward the neighboring arena platform, where Amyra and Nyx were locked in battle.

Damn... they are going all out.

And there is no way in hell they are just at Adept rank.

Even from here, the sheer density of their mana and the echoes of their clashes were enough for Alden to tell that they were far stronger than he had initially judged.

But that only raised another question.

How was that even possible?

Even he, despite taking advantage of his Limitless potential, had only reached the peak of the Adept rank. Hell, even Luciel, the so-called protagonist of this world, blessed with a cheat-like system, was more or less at the same level.

And yet these two, one was merely an extra in the original story, and the other hadn’t even been mentioned at all, were stronger than both of them.

Yeah... they’re definitely not normal.

Alden noted it silently, pushing the thought aside for later. For now, his focus returned to the blonde boy with red eyes.

"Don’t tell me you’re giving up after all that grand speech about going all out, Cedric," Alden said, a faint smirk forming. "Go on, summon a few more of those... clones."

He didn’t need to think long to understand what those clones were. They were likely a higher-level application of Cedric’s special ability. But the fact that Cedric himself had taken damage when they were struck told Alden everything he needed to know.

They aren’t mere decoys and there was a cost to them.

Cedric smiled through his bloodied lips.

"Fine. If that’s what you want... I’ll show you my all I have got."

He spoke as he began tracing strange signs in the air, the wind around him growing increasingly violent.

Alden didn’t interrupt.

Instead, a faint smirk formed on his lips as his gaze drifted across the arena.

He could see the crowd roaring in excitement. Within the stands, especially the VIP section, he spotted a few familiar faces with his enhanced eyesight.

Vespara, Cedric’s mother, sat there, her expression unusually tense. Beside her was Seles, wearing her usual sly, irritating smile. A short distance away, Alaric stood silently.

Their eyes met for a brief moment before Alaric looked away, guilt flickering across his face.

Alden’s gaze shifted again.

On the neighboring platform, Amyra and Nyx had also reached their final stage, both preparing to end their battle in a single strike.

And on another platform, Lucien had already finished his match. He stood there, looking directly at Alden with cold eyes.

In the meantime, Cedric had finished whatever he was doing. An immense surge of mana erupted from his body. The spirit that had been floating beside him merged completely with him, and his once half-blonde hair turned entirely green as he prepared for his final strike.

Alden’s smile widened.

Now that’s interesting.

With that thought, he returned his sword to his core, deciding to rely entirely on his newly awakened step against whatever Cedric was about to unleash.

Cedric vanished, a shockwave bursting from where he stood but before his attack could even land, a far greater explosion engulfed the entire arena.

The ground trembled violently and the sky itself split apart as an ominous mana spread through the air, and from the fractured sky, countless demons began to emerge.

Leading them were two Overlord Generals.

Looking at them, all Alden could think was,

Oh... fuck.