I Am a Hero With A Hundred Abilities
Chapter 93 - 93: Ch 92. 6th Ability

The moment the Sentinels clashed with the Hidden Guards of the Crownspire Ascension, the arena descended into a spectacle of overwhelming might. Explosions of Meta Essence collided midair, shockwaves cracking the marble beneath their feet as titanic powers surged against one another.

What struck the viewers the most wasn't just the violence of the exchange—it was the sheer level of authority the Crownspire demonstrated.

To deploy Overlord-level Guards—not as generals, not as enforcers of law, but as mere protectors of an event—was an astronomical feat. In any other city, an Overlord would be a kingmaker, a one-man army capable of shifting regional balance.

Yet here, they served as guardians, standing between the bioengineered monstrosities known as Sentinels and the gathered contestants.

"So many Overlords… just as guards?" one contestant whispered in disbelief.

"The Crownspire… it's not just powerful. It's untouchable."

But it wasn't overkill. It was necessity.

The Sentinels, though artificial, were creatures of brutal design, each one calibrated to fight at an Overlord's level.

Their movements were precise, their strength terrifying, and their regeneration systems allowed them to recover from injuries that would obliterate most heroes.

The Hidden Guards moved like shadows and lightning, keeping the battle away from the contestants. Every step they took split the air, and every strike was backed by decades of cultivation and training. Their duty was clear:

Protect the future. Protect the contestants.

---

Meanwhile, the heart of the chaos pulsed around the announcer and the masked man.

Blow for blow, they clashed. Meta Essence rippled from every strike—a duel of precision and pressure.

"Who are you people?" the announcer shouted, deflecting a dark blade of compressed essence. "What do you gain from attacking the Crownspire?"

The masked man said nothing, meeting the attack with stoic silence, his eyes locked past the announcer—toward the contestants.

That was when the announcer noticed the distraction. The masked man's head turned slightly, his gaze lingering just a heartbeat too long.

"If you won't answer me," the announcer growled, eyes narrowing, "then at least… focus on our fight!"

With a sudden surge of power, the announcer activated his ability.

Meta Essence flooded his lungs as he took a deep breath, then—

"Sonic Scream!"

A devastating roar erupted from his throat, tearing through the air in concussive waves of sound-infused energy.

The blast shattered the tiles, sending Sentinels staggering from the sheer force.

The masked man's eyes flared behind his demon-like mask. Without a word, he summoned a shadow serpent, a monstrous creature of writhing black mist and scaled darkness, to intercept the blast.

The serpent took the brunt of the scream, but even then, the masked man was hurled backward, smashing through a wall of the arena.

Dust and debris filled the air.

But he didn't stay down.

As the dust cleared, the masked man rose, slightly winded, his cloak torn and the serpent dissolving into black mist. His eyes searched frantically—the boy was gone.

"Where did he go…?" the masked man muttered, an edge of panic in his voice.

But he had no time to dwell on it.

The announcer was already upon him again, a blur of righteous fury and power.

"Why don't you just die!" the masked man hissed, refocusing his rage, his Meta Essence pulsing with renewed malice.

And once more, they clashed—two titans amidst a battlefield of chaos, unaware that somewhere in the smoke and dust of war, Ethan had vanished—and whatever plan the masked man had, it had just been interrupted.

****

Kairo stood above Sophia in the shattered ring, his chest rising and falling as his mind tried to process the chaos unraveling around him. The attack had come without warning, but instead of fear or caution… a twisted smile curled across his face.

"Would you look at that…" he muttered, voice trembling with excitement. "It's like the heavens are smiling on me."

He threw his head back and howled with laughter, the sound echoing eerily in the fractured silence.

He could feel it—the protection mechanism around the ring had failed. His mastery over space made it undeniably clear—the stabilizing fluctuations were gone. The ring, once a barrier between life and death, was now just a battlefield.

Kairo's gaze lowered back to Sophia, his eyes brimming with madness.

"You're going to die today," he whispered, then growled louder, "for ever daring to draw your sword against me."

His hands glowed with a swirling mixture of Meta Essence and space particles, the air around him distorting like broken glass. He raised his hand and brought it down toward Sophia, who lay helpless, her body barely responding.

Then—

BOOM!

A thunderclap split the air. Kairo's strike hit nothing but ringstone, and the impact formed a crater, dust exploding outward.

Lightning sparked violently from the stands—and from within that blinding flash, Ethan appeared, Sophia cradled safely in his arms, the storm dancing across his skin.

Rage burned in his eyes, but the lightning curled gently around Sophia, protective and controlled as he healed her with Vital bloom.

"Don't worry," he said to her, his voice calm despite the fury behind it. "I'll handle everything."

He turned and passed her into the arms of Stoneheart, who silently nodded, his expression grim.

The earth-forged warrior held Sophia with surprising gentleness as Ethan stepped away.

In the next instant—FLASH—Ethan stood in the ring.

Lightning crackled around him, his white hair whipping in the charged air. His presence turned the ruined ring into a storm zone.

Kairo's bloodlust flared as he snarled, "How dare you interfere?"

Ethan didn't respond at first. His golden eyes locked onto Kairo's with cold fury.

"Your head must really be messed up," Ethan said at last, voice low and sharp, "if you think it's okay to try and kill someone just because the opportunity appeared."

Kairo's eyes narrowed at the accusation.

"But maybe I've got a few screws loose too…" Ethan continued, lightning flaring violently around him, "...because despite the chaos, all I want right now… is to rip you apart."

Kairo chuckled, his grin feral.

"I'd like to see you try."

And then—

BOOM.

They vanished.

Only streaks of space distortion and lightning arcs showed where they moved. Ethan struck with blinding speed, his fists and kicks landing like thunderbolts, while Kairo danced through space, appearing and disappearing mid-blow.

Ethan's hits struck home, but Kairo's ability allowed him to absorb and disperse the damage within his warped domain.

Yet Kairo couldn't land a clean hit either—Ethan was lightning incarnate, untouchable, unpredictable, furious.

It looked like a stalemate.

But it wasn't.

Ethan had been holding back.

From his last visit to the Sanctum, Ethan had acquired five abilities. So far, he'd only used four.

But Kairo—his arrogance, his cruelty, his attack on someone Ethan cared for—had finally pushed Ethan over the edge.

"You'll regret what you did," Ethan muttered, sparks surging around him.

And as the storm gathered, the arena trembled—not from Kairo's space… but from the wrath of the storm that Ethan was about to unleash.

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