Psychic Overlord
Chapter 156: Tousou (The Battle) - End

Chapter 156: Tousou (The Battle) - End

Whooosh....

The wind whispered through the massive crater that had once been tournament arena, leaving everything silent.

No roar.

No commentary.

No breath.

Only smoke and floating particles of fractured reality hung in the air like thin miasma. The screens across the world still showed only the blinking words:

[FINAL MATCH RESULT: PENDING...]

For several long seconds, nobody dared speak. The destruction had been so total, so divine, that many even wondered...

Were they even alive?

Then... slowly... the smoke began to part.

A breeze carried through the ruined remains of the stage, brushing away the ash and dust, and...

There!

A body!

Huh, it wasn’t broken nor bloody.

Just... still.

Rina Lunin lay crumpled on a section of rock outside the arena’s boundary, her limbs splayed, her chest rising and falling slowly.

She hadn’t been vaporized thanks to the help of Anir who came out at the last moment to utilize her death energy at its greatest capacity to withstand Kaizer’s fury.

But all of that did not matter, as due to where she landed... she was out.

And as the last of the smoke cleared, the screen updated to acknowledge this.

[MATCH RESULT: VICTORY – KAIZER LUNIN "THE OVERLORD"!]

The letters burned in gold across every screen on the planet that was tuned into to this tumultuous esper contest.

The esper world exploded.

"HE DID IT!"

"HE ACTUALLY WON!"

"OVERLORD!!! OVERLORD!!! OVERLORD!!!"

The entire stadium erupted into hysteria.

From the Gold Division to the Bronze Division, students sobbed, screamed, danced, and collapsed while some even hugged strangers. Others passed out as a few simply knelt, tears streaming down their faces.

In the commentary booth, Tae Ishi was crying openly into Ferron Blaze’s shoulder while he thumped the desk and yelled with a cracked voice:

"THAT’S THE STRONGEST ESPER IN THE WORLD! THAT’S THE OVERLORD!!!"

In the Instructor Booth, Carlisle fell to his knees, hands in his hair. "Oh my lord man, it’s over. It’s really over."

Madam Sylvia was fanning herself like a woman who had just seen divinity. "He beat the Avatar of Death... with human will alone."

Dean Rochester closed his eyes, a rare smile on his face. "...You grew well, Kaizer. You’re finally ready."

Lysandra leaned on the railing, hair whipping in the wind. "I think I just saw the future happen in real time."

In the Supreme Force box, even the elite commanders stood, clapping slowly, reverently.

Ethan Voss nodded solemnly. "The esper world has a new pillar."

In the Heir Pavilion, chaos reigned.

Davion screamed and smashed his cane on the floor. "NO! NO NO NO NO!!!"

Rafael stared blankly into space, as if the meaning of life had just been rewritten.

Alexei fell to one knee, bowing his head in quiet acknowledgment.

And Ryu?

He stood, arms folded, a small smile forming on his lips.

"...So this is what it means to be chosen by Terra."

In the medical ward, Lucian sighed with deep respect, closing his eyes. "That... was the right ending."

Tessa screamed, laughing and crying at the same time. "KAIZER YOU PSYCHOTIC BASTARD, I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!!!"

Roland whooped from his bed, clapping. "That’s the Overlord, baby!! That’s my Strongest Esper!"

And in the Overlord Force Box, it was pandemonium.

Maria was sobbing hysterically, grabbing Julia in a death grip and shaking her back and forth. "HE WON—HE DID IT—HE—KAIZER—!"

Julia nodded, trembling, a rare smile touching her cold features. "He really... he really became the champion."

Sophia sat down slowly, hands over her mouth, overwhelmed.

Even Hector and Lisa, watching from the stands, were hugging each other, screaming.

Back in the crater, Kaizer stood.

Barely.

His arms hung limp, his hair wild, his eyes glowing faintly.

He looked like a man who had given everything.

And at his feet... Rina was beginning to stir.

She coughed once, blinked her eyes, and smirked weakly.

"You finally... fought like you meant it."

Kaizer staggered forward, dropped to one knee, and smiled down at her. "...You’re the only one who could have helped me do this. Thank you, Rina."

She chuckled. "Stupid brother."

He leaned closer, whispered softly: "Thank you too, Anir."

Kaizer stood up and glanced at the crazed crowd who were so caught up in the victory they were selectively forgetting his telepathy reveal and his forceful snatching of their mental energy right now.

A spotlight shone on him as Lysandra jumped up the ruined stage and came to his side, her eyes sparkling.

"Good job, Kiddo. I knew you could do it."

Kaizer looked at Lysandra, his expression softening. "...Thanks. I think I finally believe it myself."

Behind them, emergency repair drones and floating platforms began humming back to life, struggling to stabilize the shattered remains of the tournament arena.

But no one cared about that, not the spectators nor the world. All eyes were on one thing:

Kaizer Lunin — The Overlord.

A second spotlight lit up at the edge of the crater as a familiar figure stepped forward and every heart in the stadium skipped a beat.

Dean William Rochester.

Dressed in formal black with gold-accented robes, the current strongest esper alive descended from the instructor’s booth with measured steps. The arena floor, broken and cracked as it was, seemed to steady itself beneath him while even the wind stopped as he walked forward, the air itself pausing in reverence.

In his hands... was a small, velvet-draped case and when he reached Kaizer, he opened it.

Inside was a crown, but not one of metal.

It was unique in nature, a construct of pure Esper energy formed from the fragments of greatest mythological items wielded by espers of history, inscribed with the marks of the Six Paths of the Mind. It shimmered like a ghost, flickering between shapes as if it defied even categorization.

The Esper Crown, of which there was only one in existence.

Dean Rochester lifted it slowly and spoke, his voice amplified across every terminal, broadcast, and network linked to the Esper World:

"Today, the world has seen something it rarely witnesses. A young man... born with power, forged by pressure, and tempered by love... has stood before the storm."

"He has not only survived... he has overcome."

He turned to Kaizer fully now, the shadows of gravity itself bending subtly to avoid his presence.

"Kaizer Lunin, you have proven your might. You have embraced the Six Paths of the Mind fully, you have surpassed the chosen of every major Esper clan and you have even stood against your sister—against Death itself—and declared your existence."

"You are no longer a student."

"You are no longer a rising star."

The Dean raised the crown.

"You are... the future. The Overlord."

And with that, he placed the Esper Crown gently atop Kaizer’s head.

It pulsed with power, linking with Kaizer’s own esper energy which was psychic in nature and the entire world felt it.

A shockwave rippled outward, one that was not destructive, but declarative... as if the universe itself recognized the coronation.

Kaizer’s body lifted slightly from the ground as psychic energy surged around him, golden-blue and brilliant, forming a halo of dominion.

Then...

BOOM!

The crowd lost it once more, their hearts exploding in their chests from the occasion.

The students, the instructors, the Supreme Force, the heirs... regardless of how they felt about him, at this moment, they stood, they screamed, and they chanted.

"OVERLORD! OVERLORD! OVERLORD!"

Tae Ishi, still dazed, now had snot and tears pouring down her face. "The crown!!! He got the crown!!! I’m gonna marry him!!"

Ferron Blaze shouted over his partners sobs, voice cracking. "History has been made! Kaizer Lunin is the youngest to ever claim the esper crown and the first to master the six paths of the mind in full! The only one to defeat the avatar of death and claim victory in the same tournament!!"

In the Supreme Force box, Ethan Voss clapped — just once — and the sound echoed like thunder.

Commanders Rae, Durand and Varrin were on their feet, clapping with deeply emotional expressions while Blaze remained seated.

Ethan Voss noticed this and smiled. "What’s wrong Old Blaze, not going to support your friend’s grandson?"

The other commanders looked over with amused expressions, preparing to tease the fellow when Rae’s expression changed. With a rapid movement, she lifted Blaze’s lowered head, shocking the group as they found that the old man was...

Crying!

Commander Blaze of Alpha City’s Supreme Force, the fiery tempered old man who never seemed to care about anything, was actually crying!

In the Heir Pavilion, silence reigned.

Ryu Kurosawa was the first to break it.

He bowed his head. "From this day forward... we live in his era."

Even Davion, lips trembling, had no words. He simply collapsed into his seat, sweat dripping off his nose, his eyes hollow.

Eleanor, the puppet trembled greatly, her eyes seemingly to brighten significantly before dimming again.

Tyrron Buld, the berserker of Earth Lightning, stood off to the side with arms crossed, his usually wild green lightning flickering silently over his broad shoulders. His eyes were narrowed, his expression unreadable at first... until he exhaled, long and deep.

"...Tch. So that’s what it means to be number one."

His grip tightened around his biceps, the faintest of smirks forming. "I didn’t lose to a person. I lost to a force of nature."

Then he chuckled, bitter but not resentful. "Next time, Overlord... next time I’ll smash that crown off your head just to see if you’re still smiling when I go full rage."

Eleanor Seltzer, the sorceress of the Ancient Magic Path, stood in the shadows of a shattered archway, her twin-tailed hair stained with dust and her crimson and black robes torn slightly from her own match earlier.

But her eyes - those sharp, analytical eyes - were trained squarely on Kaizer.

"...He actually did it."

She lowered her tome slowly, fingers trembling not from fear, but something stranger. A feeling she rarely entertained.

Hope.

A rare smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "I thought I had seen the peak... but I was wrong."

She tapped the side of her book with her index finger and closed it with a decisive snap. "Then I guess I have further to go than I thought. I won’t be left behind."

And Rina.

She was being held upright now by the medics, a support frame attached to her arm, and her death aura still clinging faintly to her form like wisps of mist. Her body was battered, her eyes heavy, but her spirit?

Untouched.

She looked up at Kaizer, her brother, her rival, her... everything.

And despite her injuries, she grinned ear to ear.

"You finally did it, Brother..." She whispered, then laughed weakly, shaking her head.

"You actually beat me." She murmured gently.

Her fingers twitched faintly, brushing over her own heart.

"But just know this... I let you win."

The medic beside her blinked.

"What?"

Rina turned to the fellow, winked, then immediately slumped back into unconsciousness, smiling as she faded out.

...............

Kaizer slowly touched the crown, as if unsure if it was real.

Dean Rochester leaned closer and spoke only for him.

"This crown does not mean you’ve reached the peak. It means the peak... is now yours to climb."

Kaizer exhaled shakily. "I understand."

He looked toward his sister, who was now being floated back into the arena by a medical platform, her expression proud even in unconsciousness.

Then he turned to the audience, raising his hand once.

And with that simple gesture... a new age for espers began.