Realm Lord
Chapter 154: The Spar

Chapter 154: The Spar

They lined up facing each other on opposite ends of the sparring platform, their eyes locked in an intense stare-down that seemed to crackle with unspoken challenge. If you didn’t know them personally, looking at them now you’d think they were mortal enemies preparing for a fight to the death, the way they were glaring at each other with such focused intensity. Gone was any trace of their earlier playful banter—this was serious business.

The transformation in their demeanor was immediate and striking. Lightning began to crackle and dance all over Aziel’s body, blue-white electrical energy coursing across his skin like living serpents of pure power. The air around him seemed to shimmer and distort from the electromagnetic energy he was generating. His spear materialized in his grasp with a flash of brilliant light, the weapon appearing as if forged from condensed electricity itself, its metal surface gleaming with barely contained energy.

Meanwhile, Arthur’s shadow began to crawl and writhe around his body like liquid darkness given form, the tendrils of darkness materializing into his armor that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. The shadow-forged protection enhanced his natural abilities, boosting his strength, speed, and reflexes. The feeling of power flowing through him was intoxicating—every muscle felt coiled and ready, every sense heightened to razor-sharp awareness.

After his armor fully formed, Arthur’s sword appeared in his hand—a blade as black as the deepest midnight and almost as long as he was tall. The weapon seemed to drink in the light around it, creating an aura of absolute darkness that made it difficult to track with the naked eye. His shadow stretched and flowed to cover the blade as well, wrapping around the steel like a second skin that pulsed with malevolent energy.

Almost immediately, the attention of every other chosen filling the massive training room began to be captured one by one. Conversations died mid-sentence as people turned to stare at the two young men on the platform. Murmurs began to fill the air as more and more spectators gathered around the sparring area.

"Are they sparring with real weapons!"

"Are they crazy?"

"They look like they want to kill each other!"

"Should we stop them?"

"Lightning powers! Cool!"

"Wait... what is that other guy using?"

"...Is that darkness?"

"No way!"

"What!"

"Impossible!"

The voices and exclamations filled the room like a rising tide of excitement and concern, but none of the words breached Aziel and Arthur’s ears. They were too determined, too locked in and focused on each other to be swayed by anything happening around them. The world had narrowed down to just the two of them and the platform they stood on.

Their sparring sessions recently had become much, much more competitive, sparking a real rivalry between the two friends that went beyond simple practice. What had once been casual training had evolved into intense battles where both pushed themselves to their absolute limits. These matches had become quite a spectacle as of recent.

And now, with everyone watching eagerly from the sidelines, the tension on the platform was thick enough to cut with a knife. Aziel gripped his spear tightly with both hands, his knuckles white with the force of his hold. He lifted the weapon high above his head, the lightning coursing around both his spear and his body beginning to condense and intensify until it almost looked white-hot with pure electrical energy.

The power building around him was incredible—Arthur could feel the hair on his arms standing up from the static electricity in the air, and the metallic taste of ozone filled his mouth. Aziel stepped forward, pressing hard into the ground with his back foot, his muscles tensing desperately as he prepared to unleash what had become quite a signature move of his.

With a grunt of effort that was barely audible over the crackling of electricity, Aziel hurled his spear with tremendous force. The weapon flew through the space between them like a bolt of lightning made solid, distorting the air around it as it moved with incredible speed. The very atmosphere seemed to bend and warp in the wake of the electrically charged projectile.

Arthur had seen this move many times by now and was already preparing to dodge with what should have been little issue. He had faced this attack before and knew the timing, the trajectory, the way the spear would arc through the air. But Aziel wasn’t so one-dimensional as to think the same move would work forever, and he had been counting on Arthur being able to dodge it with ease.

So he did what Arthur wouldn’t be expecting—something that made several spectators gasp in surprise and admiration. Aziel was currently racing right alongside his own thrown spear, following it through the air with incredible speed.

Arthur’s eyes widened in shock and realization as he understood what was happening. This wasn’t just a simple spear throw—it was a setup for something much more complex and deadly. He gripped his sword tightly with both hands, the shadow-wrapped blade humming with dark energy as he prepared to defend against whatever was coming next.

The spear was only inches away from his face when Arthur quickly stepped deep to the right, his shadow-enhanced reflexes allowing him to dodge out of the way with milliseconds to spare. He could feel the electrical energy crackling past his cheek as the weapon sailed by.

But where the spear would normally continue flying into the distance, this time Aziel was right alongside it, and as soon as the projectile passed by Arthur, Aziel stopped his sprint with perfect timing. He grabbed his spear out of the air with practiced ease, planting his feet firmly on the platform as he turned all of his forward momentum into a devastating horizontal slash that came sweeping toward Arthur’s midsection.

Arthur barely managed to get his sword in front of the incoming attack, the clash of metal against metal ringing out across the training room like a bell. But despite successfully blocking the strike, the sheer power behind Aziel’s swing was incredible—enhanced by both his lightning abilities and the momentum from his sprint—and it sent Arthur flying backward across the platform.

Arthur’s feet left the ground entirely as he was launched through the air, his body tumbling and spinning before he managed to roll and regain his footing near the edge of the platform. The crowd gasped and cheered at the spectacular display of combat skill they had just witnessed.

Arthur rolled quickly back to his feet, getting into his defensive stance as he gripped his sword handle tightly with both hands. His face was growing dark with frustration and determination as he processed what had just happened. ’Damn it!!’ he thought, his jaw clenching with barely contained anger.