My Soul card is a Reaper

Fiona suddenly laughed, finally putting the pieces together. "You fell for Selene and got ignored, isn't it?"

"I didn't fall for anybody," Orion grumbled under his breath, annoyed by their tease. "I just don't like him."

Affea grinned wickedly. "Oh, this is gold."

"I'm going to support you in the duel, Orion," Fiona declared, her tone mockingly noble. "As your aunt, I must help you fight for your love."

Affea narrowed her eyes at Fiona. "You're awfully enthusiastic. Come to think of it, this entire mess is caused by you. Why did you go and fight with Selene in the first place? Don't tell me you're…"

Fiona waved it off, but a flicker of pink crossed her cheeks. "What? No! I just think Selene needs someone with personality, not a mute like Zion. Orion's perfect."

Affea gave her a long, suspicious look. "Riiight."

Meanwhile, back at the banquet hall, Leah quietly approached Leiza, who stood alone for a moment near the balcony, sipping from a glass of sparkling fruit wine.

"Leiza," Leah said gently.

Leiza turned to her, face composed but cool. "Yes?"

Leah sighed. "I mean no offense, but… letting Orion go through with this fight it's a mistake. His hatred is misdirected, and it's going to cost him. After all, Zion's a lot stronger than your average Supreme realm Arcana Master. You might not have understood what the true prowess of a Supreme realm expert is because you know, you are from a mortal world, but if I had to make you understand, a nuclear missile can be neutralized by a Supreme realm Arcana Master. You need several megatons worth of TNT yield to even hurt them. Moreover, Zion's not his enemy. They're… brothers, after all."

Leiza's eyes flickered. "You think I don't know that?"

"Then why let him do this? Why not convince him to stay out of this unnecessary battle?"

"Because he's my son," Leiza said with a hint of steel in her tone. "And he needs to learn from the world, not be sheltered from it. If his hatred's going to bite him… then let it. He'll bleed and learn. That's how I raised my son."

There was a long silence.

Leah studied her expression, then gave a small nod. "Alright, I understand." She retreated with quiet understanding.

But as Leah turned away, Leiza's knuckles whitened around her glass. "This bi*ch. What Brothers? She talks as if she is his wife or something. Even if you are a powerful lady, I won't let you or your son enter my household."

Later that night…

On a quiet balcony, Leiza stood, her arms folded while her expression tight with concern.

Azzy walked up to her, hugging her from behind and placing his chin on her shoulder. "Still thinking about tomorrow?"

She nodded. "I know he needs to learn on his own… I know that you agreed on it because you also want Zion to teach Orion a lesson so that he understands the difference between the sky and the earth. After all, Zion grew up while having everything. He never strived for it. Perhaps, if he loses, he will be more motivated to train, but I also know how much pain a loss can bring, especially in front of everyone. His pride will be hurt."

Azzy looked at her with quiet understanding. "You don't want him to lose."

Leiza turned to face him fully. "No, I want him to lose but not badly. Can you just add one more rule? Let them use a third-party weapon. That's all I ask."

Azzy raised an eyebrow. "Trying to give Orion a fighting chance?"

"Trying to protect my son's pride," she said softly.

He paused, then nodded, tightening the hug around her. "Alright. I'll allow it."

She smiled faintly.

Azzy agreed to her request, not just to make her happy, but he was also confident that Zion would still win. He had seen Zion fighting, in person, after all.

The next morning, Red Pavilion Arena;

A heavy silence hung in the arena, almost empty as none were allowed inside, except for elders, Clan Lords, some important guests who were interested, etc.

Two figures stood across from each other: Orion, confident and smoldering with divine aura, holding a slender but sharp longsword; and Zion, calm, expression unreadable, was dressed in black combat robes, his hands at his sides.

Around them, clan members, relatives, warriors, and a few outsiders watched in quiet expectation from the stands above. Leah stood with her son while Gideon and Estella watched nearby with Selene. Affea and Fiona leaned on the rails, watching like the others.

Azzy stepped forward, standing at the center between the youths.

His voice boomed across the arena. "The rules are simple. No use of soul energy. No Arcana Spirits. No skill cards. No item cards. No Healing cards. Or No Soul Power recovery cards. If you wish, you may use a man-made weapon or armor."

He glanced at both of them.

"The fight only lasts for ten minutes, or until one of you yields or is unable to continue."

He looked at Zion. "This is not a death match. I expect restraint."

Zion nodded.

Orion also nodded, spinning his blade in one hand. "Understood.".

Azzy stepped back and raised his hand.

"Begin."

Orion vanished in a blur of motion, activating his flight boots, leaving shockwaves along the path. He came down with a slash from above.

Clang!

Zion raised his forearm and blocked it with his bare skin.

A ripple of force exploded outward, but Zion stood his ground, unmoved.

Orion pulled back, twisted mid-air, and launched a series of strikes, flashing from different angles: blitz slashes, spin kicks, aerial feints, all of them expertly executed.

These were all the moves he learned back on Irth Planet, when he learned swordsmanship, but later got bored as no competitor rose up.

However, his techniques turned out to be quite useless in this battle as Zion evaded every strike, slipping through the barrage like smoke. His movements were quite smooth and fluid.

The crowd murmured.

Even Gideon raised an eyebrow.

Orion landed again and narrowed his eyes. "Fine. Let's see how you handle this."

He stood there and started spinning around the same spot with the longsword, rapidly, speeding up more and more, each second, before activating the plasma batteries stored in the sword, releasing a powerful arc of plasma energy.

Zion leapt straight into it. However, he went through that energy wave and reached Orion.

Crack!

A bone-rattling sound echoed as Zion drove a fist into Orion's ribs mid-spin, shattering the momentum and sending him crashing into the ground.

Orion coughed out blood, feeling extreme pain in his ribs. He collapsed to the ground.

Zion didn't follow up. He waited for the result.

Selene cheered from the sidelines. "Go, Zion! Wooo"

As if that simple cheer snapped Orion's pride, something changed in him at once.

His golden eyes flared. Divine energy surged uncontrollably from his body. His armor pulsed violently as black lightning sparks swirled around him.

"Enough holding back," Orion growled. "Let me show you what real power looks like."

Energy Horns sprouted from his head, dark and jagged. His limbs elongated. An energy armor that looked like a goat head formed over his face.

Gasps rang across the arena.

Azzy's eyes narrowed. "Baphomet's form. When did this brat awaken it? Isn't it only like 4 days since his powers were unleashed?"