"His eye!"
Just as nearly the entire audience rose to their feet, Arsenault's voice rang out above the arena. "Contestant Servi has successfully launched a surprise attack on Contestant Vosloda's eye! Could this be the critical turning point of the finals?"
*Boom!*
Even though the strike forced him to shut his eye, Dimi still effortlessly neutralized Blood Moon Shattered Lake. Rather than attacking, however, he swiftly retreated. Now it was Sonia's turn to press her advantage, seeking to seize on this immense opening to lock down victory once and for all!
"A truly spectacular move," Nidala commented. "However, Dimi—or rather, the sword sorcerers of the Vosloda clan—have never been opponents one could defeat with trickery and schemes. Only utter suppression through pure strength can triumph over the Starforger lineage, because they..."
"Have no weaknesses."
Only a few seconds had passed when Dimi wiped away the blood around his eye with one hand and opened it. The ruptured eyeball had already healed—even in the midst of high-intensity combat, he could still efficiently regenerate his own injuries!
Sonia's hidden lethal strike had been neutralized just like that!
Dimi traced a circle with his blade, the circular wave nearly blasting apart everything in the vicinity, forcing Sonia to retreat and defend.
Then, taking a step forward, he declared in a clear voice, "I now understand your thinking, Miss Servi. Indeed, my offer of a draw was nothing more than condescending charity. Even without a draw, your radiance would not be dimmed in the least; on the contrary, accepting one would only leave a blemish on your record. My impulsive idea was indeed ill-considered, and I sincerely apologize for causing you distress.
"Therefore, to show my respect for you, I will crush you with everything I have.
"There is one more thing I must apologize for in advance: I am currently a little angry. The battle from here on will not only be an honorable contest under the gaze of the stars—it will also carry a hint of venting my frustration. So... beware!"
*Boom!*
Sanctuary-rank Vosloda wave swordsmanship, unleashed with full power!
Fiercer than a Ragecleaver Dragon, wilder than a Jagras, sharper than a White Velociprey!
Sonia felt as though she were facing a ferocious beast of the Void Realm. In his hands, the exquisite waves transformed into razor-sharp fangs and claws, tearing savagely at her flesh!
Miracle: Water Moon!
Miracle: Blood Moon Shattered Lake!
Sonia fought back fiercely, but she simply could not pierce Dimi's Sanctuary, instead being driven back again and again! Yet her own ferocity was ignited; she refused to yield another inch, trading blows with Dimi as wave surges clashed!
*Crack!*
With an explosive bang, the red-haired Sword Princess was sent flying far into the distance, crashing into the ruins and kicking up a foot of dust.
Dimi slowed his stride and spat out half a severed, bloody tongue. Just moments ago, Sonia had used her line of sight at close range to lock onto the inside of his mouth, and the Blade of the Hidden Hand had nearly pierced straight through the back of his neck from the front!
Yet under the aegis of a Sanctuary, any attack that could not reach the core could at most cause a sorcerer minor inconvenience. The very reverence Sanctuary Sorcerers held for interspatial strikes only proved just how futile ordinary attacks were against them.
Dimi's expression was a mixture of anger and admiration. "Do you truly want to win that badly?"
Propping herself up with her wooden sword, Sonia rose. Her combat outfit was battered beyond recognition, caked in dust, rubble, bloodstains, and grime.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the more dazzling I am, the more eyes are on me, the stronger I become."
She paused. "Right now, I'm still far too weak."
"Though I can feel your resolve, I will not hold back—and you have no need for a victory granted out of pity." Dimi sheathed his sword. "In that case, let me draw this magnificent final to a close with my miracle of the highest order.
"Please bear witness to what follows: Revolving Annihilation Wave."
Revolving Annihilation Wave!
A secret heirloom of the Vosloda clan, a prismatic superior miracle capable of wiping out the entire battlefield in an instant!
The Red Lotus Sword Array, upon which Negs had pinned such high hopes, had been crushed into a pool of bloody water by this very move!
If Dimi had unleashed it from the start, Sonia would have lost long ago.
And in the eyes of the crowd, the fact that Sonia had forced Dimi to resort to this move meant she had practically won already.
An honorable defeat.
Yet it was still a defeat.
Sonia looked up, meeting the gazes pouring down from the stands. Curiosity, envy, delight, pity—a kaleidoscope of emotions.
Without question, at this very moment, the red-haired Sword Princess had captured the rapt attention of everyone present.
*Then why haven't I gotten stronger?*
*The Watcher lied to me,* Sonia thought.
He had told her that the effect of her Golden Blessing, Radiant Star, was that during battle, the more eyes were on her and the more people adored her, the stronger she would become.
Yet the Meteor Tribulation finals was the grandest stage she could possibly reach right now. If even this couldn't trigger her further transformation, wouldn't this Golden Blessing be far too useless?
Even after obtaining the Blade of the Hidden Hand from Professor Trozan, she knew she was incapable of defeating Dimi at her current stage. Her decision to step up and fight had only been in the hope that her Golden Blessing would work a miracle.
In the end, her hidden hand still couldn't reach Dimi's core.
Just as her hands had never been able to touch the warmth of the Watcher.
She had truly tried her hardest, yet she still could not draw strength from the gazes of the audience, nor could she find inspiration in their cheers.
The vanity she once would have gladly drowned in now felt just short of what she yearned for.
Perhaps it was because among all these eyes, the pair she longed for was not there; perhaps among all these cheers, the voice she wished to hear was absent.
So such things truly existed: two people missing each other, thinking of each other, caring for each other, yet unable to be together. Just like two stars drawn close, yet still separated by a vast, impassable gulf.
Sonia looked toward Dimi. She knew she was about to lose; she had no miracle capable of withstanding Revolving Annihilation Wave unless the Watcher helped her—just as with Water Moon and Blood Blossom Water Moon, allowing her to achieve an on-the-spot breakthrough mid-battle and suddenly comprehend a miracle that could turn the tables!
Regrettably, there was none.
The Golden Blessing "Radiant Star," the only thing she could pin her hopes on, was utterly useless as well.
The name of this blessing seemed to regard her as a "radiant star," but Sonia knew better. She merely pursued the vanity of a radiant star, craved the spotlight of a radiant star. Yet she could not bring warmth to others, nor could she become the light in another's heart.
Rather than becoming a radiant star, her true goal now was to chase after the radiant star that belonged to her.
If she grew stronger, if she shone even brighter, would the distance between their stars draw a little closer?
At this moment, the stars seemed to have finally heard Sonia's prayer. The starlight turned into a patient, instructing professor. Countless strands of sorcerous knowledge reshaped and coupled within her mind, and a breathtaking composite miracle began to take form.
Lost in thought, she raised her wooden sword level, countless threads enveloping her body.
*Water Moon?*
Dimi naturally recognized this counter-miracle, but its range was exceedingly short. Using it here was meaningless; after all, his Revolving Annihilation Wave covered the entire arena... In the spark of a flint, Dimi slashed his longsword.
*Dong—*
Like the chime of a bell echoing from a distant shore, vibrating the hearts of the spectators, the space of the arena seemed to be carved into an isolated sphere, cutting off inside from out. Having heard Nidala's earlier explanation, they knew Dimi used himself as the origin coordinate, indiscriminately assaulting every inch of space within the sphere.
This time, the red-haired Sword Princess would finally have to make a somber exit...
*Snap!*
The spatial sphere shattered abruptly the very instant it took form.
No furrowed devastation from Revolving Annihilation Wave marred the arena floor. The threads of Water Moon around Sonia had vanished without a trace, and beside her right hand manifested the hidden hand—she had clearly unleashed the Blade of the Hidden Hand.
Dimi stood calmly before her and asked, "Water as the guide, space as the path, time for acceleration, and swordsmanship to harmonize them... To think you integrated the 'Boundless' sorcery spirit into your counter-miracle, using spatial ripples to bind your threads to me, relying on the threads to pinpoint spatial coordinates, using a time sorcery spirit to compress the process, and finally finishing everything with the hidden hand... What is the name of this composite miracle that encompasses so many sorcery factions?"
Sonia looked up and saw a shooting star streak across the night sky.
It was the ceremonial celebration signaling the conclusion of the Meteor Tribulation; whenever victory was decided, a shooting star would fall.
"Look," she said, pointing toward the meteor. "A shooting star trails a tail behind it—that is the gaze of another star watching over it.
"Even an unreachable shooting star carries a longing that follows it through life and death.
"The name of this miracle... is Meteor Tribulation."
Dimi froze slightly, then let out a wry smile. "You're really not very good at naming things, are you?"
The words had barely left his lips when blossoms of blood erupted across his entire body. His limbs severed into multiple pieces, clattering onto the ground and instantly triggering the Death Prohibition miracle.
At this sight, a brief silence fell over the coliseum—before the spectators' cheers erupted with such fury they threatened to tear the roof off Jialesi!
"The winner of the Meteor Tribulation finals is—" Arsenault's voice echoed through the skies of Jialesi, reverberating across the whole of Many Stars: "Sonia Servi!"
Chapter 517