Azarath is pumped to be the first one out. He starts talking to random people like he is a celebrity. This makes him the popular candidate to win amongst the crowd. During this time, Blake is able to obtain the information that Zealith is actually a demon from the demon continent. A dangerous continent full of strange and bizarre races. Normally, the sea between the main continent and the demon continent is too dangerous for anyone to travel between them. It seems that Zealith was able to make that journey. Blake takes this information to think. Blake looks around. He sees people handing out tablets with information on both fighters. He sees other people taking bets for who is gonna win the fights. Before Blake knows it, the 15 minutes are up. The vassals wish Azarath good luck, and he responds.

  [Azarath: I will show everyone how strong I am!] As he walks through a door.

  A light is shown on top of the arena, illuminating it in the darkness of the room. Everyone hears it in their heads.

  [Announcer: Welcome to the 23rd annual Ascended Crucible! Today, we have six fights. Tomorrow, we will have another six fights! So, make sure to stay tuned! The first fight is between two fistfighters with powerful blows!

  Coming in first, we have a celebrity with nobility. This man has near-unrivaled strength and speed! He is known for saving those who cannot save themselves! Back in the capital, he even had his very own fan club! Give it all up for…

  Azarath Goldwyn!] The crowd goes wild, especially the woman. They all love Azarath. The Vassals are surprised.

  [Pax: How could such a bastard be so popular?] Pax asks in defeat. Blake just shrugs his shoulders.

  Azarath enters the arena, blowing kisses to the crowd and waving to everyone. He surveys the arena, which has a dirt floor and concrete walls surrounding him, reminiscent of an actual Roman Colosseum arena. After introducing Azarath, the announcer keeps going.

  [Announcer: The second fighter is a unique one! He is a demon straight from the demon continent! He has four arms and a devilish ability! He has taken down multiple magical beasts during his time on our continent and dueled thousands of fighters! Give it up for…

  Zaelith Duskbane!] The gate on the other side of the arena starts to open. Applause is heard; however, it is not nearly as much as the applause Azarath got.

  *Blake: I'm guessing that people are scared of him because he is a demon. Poor guy.*

  A giant man walks in. He has a giant horn on his head and red lines on his face. His skin is dark blue, and his eye whites are black. His hair color is white, and his eye color is blue. He is not wearing a shirt, and his pants look like they were made from monster skin. However, that is not the first thing people noticed. It is the four giant arms on his body.

  [Azarath: You got four arms? That’s cool. Still not going to win, though!] Azarath is pumping himself up. The demon just looks at him.

  [Zealith: Strong fighter. What do you fight for?] Zealith asks. It seems he is looking for an answer that is personal. There are no wrong answers. Azarath smiles.

  [Azarath: Simple. Money, fame, and women!] Azarath answered with a huge grin.

  Zealith just looks in disbelief before saying the words [Dispicable.] Which throws Azarath off. Zealith puts two of his hands behind his back and keeps them there.

  [Azarath: What are you doing?] Zealith responds.

  [Zealith: There are two people I respect: the righteous and the strong. I don’t use all of my hands on people I don’t respect. Show me your strength, and I might use them.] It was a simple answer, but it really made Azarath angry. Like clockwork, the announcer came back on.

  [Announcer: Let the fight between Azarath Goldwyn and Zaelith Duskbane commence!]

  The fight starts with Azarath coming in close with a punch to the gut. Zealith quickly catches the punch and counters. Kicking Azarath in the head and sending him all the way across the arena. Azarath quickly recovers and goes in for another punch. He gets countered again.

  *Azarath: Shit! I'm stronger, but he is more skilled!*

  Azarath goes again for a punch to the stomach. Zealith goes to block for a third time; however, Azarath pulls his fist back, and with his other hand, he goes to punch Zealith in the face.

  *Zealith: A faint?!?*

  Zealith quickly goes to block his face. It is too late.

  『Super Strength』

  A full punch lands directly on Zealiths face. Sending him hurling into the concrete walls. After the smoke clears, he is put in a huge crater. Zealith slowly rises to his feet as blood pours from his nose.

  [Zealith: Wow. It seems you can back up that ego. I will use my ability now.] Zealith gets into a position where both of his fists are out.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  『Destructive Fist: Snowflake Pass』A giant blue snowflake appears under him. Azarath is confused about this but just laughs as he steps into it. The moment he steps on it, Zealith appears in front of him.

  『Destructive Fist: Expel』

  Zealith launches an uppercut that hits Azarath directly in the chest. The power of the punch reverberates through Azaraths body. It broke some of his ribs, and Azarath spits up blood.

  『Destructive Fist: Disorder』

  A barrage of punches hit Azarath. Doing insane damage and sending Azarath flying into the other side of the arena. Azarath tries to get up. However, he just starts spitting out more blood and goes on his knees.

  *Azarath: That did so much damage to me! I am still stronger, but will my durability keep up? I can’t lose here, not in front of everyone! I'm out of the compass now! So his ability shouldn’t work anymore.*

  Azarath looks up, only for a blast of wind to hit him in the face and send him back into the wall.

  『Destructive Fist: Grounded Fist Thousand Punches』

  A barrage of air punches continuously hit Azarath, carving him into the already huge crater in the wall. Azarath is on the verge of unconsciousness. Azarath quickly comes back to his senses.

  『Super Speed』

  With a burst of super speed, Azarath is quickly able to get out of the crater and is in front of Zealith.

  『Super Strength: Pleiades Pummel』

  A barrage of super strong punches connects with Zealith. Hurting him badly. During the barrage, Zealith releases his third and fourth hands and uses them to smack Azarath into a wall. Azarath quickly gets up, and they stare at one another.

  *Zealith: I had to use all of my hands. If he had kept going with that barrage, it would have killed me.*

  [Zealith: Be proud. You made me use my hands. While I don’t respect you as a person, that means I respect your strength! The highest honor for a demon!] Azarath laughs.

  [Azarath: I'm just getting started!] Azarath is smiling ear to ear from getting Zealiths respect. Zealith is smiling as well. This has been a fun fight for both.

  [Zealith: Just getting started? In that case.] Zealith strikes another fighting pose.]

  『Destructive Fist: Punishment Mode』

  The snowflake under him disappears. It is now glowing on Zealiths body.

  [Zealith: I can now use my techniques without the use of the compass.] Zealith suddenly appears before Azarath.

  『Destructive Fist: Annihilation』

  Zealith propels all four fists forward and sends a huge shockwave throughout Azaraths body. Azarath is sent flying as all of the openings on his face pour blood. Azarath quickly regains his footing.

  『Super Speed: Blitz』

  Azarath gets on the ground and thrusts himself forward at unheard-of speeds. However, the ground collapses under him, causing him to lose his footing.

  *Azarath: Shit!*

  Azrath looks up to see Zealith with his hands on the ground.

  『Destructive Fist: Collapse』

  Due to Zealith sending shockwaves into the ground. The entire arena collapses in on itself. Azarath tries another approach. He jumps side to side and warms up his feet. After a while, he straight up disappears. Zealith is stunned.

  『Super Speed: Afterimage』

  Using his speed, Azarath makes it look like he is in multiple places at once. Zealith looks around, all confused.

  *Zealith: I can’t tell apart the real one!*

  Azarath is right behind Zealith. Zealith turns around.

  『Super Strength: Spartan Uppercut』

  A powerful uppercut connects and sends Zealith into the sky. It is so strong it nearly rips Zealiths jaw off. Zealith quickly turns down and stretches his leg out.

  『Destructive Fist: Crown Splitter』

  Zealith hurls down at unprecedented speeds. Azarath is barely able to block the kick with his left arm. However, the bones in his left arm immediately break due to the force. Zealith jumps back.

  [Zealith: You have been entertaining. However, I should end this before fatigue gets up to me. I will use my ultimate move on you. I will be unable to use my ability after I use this move. So you will win if you can survive this. It might take a while to charge.]

  Zealith sits and closes his eyes. He then strikes a pose, and multiple snowflakes appear under him and on his body. A giant snowflake covers the whole arena. Azarath stands still.

  [Azarath: I will wait! You said I would win if I could take your next move. So give it all you got!]

  No one could tell if it was pure arrogance that made him think to wait or if it was genuine respect for his enemy giving him a good fight. Azarath crosses his arms and smiles. After charging up for a minute, Zealith opens his eyes.

  『Destructive Fist: Final Form: White Snow Chaotic Afterglow』

  Suddenly, Azarath starts getting hit everywhere, at all angles, and at all times. Zealith controls all of the destruction in the arena to send an omnidirectional barrage of shockwaves and wind pressure. This allows hundreds of blows to come in at every second and hit Azarath.

  『Super Speed: Godspeed』

  Mustering up all the strength he has left. Azarath puts all of his focus into his legs as he activates his ability. Azarath starts jumping around constantly, trying to avoid the blows. With his unfathomable speed, Azarath was able to avoid most blows. However, a lot of the blows still hit him. Azarath keeps looking around until.

  *Azarath: There!*

  Azarath was able to track Zealith down in the barrage of blows and appeared under him.

  『Super Strength: Starlight Smash』

  Azarath Deactives his speed and puts every ounce of strength into his right arm. He sends a haymaker at Zealith. Zealith puts all four of his arms in front of him to block the attack. Azaraths fist connects. It is powerful, the strongest blow Zealith has ever taken in his entire life. It effortlessly breaks through all four arms and destroys them. It hits Zealith directly in the chest and sends him flying into the ground with a huge explosion.

  After the smoke clears, Zealith is on his knees with none of his arms attached to his body.

  [Zealith: You survived. As such, you have won. I surrender. Azarath Goldwyn.]

  Azarath slowly walks up. The fights in the Acsended Crucible can’t be surrendered. They can only end via knockout or death.

  [Azarath: Do you want to live?] Zealith smiles back.

  [Zealith: Dying in battle is a warrior's greatest dream. Kill me, I could wish for nothing more.]

  Azarath walks up slowly to the demon. He raises his right fist, trying to make Zealiths death painless. He throws his fist directly at Zealiths head. Suddenly, a barrier appears, and Azarath's fist connects to it. The damage is immediately deflected back to his right hand, damaging his right arm heavily and making it unusable.

  [No hurt anymore!]

  Azarath is surprised. The voice is of a little girl who runs out onto the arena crying. Selene looks surprised and recognizes the girl.

  [Selene: Thats…]

  She creates a green zone around Zealith. His arms start to regrow, and all the damage to him disappears. A man runs into the arena after her.

  [Zealith: This-]

  [???: The fight isn’t over yet! You can’t run out there!]

  Selene was right. The man who ran after the little girl had star pupils. It was the mysterious man she had met in the village.

  Suddenly, it was like the air stopped; everyone stopped moving. Something was wrong—a feeling in the air like no other, terror. Zealith and Azarath immediately jumped back. The man quickly tells the little girl to get back as a figure appears in the middle of the arena.

  The figure is a human male with striking dark purple eyes and hair. That wasn't the concern; rather, it was his perfection. There was absolutely nothing amiss about him, which created an unsettling sensation among everyone in the arena. But as soon as he spoke, everyone recognized him immediately.

  [I???n???t???e???r???f???e???r???e???n???c???e???]