Instantly, the entire tournament arena area fell silent without a sound. All the spectators, starting from the teachers, judges, to the audience, held their breath in unison.
Even Vian and the other three Flamort teammates could only stand frozen watching the prince fall helplessly to his knees on the destroyed remains of the arena.
Their gazes were locked on the figure of Arvin Vedegra standing without a single scratch.
"Amazing!" exclaimed the female host from the podium, her voice breaking the gripping silence once again. "Participant Arvin Vedegra has shown highly phenomenal capability by using various high-tier magic elements to attack and withstand the attacks of the prince from the Flamort Kingdom! Is this the end of the battle? Will Prince Kylen concede defeat to the descendant of the Vedegra family?!"
Amidst the euphoria and speculation of the audience, Arvin slowly extended his hand forward, aiming it right at Kylen's body which was still panting.
A warm and soothing green light radiated, enveloping the prince's entire body. Instantly, all the burns caused by the lightning strike, the pain, and the exhaustion that gnawed at Kylen's body vanished without a trace. His physique was fully restored in a matter of seconds.
"Y-You... you healed me?" asked Kylen in shock, looking up at the man in front of him while touching his chest which no longer felt painful. "Why did you heal me in the middle of our battle?"
"Because my goal of standing in this arena with you has not yet been fulfilled." Arvin answered with a casual tone, lowering his hand. "Now, answer my question, Kylen! What are you really fighting me for today?"
Kylen stood up, looking into his husband's eyes with full determination. "Of course to prove my worthiness to stand by your side as your spouse in the future!" he exclaimed loudly without the slightest hesitation.
"Then," Arvin continued with his voice turning lower and piercing, "in what way do you want to prove that worthiness? By relying on ordinary water and wind magic that couldn't even touch the edge of my clothes? With you being as weak as you are now?"
The barrage of sharp questions successfully made Kylen freeze stiff. The bluish-white-haired youth stared at his husband's face towering in front of him. Suddenly, the distance of a few meters between them felt like a very deep chasm.
For some reason... I feel he and I are in a vastly different world? thought Kylen, panic starting to creep into his chest. The insecure feeling that he always covered up with an arrogant attitude now surged out. His power is so immeasurable. Am I too weak? Am I not worthy to stand by his side? Will I never be able to have him completely?
Seeing the turmoil in the prince's blue eyes, Arvin gave the final push to break his own limits.
"Listen to me, Kylen. If even one of your attacks can hit me, I promise I will do whatever you want!" said Arvin with a firm voice, staring at his sixth spouse sharply. He paused for a moment, letting the sentence sink in, before continuing with a lethal tone. "But... if you fail to touch me today, then I will consider you unworthy, and I will leave you!"
Gasp!
The bluish-white-haired youth's breath seemed to hitch in his throat upon hearing the last sentence that came out of Arvin's lips. The word 'leave' struck the pit of his stomach like a giant sledgehammer.
The terrifying image of himself being cast away from Arvin's side, failing to be married, and losing the man he loved so much immediately flashed very clearly in his mind.
No! No! No! I don't want him to leave me! Kylen screamed frustratedly in his heart, tears almost welling up in his eyes. His panic peaked. Arvin is the only person in this world who can understand me and make me feel happy like this!
Kylen's body started to tremble, his emotions overflowing.
I have also been accepted very well by Allen and the others! I have dreamed of an eternal life with them. I don't want all these beautiful dreams to just be in vain! I absolutely don't want him to leave me! I love him so much! I want him so much!
Along with the explosion of emotions and despair overflowing from his soul, the mana fluctuations around Kylen's body became extremely chaotic and unstable.
Drip! Drip!
Water drops suddenly appeared from the pores of his skin. However, the water was not clear or blue, but rather a thick green color.
Hiss...
As soon as the green water drops fell and touched the rocks of the arena, a loud hissing sound was heard.
The rocky arena surface instantly melted like hot butter, leaving smoking holes. Kylen had awakened the unique element lying dormant in his bloodline: Corrosive Hard Water.
Seeing the deadly phenomenon starting to form around his sixth spouse, a wide smile slowly etched on Arvin's face.
"It seems you have successfully awakened your power, My Dearest." said Arvin with a highly relieved and proud tone. "My goal in this arena has been fulfilled. Now... attack me with your new power!"
Kylen's eyes widened. His husband's words just now had snapped him out of his panic. The youth immediately realized that the terrifying threat earlier was just a ruse.
Arvin intentionally provoked him, pushing him to the limit of despair, just to trigger his emotions so that the hidden power would awaken.
Realizing that his husband had no intention of discarding him at all, but instead was deeply thinking about his development and future, Kylen felt his heart swell with indescribable happiness.
"Darling!" shouted Kylen with a very happy and loving tone, his shrill voice could be heard by all the spectators in the stands. "I love you so much! Thank you so much for believing in me!"
Swoosh!
With a wave of his hand, the corrosive water magic was no longer just drops. The pool of thick green water slowly began to gather and form in the air, right above Kylen's head. The longer he focused his mana, the more clearly visible and terrifying its shape became.
The deadly water gathered and formed a large dragon figure made purely of corrosive liquid that could melt even the thickest steel.
Hiss!
The green water drops falling from the dragon's body caused the arena surface to continue melting and emit poisonous smoke. The spectators held their breath, horrified to see the destructive magic.
In the participants' spectator seats, Vian stood up. His eyes widened in disbelief.
He truly never expected that the prince possessed such a deadly element, let alone imagine that it was Arvin who successfully made Kylen awaken the legendary power that had not been seen for hundreds of years in the Flamort Kingdom.
Arvin Vedegra's influence in Kylen's life truly brings invaluable changes. Vian thought in amazement, his hands clenching enthusiastically. If His Majesty the King finds out that his youngest son has actually succeeded in inheriting and awakening that legendary magic... what would he say later?
However, after his amazement subsided, a new worry arose in his mind.
But, this is exactly what I am afraid of. Knowing Kylen's power which could now become a deadly military asset, the kingdom might just use Kylen and forbid him to marry Arvin, the person he loves the most and the person who has awakened his power. This political conflict will be very troublesome.
In the middle of the arena, the battle heated up again. As Kylen aimed both his hands straight forward, the poisonous water dragon's mouth began to open wide.
Splat!
A shot of thick water cannon came out of the dragon's mouth and sped at high speed toward Arvin.
Arvin dodged the direct attack very easily and elegantly.
Hiss...
The corrosive water bullet hit the ground surface exactly where Arvin had previously stood, making it melt instantly.
Feeling more excited, Kylen did not give any pause. He continued to launch the hard water shot attacks repeatedly like a machine gun.
Calmly, Arvin kept dodging them with very smooth footwork without casting counter magic, letting his spouse get used to the new power.
However, because Kylen had just awakened that terrifying power and could not yet stably control his mana output, the direction of his attacks began to stray.
The dragon's head looked up wildly and spewed a hail of corrosive water bullets in all directions. Disastrously, all those consecutive deadly attacks shot up and headed straight for the spectator stands.
"What are you doing, Kylen?! Do you want to kill all the spectators?!"