The Spider Queen

(Planet Caorn- Elysium Archipelago)

(Unnamed Island- Grand Arena)

Ryan smirked slightly as the sword in his hand trembled with power. Dark red runes crept up the sides of his blade and shone with an eerie light.

He held his sword in a reverse grip as the crackling sound of electricity filled the air. He was about to perform a very dangerous sword technique.

Ryan bent his knees and lunged forward faster than before.

His body turned into a faint blur, and it was difficult to track the movements of the sword in his hand.

Reverse Grip- Heaven\'s Strike!

The plain faced girl in front of him barely had any time to react before Ryan\'s sword completely split her body into two pieces.

Her corpse fell lifelessly to the ground with severe burns and lacerations on her blackened flesh.

Ryan frowned slightly as he felt vaguely uneasy. There was a nagging feeling in his mind that this had all been a little too easy.

Something wasn\'t right…

No… when he cut the girl… it felt… wrong…

Danger!

Ryan leaned backwards and narrowly avoided the dagger that was about to thrust into his carotid artery.

Qiana swung her leg immediately and managed to strike the distracted boy\'s left leg. Ryan tumbled to the ground and moaned in pain.

He blinked his eyes and corpse in front of him disappeared and was replaced by the still alive girl who was now breathing heavily.

Qiana coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with phlegm.

The translucent sword in her stomach pained her with every step but she could not remove it.

Removing it would cause her to bleed out immediately and if she fainted or was unable to fight then it would be her loss.

Damn it! He broke out of the illusion too quickly!

If he had been trapped inside for one more second…

Qiana staggered forward and flung a dozen daggers at the boy lying down on the ground. Ryan rolled around ungracefully but could not avoid all the blades.

Qiana\'s fingers danced as if she was playing an instrument and the threads connected to the daggers responded to her movements.

They rose up in the air and continued to fly towards the injured boy who scrambled to his feet to avoid them.

"You cheap bitch!" Ryan roared in rage as he used his sword to knock away a dagger that was plunging towards his chest.

Qiana simply tightened her lips and continued to manipulate the threads.

She sent strands of qi from her fingertips into the strings in order to enhance her control over them.

This fight would not last for much longer.

Both Qiana and her opponent were quickly running out of steam. The poison was accumulating in Ryan\'s body and Qiana was slowly bleeding out from her stomach.

Qiana walked forward but stumbled slightly. She sank down to her knees and coughed one more time.

More blood poured out of her lips, and she felt lightheaded.

The crimson red liquid stained the desert sand beneath her feet.

She could hear the vague sounds of the crowd as her isolated domain technique began to crack.

No… she was not going to fall…

Qiana bit her tongue and the sharp burst of pain helped to drive away the darkness that was slowly creeping up along the corners of her vision.

She was not going to lose… she was not going to lose…

Sacred Sword Art- Severance!

A large wave of sword light flew towards her too quickly for Qiana to properly react. She flung her body to the side and was forced to sacrifice one of her arms.

Slice!

Qiana\'s left arm was completely removed from the rest of her body and it fell on the ground with a heavy thud.

The assassin girl quickly used a flame technique and pressed her burning fingers into the bloody stump that used to be her arm.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

Qiana closed her mouth and silently screamed as she used the heat of the technique to quickly cauterize the wound.

Ryan readied his sword and closed his eyes.

His body was now covered in daggers and his head was spinning under the effects of the poison.

He could barely even think, and he knew that was body was now sluggish and slow.

That last sword technique had taken all the last strength that he had left.

"Just give up already… you cripple…" Ryan opened his eyes and sneered as he mocked the injured girl.

"Using your words… clearly you must be feeling worried right?" Qiana whispered softly and yet her words seemed to carry across the arena.

She walked towards Ryan with slow but steady steps. Every muscle in her body groaned and begged her to stop but Qiana continued forward.

She stopped when she was only a few dozen metres away and then flung a dagger right at Ryan\'s forehead.

While Ryan blocked the sudden attack, his defenses were wide open.

Bang!

The arrogant noble from Atlas University looked down in disbelief at the gaping wound in the middle of his chest.

Qiana had pulled a blaster pistol out of her robe and fired off a quick shot.

A qi tide cultivator should be able to shrug off such an attack, but she had waited for the perfect moment.

The poison in Ryan\'s body was a qi blocker.

His body may be stronger than an ordinary person but Qiana had taken away his ability to enhance it even further.

Her legs trembled slightly but she forced herself to remain standing. Ryan took a single step forward and an expression of shock mixed with anger flashed across his face.

He opened his mouth to say something but his eyes slowly closed and he collapsed lifeless on the ground.

[Winner- Qiana Abazin!]

Qiana raised up her right arm and could hear loud cheers echoing through the arena. Several mages approached the battlefield and two of them approached her.

One of the mages walked towards the severed arm on the ground while the older one stretched out her hand and chanted a few words.

"Sana haec puella," the mage whispered calmly. A stream of green light burst out of her fingertips and flowed into Qiana\'s body.

In the corner of her eye, Qiana could see the group of mages standing around Ryan\'s corpse activate the time reversal runes that had been carved into the arena\'s ground.