The eight that had secured their spots in the top ten were relaxed, knowing that all they would fight now would be bonus prizes. Their main objective had been accomplished, so they could have an easy mind.

Inversely, the other eight were tense. There were only two remaining slots, and any other loss would inevitably mean failure. No one was willing to fall after getting this close to the promotion, after getting this close to change their lives.

"We will now draw the lots for the first phase of the third round!" Richard Layn's voice echoed through h.e.l.l's Keeper Arena, making the crowd cheer and the Arena tremble. Naturally, the losers would fight first. It would be a warm-up for the real event of the day, when the ranks of the top eight would be decided.

Amon slowly got up and dusted his black clothes. Then, he strapped Windhowler to his back as he made his way to the golden gate, and a line started forming behind his back. To his surprise, Erin was also in it, stand a few spots behind Amon.

"So he lost his match too…" Amon realized as he started to get excited. He really wanted to face Erin in a fight. He wanted to take Erin down with his new strength.

He wanted to prove to himself that he was strong, that Old Grandpa was long gone. Amon wanted to prove to himself that his weakness died with the Direwolf in the Scavenging.

He took a deep breath. He was two fights away from the Inner Sect. He clenched his fist tightly. Two more fights and he would change his and his mother's life. Amon didn't realize this, but his fists were trembling slightly. He was getting nervous.

"Calm down." Lya's gentle voice echoed in his head. "Remember, your emotions will power your strikes, nothing more. Don't let yourself be overwhelmed by them."

Amon gave a discrete nod as he walked through the golden gates leading to the platforms. The table with the golden box was in the same place, but today there were only two platforms in the Arena.

Amon gave a polite nod to the Third Elder and the women waiting by the box. Richard gestured him to move on, and Amon walked to the s.h.i.+ny box, feeling incredibly excited.

The golden light reflected in his eyes, making them s.h.i.+ne like the sun as he extended his fingers to the box. The box flashed as his fingers touched its ice-cold walls and a gigantic number 1 appeared above it.

Amon smiled as he immediately jumped to one of the platforms, not bothering with the seats by the table at all. He sat with his legs crossed as he observed the other seven compet.i.tors drawing lots.

Number 3…

Number 4…

One by one, the pairing were being decided, until it was Erin's turn. Amon didn't know why, but he was sure what number Erin would pick. Erin seemed to feel it too, as he turned his head to look at Amon with cold eyes.

Amon's expression was serious as he stood up and Erin touched the box. The light flashed over him, making his red clothes seem to be on fire as he firmly held a side of the box. He looked up, gazing coldly at the number 1 floating above the box.

Erin gave a savage smile as he looked at Amon. He didn't jump to the platform, instead he slowly walked to it, using a set of stairs on the side. His smile was wild, but his eyes were incredibly cold.

"By the looks of it, we were both looking forward to this." Erin said in an indifferent voice as he took a white sword from his Bottomless Pouch. Amon spread his divine sense, immediately recognizing it as a middle-grade artifact.

"You have no idea." Amon answered, as he drew Windhowler with a piercing trill. His golden eyes were blazing with excitement, and his blood seemed to be boiling as he looked at Erin. Neither of them moved, they simply stood there, sword in hand, looking at each other.

Thin lines of light spread through Windhowler's blade, like branches of a tree. The sword flashed as a pale layer of light covered it, making Erin narrow his eyes as the coldness in his gaze grew.

"You may begin!" The Third Elder's voice echoed through the h.e.l.l's Keeper Arena, making the crowd cheer even louder.

"Crack! Crack!"

Amon and Erin stomped the floor at the same time, making the tiles crack as they shot forward in a violent collision. Both sword whistled through the air in a deafening sound before hitting each other, making sparks fly in all directions.

Amon raised his right foot and stomped the ground again, forcing himself to stop and not b.u.mp into Erin with the sharp swords between them. Erin also seemed to have thought of this, as he also forcefully stopped his advance.

Amon's arms were numb due to the impact, but he was feeling more and more excited. Both sword started trembling and creating sparks as Amon and Erin tried to force the other one back, measuring strengths.

Erin's brows started furrowing as his sword was slowly pushed back, coming closer and closer to his chest. Amon's eyes looked like molten gold as his face also slowly approached Erin.

With a sneer, Erin took a step back, but Amon followed suit, keeping their distance the same. Their swords were still locked, and their arms were trembling due to the strength both were using.

Erin didn't want to admit it, but he was weaker than Amon. He wouldn't be able to directly lead the fight if he wanted to win. He would not make the same mistake twice. He would have to avoid a direct contest of strength.

Erin took a deep breath, calming himself. His eyes shone coldly as he broke his stance, raising a knee and hitting Amon in the chest.

Amon felt the air being expelled from his lungs as he was sent tumbling back, giving Erin some s.p.a.ce to retreat and time to think. Erin didn't take his eyes out of Amon as he tried to calm his breath.

It was true that he was physically weaker, but it was also true that Amon was behind him in terms of skills. He might have ama.s.sed a great deal of experience in the past months, but it could not compare to the years Erin spent training bitterly even before Body Tempering.

They both maintained the distance, and started circling around each other. They both had cold looks in their faces as they used the information they acquired in the clash to come up with a plan.

Suddenly, Amon took a step a bit too slow. Like lighting, Erin shot towards him with his sword raised, stabbing at Amon's head. Amon's eyes narrowed as he focused. Erin was attacking, but his balance was perfect and he showed no openings.

Amon raised Windhowler in front of him, and with a flick of his writs, he used the flat side of its blade to deflect Erin's strike to the left. His golden eyes widened as Erin took a small step to his right and twisted his wrist, changing the angle of attack.

His white sword seemed to slide past Amon's guard, piecing the air as it came towards Amon's head yet again. Amon was forced to take a step back to avoid it, but Erin didn't give him s.p.a.ce. Like a storm, he unleashed a series of quick stabs at Amon, forcing him to block in one direction and immediately stabbing at the opening created.

Like Cecilia, Erin's knowledge about a sword-fight and skills far surpa.s.sed Amon. Amon was forced to retread at each of Erin's stabs. Erin looked carefully at Amon's movements, making sure to follow up to them. When Amon extended his right leg to take a step diagonally to the right, Erin moved to not grant him any s.p.a.ce.

Amon's eyes suddenly seemed to s.h.i.+ne. Instead of s.h.i.+fting his weight to his right foot and retreat, he stood his ground and, holding Windhowler with both hands, made it spin clockwise. The blade collided with Erin's sword, sending it to the right and breaking his stance.

Amon jumped forward as made use of the opening and unleashed a slash at Erin's throat. Erin's face paled as he hastily jumped to his left, barely dodging the strike. This time, Amon took the lead as he followed suit and sent a flurry of slashes into Erin's directions.

'Clang! Clang! Clang!'

Sparks flew everywhere as Erin blocked each and every one of the strikes, making the swords vibrate and the steel sing. To Amon's surprise, Erin stood his ground. As Amon was about to unleash a downward slash, Erin smiled. He twisted his body as he locked swords with Amon.

Amon's hair stood on end as Erin's smile grew and he flicked his wrist and forcefully pushed both swords to the left. To Amon's surprise, Erin let his sword go. He closed his hand in a fist and sent it smas.h.i.+ng into Amon's face.

'Crunch.'

Amon was blown away, landing on the floor heavily and sliding through the tiles before he finally managed to stop. He slowly got up, feeling the left side of his face burning in pain. He was certain he had broken something on his face.

He felt a sweet taste in his mouth and he spat on the ground, seeing in horror as blood came out. The insides of his mouth had been torn open, making it bleed. He felt his face throbbing and he was certain that it was starting to swell.

"This was for Amber." Erin said with a chilling voice as he recovered his sword from the ground. "Don't think that it will be over with just that."

Erin looked at Amon. The left side of his face was already turning purple, and his lips were injured, making blood seep down his chin. Seeing Amon like this brought him great satisfaction.

Still, he knew the fight was not over. Amon had been surprisingly skillful. Erin was not completely a.s.sured of his victory, so he had to make sure Amon would get on his own way.

"I will make sure to destroy you today." Erin squinted his eyes as he taunted. "After that I will make sure to pay your mother a visit, maybe teach her a lesson too."

He knew very well of Amon's soft spots. Making him go over the edge would not be a hard thing.

Amon's expression turned blank as he heard those words. The rage and excitement in his eyes dispersed in the air, and they suddenly turned cold. Erin's brows furrowed as he saw that, making him unconformable.

"Are you threatening my mother?" He asked in an uncharacteristically hoa.r.s.e voice.

Erin did not answer. He felt something was wrong. He hurriedly raised his guard as he looked at Amon with apprehension.

Amon's grip on Windhowler tightened and the sword seemed to change. The light covering it started to twist around itself and the sword vibrated madly, making a humming sound echo through the platform.

The layer of light seemed to condense around the sword, forming a sharp edge. Erin felt a chill run down his back, as he looked at Amon dumbstruck.

'CRACK!'

The tiles under Amon's feet flew to the air as the floor cracked and Amon shot forward. Erin's face paled as he hurriedly raised his sword with both hands to block the incoming attack.

'CLANG!'

The swords. .h.i.t each other and the floor beneath Erin started to give in.

Erin was confused as he started to hear a faint cracking sound coming from the blades. He looked with shock at his own sword, as a small chip appeared in its edge, where that sharp Qi was colliding with it.

Erin's hands started trembling due to the effort he was making in holding his ground as he looked at Amon with a blank face. To Erin's surprise, there was no rage in Amon's eyes, no frustration and no fury.

All Erin could see was a chilling coldness that made him s.h.i.+ver.