After hearing Nero's statements, a murmur started to spread through the audience area of the Coliseum.

Abyssal Creatures were popular in stories among those who had entered Elysium, because they sometimes appeared as World Bosses that wander around the world.

Although many people knew they existed, not everyone had the chance to encounter these diabolical monsters. The experience points gained in fighting them was quite abysmal, even if you were to fight against an Argonaut or Dreadnaught Rank Abyssal Monster.

The only true prize in defeating one were their Beast Cores, which contained Abyssal Skills, which were far from common in the world of Elysium.

However, today, two teenagers possessing the Powers of the Abyss were facing each other in the Semifinals of the Lionheart Tournament. For an ordinary person, they wouldn't think too much about it.

But, to those in the know, the significance of this discovery allowed them to take a second glance at the mysterious chubby teenager, whose background had eluded all the information guilds, merchant guilds, as well as the other people that specialized in information gathering.

Any person who possesses an Abyssal Skill wasn't an ordinary person.

They were someone who had faced the Abyss and survived to tell the tale.

"Grandma" Iris glanced at her grandmother, and the latter only nodded her head to confirm Nero's words in the arena.

"He met the Abyssal Beast while protecting a city from a Beast Tide," Vera said softly. "If I'm not mistaken, it was an Argonaut-Ranked Abyssal Beast, and the one who defeated it wasn't Lux, but a High-Ranker in the Dwarven Kingdom of Gweliven.

"I guess the High-Ranker gave the Beast Core to Lux, and allowed him to wield the power of the Abyss. As for what his reason was for doing so, we can ask your brother when the tournament is over."

Iris nodded her head in understanding. She understood that this wasn't the right time to ask her step-brother this question, so she one again shifted her attention to the chubby teenager, whose aura had suddenly changed after activating the power he had kept a secret in his previous matches.

Nero took a deep breath before the armor he had equipped on his body disappeared. A few seconds later, it was replaced by a pure black armor that made Lux arch an eyebrow.

'An armor made from an Abyss Monster's body part,' Lux thought as he appraised Nero's new armor with a critical gaze. 'Does it have Abyssal properties as well?'

Very few blacksmiths were able to work with the body parts of Abyssal Monsters. Lux's Master, Randolph, was someone who didn't have the ability to forge equipment from these monsters. But, within Wildgarde Stronghold, there was one person who could.

'It must be Sir Rainer who forged Nero's armor,' Lux thought.

Rainer was a Grand Master Blacksmith who was rumored to be only a step away from becoming a Zen Master Blacksmith. Lux knew that Rainer was Nero's Master, so it was only normal for the Guardian of Wildgarde Stronghold to forge an armor for his Disciple.

This was similar to how Lux's armors were crafted by his own Master, Randolph, who had made it in accordance with his needs.

Rainer, who was watching the battle from the audience area, sighed after seeing the black armor that was covering his Disciple's body.

'So your hand is forced,' Rainer thought. 'It doesn't matter. Now that the Abyss Armor has made its appearance, this battle is as good as over.'

At least, that was what Rainer, and Nero, thought at that time.

"I apologize, but I can't afford to lose this match," Nero said as he summoned two black swords in his hand. "There is something that I wish to achieve, and I will use everything in my power to grasp it in my hands."

Lux smirked as he looked at his opponent.

"There is nothing to apologize for," Lux replied. "I also have a wish as well, and for that to become a reality, I must defeat you here."

"Good." Nero smiled before the visor on his helmet closed. "May the best man win."

The two both took a fighting stance, while the audience waited with bated breath on what would happen next.

"Go win, My Daddy!"

Cai, who was looking at the battle from the contestant's platform, shouted.

"Bring home the bacon!" Cai shouted. "Pork chop is fine too!"

Just as soon as the chatty boar finished its shout, Lux and Nero charged at each other at the same time.

Lux's Dragon Claws, grabbed hold of the two black swords that had descended upon him with a vengeance, creating sparks of black lightning that shouted out wildly around them, destroying the ground where it landed.

"Lightning Descent!" Nero shouted and a black lightning bolt descended upon him causing his entire armor to crackle with the power of lightning.

Lux, who was holding onto Nero's swords, felt a stinging pain on his body as tendrils of black lightning that were coming from Nero's armor attacked him.

"Spinning Blades!" Lux roared as razor sharp blades circled around him, hitting Nero's armor, sending sparks flying in every direction.

All of Lux's attacks were imbued with the power of the Abyss Touch, while Nero's attacks were powered by Abyss Lightning.

Both of them were losing Health Points at a rapid pace because neither of them was backing down. It was as if they had set an unwritten rule that whoever stepped back from this head-on confrontation would be the loser of this match.

Nero shouted as he kneed Lux's stomach because both of his hands were occupied, dealing lightning damage to his opponent.

Lux didn't stand idly and counter attacked with his own knee as well.

Nero's armor allowed him to resist the power of Abyssal attacks by a huge percentage, which was the reason why he and Rainer had the confidence to think that he would be able to triumph over Lux in this head-on battle.

However, what they didn't know was that Lux's Abyssal Skill wasn't an ordinary abyssal skill.

It was an Abyssal Skill that had evolved, which made it more powerful than its counterparts.

-

< Abyss Touch [EX] >

The touch of the Abyss ignores all kinds of defenses whether it be physical or magical.

Any attack you deal to your foes will deal True Damage, regardless if it is physical, or magical in nature.

This ability allows you to deal 200% Bonus True Damage against Abyssal Creatures of any Rank.

This skill has a very small chance to inflict Abyss Charm on any monster (including Abyssal monsters) that is similar to your Rank or Below. The condition that must be met in order to trigger this skill is that your target must have less than 10% of its Max Health remaining.

Charmed creatures will obey your every command for thirty minutes, regardless of what it is. Once the Charm effect's duration has ended, you will be unable to charm that creature again.

This skill has a very small chance to inflict Fear Status on your opponent.

This skill has a very small chance to inflict Paralyze Status on your opponent.

This skill has a very small chance to inflict Diseased Status on your opponent.

This skill has a very small chance to inflict Weakened Status on your opponent.

-

On Lux's eighth blow on Nero's body, the Weakened Status took effect.

This effect decreased all resistances, as well as all defenses of the inflicted target by 50%.

After Nero's resistance had decreased by Half, the other status effects that had a small chance to activate, suddenly activated, hindering the brown-haired teenager's continuous blows.

With a shout, Lux gave his opponent a headbutt, inflicting the Disease Status to Nero.

This status effect made Nero feel fatigued, and he found his movements started to turn sluggish.

Seeing that his opponent's strength had waned by a good margin, Lux pried the black swords out of Nero's hands and tossed them away.

After that, he gave the brown-haired teenager a punch on the face, making the latter take two steps back. However, Nero was someone who had no intention of backing down ,so after getting punched, he immediately counterattacked with a Thunder Punch, making Lux take three steps back in return.

A moment later, the two continued to exchange blows with each other. Neither of them dodged each other's attack. They either blocked, deflected, or got hit by the blows that they unleashed against each other.

Nero's Black Lightning was similar to Abyssal Touch in a sense that it ignored all defenses and dealt half of its original damage to its target. Despite the damage only being half, this was compensated by the lightning's quick and swift attacks, causing its target to be stunned for a second, or two, allowing another attack to hit its mark.

Lux's attack, on the other hand, was infused by the Abyssal Touch, which dealt not only crippling status effects, but also dealt increased damage to Abyssal Creatures of any rank.

Since Nero was wearing an Abyssal Armor, the skill treated the brown-haired teenager as an Abyssal Monster, therefore nullifying the resistance it had against Abyssal based attacks.

All of Lux's blows dealt the same damage as when Nero wasn't wearing any armor, making the latter stagger with every punch and kick that landed on his body.

Lux wasn't faring well either since Nero's attacks were quite fast, and the black lightning would render him numb from time to time.

Suddenly, Nero held Lux in a bear hug as the lightning in his armor intensified, electrocuting the Half-Elf, making him scream in pain.

"Lightning Annihilation!"

Iris, who was watching the scene, covered her lips with a hand because he could feel the genuine pain from Lux's scream that reverberated inside the Coliseum.

Half a minute later, Lux gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and wrapped his arms around his opponent, holding him in a vice grip.

"Have it your way!" Lux roared as he opened his mouth wide. Since it had come to this, he also decided to go all out and throw caution to the wind.

Two clones appeared beside Lux, and both of them held onto Nero's body on his left and right side, making it impossible for the latter to escape.

Magical energy then started to gather inside their mouths as they prepared to unleash their strongest attack at point blank range, no longer caring about the consequences that would happen afterward.

Alexander stood up from his seat of honor as his gaze locked on to the two individuals that were hell-bent on winning this match at all cost.

"""Dragon's Breath!"""

A loud explosion shook the entire arena, making the barriers around it break one by one. Lux's attack was something that ignored defenses, which also included the barriers that were protecting the audiences from any stray spells and attacks coming from the two combatants.

"Brace!"

The Sorcerer, who was also the leader of the Mages in the arena shouted.

"Don't let the attack reach the civilians!" the Sorcerer ordered. "All hands, reinforce the barrier!"

Bruno and Judge Dredd were a step faster and focused on reinforcing the last barrier that also served as the last line of defense against stray attacks.

Due to the unexpected effect of Lux's ability, the first four barriers broke easily, while the last barrier showed several cracks on its surface.

However, with all the magicians, as well as other High-Rankers who specialized in creating barriers, the worst case scenario was avoided.

A moment later, everyone tensely looked at the dust-filled arena, waiting for the dust to clear up. They wanted to know the aftermath of the two teenagers' desperate attacks and see who among them triumphed over the other.

As the dust cloud slowly dispersed, they saw the silhouette of a person who was lying down at the center of the destroyed arena.

His armor was in tatters, and blood flowed from almost every part of his body, including his nose, ears, and mouth.

Those who saw him all sucked in deep breaths because the aftermath was more severe than they had expected.

A loud scream of horror and pain came from one of the VIP rooms in the Coliseum, which broke everyone out of their daze.

The Clerics who were stationed outside of the arena immediately rushed towards the young man, who seemed to have stopped breathing, whose body lay in the center of a smoldering, hundred-meter-wide crater.

The mask he wore slid down the side of his face, as the power that kept it in place disappeared without a trace.