The next instant, their gazes locked with renewed ferocity, sky-blue eyes burning into golden ones, as both of them recovered at nearly the same time. Aura Nova had healed only her surface injuries; she dared not repair the damage to her essence yet, unwilling to further drain her already precarious mana reserves. Kingsley, meanwhile, had recovered just enough stamina to move freely once more.

With that, the fragile tactical impasse shattered into nothingness. Both of them transitioned simultaneously into motion, each preparing to unleash whatever technique or ability they intended to use as their final trump card. The air itself seemed to tense in anticipation, as though reality understood that the battle was about to reach its decisive moment.

But before Aura Nova could finish issuing her command or fully gathering her mana, Kingsley acted first.

He needed no mana. He required no preparation. Thus, he needed not even a fraction of a second.

[Universal Technique: Ultimate Type: Concept Erasure]

Kingsley had reached a realm where he could now erase a Concept itself, though only a minor one.

The instant the technique was deployed, Aura Nova froze. Her hand halted mid-motion. Her body locked in place. Her thoughts stilled. Her will paused. The mana that was a mere heartbeat away from erupting suddenly stopped, reversing its flow and returning quietly to her mana core as though it had never been summoned.

'What am I doing?' Aura Nova wondered suddenly. 'Why am I even fighting?' Her thoughts echoed strangely within her own mind, unnaturally calm, unnaturally gentle. 'I should be back home with Uncle Rain, training and getting stronger,' she thought. 'I shouldn't be fighting and beating up other people. I should be gentle… calm.'

Her arm rose slowly, almost dreamlike, sky-blue eyes staring at them blankly. Then her gaze shifted toward Kingsley, who stood opposite her without a word, watching intently.

'I wonder why I was even fighting him,' she mused to herself. 'It seems I still can't suppress my battle hunger well enough… sigh. All those battles from the moment I awakened really did make me a lover of combat. I hope Uncle Rain doesn't complain.' At that moment, the usual battle smile that often adorned Aura Nova's face was gone. Her battle spirit, her love for combat, her hunger for conflict, vanished completely, as though it had never existed.

This was Kingsley's ultimate move.

Concept Erasure erased a minor Concept, the Concept of Fighting itself. When wielded by Kingsley, it allowed him to erase his enemy's fighting spirit and everything related to combat, forcing them to abandon all resistance entirely.

That was exactly what he had done to Aura Nova.

The Concept of Fighting had been erased, her battle intent disappeared.

Kingsley had created this technique for foes like Anthony, and for monsters such as the Executioner. If he could not win through sheer combat power alone, he would find another path. This was that path. The plan was simple: erase their will to fight, then kill them.

But Aura Nova was different. He had no intention of killing her. She was not an enemy that required such an end.

'I should give up… it isn't worth it,' Aura Nova thought quietly. Her eyes drifted upward toward the sky as she prepared to announce her surrender.

Then her body froze mid-motion.

Her Omniedit ability activated on its own.

'What am I doing?' she asked herself in confusion. The next instant, something shattered deep within her, as though a veil had been torn away violently.

This was not the first time her Omniedit had activated autonomously. It often did so during extreme situations, especially whenever she destroyed her own mana core during training. And now, it had activated again.

Clarity flashed through Aura Nova's eyes. 'An illusion?' she thought instinctively. 'No… I would have known.'

Kingsley noticed the sudden shift in her demeanor immediately. His eyes narrowed as realization struck him like a blade.

She had overcome his Concept Erasure somehow.

His greatest mistake revealed itself in that instant; he had not killed her when he had the chance.

His knees bent, muscles coiling tightly as power surged through his frame. With a thunderous boom, he launched himself toward Aura Nova, intent on ending her where she stood. But his speed was no longer absolute, his stamina was not infinite, and the limits of his body now made themselves known.

Aura Nova saw him approaching, and without even a shred of hesitation, her lips parted.

Omniedit: Command: Root Access Mode

The moment the command was spoken, existence paused. The galaxy halted. Everything within the Acarnis Galaxy froze. Suns ceased their flaring. Stars stopped shining. Planets halted their orbits mid-motion, as though time itself had been forcibly arrested. It felt as though something impossible, something forbidden, had descended upon reality.

Then, in the very next second, everything snapped back into motion.

An overwhelming surge of unknown energy erupted between Aura Nova and Kingsley. The force slammed into Kingsley point-blank, leaving him no chance to dodge. His body was torn backward like a kite caught in a violent storm, crashing through trees and terrain as he was hurled away.

Aura Nova rose slowly into the sky.

Her expression went distant, trance-like. An incomprehensible amount of mana flooded into her body, followed by an unfamiliar energy pouring directly into her mind. Another force wrapped around her form like a cocoon, sealing her within layers of radiant power.

Then the cocoon shattered fragments of light scattered like vanishing motes across the air.

There she floated.

Aura Nova's hair now bore every color in existence, each strand shimmering and humming with impossible hues. Her body became ethereal in every sense of the word, glowing with pure white intensity. Her eyes remained sky-blue, but they burned brighter than ever before.

Aura Nova had never felt... more alive... more herself.

She had never once used Root Access Mode before, because she had never needed to. But now, because of Kingsley, she had been forced to. She could not afford to take risks, not against a man who could erase Concepts.

Her gaze shifted toward Kingsley, who had already recovered and stood battle-ready once more.

But it was futile, in this state, Aura Nova felt omnipotent.

"Kneel."

The word left her lips without authority, without pressure. It was spoken plainly, casually, yet at that moment, her words were law, and law itself obeyed her voice.

Kingsley felt it instantly.

His knees buckled violently as he was forced to the ground, crashing to his knees. His eyes widened in shock, disbelief flooding his expression.

Aura Nova was not finished.

"You shall be stripped of all abilities."

It was not a question. Not a suggestion. Not an opinion.

It simply was.

And in that instant, Kingsley felt everything disappear.

His techniques. His abilities. His Concepts. His power.

All of it vanished. He felt hollow, emptied, yet he could do nothing but endure.

"State your loss."

Aura Nova's voice came again, calm and fair, as she gazed down upon him from above, as though she herself had created the galaxy in which Kingsley existed.

Kingsley's head snapped upward. He tried to move, to activate something, anything, but Aura Nova had already stripped him of every possibility.

"I forfeit," Kingsley said at last.

His voice echoed through the separate plane. And with that, silence descended upon everything.

Aura Nova had won.

Kingsley Sky had lost.

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