He looked past Asta, his glowing eyes tracking toward the exits where hundreds of people were still streaming out."Like, say... killing everyone who's trying to leave the arena?"His tone was thoughtful. Curious. Like he was genuinely considering it as an option.Asta felt ice flood his veins. "You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't…"Ragnar laughed again,shorter this time, sharper, almost a bark."That REALLY means you don't know me, boy."He raised one hand, palm facing up.Green flames erupted in his palm,not gradually, but all at once, exploding into existence.The flames swirled and condensed, forming a perfect sphere that pulsed with barely-contained power.The heat radiating from it was intense even from fifteen feet away. Asta could feel it on his face, making his eyes water."When I tell you I will do something." Ragnar said, his voice calm and matter-of-fact."I WILL do it. I don't make threats. I make promises."He looked at the green flame sphere, then back at Asta.His smi

"See how these wires connect? There's a primary circuit and several secondary circuits. The secondary circuits are failsafes,if you disrupt the primary without disabling them first, they trigger the detonation automatically."Flora leaned in closer, watching carefully."So you have to disable all the secondary circuits before touching the primary one?""Exactly. And you have to do it in the exact right order, or the failsafes cascade and trigger anyway."Yuki's hand moved to a small wire on the left side,thin, almost hair-like."This one first. It's connected to a proximity sensor. If I disable this, the bomb won't detect when we open the door wider."Her fingers began to glow with gentle flame,just barely there, the heat precisely controlled to melt through the wire's insulation without triggering the explosive material.The wire separated cleanly with a tiny snick."Next, this one here. Timer circuit. It's already counting down,we probably have less than ten minutes left,but if we d

The name echoed across the arena.The Emperor Dragon's expression flickered,just for the briefest moment, the tiniest flash of something that might have been old pain crossed his features.Then it was gone, replaced by that same stony seriousness."That isn't my name anymore."His voice was quiet but carried absolute, unquestionable authority."I am known as the Emperor Dragon now."He paused, making sure Ragnar heard every word."YOUR Emperor Dragon."Ragnar stared at him.Just... stared.Then he started laughing.Not the dark, menacing laugh from before. This was genuine, mocking laughter that came from deep in his chest."YOU?!"He doubled over slightly, hands on his knees, shoulders shaking with laughter."MY Emperor Dragon?! YOU?!"He straightened up, wiping at his eyes like the whole thing was the funniest joke he'd ever heard."Oh that's GOOD! That's REALLY good! Don't make me LAUGH!"But he WAS laughing, almost hysterically now."You want ME to acknowledge YOU as MY Emperor?!"

He drew them both in one smooth, practiced motion, holding one in each hand.Then he settled into a stance that was completely different from anything Asta had ever used.Lower. More grounded. Weight distributed perfectly. Blades held at precise angles,left blade horizontal at shoulder height, right blade angled down at forty-five degrees.This wasn't a stance learned in months or years of training.This was a stance refined over CENTURIES of combat. Tested in a thousand battles. Perfected through experience that spanned ages.Across the ring, Ragnar spun his glaive again, grinning like a madman."Ready, little brother?"The Emperor Dragon's response was quiet. Calm. Certain."Always."……………Meanwhile, at Asta's bench, things were not going well.Matthias and Brick were both on their feet, but their bodies were trembling,fine, involuntary tremors running through every muscle.Matthias's voice came out shaky, barely above a whisper."I haven't... I've never felt this kind of flame aura

Jabber stood frozen on the observation deck, his body trembling uncontrollably.Every muscle was locked tight. His hands were shaking so badly he had to clench them into fists just to stop them from spasming.‘’Are you sure?’’His mental voice came out shaky, uncertain, barely holding together.‘’Like... are you SURE we should run? Right now? In the middle of all this?’’‘"YES!"’Loki's response exploded through his consciousness with such force that Jabber actually flinched.‘’"Right NOW! This very SECOND! We need to get OUT of here before we get spotted by…’’’He stopped in mid-sentence.The sudden silence in Jabber's mind was somehow worse than the panic had been. Like the moment before lightning strikes when all the birds stop singing.Jabber's breath caught in his throat.‘’What?’’His mental voice was barely a whisper.‘’What happened? Why did you stop? Loki? LOKI? What's going on?!’’’The silence stretched.One second. Two. Three.Then Loki's voice came back, and it was differe