Chapter 280: Leo Vs Uraan - 2 Chapter 280: Leo Vs Uraan - 2 Uraan had already summoned his falcon, which was ascending rapidly into the sky. Above, the raven relentlessly fired silvery feather projectiles from its wings, each one slicing through the air with a sharp hiss, as if it could sense the danger gathering in the golden-white orb forming in Leo’s hand. Uraan narrowed his eyes, a faint crease forming between his brows. "You have a sun-based attack? What sort of beast—wait..." He paused mid-thought, realization dawning. "We haven’t even seen your beast yet..." he added, his tone tightening. Leo had only fought once so far—and he had done it entirely on his own. Leo moved in swift, circling steps, his boots scraping lightly against the arena floor as he dodged the incoming projectiles. Despite the pressure, the solar energy in his palm continued to condense. The sun hung low in the sky, its light weaker than before, making the gathered energy less potent. So he decided to try something new. His gaze sharpened. The golden-white orb in his palm contracted abruptly, its glow intensifying as it shrank—from the size of a football down to something no larger than a baseball. Dense, blinding, and humming with compressed heat, it radiated a sharp, focused brilliance. He raised his hand and aimed directly at the raven. "Take this!" Leo shouted, releasing the attack. A concentrated ray burst forth—thin and piercing, like a beam of pure light. "Kraaaaa!" The raven screeched, flapping its wings violently as it veered aside to dodge. But Leo’s wrist twisted, his stance shifting smoothly as he swept with the beam mid-flight. The ray shifted with him, chasing the bird—and then struck. The impact was immediate. The raven’s body jerked as the searing light burned into its feathers. A harsh, cracking cry tore from its throat as the solar energy scorched through it. Already vulnerable to the solar element, the damage hit brutally, the smell of singed feathers briefly cutting through the air. By then, the falcon had reached its position high above, wings spread wide as it prepared to dive. At the same time, Uraan drew his sword, wind magic gathering around him in sharp currents as he moved to corner Leo. But just as he stepped forward— "Just this morning, I heard Leon say something interesting..." Leo said calmly, his voice steady despite the chaos. His bloodstained palms tightened around the dagger hilt. "What?" Uraan asked, accelerating, the wind howling faintly around him as he closed the distance. "Birds should stay in the sky—Shyra!" Leo snapped, lunging forward. High above, the falcon had already begun its descent, its body cutting through the air like an arrow. But suddenly— Something was there. Or rather, something wasn’t, yet still existed. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 Shyra’s form never appeared. Yet the falcon reacted instantly—its body jolting as if an unseen force had clamped tightly around its neck. Its wings faltered mid-flight, air scattering unevenly around it as it was dragged downward, struggling against an invisible grip. "Is that the beast our top student has?!" the Host exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. Though far stronger, he could faintly discern Shyra’s outline even within her stealth—but he chose to keep that to himself. The audience, after all, saw nothing. "OHHHH! The beast seems to follow him wholeheartedly. I wonder who the fools were to spread those stupid rumours," the Host added casually, as if he hadn’t been the main culprit. "Fuck you, Host!" "I lost my savings because of your wrong information!" "Once again!" the Host shot back smoothly. "I was only stating the facts known about our secret star. It was you who chose to believe me! And as for those cursing me..." His gaze sharpened as he looked toward a specific section of the crowd. "...you can meet me after the arena closes. I’ll explain it to you nicely." The temperature in that section seemed to drop instantly. One particular individual, who had been shouting nonstop, went pale under that glance. Even while hosting, he was still a 4-star individual—he wouldn’t tolerate nonsense from nobodies. By the time Shyra had dragged the falcon down, Leo had already reached Uraan. His daggers were gone. Only his fists remained. He moved like a blur. Even with wind magic enhancing him, Uraan couldn’t fully react. Leo closed the distance in an instant, his fist driving forward with brutal precision. Thud! The punch landed squarely against Uraan’s chest. "Kyuk!" A choked sound escaped Uraan as the impact sent him flying backward. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his grip loosened, his sword slipping from his hand and clattering across the ground. He hit the arena floor hard, skidding before finally coming to a stop. "Damn..." Leo muttered under his breath, flexing his fingers slightly. "I might have ended the fight if I had used [Critical Strike] just now... no even if I used my full strength... there was no need for [critical strike]" In the beast area, a similar scene to Leon’s match was unfolding—one beast overwhelming two. But unlike Singham, Shyra didn’t rely on raw strength. Her advantage lay in her skills: [Stealth], woven into [Umbral Rift Pounce]. Even the raven’s [Moon Sight] failed. Her ability carried spatial properties, rendering her presence impossible to detect. To the audience, she simply didn’t exist. Then— A violet flash. [Violet Hellbrand] activated. A silent slash carved across the falcon’s body. The next instant, the beast shrieked—its wings faltering as numbness and burning pain spread simultaneously, leaving it unable to fly. The raven fared no better. Leo’s earlier beam had carried Peak 3-star strength. Even with the setting sun, it had struck hard—and against a pseudo 3-star raven already weak to solar energy, the damage had been devastating. It barely held itself together as it faced Shyra. One strike. That was all it took. A clean hit to the neck—and the raven vanished, teleported out of the arena. "Cough—cough! I should just use my ultimate move from the start itself with you guys... You both just don’t give time." Uraan muttered weakly through bloodied mouth, trying to push himself up.