Galaxy's First Ruler

This sword was even longer than twice that of Enok's height.

The sword's color was ocean blue, and its edge was like foaming waves. Despite its overwhelming size, Enok masterfully carried it as he jumped into the air. The High Heavy Sword Proficiency wasn't just for show.

Aldrich felt the air getting heavy around him as Enok hurled the entire sword at him.

"All Proficient…"

BANG!

Neither the heavy sword nor the Ancient Relic was exactly a metal, but as they struck each other sparks flew out everywhere. From the very first strike, the shockwaves were strong enough to crush the debris lying on the stage.

Aldrich's knee buckled as he felt the enormous weight of the sword. But soon he realized this pressure wasn't just because of the sword. The stage under his feet turned to ice. But instead of reflection, Aldrich saw hundreds of towering waves. The smell and sound of an ocean took over his senses, and Aldrich felt something clouding his Perception.

Hovering in the air from the impact, Enok, back to back, shouted out.

"ICE DIMENSION!…

OCEAN MIGHT!…

SEVEN SEAS REMEMBRANCE: FIRST SEA - NORTH ATLANTIC!!!"

Aldrich's eyes lit up with an emerald color as he tried to find out a Flaw among Enok's continuously increasing Ocean's Might. His gaze landed on Enok's left shoulder and before Aldrich's knee could hit the Icy layer on the stage, he let go of the pole in his hands.

All Proficient could only grant Aldrich one Beginner level Proficiency at a time. And once changed, it would go into cooldown. So Aldrich had to make sure that he chose a proficiency relevant to his plan for this fight. And it certainly wasn't to show his Bo-staff handling Skill.

Caught off-guard by Aldrich's sudden letting go of his weapon, Enok, along with the sword, stumbled towards the stage. The emerald in Aldrich's eyes intensified as cold and shivering words came out of his mouth.

"Traditional ITF Taekwondo: HUNDRED COBRA STRIKES!!!"

From the unreachable inferior position, the tip of Aldrich's foot reached into Enok's armpit. There wasn't much difference between Aldrich's and Enok's raw strength, and thus, this kick shouldn't have breached Enok's defenses.

But…

Cr-err-rack!

The sound was so grating that even many counts gritted their teeth and squinted their eyes. Enok's left shoulder got dislocated, and the heavy sword fell on stage along with the Pillar of Footprints. Enok was still in the air, and though the tip of his sword was on the floor, he was still holding its hilt by one hand.

Alas, this was only the first of many strikes.

Enok's black eyes horrifyingly stared at the intensifying emerald color coming out of Aldrich's mask. And one more kick, like a black cobra's lunge, landed at the same spot.

Whack!

And again…

Whack! Whack!

And again and again….

Whack-whack-whack….

From an outsider's perspective, Enok's left shoulder seemed like a badly mangled jelly. But Aldrich didn't show any sign of stopping, and he kept kicking the same spot.

"ENOK!… GET OUT!!!"

Vivi's broken shout reverberated throughout the Great Hall. As if coming out of a terrible dream, Enok finally let go of the sword. As the heavy sword completely fell on the stage, it melted into the ice. Aldrich was about to rip Enok's hand off his body with the next kick, when an enormous icicle protruded out, aimed at his back.

Aldrich dashed left, avoiding the icicle, letting Enok finally breathe a lungful of cool air. Enok's entire face was distorted from unbearable pain. The Ocean Might Skill was still effective, pressing Aldrich to kneel, but the Ice Dimension seemed to reach its limit. As Aldrich and Enok reached the two farthest ends of the stage, they could see countless cracks on the icy layer under their feet.

The Pillar of Footprints hurled itself towards Aldrich. The way he used it to stand up made others think Aldrich could only do so by using the pole Item in his hands. Aldrich could feel questions arising in many hearts about the Rank of this pole Item, and he secretly nodded to himself.

Huff! Huff!

Both Dreamers struggled to catch their breath after just exchanging their moves one time. Things should have ended here, but even the two Marquesses seemed lost in the fight's thrill.

CRACK!!!! CRACKKKKKKK!

Out of nowhere, thunderous sounds of a dozen bolts of lightning overtook the brief silence. Aldrich noticed the twisted smile on Enok's face, and he slowly looked down. Through the cracked ice, Aldrich could see a dense black storm brewing over the Atlantic Ocean. Purple and white lightning cracked upwards as if in the next moment they would leave the Ice Dimension and come out.

The ocean water churned as the entire storm transformed into an enormous fist. And like a bullet, accompanied by hundreds of bolts of lightning, it extended towards Aldrich. But what came out of Ice Dimension wasn't some illusory fist. Like an apparition, Enok had appeared in front of Aldrich.

Water-Thunder-Cloud Stepping Technique!!!

With a menacing look on his face, Enok's fist landed squarely on Aldrich's chest and he shouted out.

"Water-Driven Martial Art: ATLANTIC HURRICANE PUNCH!!!"

BOOM!!!

There was no avoiding this punch. There was no defense against this punch. This punch was ethereal and this punch also had substance. All heads moved up, following Aldrich's rising body towards the high roof of Great Hall.

Cough! cough!!

At the highest point of his momentary flight, Aldrich forced out blood from his mouth as his chest caved in.

"I… HATE YOU!!! Summon…"

Enok cried out bloody murder, standing directly under Aldrich, and a tremendous burst of Mana came out of Enok's body.

"… Lord of North Atlantic: GREAT WHITE DEMON!"

Rahhh! Splash!!!

A Great White Shark, bigger than an entire world, peeked out of the Atlantic Ocean within the Ice Dimension. Marquess Harold narrowed his eyes, but there was no stopping this fight. An illusory image of a smaller but still incomprehensibly large great white shark appeared on stage.

Aldrich's motionless body fell, and simultaneously, the shark swam upwards with its jaws wide open. All Dreamers stupendously watched as the shark gulped Aldrich down in one bite.

SPLASH!

Cr-ackkkk!!!

The illusory shark went back into the Ice Dimension, and the Great White Demon disappeared into the depths of the ocean. The Ice-Dimension finally couldn't hold longer and burst apart, making the ocean within vanish, too.

…

Tapp

Everything and everyone was silent as Enok's left hand fell out of his sleeve. Earl Drago, like a lifeless being, stood up and took a step towards the stage. But Trifon appeared beside him and held Drago down. The Ancient Oracle furrowed her brows as if brooding over something.

On the other side, Amalia's face became so grave that for a moment even Harold felt estranged from his daughter. Tyra, the most silent of all, now had her mouth slightly opened and was standing on her feet in shock.

HAHAHA!!!

The silence got broken by none other than the sole Dreamer on the stage. Enok lifted his left hand off the stage and maddeningly laughed. He hurled the ripped arm over his head like a trophy. 

And when all were finally accepting the reality of Aldrich's death, this happened to them.

Justice…

They wanted Justice.

Their heart itched for Justice. Their minds cried for Justice.

The two Marquesses jumped off their seats and looked around as their thoughts got ruled by Justice.

A voice, crossing all dimensions and spaces, echoed in the Great Hall.

"Let this world witness Justice…

… Ancient Relic Secret Technique: BUDDHA BULL SUBLIMATION!!!"