The fighting began almost instantaneously.
Nox and denizen experts crowded the hall in a way where neither could make a premature move, and all eyes were focused on the four pairs of geniuses currently in combat.
The central area of the atrium had been expanded by formations into a true arena floor that gave these geniuses space to fight.
Ruyue fought against the one named Luxiya.
Her spear was drawn from the beginning, as the fluctuations of the enemy's weapon were extremely terrifying.
The two women faced each other in melee combat first. Ruyue's spear clashed against Luxiya's staff with immense force. Shockwaves spread from the impact, cracking the ground around them and putting heavy pressure on their wrists.
'Strong!' Ruyue exclaimed inwardly as her eyes hardened.
The Nox truly weren't to be underestimated. This Luxiya's physical strength was already so domineering, her mana couldn't be weak either.
But either way, Ruyue wouldn't be the first to fold!
The only mana she used was infused into her body and weapon like the path of a true body practitioner, and though she couldn't use the Moon Goddess Spear Arts without Yin Mana, she wasn't dull!
Ruyue derived a fighting technique out of her main spear technique a long time ago for situations where her Yin Mana would be detrimental to her, and now was a perfect time to test its worth!
'Horizontal Flow.'
Ruyue's spear cleaved parallel to the ground with a relatively slow speed but extreme power behind it.
"Hmph!" Luxiya snorted condescendingly as she released mana into her staff and slammed it into the ground in Ruyue's spear path.
However, at that moment, a change took place.
Swoosh!
Ruyue's spear suddenly sped up and twisted like a snake, impossibly maneuvering around Luxiya's defense and piercing towards her stomach!
Bang!
The spear made contact with a mana barrier, but Luxiya was pushed back several hundred meters with blood flying from her mouth.
Ruyue smirked to herself and launched forward, chasing the enemy.
"Since I took first blood, I'll fight my way."
As she spoke, her mana flared and the temperature dropped staggeringly. The ground was coated in a thin layer of ice that solidified every time Ruyue's feet touched it.
The icy atmosphere spread with Ruyue until she reached Luxiya, raising her spear with killing intent in her eyes.
'Moon Goddess Spear Arts: Cleave.'
SHING!
It was a beautiful strike. The spear moved so exquisitely, yet with such indiscernible speed, that it was like a lens flare in the eyes of those watching.
The spear cleaved as Ruyue commanded, following the principles of Yin she'd only regained contact with.
Swift, flexible, and unavoidable!
These were the thoughts that flew through Luxiya's mind as she watched the blade near her. With no other choice, she exploded with power and shoved walls of inky black mana into its path.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Each wall was torn down as fast as it was put up, but it seemed pointless for them to exist at all.
For while her spear continued forward on its path, Ruyue concealed herself and snuck behind Luxiya, raising her finger to the back of the woman's head.
"Obliterate."
There was no sound. A small black light shone on Ruyue's fingertip for a single second before disappearing into Luxiya's skull.
In the next instant…
"W-wha—"
Halfway through expressing her shock, Luxiya's mouth dispersed into a cloud of ashes.
As the Nox woman's eyes twisted in terror, Ruyue smiled.
"Foolish."
With one last word, she sent a final strike into her opponent's remains, exterminating any life remaining in the blob of ink Luxiya had become.
It was an incredibly short fight, a show of Ruyue's improvement since coming to the Divine Realm, and her sisters were not willing to be outdone either.
***
While Ruyue was fighting Luxiya, Elena set her sights on the other woman of the group, Haryda.
And frankly, she was almost pitying her opponent.
Since achieving Transcended Death and becoming accustomed to its properties, Elena had truly become the bane of all things related to Death.
And the Nox…wasn't the Nox's mana based on the concepts of death?
As soon as she pulled out her newly comprehended concept, the battle was already her victory.
The Nox named Haryda wasn't bad by any means. She used a bow as her main weapon and her mana contained a strange property that made her attacks absolutely accurate, but what did this accuracy matter?
Every time an arrow came near her, Elena covered her hands in Life Mana and snatched it out of the air.
Her mana corrupted the arrow into one of Transcended Death, and she sent it back with twice the fury she'd received.
Haryda was forced into a situation where she couldn't use her main weapon. She put the bow away and moved in for melee combat, but there wasn't a worse decision she could've possibly made.
Elena's specialty was always fighting close quarters, face to face. As soon as Haryda was in her range, she was subjected to a torment of a thousand blades and an absolute suppression caused by the domain of Life Mana that surrounded Elena!
The battle ended just a little after Ruyue's, mainly because Haryda was much stronger than Luxiya, but neither Nox women had pleasant deaths.
In fact, Luxiya might have had it easier since she felt no pain.
Haryda, on the other hand, was corroded by Life Mana until she finally couldn't take it anymore, an ironic and excruciating way to die.
Truly, Elena held the appearance of a grand Valkyrie vanquishing evil!
***
And finally, the quickest among the three.
Rose's opponent was the man named Palak. While he didn't make any obvious remarks, the look in his eyes was filled with perversion.
It was a cruel perversion, like he was imagining the scene of Rose being cut up and brutally tortured and getting excited for it.
With Rose's perception, sensing this delusion was as easy as reading Damien.
The ability to turn fantasy into reality, to make illusions so true that they couldn't be distinguished from reality, or rather, constituted a reality of their own.
This was the path Rose was pursuing, and her attainments weren't small at all.
Papal found himself in a white room, his body returned to mortality.
And with him not able to make a single move, he was strapped to a chair and brutally tortured until he was finally burned alive and killed.
How could he have known that it was all an illusion?
All Rose did was place him under her control, walk up to his unmoving body, and sever his head, but the pain he felt was so vibrant that even in that final moment when the illusion dispersed, he couldn't recognize reality.
Rose's victory wasn't just convoluted, it was a shocking display to all present.
Rose became a name on people's watchlists, enemies and allies alike.
Nevertheless, the three battles fought by Human Domain geniuses were proudly won as people had come to expect from the Human Domain.
The Nox was brought down three pegs in just a few instants, and the expression on the Saint King's face was priceless!
The prospects of these battles suddenly shifted for the better, however…
