Ayush was astonished that Aaditypal had managed to land a swing on him.

'Ughhh....it hurts...' Ayush kept observing the mangled bloody mess that was his waist.

Alex attentively observed the two.

'To allow 80 damage to befall you in order to deal the opponent a 100 damage,' Alex thought that this was a careless tactic, but it was extremely psychologically demanding and overbearing.

'Go, go, Aadit!' Alex cheered on the prince telepathically.

A smile appeared on Aadityapal's face, and he stood still and waited for his opponent's next movements to sense him.

Ayush clenched the dagger in his hand as blood dripped down the cold blade, and charged at Aadityapal.

*Bam*

In a split second, Aadityapal grasped Ayush's dagger-wielding hand and miraculously halted his movements.

Then, he took his other hand and...

With the inertia from his bodyweight, Aadityapal made Ayush's body ragdoll in a backflip.

The prince's body was on the ground, and just as Prometheus reached his chest, Ayush kicked Aadityapal in the abdomen, launching him into the air.

Ayush's red eyes flashed with hidden worry.

'Why isn't the wound healing?!' Ayush had performed a ritual that involved transfusing Asura's blood into his own body.

One of the promises they made was that he would have exceptionally high regenerative power.

But the wound that the silver longsword caused was still bloody and painful.

Ayush bit his tongue and withstood the pain, and charged back at Aadityapal.

The two continued to tackle and land hits on one another.

The cheers from the audience were louder than ever before at this exciting fight.

Everyone's eyes were glued on the deaf and blind prince and the charismatic dagger-wielding prince.

However, a sudden change took place.

Ayush had discovered Aadityapal's tactic, and instead of charging at the prince, he quietly snuck.

His steps were light and nimble, and it was unlikely the vulnerable prince would sense him.

*Whoosh*

Ayush was right, and his sunlit dagger slashed down at Aadityapal's throat.

'Aadit! Move left!' Alex communicated with the prince telepathically.

This wasn't a competition made for fratricide, yet Ayush swung down his dagger on Aadityapal's neck so easily, and with clear killing intent.

Aadityapal chuckled and moved left, dodging the dagger at the very last moment.

'Just open your eyes and unplug your ears! I'll guide you!' Alex stated.

Aadityapal replied telepathically, 'Master, isn't that cheating?'

'Aadit, he wants to kill you, and if he manages to become Emperor, fratricide won't even be a stain on his record!'

While their telepathic communication was taking place, Ayush had snuck up again to the prince.

This time, however, Aadityapal swiftly opened his eyes, revealing his determined brown irises.

Ayush didn't calculate this far ahead, and as Prometheus came down on his left thigh, he wasn't even able to dodge.

When the weapon and muscles and tendons touched, the sound of smoke spread, and vapor rose up from Prometheus.

"Aghhhhhhhh!" Ayush screeched in pain.

Aadityapal didn't understand what happened, but his opponent's lapse in attention allowed him to land another attack.

Black blood spilled down Ayush's body like a fountain and the latter groaned in pain.

"What's in your weapon?! Are you cheating?" Ayush glared at Aadityapal.

The latter did not reply.

Truthfully, Aadityapal himself did not know, but every time he attacked his opponent, the red ruby in the weapon glowed brighter and brighter.

This didn't escape Alex's notice, and he quickly came to a conclusion.

"This must be the attribute of repentance the information spoke about," Alex embedded the ruby inside Prometheus to augment its strength, but unexpectedly, it gained a strange attribute.

'The ruby worked on Aka Manah, the avatar of Angra Mainyu, so it makes sense that it works on a malevolent Asura!' 

With this strange attribute, Aadityapal was able to turn the tides of battle completely.

Now, fright passed through Ayush's face whenever he saw Prometheus approaching him, and his previously offensive strategy became a defensive one.

However, there were opportune moments that Aadityapal didn't waste, and the wounds on Ayush's body kept increasing.

The crowd was speechless that their beloved prince was suffering so immensely, and Ayush felt everyone's looks of disappointment on him.

He had built up their hopes and admiration with manipulation, and now, because of a single mortal, his years of campaigns would go down the ruin.

The fight was no longer Aadityapal against Ayush, but the crowd's dismantled expectations, and Aadityapal against Ayush.

'A mortal can't fight me, an Asura!' Ayush clenched his fists and tried to retaliate and save some face for himself.

However, the sword of the righteous prince was relentless, and a bloody slit was now visible on Ayush's chest.

The latter collapsed on the floor, and a reflective blade neared his neck.

"Give up, Ayush," Aadityapal looked down on him and ordered.

The sensation of not being in the position of authority was novel to Ayush, and he didn't know when it was time to give up.

Aadityapal turned to the host and exclaimed, "Despite his injuries, he has refused to forfeit, if he gets very serious wounds, then I proclaim it not my responsibility!"

Ayush listlessly stared at the hanging longsword.

Aadityapal brought up the sword, and with all of his hate for his opponent bringing him strength, he was going to sever Ayush's arteries.

Alex frowned and stood up.

"Aadityapal, don't be rash!" He didn't bother to use Link, yet his clear voice reached Adityapal's ears.

Alex noticed that his disciple let his despise for the manipulative prince take control of him, and he was going to commit a regrettable action.

Aadityapal glared at Alex, unconvinced.

Fortunately, after a few seconds of eye contact, Aadityapal sighed and turned back to Ayush.

"Give up, you've already lost a lot, don't lose it all through shameful perseverance."

Aadityapal's words hit Ayush's psyche particularly hard, and his desire to latch on to his remaining influence now overwhelmed even his dignity and desire to ascend to the throne.

"I.....g-g-give up..." Ayush weakly said.

The crowd was silent.

Then, the host exclaimed, "Victory goes to....Black horse, Prince Aadityapal!"

Alex smiled, satisfied that his disciple had ultimately done the right choice.

However, the latter didn't share his satisfaction and left the venue.

Alex followed his disciple outside to know what bothered him.

Meanwhile, the host announced an exciting battle.

"The moon against the sun."

"Yes, of course, I'm speaking of the disciple of Lord Chandra, Aarush, against the disciple of Lord Indra, Ranya!"