Shock, awe, and confusion assaulted the eyes of every Viking watching the battle as they saw Mika's body crash against the arena wall, his chest shattered by Freya's devastating blow.
Freya was powerful—incredibly so for a Sage—and she had demonstrated overwhelming might and skill with that demonic mace. But even so, it made no sense to the crowd that she could beat Mika so easily.
Even Freya herself was caught off guard. She had expected a fierce, drawn-out clash—had been prepared to trade blows and even take damage if it meant defeating Mika in a single decisive exchange. Yet the battle had ended far more quickly, and far more decisively, than she had anticipated.
Only the super powerhouses seated in the high podiums sensed the faint, ethereal disturbance that had swept across the battlefield at the moment the fight began. It had been fast, subtle, and hidden—so fleeting that even they had failed to pinpoint its source.
