The arena was alive with noise, a thunderous roar of voices, stomping, clapping, chanting. The duel of Keiya had just ended, her victory still fresh in the minds of the spectators, and though the dust had barely settled, the commentators were already speculating over who would stand out next.
The break had been declared—twenty minutes before the duels would resume.
Klyden, as though the adrenaline from his own fight had turned into uncontainable energy, leaned toward Keiya with a wide grin. His voice was bright, brash, utterly boyish.
"Keiyaaa! Did you see that? When I punched that dragon fire—" He jumped to his feet, his fist swinging into the air, exaggerated as though reliving the moment. "BOOM! Like I was the hero of some epic ballad!" His sound effects drew some chuckles from the nearby students.
Keiya only frowned, unimpressed. "If you have time for blabbing, just go and buy me water." She said it in a tone halfway between annoyance and jest.
But the moment the words left her mouth, Klyden's grin grew even wider. "Aye aye!" he chirped, and before she could stop him, he jogged down toward the stands and disappeared out the arena's exit, clearly intending to do exactly as told.
Keiya's lips parted slightly, stunned. "Wait… he actually…" she muttered under her breath.
"Oi, Klyden! Buy me ice cream toooo!" Liora shouted after him, her hand cupped around her mouth.
Without turning back, Klyden lifted one hand and gave her a thumbs-up, vanishing into the crowd.
Keiya exhaled, shaking her head. Hopeless.
"Keiyaa!" Liora's voice piped up again, this time softer, warmer. She leaned closer, her mismatched eyes gleaming like gemstones in sunlight. "You looked awesome in your fight earlier."
Keiya froze, caught off guard. Compliments weren't foreign to her, but Liora's enthusiasm felt different—unguarded, genuine, free of calculation.
"And the way you played with that scumbag—arghhh, so coooool!" Liora flung her hands around in an exaggerated gesture, mimicking Keiya's earlier moves with clumsy enthusiasm.
Keiya blinked. She's like Klyden… but less overbearing. A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
Behind Liora, Wads sat with his arms crossed, his head tilted to the side. His breathing was slow, steady—already dozing off.
A quiet, steady presence interrupted the moment. Reiyell appeared, her steps graceful as she carried two bottles of water. She handed them to Keiya and Liora, who accepted them gratefully. Then her gaze slid to Wads.
"Really?" Reiyell murmured, an elegant brow arching. Wads didn't stir; even asleep, his head rested at an angle so precise it seemed immune to gravity.
Her eyes shifted back to Keiya. "You did well in your match," Reiyell said simply.
Keiya's heart jolted in a way the crowd's applause hadn't managed to stir. Praise from Her Highness wasn't something she expected. She shifted awkwardly, the water bottle cold in her hand. "…Some of the sophomores were cocky. I didn't like that."
"Right!" Liora pumped her fist into the air. "In my fight, I'll show them who's the best here!" Her enthusiasm was a wildfire.
Footsteps returned, heavy and cheerful. Klyden bounded back into view, arms full—water bottles, a pack of snacks, and a dripping ice cream cone. He handed the ice cream to Liora, who clapped like a child.
But then his gaze fell on Keiya, already holding the bottle from Reiyell. His face fell dramatically, his entire body drooping as if he'd just been stabbed in the heart.
"SERIOUSLYYYYY?" His cry echoed through the section.
"You're too slow," Keiya replied flatly, twisting the cap of her water.
"Arrrghhh!" Klyden collapsed to the ground with all the grace of a dying soldier.
Liora burst out laughing as she licked her ice cream. "You're so dramatic!"
Keiya rolled her eyes but reached into Klyden's pile of snacks, snatching one without permission. "I'll take this though."
Klyden clutched his chest. "The betrayal…" he whispered hoarsely.
Meanwhile, Reiyell placed another water bottle gently near Wads's feet, not daring to wake him, and silently returned to her own seat.
"The betrayal," Klyden repeated as he got up, trudging to sit beside the sleeping Wads.
From above, a group of students leaned over the railing. "Oiii, Klyden, share someee!"
Still pouting, Klyden shot back without looking up. "Go buy some yourselves!"
Their laughter echoed down, but his shout had stirred Wads slightly. The boy cracked one eye open, his gaze heavy with sleep. "…Noisy," he muttered, then sighed.
"How long until your match—" Wads began, his voice low, but before he could finish, Kaizer's voice boomed across the arena.
"BREAK IS OVER!" The commentator's booming cheer sent the crowd into renewed frenzy. "Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves! Our next duel—one that many have been waiting for!"
The students sat upright. The murmurs shifted into eager roars.
"Now, I guess," Liora said, dusting her hands and finishing the last bite of her cone. She stood, her posture relaxed yet brimming with anticipation.
"Good luck," Keiya said, tearing open her stolen snack.
"Don't dieee!" Klyden sang, whether joking or not, no one could tell.
The chants swelled as Liora walked down the steps, the stadium lights angling toward the arena circle. The announcer's voice echoed her name, amplified by crystal resonance.
"LIORA VALLEGOIRE!"
Fanboys roared. Fangirls shrieked. Her mismatched eyes shimmered, her cloak flaring in the breeze created by her own magic.
Across from her, another name was called.
"SERAPHINE D'ARTOIS!"
The emerald-haired noblewoman stepped into the circle, her presence radiating refinement. Her emerald eyes glowed faintly, threads of vitality humming around her body like an aura.
The duel began.
---
The air thickened instantly.
Liora crouched slightly, weight on the balls of her feet, wind whispering around her ankles. Her breathing slowed into rhythm. She knew Seraphine's type: control fighters who thrived by forcing you into their tempo.
Don't let her set the pace.
Seraphine lifted one hand. The ground beneath her shimmered faintly, threads of green weaving out like veins in the earth. "Emerald Dominion," she whispered. The air pulsed, vibrant yet sinister. Every blade of grass in the arena turned greener, sharper, almost humming with her will.
The crowd gasped.
Liora moved first.
"Speed Surge!"
She exploded forward in a blur, the wind cracking like a whip behind her. The displacement rattled the nearest barriers, and the audience only saw her afterimage cutting toward Seraphine's left flank.
Seraphine didn't flinch. She lifted her palm, and a lash of green energy burst outward. The air distorted as vitality condensed, forming a whip-like arc.
Too slow.
Liora dropped her center of gravity and slid, wind cushioning her momentum. The whip cracked just above her head, slicing a strand of her hair but hitting nothing else. She twisted, pivoted, and launched a kick toward Seraphine's ribs.
Impact!
Except Seraphine's body dissolved into shimmering motes.
"Afterimage," Liora hissed, already pushing herself back.
The real Seraphine emerged three paces behind, hand glowing. She clenched her fist. The arena floor bloomed. Green tendrils burst upward, writhing like serpents, each tip glowing as though drinking the very air.
The tendrils lashed toward Liora.
Wind roared. "Weave!"
Air compressed into invisible blades, sharp enough to hiss audibly as they sliced. Tendrils fell in chunks, writhing as their life force dispersed into emerald light—only for Seraphine to absorb it. Her emerald eyes flared brighter, her presence heavier.
Every strike she lost became her fuel.
The crowd was on their feet now. The duel had transformed into a high-speed chess match: Seraphine planting life-draining traps, Liora tearing them apart before they overwhelmed her.
Sweat prickled on Liora's forehead. She darted left, then right, her movements blurring, each dash creating gusts that sent dust spiraling. Her lungs burned, but her Endurance Flow steadied her heartbeat, keeping her speed consistent.
"Impressive stamina," Seraphine remarked, her voice calm, almost regal. "But futile. Every movement you make feeds me more power."
"Then I'll make it hurt."
Liora launched upward, wind compressing under her feet, catapulting her high above. From midair, she spun—her cloak flaring as she unleashed a vortex. The air pressure condensed into a spiraling spear of wind.
"Pierce!"
The vortex descended. The very sound tore at the crowd's ears.
Seraphine's emerald aura thickened, forming a dome of hardened vitality. The vortex slammed into it, detonating with a shockwave that rattled the arena's barrier. Dust obscured everything.
When it cleared—Seraphine still stood, hair slightly disheveled, emerald shield cracked but intact.
Then she smirked.
"Your strength," she said, voice echoing with vitality, "will be mine."
She stomped the ground. Green erupted everywhere, tendrils lashing from all directions in a dome of writhing death.
The audience screamed.
Inside, Liora's eyes sharpened. "Not yet."
Her chest expanded with one deep breath. Then—she vanished.
BOOM.
Wind detonated outward as she broke through the sound barrier. One instant she was trapped, the next she was outside the cage of tendrils, behind Seraphine's flank.
Her fist connected.
CRACK.
Seraphine reeled, her shield shattering. Emerald light sprayed like glass. For the first time, she stumbled.
The crowd went wild.
Breathing heavy, both fighters squared off again. Seraphine's emerald aura flickered wildly, stronger but unstable, feeding on every scrap of vitality she had harvested. Her eyes glowed like twin lanterns.
"You cannot outlast me," she spat, her voice echoing unnaturally.
"Good," Liora said, wind spiraling tighter around her arms. "Because I don't plan to outlast you."
They moved at once.
Emerald spears shot forward, twisting like vipers. Liora cut through them, every motion a dance of precision. She felt the sting of cuts across her arms, her cheek—Seraphine's attacks were landing, even if shallow.
But then Liora surged. Her last Speed Surge, every ounce of stamina channeled into it. The air cracked, her body blurred—faster than sight.
In that microsecond, Seraphine's eyes widened. Her aura surged defensively, emerald energy exploding outward.
Too late.
Liora's wind blade extended from her arm like a guillotine. She spun once, body twisting with impossible control, and struck.
The emerald shield fractured. Then shattered.
Her blade stopped just shy of Seraphine's throat, cutting a line across her collar that bled faintly. The emerald aura flickered out entirely.
Seraphine froze. Her tendrils collapsed lifelessly.
Silence.
Then the arena erupted.
"WINNER—LIORA VALLEGOIRE!"
The roar was deafening.