Though formidable, Kael remained one against three – Simon, Jessica, and their hulking earth-mage companion. Nankur's delegation exuded renewed confidence, their strategy clear: grind him down through successive battles.
Evelyn's hopes dimmed. At best, she prayed Kael might salvage Flamecrest's dignity through a respectable defeat.
"Who's next?" Kael's frostfire gaze swept the trio.
A crimson-robed mage stepped forward, his smile oozing false courtesy. "Grant, fourth-year at Nankur. I hear fire's your specialty – let's compare notes."
The crowd erupted in jeers. Fourth-years typically pursued off-campus apprenticeships, making Grant's participation a blatant rule-bending.
"Ah, the legendary Grant!" Kael feigned reverence. "Your reputation precedes you."
Grant preened. "You've heard of my—"
Ninefold Pyroclasm!
Nine frostfire orbs materialized mid-sentence, streaking toward Grant. The mage barely dodged, robes singed as the projectiles curved mid-flight – an impossible feat of spell manipulation.
"Cheap tricks!" Grant spat, conjuring a lava geyser.
Kael yawned. The frostfire orbs pirouetted around the molten assault, their trajectories weaving a lethal ballet. Grant's eyes widened – controlling nine independent spells simultaneously defied all magical doctrine.
"This… this is heresy!"
"No," Kael corrected, frostfire eyes blazing. "This is evolution."
The orbs converged, their collision birthing a micro-nova that vaporized Grant's defenses. When the light faded, the fourth-year lay sprawled in a smoldering crater, robes reduced to ash.
Simon's smirk finally died. Jessica's playful demeanor hardened into wariness. Their earth-mage ally cracked his knuckles, granite skin shimmering.
"Enough games," Simon hissed. "We end this now."
Triple auras flared – storm, frost, and tectonic fury. The arena trembled as Nankur's trinity unleashed their full might.
Kael merely raised his scepter. Frostfire spiraled into a singularity above him, its gravitational pull warping light itself.
"Come."
The command shook the foundations. For the first time, true fear flickered in Simon's eyes.
"Pyro Bastion!" Grant snarled, conjuring crimson flames into a defensive wall. The barrier hissed against Kael's frostfire assault, its cinders evaporating under paradoxical cold. Sweat drenched Grant's brow as he funneled mana into the shield – a desperate gamble against Kael's relentless onslaught.
"Impressive mutation," Grant spat, though his trembling hands betrayed awe. "But fire obeys its true master!"
"Inferno Detonation!" His staff flared. The air around Kael compressed violently, then erupted in a superheated blast.
Stellar Evasion!
Kael's form blurred, leaving afterimages as he sidestepped the explosion. The ground where he'd stood liquefied instantly, molten rock bubbling in the crater.
Grant grinned. "Can't dodge forever!" Another Detonation formed between his palms.
"Mana Turbulence."
Kael's counterstroke struck like a psychic blade. Grant's spell unraveled mid-cast, his internal energy channels rebelling. The mage gagged, blood trickling from his nose as chaotic magic ravaged his system.
"Impossible…" Grant staggered back, eyes wide. Forbidden arts like Mana Turbulence were rumored to exist in ancient grimoires, not wielded by first-year upstarts.
Seizing the opening, Kael advanced. Frostfire coalesced into a serpentine whip. "Your turn to burn."
The lash struck true. Grant's screams echoed as paradoxical flames seared flesh and spirit alike. When the inferno cleared, only a twitching silhouette remained, its outline scorched into the arena floor.
Simon's staff clattered to the ground. Jessica's playful smirk died. Their earth-mage ally crossed himself – a futile ward against the abomination before them.
Kael's frostfire eyes gleamed. "Next."
Kael pressed his advantage, Stellar Evasion carrying him across the arena in flickering steps. Grant barely registered the movement before frostfire meteors blotted out the sky.
Frostfire Meteor Shower!
The bombardment pinned Grant within a hellscape of paradoxical flames – freezing as they burned. His defensive barrier shattered within seconds, exposing raw flesh to the onslaught.
"Grant!" Simon lunged forward, violet barrier flaring as he dragged his comrade from the frostfire maelstrom. The protective spell sizzled under lingering flames, its surface cracking under relentless cold.
Grant's condition drew gasps – a master fire mage reduced to a smoldering husk by his own element. Irony hung thick in the scorched air.
"Kael! Kael! Kael!" Flamecrest's chant shook the grounds. Even stoic instructors like Evelyn grinned fiercely – their academy's pride restored through this first-year anomaly.
Simon and Jessica exchanged grim looks. Their strategy lay in ruins. Two challengers dispatched without Kael even summoning his signature Inferno Fox.
"Senior Simon, Senior Jessica." Kael's voice sliced through the din. He rotated his shoulders casually, frostfire dancing along his scepter. "I've a proposal."
The crowd stilled.
"Attack me together."
The words detonated silence into chaos. Students roared approval while Nankur's delegates turned ashen.
Simon's knuckles whitened around his storm-charged staff. Jessica's playful demeanor hardened into lethal focus. The earth-mage behind them cracked granite knuckles.
"You'll regret this arrogance," Simon hissed.
Kael merely smiled. Frostfire spiraled into twin serpents around his arms – one burning cobalt, the other glacial cerulean. Composite magic's embryonic power thrummed in his veins.
"Let's see if Nankur teaches humility."
The challenge hung, crystalline and absolute. The arena became a crucible – four against one, with Flamecrest's honor as the anvil.