The three-day preparation for the finals passed in a blur. Kael spent nearly every moment with Amelia—not in idle company, but in relentless sparring. He poured every ounce of effort into readying himself for Ethan.
Kael had confided in Amelia about the mission tied to the tournament's top three. With her, there were no secrets.
Though Amelia had narrowly lost to Ethan, her path to the podium remained open: defeat Dylan. Dylan, grievously wounded from his bout with Kael, would struggle to recover in time. Meanwhile, Amelia's injuries—like Kael's—had been mended by his healing potions, granting her a clear advantage.
Moreover, Amelia's prowess rivaled Dylan's. Their sparring sessions had ended in near-equal measure.
As dawn broke on the final day, Kael assessed his condition. Yesterday's duels had honed him to peak readiness. Yet his expression sobered. Today's opponent was Ethan—the indomitable apex of their academy.
For years, Ethan had loomed like an unscalable mountain over the student body. Kael's rise had been meteoric, but could he topple a three-time champion?
Even Kael didn't know.
"All I can do is give my all." He clenched his fist, a faint smile playing on his lips. He teetered on the brink of Level 7. A breakthrough mid-battle might just…
"Mm." Amelia returned the smile, tenderly adjusting his robe with the meticulous care of a devoted partner.
Kael's heart swelled. The once-aloof Amelia now radiated warmth, her gaze sharpening his resolve.
"For the final match, welcome students Kael and Ethan!" Vesper's announcement was brief. No introductions were needed. Amid the roaring crowd, both stepped onto the battlefield.
Ethan stood as always—clad in streamlined armor, golden hair cascading freely, eyes blazing with focus.
Kael faced him calmly from the opposite end.
"Warrior Academy, fourth year—Ethan." Ethan offered a courteous nod, stating his name without arrogance, though his renown spanned the entire academy. A mark of his discipline.
"Mage Academy, first year—Kael." Mirroring the courtesy.
"Begin!"
At Vesper's command, both surged into motion. Kael instantly darted backward, activating Stellar Steps to blur into a phantom-like retreat. Chanting swiftly, he cast his first spell.
"Flame Ward!" A shield of fire enveloped him, its warmth steadying his nerves.
Ethan's earth-attuned combat aura defied its element's stereotype—his speed matched Kael's stride for stride, as Kael had observed during Ethan's duel with Amelia.
Boom!
Ethan vanished, reappearing inches from Kael in a heartbeat. His fist erupted with peak-tier aura, tearing the air with a deafening crack.
Kael triggered Blink without hesitation, teleporting fifty meters across the arena.
Already forced to use Blink in the opening move. Ethan's strike had been no feint—a full-powered blow layered with thirteen stacked aura bursts.
The delayed shockwave struck where Kael had stood. The ground shattered into a spiderweb of cracks, debris erupting skyward as thunderous echoes rolled through the stadium.
He's pushing for a swift finish, Kael realized. Fearful of my disruption spells tipping the scales later.
Ethan knew Kael's arsenal of crippling magic. Prolonging the fight risked entanglement in a web of hexes. Thus, Ethan aimed to crush him with overwhelming force—now.
Ethan shadowed Kael like a persistent phantom, matching his Stellar Steps stride for stride. Were it not for the footwork's unpredictable shifts, Kael would've been cornered already.
"Gravity Crush!"
Seizing a fleeting moment, Kael ensnared Ethan in a crushing gravitational field.
Ethan's combat aura flared, brute strength straining against the magic. But Kael struck again: "Binding Shackles!"
These dual spells—both Level 6—were Kael's tailored countermeasures against warriors like Ethan.
The combo worked. Ethan's movements slowed, his agility shackled.
Kael exhaled slightly, guard still raised.
"Meteorflare!" Frostfire detonated above, raining searing comets and molten hail.
Ethan grunted. Even hindered, his raw power terrified. He rocketed backward, attempting to outpace the bombardment.
But Kael's mana control was peerless.
A flick of his staff redirected the meteors. They hurtled toward Ethan's new position.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
The barrage cratered the arena. Ethan vanished beneath a dozen impacts, the ground fracturing into a smoldering pit.
The crowd gasped—Ethan had been hit!
Ethan had been struck by Kael's magic! The crater's spectacle drew gasps, yet Kael never paused—chanting anew.
He could still sense Ethan's aura. Not weakened. Stronger.
A cough echoed from the pit. Ethan erupted from the debris, armor dented, golden hair disheveled, yet his eyes burned fiercer than ever.
"Impressive, Kael. To corner me like this… Unthinkable for a first-year." Ethan dusted himself off, unfazed by Kael's ongoing incantations.
"Dualcast: Inferno Cyclone!" Twin silverstar sigils flared, merging into a cataclysmic storm of fire.
Composite magic. Kael, too, sought a swift end.
"Berserk Mode!" Ethan's body warped grotesquely. His skin transmuted to burnished gold, gleaming lethally under the sun.
Berserk Mode. Kael's pupils constricted—the transformation radiated danger.
A rare skill reserved for prodigious warriors, Berserk Mode amplified strength and speed to monstrous levels.
"Ethan the Berserker… He lives up to his title," Amelia murmured, worry tightening her voice. Even she hadn't mastered this forbidden art. Against Ethan's already terrifying might, Kael now faced a nightmare.