The night wind was cold and the sound of shouts and screams resonated, lighting up the night-time city. Even though they were kilometers away, people in restaurants and office buildings could still hear the cries from the tournament venue.
Not just at the scene, tonight in Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain, countless people were glued to the live broadcast, watching the duel unfold without blinking. As the two figures stepped into the light, everyone held their breath in suspense, not wanting to miss a moment of the projected images.
————
Tilan felt like a small boat drifting in an ocean of shrieking voices as she walked into the combat arena.
Sevia La gradually appeared in the girl's sight from across the field. Her expression was calm as she coldly observed Hexia, seemingly analyzing the girl for potential weaknesses.
The two focused intently on each other, shutting out the noisy outside world. Despite the lively atmosphere, it was as if they were walking on ice—cautious and meticulous.
"The duel begins!"
Following the referee's announcement, both made a swift move towards each other. The snow-white and the dark-red sword edges intertwined like a fast-spinning spiral, their almost phantom-like exchange breaking off in an instant after a few seconds.
After this brief exchange, Sevia La furrowed her brows. Even though she had held back a bit during their fleeting clash, the speed of the crossing swords and the angles of attack were already at their peak. Even Seraphiel would have shown some flaws in such a battle.
Yet facing Tilan, she hadn't been able to gauge her opponent's limit, as if Tilan still had some reserve.
However, she had mentally prepared for such a scenario. Battles were like this: even if there were no openings at the beginning, as the fight intensified and stamina and magic power depleted, the formerly concealed flaws and weaknesses would gradually be revealed.
Twisting her body, Sevia La threw her dark-red dual swords in a succession, like two flying cogs aiming to slice through Tilan.
A sword arc like a crescent moon flashed in mid-air. Tilan cleaved the two dark red thorny wheels that raced towards her, while Sevia La had already soared into the night sky.
Is she preparing to increase the distance, the girl wondered silently.
Indeed, after flying to a higher altitude, Sevia La bent one leg slightly and then extended an arm forward, her wrists sprouting the pristine white branches of a bow, while her other hand rested on the transparent bowstring.
"Elf Secret Arts: Laurel Bow"
Three pale filaments twined together, taking the shape of an arrow, aiming at the girl below. In previous matchups, Sevia La had relied on this move to pierce through Levito's heart, causing him injury and significantly weakening him.
These moonlight-like filament arrows were not solid but a kind of force field capable of easily penetrating material objects and shredding internal flesh, proving difficult to defend against.
However, Tilan was surprised that her opponent dared to use this move in front of her. The girl's figure blurred, dividing into several identical images that took to the sky with their azure butterfly wings.
The wind whistled in her ears; in the night sky, five identical butterfly-winged girls rose in a helix, making it impossible to distinguish the real one.
In response, Sevia La's pupils narrowed slightly before slowly reopening, revealing a faint golden glow within.
"The Golden Lands' Secret Technique: Glowing Beast's Pupil"
Her pupils suddenly shifted, resembling that of a wild beast, and she promptly distinguished the real Tilan among the five. The bowstring was released, and the invisible arrows shot across the night sky, striking the chest of one of the girls.
Feeling a tightness in her chest and an intense twisting pain, Tilan's mouth oozed blood.
So there's such a secret technique, she thought, then covered her chest, quickly repairing the internal injury. In almost three seconds, she had fully recovered, save for the bloodstain by her mouth.
Healing oneself was easier than healing others because her body was thoroughly familiar to her, and she clearly understood the condition of each part. As long as she repaired them according to memory, there would be no conflict of magic power.
Without this extraordinary self-healing ability, she would have been instantly killed during her battle with her sister, Temisia.
In the sky, the girl like a wounded bird slowly fell, while Sevia La spread her black and red butterfly wings, regripping the Rose Thorn Blades that had reformed between her sleeves, diving down after her. The blades traced long tails through the air, dangerous and lethal.
Inside the venue, countless people watched anxiously. Some had expected Tilan, distracted for a moment, to be at a disadvantage after being injured by Sevia La, but now they were tense that the girl might be defeated and lose.
"Sss—"
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The scene many anticipated did not occur. The moment Sevia La caught up to Tilan, the girl flipped like a swallow changing direction, her sword blade pouring down like silver snow, aiming at Sevia La.
In an instant, the falling silver blade shredded Sevia La's Rose Thorn Blades and then, in a flash, sliced several wounds on her body. But as soon as Sevia La realized something was amiss, she didn't admit defeat or give up. Her wings flapped, and her figure like a red glow streaked through the silver blade light, returning to the night sky.
Covering the wound on her arm, Sevia La watched Tilan flying upward and then turned to continue flying. Her butterfly wings billowed out as if caught by the wind and continued to stretch. Meanwhile, she chanted a curse spell, and strange patterns emerged on the wings. Then, vortexes appeared in the airspace where the wings had passed.
Tracing a huge arc in the night sky, Sevia La's wounds stopped bleeding, and the vortexes hanging in the air gathered red magic light sand, forming rosebuds. Just as she steadied herself, preparing for a counterattack, her gaze was suddenly shocked by the sight that the girl in the opposite part of the night sky had also executed the same move.
The azure butterfly wings fluttered, and one after another, icy blue vortexes appeared in the night sky, followed by roses enveloped in frost, growing until they finally bloomed.
"Annihilative Rose!"
Tilan lightly lifted her arm, revealing the white lining and her snow-white wrist beneath the black and blue petal-like sleeves, aiming at Sevia La in front of her.
Icy blue rose petals cascaded while dark red rose petals were scattered by the opponent, intertwining with each other, annihilating and neutralizing each other, making the whole venue look as if it were showered by a rain of red and blue petals.
At the moment when the flower rain mingled, Sevia La, wielding her re-condensed Rose Thorn Blades, lunged straight at the girl hovering in mid-air.
As the girl swung her sword to counter the attack, Sevia La instantly transformed into seven figures stabbing at Tilan from different directions, making the scene perilously intense in an instant.
If it's this move, I've already seen it, and Temisia would do it much more cleanly and decisively, the girl thought to herself.
Compared to Temisia, who had the ability to displace space, Sevia La's Butterfly Split into Seven technique had a trajectory that was easier to calculate and counter.
"Azure Bird's Inheritance: Three Plucks"
The silver blade in her hand swiftly struck out in three different trajectories, shredding the five approaching figures, and by the time the other two figures came back to attack, Tilan was already free to launch another sword move.
"Azure Bird's Inheritance: Snow Drift Boat"
Pieces of fabric flew, and the silver blade followed her body's acrobatics, scattering countless fine sword flowers like snow, engulfing the two attacking figures, one of which instantly shattered, while the last figure discarded its thorn blade and flashed away once more.
After the separation, one of Sevia La's arms was covered in blood, and although the other arm was intact, cuts all over her body had reopened, leaking trails of blood.
After two engagements, the audience in the venue could see that if Sevia La could not reverse the situation quickly, she was gradually heading toward defeat. Her stamina and condition were not as good as at the start, whereas the girl opposite her seemed as if she had not sustained any injuries at all.
Vexed, aren't you? The girl felt the emotions of Sevia La on the other side, but based on the opponent's tenacious fighting spirit, Sevia La likely still had some trump card she hadn't used yet.
Just as Tilan was waiting for the opponent to use an unseen move or secret technique, a sudden commotion came from below, followed by the referee's announcement.
"Edith Academy wins!"
Huh? Did Saint Ingo Academy give up? the girl wondered, perplexed. But now both contestants could only follow the referee's instructions and slowly descend.
After the match ended, both returned to their respective academy's rest and prep lounges, leaving behind an audience dissatisfied with cries of Saint Ingo Academy being sore losers and the like.
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In the rest room, medical staff were treating and bandaging Sevia La. Two board members stood nearby, comforting her and explaining why they had called a halt to the match.
"We know you still have the energy to fight, but it's not worth using here," one said.
"This battle was just a rotational duel to select the final four for the last match, which will truly determine the champion."
"The cards you're holding back should not be revealed and wasted here."
At first, Sevia La was silent, then she nodded, "I understand."
Relieved to see the talented contestant comprehending, the two board members eased up a little, continued to appease her, promised some rewards if she won, and then left, letting her rest well in preparation for the upcoming finals.
With the multi-round duels among the eight contestants over, the current point rankings had also been announced.
Not surprisingly, the top four talents advanced to the finals, while the last four were eliminated.
Currently Tilan ranked first in points, Sevia La second, Levito third, and Seraphiel fourth.
After a 20-minute intermission, the venue finally displayed the final draw results.
Tilan vs. Seraphiel, the winner advances to the championship.
Sevia La vs. Levito, the winner advances to the championship.
And based on previous battles, almost everyone could predict the final champion would be Tilan vs. Sevia La.