Chapter 376: Inter-Academy Tournament (XXVIII)
The two groups stared each other down for only a second before the battle exploded into chaos.
Mariinne was the first to move.
She dissolved into shadows and reappeared directly behind Adrian, her daggers flashing as she aimed for his neck.
But Adrian reacted instantly.
He spun around with a powerful multi-elemental slash, fire and lightning mixing together in a wide arc that forced Mariinne to turn back into shadows to dodge.
"Nice try!" Adrian shouted as he followed up with another technique.
"Four Elements: Storm Blade!"
A rotating blade of wind, fire, water, and lightning shot toward Mariinne.
She laughed as she used her shadow affinity to create multiple clones of herself, each one attacking from a different angle.
"You’ll have to do better than that!" she shouted back.
On the other side of the battlefield, the tall Dragon Slaying boy with short black hair clashed with Selene.
Their swords met with a loud clang as cyan sword aura met wind-enhanced steel.
"You’re fast," the boy said with a grin, "but I’m stronger!"
He pushed forward with raw physical power, forcing Selene back several steps. Selene’s eyes sharpened as she activated a new technique.
"Cyan Sword Art: Flowing River!"
Her sword moved like flowing water, creating afterimages as she slashed at the boy from multiple angles.
He blocked most of them, but one clean cut grazed his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Maelis raised both hands and activated her gravity magic on a wide area.
"Gravity Zone: Heavy Pressure!"
The air around several Dragon Slaying students suddenly became several times heavier. Their movements slowed down as they struggled to stay on their feet. Maelis smiled coldly.
"You won’t be moving so easily anymore."
But the red-haired Dragon Slaying girl responded immediately. She slammed her staff into the ground.
"Flame Pillar: Eruption!"
Multiple pillars of intense fire shot up from the ground, breaking Maelis’s gravity field in several spots and forcing her to retreat.
Claire from Gloria Academy joined the fight next. She raised her staff and sent a barrage of fire spears toward the Dragon Slaying group.
"Fire Magic: Rain of Spears!"
The spears rained down, but the tall black-haired boy from Dragon Slaying countered with a wide wind slash.
"Wind Art: Gale Barrier!"
A powerful gust of wind formed a defensive wall that scattered the fire spears before they could hit.
Selina from Gloria Academy used her water magic to create a large wave that swept across the battlefield, trying to knock Dragon Slaying students off balance.
"Water Magic: Rushing Tide!"
Several Dragon Slaying students were pushed back, but Mariinne used her shadow affinity to pull some of them out of the wave’s path.
"Nice try!" she shouted
. "But we’re not that easy to stop!"
The fight was fast, chaotic, and surprisingly even. Every time one side gained an advantage, the other countered with a unique technique.
Adrian and the tall Dragon Slaying boy continued their duel in the center.
Adrian used his four elements in creative ways, switching between fire for offense and water for defense. The boy relied on raw power and wind techniques to overwhelm Adrian.
On the left flank, Selene faced off against the red-haired Dragon Slaying girl. Their sword and fire magic clashed beautifully, creating explosions of steam and light.
On the right side, Maelis and Claire worked together against two Dragon Slaying students. Maelis used gravity to slow them down while Claire burned them with precise fire attacks.
The battle raged on with no clear winner. Both groups were skilled, and their unique abilities made the fight unpredictable and intense.
Adrian shouted to his team.
"Hold the line! We can’t let them take the stronghold!"
Mariinne laughed as she continued attacking.
"Keep fighting! We’re not losing here!"
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Adrian and the tall black-haired Dragon Slaying boy were locked in a fierce sword duel.
Adrian’s blade flashed with all four elements, switching between fire for explosive power and wind for speed. Each swing created a different effect.
"Four Elements: Blazing Tempest!" Adrian roared as he unleashed a spinning slash that mixed fire and wind into a devastating tornado-like attack.
BOOM!
The tall boy met it head-on with raw strength. He raised his sword and shouted,
"Wind Art: Mountain Breaker!"
A heavy, compressed wind slash crashed into Adrian’s attack.
The collision sent a massive shockwave outward, cracking the stone ground beneath them and forcing nearby fighters to brace themselves.
CRACK!
BOOM!
On the left flank, Selene and the red-haired Dragon Slaying girl were moving at incredible speeds.
Selene’s cyan sword aura left glowing trails in the air as she danced around her opponent.
"Cyan Sword Art: Flowing River – Second Form!" Selene called out, her blade moving like water as she delivered a flurry of rapid strikes.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
The red-haired girl grinned as she countered with pure fire magic.
"Burning Lotus!"
She spun her staff and created multiple rings of fire that exploded outward in a beautiful but deadly pattern.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The two attacks collided in a spectacular explosion of steam and sparks. Both girls were pushed back, breathing heavily but smiling fiercely.
Meanwhile, Maelis and Claire were working together against two aggressive Dragon Slaying students.
Maelis raised both hands and activated a new gravity technique.
"Gravity Magic: Crushing Domain!"
A heavy pressure suddenly pressed down on the two Dragon Slaying fighters, slowing their movements dramatically.
Their feet sank slightly into the cracked stone.
But the red-haired girl from earlier wasn’t having it. She slammed her staff into the ground again.
"Flame Pillar: Rising Inferno!"
Massive pillars of fire erupted from the ground, shattering Maelis’s gravity field and forcing her to jump back.
BOOM! BOOM!
Claire followed up immediately with precise attacks.
"Fire Magic: Piercing Flame Arrows!"
She fired multiple concentrated fire arrows that shot toward the Dragon Slaying fighters like bullets.
FWOOSH, FWOOSH, FWOOSH!
One of the Dragon Slaying boys created a wind barrier to block the arrows, but Selina from Gloria Academy suddenly joined the fight.
"Water Magic: Binding Current!"
A powerful stream of water shot out from her staff and wrapped around the wind barrier, weakening it and allowing Claire’s fire arrows to break through.
SPLASH!
Swoop!
The Dragon Slaying group was fighting back just as hard. Mariinne was like a ghost on the battlefield.
She kept disappearing into shadows and reappearing to strike from unexpected angles.
"Phantom Assault!"
She created multiple shadow clones that attacked from all directions while her real body struck from behind.
SHING! SHING!
Adrian was forced to spin around and defend with a quick water barrier.
"Water Element: Aqua Shield!"
SPLASH!
The battle was surprisingly even.
Every time one side gained momentum, the other countered with a perfectly timed technique.
The sound of magic clashing and weapons colliding echoed across the entire middle layer.
BOOM!
CLANG!
WHOOSH... CRACK!
Maelis tried to use gravity to pin down several Dragon Slaying students at once, but the black-haired boy responded with a wide-area wind technique.
"Wind Art: Storm Field!"
A powerful gust of wind exploded outward, breaking Maelis’s gravity and pushing everyone back.
WHOOOOOSH...
BOOM!
The Dragon Slaying group was momentarily pushed back, but Gloria Academy’s side was far from defeated.
Adrian saw the opening and shouted a new command.
"Katia! Now!"
Katia, who had been chanting silently in the backline the entire time, finally completed her curse array.
She slammed her curse book into the ground, and a massive, glowing purple circle spread out beneath the Dragon Slaying students’ feet.
"Curse Array: Soul Binding Chains!"
The ground beneath the Dragon Slaying fighters suddenly lit up with purple runes.
Thick, ethereal chains of dark energy shot up from the array and wrapped around their bodies, legs, and arms.
The chains didn’t just bind them physically, but they drained their mana and weakened their will to fight.
The Dragon Slaying students were caught completely off guard.
"What the?!"
"I can’t move! My mana is being drained!"
Mariinne tried to turn into shadows to escape, but the chains followed her into the shadow realm and pulled her back out, forcing her to materialize with a shocked expression.
Adrian didn’t waste the opportunity. He charged forward with his sword glowing with all four elements.
"Four Elements: Cataclysm Strike!"
He unleashed a devastating slash that mixed fire, lightning, wind, and water into a single, overwhelming attack.
The slash hit the Dragon Slaying group directly, sending several of them flying back with serious injuries.
BOOOOM!
Selene followed up immediately, her cyan sword aura blazing as she used a new technique.
"Cyan Sword Art: River of No Return!"
Her sword moved like a flowing river, creating countless afterimages as she cut through the weakened Dragon Slaying fighters with incredible speed.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
Maelis reinforced the curse with more gravity.
"Gravity Magic: Absolute Suppression!"
The pressure on the Dragon Slaying group increased tenfold, making it almost impossible for them to stand.
Claire and Selina worked together to finish the job. Claire sent a barrage of fire spears while Selina created binding water chains that locked down the already weakened fighters.
Fwiishh!
Swip!
SPLASH!
CLANG!
The Gloria Academy group had suddenly gained the upper hand. Katia’s surprise curse array had turned the tide completely.
The Dragon Slaying students were struggling to break free from the combined assault of curses, gravity, and elemental attacks.
Mariinne gritted her teeth as she tried to fight through the chains.
"Not yet... we’re not done!"
But even she was starting to look exhausted. The surprise curse had caught them completely off guard.
Adrian stood at the front, his sword raised as he looked at the struggling Dragon Slaying group.
"Look... this is the difference between our academies," he said coldly.
"They teach us how to fight as a team while you rely too much on individual talent."
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