The smoke slowly cleared.

Lukas stood at the center of the arena, breathing heavily.

Marco lay motionless on the ground.

Just as Lukas thought it was finally over—

Sofie forced herself upright and fired one last spell.

A water ball shot toward Lukas, but halfway through the air it lost form. The magic collapsed, splashing harmlessly onto the ground as Sofie fell to her knees, completely drained of mana.

She couldn’t even remain standing.

“Match over!” the host declared.

“Team Elisabeth and Lukas are the winners!”

The crowd erupted into cheers.

“Wasn’t that an exciting match?!” the host shouted.

The people answered with thunderous applause.

“And we still have one more battle coming up! Are you ready?!”

The cheers only grew louder.

Lukas and the others were escorted to the infirmary for treatment.

Sofie sat silently on one of the beds, staring at her hands.

All that training… and still…
She stopped herself and let out a quiet breath, forcing herself to accept the result.

Marco glanced at Lukas and chuckled weakly.

“That was one hell of a fight, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yeah,” Lukas replied. “Let’s do it again someday.”

Sofie smirked. “Next time, I’ll be on the same level as you guys. Maybe even stronger.”

Lukas turned to the Princess. “See? Your dreams are getting closer.”

Sofie and Marco blinked.

“Heh?”
“What dreams?”

Elisabeth lowered her gaze.

“Honestly… I could barely do anything out there,” she said quietly. “I was just in the way.”

Sofie immediately shook her head. “No. You were amazing. If not for you, Lukas wouldn’t have been able to release those spells properly. You shielded him from our attacks.”

“You’re not weak.”

Marco nodded. “Couldn’t agree more.”

Lukas smiled. “See?”

The Princess looked up, surprised.

Then—she smiled too.

The scene shifted back to the arena.

“Next match!” the host announced.

Griffin and Orion versus Rio and Klaus!

The crowd buzzed with excitement. These were fighters who had already delivered thrilling performances before.

The match began.

Griffin and Orion moved instantly.

“Wind Magic: Eye of the Cyclone!”
“Lava Magic: Lava Flood!”

Molten lava surged across the ground, only to be lifted and absorbed by the raging wind. The two spells fused, forming a massive cyclone wrapped in flowing lava.

The wind didn’t cool the lava.

It fed it—making it burn even hotter.

The blazing cyclone was hurled toward Klaus and Rio.

Klaus slammed his hand into the ground.

“Wood Magic: Blooming Trees!”

Massive trees erupted from the earth, forming a dense barrier. The lava cyclone slammed into them, slowed as the wood burned and splintered.

At the same time, Rio leapt into the air.

Anima surged along his blade.

He swung.

The anima slash tore through the cyclone, dispersing the fused magic completely.

Before Griffin and Orion could recover—

“Wood Magic: Binding Roots!”

Thick roots burst from the ground, wrapping around both of them, draining their mana as they tightened.

Rio rushed forward and released another anima slash.

But at the last moment—

“Lava Magic: Magma Wall!”

A moving wall of molten rock rose up, stopping the attack head-on.

Orion burned away the roots with his lava while Griffin sliced through the rest with sharpened wind.

The battlefield trembled.

The crowd leaned forward.

The match was only getting more intense.

Who would claim victory?