Elreth’s lips curved into a slow, confident smirk.
"Eh! Will you look at this? Fine, let’s go test our new weapons. I’ll teach you a lesson. I haven’t forgotten that my team lost to your team. Ti for so payback."
Khione said nothing. No sigh, no retort—only a curt nod, as if Elreth’s challenge was inevitable and needed no further acknowledgnt.
Without another word, both girls vaulted over the railing of the dormitory’s balcony, landing lightly on the grass below. The night air was cool, the moon casting silver light across the academy grounds as they sprinted side by side toward the training grounds, neither willing to slow down or look away from the path ahead.
At the entrance, they swiped their cadet passes, the gates unlocking with a faint hum. Selecting one of the larger arenas, they found themselves stepping into a place built for serious combat. The vast field stretched like a miniature stadium, ringed by towering stone walls. In the center lay a wide rectangular stone platform, its smooth surface already marked by the faint scorches and cracks of countless past battles. Above them, a shimring do-shaped barrier rose into the night sky, its faint ripple of energy visible when the moonlight caught it just right.
This was no beginner’s arena—it was reinforced with high-grade enchantnts. Here, they could unleash their full power without restraint. The academy’s restoration wards would repair the field once they were done, and healing arrays would nd minor wounds upon exiting. Only injuries severe enough to risk death would remain beyond instant repair.
Both girls stepped onto opposite ends of the stone platform, the sound of their boots echoing faintly against the walls. The wind stirred between them, tugging at Khione’s silver hair and Elreth’s fiery red strands. No words were exchanged—only the kind of tension that made the air feel heavier. Invisible sparks seed to crackle between their gazes, clashing long before their weapons did.
Then, almost simultaneously, the corners of their mouths curved upward. Two different smiles—Khione’s cold and razor-sharp, Elreth’s bold and blazing.
It was about to get fun.
Elreth lowered her center of gravity, her spear leveled and aid directly at Khione like a predator locking onto its prey. Though their paths in magic and combat differed, their prowess was evenly matched—the princess stood at the Red Knight Stage, while Khione, an Adept Mage, held the equivalent power in magical terms.
The princess inhaled slowly, and her orange eyes deepened into a searing crimson, like molten tal pulled from a forge. Her prana surged outward in a violent rush, igniting into a dark crimson blaze that coiled around her spear. The flas crackled and roared, and sowhere within that inferno, a faint phoenix’s cry echoed, carrying with it an ancient, burning pride.
Khione’s expression shifted for a split of second before reverting back to normal.
’To think she would have touched the treshold of summoning her guardian spirit. Indeed a genius.’ Khione thought inwardly while her focus remained on her rival who unleashed her strength.
The air wavered under the heat, the temperature climbing sharply as the oppressive warmth spread forward like a living storm—an infernal blizzard of fire.
But its advance t resistance.
From Khione’s side, an equally potent force awakened. Her prana unfurled in a rush of piercing cold, sweeping outward in a crystalline tide. A mysthical cry resembling Elreth’s own but one completly different echoed taking the princess by surprise but it was short lived. If the princess’s was arrogant looking down on everything this one showed complete detachnt in everything.
anwhile, the air grew razor-sharp with frost, every breath turning to visible vapor. Her frozen domain expanded, consuming half the platform in glittering frost. The two forces collided at the center—fla and ice—splitting the vast stone field cleanly in two. One half shimred with waves of heat, the other sparkled under a thin veil of frost.
Then Elreth blurred—her figure wavered like a mirage before vanishing entirely. A heartbeat later, she reappeared high above Khione, her blazing spear descending in a lethal arc. But Khione’s unreadable gaze betrayed no surprise.
’’Ice Pillar!"
A massive pillar of ice erupted upward in an instant, intercepting the strike. Elreth twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding the counterattack, her spear spinning with serpent-like precision. From its tip, a beam of compressed, molten fla burst forth—fast and straight like a laser—aid to pierce Khione through.
But the mage was already gone. With the practiced fluidity of one who had fought her rival countless tis before, Khione slipped away using her Ice Movent—a near-teleportation dash within her domain. The spot she vacated was instantly annihilated by the fire beam, the supposedly unbreakable arena stone hissing and lting under the searing heat.
"Tch!" Elreth landed with a thud, irritation flaring in her eyes. She spun her spear in one hand and struck forward without hesitation.
"Blossom Fire Flowers!"
Her arms beca a blur, thrusting the spear dozens of tis in a single breath. Each thrust detonated a burst of crimson fla, the heat condensing into intricate flower-shaped infernos that blood in mid-air. One after another, they filled Khione’s vision, rushing toward her at breakneck speed—a wall of blazing petals ready to devour her.
Khione, calm as the stillest winter lake, lifted her wand.
"Ice Flowers."
With a graceful flick, dozens of crystalline blossoms unfurled in the air before her. Each petal glistened like sculpted diamond, radiating a killing chill. They surged forward to et the incoming inferno in perfect symtry—fire flower for ice flower.
Ti itself seed to stretch thin as the twin storms approached each other. Just before impact, the two combatants had already vanished again, reappearing across the ring in another brutal clash of spear and wand. Their movents were a blur, the sound of each impact echoing like rolling thunder.
When their previous spells finally collided, the center of the arena erupted in a resounding explosion, fire and ice detonating into steam and shards that rattled the massive barrier. The shockwave rippled through the air, causing the ground beneath them to tremble faintly.
Neither looked back. Neither slowed.
They moved relentlessly, weaving through their own elental chaos, each exchange faster, sharper, and heavier than the last.
This was no true duel yet—this was only the warm-up.
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