The next morning, Yumaris greeted the remaining academies with a cold air that had nothing to do with temperature. The fifteen banners fluttered in the hallway of the council chamber—fourteen allowed inside, one conspicuously missing.
Forsaken Peak was not invited.
And everyone knew why.
The hall lights dimd as the judges walked to their seats. Their expressions were carved from stone.
"Representatives," the lead judge said, voice echoing across the chamber, "today’s eting determines the path to the final match."
Eyes flickered toward Glacial Dominion’s delegate—an older man with a frost-cracked beard—who stood as still as a sculpture. His presence alone made the air colder.
Across from him, Celestial Fang’s representative wore a thin scowl, impatient.
No one congratulated anyone.
No one smiled. They were all here to survive Yumaris.
"We will begin," the judge continued, "with scheduling semifinal brackets."
Imdiately, a Celestial Fang teacher slamd his hand on the desk.
"What’s the point? You’ve already rigged the event by letting Glacial Dominion’s princess select Forsaken Peak! You handed them the second seat!"
Eyes darted as whispers broke out.
The Glacial Dominion teachers didn’t even blink.
The judge raised a finger, and silence dropped.
"The rule was announced in advance. Anyone could have stepped forward on day one."His gaze did not soften."You did not."
The Celestial Fang teacher gritted his teeth but fell silent.
A representative from Shattered Mountain Academy stood next.
"Forsaken Peak’s rankings aren’t natural. They jumped positions without fighting enough duels. Explain that."
A murmur of agreent followed.
Another judge leaned forward.
"We rank academies using battle efficiency, strategic consistency, potential projection, and a score we call calamity handling."
He paused.
"You do not need to understand how we evaluate these."
"That is not an explanation," the man argued.
"That," the judge replied, "is all you will get."
The room simred with frustration.
When the frost-bearded delegate from Glacial Dominion finally spoke, the entire hall snapped to silence.
"Princess Kesha’s decision was not made to pity Forsaken Peak."
His voice rumbled like distant thunder.
"She chooses opponents based on one thing only—potential. If they are weak, they’re not worthy. If they can survive her, they are worth acknowledging."
His words were an insult to them all, but no one dared challenge that.
Even Celestial Fang swallowed their objections.
As discussions continued, thinly veiled threats were exchanged:
Aetherbound Academy accused Glacial Dominion of knowing about Forsaken Peak in advance.
Another Institute hinted that if Forsaken Peak reached second, they should at least be tested.
And a third suggested Yumaris was "favoring unstable talents."
The keeper answering them remained utterly unreadable.
"Your complaints are noted," he said."But irrelevant."
They raged, but had no power to make any changes.
When tempers finally cooled, the lead judge lifted a thin scroll.
"There will be a penalty round."
He paused a mont.
"This round will determine placents three through fifteen."
Representatives leaned forward.
"The top three academies remaining after Kesha’s automatic selection will not receive byes. You will be rewarded well."
"What?"
A penalty round at Yumaris was brutal—it forced academies to squeeze out every bit of strength left.
"This is not—"
"Our rules are final. Accept them, or leave." The judge was rciless, not even looking at the person who spoke.
"And one more thing," the judge added.
"No interference with Forsaken Peak. No harassnt of their mbers. No manipulations of their lodgings, supplies, or training grounds."
The judge’s eyes sharpened.
"We know who attempted it last night."
A ripple swept through the room.
Soone tried sothing and got caught.
But no nas were spoken.
The eting ended with the crack of the judge’s staff against the floor.
Outside the council building, Lynnor leaned against a wall, arms crossed, waiting for the others to finish their eting.
"They’ll be arguing like idiots for an hour," she muttered.
Mozrael looked up at the chamber doors."What do you think they’re deciding?"
"That we’re a problem," Lynnor replied."And that they can’t do a damn thing about it. Every year, the last standing ten Academies are granted so sort of reward, and they’re jealous."
Before Mozrael could respond, the door slamd open.
Representatives poured out—so furious, so thoughtful, so pale.
A Celestial Fang tutor locked eyes with Lynnor for a mont, hesitating.
But she simply smiled, daring him.
He looked away.
After being inford of the outco of events, Forsaken Peak walked back toward their lodging with the sa quiet confidence that unsettled their enemies.
Later on, the lots were drawn, and now everyone knew who they were up against.
Early the next morning, the arena vibrated with anticipation. Every spectator leaned forward as the announcer’s voice bood over the stadium:
"Ladies and gentlen! The next quarterfinal match will test ingenuity, speed, and sheer destructive force!"
Excitent filled the arena."From the arid sands of Emberclaw Academy... and the mysterious bone-crafting prodigy of Tri-Serpent Academy... Step forth, warriors of the Inter-Academy Combat Exchange!"
Heat shimred across the front rows as Emberclaw’s Rhyden Solre strode in. The flas trailing from her palms flickered violently, casting deep crimson shadows across the stone arena floor. A wave of oppressive heat made the closest spectators instinctively retreat several rows back.
Across the field, Serya Valesh erged. Bones clicked softly beneath her boots, the sound eerily amplified by the silence that had settled over the crowd.
Her armor was a lattice of interlocking ivory bone, etched with patterns that seed almost alive. As she moved, fine bone dust fell like sparks into the arena air, forming miniature serpents that twined through the air, anticipating her will, before diving into the ground.
A few, after flowing into the ground, spreading across to form traps her opponent was unaware of.
The announcer raised his voice again, excited just as much as the spectators were.
"Spectators, take caution! This fight is not for the faint-hearted. Observe the Bone Kingdom’s craft and the blazing inferno of Emberclaw!"
The crowd barely had a mont to settle before the first strike.
Rhyden ignited instantly, flas whipping upward."Oh, I’ve been waiting for this," she said, lunging forward.
She compressed them into a curved blade and rushed forward.
The heat was palpable, each step raising the temperature so high that the air visibly rippled. A few weaker spectators could even see mirages.
Serya lifted her hand, and bones from her armor rolled and unfolded, rearranging themselves to form a bone scythe, spinning a defensive arc.
Bone dust surged upward, solidifying midair into a swirling wall of razor-sharp blades.
Rhyden’s flaming blade slamd into it, and a shockwave thundered outward. Spectators staggered—even behind the barrier.
"Does that barrier even work?" soone shouted.
So of Serya’s bones evaporated instantly into smoke, but Serya replenished the dust, forming tiny serpents that coiled around the incoming fire and redirected it harmlessly.
Spectators in the first several rows leapt back as the smoke and heat combined to create a choking, blinding haze. The sll of scorched bone dust and ozone filled the arena.
"Doesn’t the barrier keep slls too?" Another asked, clearly seeing the barrier in front of him, and doubting.
Rhyden skidded back, flas orbiting her arms.
"Tch. Cute tricks."
Serya tilted her head, cold and analytical."Let show you sothing cuter."
She snapped her scythe.
The bone wall exploded into a storm of shards.
Rhyden dashed, leaving streaks of fire. "Too slow!"
Flaming knives intercepted the barrage—but a single shard grazed her cheek.
"Ohh... first blood to Tri-Serpent," the announcer murmured.
Rhyden wiped the blood with her thumb and smirked."Not bad. Don’t get cocky."
Serya’s lips curved faintly."Who said I needed to?"
Rhyden pulled back, her flaming blade compressing into projectiles and sending a volley toward Serya.
In response, Serya slamd her scythe into the arena floor. Bone shards erupted like a jagged wave, spinning upward and slicing through the air with a haunting whistle.
Most of them exploded with the flas, releasing a more unpleasant odour.
Rhyden scrunched up her nose, but didn’t flinch.
She was looking for an opening.
The serpents Serya planted earlier burst from the ground, snapping at Rhyden’s ankles. She leapt back, but Serya slamd her scythe into the stone.
"Bone Requiem: Serpent Chorus."
Thousands of bone fragnts spiraled together, forming a colossal skeletal serpent with three snapping skulls. It lunged with grinding fury.
Rhyden didn’t flinch as the serpent’s skulls snapped and hissed
She countered with slashes of fire, but the serpent remained persistent, and each strike sent waves of force outward.
Serya just stood away, casually controlling the serpent and replenishing every bone that burned off.
"You can’t kill what I rebuild," Serya said calmly.
Rhyden snarled. "Watch ."
Closest spectators were now clutching their seats, as debris and heat whirled around the barrier. They knew they were safe, but it still kept them on their toes.
Realizing she was only going to waste her strength and get devoured,
She ignited her entire body with vermillion fla that erupted like the solar flare we had in 2025.
"Emberclaw... Ignition Form."
The air twisted into violent heat mirages.
"She’s going to lt the arena," soone gasped.
Rhyden carved straight through half the serpent in a blazing arc, but Serya anticipated it. Her shoulder plates cracked apart, dissolving into swirling bone dust that reshaped into a halo of floating mini-scythes.
She snapped her fingers.
"Pierce."
Hundreds of scythes rained toward Rhyden.
"This is brutal," the announcer whispered.
Rhyden blocked, dodged, and burned, but the pressure kept building.
As an academy in the Vermillion Kingdom, skilled students were bound to learn such fiery techniques, and the Bone Kingdom wasn’t one to sit around and not prepare a counterattack.
The arena erupted with flashes, crackles, and the sound of clashing tal-on-bone echoes as solid flas struck.
Every spectator close to the stage felt their teeth chatter, their hair singed by heat, and a collective fear of the pure intensity of the battle.
"You’re stronger than I expected," Rhyden admitted through gritted teeth.
Serya stepped forward."And you’re running out of heat. You feel it, don’t you?"
Rhyden smirked despite the sweat dripping down her jaw."That’s why I saved the fun part."
"Oh?" Serya paused. "Show . Make this interesting."
Serya lifted her scythe, her aura darkening.
"Tri-Serpent Art... Bone Scythe Dance."
Her weapon split into three... then five... then nine.
Rotating arcs of bone whirled around her with surgical precision, rging with serpents and bone dust to form a cyclone of ivory death.
Bone dust snakes ford tendrils, spikes, and projectile shields simultaneously.
This was her perfected offensive defensive move.
But Rhyden had also been holding back on them, saving her signature move for last as well.
She drew a slow breath.
Her flas dimd, then compressed into a thin blazing chain.
"Emberclaw Secret Art... Crimson Quill Strike."
The chain snapped outward, splitting into multiple whip-like segnts that lashed unpredictably, each strike detonating on impact.
The arena cracked beneath her feet.
Her aura also ignited across the arena, causing micro-explosions.
All this heat created ripples in the air, refracting and distorting light to cause confusion.
The clash beca a storm of red and ivory light.
Whip.Slash.Crack.Boom.
Rhyden’s chain split into five simultaneous strikes.
Serya parried with impossible speed.
Bone serpents shot upward.Fla whips spiraled wildly.Bone dust ford slicing vortices.Heat waves refracted the battlefield into a shimring illusion.
"I can’t even see them!" soone cried.
"This is insane!""This feels like a final match!"
Even the announcer struggled."I... I can’t keep up..."
The arena floor was now scarred. Bones protruded like small grave markers. Rhyden’s compressed fla scorched the ground into blackened cracks.
The two were now battling more intensely than in any of the previous battles.
Dust rose in columns wherever Serya sliced, swirling into miniature bone tornadoes that could slice anything in their path.
Rhyden condensed her entire fla-chain into a titanic vermillion blade that rose several ters.
Serya frowned a little, then unclasped the remaining armor plating; it shattered into dust, reforming into a colossal bone scythe-arm towering behind her.
"This will decide everything!" the announcer breathed.
Rhyden roared"Crimson Quill... SEVER!"
Serya did sa"Bone Scythe... EXECUTION!"
Their attacks collided in a blinding eruption of bone dust and vermilion fire.
Light swallowed the stage, and a shockwave rattled the entire arena.
For several long seconds... nothing moved.
When the dust finally settled, Serya stood trembling but untouched, bone dust falling like pale ash around her.
Rhyden knelt, exhausted, her flas flickering out.
Silence smothered the arena.
Then the announcer spoke, voice trembling—
"Tri-Serpent Academy... advances.A breathtaking battle. Emberclaw fought like a demon of the sun itself, but today... bone mastery reigns supre."
The arena exploded in cheers.
Serya walked up to Rhyden and helped her up.
"I respect your strength," she said.
Rhyden smiled, beaten.
"You defeated fair and square, and I know you were holding back."
"You had on my toes," Serya added.
"Don’t lie," Rhyden shook her head.
Serya chuckled. "Maybe another ti, we’ll have a proper duel when you’re stronger."
Rhyden nodded.
Serya turned to walk off, but released so bone dust, which ford a tiny snake that slithered onto Rhyden’s clothes, discreetly settling into the fabric.
No one noticed, and no one would know how much trouble it would cause.
Rhyden was helped down, very exhausted by the duel.
This was a generous battle, and no one sustained any serious injuries, but not everyone was going to be this lucky.
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