Swoosh-!

A sword sliced through the air, dancing on the wind as its sharp tip hurtled toward Leon, whose eyes narrowed in alarm. The speed of the attack left him breathless.

But...

Though he was tired, he still was able to react.

Bringing his sword up, he twisted it to the side and redirected the attack away from his body. Clank!

Sparks flew as he took a single step back.

"Hoo."

He let out a forced breath. Then, twisting his body, he turned his neck to the side, dodging the sword which twirled in the air and headed straight for his face.

Clank!

Leon twisted his body, once again turning his sword briefly and redirecting the sword away from himself.

Using this method, he was able to fend off the attack and recuperate some of his lost stamina.

He was slowly starting to get into the zone...

Clank, clank-

"Incredible."

Johanna mumbled, staring at Leon with a glint in her eyes. Being a knight herself, she understood perfectly what had happened and the complexity of Leon's movements.

She started to explain,

"....What Leon did is not something that most people can do. And that's taking into account knights who are stronger than him. What you see right here, is control in its purest form."

Johanna's eyes twinkled in delight.

The more she looked at Leon, the more her hand started to twitch.

She had never looked as interested in the fight as she did now. Karl, who had been with her the entire time, noticed the change as he asked,

"What do you mean by control?"

"...What I mean by control is the overall level of mastery that someone has over their abilities. In some sense, you can say that Caius is a master of control in the art of Emotive Magic."

"Uhm? But didn't he...?"

"Control can only help you so much."

Johanna helplessly smiled.

"Julien's case is different. While his control is not to the same degree as Caius, his overall power and intensity far outstripped Caius's control."

"So...?"

"If Julien had better control, he would've been able to win the fight a lot faster." "Hiss."

Karl took a deep breath.

Though he couldn't fully understand what Johanna said, all he knew was that by her words, Julien had massive rooms for growth. He was already terrifying, making his way to the finals. And now she was telling him that he could be even better...?

What sort of...

"It'll be an interesting fight if it gets to that point."

Johanna mumbled, her eyes tracing Leon's movements as though she was staring at a work of art.

"....Leon's control versus Julien's overwhelming power. And unlike Caius, this won't be a fight that will happen within Julien's turf."

Fidgeting with her hands, Johanna licked her lips.

All of a sudden, she started to anticipate the match. But...

"It's only if he can beat Aoife."

Looking down, and seeing Aoife manipulate the sword as though it were one of her limbs, she could feel the potential matchup difficult to occur.

Especially since...

"Ah!"

Karl jumped up from his seat, his hand pointing toward the broadcast as Aoife's eyes started to shine, lightning starting to crackle all around her.

"She's using another element!"

Fire, Darkness, Curse, and now Lightning...

What was her limit?

A magic circle formed on top of Leon's head as he deftly avoided the sword by carefully positioning his pivot and cushioning the attack. His expression turned grim as he noticed the magic circle above him, and with a low shout, he smashed his foot against the ground, pushing himself toward Aoife.

Bang!

The ground shattered at the force of his movement, and in a blur, he arrived before Aoife.

"Brilliant!"

Karl exclaimed, seeing Leon's movements.

"He's positioning himself within Aoife's range to stop her from attacking, knowing that any move she makes would risk injuring herself as well."

It was a brilliant move that Karl couldn't help but praise.

The audience also felt the same as they sat at the edge of their seats, staring at the fight with

bated breaths.

But...

"It's not that easy."

Johanna mumbled, her expression turning serious.

Cracka!

A terrifying 'clap' resounded through the air as all hair on Leon's body stood up, pointing toward the sky. His muscles started to twitch, while the area around him suddenly felt

weightless.

"....!"

His pupils constricted.

'Shit.'

He cursed, clenching the sword in his hand and throwing it in the air.

The lightning came down, changing trajectory in the last second and heading directly for the

sword.

BOOOM!

A terrifying explosion resounded through the air as Leon closed his eyes, overwhelmed by the light that suddenly spilled.

He wasn't the only one who reacted that as the entire audience closed their eyes.

The broadcast turned white for a brief moment before everything returned to normal. By then, everyone quickly put their attention back on the platform where the two figures stood.

"Наа.. Наа..."

Leon's breath was extremely heavy as his hair was a mess. Scorch marks marred the surfaces

of his skin as he staggered a couple of steps.

The hearts of the spectators sank at the sight presented before them.

Especially when they turned their attention toward Aoife who looked completely fine, her

expression as calm as it had been from the start.

"This..."

Johanna looked at the sight in disbelief.

This girl Aoife...

What sort of monster was she? Not only was she able to use so many elements, but she was also able to use such terrifying spells without being exhausted at all. Looking at her breathing which appeared to be even, and her complexion, it felt as though she was merely walking in a

park.

Julien was terrifying, but this...?

"I—"

"Pftt!"

A sudden change occurred on the platform as the atmosphere froze over. All eyes fell on Aoife

whose face grew pale.

Her eyes shook, and she hastily covered her mouth.

Drip!

Amidst the sudden silence that engulfed the entire Colosseum, blood stained the ground,

slipping through the gaps between her fingers.

Several people stood up at the scene.

Johanna too as she looked at Aoife who finally showed weakness.

"This..."

Her breath grew light.

"...So she was at her limit as well."

***

A moment prior.

Craka!

"Here you go. Stay still while I help you."

Sweat poured down from the side of Evelyn's pale face. Just moments prior, she too felt a

terrifying pain as her powers started to get sucked out of her body. It left her completely helpless for a while minute before it all passed.

By then, and with Kiera's help, she was able to regain herself and quickly helped free a few

other people.

"Haa...!"

As the magic circle entered the young boy's body, Evelyn leaned back, her chest heaving up

and down repeatedly.

She was exhausted, and she could hardly feel herself.

Her mind was sluggish and her vision blurred.

"Are you okay?"

"....No."

Evelyn replied to Kiera who stood before her.

"I'm.. haa... dying."

"It sucks doesn't it?"

"Y-yeah..."

She would be lying if she said it didn't suck.

"What now?"

Kiera asked, looking around. They had been going around helping people, injecting weird

magic circles around their bodies. Kiera had lost count of the amount of people that they had

done this to.

Originally, they had only meant to do an extra three, but that changed.

She didn't know what brought the change.

"Right..."

But it didn't matter as Evelyn gradually sat up, her hand extended forward as a purple magic

circle appeared before her. Kiera was just about to ask her what it was but was promptly cut off by her.

"Get your mind ready. I don't know where your real body is, but if you happen to be in the

arena and you suddenly squeal, do expect people to look at you."

"Uh? What does that-"

Snap!

Evelyn snapped her fingers.

The world passed, and the surroundings froze.

Kiera lost her voice, and as she raised her head, her pupils constricted as a gigantic crack

appeared.

'What the...!'

Her vision grew dark shortly after that.

".....!"

By the time she regained herself, her body flinched as her eyelids snapped open. Her chest

heaved up and down repeatedly as light entered her eyes.

As she adjusted to the situation, she realized she was sitting in the audience.

It was quiet, and all eyes were focused on Aoife who suddenly started bleeding. Kiera stared at

the scene for a few seconds before letting out a long breath.

"Huuu."

Evelyn was right...

She would've been screwed had she shouted.

***

"Huu."

I closed my eyes and the air left my mouth.

'What did I just see...?'

My mind was in a mess. I had to forcibly recall the locks in order to cool down my emotions.

They were still rattling wildly in my mind, but they held on.

...I need to find a way to improve the spell.'

It was a self-created spell, and it couldn't yet be considered a spell.

It didn't even have a name.

At least, not yet.

There were a few necessary procedures that I had to take in order for it to be fully created into

a spell.

When everything was done and over, I planned on doing such steps.

"....."

Opening my eyes up again, the familiar room greeted my sight. The curtains ballooned as a

cold breeze wafted in, and staring at the bed, Aoife sat with a dazed look, kneeling as she

brushed the air.

"Where is she...?"

I scanned the room in look for the little girl, but wherever I looked, I couldn't find a single

trace of her.

'Where did she go?'

I was a little apprehensive and felt hesitant to chase after her given what I had just witnessed,

but two figures appeared before me. "What happened?"

It was Owl-Mighty and Pebble.

They were both looking at me with a serious look.

"Out of nowhere, the girl forced your hand to touch your own arm, and both of you froze in

place. Then, suddenly, the little girl was sent hurtling away."

"Is that what happened?"

"Yes."

So they didn't see...

"Do you happen to know where she went?"

"Yes."

Pebble nodded its little head, pointing toward the door.

"To the right."

"Right..."

"Are you not going to chase after her? She looked pretty weakened and different than before.'

I didn't answer immediately.

But licking my lips, my legs moved on my own as I already started to move out of the door.

'Right, he's probably left her body.'

All that was left was the soul of the little girl...

And as I thought about her, my heart started to feel heavy. But I had no choice. For all of this

to end, I had to do this.

"Haa."

Swallowing, I picked up the pace.