A roaring round of applause erupted from the crowd.

Their eyes were wide with disbelief as Rey landed his first solid hit on Adrien- and at such a close range for that matter.

"He made him bleed! Are you seeing this?!"

"At long last! It's happening!"

"Could this be... will he seriously win?!"

There were many speculative statements flying around among the crowd of onlookers, just as would be expected in a match of such proportion.

Neither Adrien or Rey were surprised by what was happening.

The former had chosen to be the 'Heel' in the match, which made Rey the default 'Face'. Thanks to this dynamic, the audience was going to root for Adrien's downfall and cheer for the one who brought that to fruition.

In essence, it wasn't just Rey versus Adrien.

It was the entire arena-all of the Dragons spectating-alongside Rey... versus Adrien.

'I'm sure even Vai'zel is also somewhat rooting for my loss... though he would prefer it if I struggle a little more.' Adrien smiled to himself, thinking of the Storm Dragon Lord.

By losing to Rey, he would be 'humbled' in a sense, and that would make him easier to manipulate by the Storm Dragon Lord. Since Rey was under the disguise of a Dragon, if he won, it re-established the notion of Dragon Superiority and reinforced that idea to everyone spectating.

"Humans can't beat Dragons."

That mindset would once again be held concretely in their minds.

'As it should be... though I don't plan to make it that easy for them.' Adrien spat out the blood that had formed in his mouth, feeling the iron-like taste in his burning tongue.

~WHOOOSH!~

He sent his own fist flying forward, but it was promptly dodged.

At the same time, Rey used his second hand to strike Adonis-this time using the very back of his fist for extra damage. Once again... even though Adrien's face shifted as a result of the strike, he did not move from where he stood.

Instead, he followed up with a more powerful blow than before.

~WHUUM!~

It was blocked by a barrier, and Rey used that very moment-an opportunity created thanks to the recoil that Adrien experienced after hitting his hard fist on a barrier and not Rey's flesh- to draw Adrien's head closer to his knee.

This time, he gave him a powerful knee strike.

~POW!~

Adrien had no choice but to stagger backwards this time, causing his blood to spray all over the immediate stage.

Rey used Spatial Magic to draw him back, however, coalescing energy on his fist to rush at him the moment he reached striking distance.

~WHUUUSH!~

The moment arrived in a flash.

Adrien's body was pulled towards Rey, almost like the latter was a walking black hole, and at that very moment a powerful punch was charging at him.

In a last-ditch attempt to protect himself, Adrien coated himself in a barrier and even raised his fist to protect his face. Then, he released Miasma, coating himself and his barrier in the energy in order to ward Rey away or lessen the impact of the strike.

Anyone who saw this would assume that Rey would retreat.

After all, one of the primary causes of the mass deaths among the students during the Academy Excursion was their exposure to Miasma. Even if one didn't die from it, direct exposure to its dense energy would cause severe injury and corruption.

Any normal student would hesitate in their strike at the very least, or even create some distance between the two of them as fast as possible.

However, that wasn't what Rey did.

Rather than shrink back, he increased the intensity of his blow and let his fist become a blur of light.

Then-

-B0000000000000000000000M!!!-

The attack connected, shattering the barrier and even the feeble defense that Adrien rendered in the form of his raised hands. All of those were rendered invalid, as the fist went through all of them and still landed on his bloodied face.

The shattering sound that resulted was deafening.

The audience felt the incredible pressure that proceeded from the attack, and the one who suffered a direct hit was sent flying off the stage as soon as that attack connected.

In essence... he lost.

For the first few seconds after Adrien was erupted off the stage, and Rey was left standing- his body partially bruised by the effects of Miasma-there was sheer silence in the entire

auditorium.

The exploding sound of Rey's last strike still rang in everyone's ears, and they could hardly hear or say anything in their stunned state.

However, the silence was soon shattered by the announcement of an equally stupefied referee.

"T-THE WINNER OF THE MATCH IS R'AI!"

When he said this, the audience snapped back to reality, their wide eyes fixated solely on the Dragon who managed to avenge the ones who came before him and secured the victory that they so badly craved.

In response, everyone did the only thing they could think of.

They cheered.

"WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!"

***************

Finally, it was over.

The Tournament, which seemed to last an eternity had finally been concluded, and the four students who managed to leave the most impression were called to the stage after a short break and celebration that commemorated the overall winner of the Tournament.

And so...

"R'ai, Adrien, Luc'ia, and Ad'oni... the four of you performed phenomenally well in this Tournament." The White Dragon Lord spoke softly, her presence easily commanding absolute silence in the hall.

Behind her were the three judges-O'jog and his colleagues.

"This has certainly been the most exciting exchange we've had in centuries, and it's a bit

regrettable to see it end already."

Everyone in the audience nodded in agreement.

Dragons lived very long lives, which meant most of the spectators had witnessed dozens-if

not hundreds of Exchanges.

This was by far their most exciting one.

"As promised, aside from the main prizes that each of you will receive as a result of your outstanding efforts, I will also be picking three of you to become my direct disciples." Rey and Lucielle had broad smiles on their faces, and even Adrien-despite his defeat- remained perfectly calm with a dark smile spreading all over his completely healed face.

The only one who had a gloomy demeanor was Adonis.

Perhaps this was because he recognized that among the four of them, he had scored last place and wouldn't be chosen among the top three candidates for discipleship. "While I want to have someone as talented as you, Adrien Chase... it appears you are already affiliated with the Storm Dragon Lord and will not be considering a direct discipleship under

me." The White Dragon Lord said. "Is that correct?"

As soon as this question was asked, a spark appeared in Adonis' eyes.

"That is indeed correct... Lord White."

His heart raced the moment he heard Adrien's response to the White Dragon Lord. If he

rejected the position, could it be that... he could actually qualify?

"Very well..." As the White Dragon Lord said this, she removed her gaze from him and rested

her eyes on the remaining three students before her.

"R'ai... Luc'ia... and Ad'oni... do the three of you desire to serve the Dragon Empire and our

revered Emperor by taking your place as my direct disciples?"

There was no need for hesitation or further contemplation among the three students.

They already knew their answer.

"Yes, Lord White!"

*

*

Thanks for reading!

At long last... the tournament is over. We can finally advance with the story.

And yes... interesting stuffs are on the horizon.