You know, there’s something deeply unsettling about walking into a stadium filled with thousands of people screaming and chanting—and realizing they’re doing it because you’re supposed to be the entertainment.
And by entertainment, I mean someone’s about to try and separate your spine from your body using an enchanted bde.
“Welcome,” boomed the announcer. “To the Inter-Academy Individual Combat Tournament!”
Cheers erupted across the sky-dome, illusion screens magnifying the dueling stage, which shimmered with yered enchantments to stop us from blowing each other into magical jelly.
From the stands, you could hear the roars of the crowd, the merchants hawking overpriced mana-pops, and, of course, our parents.
Specifically—
“REILLEEEE! BE COOL AND MAYBE LUCIEN WILL MARRY YOU!”
I looked up. “Why is your mother like this?”
“I DON’T KNOW!” Rielle hissed, her face fming red.
Match 1: Rielle vs. Solveig the Steel ViperSolveig, tall and scarred like she sharpened herself on her own bde, stepped into the arena with a massive sword that looked like it was forged to end family trees.
Rielle cracked her neck and grinned.
“You know how to use that, or is it a prop?” she asked.
Solveig said nothing. Just pointed the bde and surged forward.
Boom.
A burst of aura exploded around Rielle’s body—like silver lightning crawling on her skin. Her bde shimmered with awakened aura core, a manifestation of her combat will. And yes, it was as badass as it sounds.
They cshed in mid-air. Sparks flew.
The crowd gasped.
The judges—a trio of bored-looking senior instructors, a Sarnhild rep, and an illusion commentator named Vox—perked up.
Judge 1: “Rielle Wyrhart’s aura core is stable, refined. She’s enhancing her reaction speed and grip strength.”
Judge 2: “She’s flowing her aura through the bde—cssic Technique Form Tier 2.”
Vox: “AND THERE SHE GOES WITH A SWEEPING COUNTER! This isn’t just a duel—this is a symphony of violence!”
Meanwhile, Rielle parried, twisted, jumped off Solveig’s bde and drop-kicked her across the stage.
The duel ended with Solveig ft on the ground and Rielle smirking over her, sword to her throat.
“You fight well,” Rielle said.
“I almost liked you for a second,” Solveig replied, and passed out.
In the stands, her mother was yelling, “YES! MARRY HER! YOU SEE THIS, LUCIEN?”
Match 2: Eli vs. Dagr Ulstein – The Gcier FangEli stepped in. Calm. Quiet. Focused.
Dagr, meanwhile, looked like a blond model who got lost and became a sword fighter. His aura chilled the arena, forming frost along the edge of the stage.
“Let’s just skip to the part where I break that pretty sword,” he said.
Eli didn’t respond. She just raised her bde.
A flicker.
Then an eruption—her aura core fred, deep sapphire wrapping her limbs and bde. Her sword shimmered with arcs of blue kinetic energy.
The crowd gasped again.
Then screamed when Eli moved—so fast the air cracked.
Sparks exploded as their bdes met in a storm of sshes.
Judge 3: “That girl fights like a predator.”
Judge 2: “Aura technique: Pulsed Flow. Enhances momentary acceleration. Rare even among elite squads.”
Vox: “DAGR’S ON THE DEFENSIVE! WHAT’S THIS? ELI’S NOT JUST FIGHTING—SHE’S DANCING THROUGH STEEL!”
Eli didn’t win with brute force.
She danced around him, shattered his stance, and ended the match with the ft of her bde against his throat.
“Graceful,” Dagr said.
“Next time,” she said, “bring two swords.”
His eyes widened. He nodded, accepting defeat.
In the stands, her father cpped once and nodded.
That was his version of “I’m proud.”
Match 3: Lucien vs. Albrecht EisenhardtAnd then... it was my turn.
The crowd went wild.
Albrecht stood across from me, his mana swirling around him in elegant patterns—earth under his feet, water flowing through the air. A cssic dual-element elite.
“Lucien Wyrhart,” he said, bowing. “I hope you’re ready.”
“Oh, I’m always ready,” I grinned, stepping forward, “...to disappoint.”
He frowned.
I summoned Ember.
She slithered out in a coiling bze, glowing faintly with the new power we’d unlocked from that forbidden book—Arcanic Evolution Binding.
“Let’s make this fshy,” I whispered.
And then all hell broke loose.
He sent a spear of water, twisted with earth.
I raised my hand.
“Ember, Fme Spiral. Then... Pika Charge.”
“What?”
A swirling cyclone of fire and mana burst from her mouth, then she dashed forward, wrapped in fmes, smming into Albrecht with a screech.
Judge 1: “His summon… it evolved again?”
Judge 2: “It’s responding to psychic visualization? He’s syncing with it?”
Vox: “OH MY MANA! DID HE JUST SHOUT A MOVE NAME THAT MAKES NO SENSE AND STILL WORKED?! THIS IS BATTLE THEATRE!”
Albrecht managed to throw up a barrier, barely. I hit him with another move.
“Fire Wave! Quick Attack! Double Tap Fme Fang!”
“Stop naming your attacks like a bad game!” he shouted.
“Don’t bme me, bme the game logic living rent-free in my brain!”
I ended it with Ember circling behind him, fire coiling around his limbs, while I summoned a fme dagger to his throat.
Match. Over.
Parents, Princesses, and PoliticiansThe crowd roared.
Our parents were a mixed bag of screaming pride and jaw-dropped horror.
Rielle’s mother was now openly sobbing, hugging my mom and yelling, “THEY’RE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER!”
Kael just facepalmed.
The Crown Prince said, “He fights like a lunatic.”
Sylvaria said, “He fights like mine.”
The tournament? Still ongoing.
But Squad 7?
We just decred war.
And the crowd? Well… they loved every damn second.
