The crowd parted instinctively as Kael strode forward. He shot Evelyn a reassuring glance, though her worry lingered – even his brilliance couldn't bridge four consecutive duels against Nankur's elites.
Simon's pallid lips curled in mock courtesy. "Ah, the celebrity graces us."
"Kael, I haven't lost yet! Stay out of this!" Cruy snarled, though his trembling legs betrayed him. The Emerald Colossus flickered erratically behind him, mana threads unraveling.
Kael snorted. "Your core's running on fumes. Playing hero isn't worth destroying yourself over."
Nearby, Korgoth and Jaxon leaned heavily on supporters, their injuries sparking Kael's ire. Nankur's delegates had struck to maim, not subdue. While indifferent toward Cruy's pride, Kael respected Korgoth's quiet integrity – seeing the gentle giant battered ignited his frostfire's chill.
"Flamecrest's rules permit substitutions," Jessica purred, twirling a dagger-shaped icicle. "Unless your champion prefers crawling…"
The crowd murmured anxiously. By tournament customs, Kael could replace Cruy – but doing so would cement the summoner's humiliation.
Cruy's jaw clenched. "I said I'm fi—"
Crack!
Kael's open palm struck Cruy's cheek, the slap echoing across silent grounds. The summoner staggered, more from shock than force.
"Wake up," Kael growled. "This isn't about your ego. Flamecrest needs victory, not martyrs."
Before protests could erupt, Kael raised his scepter toward Simon. Frostfire swirled in a predatory helix.
"One condition," he declared. "I fight all four. Simultaneously."
Gasps rippled through the onlookers. Even Amelia's composure fractured.
Simon's smirk died. "Arrogant fool. You'll regret this."
"No," Kael corrected, frostfire eyes gleaming. "This ends now."
Cruy gritted his teeth, cold sweat drenching his robes. "Stay out of this, Kael!"
Kael rolled his eyes and stepped back, arms crossed. Let the fool learn the hard way.
"Cruy, let's play." A gaunt mage emerged from Nankur's ranks – Jared, his bony fingers clutching a staff crowned with glacial quartz.
"Nankur Academy, third year: Jared!" His shrill voice grated like ice on stone.
"Cruy." The summoner's reply dripped with contempt.
"Still putting on airs?" Jared sneered. His staff flared, unleashing a Blizzard – a fifth-tier spell that transformed the arena into a frozen hellscape.
Cruy's Emerald Colossus flickered and vanished as arctic winds tore through his faltering mana shield. Ice crystals shredded his robes, blood blossoming across exposed skin.
"Pathetic." Jared intensified the storm. "Your shield's as flimsy as your pride!"
Crack!
The barrier shattered. Cruy collapsed, frost creeping toward his heart.
At this critical moment, Kael intervened. A tap of his Sacred Flame Scepter conjured a frostfire barrier around Cruy. The blizzard's fury collided with cerulean flames – and died.
Jared staggered back, his spell's backlash numbing his fingers. "So this is mutated magic…"
Kael's shield burned colder than the void, its icy flames unscathed by the raging storm. The message was clear: Nankur's tricks couldn't touch Flamecrest's true power.
"Enough posturing, Cruy. Ivy, drag him out." Kael's tone brooked no argument.
"Who asked for your help?!" Cruy spat blood, his swollen face twisting with rage. "I don't need your pity, Kael!!"
The slap cracked like thunder. Cruy staggered, a crimson handprint blooming on his cheek.
"You want to martyr yourself? Fine." Kael loomed over him, frostfire flickering in his eyes. "But don't drag the academy's honor into your idiocy. Losing isn't shameful – this pathetic tantrum is."
Cruy froze, the truth striking harder than the blow. Ivy seized the moment, hauling the dazed summoner away.
Kael turned to Jared, irritation sharpening his glare. Nankur's mage had robbed him of precious hours with Amelia – an offense demanding retribution.
"Netherfrost Barrage!" Jared wasted no time. Hundreds of obsidian-tipped ice spears materialized overhead, their malevolent glow leaching warmth from the air.
Kael didn't flinch. The Sacred Flame Scepter hummed as frostfire coiled around him like an awakened leviathan.
"Show me what passes for magic in Nankur," he said softly. "I'll give you one free strike."
The crowd held its breath. Jessica's playful smirk faded. Even Simon gripped his staff tighter.
Jared's barrage descended – a blackened hailstorm meant to pierce stone and soul alike.
They disintegrated six inches from Kael's brow, reduced to steam by frostfire's paradoxical chill.
"Pathetic," Kael murmured. "Your turn."
"Flamefiend's Grasp!" Kael's scepter tapped mid-air. A massive spectral claw materialized overhead, its frostfire talons swatting Jared's ice spears like brittle twigs. The obsidian projectiles shattered into harmless mist before reaching their target.
Jared staggered, terror flashing across his gaunt features. True power, raw and unbridled, radiated from Kael – a force no training could replicate.
"Arcane Silencing." Another casual gesture. Jared's incantation died in his throat, mana flow severed mid-spell.
"Flamefiend's Grasp!"
The spectral claw slammed downward. Jared flew across the arena, crashing into a stone pillar with bone-cracking force. Blood sprayed as he crumpled, unconscious.
Victory.
Flamecrest's students erupted in cheers, warriors and mages alike united in euphoria. Kael's dominance had pierced Nankur's arrogance like sunlight through stormclouds.
Simon and Jessica exchanged wary glances, their earlier confidence fracturing.
"Still think numbers matter?" Amelia called, her smirk mirroring Kael's frostfire glare.
Simon's staff flared with violet lightning. "Arrogance will be your downfall, prodigy."
Kael raised his scepter, frostfire swirling into a vortex. "Four against one? Let's see who falls first."
The arena held its breath. Nankur's remaining delegates – Jessica, Simon, and two hulking enforcers – fanned out. Elemental energies crackled as spells coalesced: lightning, ice, earth, and shadow.
Kael stood unfazed, frostfire burning colder with each heartbeat.
Time to end this farce.