The audience didn't wait long before preparations for the Magic Division Finals were completed.
Officials and staff moved quickly to restore the arena while the announcer enthusiastically built anticipation for what many considered the true main event of the day.
Both academies had already reached the finals of the Knight Division. Now they stood before each other once again, this time in the field of magic.
As the rabbit-kin announcer declared the start of the match, cheers erupted throughout the stadium.
From Star Shine Academy's side, Vivianne stepped onto the stage.
Her crimson hair swayed behind her as she walked forward with complete confidence. The moment she appeared, a large portion of the crowd erupted into excited cheers.
On the opposite side, Crimson Bastion Academy sent out a fire mage of their own.
The moment the introductions concluded and the signal was given, the battle began.
Or rather, it became obvious almost immediately who controlled the battlefield.
Vivianne attacked first. Streams of flames erupted across the arena, forcing her opponent onto the defensive from the very beginning. Fire met fire repeatedly, but the difference in mastery quickly became apparent.
Every spell her opponent cast was met with a stronger one. Every attempt at offense was pushed back. Every effort to gain momentum was crushed before it could fully develop.
Vivianne overwhelmed her opponent through sheer superiority in both magic power and casting speed.
By the midpoint of the match, the Crimson Bastion mage was already struggling to keep up.
A few minutes later, the outcome became inevitable. His final defense shattered beneath a torrent of flames, forcing him to surrender.
Vivianne merely brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before turning and walking back toward her team's side.
As she returned, another figure calmly rose from Star Shine Academy's section. Arista drew another wave of cheers from the audience as she stepped onto the stage.
Unlike Vivianne's overwhelming victory, her match unfolded very differently.
From the beginning, both sides remained evenly matched.
Spells collided repeatedly throughout the arena as neither combatant managed to establish a decisive advantage. Fireworks of mana illuminated the battlefield while the crowd watched in anticipation, waiting for either side to gain the upper hand.
The battle stretched longer and longer. In the end, however, the difference came down to a single mistake.
A brief opening appeared, and her opponent seized it immediately.
The decisive spell struck Arista before she could recover, costing her the match.
Arista accepted the result gracefully and returned to her team's side as Draim passed by her and stepped onto the stage.
His opponent this time was a light mage from Crimson Bastion Academy. Unlike the previous matches, this battle carried a sense of raw aggression from the very beginning.
The two mages attacked relentlessly, neither willing to surrender even a fraction of momentum. The audience watched spell after spell collide in dazzling explosions of light and electricity.
The fight escalated rapidly. As the battle dragged on, both competitors reached the same conclusion: the winner would be decided by whoever unleashed their strongest spell first.
The light mage began constructing an enormous spell formation overhead, radiant energy gathering into a blinding sphere.
At the same time, arcs of lightning exploded around Draim's body as thunder roared across the arena.
It was unmistakably Tier-6 magic.
Then both mages moved.
Their magic circles completed almost simultaneously. Yet in a battle between elite mages, that tiny difference was enough to decide everything.
Draim finished first.
A bolt of brilliant lightning descended from above like divine judgment itself, crossing the battlefield before his opponent's spell could fully activate.
The impact engulfed the arena.
A deafening explosion echoed throughout the stadium as dust and light swallowed the battlefield whole.
When the blinding radiance finally faded, only one person remained standing.
The referee raised a hand and declared Draim the winner, allowing Star Shine Academy to reclaim the lead once again.
The aftermath of the previous battle left Draim standing in the center of the arena, breathing noticeably heavier than before.
In the final clash, casting a Tier-6 spell had consumed a significant portion of his mana reserves. Although he remained capable of fighting, continuing would only place him at an unnecessary disadvantage against a fresh opponent.
Draim understood that. So did everyone else on Star Shine Academy's side.
Without hesitation, he stepped down from the stage.
The audience wasn't surprised. By this point, many had already noticed the pattern behind Star Shine Academy's approach throughout the finals.
Earlier that morning, Elena had already laid out the strategy: whenever possible, every member would fight only once.
Win or lose, they would immediately rotate out and allow another teammate to take the stage. By spreading the burden across the entire team, they could conserve mana, minimize fatigue, and ensure that no one became completely exhausted.
Against an academy like Crimson Bastion Academy, such preparation was essential.
After all, this wasn't just an individual tournament—it was a team battle as well.
Of course, there was one obvious exception: Alex.
With his absurd mana recovery speed and seemingly endless reserves, he wasn't bound by the same limitations as everyone else. Even after multiple battles, he could recover faster than most contestants could expend their mana.
Still, Elena had no intention of relying entirely on him from the beginning.
The others had their roles to play as well.
As Draim returned to Star Shine Academy's side, Elena's gaze shifted toward the stage.
"Your turn."
Alex nodded and rose from his seat.
The moment he stepped forward, a wave of excitement swept through the stadium.
After everything he had displayed throughout the tournament, every appearance on stage now drew attention. Thousands of eyes followed him as he walked toward the stage, anticipation rising almost immediately.
Whether they supported Star Shine Academy or not, everyone wanted to see what he would do next.
On the opposite side, Crimson Bastion Academy's next representative stepped forward as well.
Alex's opponent was a tall, broad-shouldered young man with tanned skin and a heavily built physique that immediately stood out among the other students. As an earth mage, his imposing build seemed perfectly suited to his element.
"Garran Bsiet of Crimson Bastion Academy!"
"Alex Blanc. Star Shine Academy."
The match began the moment the signal was given.
Many expected Garran to immediately unleash a barrage of earth magic. Instead, he did something entirely different.
A brown magic circle appeared beneath his feet.
"
Mana surged through his body as a hardened layer of stone rapidly formed across his torso, shoulders, arms, and legs. The rocky plating fitted tightly around him like a second skin, significantly enhancing both his defense and physical strength.
Before the audience could fully process what had happened, a second magic circle appeared.
"
Dense earth gathered around both of his fists, compressing into massive stone gauntlets nearly twice the size of normal hands. The thick rocky constructs looked more like siege weapons than ordinary equipment.
Alex's eyes narrowed slightly.
'A close-combat earth mage?'
That wasn't the most common approach.
Most earth mages preferred controlling the battlefield through walls, spikes, and defensive formations. Garran, however, seemed intent on turning himself into the weapon.
Without wasting another second, Garran lowered his stance and charged.
The arena floor cracked beneath his feet as he exploded forward with surprising speed for someone of his size. His massive frame barreled across the battlefield like a charging beast, rapidly closing the distance between them before a giant stone-clad fist shot toward Alex.
Alex remained calm.
"
Multiple chains of ice erupted from the ground and shot toward Garran from different directions. Their purpose wasn't merely to bind him but also to slow his momentum and halt the charge entirely.
The chains wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso.
For a brief moment, it looked as though the spell had succeeded.
Then Garran grinned.
With a roar, he seized the ice chains with both gauntleted hands and yanked them with overwhelming force. The frozen restraints stretched taut before several sections shattered apart under the strain.
The audience erupted.
"What the hell?!"
"He broke Frost Chain with brute force!"
"He's using Earth Armor to reinforce his body directly!" someone in the VIP section exclaimed.
Even Alex appeared mildly surprised.
Not because the spell had failed, but because Garran hadn't even attempted to evade it. Instead, he had simply overpowered it.
Using the momentum from the pull, Garran surged forward once more.
Unfortunately for him, an enormous wall of ice erupted directly in his path.
Garran's eyes widened, but he was moving far too fast to stop. The next moment, his armored body slammed headfirst into the ice wall.
The collision shook part of the arena as cracks rapidly spread across the ice wall. Fragments of ice exploded outward while Garran stumbled backward from the impact, looking more annoyed than injured.
The audience couldn't help but stare.
Most mages would have been seriously injured from such a collision. Garran, however, merely shook his shoulders as bits of frost and shattered ice slid from his stone armor.
Alex watched the scene with growing interest.
This opponent was certainly different from the others. Most mages fought from a distance, relying on powerful spells and battlefield control.
Garran fought like a relentless close-range combatant, using earth magic to amplify his natural strength rather than cast complex spells.
'Like a brawler... or a tank.' Alex thought.