The morning sun hit the golden spires of the imperial colosseum, but inside the arena walls, the air was freezing and thick with tension. The ground had been heavily modified by top-tier mages, transforming the dirt floor into a massive, rugged terrain filled with jagged rocks, deep trenches, and ancient stone ruins. This was the fourth and final trial of the tournament—the Mythical Arena.
Cassian stood at the front of the royal balcony, his hands gripping the stone railing tightly. His cold, distant mask was firmly in place, hiding the exhaustion that still ate at his bones. Behind him stood Lucien, motionless as a statue, his ice-blue eyes fixed securely on the back of the prince's head.
Down in the pits, the students Cassian had fiercely trained stood in a tight formation, their weapons drawn and their knuckles white.
*BOOM!*
The massive iron gates across the stadium creaked open, and the heavy thuds of approaching danger shook the entire colosseum. Four terrifying tiers of magical beasts rushed into the light.
### Tier 1: The Winged Menace – Wyverns
With a deafening screech that tore through the air, three massive Wyverns soared out of the gate, their leathery wings whipping up violent gusts of wind. Their scales were a dull, armored green, and venom dripped from their rows of razor-sharp teeth, hissing as it hit the stone floor.
"Form the shield wall! Don't let them split us up!" Felix yelled, his voice cracking but firm.
The Wyverns circled the arena high above before diving down like falling stars, their massive talons extended to snatch the students from the ground. The kids moved instantly, just as Cassian had drilled into them. They slammed their shields together, channeling their mana to form a glowing barrier. The first Wyvern slammed into the shield wall with a brutal force, its tail whipping violently against the iron.
"Hold the line! Archers, target the wing joints now!"
Arrows coated in piercing mana flew through the air, finding the weak spots beneath the beasts' wings. With painful roars, the Wyverns were forced back to the ground, their massive tails thrashing wildly as the vanguard students moved in to finish the extraction.
### Tier 2: The Stare of Death – Basilisks
Before the students could even catch their breath, a low, terrifying slithering sound echoed from the dark trenches of the arena. Two giant Basilisks, easily forty feet long with scales as thick as steel plates, slid into the open. Their eyes glowed with a sickening, pale yellow light—the infamous petrifying gaze.
"Eyes down! Look only at their shadows!" Leo shouted, remembering Cassian's strict lectures on beast biology.
"If you lock eyes with them, your mana will freeze!"
The students instantly lowered their visors, using the reflections on their polished swords and the dirt to track the monsters' heavy movements. The Basilisks lunged, their jaws snapping shut with enough force to crush boulders. The students split into pairs, dodging the heavy lunges by inches. Just then Honda slid beneath a Basilisk's underbelly, driving a mana-infused dagger deep into its softer flesh, causing the massive serpent to thrash around in a bloody frenzy.
### Tier 3: The Chaotic Fusion – Chimeras
From the ruins of the stone structures, three Chimeras leaped onto the battlefield. They were terrifying creatures—possessing the roaring head and body of a massive lion, a venomous snake for a tail that hissed viciously, and a horned goat's head growing directly from their backs, breathing bursts of scorching fire.
The Chimeras moved with terrifying agility, leaping over the trenches to scatter the students' formation. A burst of flames shot from a goat head, melting a stone pillar into slag.
"Mages, use the water spells to cool the flames! Knights, cut the snake tails first!"
The battle turned chaotic. The students used the jagged rocks for cover, baiting the Chimeras into narrow spaces. Two vanguard students successfully flanked a beast, their heavy claymores swinging in unison to sever the striking snake tail, while a barrage of ice spears from the rear ranks pierced the lion's chest, pinning the monster to the dirt.
### Tier 4: The Ancient Pillars – Rune Titans
Finally, the ground groaned under an immense weight as the final gate opened. Two towering Rune Titans stepped into the arena. Constructed from ancient, moss-covered stone and held together by glowing blue magical runes, they stood over thirty feet tall. Every step they took felt like a mini-earthquake, and their massive stone fists could easily flatten a house.
"The runes! Destroy the glowing marks on their knees and chests!" Felix ordered, his voice strained from shouting.
"They won't stop moving until the mana flow is broken!"
The Rune Titans raised their massive arms, slamming their fists into the ground and creating a shockwave that knocked several students off their feet. The students scrambled, using their remaining stamina to scale the jagged rocks nearby. Jumping from the stone platforms, the bravest of the knights landed directly onto the Titans' rocky shoulders, driving their swords deep into the glowing blue runes. The stone began to crack, and with a thunderous roar of crumbling rock, the first Titan shattered, falling to the ground in a heap of lifeless boulders.
Up on the balcony, Cassian watched the final Titan crumble into dust. And a collective, roaring cheer erupted from the entire colosseum as the students stood victorious, battered and bloody but entirely alive.
Cassian let out a small, silent breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His students had won. He had secured the empire's glory.
"They did well, My Prince," Lucien murmured from behind, his deep voice carrying a trace of genuine pride for the kids, but his eyes remained focused solely on Cassian's pale profile.
"Your training saved their lives today."
Cassian didn't turn around. He simply tightened his grip on his cloak, his heart heavy with the reminder that with this victory secured, Saturday's banquet was next—and his three-month countdown to leaving them all behind had officially begun.
*****