After the short break—
Everyone returned to their training.
The afternoon sun hung high above the academy.
A warm breeze moved across the training field.
Whoosh…
Students were still practicing across the grounds.
Clang! Thud! Swish!
Sylven stretched his arms.
"Alright… time to continue."
He began jogging around the field again, maintaining his reinforcement magic as he ran.
A faint glow surrounded his body.
Meanwhile—
On one side of the field…
Riven and Kael resumed their sparring.
Both of them rushed forward.
THUD!
Punches and kicks clashed.
They blocked and countered each other repeatedly.
Neither of them held back.
Riven wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Tch… you're really tough, Kael."
Kael replied calmly while blocking another punch.
"You're not bad yourself."
---
On the Other Side of the Field
Lyra and Iren faced each other again.
Both stood in fighting stances.
Their breathing was already heavy from the previous rounds.
But neither of them wanted to stop.
Then—
They rushed forward.
THUD!
Their fists collided.
Punches and kicks followed rapidly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Both attacked with full speed.
Suddenly—
Lyra's eyes glowed faintly.
"Domain of Time."
In that instant—
Iren's body froze.
The world around him slowed to a halt.
Lyra dashed forward.
In a flash—
She appeared behind him.
Then—
THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD
Ten hits landed within a single second.
Iren's eyes widened.
His body trembled.
He dropped to one knee.
Breathing heavily.
Lyra laughed softly.
"I got you again."
She folded her arms proudly.
"So… yield?"
Iren shook his head.
"…No."
"Not yet."
Slowly—
He forced himself back to his feet.
They clashed again.
But the result repeated.
Again and again—
Lyra's Domain of Time overwhelmed him.
Yet—
Iren refused to quit.
He stood up every time.
Breathing heavily.
Sweat dripped from his chin.
Finally he spoke.
"Lyra… tell me something."
She raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Would you mind if I used my magic against you?"
Lyra smiled immediately.
"Of course not."
"In fact… I want you to."
Iren nodded slowly.
"…Alright."
"Then no more holding back."
A proud smile appeared on Lyra's face.
"But the result will still be the same."
Iren smirked slightly.
"We'll see."
But inside—
Lyra felt excitement rising.
'Finally…'
'He's going to use his power.'
'Now I can prove myself to him.'
---
Fire Ring – Activation
Iren raised his hand.
The ring on his finger began to glow.
A faint orange light spread across the metal.
He whispered quietly.
"Level One… Ignition."
"Full power."
Suddenly—
Flames erupted around his body.
FWOOOSH
Heat waves spread through the air.
The flames danced violently before slowly calming.
Iren lifted his head.
His eyes burned with determination.
Then—
He vanished.
WHOOSH
In the next instant—
He dashed toward Lyra at incredible speed.
His strength and speed had increased drastically.
Lyra barely dodged the strike.
But the shockwave pushed her backward.
"Whoa—!"
Before she could regain balance—
Iren appeared behind her.
His fist shot forward.
But Lyra reacted instantly.
She saw the movement with her foresight ability.
CLACK
She blocked the punch.
Iren nodded.
"Good defense."
Lyra smirked.
"Thanks for the compliment."
"But I'm not going to go easy on you."
Both fighters rushed forward again.
Their movements were faster than before.
THUD! THUD!
Their attacks collided repeatedly.
But Lyra noticed something.
His speed…
It's increasing.
Then—
Iren launched a sweeping kick.
Lyra flipped backward to dodge it.
WHOOSH
She landed lightly.
Then she rushed forward again.
Her eyes glowed.
"Domain of Time."
Once again—
Iren entered a frozen dimension.
His body stopped moving.
In reality—
Lyra dashed around him.
Appearing behind him once again.
Then—
THUD THUD THUD
Ten rapid strikes landed instantly.
But this time—
Iren collapsed.
His body finally gave out.
He fell onto his back.
THUD
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
"...Haa… haa…"
He was exhausted.
Using the Fire Ring consumed enormous energy.
Lyra walked over and sat beside him.
She was also breathing heavily.
Sweat dripped from her forehead.
She looked at him and smiled.
"So… finally yielding?"
"Mr. Popular?"
Iren chuckled weakly.
"…Yeah."
"I guess I don't have a choice."
"You hit me so many times my body refuses to stand."
Lyra smiled proudly.
"I finally won."
A brief silence followed.
Then Iren said calmly.
"Yeah."
"You deserved it."
Lyra leaned back and looked at the sky.
The sun was already lowering toward the horizon.
Golden rays spread across the academy grounds.
But inside her mind—
A different thought appeared.
'He almost pushed me to my limit.'
'If I had hesitated even once…'
'I would have lost.'
Then she realized something else.
'And he still didn't use his full power.'
'The power he used against Kael in the finals.'
'If he used that against me…'
'I definitely would have lost.'
Meanwhile—
Inside Iren's mind—
'No…'
'I can't use Level Two against Lyra.'
'I haven't mastered it yet.'
'If it goes out of control…'
'She might get hurt.'
Lyra stood up.
Then she extended her hand toward him.
"It's getting late."
"We should head back."
Iren nodded.
"Yeah."
He grabbed her hand.
Lyra gently pulled him up to his feet.
The two of them began walking toward the shade together.
---
Under the Shade
Riven, Sylven, and Kael were already sitting there.
All of them looked exhausted.
Riven glanced at Iren and smirked.
"Looks like you found a tough opponent."
Iren nodded.
"Yeah."
"Lyra's fast attacks and her Domain of Time are dangerous."
"She defeated me."
Lyra said nothing.
But a proud, warm smile appeared on her face.
Riven groaned and stretched his arms.
"I'm exhausted too."
"Fighting Kael all day isn't easy."
He pointed at Kael.
"That spatial barrier of yours is way too annoying."
Kael remained silent.
Sylven sighed tiredly.
"I'm exhausted as well."
"Running all day with reinforcement magic isn't easy."
Kael stood up.
"Well… that's enough training for today."
He looked at everyone.
"Let's head back."
Everyone nodded.
Together—
They walked back toward the academy.
The sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon.
And evening quietly settled over the training grounds.
---