The fight is nearing its end—that’s what I’m thinking as I watch them clash head-on. Areci is heavily pressuring with her greatsword, while Brendu does everything she can to hold her ground with her rapier.
Brendu has been training with the rapier for months, receiving private lessons from me the entire time. My specialty is dual swords, but I can use a rapier if needed.
She has been practicing fast and precise movements, concentrating her potent poison at the tip—if even one of her attacks connects, be ready to feel pain and deal with a deadly toxin. She specializes in quick, agile, and unexpected strikes.
Areci is the worst possible opponent Brendu could face. The princess is at a massive disadvantage in affinities—her plant affinity can do nothing against Areci’s magma affinity. Both can summon monsters to aid them, and at this point Brendu isn’t far behind.
Her new artifact from the second stage has greatly enhanced her constructs, but the affinity disadvantage remains.
At long-range offense, both are focused on completely different approaches. Areci has dedicated nearly all her abilities to destruction and chaos, while Brendu is more versatile, designed to contribute in multiple ways. Physically, there’s also a clear gap—Areci’s enhancement abilities surpass Brendu’s.
All these disadvantages have pushed Brendu into her current position, cornered and close to defeat. I feel incredibly proud of her—she hasn’t been overwhelmed. She has endured her disadvantages and kept searching for ways to wear Areci down or force a mistake.
Brendu has shown what it means to fight with intelligence—she has read her opponent perfectly and forced Areci to take her seriously. One single mistake could have put Areci in real danger. One slip could have pushed her to her limit.
But for Brendu’s bad luck, Areci made no major mistakes. A limit breaker isn’t the kind of person who falters in situations like this—her mind burns forward, focused only on breaking through her opponent no matter what stands in her way.
Brendu sacrifices her last monster tree to create one more chance, landing another cut with her rapier. Areci tightens her lips in pain as the poison spreads through her body, but like before, she uses her death mana and Imra to erase it.
That was Brendu’s final attempt to win. She is pushed to the edge of the arena. The lava golem continues cornering her—now it’s two against one. Sacrificing her tree gave her an opportunity, but not victory.
A light envelops Brendu—Areci wins. In the end, the magma golem is nearly destroyed, but it manages to land a heavy blow that leaves Brendu stunned. That brief moment of disorientation is all Areci needs—she capitalizes flawlessly and delivers the final strike with her sword. Through the cameras, I see Areci help Brendu up.
They exchange a few words, look at each other, smile, and share a tight embrace. The crowd loves it—applause erupts everywhere. Throughout the entire fight, none of us cheered for one over the other—we celebrated every moment from both sides.
Brendu and Areci enter the box and are welcomed with loud cheers and applause. We all gather around them, congratulating them on their fight. We comfort Brendu a little—we all know her well, we know she can handle this kind of situation wisely.
“I’m proud of you, you always surprise me.” Once things calm down, I say softly while holding her hand.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“Thank you, training with you has helped me a lot. Let’s keep going like this.” she replies. I open my arms and she jumps into my chest without hesitation. We stay like that for several seconds—the world feels slower.
“Areci has a stone head when it comes to fighting. No matter how much I pushed her, she always found a way to break free and strike back.” Brendu complains with a sigh.
“You made her struggle a lot. The last time I saw her that focused was when she fought me at the opening tournament at the start of the year.” I’m not lying—I haven’t seen her like that in a one-on-one since then.
“You have to beat her, give her a good hit from me.” Brendu gives me puppy eyes to convince me. “I already told you—I’ll do everything I can to win this tournament. I’ll hit her for you.” I wink at her.
Areci must have heard us, because I feel her mana shake us slightly. Brendu sticks her tongue out at her, and Areci responds the same way. Who would think these two, so admired and respected, would act like children?
The next match is Brak versus Salvaj. We all support our friend, wishing her luck and giving advice, hoping it helps.
She has it tough—Salvaj is extremely strong. Brak manages to injure him a few times. Honestly, those explosions could even break through my defenses if I’m not careful. Salvaj struggles at first—he underestimated her power and paid for it. But he gradually increases the pace.
Brak keeps up for several minutes, but eventually none of her constructs can damage him. His movements are erratic and unpredictable—his instincts for dodging are sharp. Somehow, he begins to anticipate her spontaneous explosions and counter them.
Those attacks are sudden—not extremely damaging, but very dangerous if they catch you off guard. If she charges too much mana, it becomes obvious—it has to be exact, as the damage comes from the affinity itself.
Salvaj manages to predict almost all of them—whether through instinct or a skill. The rest of her constructs, even if fast, aren’t enough to stop his steady advance. Brak tries the same trick as before—creating a massive explosion near herself.
But Salvaj is ready—he disrupts most of the construction with his own, turning it into a clash of wills through their Imra.
The final attack doesn’t deal the expected damage. Salvaj comes out almost unharmed, while Brak exhausts nearly all her mana. That leaves her vulnerable. Salvaj lands several fast, powerful hits, and within seconds, a light envelops her body.
Her elimination isn’t surprising. She never had many chances against such a savage limit breaker.
Now almost all of our group is out—only two remain: Areci and me. When Brak arrives, we don’t know what to say.
Should we comfort her or congratulate her? “Sad… and proud of myself.” she says, hugging Ogine. We all step forward, offering words of encouragement and praise for her performance. She smiles brightly and sits next to her brother.
We stay a while longer in the box. Areci and Brendu managed to hire an incredible chef—he only works on special requests. They had to call in many favors to get him. Today, we’re getting special dishes to celebrate and lift our spirits.
I ate too much—I had to loosen my belt just to breathe. The food was a perfect 10/10. The meats were the highlight, and the mashed potatoes were flawless. No complaints—no one here has any.
“Both of you need to reach the finals. Aunt Susan will be happy if you fight for the championship.” Shawu breaks the silence.
Areci and I look at each other and nod. We both understand clearly—no matter what stands in front of us, we have to push through and meet at the top.
I leave first with Brendu. We want to head home early and rest. We walk through lively streets—laughter and shouting echo in the distance. The atmosphere is vibrant, and I notice a strong increase in city security.
“I talked to the girls—they’re doing everything they can to come to the finals. It’s almost certain they’ll make it.” Brendu drops that bomb mid-walk.
A warmth fills my chest. I’ll be happy to see them—and knowing they’re there will give me even more motivation.
Did the increased security change Julio and Marga’s father’s minds? They were against it. Maybe they’ll come with escorts. Brendu says they haven’t shared details yet—they’re still arranging everything.
“We need to find a place big enough for all of us. The apartment will be too small.” Five people is too much for our current place.
“No, they want to stay where we’ve been living. They want to make memories in the same place.” Brendu replies. Her words warm my heart even more. I can’t wait to see them.