Sakuya was standing still at the side of the field, everything had happened so fast and her surprise was so great that she had even forgotten to announce the winner. In her mind, she believed that it would repeat the same situation as when she had faced Blake, but how Ragna escaped from that fate was something that she could not understand.
Back on the field, both Blake and Ragna were still in the same position, Blake knew that he had lost even without needing to hear Ragna's words, although he was also relieved that his previous attack had not caused any accidents.
At that moment he could only see the somewhat mocking smile that Ragna was showing him, he had nothing to say after knowing the result, but at the moment that Blake wanted to let out a sigh after the arduous battle, he saw how the pink aura that surrounded Ragna was fading away indicating that he was no longer using his runic ability at the same time as the leek that he was aiming at his neck quickly dried up to the point that the mere breeze that was present at that moment caused it to vanish into pieces scattering into the air.
Blake supposed it was some side effect, and that very idea made even more sense when he saw how Ragna's figure collapsed on the ground while his condition looked worse than Blake's.
That feeling of weakness had disappeared from Blake at that very moment, allowing him to move again without difficulty, in addition to the fact that his sword once again conveyed the same sensation that the element of darkness was flowing through it.
"Need help?" Blake couldn't ignore the state Ragna was in, but he was also aware that he wasn't in any danger right now.
"Haha... Sorry to bother you, brother Blake." Ragna was not going to despise Blake's good intentions and, leaning on Blake's shoulder, he slowly managed to stand up. "This has been the most exciting fight I've ever had; I didn't know that brother Blake was that strong!"
Only a second had passed, but Ragna's attitude seemed to have returned to the same as before the fight began.
"That's what I should say, I thought I already had victory in my hands, how did you avoid my attack?" Blake was feeling a little down about losing, but he was still curious about what Ragna had done to completely remove his runic ability, he was aware that the difference in levels wasn't that big for him to do it so simply, so he didn't know exactly what Ragna had done.
"That's simple to explain." At that point, both Sakuya and the masters of both boys approached them, Mei had been the first to speak since she heard that last question and had no qualms about answering it. "Ragna eliminated all the runes in a radius around him."
"He eliminated them…?" Those very words were somewhat difficult for Blake to comprehend, he knew that runes were everywhere, which made it difficult for him to imagine simply removing them completely.
"You don't need to overthink it, Blake. This is something that is beyond common comprehension." Shino interfered at that moment since she knew that thinking about it would lead nowhere, but at the same time, it was enough for Sakuya to realize that her suspicions were true.
"So he's an Earthmate!" The mere mention of that word would be enough to shock many people, it didn't have much effect on Mei and Shino since they were already aware of it, but in Sakuya's case, it was the first time she had seen one in person.
"Yes, it seems I couldn't hide it, sorry master." Ragna chuckled while lightly scratching his cheek after realizing what he had done, it was another of the things that Mei had told him that he should keep secret, but the whole situation had led him to decide to show that he was an Earthmate.
The definition of what an Earthmate was was something that had been passed down through the ages even though not everyone had the opportunity to encounter one in their entire lives. Some cataloged them as some kind of innate talent or mutation, but in itself, it could be defined that the Earthmates were a race in addition to those that already existed.
Their main characteristics were that they didn't differ much from humans, actually, no one could tell with the naked eye that Earthmates had any difference from humans, but the main difference between them lay entirely in the special power they possessed.
Since the ancient ages, the Earthmate race had been one of the most mysterious that existed, they would always try to hide, but at the same time, they would act in relevant Futhark events as if they were trying to protect the balance of the world.
Perhaps they were the only race that could do this, and that was due to that special characteristic… They could use and understand runes at a level beyond the capabilities of any other being, second only to the elder dragons.
This was something that no other race could do, all the arts and methods that Earthmates used were beyond common knowledge, but besides that, the reason why they were so special was because of their talent, be it the runic path or the magic, was several times greater than any other, and this caused those who considered themselves geniuses to have to think twice if they were in the presence of an Earthmate.
Sakuya was aware of all this since her mother had told her many times about this, she also had the desire to meet an Earthmate one day, and although now everything seemed unreal, she could not deny that what she had seen had really happened.
She had seen that strange technique that made the runes around Ragna disappear, it was something that completely broke the logic she was used to, so she had no choice but to accept what was happening.
Shino had noticed Blake's expression, so it didn't take her long to explain exactly all of the above, letting his expression change repeatedly.
"Wow, I never imagined that Ragna would be that, an Earthmate." Blake turned his gaze to the side where the figure of Ragna still leaning on his arm. "Who would have known that he could remove the surrounding runes by making my runic ability completely disappear?"
"If you put it that way... I feel like I cheated a bit, brother Blake. I thought you would do the same in that situation." Ragna said what was on her mind without any qualms, but that very thing made Mei raise her eyebrow in confusion.
"What are you talking about, Ragna?"
"I thought brother Blake would also use some runic art, after all he's an Earthmate." And with just that, silence returned to take over the place causing everyone to turn their eyes toward the confused Blake.
[Progress… Saved.]