Two beautiful girls stood facing each other in the center of the arena. Both were wearing unique variations of their uniforms, and everyone knew them well. Among the students of the Academy, there were many fans of the charming and enchanting Princess of Leran, who never paid attention to titles or lineage and always treated all her friends kindly, though she enjoyed teasing them from time to time. However, there were also many admirers of the other exotic princess, the friendly and easy-going dragoness, who, despite initial suspicions towards dragons, eventually won everyone over with her amiable nature, always ready to help anyone in need.
The girls were greeted with enthusiastic applause from the audience. Most of the spectators were students who cheered equally for both girls.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you have finally waited for this battle. Two beautiful and beloved girls will clash in a fierce fight. The first contestant is the fiery beauty from the southern deserts, a loyal friend who doesn't mind teasing her companions. Princess of Leran and the strongest fire mage in the Academy, Seleria Eileran!"
Seleria smiled warmly and waved to the stands, eliciting a thunderous applause from the crowd.
"And the second contestant is our good-hearted dragoness, Ragnalia, daughter of Ignis, the princess of black dragons, yet she is a simple, kind-hearted girl beloved by all for her shy nature, Ragni!"
Ragni blushed and waved to the stands, her eyes cast downward, prompting an even more enthusiastic response from the audience.
"Tsk, playing on the sweet shyness, clever move," Seleria slyly teased the dragoness as usual.
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Ragni blushed even more, which only widened the smile on the red princess's face.
"So, who will win this showdown?! Two mighty fire mages won't let us get bored. Today, we shall determine once and for all who is the true master of flames in our Academy!"
"Well, Ragni, are you ready?" Seleria asked.
"Yes, I've been looking forward to competing with you for a long time, especially after the incident on the bridge," Ragni replied.
"Hehe, it looks like we'll find out today which is better: red or black," Seleria replied with a friendly smile, and Ragni returned the gesture.
The girls took their stances, preparing for the battle.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" an unexpected remark from Vina disrupted the atmosphere. The girls glared at Vina's image on the screen.
"They caught me in the corridor and practically forced me to be one of the commentators, along with two other lovely ladies."
The image changed, revealing the familiar faces.
"Hello, dear daughter!"
"Ragni, fight!"
A beautiful woman with orange eyes and red hair wearing a red hood that covered her head. And a woman with black hair, yellow eyes, and large black horns.
"MOM!!" the girls exclaimed in unison at the appearance of the two queens.
"Ragni, Seli, please forgive them," Vina awkwardly tried to explain.
"Hmph, and I thought they paid you for the entrance," Rumy quietly sipped her tea, mercilessly exposing her partner.
"VINA!!!" Only the barrier saved the greedy merchant from the flames that raged in the arena.
"Come on, girls, don't fight! We'll cheer for you and explain anything that may be unclear," Ragni's mother intervened.
"Ragni!! Show her all your power, don't you dare lose to her!"
The image of noble and refined queens slowly crumbled before everyone's eyes.
"Alright, Seli, let's not pay attention to them and just focus on the battle."
"Yes, that would be best."
The girls awkwardly turned away from the screen, but the mothers weren't about to give up so easily.
"Well, they are ignoring us now. Sherry, look what I bought at the entrance – such a beautiful portrait of my little girl, I'll definitely hang it at home," Queen Ignis pulled out a surprisingly high-quality portrait of Ragni from under the table.
"Haha, you're naive! I ordered a life-size statue of my daughter! I'll put it in the palace so everyone can admire her!"
"Oh, darn, why didn't I think of that myself?! This girl has organized everything so well. I'll have to check out the other participants' portraits."
While the mothers were cheerfully discussing their daughters in front of everyone, the girls slowly blended in with the color of Seleria's uniform.
"I didn't know my mom was so friendly with yours," Seleria cast a shy glance at Ragni.
"I didn't know either. She does visit all the rulers every few years, including important holidays, weddings, and birthdays. Maybe that's when they became friends."
"Ah, shoot, how didn't I think of that? By the way, it's so nice how this girl organized everything. I should check out portraits of the other participants."
While the mothers were cheerfully discussing their daughters in front of everyone, the girls slowly blended in with the color of Seleria's uniform.
"Alright, I feel better now," Ragni smiled at her opponent.
"Me too," Seleria smiled back and leaped backward suddenly.
Ragni also leaped backward, and the girls continued to move away from each other until they reached the boundaries of the arena. Seleria raised her arms to the sky, gathering a massive fireball above her head. Ragni, in turn, took a deep breath, and a pair of flames erupted from her nostrils. The girls simultaneously unleashed streams of fire at each other.
The two raging streams collided in the center of the arena. The strength of the flames was approximately equal, causing the fire to clash and spread in all directions, filling the entire arena. The heat was so intense that even the barrier couldn't completely suppress it. Semi-transparent hexagons began to manifest in the air, forming a crystalline barrier.
"Wow, it's getting pretty hot," even Vina in the commentator's booth felt uneasy watching such a spectacle. "I can't imagine what's happening on the actual arena."
"Oh, don't worry, my daughter is very resistant to fire, and her clothing, to the regret of many male spectators, is fireproof. So, nothing will happen."
"You're both so cautious. I wonder for what purpose you ordered such outfits for them?"
"To withstand the heat of a volcano."
"To withstand a dragon's flames."
The queens casually revealed their dangerous plans without a hint of embarrassment.
The flames raged for about two minutes before finally subsiding. The force of the girls' attack pushed them back towards the arena walls, turning the entire area into a scorched desert. Nothing remained of the grass and trees; only traces of the former greenery still smoldered here and there.
"Tch, it seems we're evenly matched," Seleria sighed deeply, beads of sweat glistening on her body from the heat, but there were no burns from the fire.
"I wouldn't say that," Ragni breathed heavily, a natural consequence of her fiery breath, yet unlike the red princess, she didn't even break a sweat. "I'm physically much stronger than you."
Ragni folded her hands in front of her mouth and exhaled a small burst of flames. Then she opened her palms, creating a row of five fireballs. Turning on the spot, she forcefully hurled them at her opponent. Seleria swiftly struck the ground with her palms, conjuring a wall of swiftly-moving flames before her. The fireballs collided with the wall, but one managed to pass through, and the princess intercepted it in mid-air.
"Heh, but I'm still better at fire magic," Seleria retaliated, hurling the fireball back at the dragoness. She then swept her foot along the ground, sending an accompanying wave of fire, followed by another sweeping wave at waist level, and finally thrust her hands forward, launching a massive fireball the size of a girl.
"Still useless," Ragni shifted her hand into a dragon's paw, swatting her own fireball away, leaping over the first wave, and sidestepping the second. Finally, Ragni spread her wings, clasped her hands before her, and aimed another fireball at her opponent. "So, shall we keep exchanging blows?"
"However it turns out," Seleria wasn't too disheartened by how easily her attacks were repelled.
Ragni switched her other hand into a paw and gathered two dense fireballs in her palms. With a powerful push from the ground, the dragoness dashed toward her enemy but suddenly halted in the center of the arena, clapping her hands together. The clap released dense clusters of flames forward, forming a fiery tornado. Seleria crossed her arms, attempting to shield herself with a fiery barrier. The torrent of flames fiercely battered against the shield and engulfed the girl's body. The shield managed to dampen the attack's impact, and the princess's resilience helped withstand the pressure, but the heat and lack of oxygen could overwhelm her at any moment.
"Yes, I can't handle a dragon so easily," Seleria closed her eyes and lowered her arms. The dragon's flames quickly covered her entire body. Surprisingly, both her clothing and body endured the intense heat. When the flames became unbearable, Seleria took a deep breath, inhaling the surrounding fire. At first, the audience didn't understand what had happened. A moment ago, the fire engulfed the princess, and now it suddenly disappeared. However, it didn't vanish without a trace. Seleria's body began to tremble slightly, or rather, her image started to tremble. A powerful heatwave obscured the girl, making it impossible to see her clearly.
Gathering her strength, Seleria exhaled sharply, and from her mouth burst forth a dragon-like flame, but it was unusual. The fire was different from what it had been before. Previously, the girls had exchanged simple orange and yellow flames, which were quite common for fire mages. But Seleria's flame was bright crimson, like fresh human blood. And this fire didn't rush towards Ragni; it slowly divided and spread around its mistress, almost like a living entity. Gradually, the crimson flames formed several rings around the princess, undulating with each of her breaths.
"What a menace! I had a feeling this wasn't ordinary fire," Ragni took a defensive stance, wary of the next attack.
"Heeeh, the Scarlet Flame of Morphos. I didn't know your daughter possessed it," the commentators in the booth seemed hesitant to explain what was happening, preferring to discuss it amongst themselves.
"Indeed, although briefly, her skills in it are quite impressive. Ragni won't stand a chance," Sheraza smiled enigmatically, but Ignis only laughed in response.
"Do you really think so?" Ignis smiled and looked at her daughter. "I believe she still has a chance."
"You don't mean to say she can also..." Ignis stopped her interlocutor mid-sentence.
"Not yet, but in this battle, she can learn a lot."