"Phew, girls, you really gave me nerves," Vinila said, sitting with us at the table, sharing her impressions. "Unlike the previous battle, there were many more people betting on Vivien, about 28%, and of course, they were rooting for their favorite."
"Well, you know that I had little chance," now there was a break, and we were back at Asura's cafe, while Levris and Rector were taking care of the arena.
"Oh, don't say that. You had quite a good chance to win this fight," Katrina sighed with relief. "I'm glad that I don't have any weak battles on the way to the final, and I can test my strength."
"Ho-hoo, but that's not the main thing!" Vina took out her notebook. "Vivien's popularity skyrocketed by three percent thanks to the battle, and the popularity of the twins together increased by a whole ten percent!! If this continues, we'll sell out all the souvenirs with your images, and maybe even prepare another batch."
"Wow, you're keeping track of all these stats," Seleria peered into the notebook but couldn't make out anything from the intertwining numbers and arrows. "I wonder how I rank there."
"Of course," flipping through a few pages, the merchant opened a section with a smiling face and flowing hair on the first page. "You're especially popular among lonely boys of our age and old, rich perverts. Hehehe."
"Such popularity doesn't really please me," the princess hurriedly distanced herself from Vina.
"Are you kidding?! That's the most paying group. By the way, I offered Kat half of the sales for using our trademark, and she suggested giving a quarter to you and a quarter to the guild's reserve for a rainy day."
"Ooh, thanks, Kat," Seleria hugged the princess, who suddenly became flustered.
"I also suggested it to Azure, and she agreed. But Alfred almost kicked me out the moment he saw me at the door, so I only sell souvenirs with our guilds."
"He never excelled in friendliness," Katrina looked sadly into the bottom of her cup. "They say parents leave their mark on their children's character. Maybe growing up alone was even better than living with a father who devoutly believes in the righteousness of the church and the inquisition."
"Hey, Kat, what's with the sudden sadness?" Seleria nudged her friend. "You won, and you should celebrate. You're one step closer to becoming the champion."
"But I'm worried," Katrina looked at Aileen. "Alfred won't be merciful to his enemies, and I'm afraid he'll treat the imperial soldier even worse than his fellow countrywoman."
"Don't worry about me," Aileen took out a couple of pouches from her belt. "I came up with a couple of measures to deal with him. If I understood the principle of his shield correctly, I might be able to break through it."
"Show him!" Vinila supported her friend. "If it works out, people will buy your souvenirs more actively. Otherwise, we've only received requests for various technical novelties so far."
"Tell them I'm not selling anything!"
"Yes, I know, I know. It's a military secret. But you don't mind earning some extra money with your cute face."
Aileen turned away from the trading area, slightly embarrassed.
"I'll go ahead of you; I still need to prepare my weapons," the Engineer got up from the table and headed towards the exit.
"Hmm, Grain, remember her face; she'll sell well," Vinila scratched her chin thoughtfully and turned to me, "By the way, there have been a few orders for you... regarding enchanted weapons."
"Pff, you know my answer," I waved off the trade offer, but she persisted.
"Come on, look at how many clients. And all this after your battle and Asura's battle. High-ranking positions aren't just occupied by mages. There are orders here from two northern chieftains, an assassin from Leran, two generals of the Veranian Army, even the captain of the royal guard from Varengard. But if you don't want to, okay. We're missing out on so much money."
With tears in her eyes, Vina clenched her fists but swallowed her indignation.
"The captain of the Varengard guard?" I looked at Vina's list. "Hmm, familiar name."
It was that girl we once stayed with. Maybe I can trust her, but I can't trust others.
Lunch ended, and we returned to the stands. The opponents were already on the Arena, and Vina was warming up the audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the battles of the second half of the day are beginning. The first duel will take place between the Imperial guardswoman, Engineer Aileen Draglein, and the impenetrable fire mage Alfred Van Grave. Who knows what will happen today? Will Alfred remain as invincible as before, or will Aileen break through his defenses with her inventions!"
"Hmm, Vina just won't stop talking," the engineer was already starting to get nervous.
"She's not very useful anyway. Only a guild of losers like you could accept her," the disdain was evident in the temple knight's every word; he clearly couldn't stand the guardswoman.
"Oh, don't say that. These 'losers' saved the Academy and YOUR guild personally from the imperial army. But I haven't heard anything about significant clashes with your mages from other guardsmen. Where were you, I wonder?"
"While they were hiding in the dungeons of the Academy, my people were resting after intense training; of course, they weren't prepared for an attack!" irritation was growing stronger in the mage's voice.
"Yes, yes, of course, now you can say anything, but," the girl smiled slyly, "these 'losers' have already trampled your fellow guild members in the dirt more than once, and I'm sure they'll do it again."
The mage's golden staff was covered with a thin fiery aura, and his hands trembled slightly.
"I'll try not to let that happen," the temple knight closed his eyes and recited a prayer. Towards the end, he crossed himself just like in the first round and prepared for battle.
"Our contenders have exchanged pleasantries, and let the battle decide everything!"
As soon as the signal sounded, Aileen raised her hands and released two small arrows at Alfred, but as expected, they shattered against his defense, not reaching their target.
"What's that? Is that all you can do?" Alfred cast a disdainful glance at the girl.
"Oh, don't be silly. I'm just checking if you remembered your defense," Aileen smoothly moved her hand behind her back and drew a gray curved blade from its sheath.
"You think you can win in close combat? It's all just a waste of time," Alfred gathered flames at the end of his staff and unleashed a fiery stream at his opponent.
Aileen jumped to the side and, bending close to the ground, ran towards the mage. The girl struck with a spin, and the sword rebounded from an invisible barrier with a loud clang. The guardian turned around and hit the barrier with her fist; her hand bounced off the shield, but the engineer clenched her fist, and a small arrow shot out of the crossbow on her arm. The arrow flew about ten centimeters before bouncing back.
"No matter what you do, you won't break through my defense," Alfred put on a satisfied grin, and Aileen responded with the same.
"Well, I wouldn't say that. Your barrier is like a soap bubble; if you push on it from one side, it gradually gives way," Aileen jumped up and brought down a strike on the opponent from above. The sword bounced off the barrier, and at the same moment, the girl released an arrow towards the point of collision. The arrow bounced off the barrier but came much closer to the mage than the sword did.
"You'll never have enough strength to break it," Alfred struck the ground with his staff, and a wave of fire spread out from it. The guardian jumped back, firing at the opponent again in mid-air. Accompanied by a terrifying roar, the steel ball hit the magical shield, not larger than two centimeters in diameter. "Is that all?"
The temple knight bent down and picked up the iron ball. It was quite heavy, and therefore, after colliding with the shield, it fell to the ground not far from the barrier.
"Ah, this is my new weapon; I recently downsized it to handheld size," Aileen held a small device in her hands resembling a crossbow with a tube instead of a bow. "This pistol's shot is much more powerful than a regular crossbow, so it might break through your defense."
Aileen loaded another steel ball into the barrel and, turning the latch on the back of the weapon, aimed it at the opponent. Another explosion resounded as the ball flew towards the mage at great speed. Upon colliding with the barrier, it stopped and fell to the ground a meter away from the target.
"Not impressed," Alfred nudged the ball with the tip of his staff. "You'd need at least fifteen shots like that to breach my defense."
"Yeah, unfortunately, it can't shoot that frequently yet, but there's other weaponry," Aileen extended both her hands forward and began firing at him alternately from the handheld crossbows. The arrows kept colliding with the shield and bouncing back, but each subsequent arrow came a couple of centimeters closer to the target.
"What nonsense," Alfred feigned a yawn, pretending it didn't concern him, but he clearly calculated when her barrier or arrows would run out first.
"Just a bit more," Aileen shot the last arrow at the enemy and immediately aimed the pistol at him. The steel ball collided with the barrier and fell just half a meter away from the mage's chest. "Tch, just a little bit more, and I would've got you."
The girl started to reload her weapons, while Alfred looked displeased at the last ball that slowly rolled towards his shoes.
"You're being too overconfident," the mage waved his staff and released a stream of fire towards her. Aileen managed to leap aside just in time, and the flames only slightly shortened her skirt. "Why are you running away, brave guardian?"
Gathering a fireball in his hand, Alfred threw it in front of the warrior. The explosion threw her backward, and a bag with ammunition fell from her hands. The small balls scattered across the arena, leaving Aileen's secret weapon without its ammunition.
"Pff, all your technical gadgets are unreliable," Alfred started approaching the victim while continuously throwing fireballs at her. "One wrong move, and your weapons are useless."
Aileen tried to increase the distance from her enemy, retreating towards the arena wall, but the fiery balls kept exploding behind her.
"Magic is much better; it's always with its master, always ready to be used, and it doesn't require complex preparation. That's why mages will always be better than the likes of you," gathering a fireball in his hands, he threw it at the wall, and the explosion threw Aileen backward. "Thus, a lowly commoner like you can never compare to me."
Alfred uttered the last words softly, making sure only Aileen could hear him, and he continued to smirk arrogantly.
"Perhaps my powers aren't as marvelous as yours," the engineer raised herself from the ground, leaning on her hands, "and yes, I rely too much on my inventions, but it makes me better. I rely only on my intellect, and yes, I am much smarter than YOU."
Aileen reached behind her back and took out a small black sphere, the size of the bullets used in the pistol.
"Thanks for exposing yourself to this attack," she grinned and pushed the halves of the sphere together. In the center, it was filled with a strange liquid, enclosed within the two halves.
Alfred glanced down; he was standing in the place where the girl had tried to reload her weapons a minute ago, and unused bullets were scattered nearby. One of them, encountering no resistance, calmly rolled up to his foot. It was a simple steel ball, but it was different from the ones he had seen before; it had a thin connecting strip in the center and was also empty inside. The mage threw an anxious glance at the girl, and she just tossed the two halves of the black sphere at him with a smirk.
A tremendous explosion roared, burying the haughty mage in flames.
"Ha... haaa... haaa," Aileen struggled to catch her breath after the blast. She was ten meters away from Alfred, but the impact threw her even from such a distance. "Didn't think it would go so smoothly; I was afraid I'd have to run all over the arena to get to him."
The girl smiled, sitting on her knees, but Alfred was not visible through the fiery haze.
Suddenly the smoke parted, and the fireball struck the girl's breastplate with force. With a cry, she flew towards the edge of the arena.
"You vile scum!" Alfred emerged from the fire with blazing fury. His robe was almost entirely burned, the white Academy cloak was in tatters, and traces of soot were visible on his face, but he was unharmed. Not a single scratch or burn could be seen on his face. Even being at the epicenter of the explosion, his barrier managed to protect him.
"Damn, why does everything have to be so complicated," Aileen got up on all fours and tried to stand, but another fireball tossed her into the air and knocked her onto her back.
"Do you think I'll let you get up after what you've done?" Alfred was quickly closing in on his prey. Aileen tried to aim the crossbow at the enemy, but the fiery flash melted it right on her glove. "Don't even hope for it."
The mage approached the girl and pressed the staff against her chest.
"You've lost, foolish slave," Alfred hissed with malice, pressing the staff onto the girl's chest.
"No," Aileen tried to knock the staff away and grabbed it with her hand, but at that moment, an aura of fire passed through the golden metal, burning her body more and more with each passing second.
"Surrender, and maybe I'll spare you," unnoticed from the stands, Alfred was forming a fiery blade at the end of his staff, which burned the girl's body more intensely with each passing second.
"I won't surrender to scum like you!" Aileen endured the excruciating pain but refused to give in to defeat.
Already sensing the taste of victory, the mage waved to his supporters, continuing to burn the defeated opponent's chest.
"Vile rabble must know their place, and it is our sacred duty to show them our superiority," Alfred said with a satisfied smile, then returned his gaze to the victim and immediately changed his expression.
"That's why people like you always lose," Aileen smiled, raising her right hand. In addition to the crossbow on the outer side, there was a small device attached to the inner side of her glove. Smaller than the main prototype, but still the same in shape, the black metallic tube was aimed at the smirking mage.
"You!?" Alfred stepped back and a shot rang out. The bullet passed in front of the inquisitor's face, clipping a part of his bangs. "You damn girl!"
The mage swung his staff and, amplifying the strike with fiery magic, sent the girl flying. Aileen flew ten meters and crashed into the wall, losing consciousness. The battle was over.
Without waiting for the announcement of his victory, Alfred, dissatisfied with the fight, headed for the exit, not even glancing at the fallen opponent lying in the dust.
"We must help her!" Vivi and Miriam hurried towards the stairs. Algo and Grain followed them.
Katrina approached the stairs but stood before them, waiting for the winner. Seleria and I stealthily approached the exit of the box to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Oh, Princess Katrina, it's been a while," despite his disheveled appearance, Alfred spoke confidently.
"Why did you do this?" Katrina's hair began to rise in the air with an intensifying lightning aura.
"I don't understand what you're talking about," a venomous smile spread across the temple knight's face.
"Why did you treat Aileen so cruelly?" The princess grabbed the mage by the collar.
"It was a simple duel, and this outcome is not excluded," Alfred said.
"But you could have just waited for them to declare your victory."
"That would be foolish. An enemy either surrenders, or they are annihilated! She didn't want to surrender, and that was her choice."
"You!" Katrina clenched her fists and glared at the mage.
"What insolence. You behave like some barbaric northern valkyrie. After all, you are a future queen and should conduct yourself accordingly," Alfred looked at Katrina with a cold gaze. He knew she wouldn't do anything to him.
"Don't you dare teach me how to behave!"
"Not to me," the temple knight smiled broadly, "By the way, your father wanted to discuss the successes of your guild with you."
Alfred's smile grew wider, and Katrina's eyes dropped with sadness.
"Father?"
"Yes, he wanted to meet with you today and asked to convey that when you meet."
"Alright," Katrina released the temple knight, "but know this, if we meet in battle, there will be no mercy for you!"
"I'll look forward to it," Alfred smirked contentedly.
Katrina turned towards the royal box but stopped and looked back at the mage with doubt.
"Hehe," Katrina ran her gilded claw along the boy's cheek, and a light electric discharge sparkled between them, "well, well, you have blood in you, inquisitor."
With a satisfied smile, the princess left, and Alfred placed his hand on his cheek to feel the warmth of the blood spreading. Aileen's last shot hadn't been in vain; it scratched the mage's cheek, leaving a deep gash. Now, I also knew the weakness of his absolute defense.