The sand wall I managed to erect before the attack, heated from the inside and hardened from the outside earlier than the rest of the ground, now surrounded me like a glass bubble, shielding me from the lightning.
"Isn't it too wasteful to use such a spell when I have so little mana left?" I swung my blades, shattering the makeshift prison.
"Noo, I needed that so you can no longer defend yourself," the girl smirked, and golden sparks danced on her fingers. Katrina released a dozen small lightning bolts at me, and I had to dodge again.
I intercepted two bolts with my blades, evading the rest. The princess didn't give me time to rest and continued sending new batches of discharges at me. Although there were many, I calmly dodged them, gradually approaching my target. The crackling discharges behind me stopped, and while evading, I noticed a bundle of lightning reflected from the barrier. Even though there were too many for the barrier to handle. I followed the trajectory of the lightning; they bounced off the barrier and the ground covered in volcanic glass. That's why Katrina wasted so much mana - the discharges didn't dissipate on the reflecting surface but deflected back to me. Katrina smiled at my confusion and released as many discharges as she could simultaneously.
The arena was vast, making it almost impossible to track the movement of all the charges. If I could reach Katrina before the lightning did, victory would be mine; otherwise, I would be struck by her lightning, and I would have to wait for her to force me to surrender.
I directed fire magic into my blades to create a thermal shield to help repel the lightning. I had no mana left to envelop my entire body with a fire aura. I rushed toward the princess, trying to dodge the lightning. I managed to deflect some of the bolts with my blades and dodge others, but a couple of discharges hit my back. After making one final somersault, I found myself next to Katrina.
The princess was waiting for me and attempted to attack with a discharge in her hand. I intercepted her hand, and at that moment, all the lightning circling above the arena rushed toward us. Enveloping the sword's hilt with wind magic, I struck the girl's solar plexus. In the next moment, the lightning struck us, and in a bright flash, we were thrown to opposite ends of the arena.
"Eh? Eeee? What's happening?!" Vina watched with bewilderment, as did all the spectators. "Are they both unconscious? Will it be a draw?! Rector! What do we do!? So many bets will go to waste!"
Two finalists lay in the arena. The last attack had thrown them more than twenty meters apart, and neither showed any signs of movement.
"Don't worry, Miss Vinila, there must be a winner," not even this situation could disrupt the Rector's composure. "In the last attack, Krito struck Katrina with all his might, using wind magic to enhance the blow. However, Katrina didn't release that lightning barrier without reason. When Krito intercepted her hand, he suffered from her defensive field but also received a powerful charge, becoming a living magnet for the lightning."
"But then the lightning would have struck both of them, so why did Katrina do that?"
"As a natural lightning mage, she has significant resistance to electricity. The princess hoped her attack would have a much greater impact on Krito. If not for his special abilities, he would have been dead by now. Right now, the young man is simply unconscious."
"Does that mean Katrina won?"
"Don't jump to conclusions, young lady. Krito's strike was much stronger than a delicate girl like her could withstand. Imagine an enormous troll hitting you in the chest with a club. That's roughly how our princess felt a minute ago."
"Oh, that must have hurt."
"Well, what can you do? She didn't hit him lightly either. Most likely, Katrina can't get up due to the pain in her chest; I wouldn't be surprised if she has a few broken ribs."
"So, who won after all?"
"The one who proves to be more enduring. The one who gets up first will be the winner."
How beautiful the sky above the Academy is. Since I founded the guild, I haven't had time to simply stop and enjoy the beauty of the world around me. I spent fifteen years locked up in that old castle, only to break free and plunge into the depths of battles. Since HE extended his hand to me, there hasn't been a single day like any other. Every month, he prepared new challenges, battles, or training for me. What kind of worthless guild master am I if I burdened my deputy with everything? And he handled everything excellently. I just wanted to prove to myself that I was stronger than him, but was it right to fight at full strength...
"Hey, princess, are you asleep or what?" As always, he's rude to me, but for some reason, these rough words warm my heart.
"No, cough-cough, but your blow was stronger than I thought," I need to get up, but the pain in my chest doesn't allow me to tear myself away from the ground.
"You were the one trying to kill me with your last attack!"
"That's not true! I knew you would survive," but deep down, I hoped you would dodge it, but I can't say that, "how are you?"
"Paralyzed, but not for long, I hope I'll be able to move my fingers soon."
"Perhaps we look foolish from the stands," why is this moment one of the happiest in my life? Why am I so happy that he turned out to be on par with me, "yet, I won."
"Don't rush to conclusions; I'll be able to get up soon."
"Krito, it was an amazing battle, but I can already move," yes, I won't give up. I want to win no matter what, even if it upsets him.
The princess gathered her strength and, propping herself on her elbows, sat on the ground. But when she opened her eyes, she saw a blade as black as the night in front of her.
"Hello, silly princess, it seems victory is still mine," I smiled, even though I didn't really want this victory.
"How? How did you manage to break free from paralysis?"
"It's quite simple; I didn't suffer as much from your attack as you think," I nodded back to the center of the arena, where my second blade stuck out from the scorched spot where we collided last time, "while striking you, I drove the second blade into the ground, and it acted as a lightning rod, taking most of the discharges. The paralysis from your attack wore off in just five minutes, although it's still hard for me to stand."
"Haha," Katrina pressed her knees to her chest and buried her face in them, her eyes red from tears, "you won not because you were stronger or more enduring, but simply because you were smarter than me. I lost."
"You were stronger than me today, Katrina. You just didn't desire this victory as much," I sheathed my sword and turned to pick up the second one.
"Then tell me," Kat lifted her face from her knees, her eyes teary, "why am I crying?"
"Because..." I paused and softly replied to the princess, "you're crying tears of joy."
"Am I really that happy about losing?"
"No, you're happy that you lost to me," without turning, I gave her a gentle smile and approached the blade in the ground.
When I leaned down to the sword, a dark silhouette appeared before me. It couldn't be Katrina, but no one could pass through the crystal barrier. But the most surprising thing was that, besides me, no one else seemed to see him. It was a tall figure in a black hood, and I could only see the lower part of his face, but he seemed familiar.
"Congratulations, young mage, it was an excellent battle. You demonstrated your strength in this tournament no worse than in your previous encounters," he had a deep voice.
"How do I know you?"
"We have fought once before, and I gave you victory. Continue to grow in your strength, and someday our blades will cross again," the man in black raised his head, and I noticed familiar horns above his brows and temples, "Know that I believed in your victory, and pass that on to my protege; let her spend them wisely."
Handing me a small piece of paper, the man flapped his enormous wings and flew away from the arena. And he passed through the impenetrable barrier once again!
I looked around the stands, and none of the spectators seemed to notice anything unusual. Only the Rector appeared troubled by what had just happened. It seemed like some illusion shown to me by a jester, but the sensation of the valuable paper in my hand assured me that it was not a dream.
"Krito!! Congratulations!!" A united ovation greeted me from all my friends on the balcony. The kids rushed to hug me, and Feris came to heal us.
"Feris, take care of Kat; my wounds will heal over time," I pulled out the paper given to me by the mysterious stranger, "Aileen, I think this is for you."
It was a ticket that Vina used as a bet for all the victories at the beginning of the tournament. All the correct winners were written on it, and there was a magical stamp. So, the Emperor foresaw such an outcome of the tournament from the very beginning.
"Hmm?" Aileen examined the paper, "Hey, where did you get it? We weren't allowed to place bets!"
"Idiot, the Emperor gave it to me and said you should spend it on something useful."
"Hmm, thank you," Aileen broke into a suspicious laugh, her dark smile spreading.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our new champion again!! He defeated so many powerful enemies and now rightfully holds the title of the Strongest!! I remind you that today there will be a celebration to mark the end of the tournament, and a reception will be held in the main hall of the main building for invited guests and tournament participants. Farewell, my loyal listeners and just lovers of bloody battles. See you at the next tournament!!"
"Huh? A reception? I hope we can go in uniform..." Vivien seemed quite nervous after the last announcement.
"Why couldn't she have said it earlier?!" Asura frowned dissatisfied.
"Let me guess..." Seleria looked at the warriors, "you don't have anything decent to wear?"
The girls looked embarrassed and lowered their heads.
"Sorry," Katrina raised her hand, "but I only have that dress we bought in Nightlife."
"Haaah, you're hopeless," Seleria shook her head in resignation, "Well, don't worry about it. You don't have to."
Seleria quickly disappeared towards the neighboring balconies, and the instigator of this misunderstanding was already descending towards us.
"Vina! Why didn't you say anything about the reception earlier?!" The girls pounced on the merchant in anger.
"Easy, easy. I just warned you now. Besides, you should have guessed that the tournament wouldn't end so easily."
"Viiiiina!!"
"Well, don't worry, I told Seleria, and she promised to make a surprise for you. Everything will be fine."
"Hey, will Katrina be able to attend after those injuries?" Ragni was worried about her friend.
"Don't worry, after my treatment, she'll feel much better," Feris reassured us, not pausing in her work.
"Here we are," Seleria returned accompanied by a tall man with long red hair and red eyes. "Dad, I hope you ordered what I asked for?"
"Yes, don't worry. They are already in my chambers. I hope the girls will like them. There are also costumes for the boys, so follow me," he was King of Leran, and unlike King Henry, he treated his daughter's friends kindly. After all, this world is full of different people.
"I'll take a walk," I slipped past my comrades and headed south of the Academy.