『Alan Léonas: It's over. 』
『Neizan: …! 』
Without warning, multiple weapons made of ice materialized in the air around Alan: lances, swords, axes, and daggers, all crystalline blue and gleaming, sharp and deadly. The luminous appearance of the weapons only enhanced their danger. Without giving him a chance to react, Alan directed a barrage of these weapons at Neizan in a brutal offensive.
『Neizan: Gha! 』
A painful cry escaped his lips as the impact struck him. He felt the ice pierce his flesh and fracture his bones. He was thrown back, unable to resist the force of the attack, until his body crashed into the arena wall, at the base of the stands, impaled by the sharp stakes and weapons that protruded from his torso, shoulders, and legs. Blood poured from his wounds, staining the wall a deep red and trickling down to the icy ground. The crowd, once noisy and excited, fell silent.
Neizan's vision began to blur. With his head hanging low and his body broken, he barely remained conscious, and as his gaze grew hazy, he realized just how brutal his defeat at the hands of Alan Léonas had been.
『Arthur: No… Neizan…! 』
Arthur held his head in disbelief, thinking it was all over. Beside him, the others were also shocked, unable to process what they had just witnessed.
『Lina: Ah...! NEIZAN! 』
Lina, with her hands over her chest and eyes shut, tried to hold back the tears escaping her tightly closed eyelids, fighting to keep herself together in the middle of the arena.
『Meilia: Ah… How could this happen? Hadn't he run out of magic? 』
For Meilia, this was a devastating blow. She felt paralyzed, her mind stunned by disbelief and regret. It was difficult to process. She had believed her knowledge of Alan's limits would be enough to guide Neizan. However, her inexperience had backfired, leaving him exposed to a threat beyond what she had imagined.
『Meilia: «How can he sustain so many simultaneous, coordinated attacks without tiring? I miscalculated… I never thought someone so young could have such vast mana reserves. The worst part is, I'm the one who misled Neizan about this…» 』
With her lips parted, exhaling a cold breath, Meilia wanted to scream—a desperate cry that might somehow reach Neizan's ears and give him a last spark of strength. But she stayed silent, consumed by guilt.
『Miguel: This can't be… I knew he was the emperor's son, but I had no idea his magical power was of this magnitude. 』
With arms crossed and gritted teeth, Miguel watched Neizan, injured and collapsed on the arena floor. He was overwhelmed by helplessness; the weight of his inability to intervene made his frustration boil. Beside him, everyone remained silent, observing the scene with somber, speechless expressions.
The atmosphere in the arena was tense, each person absorbed in the feeling of defeat. Alan Léonas, the young prodigy, stood in the center of the arena with the same calm he'd had at the start, while Neizan lay defeated on the frozen ground, his blood spilling around him.
It had been a carefully calculated trap by his opponent. Alan's strategy had worked to perfection, leaving Neizan with no chance to defend himself or evade the attacks. Now, with the remnants of ice stakes melting away, it seemed that Alan could no longer summon magical projectiles. Neizan, seeing his enemy draw his sword and approach him, thought for a moment that he might now have a chance to face him in hand-to-hand combat. But that hope would be his undoing.
『Alan Léonas: See? I warned you. 』
Alan slowly approached Neizan, who was slumped and pinned against the arena wall. The ice that had covered the ground was now quickly melting, leaving puddles on the damp sand. Under the blazing summer sun, the ice melted within seconds. Yet, Neizan remained there, pinned to the wall by the spears and swords of ice.
『Alan Léonas: Ah, right… Maybe he's already dead and can't hear me. Hahaha! 』
Alan conjured another ice sword in his hand and held it firmly. With the blade's tip, he lifted Neizan's chin, studying his pale face and closed eyes, searching for any sign of life.
『Alan Léonas: «Just in case… I'll humiliate him even more. I'll sever his head and limbs to be sure.» 』
A cruel smile crossed his face, and the young prince raised his sword, aiming at Neizan's neck, ready to finish him off. The crowd was watching, some pleading with the emperor to spare Neizan, as the emperor rose and moved to the front to make a decision.
Alan glanced back at his father, the emperor, but then…
『Alan Léonas: What…?! 』
Without warning, Neizan opened his eyes and lifted a leg, delivering a fierce kick that struck Alan's face, sending him stumbling backward. The prince fell to the ground, dazed and stunned, unable to grasp how Neizan had managed to remain conscious.
『Neizan: «I almost died…» 』
Neizan was covered in blood, his wounds deep and fresh, yet somehow he had survived. With one last surge of willpower, he had resisted, catching Alan off guard in the critical moment when the prince thought himself invincible.
The crowd, which had watched in silence, let out a collective gasp of surprise. The battle was far from over.
Blood dripped from his nose, and as he spat, a bloodied tooth fell to the ground. Neizan's kick had been so strong that Alan could barely see clearly, his body trembling from the impact as he knelt, supported by his hands and knees.
『Alan Léonas: What…?! 』
With steely determination in his gaze, Neizan began pulling out the ice lances one by one, snapping their shafts and removing them from his open wounds. He then removed the handles of the daggers and swords still lodged in his body, letting them fall to the ground with a heavy thud. Bloodied hands gripping two ice swords that still hovered nearby, he spat a mix of blood and saliva onto the ground and began advancing toward Alan, who had just barely managed to get back on his feet, staggering.
『Alan Léonas: How…? How is it possible that you're still standing? 』
Neizan stopped in front of him, the ice swords hanging at his sides. There was an unyielding hardness in his eyes.