Zeke watched the colosseum intently from the private viewing area, flanked by Sophia and Viola. Edmund had returned to his own family's area. Zeke's heart was pounding in his chest as he watched Leo and Felix enter.
The two strode confidently into the arena. Leo didn't seem to be worried in the slightest. However, Zeke didn't share his friend's confidence. Leo would have to forgo his Fire Magic completely and fight with nothing but his Earth Magic and physical prowess. He wasn't certain how well his friend would fare under those circumstances.
Leo had used his Earth Magic mostly for defense and support as of late. Zeke was worried and excited in equal parts about the fight. He wanted to witness how Leo would cope. His friend was nothing if not versatile.
"Ladies and gentlemen! In our first match of the Semi-Final we have Leo vs Felix Feuerkranz," Jorgel began. "Both of these young men have proven to be among the strongest and most resourceful Mages of their grade. Who is going to advance and compete for the champion spot? Let's find out!"
A moment later, the gong sounded and the two mages began their showdown. Zeke was on the edge of his seat as he watched Felix start the fight by summoning his [Crown of Fire]. He apparently didn't want to take any risks with Leo. Beads of sweat were running down the Fire Mage's face. The spell apparently took a lot out of him if performed in such a hurry.
Leo also didn't remain idle. He started to alter the terrain using his [Earth Manipulation]. Zeke was astounded by his friend's proficiency with the spell. Leo was by far the most adept in those spells out of every Mage in their year… and there was a reason for that.
Pure manipulation spells such as [Fire Manipulation] and [Earth Manipulation] were able to take on almost every form that a mage could think of. But there were two downsides to this method: cost and speed. The spell would need a lot more mana than a specialized spell and it would also need a lot more time to be deployed. The disparity between this and a proper spell was years of refining and research.
Leo had no other choice but to heavily rely on his manipulation. The school only taught the most basic spells for every element. Fire Mages were taught the [Fire Ball] and [Fire Lance] spells. Earth Mages were taught the [Earthen Armor] and [Earth spike] spells. Every other spell they would need to acquire on their own. This was also one of the reasons why there were never any commoners in the finals of the tournament. It was incredibly hard to compete with only those basic spells.
Leo had been lucky and had received another fire spell [Inner Fire] as a present. A particularly eager family had gifted him the spell in order to curry favor. Leo had been very clear in his refusal, but the man apparently didn't want to hear it. He basically forced the scroll on Leo before departing, at least that was how Leo told the story. Those 5 spells made up the entirety of Leo's repertoire.
Zeke ran a bunch of simulations in his head. There was no way that Leo could win with Fire Magic. According to all of Zeke's calculations, Leo would be best served by avoiding Fire Magic completely. One way Zeke saw a chance of victory for Leo was by hiding with the help of his Earth Magic and then launching a surprise attack. This was what he had done in his last fight against Emil.
Zeke considered how Leo would fare in a straight-up Magic duel. Earth against Fire. It didn't seem that promising. Leo would strain his core long before Felix would run out. Before Zeke could consider any more scenarios, there was a change in the arena.
Felix took one look at the earthen fortifications and decided to stay away. Instead, he started a long-distance bombardment on the fortress. Leo had erected several walls between his position and Felix. The Fire Mage didn't want to take any chances of Leo getting close. He was aware that Leo's only real chance of victory was by overpowering him in melee combat.
Felix was known for his lacking physical prowess after all. He had never tried to fix this flaw as it was not considered a grave shortcoming for an elemental Mage. Their combat tactics would shift more and more from a physical confrontation with each level of advancement.
Felix used the [Fire Lance] spell, known for its penetrative power to punch right through the fortifications. Leo's hastily constructed walls of dirt were no match against the penetrative Fire spell. He had chosen to use the surrounding dirt to form his fort instead of stone.
Elemental Mages had the ability to summon the physical representations of their element using their manipulation spells. A Fire Mage could summon Fire and a Water Mage could summon water. Leo, as an Earth Mage, had the ability to create dirt and stone from mana alone. However, the process was not very efficient, especially so for Earth Mages. That was the reason why they liked to work with what they had available if possible.
Leo's defenses were similarly created from the dirt the arena floor was made up of. If he had used his [Earth Manipulation] to create stone, he wouldn't be able to sustain the mana output for more than a couple of minutes.
One after another, the lances demolished the earthen mounds. Finally, the last wall collapsed after being pierced one too many times. However, instead of passing all the way through, the spear collided with something hard and was stopped. Felix stopped his casting to take a look. He was curious to see what Leo had come up with.
Out of the ruined crater of his fortifications stepped Leo. It became immediately clear why he had stayed so passive after creating his stronghold. He had been working on something. Leo's left arm was covered with a shield. The object was made of stone. He must have summoned the material himself. What was even more interesting was that the stone seemed to be charred black. If Zeke had to guess, then Leo had done something to the stone to make it more fire-resistant.
Felix seemed to know what was going on as his eyes turned serious. He seemed to be aware of what Leo was planning as he immediately started to cast. Zeke didn't recognize the movement or incantation of the spell. But by the fact that Felix needed to use both these aids, it must be a complex spell. The length of the incantation was often a good indicator of how elaborate a spell would be. Zeke was surprised when he heard that the incantation used a total of four lines. This was incredibly long for a battle spell.
"I call the mighty flame of breath,
Rise and blaze to bring their death,
Let fiery breath my foes consume,
Salamander's Breath, bring forth your fume."
After the incantation, a continuous torrent of flames shot out of Felix's outstretched hands. Leo had not been standing still either. He had started to run at Felix the moment his opponent had started to cast. Despite his quick action, there were still more than 30 meters between them when the torrent of flames reached him.
Leo raised the black shield in front of him as the flames enveloped him. Even as he was completely swallowed up by flames he continued to move forward. However, the shield was only able to protect him down to his knees. Even though he couldn't see his friend anymore, Zeke was certain that Leo wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.
Leo's figure had entirely vanished from sight at this point. All that could be seen, was an all-encompassing river of flames stretching tens of meters out from Felix's palms. Leo's seemed to have fallen to the ferocity of the spell as there was no further movement.
Zeke sighed, expecting the worst. He had known that Leo wouldn't have it easy. It had been a tall order for his friend to triumph in this fight. After another glance at the inferno, Zeke was about to give up hope when suddenly, the flames stopped. He could see Felix falling backward. An object had hit him square in the chest. Zeke followed the round disk with his eyes. It was the remains of Leo's shield. The thick aegis made of blackened stone had lost most of its volume in the seconds it had been in those flames. But if the once majestic shield had been burned to such a degree then what of Leo?
His question was answered in the next moment as Leo emerged from the dissipating flames. Zeke grimaced after taking in his friend's condition. Leo had shielded his face with his left arm, leaving his face mostly intact. However, that was not the case for the appendage. His biceps was charred black and the bone was visible. His feet were even worse. Most of the flesh on his feet had been burned off. Zeke was astonished at how Leo could even run on those mostly skeletal feet.
His entire body was a mess of burns and blisters. The only part of Leo that had not taken a hit was the burning spirit in his eyes. With a ferocious bellow, he sprinted at his opponent. His imposing demeanor was only strengthened by his wounded state. It appeared that there was nothing that could stop his charge.
Felix had found his balance again. He flinched a little upon taking in Leo's form. This was a clear sign of inexperience. He did not yet have the mental fortitude to shrug off the horrendous wounds he had caused. This would have been a grievous mistake in a life-or-death battle.
He was only distracted for a moment, however, and Felix quickly started on his next spell. He couldn't use an incantation anymore; Leo was too close already. Felix channeled a [Fire ball] and threw it at Leo. He had proven against Katja how incredibly fast he was with this spell. Indeed, before Leo could even take a full step, the glowing orb of flame appeared in Felix's hand. He swung his arm forward to send it directly toward Leo's already burned chest.
Before reaching the end of his swing, Felix's arm was caught on a [Earth spike] that had emerged from the ground. The ball of flames went wide, missing Leo completely. Felix began to panic.
Leo only had a couple of meters left to go. He would arrive in a second at most. Felix had time for one more spell, and he would have to make it count. The good thing was that Leo had no way of dodging the spell at this range either.
Felix brought his arms in front of his chest. He took aim with his overlapping palms, as he jumped backward to gain as much distance as he could. He focused all of his mana into one last [Fire Lance]. He looked straight ahead and focused on his opponent. Their eyes met. Leo was already in midair, leaping at him. His saber was poised to strike. It would all be decided at this moment.
Just before Leo reached him, Felix released all the mana he had gathered. He had executed the maneuver perfectly, and a smile spread across Felix's face. This was his victory.
Leo was also aware that he had no chance of dodging. Instead, he brought forward his charred left arm to use as a shield once more. Felix sneered inwardly. What would that stump of an arm be able to do in its condition? But what he saw next shocked him to his core. The bones on Leo's entire left arm were covered with the same stone his shield had been made from.
Was he insane? How did he expect the healers to fix his arm if he had encased the wounds in stone? The spell collided with Leo's left arm. He didn't just block the spear head-on but whipped his arm outwards to deflect the spear away from his body. The maneuver worked partially, as the spear slid past his body. Even so, the impact caused splintered stone, bone, and charred flesh to go flying.
Felix gagged at the sight. He had a hard time coming to terms with the tremendous amount of damage he was causing. He searched his opponent's eyes. He was looking for condemnation. Looking for the blame he knew he deserved. What he found was something completely different.
He saw a predatory smile on Leo's face. His eyes shone with the same indomitable will that they always did. There was no resentment, only intense focus. As the saber came down on Felix's unprotected form, he felt something else from Leo's gaze. He had been measured, judged, and found wanting. Felix could not even disagree with the assessment. Compared to Leo's resolve, he had been like a kid playing around.
His opponent had put everything on the line for this victory. He had risked permanent damage to his arm just for a small chance at victory. Felix could not measure up to that kind of determination, not yet. He closed his eyes and waited for the strike to reach him.
The pain Felix had expected didn't arrive. A moment passed, then another. Nothing happened, until the voice of the announcer boomed, "The winner has been decided! We have our first contestant for the finals!"
Felix opened his eyes and saw that Leo had stopped his saber just before his neck. He had left nothing but a minuscule cut on his throat before retracting the blade.
"I wouldn't have minded a bit of revenge," Felix said quietly. "I think I would feel better if you had slashed me at least once."
With a small smile, Leo collapsed backward. He was unable to stay on his feet any longer. His limp body was caught by one of the healers that were already on the scene. They laid him on a stretcher before carrying him away. However, before he was out of earshot, he responded in a quiet but strong voice.
"It is not me that should hold a grudge," Leo said. "If we had met as genuine enemies, it would be your corpse on the ground, not mine."
In the next instant, the healers carried him out of sight.
The completely uninjured but entirely defeated Feuerkranz was left alone in the arena, lost in thought. Hearing Leo's words conjured the image of Leo's intense gaze in those last moments. Leo's strength of will could not be overlooked.
From the deepest part of his soul, he hoped that he would never meet Leo as an enemy.