In front of them stood a human.
He was small compared to the previous finalist, but for a human, he was quite tall, around 1.95 meters.
He had well-developed muscles and was wearing a mask.
Emilya remained perplexed.
She did not understand why they had changed their opponent, but, strangely enough, she had a bad feeling about him.
Lucius looked at the man with one eyebrow raised.
— Is that really our final opponent?
He did not even have time to finish his sentence before the man moved toward them to attack.
Instinctively, Emilya created a shield to protect them, but it was broken.
Lucius then blocked the attack.
He struggled to push it back, but eventually succeeded.
— Hey, didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s rude to interrupt people?
he said, offended.
— Wait, Lucius.
Something is wrong with him.
I’ve been watching him carefully since he appeared in front of us.
He looks human, but he isn’t.
I don’t know what he is, but he’s dangerous.
Damn it, what has that stupid count done?
When this fight is over, I’ll make him count for it, she said, furious and worried.
— Hey, nice choice of words!
— I wasn’t trying to be funny.
She charged at him and froze the ground beneath his feet, making him lose his balance.
She jumped and, from the air, threw fireballs at him.
They all hit their target, creating a veritable tornado of flames.
Lucius watched the spectacle, stunned.
— I didn’t know you could do that.
— Normally, I would have avoided it because spells like these tire me out quickly, but not this time.
He looked at her with a confused expression.
— I’ll explain later.
She once again got into a fighting stance.
The monster emerged from the tornado of flames, and Emilya saw something that shocked her: the burns she had inflicted on him were healing.
Lucius noticed it too, but he didn’t react in the same way.
He wondered why everyone seemed to have some kind of healing ability, but he didn’t.
Indeed, the wound on his shoulder, inflicted by the witch, had still not completely healed, but he hadn’t told Emilya about it.
He charged at the monster, drawing his sword, and slashed at him several times, but his skin was difficult to penetrate.
He immediately backed away and once again watched his wounds close.
The monster growled, confirming Emilya’s theory: he wasn’t human.
He charged at them again, zigzagging as he moved, then jumped into the air and slammed his fist into the ground.
Emilya and Lucius dodged.
The audience, who had been perplexed until then, couldn’t understand what was happening as the two opponents exchanged attacks at incredible speed.
But the spectators changed sides and, instead of cheering for the champion, they began cheering for Emilya and Lucius.
Emilya tried her best to attack him, but he was far too fast for someone of that size and muscular build.
She thought he might even be faster than Lucius.
Lucius, on the other hand, attacked him in close combat and immediately backed away.
But after a while, the monster had enough and slammed his fist into the ground with all his strength, reducing it to rubble.
The arena floor was now damaged and no longer stable enough for our two protagonists to properly stand on it.
The monster took advantage of this to attack Lucius.
Seeing this, Emilya threw several small ice spikes accompanied by fireballs at him.
She shouted at Lucius not to stay there, but he didn’t listen.
He charged straight at the monster and continued slashing at him.
But just as Lucius was about to deliver a decisive blow, his weapon broke.
Seeing this, the monster punched him.
Lucius tried to block the attack with his arms, but he was sent flying.
Emilya placed a shield around him in an attempt to reduce the damage.
He crashed into the edge of the arena.
Emilya then noticed that a barrier had been erected between the arena and the audience.
— At least he isn’t trying to kill everyone, she said while looking at the count.
She went toward Lucius, but at the same moment, the monster moved toward him as well.
She stopped him by casting a lightning spell, bringing him to an abrupt halt.
She went over to Lucius.
He was still conscious, but his arms were injured.
She barely had time to turn around before the monster was already upon them.
She created a tornado of wind to send him flying into the distance.
— Can you stand up?
she asked Lucius.
— Yes, don’t worry.
The only problem is that I don’t have a weapon anymore.
— Don’t worry.
I’m working on it, but I’ll need you to buy me some time so I can make you a new weapon.
— You can even do that?
Is there anything she can’t do when it comes to magic?
She never stops surprising me, he thought with a smile.
— Don’t get too excited.
It’s just an ice sword.
I’ll try to make it as durable as possible, but I can’t guarantee anything.
— Don’t take your eyes off the enemy.
I’ll need three minutes.
Do you think you can hold him off until I finish your weapon?
— I have a request.
Instead of making me one, can you make me two?
— You’re pretty bold, aren’t you?
But fine.
I’ll do my best.
I’ll just need a little more time.
— Don’t worry.
Take your time.
I’ve finally figured out his attack pattern.
Emilya dispelled her wind spell and focused on creating Lucius’s ice swords.
The monster, who had been sent high into the sky, came crashing down.
He suffered a few injuries, but they quickly healed.
Lucius ran straight toward him and punched him in the face.
The monster was stunned for a moment, but immediately retaliated.
Lucius dodged the attack and charged at him again, kicking him.
They exchanged blows while Emilya finished creating Lucius’s weapons.
When she was done, she threw both swords toward Lucius, who caught them in midair.
They were two well-crafted blades with slightly curved tips.
He slashed at the monster, and the wound froze over.
It didn’t heal.
Seeing this, Lucius whistled, thinking that she was incredible.
He continued attacking the monster from several directions, inflicting more and more cuts.
Emilya, on the other hand, was trying to regain her strength.
Creating the two ice swords had been exhausting.
Lucius had noticed that she had stopped moving, which was why he began attacking the monster faster and faster, determined to finish it once and for all.
The monster was on the defensive, doing nothing but taking Lucius’s attacks.
At the right moment, it grabbed Lucius by the ankle and, in an instant, violently slammed him into the ground.
It grabbed him again, but Emilya had recovered enough.
She hurled a massive spike of ice at it, driving it back and allowing her to retrieve Lucius from the ground.
She moved a short distance away and set Lucius down just as the monster charged at them again.
She was screaming his name.
As he opened his eyes, he saw the monster behind Emilya; he pulled her toward him, and the two of them rolled away from the creature.
Emilya conjured a stronger shield, recreating it each time it shattered, hoping that the brief respite would give her time to recover.
— Are you okay?
— Yes.
She could see that he was exhausted, but he continued to answer positively.
Without realizing it, she smiled.
— You still have time to laugh despite the situation, he said, returning her smile.
— Do you enjoy playing the tough guy?
Despite the situation, the two of them began to laugh.
Then she made a decision.
— Can I ask you for one last effort?
— I see you still haven’t given up.
I’m listening.
— Buy me some time.
Even just one minute.
I only need that much time to cast one final spell.
— Don’t worry.
As long as I’m not dead, I’ll keep moving, he told her confidently.
He stood up with difficulty and grabbed both swords.
They weren’t broken, but they wouldn’t last much longer.
Emilya’s shield gave way.
She slowly moved away while Lucius began fighting the monster again.
She started chanting her spell while Lucius struggled to block the monster’s attacks.
Suddenly, the temperature began to drop.
Her hair and eyes turned white.
Emilya slowly approached the monster.
Lucius noticed and blocked his line of sight.
The monster struggled.
Then, suddenly, Lucius moved away.
The monster looked around.
He couldn’t see Emilya.
When he looked down at his feet, she was there.
He was about to attack her, but she gently placed her hand on him.
— White Flames.
Immediately, the monster began to burn.
He continuously regenerated, but the flames kept growing.
She moved away from him, and Lucius went over to her.
The monster continued burning.
His wounds stopped healing, and he eventually collapsed.
Lucius watched the spectacle, then looked at Emilya.
There was no life in her eyes.
She looked almost unconscious.
— Emilya?
She turned toward him just as he was about to tap her on the shoulder.
— Don’t touch me.
Lucius didn’t understand.
Suddenly, she collapsed, and he barely managed to catch her.
But he felt pain in his arms.
He had suffered minor burns.
— I…
I’m cold, she murmured.
Lucius didn’t have time to worry about his arms.
As the audience cheered for them, he took Emilya into his arms and shouted Melvis’s name.
He made his way into the stands as the count was about to begin his speech and proclaim the winners.
But they were already gone.
He ordered his guards to find them.
They immediately obeyed.
Lucius and Melvis returned to the forest, to the place where they had been before entering the city.
They quickly set up camp.
They used everything they had to keep Emilya warm, as she kept complaining that she was cold.
Suddenly, Melvis wanted to check her temperature, but Lucius stopped her, saying that she would get burned.
No matter how many blankets they added, nothing worked.
She kept saying that she was cold.
Melvis and Lucius no longer knew what to do and could only hope that she would somehow pull through.
— T…
She murmured something again, and the two of them moved closer to hear what she was saying.
— T…
throw…
me…
into…
the flames.