The atmosphere inside the arena remained electric even after Kael’s defeat.
If anything, his battle had only increased the excitement spreading through the stadium.
The spectators now understood that this year’s candidates were far beyond ordinary, and every new duel carried the possibility of another spectacular clash.
Massive magical screens floated above the battlefield while academy staff restored the destroyed arena through advanced earth and restoration magic.
Meanwhile, Kael himself had apparently recovered emotionally from losing in record time.
“I’m telling you,” he declared proudly while leaning against the railing near our group, “if Darius and I fought ten times, I win at least four.”
“You literally died,” Faelyn replied.
“Minor detail.”
“You got punched through a mountain.”
“Technicality.”
Even Lyra struggled not to smile at that while I quietly watched the next battlefield preparations below us.
Around the arena, countless spectators continued discussing the surviving candidates from the Battle Royale, though one topic returned constantly now.
The so-called “Darkness Group.”
Interesting.
Apparently surviving multiple Guardians and publicly humiliating noble teams had attracted attention.
Before the conversation could continue further, one of the professors stepped toward the central platform once again.
“Next duel.”
The stadium gradually quieted.
“Faelyn Elthar.”
Immediately, parts of the audience reacted with visible surprise after hearing an elf’s name announced.
Several nobles sitting higher in the stands exchanged dismissive looks while whispers spread naturally through portions of the crowd.
“An elf?”
“They usually avoid human academies.”
“She’s with the demon group, right?”
Faelyn heard every single comment.
And visibly did not care.
The elf casually rolled one shoulder before glancing toward Varkas with a smirk already forming on her face.
“Try not to embarrass yourself too badly.”
The demon slowly looked toward her from beneath the hood partially hiding his crimson eyes.
“I was about to say the same thing.”
Kael immediately straightened up beside us.
“OH this is gonna be good.”
The professor continued.
“Varkas Ashborn.”
This time, the reaction from sections of the crowd turned noticeably worse.
“A demon?”
“Seriously?”
“They let demons enter now?”
Even several candidates reacted negatively after hearing Varkas’s race announced aloud.
The demon himself remained expressionless, but I still noticed the slight tension passing through his shoulders for half a second.
Old habits.
Old memories.
Pathetic.
After everything he had shown during the Battle Royale, people still looked at him like some dangerous creature instead of a warrior.
Then Faelyn suddenly smirked wider before loudly speaking toward the audience.
“Careful.
If you underestimate him, he’ll probably burn the arena down.”
Several spectators blinked in surprise while Varkas slowly glanced toward her afterward.
“…You’re one to talk.”
And just like that, the tension shifted.
Kael immediately burst out laughing while even Lyra smiled faintly again.
More importantly, portions of the crowd visibly relaxed after realizing the elf and demon clearly weren’t enemies.
No hatred.
No resentment.
Just two warriors fully prepared to beat each other unconscious out of pure competitive pride.
The arena barriers activated moments later while both fighters entered the battlefield from opposite sides.
Unlike Kael’s explosive presence earlier, neither Faelyn nor Varkas attempted to draw attention to themselves.
Yet the pressure surrounding them had changed drastically compared to the beginning of the entrance examination.
They looked stronger now.
Sharper.
Like real adventurers instead of talented students.
The moment Faelyn stepped onto the battlefield, wind currents immediately started circling naturally around her body.
Her upgraded outfit crafted from Garuda materials moved almost weightlessly while the mana-infused fabric reacted perfectly alongside her affinity.
The improvements dramatically reduced air resistance around her movements while reinforcing the durability of the armor itself.
Meanwhile, the chain wrapped around her arm emitted faint emerald light whenever compressed wind mana passed through it.
On the opposite side of the arena, crimson flames slowly ignited around Varkas’s revolvers.
Not ordinary fire.
Hellfire.
And after absorbing the Ifrit’s power, the infernal flames had become significantly more dangerous than before.
Black-red fire twisted unnaturally around his weapons while heat distortion spread visibly through the air surrounding him.
Even from the spectator area, the temperature around the battlefield had already started rising.
The crowd gradually fell silent.
Because suddenly…
Nobody was underestimating them anymore.
Faelyn spun her chain once before smirking toward the demon.
“Last chance to surrender.”
Varkas calmly aimed one revolver toward her.
“After you.”
The professor raised one hand.
“Begin.”
The battlefield exploded instantly.
Faelyn vanished upward in a violent burst of wind while Varkas fired simultaneously, infernal bullets tearing across the arena fast enough to leave trails of black fire through the air behind them.
Wind and hellfire collided almost immediately afterward, detonating through the battlefield in a storm of emerald currents and crimson flames while the crowd erupted in shock.
And just like that…
The war between sky and fire began. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
The battlefield disappeared beneath explosions of wind and infernal fire almost immediately after the duel began.
Faelyn moved through the arena like a phantom carried by the storm itself while Varkas’s Hellfire rounds tore across the sky behind her, each shot exploding violently enough to melt sections of reinforced stone on impact.
Fast.
Far too fast for most spectators to follow properly.
The upgrades obtained from the Guardians had changed both of them drastically.
Faelyn especially looked almost untouchable now.
The Garuda-enhanced equipment wrapped around her body reacted perfectly alongside her wind affinity, reducing resistance around every movement while amplifying her aerial control to absurd levels.
She no longer fought like someone jumping through the air.
She flew.
Compressed wind currents formed naturally beneath her feet every time she changed direction while her chain curved unpredictably through the battlefield like a living serpent infused with storms.
And yet…
Varkas still kept up.
Barely.
Hellfire erupted around the demon continuously now, not only through his revolvers but directly from his body itself.
Black-red flames spread across the arena floor every time he moved while infernal fire coiled around his arms like living beasts responding to his will.
The Ifrit’s power had clearly amplified his elemental affinity tremendously.
The crowd slowly stopped talking altogether.
Because what started as a fight between two “outsiders” had rapidly become one of the most visually overwhelming duels of the tournament so far.
Faelyn suddenly accelerated downward from above, her chain slicing through the air fast enough to create sonic explosions behind it.
Emerald wind mana spiraled around the weapon while the Garuda feathers woven into the chain amplified the attack further.
Varkas reacted instantly.
Infernal flames erupted upward around him in a violent pillar of Hellfire before several explosive rounds collided directly against the incoming chain.
The arena detonated.
Fire and wind exploded across the battlefield while shockwaves tore through the magical barriers surrounding the combat zone.
Several spectators near the front instinctively recoiled backward despite the protections in place.
Then Faelyn burst through the smoke smiling.
“You’re slower than before.”
Varkas immediately fired three shots toward her head.
“You talk too much.”
The elf twisted through the air impossibly fast before launching herself sideways through another burst of compressed wind.
Her movements no longer resembled ordinary agility anymore.
The Garuda upgrades had transformed her into something terrifying inside aerial combat.
Even the professors had started paying close attention now.
“Incredible mobility…”
“That equipment synergy is exceptional.”
“The demon’s flame control is equally impressive.”
Meanwhile, Kael looked like he was seconds away from climbing into the arena himself from excitement alone.
“THIS is a real fight!”
“You said the same thing during your own duel,” Lyra replied.
“Because I’m inspirational.”
On the battlefield, Varkas suddenly extended one hand forward.
Hellfire exploded outward instantly.
Unlike his precise revolver shots from earlier, this attack completely changed the pace of the fight.
Massive infernal flames spread across the arena in expanding waves while black-red fire consumed entire sections of the battlefield simultaneously.
Area denial.
Smart.
Faelyn immediately lost part of her aerial freedom as burning storms erupted higher and higher around the arena.
For the first time since the duel began, Varkas successfully slowed her movements.
Then he attacked seriously.
The demon vanished through the flames before reappearing directly beneath her position, both revolvers already aimed upward while infernal magic gathered around his body simultaneously.
“Hell Burst.”
Multiple explosions erupted at once.
Faelyn’s eyes widened slightly before wind mana detonated around her body instinctively, launching her backward through the air a fraction of a second before the explosions swallowed her previous position entirely.
The crowd erupted.
“He almost got her!”
“That demon is insane!”
“He’s forcing her out of the sky!”
Faelyn landed several meters away before skidding backward through the battlefield, small cuts now visible across one arm from the explosion’s shockwave.
And then…
She smiled wider.
Interesting.
No.
Terrifying.
“You’ve improved,” she admitted while wind currents started gathering around her more violently than before.
Across from her, Varkas slowly lowered one revolver while infernal flames continued spreading around his body.
“So have you.”
The atmosphere inside the arena shifted again afterward.
Because for the first time since the duel started…
Both of them stopped holding back.
The pressure inside the arena intensified instantly after that exchange.
Until now, both Faelyn Elthar and Varkas Ashborn had clearly been testing each other while showing off the improvements gained during the Battle Royale.
But the moment their expressions changed, everyone watching understood the duel had become serious.
Wind erupted violently around Faelyn’s body while the emerald mana surrounding her chain expanded across the battlefield like a growing storm.
At the same time, Varkas’s Hellfire spread farther through the arena floor, black-red flames consuming broken stone while heat distortion twisted the air around him unnaturally.
Two completely opposite fighting styles.
And somehow… perfect rivals.
Faelyn moved first.
The arena shook beneath an explosion of compressed wind while the elf launched herself forward at impossible speed.
Her movements no longer looked human now.
The Garuda-enhanced equipment amplified every acceleration so efficiently that she seemed to glide naturally through the battlefield instead of relying on physical momentum.
Varkas fired instantly.
Infernal bullets crossed the arena like meteors while Hellfire erupted behind every shot in violent explosions.
Yet Faelyn twisted through the attacks almost elegantly, her chain curving unpredictably before suddenly striking from a completely impossible angle.
The chain slammed against one revolver hard enough to force the demon backward several meters while compressed wind exploded around the impact point like a miniature hurricane.
The crowd erupted immediately.
“She forced him back!”
“That chain is terrifying!”
Meanwhile, Varkas simply adjusted his stance again while infernal flames intensified around his body.
Then he smiled.
A small one.
Barely visible.
But genuine.
Noctis felt it immediately from the spectator platform.
The rivalry between them had changed.
At the beginning of the examination, both constantly competed to avoid appearing weaker than the other.
Pride.
Ego.
Distrust born from surviving alone too long.
Now?
Now they simply wanted to prove themselves worthy in front of someone they respected.
And honestly…
That made the fight far more beautiful.
“Sky Dominion.”
Faelyn’s voice echoed through the battlefield before massive wind currents erupted across the arena simultaneously.
The entire combat zone transformed into a violent aerial storm while the elf disappeared completely inside the compressed winds.
Then Varkas’s instincts screamed.
He raised both revolvers upward an instant before Faelyn emerged directly above him, her chain descending like a divine spear wrapped in emerald storms.
The collision detonated through the stadium.
Hellfire and wind mana exploded violently while shockwaves slammed against the magical barriers hard enough to make them flicker visibly for the first time since the duel began.
Even several professors looked impressed now.
“That level of mana output…”
“They’re still first-year candidates?”
“This group is abnormal.”
Inside the battlefield, Varkas suddenly unleashed his own full power.
Infernal flames erupted outward from his body in massive waves while the Ifrit-enhanced Hellfire transformed completely.
The fire darkened further, almost black near the center, while crimson cracks spread across the battlefield beneath the overwhelming heat.
“Burn.”
The flames exploded upward like an infernal eruption.
For the first time during the duel, Faelyn failed to evade completely.
The explosion swallowed part of her position while black-red fire tore across her side hard enough to send her crashing violently through the battlefield.
Lyra instinctively stood up beside us.
“Faelyn!”
But a second later…
Wind exploded upward again.
Faelyn emerged from the smoke breathing heavily now, several burn marks visible across her armor while blood slowly ran down one arm.
And she was laughing.
“You finally hit me.”
Varkas lowered one revolver slightly while smoke rose from his body as well.
The repeated use of enhanced Hellfire clearly strained even him now.
“You’re impossible to hit properly.”
“Skill issue.”
Kael immediately slammed both hands against the railing beside us.
“I LOVE THIS TEAM.”
The duel accelerated again afterward.
Faelyn launched herself through the air while Varkas flooded the battlefield with infernal fire, both fighters visibly exhausted but refusing to give ground.
Wind blades carved through Hellfire storms while explosive bullets shattered aerial currents apart continuously.
Neither wanted to lose.
Not against the other.
Then came the final exchange.
Faelyn suddenly changed direction midair through an impossible aerial rotation before compressing enormous amounts of wind mana directly into her chain.
The Garuda feathers woven through the weapon ignited with emerald light while the surrounding storm collapsed inward around the attack.
At the same moment, Varkas unleashed every remaining trace of Hellfire he still possessed.
“Infernal Cataclysm.”
Black-red flames erupted forward like a volcanic explosion.
And Faelyn dove directly through it.
The entire stadium froze.
Wind and Hellfire collided one final time at the center of the arena before Faelyn’s chain finally broke through the flames completely and wrapped around Varkas’s arm and torso simultaneously.
Then she pulled.
The demon lost balance for half a second.
That was enough.
Faelyn’s kick slammed directly into his chest while compressed wind exploded outward at point-blank range.
Silence.
Then Varkas’s body disappeared beneath transfer light.
Defeat.
For one brief moment, the entire arena remained stunned.
Then the stadium exploded into applause.
Not polite applause.
Real applause.
Because everyone understood they had just witnessed one of the best fights of the tournament so far.
A second later, Varkas reappeared outside the Pocket Arena completely restored physically.
The demon stared toward the battlefield silently for several seconds before slowly shaking his head.
“…I almost had you.”
Faelyn smirked while stepping out of the arena herself, visibly exhausted.
“Almost.”
Then, after a brief pause, she extended her hand toward him.
Varkas stared at it for half a second before finally taking it.
And somehow, despite all the cheering surrounding the stadium…
That small gesture felt like the true end of the duel.