Boom!

  Countless thin bolts of lightning descended from the sky, coiling tightly around Lazis’s body.

  "【????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Lightning Net——!"

  He was completely enveloped in crackling thunder.

  Gripping his mithril sword with both hands, he swung it fiercely toward Hulim’s position.

  Boom——!

  A massive wave of lightning, resembling a colossal sword slash, crashed down on the area.

  BOOM——!

  After an even more violent explosion,

  Lazis frowned in confusion.

  "Did it... fail?"

  Hulim still stood where she had been, looking completely unscathed.

  Boom!

  While Lazis was still puzzling over this, flames suddenly erupted beneath Hulim’s feet.

  What happened next left him utterly stunned.

  Hulim actually lifted off the ground, soaring upward on the jetting flames!

  And what’s more—

  Her flying speed was even faster than his Wings of Wind!

  "You’ve got to be kidding me!? Can Silent Casting be used like this?! That’s absurd!"

  As he ranted frantically in his mind, Lazis manipulated his Wings of Wind to retreat rapidly, trying to put distance between himself and Hulim.

  But the gap between them continued to shrink at an alarming rate.

  "No good! If I can’t escape, then——!"

  Lazis came to a halt, raising his mithril sword high.

  "Lightning Blade!!!"

  Boom!

  A gigantic blade of lightning materialized, slashing straight toward Hulim.

  Instead of dodging, Hulim waved her wand forward in response.

  Boom!

  A massive fireball shot out, colliding head-on with the lightning blade.

  BOOM——!!!

  In an instant, the shockwave from the explosion rippled outward in all directions, carrying with it swirling embers and tiny arcs of lightning.

  Whoosh!

  Before the aftershocks of the explosion had fully faded, Hulim waved her wand again.

  Rows of fire arrows materialized in the air one after another,

  then barraged toward Lazis without pause.

  Boom! Boom! Boom......

  Lazis swung his lightning-wreathed mithril sword frantically, slicing through each fire arrow as it approached.

  Though he barely managed to block the onslaught, the distance between him and Hulim was inevitably closed entirely.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  "Oh no! Storm Surge!"

  In a panic, Lazis hastily unleashed a Wind Elemental Spell.

  Hulim countered with a large-scale Fire Spell of her own.

  The storm and flames collided mid-air, erupting into a magnificent fireworks display. A downpour of fire rained down onto the arena below.

  While the spectacle was breathtakingly beautiful, it also obscured the audience’s view, making it impossible for them to see what was happening at the heart of the battle.

  Boom! Boom! Boom......

  After that, all they could see were bright, flickering flashes of light—some dazzling white, others fiery red—illuminating the sky, accompanied by endless explosions.

  But few could tell who was gaining the upper hand......

  "How is this possible! She’s far stronger than I imagined. Is this the true power of Silent Casting?"

  Lazis’s expression grew increasingly strained; he was barely holding on, gritting his teeth through the effort.

  A gap in individual spells could be offset by speed, but when the frequency of spellcasting picked up, the divide between those who mastered Silent Casting and those who didn’t became glaringly obvious. And as time wore on, that gap only continued to widen.

  "No! I can’t fall here! Lightning Strike——!!!"

  Boom!

  Another massive bolt of lightning crashed down—this time, not toward Hulim, but directly onto Lazis himself.

  "Ah! For the sake of victory——!"

  Wreathed in terrifying arcs of lightning, Lazis raised his sword with all his remaining strength, swinging it down at Hulim with immense difficulty.

  "Crash down——!!!"

  A beam of lightning erupted from the tip of his sword, its power eerily similar to Violet’s Magic Sword Energy Torrent.

  Boom!

  The lightning-fast bolt struck Hulim head-on.

  A blinding light exploded instantaneously, temporarily impairing Lazis’s vision.

  "......D-Did it work?"

  Anxious uncertainty gnawed at his heart.

  But when his sight finally cleared, he was horrified to see Hulim still hovering in the sky,

  looking completely unharmed as before!

  "What?!"

  His heart sank to the bottom of his stomach in an instant.

  "Could it be...... she blocked it again?"

  Boom!

  In the next moment,

  before he could recover from his shock, Hulim launched a lightning-fast assault.

  "Lightning Blade!"

  Lazis raised his sword to defend himself.

  The lightning blade sliced through the air—only to strike nothing but emptiness.

  With a simple flip in mid-air, Hulim had dodged the attack effortlessly.

  "Thi......"

  Lazis was left dumbfounded.

  How could her flying skills be more proficient than his, a Wind Elemental Mage?

  Is this even possible?!

  Whether it was reasonable or not, there was no denying the truth—Hulim was already upon him.

  Lazis attempted to swing his sword again to block,

  but what he encountered at close range was a sudden burst of fireballs. When his mithril sword struck one of them, the force of the explosion sent the blade flying backward.

  The recoil left him completely exposed, revealing a fatal opening.

  And Hulim seized the opportunity without hesitation, unleashing a new spell directly at the gap in his defenses.

  "This is bad!"

  Lazis cursed inwardly. He couldn’t dodge this attack!

  Gritting his teeth, he decided to take the hit head-on. Then, while Hulim was momentarily vulnerable after casting, he would counterattack despite his injuries.

  Bang——!

  "Ah!"

  Enduring excruciating pain, Lazis prepared to launch his counterattack.

  But at that exact moment, Hulim raised her left hand, pointing her palm directly at him.

  "?"

  Staring at her empty palm, Lazis felt a surge of confusion.

  A split second later, an intense white light erupted from her palm.

  "Ah——! My eyes!"

  His vision was instantly flooded with pure white.

  Any thoughts of counterattack vanished into thin air.

  Moments later, he felt a searing wave of heat engulf his entire body.

  Snap!

  The Wings of Wind on his back shattered into fragments.

  His body began to plummet toward the ground in a free fall.

  Bang——!

  After a dull thud,

  the sounds of battle finally fell silent......

  On the ground below,

  Hulim walked slowly over to Lazis.

  "Are you alright?"

  "......Ah, y-yeah... I’m fine......"

  Lazis replied weakly.

  "You really held out on everyone. I had no idea you could use Light Magic too? I completely fell for it......"

  "......"

  It’s not just Light Magic......

  But Hulim would never reveal her mastery of other elements in front of thousands of spectators.

  "Do you want to continue?"

  "Haha... Look at me. Do I look like I can keep fighting...... Sigh......"

  With a heavy sigh, Lazis raised his hand toward the sky in defeat.

  "I concede."

  Ding——!

  The bell signaling the end of the match rang out.

  "The winner——Hulim Heyerar!!!"

  "Let’s congratulate her! She advances to the Quarterfinals——!!!"

  "Yeah!""Hulim! You’re amazing!""We’re cheering for you!""Go! Go! Go!""......"

  Deafening cheers erupted from every corner of the arena, echoing on and on.

  Lazis brushed the dust off his clothes and stood up unsteadily.

  "Thank you for going easy on me."

  "I lost this battle fair and square. I hope we’ll have a chance to fight again someday!"

  "Hmm. If we get the chance."

  Hulim nodded in response.

  "Haha...... I’ll look forward to it. For now, though, let this defeated warrior take his leave. Sigh, I even boasted to everyone that I’d make it to the Quarterfinals and aim for the Semis. This is so embarrassing......"

  Watching Lazis mutter to himself as he limped away,

  Hulim suddenly realized something.

  Hmm......

  Wasn’t he the first opponent who’d walked out of the arena on his own two feet after losing?

  .....