*BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!"
The pillar of flames rose to the sky, creating a beautiful image that could be seen from the imperial palace.
Eight-Layer Fire Spell, [Hell's Pillar]!
A spell so powerful that someone like Dina was not supposed to be able to use yet. Moreover, she cast it without anyone noticing.
Genius, that was the only word that could describe such a feat.
The spectators were overwhelmed by fear and admiration. The heat of the flames was enough to knock out some of the weaker students.
Evelyn frowned.
"All the students below the fourth layer, leave! Teachers, protect the students that fainted!"
But her words fell in deaf ears. Most of the students' gazes were fixed in the pillar of fire in the arena.
They wanted to know the result of the clash between the student council's president and the leader of the club's committee.
But Dina's eight-layer spell was far from enough to finish this fight.
Before one second passed, a blinding light surged inside the pillar of flame.
Then, a giant sword light appeared, cutting the spell into two and hitting the arena's barrier.
*BOOM!*
The arena shook due to the impact. The flames dissipated and two figures appeared in everybody's sight.
Alan was holding a blinding sword of light and Dina was looking at the sword with an expression of astonishment.
"That is…"
"Zariel. A sword used by a sword god three hundred years ago. Father bestowed it to me two years ago, but it's my first time using it in battle. You should be proud, sister."
Dina clenched her teeth. Proud? She felt anger!
Zariel was a very famous sword. It was not beautiful and its shape was not special, but it was incredibly strong. A godly armament.
Three hundred years ago, before the empire was founded, many gods fought, and many gods fell.
Among them, a famous sword god called Zariel died. According to the historical records, he used only a sword during his entire life, since he was a child until he became a god. The sword carried his sword intent and experiences and contained powerful strength able to kill a god.
However, after the god died, the sword disappeared. Nobody knew where that sword was until it appeared today in Alan's hands!
Who would have known that the normal-looking sword Alan used was a sword that belonged to a god? The fact that the emperor gifted that sword to him was astonishing. It showed his support for Alan!
Neither Dina nor I have received such a gift from the emperor in our lives. Even the sword I wield is a completely normal sword without enchantments. Its only good point is that it was forged with some nice materials.
Now that Alan was using a sword like that, Dina was at a great disadvantage.
Alan's cultivation was already a little higher than Dina, so now that he also wielded a much superior weapon, his victory was almost guaranteed.
However, Dina was not going to give up so soon.
For her, this opportunity was something I earned for her. She knew the reason I did not injure Alan was so she could defeat him in perfect condition, fair and square. Once she was victorious, her reputation in the empire would soar.
If she wanted to be the empress, if she wanted to meet my expectations, this was the first obstacle she had to overcome.
So, she clenched her fists and readied another magic circle. Without caring about Alan's Zariel, she unleashed a new spell.
"[Burning Domain]!"
Fire surged out of her body, filling the entire arena and swallowing Alan.
But Alan just snorted.
"It's useless."
With a swing of his sword, the fire domain was cut into two and the sword continued towards her.
Dina narrowed her eyes. She quickly activated [Fire Teleportation], evading the slash by a hairbreadth.
But now that Alan was wielding Zariel, his power was on a completely different level.
"Where do you think you are going!?" With a bellow, the place where Dina just appeared was engulfed by tens of sword slashes. Dina's expression changed and hurriedly created a barrier in front of her.
The next instant, she forced herself to cast another fire teleportation and moved away.
But this time, her right arm had been heavily injured.
"Huff… Huff…" Dina appeared in a corner of the stage and looked at Alan's sword in fear. If she would have moved one second later, she would have lost!
But Alan was also frowning. He was planning to finish Dina with that attack.
Although Zariel was a powerful sword, Alan was unable to wield its true power and every time he used it he consumed a tenth of his mana.
After three attacks with Zariel, and counting the times he attacked before that, his mana was approaching dangerous levels.
So, he had to finish this fight fast.
"Imperial Swordsmanship, [Ruler's Command]!"
Alan kicked the ground and charged towards Dina. The sword of light in his hand turned sharp and pierced towards her like a holy spear!
Dina jumped aside. Shield after shield of fire appeared on the sword's path but they were quickly destroyed. However, Dina ignored it. She used her other hand to cast a second spell and cast it towards Alan.
[Meteor Rain]!
"Useless!" Alan grunted. Zariel sone brightly and sliced all the meteors. Then, the sword cut towards Dina's location.
However, she had already vanished in the flames, appearing behind him and creating a rain of arrows.
First-Layer Fire Spell, [Flame Arrows]!
*BOOM!!!*
*Bam!*
Both Dina and Alan continued fighting, exchanging spells and sword attacks and destroying the arena even more. In the blink of an eye, they exchanged more than twenty attacks, each with enough power to kill any other sixth-layer practitioner.
However, Dina was being slowly cornered. Despite her best efforts, she could not bridge the gap Zariel caused.
Quickly, her injuries increased, and her spells became weaker and weaker.
Finally, Alan cornered her.
"It's the end, Dina. You can't use another fire teleportation in your current state."
Dina smiled and spit out a mouthful of blood. She then looked at Alan with eyes full of determination.
However, Alan's eyes were completely cold. "So you will not give up, huh. It doesn't matter. If you want to blame someone, blame your bastard brother."
With these words, he raised his sword.
But Dina just smirked.
"Look below you."
Alan was startled. Aghast, he looked down and realized that at some point, a magic circle had appeared below him.
"This is…"
"My most powerful spell, one I can't control perfectly yet." Dina smiled. "I call it, [Bahamut]!"
When her voice sounded, the magic circle was activated.
Alan's expression changed. He hurriedly attacked Dina with his sword, but the light of the magic circle surged up and protected Dina!
Then, an enormous dragon head appeared in the sky.
"Burn him, guardian of the heavens and servant of the sun. Turn my enemies into ashes. Descent, [Bahamut]!"
*ROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!*
Alan felt his hair standing in an end. Instinctively, he felt the need to use his stronger sword technique.
"Zariel!"
The sword of light lit up and created a blinding sun. Alan sent all his mana into it and slashed towards the dragon!
At the same time, the dragon descended.
Ninth-Layer Spell, [Bahamut]!
Imperial Swordsmanship, [Godsfall]!
Then, the light and the flames clashed.
*BOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!*
With a powerful explosion, the last duel was approaching its end.