Chapter 9 The Grand Finale
I walked back through the long stone corridors leading to the nobles' antechamber, hearing the distant sound of applause from the arena fading behind me. Even before I could reach one of the velvet armchairs in the box, I was approached again by the same white-robed priest from the medical commission.
He stared at me with an even greater mixture of respect and sheer perplexity. In his hands rested a second crystalline vial filled with that luminescent blue liquid.
— An incredibly... swift victory, Lord Lycon — said the man, bowing his head solemnly and extending the vial. — Few mages or sorcerers your age would be able to maintain their composure after such a mana oscillation. Since the protocols require physical equity between semifinalists and finalists, here is another high-class Restoration Potion to replenish your reserves.
— Thank you — I replied, accepting the elixir.
I removed the cork and downed the medicine in a single gulp. The minty and bitter taste went down, tearing slightly at my throat. Almost instantly, a new wave of tepid heat coursed through my arcane veins, pushing away the little fatigue I had left and leaving my arcane reserves practically full again.
However, my body seemed to have a very different opinion about digesting two highly concentrated elixirs in such a short period of time.
As soon as I settled in the corner of the hall to wait for the next semifinal, an uncomfortable twinge twisted my abdomen. I made a slight involuntary grimace and crossed my arms over my tunic. From time to time, an annoying stab of a stomach ache appeared and disappeared, like a reminder of what an excess of these potions could cause.
In the meantime, I began to recall my fights with a touch of pride in my memories.
"— By surrender of combatant Lord Arthur Jr. II, the victory of the first semifinal goes to Lycon of Aritel!
Many people applauded me... This time, I am certain it is for me, and not for my parents... I left quite proud, and not the least bit tired."
— Stopping to think about it, I didn't get very tired in these fights... — I thought, trying to find a reason, besides them being too weak, as to why the fights didn't tire me out. When I fight with Alistair or try to levitate several papyrus sheets, it tires me out much more than this tournament. These thoughts gnawed at me a bit until I returned my attention to the memories of the other fights.
"— Papyri? Seriously, Lycon? — Alan provoked, raising his chin as if he were the most powerful sorcerer in the world, with a cursed smile that irritated me deeply. — I hope you brought very heavy stones in your pockets to hold down those sheets. Back in the Cove, we learn in the first week that the breeze has no mercy for what is light.
In a few seconds, he was already on the ground, with his leg cut, and screaming 'Don't touch me!'. That guy is a huge idiot."
I don't know what happened in Evadne's fight, because I was completely immersed in my thoughts; however, one could clearly notice that she won without even trying that hard, while the other was completely exhausted.
The resounding sound of the bronze trumpets echoed through the coliseum's galleries once again as soon as the paramedics removed Lord Leo from the arena. The crowd, fascinated by the level of the clashes, reached the peak of enthusiasm, making the stone stands vibrate.
The Captain took two firm steps forward on the balcony of the central box. He raised both hands, asking for silence, which took a few seconds to settle over the great mass of spectators.
With a ceremonious movement, he unfurled the last gold-edged scroll, whose calligraphy glistened under the torch flames.
— People of Aluvia! Illustrious guests, lords, and ladies from all over the kingdom! — the Captain's voice resonated, amplified with maximum authority. — The Semifinals are concluded! Before our eyes, determination and arcane mastery have reduced the eight young heirs to the two greatest prodigies of this generation!
He pointed solemnly toward the arena's side gates.
— On one side, the overwhelming surprise from Aritel! The boy who defied the conventions of sorcery, mastered magic circles, and demonstrated an unprecedented density of power: the young Lycon!
The audience erupted into applause and excited shouts, dividing the cheers in the stands. The Captain waited for the echo to subside and turned his arm to the opposite portal.
— On the other side, the pinnacle of tradition, refinement, and royal glory! The young woman who defended the capital's honor with impeccable precision and an unshakable posture: Her Royal Highness, Princess Evadne of Aluvia Magna!
He raised the scroll up high, projecting his voice to every corner of the colossal stone structure:
— Two brilliant minds. Two unquestionable styles. A single title! Behold the decisive clash of the GRAND FINAL OF THE MAGIC TOURNAMENT!
The Captain lowered his arm firmly, pointing to the center of the battlefield.
— Finalists, take your positions in the arena!
Princess Evadne and I took our places at the same time, listening to the audience, already excited about the fight, beginning to shout our names, applaud, and cheer for us.
Instead of the typical envious talk from the other two duels, the time before the combat was a short, yet long, period of silence. The few seconds that passed felt like minutes; each seemed to be trying to predict the enemy's attack.
— If I spare my efforts here, I will probably lose. — I thought during this long, short period of silence.
What was meant to continue being a tense time of silence was interrupted by the harsh voice of the judge, who had probably been swapped in to view our fight more clearly and announce the winner.
— FIGHT! — the judge's voice echoed throughout the arena, and the audience, which had been in an uproar, finally fell silent in a simple gesture of respect.
Princess Evadne did not show the slightest rush. Maintaining her impeccable posture and that air of unshakable aristocratic superiority that was characteristic of her, she gracefully raised her right hand. She did not levitate the paper like I did, having learned it the hard way because of Professor Cassian; instead, she delicately pressed her fingertips against the back of one of her papyri.
The geometric circuit on the paper glowed in a vivid blue tone under her touch.
— I hope you are truly more than the others who presented themselves — said Evadne. Her melodic and perfectly polished voice echoed through the arena, hiding the astute and calculating mind that was already analyzing every millimeter of the battlefield.
By injecting her mana into the circuit, a Fire Lance — condensed in the form of an incandescent and lethal needle — shot from the paper, cutting the air straight towards me.
My reflexes told me to react, but something inside was bothering me — This is a trap.
Instead of dodging like an ordinary person, I remained motionless. The arrow tore through the wind and directly hit the shield, oscillating a bit, but perfectly stable.
I didn't hesitate, and I had no reason to, since the impact was blocked: I pulled out my Mass Firing circle and put a bit of my mana into it. After that, my twenty mana balls were fired in her direction; I wasn't expecting a guaranteed impact, but I did expect at least some of them to hit.
However, to my surprise, she raised a large barrier of fire; my balls were completely annihilated by the flames, going with its flow.
Then a figure dodged to the right, triggering the fire lance again, along with a water jet, both heading my way.
The only thing I remembered at that moment was my Wind Gust. I aimed it downward and concentrated my mana into the scroll. A cyclonic thrust burst beneath my feet. The force of the air scattered mud everywhere and violently catapulted me upward, making Evadne's fire lance and water jet collide in the empty space where I had been a fraction of a second before, creating a dense cloud of steam.
While I was still in the air trying to land slowly and softly, she quickly brought her right hand to her rear papyri, touching a frantic and calculated sequence of circuits.
First, she activated a new Mud Explosion. The stone floor exactly below where I was going to step dissolved into a thick, deep quagmire.
Before I could think of anything, Evadne activated the main trap: an invisible ring of crushing gravitational force formed in the air and on the ground. I was pulled downward with terrifying violence, sinking into the thick mud without any chance to balance my landing.
When I turned my face, covered in clay, to look at the princess, she was holding another scroll near the wound I had inflicted on her. An emerald-green light aura enveloped her left shoulder. The torn fabric of her dress did not mend, but the flesh and blood vessels closed in seconds, staunching the bleeding.
To try to put an end to it all, she poured even more mana into the gravitational circuit, making me scream from the enormous pressure of the magic. When I looked, a huge wave of water was coming in my direction.
— I am not going to lose!!! — In an act of despair, I drew all my weapons: I used my supreme magic circle, a wind and fire circle, creating a huge hurricane that annihilated her spells, sending them straight at the princess. With the chaos unleashed, I gathered a large part of my energy into an extremely dense mana slash. Before it could even reach the princess, I sent out a wind slash with the exact same density as the other attack, aiming to completely break her shield.
My mana blade cut through the sky with a light hum for a second before touching the shield. I heard a loud crash before a wet sound of flesh being sliced and the princess's scream. The gash went from the princess's forearm to near her wrist, becoming even deeper near the elbows.
Without the slightest mercy, my other slash arrived, but this time it wasn't to hurt her, but to shatter the shield. Its wind sound was abruptly interrupted, giving way to a dry crash of the wind hitting the shield. Its dispersion was clear, as the slash was not a solid element or energy like mana. Suddenly, a crack appeared, and another, and another, until there came a moment when, with a sharp and deafening snap, the circuit of Evadne's ring completely collapsed. Both the ring and the shield exploded, making her fall unconscious and strengthless onto the arena's stone, as well as redirecting my slash away from a direct encounter with the princess. If she were hit directly, her death would be certain.
The next clash of my blade was with the coliseum's shield.
— The strength of my blows is overwhelming... — I thought while hearing several cracks from the arena's shield. This clash lasted for a few seconds, the audience in silence the whole time, until my magic was dispersed normally like regular wind.
After that, my first instinct was to gather the papers. The blade circles were quite hot; a little more and they would have caught fire. As for my multi-circle... That is another story. The only thing I saw of it after the hurricane was the dust lying next to it. It was probably incinerated along with the princess's defenses.
The judge, after all that mess, waited a few more seconds before recovering his senses, declaring — The... Princess Evadne's barrier has been completely destroyed! The ring has collapsed! Victory of the Grand Final... and CHAMPION OF THE MAGIC TOURNAMENT: LYCON OF ARITEL!
The stands exploded in the greatest roar of applause, shouts, and delirium of the entire competition. The deafening echo of the crowd reverberated through the arena's stone columns, but, to me, the sound felt distant, muffled by the sudden calm that settled in my chest — and by the last and uncomfortable twinge of indigestion that still insisted on turning my stomach because of the rushed mix of mana potions.
I looked toward the center of the battlefield, where the remains of steam and mud were slowly beginning to dissipate under the torchlight.
— My years of hellish training with Alistair and Cassian finally paid off. I have to thank them later — I thought, letting out a relieved smile as I felt the real weight of that achievement finally settle on my shoulders.
As she left, cautiously supported by the guard medics, refusing to fully lower her proud head despite her exhaustion and the wound on her arm, I left supported solely by the weight of my victory, walking with the firmness of someone who knew exactly the price of every drop of mana spent to get there.
As I walked through the side corridors and passed near the front rows of the stands that were beginning to stir, the murmurs and astounded shouts of the crowd ricocheted off the stone walls, blending with the muffled echo of my footsteps.
— Did you see that?! The madman conjured a hurricane out of nowhere in the middle of the arena! The wind almost tore the torches from the wall! — bellowed a man in a leather cap, gesturing hysterically to his companion as I passed a few meters from him.
— For the love of the gods... He destroyed the princess's ring. Her shield simply vanished into dust in a second! — exclaimed a woman in the front row, her eyes wide, covering her mouth with her hands.
— It wasn't just the shield. Did you see the blood on her arm? If the second spell hadn't deflected to the arena wall, he would have severed the heiress of Aluvia! — whispered one royal guard to another, exchanging a poorly disguised look of panic as I crossed the portal.
— Okay, maybe I overdid it but... Was it so much to the point of sparking so many rumors about me... I think my mom and dad are going to scold me anyway. — I thought as I listened to all the buzz.
It was in the meantime that I felt another treacherous twinge turning my stomach. It was right at that moment, when all I wanted was to find a quiet corner, that the same white-robed priest intercepted my path in the corridor.
— Lord Lycon! Wait a moment! — he called out, hurriedly, carrying in his hands yet another vial of that cursed luminescent blue liquid.
— Such a colossal display of mana has surely exhausted your strength. As the commission's protocols dictate...
I stared at the vial with the sheer terror of someone seeing a plague and right next to it the light.
— No. No way. Thank you very much, but I'll pass — I said, raising my hand categorically and taking a step back.
— But, sir, immediate recovery is vital so that there are no aftereffects to your physical constitution and...
— Sir, look closely at me — I cut in, making an obvious grimace while urgently crossing my arms and pressing my abdomen.
— If I drink one more drop of this tonic, I cannot guarantee the integrity of my pants, much less the composure of my victory. Two potions were already more than enough to turn my stomach into a literal riot. If I down a third one, the only natural disaster here won't be the hurricane in the arena; it will happen right in my pants and right here in this corridor.
The priest blinked, utterly confused, alternating his gaze between the glowing vial and my pale face.
Before he could insist on any more medical protocols, I turned around and quickened my pace down the stone corridor, praying to reach my quarters and the nearest latrine before the tragedy could consummate itself.
