Shion Lan watched the match between the Moon Swordsman, Kin Light, and his Crimson Moon technique. He thought to himself,
'He is strong.'
Shion could not hide his admiration for Kin, who left the arena amid loud applause and enthusiastic cheers for such an outstanding talent.
Soon, the atmosphere calmed down as everyone awaited the next battle, which would bring together two of the greatest talents among the Six Great Families.
The announcer announced,
"Now, the fourth match between the Winter King, Glass Sano, and the Silent Wind, Braj Torano!"
The two entered with confident steps, unaffected by the world around them.
They were the center around which everything revolved.
Braj possessed an overwhelming presence and an aura that surpassed even the nobles themselves, while Glass carried a cold and calm atmosphere that made no one dare approach him.
As the match began, Glass released his power and used his spell,
"(Sano Family Art: Absolute Freeze)!"
The magic and aura in the area froze.
However, Braj used his skills as a fourth-level individual.
"(Magic Pressure)!"
The air around him began moving slowly and heavily, and the cold could not approach his surroundings.
The ice wall Glass had barely formed could not penetrate the heavy wind and the magic Braj had accumulated.
Braj released his power, and without saying a single word, spells began forming in the shape of compressed wind spheres, waiting to explode.
Another layer of wind surrounded him, becoming dense enough to form a shield.
Seeing this, Glass widened his eyes and smiled, recognizing a worthy opponent.
"(Sano Family Art: Ice Sword)!"
His blue sword became filled with a cold blue energy, and he rushed toward Braj.
Braj released his wind spheres, but Glass did not avoid them.
"(Ice Blades)!"
The magic around him moved, and ice formed around him, shooting toward the spheres.
A collision occurred between them, and ice fragments spread throughout the arena.
While Bragg continued creating more spheres, Glass had already reached him.
He swung his sword horizontally, but the speed of his blade gradually slowed until it stopped before touching Braj, pushing him backward.
Glass looked toward Braj with a smile.
Braj frowned and thought,
'This is why no one likes this crazy person. He possesses talent and heritage, but no one has ever been able to match him. That is why they call him cold, isolated, and lonely... But today, I will smash his head.'
He began taking the battle seriously.
He brought his hands together, and the air around him erupted chaotically.
The wind currents moved between his hands, forming a sphere of chaos.
Shion noticed it and thought,
'It is similar to my spell!'
Glass moved and decided to activate his heritage.
White breaths escaped from his mouth, and his eyes became colder.
With a smile on his face, he moved.
Braj pushed the sphere toward him, while Glass extended his hand covered in frost.
Both shouted at the same time,
"(Chaos Core)!"
"(Ice Age Touch)!"
When the two powers collided, the magical energy and aura in the area scattered.
The two stood facing each other.
The sphere remained between them, wanting to explode, but ice had covered it completely, preventing it from detonating.
Braj looked at Glass in shock.
Glass's expression had changed.
At that moment, Braj realized that he was no longer facing Glass Sano...
He was facing Yossi Sano.
Glass pushed his blue sword forward and placed it against Braj's neck, revealing the result of the match.
Glass said,
"You are a worthy opponent."
The announcement followed,
"The winner of this match is the Winter King, Glass Sano!"
With everyone cheering for him, Glass left the arena with a bright smile on his face.
That unfamiliar expression left a strong impression on everyone's minds.
It was as if an iceberg had moved.
As soon as the match ended, everyone looked at the board as the names shifted to reveal the final two matches:
"The Apex Star, Shion Lan, versus the Crimson Spirit, Sol Hart."
And on the other side:
"The Moon Swordsman, Kin Light, versus the Winter King, Glass Sano."
The audience immediately noticed the situation.
They became extremely excited and amazed that three of the remaining contestants were second-year students and were also the most famous among them.
...
Inside his room, Shion thought,
'I will fight Solan Neumann...
...Should I withdraw?'
He had never fought her before, and he did not think he wanted to.
Regardless of the fact that she was his lover, she was a pure spirit.
She possessed an army of spirits serving her.
She was also at the fourth level.
Even if she disguised herself as Sol Hart and could not use her full power in front of everyone, she was still dangerous.
After another entertainment performance, Shion moved toward the gates.
His expression was not good.
The moment the doors opened, the announcer shouted,
"Now, let us see whether they will fight, or whether their friendship will prevent them from doing so!"
Shion stepped forward with a gloomy expression.
However, he saw Solan smiling at him with her fake red eyes.
While he was thinking about what he should do, Solan raised her hand and calmly said,
"I surrender!"
"..."
No one in the audience spoke for a moment.
Then the crowd erupted.
"You can win!"
"Why did you surrender?!"
"Don't tell me it is because you two are friends!"
The voices mixed together.
But Solan raised her hand and said,
"The pure spirit Solan Neumann requested that I surrender before Young Lord Lan and deliver a message to him."
With a movement of her hand, several spirits moved and formed words in the air:
"Solan and Shion are lovers until the end."
Shion felt embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Solan waited for his reaction.
'This girl really does not think twice when it comes to me.'
However, he suppressed his thoughts and said in a cold tone,
"Tell Lady Neumann that I accept her gift."
The moment Shion said:
"Lady Neumann..."
Solan felt sweat run down her back.
She thought,
'I think I went too far.
I wanted to reach the finals on the other side so I could gift him the victory in the end, but I did not expect him to become angry. I guess the method was a little embarrassing...'
She left while muttering to herself about what she should do to apologize.
...
The director spoke with meaningful words,
"Ah... young love!
Do you know, Your Majesty? If Solan Neumann were still alive, she would now be a third-year student."
The king thought sadly and replied,
"Unfortunately... I committed a crime against them back then. Otherwise, she would be shining in this tournament now."
When the director saw that the king did not understand the meaning behind his words, he gave up and thought,
'Little Jord has always been the most difficult person to teach. Yet no one can deny his ability to use what he learned.'
The announcer announced,
"The winner of this match is the Apex Star, Shion Lan! He is also the first finalist of tomorrow's final match!"
However, what welcomed Shion was not cheering.
"Seriously?! His opponents surrendered after only a few attacks!"
"He reached the finals just by showing up!"
"Even his last match was handed to him on a silver platter!"
Although some people supported him, the majority were against him.
Shion could only smile helplessly as he left the arena, giving space for his friends.
After a while, the two individuals who had caused the greatest debate among the nobles regarding who possessed greater talent appeared.
The announcer announced,
"And now, the final match between the Moon Swordsman, Kin Light, and the Winter King, Glass Sano! The winner will face the Apex Star, Shion Lan, tomorrow!"
The audience became even more excited.
Kin and Glass looked at each other.
The Moon Sorceress Lily said,
"Use everything you have. I do not think Glass will warm up."
Glass smiled and said,
"I want us to fight with our full power from the beginning."
Without waiting for his response, Glass released a huge amount of cold aura.
Frost formed over his skin, granting him a decent defense.
He shone within the white atmosphere and looked toward Kin.
Kin did not hesitate.
He used his full power.
The ability of (Blue Moon) shone, as if it were an endless source of energy.
However, Kin gritted his teeth.
'Damn... I have used this technique too many times today. I need to end this quickly.'
He used his techniques,
"(Master of the Moon's Art: Moon Touch)!"
"(Thousand Radiant Swords: Cutting Barrage)!"
With Lily's magic, she touched his sword, granting it the property of reflecting the light possessed by the moon.
With a thousand swords surrounding him, filled with the renewed blue energy of the (Blue Moon), Kin rushed toward Glass.
Glass advanced as well.
He used his art,
"(Sano Family Art: Absolute Freeze)!"
The magic spread through the area, attempting to freeze the swords.
However, whenever one sword froze, another appeared in its place thanks to the flowing blue aura of the (Blue Moon).
Glass used his defense to endure the sword attacks while preparing another spell.
"(Ice Blades)."
Using his sword, Glass confronted the swords with his magic and flawless swordsmanship.
Hundreds of swords flowed toward him.
The blades followed his will and blocked the incoming swords.
Meanwhile, he began chanting at incredible speed.
His eyes shone intensely.
When Kin saw this, he decided to move.
Using the surface of his sword, he began redirecting his swords in unexpected ways through the magic of (Moon Touch).
The shining swords struck his blade and launched forward, targeting Glass.
Glass finished his chant.
A barrier formed around him from the spell:
"(Absolute Freeze)."
Everything around him began stopping.
He attacked Kin with his blades while remaining safe.
However, Ken released another attack,
"(Moon Crescent)!"
With a swing of his sword, a crescent-shaped slash appeared and destroyed all the blades.
Glass used another technique.
The aura around him became colder.
"(Ice Tide)."
"(Ice Blades)."
With a swing of his sword, frost moved toward Kin.
Kin used his techniques:
"(Thousand Radiant Swords)."
"(Moon Crescent)."
The thousand swords merged into his sword.
With the crescent strike, the swords appeared along the arc of the attack.
The two attacks collided, destroying the surroundings.
Kin decided to take another step.
"(Master of the Moon's Art: Crimson Moon)!"
The color red mixed with blue, creating a violent scene of energy.
Fierce...
Yet endless.
Lily's voice began fading, but Kin continued.
He summoned the swords again and rushed toward Glass.
Glass's energy had begun calming down.
There were no signs of it flowing.
However, he still used,
"(Absolute Freeze)"
to protect himself.
But Kin calmly said,
"Surrender. You have lost."
The endless swords filled with the power of the Crimson Moon rained down on Glass.
Glass remained calm.
However, his defense began cracking.
A layer of frost covered his body.
He stood silently.
Kin moved forward with greater power, destroying Glass's defenses.
The shining swords moved violently, destroying the freezing ability.
And while Kin believed the match belonged to him...
Lily's voice suddenly shouted inside his mind,
"Move away from him!"
But he hesitated because of the sudden warning.
Suddenly, a wave of cold struck him.
It pierced through his aura and traveled down his spine.
The frost layer around Glass shattered.
Revealing snow-white skin and cold blue eyes.
The aura was flowing from his weapon.
"Fourth... level?!"
Kin whispered in shock.
Without saying a word, Ice Blades formed around Glass.
They were strengthened by the power of a mage's mind.
And with this...
Glass Sano confirmed his advancement as both a swordsman and a mage.
Glass calmly said,
"Thank you, Ken Light."