Eira got on the stage with her arms crossed in a nonchalant manner.
"Are you ready, contestant?!"[1]
"Just get on with it. We all know that I'm gonna win," Eira said with a cocky tone, her overblown ego making everyone in the stadium cringe.
"Keep talking, you're just bark and no bite!"
"I can't wait to record your humiliating defeat and post it live on the internet!"
"Come on, let's get this over with and watch the next match. We all know this little girl here is full of herself."
The audience murmured among themselves as they expected nothing but a shameful performance from Eira.
"Weird, I feel as if something bad is about to happen," Storm said as he stared at Eira, who already looked like she was about to explode.
"Oh no, this ain't good," Natty said as she looked at Eira from her seat.
"What's wrong…? She doesn't look as if she's doing anything," Ruby said as she looked at Eira.
"How weak are you… you can't even see her mana," Malachi interrupted as he closed his eyes while sitting close to Tristan.
"Shut up, as if anyone asked for your opinion."[2]
"I mean, he ain't wrong. You're too weak to the point you can't sense her mana… but at the same time, I can't blame you, Eira is actually trying to conceal it," Aries said as she looked at Eira with a straight face.
"Get ready, we're about to witness the birth of a monster," Malachi said, leaving both Ruby and Tristan confused.
"Now, without wasting any time, let the second match begin!" the commentator yelled as he signalled the start of the match.
"LET'S GOOOO!!!" Storm said as his hammer turned into a giant mallet, and in an instant, he smashed the ground, causing debris and dust to disperse everywhere.
"Making sure I can't see what's going on… actually pretty smart," Eira said as she stood in the middle of the chaos.
Eira stood motionless in the middle of the arena, and soon after, she heard the sound of thunder. Following the sound was a yellow ball of lightning that bounced against large pieces of debris flying everywhere.
"Your plan could have worked if you weren't up against me."[3]
"IS THAT SO? THEN PROVE IT!!"[4]
In an instant, the ball of lightning turned into Storm, who held his huge mallet that had a massive amount of lightning magic.
Before anyone realised what was going on, Storm forcefully brought his mallet down on Eira. The impact was so massive that a loud sound like that of a storm was heard throughout the stadium.
"There's no way she survived that. You were right, Malachi, he is a monster!"[5]
"Wrong. The monster is right above us," Malachi replied to Tristan with a pissed-off tone in his voice.
The debris and dust all vanished, and all that remained was the destroyed arena and a confused Storm who stayed silent. In that very moment, Storm fell to his knees and dropped his weapon.
Before him was a goddess—no, an angel. Eira was in the sky as the sun masked her majestic figure, and surrounding her were thousands and thousands of flame spears.
"What is she?!" one of the student council members said as they watched Eira in complete terror.
"OH NO, THAT ATTACK IS GONNA HIT THE CIVILIANS!" the elf from the student council said as she froze up in fear.
"Fall," Eira said in a voice that commanded the weak.
Without mercy or hesitation, the flame spears fell like rain.
Loud explosions could be heard around the entire stadium.
Everyone was devastated, but soon after they realised they weren't injured, and when the smoke from the explosions dissipated, a large shield covered the entire arena. In the middle of the stadium, Galaxy stood over Storm with a fearless expression on her face.
"They're amazing. I have to meet this girl in person!" Persia said with an excited expression on his face.
Meanwhile, Christopher had a wide grin on his face as he stared at Eira and Galaxy and began to murmur some words.
"You guys are freaks," Blanc said as he nervously smiled at both of them.
"Are you alright?"[6]
"I… I forfeit!" Storm replied as he remained on the destroyed ground.
"Eira wins by forfeit!!!" the commentator yelled, as the entire crowd remained silent—or rather, paralysed in fear.
"You're crazy," Galaxy said as Eira descended towards the ground.
"Someone as weak as you would never understand, so keep quiet when I'm talking," Eira said as she glanced at Storm and then walked away, not even giving Galaxy attention.
"Before the third match starts, we will be taking a break while the student council fixes the damaged arena. But just a friendly reminder… Tristan vs. Aries will be the matchup, so don't go anywhere, folks. The next match will begin shortly after this break," the commentator announced to everyone.
Students and civilians rushed out of their seats and immediately filled the entire kiosk stands.
Meanwhile, Tristan, Malachi, and Alex headed towards the infirmary to check up on Mimi.
"Damn, Mal, you sure showed Mimi… I hope she's alright."[7]
"Don't worry, Tris, I didn't land a fatal blow on her, so she'll be alright… I think."[8]
"Well, even if you didn't, she was already planning to kill you from the start," Alex said as the three boys arrived at the infirmary.
"Excuse us, we're coming in!" Tristan said as he knocked on the door. After a while, they all went in.
"Huh? Oh, hi, you guys," Mimi said as she waved at the three as they walked in. She had some bruises and a bandage on her forehead.
"Hey Mimi, are you okay?" Tristan worriedly asked while looking at her wounds.
"Yeah, Malachi really did a number on me… but right now we have to worry about bigger problems."[9]
"And by problems, you mean Eira?"[10]
"Yeah… she is a monster."[11]
"Please, whatever you do, just don't mention that girl's name around me," Storm said as he folded himself into a ball in one corner of the room. He looked as if he hadn't slept for days, and his expression was that of total fear.
"What happened to you…?" Tristan asked in a shocked manner.
[1] The commentator asked
[2] Ruby furiously protest
[3] Eira said while smiling
[4] Storm declared to eira
[5] tristan said in shock
[6] Galaxy asks Storm
[7] Tristan said in a worried expression
[8] Malachi replied to tristan
[9] Mimi replied nonchalantly
[10] Malachi confirms her statement
[11] Alex replied