[Leon's POV]
My body feels so weak...
Opening my eyes, I began to see the blue sky filled with white clouds. I also faintly heard several people as if they were discussing something.
"His hand has a second-degree burn; please heal that part."
"Understood, Senior; I will try what I can."
What happened...?
Calming myself down first, I recalled what had occurred earlier. I tried to release Anti-magic to withstand the waves of Brian's magic that came repeatedly. However, because the Mana I possessed was thinning, the Anti-magic I used was ultimately imperfect, allowing Brian's magic waves to penetrate it.
That means I lost, then?
Thinking about it makes my heart feel very heavy... Alisha and I had made a promise to meet in the final round...
I was so confident I could defeat Brian. However, he possesses an absolutely insane amount of Mana. To be honest, I do not want to see Alisha right now. I am very ashamed and want to hide myself because I could not meet the expectations she had for me.
Ughhh... I think I must speak with my Guider in the Soul Room later to discuss this strength of mine.
[Brian's POV]
Currently, I am in the medical room with a Priestess who is healing the wounds I have. The final match will resume not long from now once my healing is complete. If I win and take the championship of this Tournament, then I will be the strongest in the Academy and one step closer to achieving my dream.
"Priest, is the healing process still going to take long?" I asked the woman who was healing the wounds on my body.
"One hour ago, you just had a match until you were battered like that," the Priestess replied. "Why the rush?"
Hearing the Priestess's words, I became aware of my behavior, which was a bit nervous facing this final.
"I suppose it is because I want to quickly become the champion of this tournament," I answered her.
The Priest then smiled at me, "The beauty of youth—full of hope and spirit."
The Priestess then began to heal the internal wounds I received. After nearly half an hour, she said that the healing process was finished.
"Try to stand up and walk around for a bit," said the Priestess. "Tell me if you experience dizziness or lose sensation in any parts of your body."
I stood up and began to walk and move every part of my body according to her instructions.
"I think there are no problems," I said to her. "I am ready to compete!"
"Very well, I will inform the Promoter," said the Priestess, smiling at me. "I pray for you to win in this tournament, young man."
After being informed the match was about to begin, I exited the medical room toward the hallway that would lead me to the arena field. Upon arriving there, I crossed paths with a beautiful grey-haired woman. Her facial expression right now looked very cold, like snow in winter.
"Princess Alisha," I called to her.
She then turned this way, but her expression did not change at all.
"What is it?" she asked in a cold tone.
Why has she become like this? Didn't we usually chat quite normally yesterday? Did I make her angry?
"It is nothing, Alisha," I said while offering a handshake to her. "May the best one win this match."
However, she only stared at my hand without returning my handshake. She then began to walk again, entering the hallway; I could only watch her back as it moved further away.
What was that all about? Why did she ignore me!?
Ughhh... Just forget it; she will surely pay attention to me if I make things difficult for her in the match later. I will show her that I am a man worth taking into account!
***
[Raul's POV]
After two hours, the final match of this tournament to determine the Champion was about to begin. Princess Alisha was seen as the first to enter the field, followed by Brian behind her. Once each was in the middle of the field, the Promoter then began to speak to the spectators.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The time has arrived!" the Promoter said loudly. "The winner of this match will surely triumph in the future!"
Hearing the Promoter's words, the spectators began to get excited as they were about to witness the birth of a new star.
"The Grand Espadas, Masters, and Archwizards at the Magic Tower—all were champions from Grunbelt Academy! Therefore, it is certain that one of these two participants will become the strongest of their generation in the future!"
It is true; all the people who have triumphed, whether it be the Grand Espadas or the Archwizards and Masters, all of them at least once won the Grunbelt Academy tournament in their youth. Even so, not a few of these champions were unable to reach the peak because they fell halfway. Whether it was being killed in battle or other incidents.
"Without waiting any longer, let us begin the match!" said the Promoter, sounding enthusiastic. "Are both participants ready!"
Princess Alisha nodded while Brian was seen unsheathing his sword.
"The final match of the Grunbelt Academy tournament, begins!"
Brian immediately activated Accel magic the moment the match started. He darted very quickly toward Princess Alisha. Seeing this, the grey-haired woman stretched out her hand toward Brian; suddenly the Hero's legs began to freeze, causing his run to stop.
"Aggghhh!"
Brian shouted, and his body began to be enveloped in golden light; the ice capturing his legs also melted away. He then returned to running toward Princess Alisha. Three magic circles were created around Princess Alisha's body; the three then released ice spears that immediately darted toward the running Brian.
Brian then destroyed those ice spears using his sword; he did not stop running and drew closer toward the Princess. The magic circles around Princess Alisha increased in number; this time, more ice projectiles emerged, forcing Brian to inevitably have to dodge.
The distance between the two grew further; a loud rumbling sound was heard as Princess Alisha's ice projectiles hit the arena walls. Brian appeared to be struggling; he was constantly chased by the ice projectiles being fired continuously by the Princess. Not long after, one of those projectiles hit Brian's body, throwing him far back.
He tried to get up; his mouth was seen bleeding due to being hit by an attack from Princess Alisha. However, the grey-haired woman appeared to be murmuring something.
"Blizzard..."
Suddenly, a magic circle appeared above Brian. Large chunks of ice began to emerge from that magic circle and then fell, smashing into Brian who was beneath them.
- Grrruuhhh!
The arena shook slightly because of the impact of Princess Alisha's magic. Brian continued to be showered by the chunks of ice emerging from the magic circle. After a few moments, the magic circle above him finally disappeared. A silence fell within this arena; the spectators seemed to wonder if this was the end for Brian, their favorite.
- Boom!
However, they were startled by an explosion that suddenly emerged from the ruins of the ice chunks. A blonde-haired man was seen rising after being showered and buried alive by Princess Alisha's magic. His body was covered in wounds; it seems he was able to rise only by relying on his strong will.
"Still not enough! I will not give up before victory can be achieved!" shouted Brian, who began to hold his sword with both hands and then raised it above his head.
His body and sword began to be enveloped by golden light. Brian concentrated the mana he possessed into his sword. Is he going to use Incursio against Alisha? I think the match will end before long.
The wind blew strongly because it reacted to the massive collection of mana centered on Brian's sword.
"I will achieve my dream! For that, I will not lose in this tournament!" Brian shouted with overwhelming spirit. "Roar, Incursioo!"
Brian slashed his sword, and a massive magic wave then traveled toward Princess Alisha. However, the grey-haired woman appeared neither panicked nor worried at all. She then took a deep breath and released it slowly. Her mouth was seen starting to murmur something.
"Frosty Throne ... Absolute Zero!"
Silence fell when Princess Alisha shouted her magic. The temperature within the arena became extremely cold; the entire arena field was seen freezing over; the spectators only gaped at this phenomenon.
On the other hand, Brian's magic wave attack that was darting toward Princess Alisha earlier stopped because it froze upon being hit by the woman's magic. Brian's body also froze like an ornamental statue. There were no signs that he would break free and continue the fight.
"The winner of the Grunbelt Academy Tournament is..."
The Promoter's voice broke the silence within the arena.
"Princess Alisha Romanova!"
The winner of the tournament has been announced; the one who won it this time is a student from outside the Empire. Furthermore, Princess Alisha has an amazing record in this tournament. That is, throughout the matches, not a single enemy was able to make Princess Alisha lift her feet off the ground at all.
In the game, I stated that Valeria would become humanity's strongest wizard. However, that was because in the game, Princess Alisha had already died after Chapter Three was completed. If she had not died at that time, then the title of strongest wizard would surely have been held by the woman known by the nickname Frosty Monarch.