The crowd was so energetic, jumping and hyping up as Elena and Eveline walked to the stage.
"Let the fight begin!" the instructor shouted as he raised his hand and dropped it sharply.
FWOOOSH!
Elena and Eveline activated their swords according to their elements. Elena activated her light sword, and Eveline activated her ice blade, charging at each other at the speed of light and colliding at the center of the stage.
BOOOM!
Their shockwave made the stage split into two while they were in mid-air.
"Damn, these freshmen are strong," other students started to whisper, covering their eyes as the light flared.
The two didn’t give each other a break. They continued to clash so fast that other students were not able to catch up with their movements, only hearing the thunderous sounds of swords crashing together.
BOOOM! BOOM!
Their clash and shockwaves caused cracks to spread all over the stage.
"These two guys are really going at each other," Arnold commented.
"What do you expect when they start training when they are five?" Princess Freya answered.
"But by the way they are fighting, they look like they are fighting for something," Hannah said while crossing her arms.
"Hey Zane, when did you arrive? I have been looking for you the whole month until I met Eveline today," Leon said as he sat next to Zane and put a hand on Zane’s shoulder.
"I arrived when you were fighting," Zane replied while looking at Leon.
His gaze then turned toward the stage, following Eveline and Elena as they clashed against each other.
"That girl looks familiar. Who might she be?" Zane asked while pointing at Elena
.
"Huh? You have forgotten your cousin Elena? She is the princess of the Celestian Empire and your mother’s older brother’s daughter," Leon explained in shock.
"Mmm... My mother was from the Celestian Empire? I never heard of that. I guess I will have to visit it one day," Zane replied calmly while keeping his eyes on the fight.
Leon sighed. "You really don’t know your whole family, do you?"
"Well, not really. I know Sister Sofia and Sister Freya, although I last..."
"...met her a long time ago," Zane said while counting on his fingers.
"So you mean in the whole family, you only know three people?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, but I will get to know the others later."
"Man, what can I expect from someone who chose to go to Demon Mountain instead of coming back to the palace?" Leon said, putting his hand on his forehead and shaking his head.
Down on the stage, the girls were not slowing down for a second until they both took a few steps back.
"How about we end this fight with our next move?" Elena asked while lifting her sword.
"Fine by me," Eveline replied, activating her second ice blade.
"Dual-wielding? That’s surprising," Zane thought, his eyes widening a little.
AND THEN...
IMPERIAL LIGHT BLADE: CROSS OF SALVATION!
FWOOOSH!
Elena shouted, and a huge cross appeared behind her as she floated up into the air. At the same time, Eveline was also activating her skill.
ICE BLADES: BREEZE OF WINTER!
FWOOSH!
The atmosphere instantly changed, sending a freezing, chilling air outward from Eveline that made the surrounding students shiver.
FWOOOSH!
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Their attacks were so powerful that the moment they collided, they caused a massive explosion that impacted both of them and completely destroyed the remaining stage.
For a few moments, the entire stage was full of thick dust. The students stared in silence, waiting to see who had won.
After a short moment, Elena was still standing, her hand dripping blood while she held her sword on one side.
Eveline was down on one knee, her eyes showing that she was about to lose consciousness.
"That was a hell of a fight! I wonder who is going to win between Elena and Prince Leon," the announcer declared.
The medical team rushed to help them, and Eveline lost consciousness.
Zane and Leon left and headed to the medical hall, where the students who had gotten injured during the freshman competition were.
When they reached the medical hall, they met Princess Freya standing at the entrance.
"You came faster than I thought," Freya said while leaning against the wall, folding her arms.
"Sister Freya, I didn’t know you were here," Leon said, his eyes wide open.
"So this is Princess Freya... Her aura is incredible, and with her breathing and walk she doesn’t have any openings. This woman is strong," Zane thought.
"Hello, Sister Freya," Zane greeted while waving his hand.
"How is it, Zane? You look way stronger than what Sofia described," she said while walking toward Zane.
"It’s been six months now, so it is expected that I will be strong," Zane replied.
"His aura is strong, but he is suppressing it so much that it’s hard even for me. It’s better to be his ally than an enemy," Freya thought as she touched Zane’s shoulder.
"The medical team said we should wait for a moment; they are trying to heal them," she said, and walked out of the medical hall.
Zane and Leon then stood near the wall as they waited for the healers to finish.
A few minutes later, the healers came out of the room and gave them the go-ahead to enter and see Eveline and Elena.
"Did you guys have a grudge or something?" Zane said while walking toward Eveline and Elena’s beds.
"I didn’t expect you to see me in this state. I don’t deserve to be called your fiancée with how weak I am," Eveline said, looking to the side with dissatisfaction written across her face.
"What are you talking about? I was impressed that you were able to keep up with her," Zane said, sitting on Eveline’s bed.
"Are you trying to say I am weak?" Elena asked, looking at Zane.
"No, I was complimenting Eveline, that’s all," Zane replied, looking back at her.
"You guys haven’t changed at all. You are already fighting after not seeing each other for years now," Leon interjected.
"It’s him who forgot about me. Even now, he didn’t recognize me," Elena said, giving Zane a scary gaze.
"Who said I forgot? I just didn’t recognize you, that’s all," Zane replied while gently massaging Eveline’s hand.
"Are you two related?" Eveline asked, turning her head to look back and forth between Elena and Zane.
"Yeah, she is my cousin from my mother’s side. Her name is Elena," Zane said calmly. "And Elena, this is my fiancée, Eveline."