Chapter 95: The Finals Begin

“This is the first time in so many years that the competition rules have been changed, even I’m looking forward to seeing how the four finalists will perform.”

The Host finished speaking and began introducing the four finalists, even deliberately dragging out the tone to hype up the atmosphere in the venue.

“The four finalists advancing to the finals are—”

“The Kingdom’s Second Princess, Storm King—Her Highness Sistem!”

“The Kingdom’s Third Princess, Blazing Valkyrie—Princess Field!”

“Dawn of Light, born of the common people—Alice!”

“And, the White Devil—Liyakade!!!”

With the Host’s shout, the atmosphere in the hall reached its peak, and everyone cheered for the four who had entered the finals.

“What the hell is this…”

About to step onto the stage, Liyakade pressed her forehead in exasperation.

So now everyone gets a chuunibyou title, but somehow it still feels off.

Not to mention her own title of White Devil, why do the others’ titles all sound so positive!

And why was her name placed at the very end, introduced with extra emphasis and grandeur!

This time, Liyakade was cast as the villain again.

With such an opening, it sounded less like a four-way brawl and more like Liyakade was up against three others alone.

But for the sake of the Festival Flower title and the final reward, never mind a one-against-three—even if it were one-against-nine, Liyakade would still grit her teeth and go for it.

Liyakade walked onto the Stage amid the cheers.

This year, the Stage was also larger than previous years, since the number of finalists had increased, and it was reinforced, with the Mage Teacher and Grade Director personally setting up a Protective Array.

No matter how intense the four fought on Stage, it wouldn’t affect the audience below.

Of course, aside from the Protective Array, the Mage Teacher and Grade Director would also act as Referees on the Stage to protect everyone.

If the battle became uncontrollable, the two would immediately intervene to protect the four.

So this time, they could fight with full strength.

“This is the final battle. Who will claim the title of Festival Flower? Let’s wait and see!”

“Three, two, one, match start!!!”

With the Referee’s command, the final showdown officially began.

After the battle started, none of the four on Stage attacked first.

Instead, they fell into a standoff, with no one making the opening move.

After all, in a four-person free-for-all, whoever attacked first would likely let the others reap the benefits.

Sistem’s lips curled in a barely noticeable arc.

In this battle, she possessed the strongest combat power.

If she helped Field defeat Liyakade and Alice, then surrendered or faked a fight at the end, she could easily hand Field the victory.

“Field, how about we cooperate?”

Sistem looked at Field.

“Let’s take down the other two first, then have a fair one-on-one. What do you think?”

Sistem thought Field would agree.

After all, by herself, Field could only defeat Alice, but defeating Liyakade would be difficult.

With Sistem’s help, the two could easily defeat Liyakade and Alice together.

Then, facing a weakened Sistem, Field would still have a good chance of winning.

“Heh, I refuse!”

Field rejected Sistem without hesitation.

“You refuse just like that?”

Sistem had considered the possibility that Field would reject her offer.

After all, Field had always had a poor attitude toward her, and their relationship wasn’t good.

So it was within expectation that Field wouldn’t trust her.

“Even if I cooperate with you, I still have to fight you one-on-one in the end. Isn’t that just you taking advantage?”

Field analyzed logically.

“Then if you don’t cooperate with me, how do you plan to defeat me?”

“Simple.”

As Field spoke, she slowly moved toward Alice.

“I just have to team up with Alice.”

Alice, understanding her intent, stood back-to-back with Field, clearly having planned this in advance.

On the Stage, a three-way standoff was instantly formed.

In fact, before taking the Stage, Field and Alice had already agreed to cooperate.

As the two weakest among the four, if they fought alone, they’d have no chance.

Though they were rivals in love, both wanting to become Festival Flower to confess to Liyakade, it was precisely because they liked the same person that they were also comrades-in-arms.

They would join forces to defeat Liyakade and Sistem, then have a fair contest for Liyakade, so that even the loser would have no regrets.

“Is that so?”

Sistem countered with a cold smile.

“But do you think you two alone can defeat me?”

As Sistem spoke, a fierce wind swept in, sending several Wind Blades flying.

Sneak attack!!!

Sistem reacted swiftly, instantly gathering wind elements to form a Wind Barrier, blocking the incoming Wind Blades.

“I was still talking, why did you attack?!”

Though Sistem managed to defend against Liyakade’s attack, she was still startled and glared at Liyakade in irritation.

“What a pity.”

Not far away, Liyakade sighed, regretting the failed sneak attack.

“Pity?”

Sistem heard Liyakade’s mutter and, unable to resist, fired several Wind Blades back at Liyakade, but Liyakade dodged them all with ease.

The final Wind Blade, Liyakade didn’t even gather wind elements.

As it was about to strike, she swiftly grabbed it, crushing the core with her hand.

Seeing this, Sistem’s eyes narrowed, forced to reevaluate Liyakade’s combat ability.

Last time they fought, Liyakade wasn’t this strong.

Back then, Sistem could suppress her, and Sistem thought that even if Liyakade’s level had risen by one, she wouldn’t have changed much.

But she hadn’t expected Liyakade’s control over the elements to have improved so much.

Now things were uncertain.

“Alice, Field, let’s take down Her Highness Sistem first!”

Liyakade called as she charged at Sistem.

Though she was a Mage, she was a Mage with close-combat skills, giving her an advantage over Sistem in melee.

“There’s no way they’d agree to your plan. They could just wait for us to wear each other out, then swoop in.”

Sistem said, blocking the incoming Wind Blades as she moved toward Liyakade.

“Alright, Liyakade, let’s help you!”

“What!?”

Field unexpectedly agreed at once.

Alice stood ready to provide magical support, while Field charged at Sistem from another direction.

Sistem was dumbfounded.

Why did Field refuse when she asked, but agreed instantly when Liyakade asked?

Sistem even suspected Liyakade had bewitched her own little sister somehow.

At this point, Sistem decided not to hold back any longer.

While using Wind Barrier to block Liyakade’s Wind Blades, she conjured a Storm Spear and hurled it at Field.

The strike wasn’t enough to take Field out, but it would drain her strength and push her back, allowing Sistem to deal with Liyakade first.

However, just as Sistem was about to throw the Storm Spear, Alice pointed her palm at Field, and Field was suddenly enveloped in a golden light.

At the same time, a burst of radiance erupted around Alice, dazzling Sistem and forcing her to throw the Storm Spear based on blurry impressions.

When Sistem’s vision cleared, the Storm Spear was already clashing with Field’s flaming sword.

As expected, under Alice’s influence, the Storm Spear’s trajectory shifted slightly.

That small deviation allowed Field to strike the spear’s weak side.

Empowered by the golden light, Field’s burning sword cleaved down, completely shattering the Storm Spear.

A fierce energy storm, carrying scorching heat, surged toward Sistem, forcing her to retreat half a step.

“How can this be? You already have this much power?”

Sistem slowly lowered her arms, disbelief on her face as she looked at Field.

Although Alice’s interference and support played a part, Sistem still thought it would be difficult for Field to withstand her attack.

But Field not only blocked it—she completely destroyed it.

Sistem knew Field’s level had risen significantly recently, but there was still a gap between them.

“It’s all thanks to Liyakade’s training.”

The wind tousled Field’s hair.

She spun her sword, the flames on the blade gradually fading.

To be honest, Field hadn’t been confident she could withstand the blow.

Since losing to Sistem last time, she hadn’t fought her again, and had always been wary of Sistem’s strength.

But now, Field felt nothing but exhilaration.

“For the past two months, I’ve been sparring with Liyakade!”

“I see.”

Sistem understood.

Since Liyakade also used wind element magic, Field, by fighting her, naturally learned about the characteristics and weaknesses of wind elements, and that experience carried over to fighting Sistem.

Before Sistem could dwell on it further, she heard the sound of a Wind Barrier shattering.

Liyakade had already broken through and closed in on Sistem.

“Get off the Stage!”

Liyakade smashed the Wind Barrier with a punch, then pressed her palms together, channeling the surrounding wind elements toward Sistem in a powerful push, trying to blow her off the Stage.

“No way I’m letting you succeed that easily!”

Feeling the overwhelming wind pressure, Sistem refused to back down.

She swung her arms, unleashing her magic power in a storm that swept toward Liyakade.