Vivienne's presence was exposed to the budding and growing of an ice flower. Most were taking in the beauty, the ice petals as Lirale sat in the middle of it all, like a banished and fallen fairy.
With a simple movement of her hands, she was able to swat away the mindless puppets that were coming at her and disperse the mist.
'So that is why they call her Lirale Frostbloom. Finally her final form has been revealed but along with it has her trump card against future competitors.' Isilindil mused as he saw this.
Even he could feel a faint sense of threat coming from the flower as his eyes landed on Vivienne who seemed unbothered by what was in front of her.
It was a stark contrast between the two. One of them towering way above the other nearly reaching the sky limit while the other seemed like an ant not to mention the threatening aura that leaked from Lirale.
It was clear that she wasn't planning on holding back with this attack as she knew that Vivienne wouldn't. The flower grew roots which spread all over as it released ice spores.
*BOOM*
One of the spores landed on a moving puppet and burst into an icicle bomb as sharp shards stuck out in all directions. Lethal if one wasn't careful however more spores could be seen litter the arena forming seemingly harmless smaller flowers however Vivienne knew that it was a death trap coming close to them.
'It seems that she is pushing herself to the limits. Laying traps like these all over to deter me from making any forms of advances on her.' She mused as her figure danced gracefully dodging the spores.
'I have to end this quick.' Lirale who was observing the arena below her despite her position was spent, she could feel the mana drain from her mana disc core thus she needed time to recuperate.
'I can't let her get close to me.' Vivienne kept on backing up till she found herself at the edge of the arena. In front of her, the entire arena was bathed in nothing but snow but she knew that there was something else beneath that.
Lirale seeing the opportunity to get rid of Vivienne didn't hesitate as she shot numerous ice tendrils in her direction. 'Seeing that she has yet to vanish, it would seem that doing so isn't something that she can do so casually. But she will no doubt vanish once more.'
Lirale was glad however contrary to her thoughts, it was the complete opposite. Vivienne who saw the roots come at her vanished once more just as Lirale had predicted. There were few spaces that she had intentionally left out as they had a high density of spore pockets.
It was a matter of thought to set them off thus she kept her eyes peeled as she began her slow recuperation. 'Where is she?!' Her mind was in disarray as she tried to sense where she was.
Scanning the entire arena, she couldn't even sense a thread of aura from her presence and given that she had no mana disc core, it was equivalent to looking for a beige needle on the beach.
'What?' In a single flash, she sensed lurking above her and looking up, Vivienne floated callously as she looked down on her. 'She had an artifact for that as well but how is she using it without utilizing mana?'
This was a question that most contemplated on and failed to produce an answer. For one to use an artifact, they would be required to use mana and given that she lacked a mana disc core, it was battling to think that she was using artifacts in such a way.
"You were rather plain and boring. I thought you'd put more of a challenge than that." Lirale heard Vivienne's voice echo as she looked down on her. 'Plain and boring?' Isilindil mused in laughter as he heard this.
Even he was wary of some of the attacks Lirale had and yet to her it was plain and boring. Such a statement was without a doubt a ridicule and mockery of her combat prowess.
Ready to wrap things up, her right hand manifested a small dark orb which attracted everyone's attention. Lirale was skeptical of the orb however she raised her guard regardless. It's diameter was ten inches while it hovered silently in her palm.
There was nothing off about it, a small black or with golden horizontal ring to it which seemed to disperse the space around it. Julian was wary of what was to come as he feared for Vivienne. 'If she shows it off, she will no doubt attract all kinds of attention with it.'
With a twist to he wrist, she dropped the orb down onto the arena where Lirale was. But what made Lirale all the more wary was that it wasn't speeding at her but rather fell at the pace of a snowflake falling.
She maneuvered herself away from the orb as she went close to the edge of the arena, setting up another dome in the process. 'I can't...use my mana...' With the dome that was encompassing her figure, it was the last tinge of mana she had.
It was much smaller than the first portraying her fatigue as it spanned for about five meters wide which was opaque to see through. Vivienne stood above it all til the orb finally came in contact with the ground.
The arena already had a barrier to separate the cache of the stray projectiles and pressure of the combatants however Lirale's anticipation of an explosion never came to pass.
*HHHMMM*
The orb gave of a strange hum and with it, all the contents of the arena were drawn closer to it, swallowing it all like the gaping void.
It lacked a bottom as it kept on taking everything present till the arena was completely clean save for Lirale's presence. As it kept on devouring, the bigger it got to the point it was the size of a car and was still going.
"Blah!!!" Lirale coughed up blood within her dome as she could feel it give way to the orb. Her mana was spent thus she couldn't keep on restoring it like before.
*Crack*
The dome finally gave way exposing her tired and worn out body. Knowing that she took was about to be carried up by the alien orb, she cemented her figure to the arena by the ice essence she had.
The ice essence was equivalent to using her own body as fuel for mana which was detrimental however seeing the fate that was awaiting her, she had no choice.
The orb however only grew bigger and bigger till it was the size of an RV and still growing. She could hear the sound of the ice beneath her feet crack.
*Snap*
A casual snap from Vivienne was what it took to free her from the ground. The black hole doubled in size which pulled in her figure, similar to a fish struggling to set itself free from a fisherman's line.
A look of despair washed on her face. She was exhausted and given the dangers of using her own essence, she couldn't take such a risk anymore. If she did, then her overall tier might drop from the fourth tier and make it harder for her to progress in the future.
Her figure collided hard with the orb however instead of her figure being swallowed, it crashed hard onto the surface. The force that was on her body was something that she had never felt in her entire life.
It was equivalent to a small town being placed on her. Multiple cracks could be seen form all over her crystalline body, making it clear that she was about to give way.
Vivienne glanced at Lirale's figure from above. To her, it was all normal however to everyone else, it was a shock. Never had they ever seen such a feat which explained their silence. The entire colessium fell into silence as they watched the scene unfold.
*Bam*
Reversing the polarity of the gravitational pull of the black hole, Lirale's figure crashed hard into the arena. Ice could be seen coming off her own figure similar to shedding skin which exposed her frail and battered body.
She was barely holding onto her consciousness, looking up as she saw the orb floating over her. She knew that it was done but the shame if being knocked out was something that she couldn't face.
Vivienne's figure descended gently till it reached the ground as she towered over Lirale's figure. Her eyes dead calm and her demeanor cold as always.
She surveyed Lirale's body, noticing the multiple broken bones, the nose bleed and a battered bruise on her forehead. It was clear that she wasn't going anywhere in her condition much less fight.
The barrier that was around the arena was dropped and multiple figures could be seen rushing towards Lirale's body as Vivienne made her way off. The commentator was too stunned to speak and declare the winner however regaining his composure, he declared his announcement.
"And the winner is Vivienne Caldwell!" His tone in disbelief similar to most of the audience. Sure they knew that the confrontation was filled with uncertainty however to think that Vivienne would dominate in such a manner was our of their expectations.
Vivienne's figure appeared in the room her mother and brother was in. Her mother was both glad and shocked however Julian was more calm. "Congratulations on your victory, sister."
His voice filled with a bit of dread and raspiness. "Don't lose your bet, brother." Her only words as she made herself comfortable. She saw Lirale's figure hauled away as Julian left the room. He had a fight with another opponent and if he won, then that would make him face Isilindil.
'It seems that the radiation is something that I have to perfect from the black hole. It should take me a minimum of a week to get the gist of it.' She mused as she saw his brother facing another opponent.
'But all the more, how is he able to match my feats?' Seeing how Julian was fighting, she was skeptical with some of his moves.
"What?! Julian Caldwell has been able to reciprocate the Four Lothern Steps!!" The commentator's voice boomed which she deemed a nuisance.
[{Does host wish to know the golden finger Julian Caldwell possess?}]
The robotic voice rang through her head. 'Sure.' Of course she didn't mind that her brother was getting stronger which proved that she didn't need to bother herself with his safety however his rate of growth was too domineering.
'He has been able to execute the Four Lothern Steps which would usually take one months. He said that he was trying it out as an experiment and yet he was able to learn it in such a short time.'
'Clearly he has some form of advantage however what kind exactly, I can't tell.'
[{Such a request can only be answered by Andrew.}]
Seeing this response, her mind shifted to Andrew. 'The meeting is within a week's time. The Sphin trials usually break off and delve into hunting before reverting back onto the stage.'
'Despite Lirale losing the confrontation, she was able to secure a spot among the top five. Isilindil as the top and I as second. If I asked for a battle with Isilindil, it is likely that he'll decline given that he wouldn't want to be in a disadvantageous state during the Matoreas test.'
She wasn't all that fixated with being the top contestant as she knew that she would advance regardless. 'As for my brother, if he is able to guarantee this victory them he'll qualify as well so even if he does lose the next, he'll be fine.'
She had also heard about the news of what had happened in Rien and Aurorise. Claiming that she knew Andrew would no doubt raise suspicions thus she could only play as an observer in the game.
'Maybe I should meet him.' A thought ran through her mind however she quickly dismissed it as folly and childish.
"And with that, Julian has been able to secure his position among the top five candidates!!" The sounds of cheers could be heard reverberate through the air, a contrast to when she claimed her victory over Lirale.