Five Li Shenhuas leaped around him like monkeys, occasionally pulling out talismans to create explosions.
Roy had previously been unable to distinguish them fully, but now it was as if he had gained X-ray vision—nothing before him could escape his perception anymore. He had seen through everything.
With his hand formed into a blade, he completely ignored the five leaping Li Shenhuas and instead took several large strides forward, sweeping his hand horizontally like a knife.
In the empty air, several shattered talismans suddenly became visible, drifting down to the ground like willow catkins.
"Seen through?"
Li Shenhua was secretly startled. Those were the talismans she and her brother had set up in midair while using smoke to obscure everyone's vision.
"No, it must just be a coincidence. Before, he had to physically touch them to—"
Roy took several more steps forward and swung his hand-blade again. A second layer of over a dozen talismans fluttered down to the ground.
"He really has seen through them!"
Li Shenhua's expression changed drastically.
Damn it, something was different.
She didn't know what it was, but their illusions were no longer working!
Roy strode forward without dodging or evading, violently dismantling every talisman set along the way.
"There must be at least a few hundred of them. How did she hide so many talismans in such small sleeves?"
With this question in mind, Roy easily tore through the final layer of talismans. Reaching into the empty air, he grabbed the shoulder of Li Shenhua, who had been trying to flee.
The five Li Shenhuas on the other side vanished simultaneously—all of them had been fakes from the start. The real one had been hidden away with Li Shenyun's help.
"I'm feeling cocky again now."
Roy looked at Li Shenhua, whose face had turned deathly pale under his grip, and gave her a friendly smile.
"Meanwhile, why aren't you acting cocky anymore?"
"Uh… I think being cocky… isn't a good thing. Let's just be friendly…"
Li Shenhua forced a smile, sweat pouring down her face as she nervously eyed Roy's fist.
There was no way she could withstand a punch like that!
"Hmm?"
Just as Roy was about to reward her with a punch, an intense wave of heat surged down from above.
He looked up. There was nothing in the air—no flames, not even a spark—but he nodded in understanding.
"So this is your trump card, huh?"
"Let Shenhua go!"
Li Shenyun's sharp voice rang out from all directions across the field.
"Or don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Sure!"
Roy cheerfully agreed. With a firm grip, he lifted Li Shenhua and hurled her into the sky.
"W-wait! Not like thaaaat—!"
"Shenyun, you idiot aaaaaah—!"
A spectacular firework exploded in the sky.
A massive fireball, formed from who-knows-how-many fused talismans and spanning ten meters in diameter, revealed itself midair. Li Shenhua, thrown straight into it, triggered an immediate explosion. Waves of heat engulfed the entire stage.
Watching as Li Shenhua fell from the sky like a ragged cloth, Li Shenyun, hidden in the shadows, was dumbfounded.
Even when the siblings fought together against Roy—whose strength had been restricted—they couldn't win. Now, with just her alone?
"We were dominating at the start… How did things collapse so fast?"
Li Shenyun muttered to himself with a face full of despair.
Roy walked up to her, casually brushing off nonexistent dust from his clothes.
Several minutes into the battle, he remained spotless.
"What gave you the illusion that you had the upper hand?"
The illusions had indeed caused him some trouble, but from start to finish, Roy never felt things were beyond his control. His sensory abilities were naturally strong. Though he'd remained mentally alert, he'd defended against every attack from the siblings. He'd merely been using this opportunity to refine his "Perception" realm—the Li siblings were just suitable stepping stones for him.
Li Shenyun shuddered, looking at Roy with panic in her eyes as they darted around nervously.
"Um, please go easy..."
Roy threw a punch.
Li Shenyun hugged her head in fright, crouching on the ground and trembling.
Roy tilted his head with a peculiar expression, then reached out to crush the school badge on her chest.
The crouching position made it a bit awkward to grab—his hand might have touched something strange... but he'd just treat it as an illusion.
"Match over!"
"Who would have thought Contestant Roy could defeat the 9th and 10th ranked pair from Jie Long without even bringing a weapon—and with such ease! Truly worthy of being a championship contender, a genuine powerhouse!"
"To see him go all out, we'll probably have to wait until the next match."
Roy turned and, amid the cheers of the audience, gestured for Claudia to follow him toward the exit.
Li Shenyun stood up from the ground.
She hugged her chest tightly, her face flushed as if blood had rushed to it, her eyes shimmering faintly with moisture—whether from fear or something else was unclear.
She stared blankly in the direction where Roy and the others had left, unable to snap out of it for a long while.
Only when the medical team came onto the stage to carry off the scorched Li Shenhua did she suddenly come to her senses and rush to her brother's side.
"Are you still going today?"
After leaving the arena, Claudia looked at Roy and asked.
"Yeah, I just made a breakthrough today. Need to plan out the next phase of training."
"Remember to come back early. The semifinals are tomorrow."
The sixth-round quarterfinals lasted one day.
The seventh-round semifinals would last another day.
The final round would be the last day of this Festa.
For them, having already passed today's quarterfinals, they only needed to fight two more matches tomorrow and the day after. Winning both would make them the champions of this Festa!
"Tomorrow's opponents aren't to be underestimated. We should probably discuss tactics."
"Mm."
Roy didn't argue but nodded in agreement.
According to the schedule, their opponents in tomorrow's semifinals would be the winners of the next match—Alde and Rimcy versus Moritz and Golt. Moritz and Golt were from Rewolf Black Institute, one ranked 12th in the Named Chart while the other had once been ranked. Their skills weren't bad, but making it to the quarterfinals was an overperformance.
Barring any surprises, their opponents tomorrow would be Alde and Rimcy—the two automatons from Arlequint Academy.
Those two robots were incredibly powerful, especially the male-modeled one named Alde, who could single-handedly create defensive barriers.
Meanwhile, on another stage...
Okita Souji swung her blade, sending her opponent's one-handed sword flying with a single strike, then severed the boy's school emblem with another.
She didn't even glance at the brown-haired boy—who couldn't have been older than a middle schooler—as his face paled in shock. Coldly turning away, she left the stage alongside Stella, who had nearly charred a heavily armored knight on the other side.
Their opponents were Saint Galahadworth's eleventh-ranked armored magician, Dolo Theo Remus, and twelfth-ranked radiant swordsman, Elliot Forsda. These two were no less formidable than the Li siblings.
Yet, in less than a minute, the two girls had mercilessly crushed them in an overwhelming victory.
After stepping off the stage, they were met with the usual press Q&A session.
Seeing that Okita had already entered a meditative state, her sword cradled in her arms, completely ignoring the barrage of cameras and microphones around her, Stella had no choice but to handle the reporters alone.
"Miss Stella, you're a witch, correct?"
One reporter abruptly posed the question—though it should have been obvious to everyone. Why ask?
"That's right."
Stella answered cautiously, unsure of the intent.
"Then why is there never any trace of prana flow when you act?"
The reporter pushed the microphone closer, eyeing her strangely.
"Are you really a witch—or are you actually a Blazer?"
Stella's pupils constricted, her guard instantly heightening.
***
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