Principal Gareth shouted, his voice echoing across the arena:
"Yes, ladies and gentlemen! Don't lose your excitement just yet! After a short break, you will witness the match between Selion from Class 1/A and Lyvanna from Class 1/B!"
The roar of the crowd spread in waves through the stands.
Selion and the others followed the stretcher carrying Yuen all the way to the infirmary. The hallway was silent; only the sound of hurried footsteps and the wheels of the stretcher could be heard. The doctor told the children to wait outside and closed the door behind him.
The minutes felt heavy.
After about three minutes, the door opened. The doctor looked at the children's anxious faces and spoke calmly.
"Don't worry, kids," he said. "He just needs some rest."
Everyone let out a deep breath at the same time.
Now Selion could focus on his own match. Something was boiling inside him—excitement, ambition, and an expectation he couldn't suppress.
Gohean said he would stay by his brother's side. The others returned to the waiting area. Selion sat down on a bench. His eyes drifted into emptiness. The outside noises, the conversations— even his teammates calling out to him—failed to reach his ears.
Until—
Hex pulled his finger back and flicked Selion on the forehead.
"—Ow!"
Selion jolted and looked up.
"What happened?"
Mia smiled lightly.
"Principal Gareth is calling you to the arena. You need to go."
Selion hadn't realized how much time had passed. He jumped to his feet and rushed toward the arena, almost breaking into a run.
Lyvanna was already there, standing in the center with her arms crossed, waiting for him.
He heard his teammates calling out behind him. Selion turned around. One by one, they nodded. No words were needed—they were telling him they trusted him.
Selion nodded back and stepped in front of his opponent.
For a brief moment, his breath caught.
He looked around. Thousands of people. Stands filled to the brim. An arena stretching up toward the sky.
For him, this was a dream.
Principal Gareth looked at both of them.
"Are you ready?"
The excitement on Selion's face vanished in an instant, replaced by sharp seriousness.
I have to win this match.
Just then, Lyvanna's voice was heard.
"Principal, you know every participant is allowed to bring a weapon into the match, right?"
Principal Gareth hesitated briefly, then nodded.
"Yes… What kind of weapon do you want?"
Lyvanna smiled.
"I want concrete blocks placed in the arena."
Although he didn't understand the reason, Principal Gareth approved the request. Soon, large concrete blocks were placed across the arena.
Principal Gareth raised his hand.
"If you're ready… begin!"
Selion had a plan.
He raised his arm.
One finger.
A thin bolt of lightning struck down from the sky.
At the same time, he dashed toward Lyvanna with rapid steps. He wasn't using the concrete blocks just to hide—he was using them to confuse.
Just as the lightning was about to strike Lyvanna, she used her gravity element to lift one of the blocks and block the lightning with it. Then she hurled the same block downward at Selion.
Selion barely dodged the attack.
Lyvanna frowned. Was that all?
Then she noticed the smile on Selion's face.
The moment Selion raised his arm to summon the lightning, he had concealed his other hand with his body and sent out a tiny current—Future Current. The lightning had been nothing more than a distraction. While Lyvanna dealt with it, the current had already reached her.
Lyvanna didn't realize it.
Selion moved on to the second phase of his plan.
He could now see Lyvanna's movements before they happened.
He raised his arm again.
This time, three fingers.
A stronger bolt of lightning fell.
Lyvanna blocked it again. Selion slipped past the block, changed direction, and leapt to the right. Lyvanna had thrown another block there—but Selion already knew. He jumped and avoided it.
The blocks were no longer obstacles for Selion.
They were a path.
He moved from one to another, accelerating with every step. As his mana usage increased, his movements became sharper.
Lyvanna began to struggle.
In an instant, Selion was right beside her.
One strike.
Second.
Third.
Lyvanna's eyes widened. She retreated and pulled three blocks toward herself, sealing herself inside them.
She was bad at controlling her emotions, and panic disrupted her control over her magic.
From inside the blocks, she muttered,
"Luna and Lyvionna won their matches… I have to win too. I can't lose."
She hurled the blocks around her at Selion.
From the stands, Luna watched the scene and frowned.
"She's losing control again," she said. "I just hope that kid doesn't die."
Selion noticed the change as well.
I can't drag this out.
He raised his arm again.
One finger.
And started running.
Lyvionna muttered from the side,
"He always does the same thing. Doesn't he know anything else?"
Without taking her eyes off Selion, Luna replied,
"Didn't you notice? His first attack wasn't meant to hit Lyvanna. When he raised his arm, everyone focused on it—but with his other hand, he sent out a tiny current. I think it went straight to her nervous system. I wasn't sure at first, but now… he's seeing her movements before they happen. And the power of each lightning strike changes. It's controlled by the number of fingers he raises. In short… he's far stronger than he looks."
Lyvionna fell silent.
Selion was running.
And lightning kept falling.
Blocks were hurled at him, but because he knew exactly where they would come from, he used them like stepping stones.
Each step.
One lightning strike.
With every strike, one more finger.
Three.
Four.
Five.
The lightning became rhythmic, perfectly synchronized with Selion's steps.
Lyvanna panicked. She could no longer think clearly. She enclosed herself in the blocks again.
Selion remained steady.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
The sky darkened. The clouds began to merge.
With one final leap, Selion landed and stopped. He regulated his breathing and calmed himself.
Then, he spread his fingers one last time.
Nine fingers.
The clouds fully converged. A violent thunderclap echoed—and at the same moment, rain began to fall.
A brief silence…
Then the sky split apart.
A massive bolt of lightning crashed down onto Lyvanna's position.
When the light faded, a motionless body lay on the ground beneath the rain.
Principal Gareth's voice filled the arena:
"The winner… Selion of Class 1/A!"
Under the rain, Selion staggered backward. His knees trembled.
He lost his balance.
Just as he was about to fall, Mia appeared behind him and caught him.
She whispered quietly,
"No need for the show… but you won."
Selion simply smiled.
Luna said nothing.
But her eyes never left Selion.