What did I do…" Taro muttered, walking toward Rin with a confused look on his face.
As he reached him, he blurted, "I did what you told me to! I held back."
Rin raised a brow. "Oh really? From what I saw, you didn't hold back anything."
Taro crossed his arms. "I didn't use my dark attribute."
"True," Rin replied. "But… she didn't even show you her other attributes either."
Taro sighed. "She had a trait for water already."
"That was surprising," Rin admitted. "She's strong."
Before Taro could answer, Kobe called out, "Next match! Toma Regalis and Jin Ferrin! Get ready!"
Taro blinked. "D-Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Rin asked.
"The name! Toma! He's the prince of the human race—the third and youngest in the royal family!"
Rin tilted his head. "We had a king? Wow. I really didn't know that."
Taro stared at him. "Do you live under a rock?"
Rin replied smoothly, "Nah. I live in something much worse, to be honest."
Taro gave him a look but didn't push further.
"Anyway," Rin added, nudging him, "great job in that fight. Even though you didn't win."
"Oh really?" Taro said with mock irritation. "Let's see how you do in your fight."
Kobe's voice echoed across the arena. "Three… two… one… START!"
Once again, the strange hourglass appeared, floating high in the air.
Rin narrowed his eyes, his smile fading. Something about it tugged at his memory—but the image was fuzzy, like smoke slipping through his fingers.
"Hey," he whispered. "Have you ever seen that hourglass before?"
Taro nodded slowly. "Yeah. When we were little. Remember? We used to fight together. There was a small, old one we used all the time."
"Oh… right," Rin said.
But deep down, he knew. That wasn't the one.
The shape was too familiar, too… significant. And yet, no matter how hard he tried to remember, something was missing. Like a page ripped from a book.
He sighed. Whatever. Maybe it really is the same one from back then…
Then all of the sudden Vines burst from the ground, twisting and snapping like whips as they surged toward Toma. The arena floor cracked beneath the weight of growing roots, Jin's Plant element spreading fast.
But Toma didn't move.
He hadn't moved an inch. He didn't need to.
Students shifted nervously. Whispers filled the arena.
"Is he… frozen?"
"What's he doing?"
Suddenly, the ground beneath Toma glowed molten red—and erupted.
A towering golem of magma rose, its body crackling with steam and flame. Lava dripped from its shoulders like sweat. The sheer pressure it emitted made the air shimmer.
A hush fell.
Then gasps.
"Fusion Art…" a teacher whispered.
"At this age?"
Even the Headmaster leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing in interest.
Kaela, watching from the stands, clenched her fists. Her lips twitched into a half-jealous, half-awestruck expression.
How can someone even reach that level so young…? she thought, biting her lip.
The magma golem charged, swinging down with a fist large enough to crush a carriage. Jin barely rolled aside, vines snapping up to block—but the golem tore through them like paper.
Jin was in trouble. No—he was cornered. Toma fought like a flawless shield: no weak points, no hesitation.
Jin's eyes darted, desperate for an opening. There were none.
So he did something wild.
He launched himself upward, vines whipping beneath him like springs, catapulting his body high into the sky.
Gasps echoed again.
"He's wide open!"
"What is he doing?!"
Then—wings.
Brilliant, glowing wings unfolded from Jin's back—white as moonlight, radiant as the sun. Feathers shimmered, then shot down like blades of holy light.
"Light Trait… The Wings of the Angel."
Toma raised his arm, shielding himself as the feathers rained down.
For a moment, it looked like Jin had broken through.
But then Toma smirked. "Good job holding on this long," he said calmly. "But this is where it ends."
Jin's brows furrowed. "What—?"
The sky darkened.
A massive form took shape above the battlefield—cloudy, shifting, immense.
A whale.
But not just any whale—this one shimmered with steam, forged from mist and flame. A fusion between water and fire. The Mistfire Whale.
Its size blocked out the sun.
Toma slowly raised his hand… then brought it down.
The whale obeyed.
It roared through the air, diving toward Jin like a meteor. He raised his arms, wings folding to shield himself, but it was hopeless.
Then—just before impact—
"STOP!"
Kobe's voice thundered through the arena.
The whale vanished in a burst of steam. Jin collapsed to the ground, panting, pale.
"Toma wins," Kobe declared.
The crowd erupted in murmurs—astonished, shaken, impressed.
Even the headmaster had his eyes fixed on the young prince.
Taro leaned toward Rin. "...Yeah. That guy's scary. Let's Not go against the kingdom."