While Jax and Selene clashed against Drevin and Iselde on the far end of the arena, another battle raged—just as fierce, just as desperate.

Ron and Lia, bloodied and exhausted, stood shoulder-to-shoulder against Maera and Col.

Selene's runes still glimmered faintly on their bodies—faint armor, faint speed, faint strength—but even that small boost had become the lifeline keeping them standing.

And unlike before, Ron and Lia fought like a single blade.

Ron swung, Lia struck.

Lia feinted, Ron pressured.

Their steps matched. Their breaths matched. Their timing—near perfect.

As Maera lunged forward, Ron's spear intercepted her claws, sparks flying. Lia slipped in instantly, her sword flashing in a sharp upward slice that forced Col to pull back.

Col countered, blades sweeping in low arcs—but Ron's spear shaft dropped, blocking both swords, and Lia pivoted over the back of the spear, twisting mid-air to deliver a flipping kick that nearly hit Maera's jaw.

Their coordination was terrifying.

But Maera and Col were no amateurs.

Not with Iselde's mirror armor shimmering along their bodies, not with crystal-edged shards embedded along their gauntlets and blades. Their defenses were thicker, their strikes heavier.

Maera crashed in from the side with a wild punch, her gauntlet shining like carved glass. Ron caught it with the spear, but the impact rattled his bones.

Col immediately exploited the opening, slashing toward Ron's ribs, only for Lia to intercept with a blur of pink wind.

The four of them clashed again and again, forming a storm of flame, wind, glass, and steel.

Lia's eyes sharpened.

Her mana surged.

And with a whirl of her sword she unleashed a barrage—

Wind Butterfly: Multi-Butterfly Slashes!

Pink slashes laced with fluttering energy-butterflies ripped through the air in crossed patterns, streaking toward both Maera and Col.

Both opponents recognized the danger instantly.

Maera snarled and grabbed Col by the collar, yanking him upward into a jump. The two shot high into the air, the pink slashes tearing through the space they had stood in.

But the moment Maera's feet left the ground—

Ron moved.

He was already there above them.

He spun mid-air, spear blazing with searing dark-blue heat, and brought it down in a brutal overhead crash—

A direct slam aimed straight at Col.

Maera's eyes widened.

She crossed her glass-coated gauntlets in front of her head—

BOOM!

The impact hammered into her guard like a meteor, sending cracks webbing across the mirror-coated surface. Both she and Col were smashed downward, crashing hard into the stone floor with enough force to shake the arena.

Dust exploded outward.

Ron landed beside Lia, panting, spear still smoldering.

Lia wiped blood from her lip and smirked.

"Nice drop attack."

Ron smirked back, breath still rough.

"Just following your lead."

Across the battlefield, Maera and Col pushed themselves out of the crater, injured but far from finished. Their armor shimmered, repairing cracks with faint light. Their eyes burned with determination.

Iselde's enhancements made them tough.

Selene's enhancements made Ron and Lia faster.

Two teams, two strategies, one arena.

Ron spun his spear once, setting it ablaze again.

Lia tightened her grip, pink wind swirling around her blade.

Maera cracked her knuckles, crystal shards glittering under her claws.

Col lowered himself into a low stance, twin swords humming with wind and glass resonance.

The four warrior was about to clash once more.

Just as Ron and Lia steadied themselves from the last exchange, all four fighters froze.

A surge of mana—massive, wild, undeniable—flooded the entire arena.

Maera and Col twisted around instantly.

Ron and Lia followed their gaze—

And there, near Drevin and Iselde's side of the battlefield—

Two spheres of impossible power were merging.

A blazing orange-red orb of condensed fire mana.

A freezing blue orb of tightly compressed ice mana.

The two opposites collided—

merged—

and whited out into a single blinding sphere.

Selene and Jax's combined spell.

BOOOOM—!!!

The arena shook violently as the white explosion devoured half the battlefield.

Maera's pupils shrank.

"Col!! Drevin and Iselde are going to lose! We finish this NOW—OR WE LOSE!"

Col didn't argue.

Didn't hesitate.

Both of them poured everything—every last drop of mana—into their next attacks.

Maera's wild red aura erupted like a beast breaking its chains.

Savage Spiral Rend: Reaving Spiral Crash!

She leapt high into the sky, body spinning violently, claws crossed as she dove like a blood-red drill. Her gauntlets glowed crimson, tearing the air apart as she descended toward Ron and Lia with killing intent.

On the ground, Col braced his stance.

Moss-green wind aura surged around him in a spiraling storm.

Gale Stride Arts: Storm Slash!

He launched forward in a flash—blades forming an X of roaring wind, cutting through stone as he shot straight at them.

There was no space to dodge.

No angle to escape.

Ron and Lia shared one glance—

exhausted, burned, battered—

and nodded.

A silent agreement.

We combine everything.

Right here.

Right now.

Lia inhaled sharply.

"I… have an idea!"

She muttered it fast—Ron understood instantly—and both of them moved at once.

Ron planted his spear into the ground, flames surging.

He spun the black spear in a tight circle—then spun himself—

faster, faster—

until a blazing dome of dark blue flame burst open around him.

Inferno Spear: Blazefire Aegis!

A rotating fortress of scorching fire.

Meanwhile, Lia gathered every last fragment of mana left in her body.

Pink wind ignited under her feet, butterflies spiraling wildly.

Then—

She dashed.

Not straight, not forward—

but in a circle around Ron.

Once.

Twice.

Faster.

Faster.

Until she was no longer a girl—

but a pink tempest screaming through the arena.

Wind Butterfly: Hurricane Dash!

Every revolution she made pushed Ron's flames higher.

Ron's flames, in turn, fed her wind sharper.

Pink wind and dark blue flame twisted—merged—raging into a tornado blasting upward like a pillar of destruction.

Purple fire, screaming wind, and thousands of glowing butterfly embers spiraling inside.

A monstrous fusion of their powers—

Combined Technique: SEARING STORM!

Maera's spinning drill crashed downward.

Col's storm slash sliced upward.

Both met the Searing Storm—

and disintegrated instantly.

Their attacks evaporated.

Their bodies were swallowed in the twisting inferno-wind.

One heartbeat later—

KAAAAA-THOOOM!!!

A violent burst of purple flame and spiraling wind exploded outward, taking Maera and Col with it.

Blinding light engulfed the arena.

At the exact same moment—

on the opposite end—

Drevin and Iselde's silhouettes vanished into Jax and Selene's own white explosion.

Silence.

The dust slowly settled.

Ron collapsed first—his arm severed, body cuts everywhere, bleeding everywhere.

"D-damn…" he groaned, coughing smoke. "I… didn't think it would… hurt this much…"

Lia, half-burned and trembling, fell beside him.

"W-we… were too hasty…" she whispered with a pained smile. "We… didn't think that through at all…"

The two lay broken, barely conscious—

But they were smiling.

Because they knew—

They had done it together.

.

.

.

.

Two voices echoed desperately across the ruined arena.

"Ron! Lia!!"

Jax and Selene stumbled into view—bloodied, bruised, barely standing, but still in far better shape than the two lying on the ground.

Jax had multiple arrows buried deep in his arms and torso.

Selene's clothes were torn, her skin marked with sharp cuts and embedded mirror shards, each shimmer a reminder of her brutal duel with Iselde.

Still, the moment they spotted their teammates, they rushed forward.

Jax dropped to his knees beside Ron and gawked.

"What the hell were you two fighting? Dragons?!" he yelled, voice cracking. "Maera and Col were EQUAL to you! How did you end up looking like THIS?!"

Ron coughed weakly, forcing a smile.

"We… made a mistake…"

Lia exhaled softly beside him, wincing.

"Y-yeah… a pretty big one…"

Selene sighed—exasperated, tired, but deeply relieved.

"You two combined your strength," she muttered, tapping her wand on the ground. "But you didn't think about how YOUR OWN BODIES would handle that kind of output."

Ron and Lia exchanged a weak laugh.

"Hehehe… yeah…"

Selene shook her head.

"Unbelievable… Let me heal—"

But before she could finish, her face suddenly twisted.

She covered her mouth—

"—gh!"

A splatter of blood dripped between her fingers.

Her knees buckled, vision spiraling into static.

"Selene!" Jax caught her before she hit the ground, panic flaring in his eyes.

"You alright?! Hey—Selene?!"

"I… used too much mana…" she whispered breathlessly. "Way too much… during the fight…"

She looked up, trying to say something else—

But a familiar cheerful voice echoed through the air:

"Ding ding ding…!"

The arena froze.

"The competition is over!"

"Your team has won!"

Ron, Lia, Jax, and Selene all looked up as the voice continued:

"And as promised… you will receive the ultimate artifact."

A pause.

"But first—let's fix you up."

A warm light swept over the arena like a tidal wave—

rewinding wounds, restoring stamina, repairing torn clothes, sealing cuts, removing blood and scars.

Ron blinked as his severed arm reformed.

Lia stared at her unburned skin in disbelief.

Jax looked at his healed boy as arrow disappeared.

Selene gasped softly as her mana stabilised and her headache faded.

All four were completely whole again.

Then the voice spoke one last time:

"Now then… let's get out of here.

It's time to present you… your reward."

Ron, Lia, Jax, and Selene exchanged relieved smiles—

and nodded.

Their trial was finally over.

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