Davi stepped into the arena just in time to hear the roar of the crowd. At first, he thought they were reacting to the usual pre-fight tension, but then he saw her.

Lina.

Her bangs still shadowed part of her face, but even from here, Davi could see the change. Normally timid, almost withdrawn, she now stood rigid, her grip on her staff so tight her knuckles were white.

Mana pulsed from her like a wave, making the air shimmer faintly. She wasn't just focused; she was furious in a way he had never seen.

And standing across from her, wearing a smug, predatory grin, was Drako Darnell. Flames licked lazily at his fingertips, casting a hungry orange glow over his sharp features.

Then he said something that made her snap, her mana pulsating in anger.

From the sidelines, Davi's jaw tightened. He had never seen her like this before. What the hell did that bastard say to her? he thought.

"The fight can begin!"

The moment the jude allowed the fight to start, Drako moved first, his body a blur as a stream of fire erupted from his hand, twisting into the shape of a serpent that lunged at Lina.

She sidestepped with surprising speed, her staff glowing faintly as she used her skill <Ice Shield> to defend herself against the attack. But the serpent shattered against it in an explosion of embers.

Shock followed shock, power colliding in relentless waves. Drako's firestorms roared across the arena, forcing Lina to leap, twist, and counter with sharp bursts of ice and wind. However, even all of her power was not enough to stop the enormous torrent of fire.

The crowd roared with each impact, their cheers drowned out by the thunderclap of magic striking magic.

Davi, from the sidelines, clenched his fists. The speed of the fight was staggering, too fast for him to track every movement without losing focus.

Lina was making an impressive effort to defend, but Drako was simply overwhelmingly more powerful.

And soon she got tired. Her body wasn't built for this pace. Each dodge, each counterstrike seemed to cost her more than she could afford. She reinforced her body with the <Reinforcement> skill, but how long could she keep it up before it broke her?

Drako, however, looked like a predator toying with its prey. Flames curled around his arms, his eyes bright with malicious delight. He was fast, but every time he closed the distance, she forced him back with precise, punishing bursts of mana.

"Come on, little rabbit," he taunted, hurling a volley of searing fireballs that exploded in rapid succession. "Don't tell me this is all the rage you've got! Don't you want to crush me?" Drako provoked her.

"I hope you don't die from my next attack. Don't spoil the fun too soon," Drako said, invoking a massive fireball. "Do your best to defend."

Drako's hands flared with molten light, the air around him shimmering as the heat warped it. The massive fireball swelled to the size of a carriage, crackling with unstable streams of flame.

Yet, instead of taking a proper stance, Drako bent one knee, twisted his torso at an awkward angle, and pointed at his opponent with his free hand like he was on the cover of some overdramatic romance novel.

The ridiculous pose did nothing to make the attack look more dignified, but he thought it was extremely cool. He had even practiced the pose for hours in front of the mirror.

Lina's teeth clenched. She met his next attack head-on, her staff slamming into the ground as a dome of ice erupted around her, absorbing the fire before bursting outward in a concussive wave that sent Drako skidding back.

The fight escalated.

Boom! Boom! Sparks and flame collided with Lina's ice as she desperately tried to keep fighting.

But when all the chaos came to an end, Drako was standing unharmed, slowly approaching Lina, who had almost no mana left.

Then, Drako's smile twisted. His hands flared with heat, the air warping as he gathered mana into a sphere so hot the arena floor beneath him began to blacken and crack.

He hurled it.

Lina braced. The impact shook the arena, heat washing over the stands, but when the smoke cleared, she was still there, kneeling, breathing hard, but alive.

"Not bad," Drako said, his tone mockingly approving, before stepping in close.

His fist slammed into her stomach with enough force to send her staggering. A second later, a barrage of fiery strikes followed, each one testing the limits of her defenses.

Her grip faltered. The staff slipped from her hands, clattering to the floor. Drako didn't stop. He began casting again, fire swirling up his arms, not to win the match, but to simply torture the woman besides him.

"You really are weak," he sneered, kicking her hard enough to send her sprawling to the ground. "I'm sure after your pitiful fight, that useless boy will lose all interest in you."

"Don't… say such things…" Lina whispered, her voice trembling. She had no strength left to resist.

"You are pathetic," he spat, a massive swirl of fire gathering in his hand. If he hit her with that much power, it wouldn't just injure her, it would kill her.

"Stop!" the referee barked.

"So annoying," Drako muttered, but he dispersed the flame. He wasn't stupid enough to get himself disqualified for ignoring the rules.

"Medical staff, get into the arena!" the referee called.

〇〇〇

The next day

The hospital room was quiet, sunlight filtering through the thin curtains. Lina sat propped up against her pillows, the pale blue gown doing little to hide the bandages around her arms.

Her gaze was fixed on the window, but she turned when the door opened.

Davi stepped in, his expression unreadable.

"How are you doing?" he asked, pulling a chair up to her bedside.

"I'm fine..." she answered simply, but her eyes seemed filled with complicated emotions.

"You know you can talk with me about anything, so, please, tell me, what did your opponent tell you during the fight?"

Lina hesitated, her fingers tightening around the blanket. "Davi… it's not important. You should focus on your own match."

"Don't give me that," he interrupted, leaning forward. "If he said something to you, I need to hear it. Please, trust me."

She bit her lip, torn between protecting him and telling him the truth. Finally, she let out a quiet breath, her shoulders slumping.

"Okay, I'll tell you everything."

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