After the two of them bonded a little before the afternoon, Lillian had sent out an email towards Mirage, telling him that today might be the day that the Cult of Jesters may attack.
She didn't really care if she got interrogated afterwards as long as a large majority of people survived after the event.
It would stain her morals and pride if she couldn't use her knowledge to her advantage.
Not only that... But it would also increase her chances of surviving too.
She had also told him to keep an eye on Luton's Headmaster, which sounds extremely suspicious if said without any context. So, she added a little.
Not a lot.
But enough to where it would seem more like a theory rather than a prediction.
She gave a sigh, glancing towards her mother, who was happily walking beside her whilst still talking on the phone with her father.
She then glanced towards her girlfriend, who tightly clutched her hand to not get lost in the busy crowd around them.
Lillian couldn't help but smile softly at the two, hoping that the invasion wouldn't be any different from the game and would go as planned.
She then thought back to another email she had received.
It was for the competition. The One versus One.
It was to either choose between battling it out in the colosseum with only an unenchanted steel weapon of your choosing or fighting inside the simulation.
As logical as it may sound to fight inside the simulation, Lillian got somewhat tired of that, so she chose to fight in the colosseum.
She wanted to see how well her swordsmanship would fare against another trained student. This one, she feels, would be a bit too... skilled for her.
As Lillian was thinking this, she couldn't help but steadily slow down her steps as she looked in front of her—her eyes narrowing.
In front of her was a man with short black hair and black eyes. Features that would be extremely basic if it weren't for the young man's handsome face.
He was 6ft tall and proudly wore a white blazer with a Luton's School emblem on it. And around the side of his waist was a beautiful sheathe to a sword.
The man stared down at her, recognising her to be familiar. And Lillian stared at him the same way, finding her also familiar.
The white-haired girl smiled, pushing out her right hand towards the young man and saying:
"I'm Lillian. I assume that you are come from Luton's School, right?"
The young man nodded coldly, stretching out his hand to meet hers in a respectful and reserved manner.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Kuro Vincent."
Lillian nodded, staring at his face as she recalled all that she knew about him.
And the one thing that stood out was... That was, he had an unparalleled talent with the sword.
She watched as he pulled back his hand before glancing back.
Behind him were two figures that pushed through the crowd, making their way towards them whilst also bringing a feeling of familiarity with them.
One strolled to his side energetically. Their black ponytail bounced behind them as their robe fluttered. They then froze at the sight of Marionette, who blinked at them.
"Oh! You're the woman who defeated my team by yourself!"
It was Jericko.
Marionette continued to stare at them before shrugging nonchalantly.
"Wasn't that difficult."
Coming behind Kuro's other side was a particularly surprising face for some.
It was Cicillian.
The white-haired man gave Lillian a look before clicking his tongue and looking away with his hands in his pockets.
Lillian couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this before smiling at his much calmer energy. She took a glance towards Kuro before going back towards the more tamed youth.
Lillian knew the reason why he was much more calmer. It was because Kuro would knock sense into him physically.
And considering he had already lost a bit of face during the competition, she knew the blood mage wasn't willing to do anything foolish.
"I'm sure you both are already acquainted with these two separately. And I hope you aren't offended in anyway by their actions thus far."
As he said that last part, he took a subtle glance towards Cicillian, who had managed to catch it.
He clicked his tongue again, turning his face to the side like a pouting child with his arms folded.
Kuro, turning back to face Lillian, said:
"Your academy has done a splendid job against ours so far. And... It has been a rather humiliating experience for us." He said in a stoic tone.
Lillian stared at him silently, watching as he gave a dramatic pause before saying:
"But it has been an enlightening one. We are proud to have worthy adversaries. And for that, I'm afraid to say that for the next two matches to come, you won't be winning anymore."
Lillian watched as he turned back around, having finished what he had to say before walking away like an edgy young adult followed by his two lackeys.
Lillian gave his back a knowing look, thinking thoughtfully about what he said.
'Yes... It will definitely be a difficult match to win.'
***
"Welcome back, everyone! To the 2nd to last competition of this year's annual competition." The announcer yelled before adopting a sad tone:
"It's almost saddening to know that this brilliant tournament is nearing its end." His eyes glazed across the entire audience, taking in their faces, who were even more excited for today's competition.
He then whipped his arm to the side, gesturing towards a large translucent hologram that displayed the total points towards each side thus far.
[Lutons School of Prestigious Magic: 1]
[Louis Mana Academy: 3]
"Yesterday, Louis had received its first loss so far! Making it so that if Luton's School of Prestigious Magic were to win the next two round, then it would bring this entire tournament to a draw!"
After reading out a few more sentences for formalities, he then declared the beginning of the One Versus One.
The first was who was going to be facing off in this match.
Spreading his arms wide out, the announcer then gestured towards a holographic scroll that rolled out and displayed the names.