"Hahahaha, not bad, brother Edmund, but your attacks are quite subpar. Hand over the position to me so I can vanquish the fell more efficiently." Barras laughed after being pushed away by an Earthen Pillar, but still landed on his feet.
"Hahaha, you’re too fond of jokes, brother Barras," responded Edmund, summoning a Reinforced Granite Wall to defend himself from his opponent’s counterattack before rising above his own defensive spell, casting another Earthen Pillar to do so.
He then rained Rock Bullets on Barras, who easily defended with a barrage of his own. This update ıs available on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝓷𝓮𝓽
The battle between the two Magna Prospects had been ongoing for more than thirty minutes now.
Yet, it didn’t seem like one of the two participants would be defeated soon.
Hal had a deep frown on his face as he watched.
These two weren’t particularly flashy, and arrogant as it sounded, he found them to be quite...weak.
Not in the sense that the current him could easily defeat them, as he definitely had to rely on his Aethersight Goggles to be able to follow a few of their spells with his eyes.
It was just that they were way underwhelming compared to what he witnessed from Zephyron and the Atrox Seres.
Hal even judged that Khatu was slightly stronger than both of them.
If these two were to replace Targon, then he couldn’t help but worry whether humanity would still be able to fight back against the fell race.
Strong as Edmund and Barras were, Hal believed their combat prowess wasn’t enough, and while the awakening of their marks would make them significantly stronger than they are now, he was certain that the two would simply follow Targon’s footsteps should they face the strongest warriors of the fell race.
Ennya’s reaction, on the other hand, was way simpler:
"Woaaah! Damn, look at how thick that wall was. I don’t think even my flames could destroy that granite wall instantly...maybe two or three seconds?"
"Aiihh...I can barely follow their Rock Bullets! I still have quite some ways to go, even after all that intense training and thousands of reprimands from the flame hag, huh? Tch, and they say I’m the most talented prospect in history? Aren’t they just inflating my ego?"
Hal was snapped back to reality by one of her sentences. He turned to the midget and asked: "You...can follow their Rock Bullets?"
Ennya frowned at the question.
"Huh? Yeah, why? Just barely, though...also, what are those repulsive goggles on your face? Just watch the match properly and stop fooling around! We rarely get to watch such a high-level match that is not too high for us to understand. I’m learning a lot of things, and so should you!" the midget reprimanded in response, pleased to have finally found an opportunity to lecture someone back.
She had always been on the receiving end, after all.
Hal, however, didn’t react much and simply tuned back into the ongoing match.
’Her mana affinity is currently around eighty percent, no? How could she be developing Aethersight already?’ He mused, slightly envious but happy for his childhood friend.
At the very least, it seemed that the flame hag was truly taking great care of the midget.
She wouldn’t have progressed this quickly, otherwise.
While Hal was lost in his thoughts, the crowd suddenly went wild, prompting him to focus on the match once more.
Edmund was rolling on the ground, only managing to stabilize his footing after almost falling off the stage.
Unfortunately, Barras was already in front of him, a beige magic circle at the ready.
"Better luck next time, Brother Edmund!"
Three diamond pillars then emerged, arching in their own directions before converging at Edmund Ra’s location, smashing him.
The battle was over, and the loud and confident Barras Jadeheart would be appointed as the next Earth Magna.
Or so people thought...
Those who lucked out in seat positioning and had Aethersight—Hal, for example—saw that Edmund managed to escape at the last moment, sinking into the ground.
Earth Magna Prospects are usually simple-minded and rely on toughness and aggression to win, but clearly, Edmund Ra was an exception.
It seemed that everything from the part he was sent flying by an Earthen Pillar was but a mere performance.
In the next moment, a beige magic circle appeared and activated beneath Barras, who was caught off guard, thinking he had already won.
His entire body from the neck down was then locked in a crystalline tomb.
Emerging from the ground like a ninja mole, Edmund cast another spell, this time summoning more than a dozen massive earthen spikes that hovered in the air, threatening to take Barras’ life.
The emperor surprisingly remained still, allowing the situation to unfold.
"Brother Barras, admit your defeat."
The older prospect didn’t speak for a few seconds before sighing.
"Aihh...fine, you got me. I shall take the loss like a man. You win, Edmund Ra. Slaughter those fell bastards for me."
"I will, brother Barras. Thank you for letting me win."
And so, the grand finals of the 486th Magna Ascension Tournament concluded, and Edmund Ra, who showed surprising wits towards the end, would be the one succeeding Targon Rockbarrow as the next Earth Magna.
The audience naturally applauded and cheered after such a fantastic showing from both prospects.
Hal wasn’t too satisfied, though.
In his mind, he couldn’t shake the thought that he could at least hold his ground against the two.
He even believed there was a fair chance he’d win against them, though mostly due to his [Winter’s Grasp] spell, and not without relying on a crutch like his wacky Aethersight Goggles, which might not be allowed in a battle of such stakes.
Perhaps the Mark Awakening would bridge the power gap that he witnessed from the likes of Zephyron and the Atrox Seres.
Maybe after the ceremony, he would be able to envision how Edmund would defeat fell lords like Khatu.
Barras descended the stage with a bow, leaving only the victor at the center, waiting for the awakening ceremony to begin.
Meanwhile, a few sketchy individuals in the crowd were muttering quite actively, yet no sounds were coming out of their mouths.
It was like they were communicating through some weird channel.