[I think he's winning,] Evangeline remarked plainly.
In Neraxis's defense, he started a second late, therefore, Kael had already managed to pick off three students.
Though... I guess it's a bit unfair. Neraxis grumbled.
The moment his eyes met one of the Luminara students', they avoided his gaze before running over to Kael and getting knocked out.
But there was one person who didn't back away—some golden-haired man who held a scepter in his hands.
"Neraxis, I wish to have a duel with you."
"I'm a bit busy, but you can contribute to my score," Neraxis replied and dashed over to the Luminara student, slashing upward.
To his surprise, the attack merely bounced off as a system message appeared in front of him.
"Seriously..." Neraxis let out a sigh. "You're ruining my competition, Michael."
"I apologize for my rudeness, but it must be done," Michael replied, holding his scepter forward. "Fight me—"
His words were cut off when, all of a sudden, Neraxis appeared before him and neatly cut the metal scepter in two.
A surprised look appeared on Michael's face, which was soon replaced by panic as Neraxis thrust his sword right toward Michael's neck.
But just as it was about to connect, two beams of light shot out from Michael's eyes, pushing Neraxis backward.
However, the beam of light was soon directed toward Neraxis, scorching the ground and seemingly splitting it apart.
Noticing the danger, Neraxis dashed to the left, feinted, and then slid right beside Michael, cutting his heels.
The sword connected, sending Michael to the ground as the beams of light shot into the sky uncontrollably.
Just as Michael was prepared to stand up and fight, Neraxis menacingly appeared above him.
"That was a neat trick, I'll give you that much," Neraxis praised. "If you knew how to aim that thing, then I would've been in trouble."
He glanced out of the see-through golden barrier and noticed Kael flinging students left and right, with beams of light flying off into the sky.
I lost... Neraxis groaned at his first loss.
The only thing Michael was doing at the moment was staring at Neraxis menacingly, therefore, Neraxis brought the hilt of his sword down, knocking Michael out.
Not paying much attention to the text, Neraxis began running toward the small fortress that was Luminara's base.
If he couldn't win, he could at the very least take credit for their win.
Therefore, after a few seconds—and zero students stopping him—he arrived in front of the flag and placed his hand on it.
Yet the moment he did, the blue box's announcement rang out.
—The first match is over! Everyone from Luminara Academy's side was eliminated and was thus deemed incapable of continuing this match further. Winners: Havenspire Academy!
"Hahaha!" A laugh rang out, belonging to none other than Kael as he approached Neraxis. "How does it feel to lose, huh?"
"It was unfair," Neraxis replied with a shrug before pointing toward Michael on the ground. "He held me up with a skill."
"No excuses." Kael shook his head, a grin forming on his face. "You lost fair and square."
"Whatever..." Neraxis scoffed, walking away back to his seat.
They won—and very overwhelmingly at that.
The Luminara Academy didn't even stand a chance, and frankly, he was sure the only ones who would were the Skryder Academy, for the sole purpose of Alice existing.
Nonetheless, they headed back to their seats, and not even ten minutes later, the two academies stepped up.
Alice seemed on edge, her brows furrowed as she didn't even go over the plan with her academy.
Lar tried talking to her, but it was to no avail, and soon, the match started.
The moment it did, Alice dashed off from their base, arriving in front of Antares Academy's small fortress.
They weren't ready to face anyone yet, so they scrambled, throwing all sorts of jagged shadow arrows while also trying to halt her movement with some weird black tentacles.
But aside from pissing her off further, they didn't do much, as Alice suddenly materialized the golden katana.
She swung it sideways, and for a moment, it looked like nothing happened.
Yet in the next, the entire small fortress split into two, revealing the gazes of all the shocked students.
Nonetheless, Alice ignored those gazes as she calmly walked forward and grabbed hold of the flag.
—The second match is over! The winners are the Skryder Academy!
Did she get stronger? Neraxis furrowed his brows as they met eyes.
Instead of the previous obsession, he was met with an ominous glare—which she quickly averted before making her way back to the seats.
Their academies made it through to the finals, unsurprisingly.
But the final round was supposedly a surprise, and soon, the blue cube announced it.
—The third and final round of this tournament between Havenspire Academy and Skryder Academy will be a battle royale!
As its words fell, the empty and slightly broken-down grass arena began shaking.
And in the very next instant, trees sprouted from the ground, growing off into the skies.
Not only was Neraxis shocked, but so were the others.
Yet the surprises were not finished, as he saw multiple monsters emerge from the ground, their strength varying from F- all the way to D+.
Nothing he couldn't handle.
—It will be points-based, and the first team to reach 250 points wins! Each F-ranked monster counts as a single point, two points for E-ranked monsters, and ten points for D-ranked monsters! If all the students from an academy get eliminated, the round ends! Participants, enter now!
Neraxis tilted his head and got down, followed by his classmates.
It was a bit surprising that there was no downtime, but he didn't mind."
He could go back home that much faster.
"Something's wrong..." Aella muttered, catching his attention.
"What is it?" Neraxis asked.
"My signals were cut off. This entire place is one huge EMP. And trust me, cutting my technology off is a hard task." Aella said before continuing, "Recording doesn't work, neither does communication... Something is definitely up."
Taking a few glances around, Neraxis narrowed his eyes.
Nothing seems off. Not even my {Cosmic Sight} is picking up anything.
"Aella, I won't doubt you. However, don't you think the only reason the signals are off is simply because of what they just did? I mean, they grew trees out of nowhere and also made monsters come out of the ground," Neraxis commented.
But she merely shook her head. "Neraxis, I made my first smartphone when I was three years old. I don't even need a skill to tell that something is off."
"...Alright," Neraxis replied with a sigh. "I'll watch my back, and I'll watch yours as well."
Aella let out a giggle. "Just focus on winning. I'll be fine. Eris and I are going to stick together."
They became friends? Neraxis thought, raising a brow before nodding. "See you later."
"See you." Aella waved and walked away, leaving him and Kael standing side by side.
"That was pretty heartwarming," Kael remarked with a chuckle before turning serious. "But she's right. My senses are going off—something is not right here."
You too? What about you, Evangeline?
[I feel the same way as them, but I just can't determine what the danger is. Sorry,] she replied in a glum tone.
Don't be sorry. It's going to be fine. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it. Neraxis turned toward the blue box, where a countdown appeared.
At least, I hope I will...
Soon, the blue box's announcement rang out.
—Let the third and final round begin! Good luck to the participants!