“Langston Kerr and Ethan Gremory, please go up to the arena,” the former Head of the Magistratus, Professor Barret, said in a resounding voice. “I will be the referee of this match, and I expect a good fight from both contenders.”
Langston and Ethan gave each other a side-long glance before walking up to the stage that had been prepared for the two of them.
All the First Years cheered, but no one knew which of the two they were cheering for. The two teenagers were both handsome in their own rights.
One specialized in Dark Magic, and was the son of a High-Ranking Noble.
The other was a Dud, and miraculously executed a Partial Resonance.
For the ladies, both boys were eye candies, and watching two handsome guys duel was something that most of them were eager to see.
“I hope you came prepared, you Filthy Dud,” Langston said as he faced the person that defeated him in the past. “This time, I will no longer play around with you.”
Ethan didn’t reply to Langston’s words and simply held his wand and Pitchfork at the ready.
Illumina had told him that she would not help him defeat Langston this time. What she wanted was for Ethan to use his own powers, and ability to win the duel. Relying on her for everything would only impact his growth in the long run.
Ethan understood this as well, so he trained very hard in Illumina’s Illusionary World, practicing magic to the fullest until he ran dry.
Fortunately, the Fairies were there to help him, allowing him to absorb their magical powers. Among the dozen Fairies that agreed to help Ethan, he had already kissed four of them for his magical training.
Today, he kissed four more, so that he would gain sufficient magical power to fight one duel.
That left only four fairies to kiss for the entirety of the Clash of Manors, and Ethan didn’t know if he would have enough magical energy to spare until the tournament was over.
Professor Barret looked at the two contestants and told them the rules of the tournament.
“The fight will continue unless one of you surrenders, loses consciousness, or I deem it fit that there is no need to continue the battle,” Professor Barret. “Are both of you ready?”
“Ready,” Langston replied as his eyes locked on his opponent.
Ethan on the other hand, simply nodded his head, confirming that he was also ready to fight.
Professor Barret then raised his hand, making the audience who had been cheering a while ago, stop completely.
For a brief moment, a pin drop silence spread in the Grand Coliseum, as everyone waited with baited breath for the match to finally begin.
“Duel Start!” Professor Barret declared.
As soon as the order for the start of the duel was announced, the two teenagers chanted their first spells, to gain an edge over their opponent.
“Tenebris Famma Anguis!”
“Amplifico!”
A fiery snake made up of dark flames erupted from the tip of Langston’s wand, which immediately darted towards Ethan’s direction with its fangs ready to bite.
This was the spell that he used when he fought against the Scarlet Witch in his first ever duel in the academy in order to test her abilities.
Ethan, on the other hand, boosted his body’s performance, making him feel stronger than ever.
Professor Barret, whom the Headmaster of Brynhildr Academy personally chose to become the referee for the match for the First Years, narrowed his eyes as he observed the handsome young man, who was the talk of the academy.
Just like everyone else, he also thought of Ethan as the Dark Horse of the First Years, and seeing him cast the spell, Amplifico, as his first spell intrigued him.
Facing the Fire Snake, Ethan took a deep breath before charging towards it.
This action made Chloe and Luna feel as if their hearts were about to jump out of their chest due to how reckless Ethan’s move was.
When he was only a few meters away from the Dark Flame Snake, the young man chanted another spell under his breath.
“Duplici.”
Suddenly two Ethan’s appeared in the arena, which darted at the left and right side of the Dark Flame Snake, catching Langston, who was controlling it by surprise. He had expected that the Dud had a few tricks in his sleeves, but this still caught him off-guard.
“Wow!” Ruby, who was hovering beside Chloe, gasped in surprise. “I didn’t know Ethan could use that spell!”
The other Fairies, who had also received candies from Ethan, were surprised because the magic that Ethan used was very familiar to them.
It was a Magic that Fairies used whenever they wanted to confuse their opponents, making them unable to tell which was real and which was not.
“Interesting,” Nicole, who was seated at the stands of the Eques Manor muttered under her breath. 𝑜𝗏𝐋xt.𝑐𝗈𝔪
Just like everyone else, she wanted to see what kind of performance Ethan would be showing them today. Her family had told her to pay extra attention to the handsome young man, whom she said held great potential among the First Years.
“Petty tricks!” Langston snorted before flicking his wand to conjure another Dark Flame Snake, which then attacked the second Ethan.
Since he couldn’t tell which was real, and which was not, he decided to just attack them both and get it over with.
Ethan, who now understood what Langston’s strategy was, once again chanted the spell, Duplici, creating two additional clones.
These two clones didn’t bat an eye and directly charged at Langston with their Pitchforks ready to strike.
“As if I’d let you!” Langston shouted. “Magna Ignis Murus!”
A second later, dark flames rose up from the ground, creating a fiery wall that surrounded Langston, preventing Ethan from directly attacking him.
Because he had temporarily lost vision of his opponent, the two Fiery Snakes randomly targeted Ethan’s clones, which turned into particles of light after getting hit.
Ethan understood that he wouldn’t be able to reach Langston due to the wall of flames that was blocking his way. Because of this, he decided to chant another spell that would help him overcome the walls that stood before him.
“Faerie Fuga!”
At that moment, the Fairies who were watching Ethan’s Magical Duel, dropped the candies that they were eating.
“O-Oberon?” Ruby muttered as her eyes locked on the teenage boy, who had grown Fairy Wings on his back, which allowed him to fly over the flames that Langston had conjured to protect himself.
“Oberon,” one of the Fairies repeated Ruby’s words in a voice filled with veneration.
“Oberon!”
“Oberon!”
“Oberon!”
The other Fairies also chanted this name as if they were in a daze.
The current Ethan was simply too regal, and dazzling in their eyes as he flew high up in the air with his cape fluttering in the breeze.
Oberon, the Fairy King, who ruled over Fairy Kind, was a person that none of the Fairies in Brynhildr Academy had seen in the past.
However, all of them knew that he existed, for all Fairies shared this belief.
Right now, that belief manifested in front of them, making all of their little hearts skip a beat.
The King that they had never seen in their lifetime, was now right in front of their eyes.
This made Ruby, and the other Fairies, subconsciously emit a kind of magical resonance, which flew toward Ethan, coating his body with their Fairy Magic.