Strong.
That was the one word that appeared in Alice’s head the moment Lily sent her flying backwards after receiving a direct attack on her body.
The Ice Armor that she had cast on herself earlier was shattered due to how powerful the blow was.
Even so, Alice still managed to regain her balance mid-air before she crashed on the barrier that was erected on the edge of the arena.
However, just as she was about to cast her magic for the second time, Lily instantly appeared in front of her.
“Sorry, but I am not Langston who likes to play with my prey,” Lily said with a devilish smile plastered on her face. “When I fight, I fight to win.”
Her arm had been pulled back, ready to deliver a punch on Alice’s face, not caring if it would leave a mark on the beautiful lady’s face.
However, before Lily’s punch connected, Alice found herself outside of the arena and standing beside Professor Barret.
“I could have turned a blind eye and allowed Lily to land a hit, but it didn’t sit well with me, so I teleported you out,” Professor Barret said. “Learn from this experience. She is not someone that can be defeated with strong magic power alone. Her battle experience exceeds yours by several folds.”
Alice gritted her teeth as she lowered her head in frustration. She still had a trump card that she hadn’t used during the battle. But, she also understood that in that moment, she didn’t have the time, nor composure, to cast the spell that she was saving for the final match.
Suddenly, she remembered the words that Lily had said before she went for the killing blow.
“Sorry, but I am not Langston who likes to play with my prey. When I fight, I fight to win.”
These words rang painfully inside Alice’s head because she realized that Lily was right. If she had only fought with all she had from the get go, the one who might have won the match would have been her.
“You’re such a gentleman, Professor Barret. Witches who were born with a silver spoon should learn hardships once in a while.”
Lily’s words reached Alice’s ears as the white mist she had cast faded away.
There, standing with a smug smile on her face was Lily without her Bestial Transformation.
Clearly, she didn’t want anyone to see her true power, which only a handful people in the academy were aware of.
Professor Barret didn’t affirm or reject Lily’s words and simply smiled.
“Winner, Lily Langley!” Professor Barret announced and a round of applause befell the cute witch, who waved at the crowd like one of those popular idols in T.V. shows.
“… Did you already know how strong Lily was?” Ethan asked Nicole, who was seated beside her.
“I knew she was strong, but I didn’t know how strong she was,” Nicole replied with a sweet smile on her face. “But, know this. She still hadn’t used her full power in this match.
“If you are to meet her in battle, it would be best if you use your Partial Resonance at once to end the match. As you can see, she doesn’t like to prolong her battles.”
Ethan sighed in his heart.
After regaining a bit of magical power due to the Fairies’ kisses, Illumina talked to Ethan and told him that he wouldn’t be able to use Partial Resonance during the Clash of Manors.
The reason was due to him over exhausting his magical reserves when he used Oberon’s Descent.
The Mermaid Princess was worried that Ethan’s Magic Circuits, which had started to show signs of recovery, might get permanently damaged if he forced himself to use Partial Resonance.
Because of this, she didn’t dare to lend her power to the blue-haired boy for the time being.
Even if Ethan managed to win the duel, it wouldn’t be worth it if he couldn’t use magic ever again after his match.
‘I’ll just fight to the best of my ability,’ Ethan thought. ‘If I win I win. If I lose, that just means that I haven’t trained enough.’
While he was thinking about these things, the second match started.
Eques Manor prided themselves for raising Magical Knights and Battle Mages.
They were also the favorite Manor to win due to their specialties.
However, to everyone’s surprise, the second match ended with another victory to Jaeger Manor.
The battle lasted for ten minutes, as both combatants fought to their fullest. However, the Second Year that represented Jaeger Manor had the ability to summon two Dire Bears, who managed to overwhelm their opponent using brute force. 𝒩𝔬𝑣𝒍xt.𝗰𝓞𝓂
When the third match started, everyone thought that Eques Manor would be able to reverse the situation.
Unfortunately, the third round was also won by Jaeger Manor, which caught everyone by surprise.
“Sorry, Arthur,” the Head Prefect of Jaeger Manor, Eren, said with a smile. “Looks like the two of us won’t be fighting this year.”
“… You guys, how did you become so strong all of a sudden?” Arthur asked with a frown. “I may not know Lily’s strength, but I know your candidates for the Second and Third Year. They were not that strong in the past. So, how?”
Eren smirked and placed his finger over his lip.
“Sorry, but that’s a secret,” Eren replied before moving close to Arthur to whisper something in his ear. “However, let me just tell you this since we’re old friends. This year, it is not just me and the candidates of Jaeger Manor who received a boost in strength.”
“Wait… you mean?” Arthur’s expression became serious after hearing Eren’s words.
Eren only winked at the Prefect of the Eques Manor before walking away, leaving Arthur in deep thought.
Although Eren didn’t say anything explicitly, it was safe to say that what he meant was that the entirety of the Jaeger Manor received a boost.
If this was true, it meant that an entire Faction’s strength had suddenly increased out of the blue.