A/N: Hey everyone, author here! First off shout out to Aonte and CynzFireFly for PRing this chp! Also like I promised here is a longer chp! Hope you all enjoy this chp and look forward to the end of the school tournament!

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“Yo Az! You finally getting out today huh?”

“Hey guys. You two didn’t need to come.”

As Azrael had been preparing to finally leave the healing ward, Winston and Zer came to pick him up. It had been four days since the assassination attempt had occurred. Although the wounds he had received finished healing yesterday, the healers had kept him in the ward just in case for safety measures.

Azrael had been surprised yet delighted that his wound had healed in such a short span of time. The wounds, especially the hole in his left chest, had been a life threatening one. It wouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone if it had taken over a month for someone to heal from that. So when Azrael had noticed the unusual rate at which his body was healing, he had asked Samjoko about it.

‘Hey Samjoko. Does my unusual healing rate have anything to do with you three or is it just my body’s constitution to heal quickly?’

‘Master, it is a special attribute of Bonghwang.’

‘Ho… a fire elemental that has a healing attribute? I thought the fire element was focused toward destruction?’

‘Master, my ‘Fire of Life’ does have a healing effect to its wielder. It has accelerated cell regrowth in your body which has helped your body recover at a much quicker pace than others would have.’

‘So it is because of you Bonghwang, huh? Thank you.’

‘It is only natural for I, your servant, to protect you after all master.’

‘Jeez, how many times do I have to tell you three that you all aren’t servants? And like I’ve said before, please stop calling me master. Anyways, I am still very grateful.’

Azrael had never felt as though he was a master towards Samjoko, Chunyong, or Bonghwang. Ever since he had met them when he was six, the three of them have been very kind to him and have trained him in the magic of this world. To Azrael, the three of them felt like older siblings: warm, kind, and caring.

‘Uu….. this one feels useless. This one wasnt able to assist master at all….’

‘Haha don’t worry Chunyong. I’m sure I’ll need your help in the future. I’ll be counting on you then, okay?’

During the time that Azrael had spent inside the healing ward, Winston and Zer had visited numerous times. Before and after training they stopped by to check on him and to alleviate his boredom.

When they first heard about the incident, they were furious. Their best friend had been on death’s doorstep after all. Thankfully, Azrael was able to stop them from doing anything rash..

“Hmmm I don’t see a familiar face today?”

At his teasing, Azrael’s face couldn’t help but redden. His best friends hadn’t been his only visitors. During his stay in the ward, Han Byul often stopped by and checked up on him, bringing fruits. While they ate the fruits she peeled, they spoke about different topics such as hobbies, what it was like when they grew up, what they absolutely hated, etc. Through the ordeal the bond between the two grew closer with each passing day.

On quite a few occasions, Winston and Zer had stopped by during one of these moments. Every time she would stand up, smile, and tell Azrael that she would stop by another time and for them to enjoy their visit before leaving. The two had been surprised to see her at Azrael’s bed as they had expected that they would be his only visitors. After seeing her there every day, however, they soon became used to her being there when they visited and treated her as one of them. During their visits Winston had noticed the atmosphere between the two had changed.

“Eh…. Han Byul said that she had important matters to attend to so she wouldn’t be able to make it today.”

“Ho…so that’s why you have such a long face huh? Also, I’ve noticed lately that you’ve started to call the Princess by her name Az. Suspicious…suspicious indeed…”

Azrael couldn’t help but roll his eyes. While he was laughing at Winston’s jest, Zer began to explain why she couldn’t make it.

“Winst stop teasing Az haha. Anyways she’s handling some issues due to the assassination attempt. Ever since the attack the King has been trying to send some of the Guardians over to guard her but she’s been fighting it.”

“Guardians?”

“Yup. The Guardians are the royal guards for the Rhostaz Kingdom. You can pretty much say they’re the elites of the elites in the West.”

“*whistles* I’ve heard about those Guardians. Supposedly the minimum requirement to join them is Emperor Rank. They’re supposed to be in contention with Felsia’s Retribution as the strongest military unit in the continent. My dad’s been jealous of them and started to build a royal guard similar to them for the Sunder Kingdom.”

After hearing this, Azrael was shocked at that new information. The minimum requirement was Emperor Rank? An Emperor rank was thought to be elites within the majority of units throughout the continent! For a unit to be made up of Soldiers with the weakest being an Emperor rank, Azrael couldn’t fathom how strong they would be.

“Well then, let’s go eat in celebration of Az’s release! We’ll go train a little later, so he can slowly ease his body back into form. Thankfully his match isn’t until Sunday.”

With that said, Winston grabbed both Azrael and Zer by their shoulder and pushed them forward to the cafeteria. Shaking their head at Winston’s love for food, the two grinned at each other and allowed themselves to be pushed forward by the impatient Winston.

The next month was a very enjoyable period for Azrael. During the past month, Han Byul had begun to hang out with them. She had already known Zer since childhood, so he didn’t mind and she had become really good friends with Azrael. At first Winston felt awkward over her addition since she was a Princess, but it did not last long and they grew friendly in no time at all due to Han Byul’s friendliness and Winston’s relaxed personality.

During this time Azrael had also breezed through the tournament along with Zer and Han Byul. Winston had unfortunately fell during the round of thirty two against an intermediate light elemental student. He simply did not have enough offense and eventually fell against him.

During the first of the two semi-finals matches, the arena exploded into cheers as one of the contestants fell onto the ground in defeat.

“Winner Azrael Celeste!”

With a large roar from the crowd, Azrael once again bowed toward the crowd before leaving the stage. As he was walking toward the corridor, the commentators began to analyze what had transpired during the battle.

“As expected of contestant Azrael, right Rialesta?”

“Just as he had done in all the previous battles up until now, Azrael has just now clearly shown his dominance. Even though his opponent had been Beth Reinhart, one of Sinara Academy’s representatives in last year’s Rising Stars Tournament, he remained calm as always and handily defeated her. Beth simply couldn’t handle the onslaught of fire and water element magic and was defeated by Azrael’s strike. It is my belief that the only person who stands a chance of defeating him is our next contestant, Zer Aiur.”

“Zer Aiur is a formidable opponent just as you say Rialesta. He has been just as impressive as Azrael, blowing through his opponents like a storm. To reach the final to face Azrael this afternoon, however, he will have to pass Princess Han Byul! She also isn’t one to fall asleep on! With her precise control of her wind element magic and shortened incantations, she has shown that Azrael and Zer are not the only rising stars among the freshmen this year here at Sinara Academy!”

“Kevin, this freshmen class is indeed one of the brightest we have ever witnessed in the history of our glorious Sinara Academy. I am positive that all three of them will develop even further and become the pride of our academy in the future. I don’t believe this semi-final match, however, will be a pleasant one for either contestants. Not only is Zer’s father the Prime Minister for Princess Han Byul’s father King Han and also close friends, the two are also reportedly seen together often along with contestant Azrael Celeste and the Wozeal House’s heir, Winston.”

As the sound of the commenters were becoming more distant in the corridor, Azrael noticed Zer was finishing his preparations and smiled at him as they made eye contact.

“Good job as always Az.”

“Thanks man. You ready for your match?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be. It’s not like Han Byul and I have never sparred against each other. Even up to this day she swears that one day she’ll finally defeat me hahaha.”

“That is true haha. I’ll be waiting to see which one of you two I will face this afternoon!”

Contrary to the commentator’s belief, the atmosphere was not tense at all. All three of them knew a time would come sooner than later when they would have to face each other. The three of them were actually looking forward to these battles to test their own strength. As Zer was finishing his preparations, the voices of the commentators introducing Han Byul rang out.

“Alright then, good luck Zer. I’ll be watching from the stands with Winst.”

“Just be prepared to lose in the final Az.”

As he was laughing, Azrael patted Zer in the shoulder and headed toward the stands where Winston awaited him. When Zer heard the commentators say his name, a large burst of cheers exploded from the stands and continued as he entered the stage. Across the stage stood Han Byul with a determined look.

“I guess that little cry baby girl from before is gone huh Han Byul? Look at you becoming stronger and actually reaching this far.”

Han Byul’s face immediately brightened red at Zer’s little barb before the match. Fumbling with her words, she retorted him.

“Ju…just who was a cry baby! Hmph, just you wait! Today will be the day I finally beat you!”

“Ah…. So you think you can beat me on your seventy fifth try is that it? Anyways, have you decided what you’re going to buy us for dinner tomorrow night?”

As she heard Zer’s words, Han Byul couldn’t help but smile. After the round of thirty two matches Azrael, Zer, and her had made a bet that the first of them to lose would buy dinner for the rest of the group.

“Alright, both of you know the rules. Match will last until the contestant surrenders, loses consciousness, or the panel decides the match is over. No hits on vital areas will be allowed. Contestant Zer AIur, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Contestant Han Byul, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“The match will start in five, four, three, two, one, BEGIN!”

Right as the match began, Han Byul started dashing forward. Seeing her charge, Zer couldn’t help but be astonished. Ever since they had begun sparring together, she had never attempted to move closer and had always attempted to maintain distance from him as she didn’t wield a weapon while Zer was a swordsman. Seeing Zer’s face, she smiled as she released her first spell.

Inside the stage a large amount of wind began to twirl in a clockwise direction around Zer, picking up the dirt and gravel in the nearby area. After watching Azrael and Zer’s battles, Han Byul had noticed that not only were they talented in magic and weaponry, they also use the environment to their advantage. Taking a page out of their book, she had thought of using this spell to hinder Zer’s vision while she got into position for her next attack.

In the middle of the torrent of wind, Zer could only mock himself for his current situation. He had underestimated Han Byul too much. All he could do at the moment was to wait for the winds to die down and to prepare himself for her next attack.

What greeted Zer as the wind died down were numerous condensed air the size of his fist as they rained down upon him. As he saw the countless amount of condensed air, however, Zer revealed a smirk on his face. He knew that ‘Air Bombardment’ was Han Byul’s favorite spell and had already finished his incantation to counter.

“….and protect your master from all foes who wish to harm him! Gaia’s Protection!”

The earth in Zer’s immediate vicinity began to break from the surface. Gathering around him, the earth began to mold into a dome shape that surrounded Zer, defending him from the boardment. Even though cracks appeared throughout the dome due to the sheer volume of attacks, it still held until the end, stubbornly defending Zer from all attacks.

As the bombardment finally ended, Zer rushed out and aimed to close the distance between Han Byul and him. As he closed the distance between them, however, a cold chill ran down his spine upon the sight of her evil grin.

“Wind Reaper.”

With just those two short words, a large amount of wind were compressed into long thin shape in a crescent design flew toward Zer. Even though he was in a tough spot right now, he couldn’t help but approve of Han Byul’s development.

‘She really has improved a lot. She isn’t just focusing on using her strongest spells to overpower her enemy but instead using spells to guide her opponent just where she wants them to land the final blow.’

As the battle had been going just as she planned, Han Byul couldn’t help but to believe the match was hers to win. As the distance between was only fifteen yards, she didn’t think there was any way for Zer to avoid this attack. That confidence, however, led to her defeat.

“... and give me the strength to defeat a thousand foes! Steel Break!”

With the end of the incantation, Zer’s body began to be surrounded by a silvery aura as for a time that didn’t even last over one second he performed an inhumane feat. For one second, Zer’s body moved at a speed that should not be physically possible at King Rank as he dropped to his knees and forced his upper body to bend back. With the momentum of his body changed, he was able to go underneath the scythe like wind and come back up in front of Han Byul.

“I believe this battles over Han Byul. You shouldn’t have much mana left right?”

Seeing the sword that was extended at her, Han Byul couldn’t help admit defeat.

“I surrender.”

At Han Byul’s surrender, the crowd exploded into a frenzy while the commentators animatedly began to analyze what had just happened. Han Byul and Zer, however, did not exit the stage but remained at the middle as they continued to look towards each other.

“Haa…. Once again I lost huh? Anyways when did you become Emperor Rank in the steel element?”

”Just last week actually. I had been planning on hiding “Steel Break” until the finals against Azrael as a trump card but who would have known that you would have forced me to use it.”

As Han Byul saw Zer shrug his shoulders with a helpless expression, she couldnt help but feel a little triumpant. For the very first time she had forced Zer to go all out. Even though she would have to wait another day to defeat him, for now she would feel content with this result.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the finals will commence in three hours to determine the winner.”

With the announcement echoing through the arena, Han Byul and Zer exited the stage and awaited the final. The road to the finals had finally reached it's end.