As both participants went inside the arena, buzzes of tension soon followed; afterall this bout was between two powerful lineages.

The crowds of onlookers quickly filled the seats. It was as if the vigor from the bout between the daughters of Arigare and Asuna, was carried on and reignited into a fiercer blaze of excitement that day.

Most knew that Naell and Lesjon were related by blood. Not to mention, it was also a known fact that the two had already faced each other before.

In their previous match, albeit far less grandiose, the resulting draw had caused rumors of their alleged rivalry to circulate. Thus, that match was truly awaited.

"Well, hello there cousin." Said Lesjon nonchalantly upon seeing Naell.

His face was the same; callous and hard to judge, and this had amplified his calm yet piercing red eyes.

"Greetings young master."

The same could be said for Naell, who replied with an unusual tone as lingering in his voice were hints of anxiety and exhaustion.

Regardless, he was still misinterpreted to be indifferent, with his cold red eyes still immensely chilling.

The suspense only filled the air even more, as appearance-wise, the two cousins looked fairly similar.

If it weren't for their differing build and hair color, it would be hard to judge who was who.

Lesjon had an athletic build for a member of the magic knights, while the young master of Beryldot had the typical physique of a mage.

Yet in that moment, as both stood facing each other, what could only be discerned was their mana; light in color and awfully suffocating.

"Hasn't it only been months since we last fought?" Asked Lesjon with his flame already playfully circling around him.

'If only that was the last.' Naell thought while nodding.

Lesjon somehow smiled with his cousin's reaction. He then added on,

"And here we are yet again."

While their conversation took place, the onlookers, especially Andrew, were already gulping. Witnessing their first bout had really raised their expectations for the fight.

Even those who only heard of it or didn't even know the news could feel the intensity from both gentlemen.

"Perhaps this is fate's work as I don't really desire to fight that hard---"

When Lesjon said that, Naell couldn't even feel sadder. He already knew things would be taxing at best.

"Yet, I don't plan on losing today."

"..."

Naell then sighed, begrudgingly thinking how much he really hated being right.

With an unwilling gaze mistaken for coldness, he then readied himself for the battle.

"Besides, our relatives are here to evaluate." Added Lesjon with sudden hints of sympathy in his eyes.

Likewise, upon hearing him, Naell's look softened as he realized he couldn't blame Lesjon for wanting to win.

'It must be hard to be a successor of such a big noble family.' He thought, both his eyebrows furrowed in pity for his cousin. It was then when Naell gave a slight nod and said,

"I understand."

"..."

Lesjon was taken aback when he heard Naell speak, yet soon he too nodded in sympathy.

Never did he think that Naell would be okay with being evaluated by others, and he was partly glad his cousin was all up for it.

Unbeknownst to anyone within that arena, a misunderstanding had just taken place between the combatants.

"Well, I suppose we should start then---" As sudden as the clasp of Lesjon's hands, the battle of cousins began.

" [ Pyrdra ] !"

With his words, the flames that were orbiting around him became brighter, and with the raising of his arms, serpent-like heads emerged and towered over him.

It was a jaw dropping spell for onlookers, as it truly resembled Hydran, a legendary monster with gigantic water-snake-like heads.

It was also a known terrorizing creature that killed many named mages and martial artists until its dying breath.

Going back, as the flames grew fiercer by the second, it only stopped when Lesjon waved for it to halt.

For a moment, the spell's movement was serene. Although it had no rhythm as they danced like candlelight, with every head leaning towards a separate direction.

However, the sudden motion of Lesjon's hands made it all move more erratically, and in an instant, the frightening magic launched itself onto Naell.

In response to this, the young master of Beryldot casted [ Waterfall ] in the nick of time.

With a size that was almost as tall as the height of the arena, the giant mass of water began spreading upon impact with the flames.

It had managed to do the trick as the waterfall stood tall. Yet much like the creature that the flame spell resembled, its attributes were no different.

For every extinguished head of fire, more would appear in its stead. Impact upon impact, they grew in number, causing Lesjon's magic to occupy almost the entirety of the arena's center.

With Lesjon's bright flame, his magic was like an incarnation of the sun.

Meanwhile, Naell's white mana was comparable to a bottomless sea. Regardless of how many hits it received, the [ Waterfall ] was unwavering.

However, all of them were surprised when Naell decided to cast [ aerial incision ] and levitated away from his own protection.

From the name of the spell, it was able to sever the approaching heads of [ Pydra ].

Though it was an impressive spell on its own, most couldn't distract themself from how ridiculous they thought it was for Naell to leave his shield.

[ Why did he leave? ]

[ Heh, maybe he was getting hot? ]

In truth, the several onlookers who jokingly thought such, were actually right. Lesjon's flames had heated up what should have been Naell's shield.

That alone already caused Naell to decide on another move, yet another reason was because he couldn't find an opening that probed him to abandon his spell.

"..."

Naell's agility and levitation was really being tested with the many heads of [ Pydra ].

[ This actually reminds me of their first fight. ]

Said some of the fortunate ones that had seen it.

Andrew and the rest nodded, and only agreed even further when Naell quickly cast [ Snow Palace ].

Amid a summoned gathering of his mana, the rook-like complex magic formed and immediately stomped over the hydra-like flames.

"It's kind of similar... but they're displaying far more power this time around." Rinca unintentionally blurted out.

Even she felt the fight was immensely rigorous. Which was why when flames came ablaze around the snow palace, some laughed dryly.

[ Is this intentional? ]

[ What is? ]

The one who answered those who mumbled was Andrew, as he began conversing with his friends.

"Those two, they don't know it yet."

"Yeah they're---"

Note cut himself off as the fight became more and more like their first one.

"...They're unintentionally using the exact same spells."

[ Crater ]

The dying [ Pydra ] transformed into a blazing ball of fire that started penetrating through the snow palace.

Even with the form of a meteor, the spell appeared far lighter and almost translucent under the sun. Yet upon closer look, with every burst that appeared to push through a section of the tower, its surrounding areas were incredibly intense.

This made it clear that immense heat truly was emitting from his spell. The mix of cold air from the tower, and heat from the flame only made the light bend around them even more, thus causing a seemingly frenzied scene that the onlookers enjoyed.

Had Lesjon casted [ Crater ] to come from above, Naell would immediately resign from the unfairness as he thought,

'Only a caped bald man could punch a meteor to pieces.'

The massive condensed ball of flame kept fiercely pushing at the pure white tower, embedding its heat on the surface charging towards Naell.

Brute force seemed to be its driving factor as even when white mana began to rebuild the castle of snow, the flame kept blaring with no sign of stopping.

Although it seemed that it was once more a stalemate, the snow palace slowly but surely lit up, with the bright hues of [ Crater ] spreading.

Yet Naell, upon casting a multitude of complex magic altogether; [ Waterfall ] to hold the crater, [ Aerial incision ] to diminish its power and [ Snow palace ] continuing its repair, he managed to freeze it.

All of that was really impressive as the spells Naell combined were all considered advanced spells.

Even if [ Crater ] was also a complex magic, it paled in comparison to the three spells casted simultaneously.

Loud cheers from the audience filled the air. Yet some couldn't help but have a premonition of what was to come.

Before Naell could continue, the frozen spell began emitting lights.

With a thousand pulsing flames reminiscent of magma, it then transformed into a massive orb of blaze causing several explosions within its structure and decimate the spells.

[ Hey! There it is! ]

[ It's the move! ]

Yelled several, cheering from another side at the incredible display, while recognizing the powerful mana emitting from it.

Unlike before, the bystanders could admire it without any trouble as they were at a safe distance.

It then began to blare strongly and grow brighter and brighter than it previously was.

[ Stardust ]

As it began to crackle, Lesjon smirked. It had been a while since he last used the powerful incantation.

Yet his eyes wandered away from his own magic, as behind the orb of blaze was Naell and his pure white mana.

It was as if a thousand blessings of ice had been casted upon the young master of Beryldot. His mana glistened, while gracefully yet fiercely circling around him.

Both Naell's side of the arena and Lesjon's [ Stardust ] caused a blinding array of lights to grow.

The magic shields around the bleachers shook and began to ripple, making all who sat at the closest seats flinch and back away.

In an instant the blinding spheres of pure white and violent red erupted, with a sudden burst of hot wind and cold air forming in the arena.

The view to the battlefield was completely engulfed in the two rivaling colors.

Some weren't able to understand what was even happening.

It was as if the arena itself had turned into a snow globe, as floating bits of crystals, and the enormous frozen centerpiece of what was once Lesjon's flame came into view.

As the light around Naell faded, the new massive structure of ice fell to the ground, shattering into powder and disappearing into the air.

Silence imbued the arena as the scene became of momentary peace.