The meteorite that was Agratà's fist was now barely a centimeter away from Aurola's stomach.
"Autumn Bed!" exclaimed Aurola as, with cool, refined calm, she grabbed her student's arm—and then something happened that Agratà hadn't expected at all.
"What?!" exclaimed the student, utterly astonished.
Even while lying on the ground in such an awkward position, her master managed to hurl Agratà toward the ground by using the momentum of her own attack against her.
Of course, Agratà knew this technique and had thought she knew how to use it properly, but after experiencing what her master had just done firsthand, it became painfully clear that she had yet to truly master it.
This was the first time Agratà had ever seen her master's Autumn Bed used in an actual fight. That's because this was also the first time in all her matches against her master that she had managed to execute a counterattack so effectively against her, forcing her to the ground.
Autumn Bed is a technique with roughly the same purpose as Falling Leaf—namely, redirecting an opponent's physical attack by taking advantage of its existing momentum. However, it is specifically used when the practitioner is lying on the ground, since Falling Leaf cannot properly be executed from such a position.
Precisely because it must be performed from such a disadvantageous position, however, it is far more difficult to learn and is generally considered an inferior version of Falling Leaf. The technique is capable of redirecting an opponent's attack—to either the right or left side of the user's body— but without inflicting practically any damage upon the attacker. In practice, it is a defensive technique designed primarily to give its user enough time to get back on their feet if, for whatever reason, they find themselves "defenseless" while lying on the ground.
Or at least, that was what Agratà had believed until now.
It was clear that her master was capable of turning Autumn Bed into a technique possessing counterattack potential comparable to Falling Leaf. If Agratà had to theorize why Aurola was capable of accomplishing something like that, then aside from her many years of experience, the answer was most likely her incredible physical strength—a level of strength that very few people in the entire kingdom were even capable of approaching.
Agratà was therefore about to be slammed violently into the ground, but this time, the surprise didn't slow her reactions enough to prevent her from casting a spell to protect herself.
"Rock Armor: Full!!" the Minister of Agriculture shouted just before her body collided with the ground, at which point an enormous quantity of rock rapidly spread across her entire body.
Then Agratà crashed into the ground, creating a fairly deep crater beneath herself.
However, both because of the protective rocks now covering her body and because—even when performed by a master of the Falling Leaf from the Tree style—the Autumn Bed technique remained inferior to "Falling Leaf" when it came to turning an opponent's own force against them, the damage Agratà sustained wasn't particularly severe.
But that certainly didn't mean the attack had been harmless…
Agratà immediately did her best to rise to her feet, but the instant she tried, a considerable amount of blood spurted from her mouth.
"As usual, you're fantastic, Master Aurola…" said the cheerful elf, a radiant smile still spread across her face and an immense, unshakable determination shining brightly within her eyes.
She wiped the blood from her mouth before encouraging herself aloud,
"But I can't lose!!"
Aurola took advantage of that brief moment to return to her feet.
At practically the same time, Agratà leaped out of the crater.
The armor created by her spell consisted of smooth, polished layers of rock, giving it a surprisingly light and practical appearance despite covering nearly her entire body. The only exposed portion was a narrow visor through which Agratà's determined eyes could still be glimpsed.
She immediately took a couple of quick leaps backward, putting several meters of distance between herself and her master.
And with that, the battle between the two living statues resumed.
Both elves came to a complete standstill once again, their bodies motionless as they began observing one another with the same extreme attention and almost suffocating concentration as before…
But this time, their stillness lasted nowhere near as long.
Without warning, Agratà suddenly raised both arms and pointed her tightly clenched fists directly toward her master.
Aurola's eyes widened ever so slightly in confusion.
"I'm sorry, Master Aurola. I would have preferred for this to remain a pure martial arts match, but I can't afford to lose this encounter… I absolutely MUST lift that burden from your shoulders!!!!" declared the usually cheerful elf, evident sadness now coloring her voice.
Aurola said nothing.
She simply nodded and continued staring at Agratà with a solemn gaze. She knew full well that the style her student was about to use was one she would never employ against another practitioner of the Falling Leaf style. This was Agratà's way of telling her that she was completely serious—that she would use everything in her power to take the title of master away from her master.
'Agratà, have you always wanted—so desperately—to become the master of the Leaf Falling from the Tree style? Am I really so stupid that I didn't notice it until recently? …But I'm sorry, Agratà. I still haven't done enough. I can't give up this position just yet!!! So come at me with everything you've got—I'll face it all, and I'll overcome that too!!!'
These were the questions and convictions echoing through the mind of the Minister of Education.
Agratà's fans, which meant the majority of the audience, were shocked to hear such sadness in their idol's voice. She was always positive, always cheerful, and always kept a smile on her face, regardless of the situation.
Some of her more seasoned fans had already noticed something unusual about the Minister of Agriculture's behavior from the moment she entered the arena. Now, with the addition of this uncharacteristically melancholic tone, concern was steadily growing within their hearts…
BUT!!!!!
Even more obvious than her sadness was their idol's overwhelming determination!
So if they didn't support her now, at a moment when she was clearly putting everything she had into this match, how could they ever call themselves true fans again?!!!!!
"AGRATÀ! AGRATÀ! AGRATÀ! AGRATÀ! AGRATÀ! AGRATÀ! AGRATÀ! AGRATÀ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Thunderous shouts of encouragement for the Minister of Agriculture erupted throughout the stands.
"Double Cannon Rock: Stones Stream!!!!" Agratà exclaimed.
Above the stone armor protecting her wrists, two small cannons—also made entirely of rock—immediately formed.
A heartbeat later, a hail of bullet-sized stones erupted from both barrels. Despite their relatively small size, every projectile flew toward Aurola at a speed at least a hundred times greater than the speed of sound.
Rocks traveling at such ridiculous speeds—even relatively small ones—could easily prove lethal if they struck the right parts of the body.
And Aurola knew her student's accuracy all too well.
After all, back when Aurola had sent Agratà to Frassino Academy to determine whether she might be interested in pursuing magic more seriously, the young elf had earned two different nicknames.
The first came from her personality—which, even back then, naturally drew people toward her—and was "The Sun of the Academy."
The second, however, came purely from her magical abilities:
"The Indestructible Sniper."
The moment Agratà activated her full stone armor, it became practically impossible for any ordinary student at the academy to leave so much as a scratch on her. Moreover, regardless of what her opponents attempted—whether they tried to distract her, hide from her, or evade her attacks—Agratà's shots almost always struck their intended targets.
'Of course, she practically never uses spells like these in the dojo. But considering how hardworking and energetic this girl has always been, I doubt she stopped training them even after graduating from the academy… A considerable difference from the person I used to be,' Aurola thought as a small, proud smile formed on her face.
But that smile vanished almost immediately, replaced by an expression of absolute concentration.
'But I'm sorry, Agratà. I still can't allow you to carry that burden… I haven't done enough yet!'
The master of the Falling Leaf Style reaffirmed that vow within her heart.
The stone projectiles reached her in less than an instant. Yet with absolute calm and seemingly effortless precision, Aurola began deflecting them one after another.
Not a single projectile managed to touch any part of her body except the hands she deliberately used to redirect them. Her hands moved even faster than the projectiles themselves.
"Leaf Sweeper," Aurola said in a calm, cold voice as she continued deflecting every single projectile that otherwise would have struck her.
"Leaf Sweeper" is the primary technique used by practitioners of the Falling-Leaf Style to defend themselves against tangible ranged attacks. In practice, the user employs a specific movement to strike an incoming projectile with the palms of their hands, in such a way that their hands suffer no damage at all, even if the projectile itself is extremely sharp or scorching hot, thereby deflecting it just enough to prevent it from reaching the practitioner's body. However, for this technique to work, the practitioner must be capable of moving their hands faster than the speed at which the incoming object is traveling.
Obviously, this technique cannot deflect every possible type of projectile.
Non-solid attacks such as electricity, fire, and water generally cannot be deflected, although objects composed of water can still be stopped if they are small enough. In that particular case, however, it becomes more of a complete block than an actual deflection.
Furthermore, objects that are simply too large become extremely difficult to redirect. The larger the object one attempts to deflect, the greater the level of mastery required—and eventually, even sheer physical strength becomes an important factor. This is precisely why Minister Aurola, with her extraordinary mastery and strength, was capable of using this technique to deflect projectiles even larger than her own body.
Finally, there was one last significant weakness to "Leaf Sweeper": the necessary hand movements were poorly suited to deflecting objects descending directly from above.
Agratà's relentless barrage of stones continued for another full minute, yet not a single projectile managed to strike her opponent.
Every single stone, which, without Aurola's intervention, would undoubtedly have struck its intended target, was flawlessly deflected by the Minister of Education.
This was undoubtedly an incredible display of skill, but the Minister of Agriculture wasn't particularly concerned. After all, she had expected from the beginning that none of those projectiles would actually manage to hit her master.
In any case, striking Aurola had never been the primary objective of that relentless barrage.
The true purpose was to exhaust her as much as possible.
One of the few areas in which Agratà was undoubtedly superior to her master was stamina, both physical stamina and magical endurance. Her body had always adapted exceptionally well to long, strenuous activities, especially farming, something she had genuinely enjoyed doing since she was young. For Agratà to even begin breaking a sweat, she practically needed to spend an entire day laboring beneath the scorching sun in the fields.
On top of that, she had always possessed an enormous reserve of mana. That was precisely why Aurola had once enrolled her at Frassino Academy—to discover whether pursuing the path of magic might be something that interested her.
Even so, Agratà had always preferred both the dojo and farming.
Therefore, the longer the match continued and the more intense the battle became, the greater Agratà's advantage would become.
And then the Minister of Agriculture saw it.
A single drop of sweat trickled down her master's forehead.
Aurola was slowly but steadily managing to close the distance between them while continuing to deflect every projectile Agratà fired, even as Agratà herself continued retreating to maintain the distance between them.
But that single drop of sweat was enough.
The time to act had finally come!
Agratà abruptly stopped her barrage of stones before raising both hands high above her head and clasping them tightly together.
Aurola immediately recognized the spell her student was preparing to cast.
"Meteor Shower!!!" Agratà shouted.
The two cannons surrounding her wrists immediately shifted upward onto the backs of her hands.
Then they merged together.
The result was a single, considerably larger cannon, at least half a meter long, with a circumference of approximately twenty-five centimeters.
From its massive muzzle, a large rock—barely small enough to fit through the opening—was violently launched straight toward the sky.
If it continued traveling along that trajectory, it would soon collide with the arena's invisible protective dome, the barrier designed to protect the spectators from attacks during the tournament, rendering Agratà's entire spell useless…
But just before reaching the barrier, the rock suddenly stopped.
Instead of falling back toward the arena, it remained suspended motionlessly in midair. Immediately afterward, the floating rock began glowing with a reddish light. And then it grew. It expanded until it became several times larger than an ordinary person. At that point, calling it a mere rock was no longer appropriate.
It was now unmistakably a massive boulder.
And the instant that enormous boulder reached its maximum size, rocks as large as human beings suddenly began falling from it at tremendous speed toward the arena below…
A meteor shower had just begun!