To be honest, Roy never intended to have a climactic showdown with his own familiar.
Although he was confident that Okita and Stella would make it to the finals, he initially assumed the final match would be a fierce battle between himself and Stella. Before that, he just needed to put on a show to eliminate Okita.
But who could have predicted that Stella would actively confront him instead, leaving Okita to eliminate Claudia?
And just like that, the situation had spiraled into this—him facing off against his own familiar!
Not to mention, this was the same familiar he had been manipulating to victory all along.
Among everyone present, he was the only one who knew the truth. Everyone else was completely in the dark. Wasn't that just hilariously absurd?
Roy struggled to suppress the corners of his lips, forcing himself not to burst out laughing.
He raised his sword, pointing it solemnly at Okita.
"You're strong. I won't hold back!"
Okita lifted her blade in response, equally wary.
"Bring it on!"
With a sharp clang, their glowing blade and katana collided.
The fierce clash of steel rang out as they exchanged blows.
To those who couldn't see through the details, the two seemed evenly matched—sparks flying, each teetering between crisis and dominance, locked in an intense battle.
In the special viewing room of Jie Long, Fan Xinglou had watched Roy and Stella's match with rapt attention. But when Roy and Okita's final match began, she suddenly lost interest.
"This old lady is leaving."
Despite the heated battle on stage, Fan Xinglou rose from the sofa, yawning lazily.
"Master, you're leaving already?"
Zhao Hufeng snapped out of his focus on the match, looking at Fan Xinglou in surprise.
"But it's just reaching the climax now..."
Li Shenhua's emotions fluctuated wildly as she watched the finals below—Roy teetering between peril and advantage at every turn. It was the most critical moment, yet her eyes lingered on the stage outside the window, reluctant to miss the conclusion.
Li Shenyun was equally tense, muttering under his breath, "Okita Souji, win!" and "Roy, lose!" while forming some kind of hand seal. Zhao Hufeng glanced at him, half-wondering if he was trying to cast a curse.
"Watch if you want. This old lady already knows the outcome. The interesting part is over—what's left is just dull."
Without waiting for her disciples to respond, Fan Xinglou vanished from the viewing room.
Just before leaving, however, her gaze briefly settled on the red-haired girl standing in the corner of the stage.
"She's another uncut gem... even more exceptional than I imagined. If only I could train her myself! But there's something odd about her... Roy seems to know something..."
Meanwhile, on the stage—
"Incredible! Truly incredible! I've never met a swordsman as skilled as you!"
Roy continued to shower Okita with exaggerated praise as they fought.
Come to think of it, could the audience outside really not hear what they were saying? Was all this acting even necessary? And was he maybe overdoing it a bit?
"Against an opponent like you, drawing this sword is only fitting!"
Whatever. He'd keep up the act!
First, he had to hype up his familiar's prestige!
Roy leaped back in a single bound, retracting the Orga Lux in his hand and drawing a pure white Initiator from another sheath at his waist. He channeled his prana into the red Mana Crystal.
In an instant, the Initiator erupted with crimson light as a pure white blade unfolded, wreathed in black infernal flames that instantly raised the surrounding temperature by at least ten degrees.
"That is...!"
Okita's voice trembled with shock.
"The Sword of the Black Furnace! It's actually the Sword of the Black Furnace! Contestant Roy has revealed an Orga Lux at this critical moment—unbelievable! He's been hiding it all the way until the finals!"
The commentator's voice skyrocketed eight octaves higher in excitement.
The audience erupted into chaos, every spectator stunned by Roy's sudden unveiling of an Orga Lux.
Yet upon reflection, this made perfect sense. Roy had used standard Lux weapons throughout his matches until now. With his abilities, no one would dare oppose his application for a superior weapon—he should have obtained one long ago.
"This is bad!"
In Queenvail's viewing room, Sylvia's bright eyes instantly dimmed.
Stella's expression also shifted abruptly before her shoulders slumped weakly.
Meanwhile, on the Seidoukan side, Julis, Kirin, and others suddenly had fire in their eyes. Spectators who'd bet on Roy screamed in excitement.
In Saint Galahadworth's special viewing booth.
Ernest rested his hand on the white Initiator at his waist.
As its master, he could feel his Orga Lux trembling with excitement—as if celebrating an old friend's return.
"Incredible! The Sword of the Black Furnace—one of the Four Colored Magic Swords, just like Ernest's Lei-Glems! The purest of Pure-Types, and he kept it hidden until now!"
Kevin laughed heartily, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Ernest, do you think this Roy could threaten you now?"
"...You're right. I can't claim certain victory. If we fought, honestly, I couldn't predict the outcome."
Ernest patted his Lei-Glems and shook his head after careful consideration.
"Though the likelihood of me being at a disadvantage is quite high."
The Lei-Glems demanded absolute integrity and righteousness from its wielder. Since Ernest said this, he truly believed it without a trace of selfishness.
"But how strange... For two different people to share such similar swordsmanship. Does such a thing really exist?"
Ernest mused silently, finding it utterly perplexing.
Yet he kept these thoughts to himself.
Meanwhile on stage.
From the moment Roy drew the Sword of the Black Furnace, the battle became completely one-sided.
Okita dared not let her blade touch it even once—a single contact would melt it instantly. As her options dwindled, she was gradually forced into a corner until Roy delivered the final strike.
"Okita Souji—school crest broken!"
"Match concluded! Winners: Roy & Claudia Enfield!"
"Fi—finally! We finally have a winner! After an absolutely spectacular battle, the champions of this Phoenix Festa are Roy and Claudia from Seidoukan Academy!"
"What a match truly worthy of the finals! Absolutely magnificent!"
In Arlequint Academy's special viewing room, both Ernesta and Carmilla couldn't help but smile as they watched, finding themselves completely drawn into the match's intensity.
Meanwhile, in Rewolf Black Institute's special viewing room...
The red-haired, obese youth—the student council president of Rewolf, known as the "King of Brutality"—rose from the sofa with an extremely grim expression and wordlessly headed for the door.
"The Sword of the Black Furnace... It appeared after all. What a nuisance. It seems I'll have to take action..."
With the match concluded, this year's Phoenix Festa came to an end.
Roy and Claudia attended the awards ceremony as champions, receiving their trophy from Madiath Mesa, chairman of the Festa Operations Committee, on the still-intact stage of Sirius Dome.
"Your match was quite entertaining. I look forward to seeing your continued excellence in the next Festa."
Madiath smiled meaningfully at Roy as he spoke.
Over 100,000 spectators erupted in thunderous cheers. Student council presidents from various academies including Arlequint attended the ceremony, with Sylvia's appearance particularly elevating the closing ceremony's atmosphere to its peak.