The wind inside the mountain arena was still, the air dry and charged with faint magical tension. In the center of the battlefield, two girls stood face to face—one in a flowing purple uniform trimmed with silver, the other in deep navy, her hair short and eyes cold.
Selene von Iskandar barely moved.
Her opponent from Luceria Grand Academy summoned a wall of purple light and rushed forward with a long spear.
Selene raised the wand in her left hand. "Frostfall Requiem."
A wave of cold swept across the field in an instant, forming jagged spears of ice beneath her feet. The temperature plummeted. The crowd gasped.
The girl from Luceria didn't even get close.
She froze mid-lunge, her armor coated in white frost. The protection sigil on her arm flared blue—activating just before the wall of ice would've pierced her.
"Victory—Selene von Iskandar!" the announcer declared.
Noel sat back in his seat and exhaled softly.
