"Um… Elise Holiness? Sylvia Lyyneheym? The match has already started, you know? Are you two going to begin anytime soon?"
The announcer's slightly awkward voice snapped the two back to attention.
"You're right! It's time to fight!" Sylvia summoned her Lux, Folkvangr. "Just so you know, I won't go easy on you just because we're friends!"
"Perfect! I've been looking forward to facing you, Sylvia!"
"Alright then, Ely! Let's begin!"
The two took battle stances and moved at the same time. Elise advanced—Sylvia retreated.
"Close combat isn't my strong suit against Ely!"
Sylvia had been friends with Elise for many years. She knew just how powerful Elise truly was. And after Elise's last match went viral, Sylvia had watched that footage closely.
Those evasive maneuvers… they were on a level no ordinary martial artist could hope to reach. Sylvia couldn't replicate them, and she probably never would.
That alone showed how deep Elise's martial foundations ran. Sylvia had no chance in a direct clash.
"Long-range isn't ideal either."
As for ranged attacks—hadn't everyone seen Elise's Final Radiance?
It looked overwhelmingly powerful. It hadn't caused any damage, but Sylvia didn't believe it was weak. She suspected Elise had deliberately held back its power.
She even remembered Elise once mentioning, "To avoid hurting anyone, I reduce the strength of my attacks."
If Sylvia wanted to win, she would need to catch her off guard!
Sylvia's ability was versatile—except for healing, she could do just about anything. Her voice was the medium, and with it, she could unleash almost any effect.
But because of that, the limitations were also steep. Each song could only produce a single effect, and it had to be a song Sylvia had written and composed herself.
The more complex and powerful the effect, the more Prana it consumed. So Sylvia had to coordinate her abilities efficiently to get the most out of them.
With her singing, Prana began swirling around her. The Strega's power activated instantly.
First—quantity!
"Rise, O knights! For the Queen!"
A rousing battle anthem echoed across the arena. Prana converged and formed into shimmering armored knights—more than fifty of them—each wielding a sword and shield like a proper knightly order.
Next—perception!
"Mist, descend! Starflake Veil!"
An ethereal melody rang out. A faint mist covered the battlefield. It didn't interfere much with the broadcast cameras, but for Elise—already blindfolded—it would have made no difference.
But this was different!
The flow of Prana in the air had become erratic. For most Genestella, this would have been equivalent to completely cutting off their sensory perception.
And finally—herself!
"Neither of this world, nor of shadow and light."
A hushed, indistinct line accompanied Sylvia's vanishing figure. Within the fog, her presence became vague and flickering. Tracking her exact location would now take significant effort.
Triggering three distinctly different abilities back-to-back was a bit of a strain for Sylvia. But her opponent was Elise—no amount of caution was excessive.
"It is getting a little harder to track her," Elise muttered.
She tried sensing Sylvia through Prana—but only picked up faint traces, moving rapidly.
"As expected of Sylvia! She found a countermeasure so quickly!" Elise praised her friend, then turned to the shimmering knights ahead.
"Well then… I suppose I'll have to deal with you all first, won't I?"
Countless knights formed from Prana had already surrounded Elise, charging in from all directions.
Their coordination was flawless. If Elise hadn't activated her Ultra Instinct: Prelud, she likely would've already been struck by dozens of attacks.
As for Sylvia herself… she was probably hiding among the knights, looking for a chance to ambush Elise.
She does know me pretty well…
"Then I'll just clear out all these knights first!"
Elise leapt into the air and brought her hands together. Prana gathered at her palms—just like in her match against Feardorcha. She was clearly preparing another massive shockwave.
"Go—I.X… Mizunagi!"
A wave of light surged downward toward the knights. But just before impact, several energy blasts struck the side of the beam, diverting its path.
BOOM—
The explosion echoed across the arena—but the knights remained completely unaffected.
Looks like Sylvia anticipated this.
In that case… I'll use your own methods against you, Sylvia!
Elise landed and dashed straight into the cluster of knights, switching to close-quarters combat—playing right into Sylvia's plan.
Just as expected, Elise's martial arts and movement were absurdly refined. Even surrounded by fifty knights, she avoided every strike while dealing devastating blows in return.
The crowd was absolutely enthralled. Elise's punches and kicks carried a striking, elegant rhythm—beautiful and powerful all at once.
Finally, at a certain moment, Elise defeated another knight—and exposed a brief opening.
"O stars above, gather unto me!"
A stirring song erupted. Sylvia, hidden until now, finally revealed herself. From Elise's left, she struck with her Lux in sword form—going all out!
Just as Elise turned to meet her—
Another identical Sylvia appeared behind her!
A pincer attack?
No!
The song changed completely. A new melody enveloped the field, and dozens of Sylvias suddenly appeared all around Elise!
They had only one target:
Elise's school crest!
Victory could be decided in three ways: surrender, unconsciousness… or a shattered crest!
"Hah!"
With a sharp shout, Elise crouched low. A massive semicircle of force erupted around her, spinning at astonishing speed and repelling all incoming attacks!
Sacred Speech!
"Return to Sky!"
"Now then, Sylvia… what other tricks do you have left?"
Feeling the dissipating illusions around her, Elise focused on one particular Sylvia who remained crouched and unmoving. She advanced toward her.
"Huff… huff…"
Sylvia was panting on the ground, clearly exhausted. Her Prana reserves were heavily depleted—she was in a tough spot now.
But then—
"Hehe!"
With a sudden grin, Sylvia declared, "In that case… I win, Ely!"
A sudden twist—
The ground split open, and a figure shot up from beneath, aiming straight for Elise's chest!
Its target—her school crest!