Chapter 37: Rise of the Phoenix
The battlefield of Ignion Ruins trembled under the might of magic unleashed.
The Arcane Academy students—empowered by Lina's Elysium's Urōnia—now turned the tide of the war.
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Drake & Hibiki vs Luis
Luis roared through the battlefield, his twin blade aura slashing wind and ice alike.
> Luis: "You think a little enchantment will slow me down?! I'll carve my name into history!"
But Drake and Hibiki stood tall, side by side.
> Hibiki (grinning): "Let's freeze this maniac, shall we?"
> Drake (calm and focused): "Hibiki… time to end this."
Hibiki conjured a massive wind vortex around Luis, pinning him in place like a storm cage.
> Luis: "You think this can stop me?!"
Drake raised his hands, snowflakes forming in the air.
> Drake (coolly): "When wind and ice align, even chaos finds silence."
He clenched his fists.
> Drake: "Absolute Ice Prison!"
The wind vortex flash-froze into an icy cyclone—Luis was sealed in a crystalline tomb, his expression frozen in time.
> Drake (to the others): "Victory isn't born from rage. It's born when hearts burn brighter than fear."
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Raelyn, Clod & Akito vs Dekka
Dekka fired wave after wave of molten magma, shaking the battlefield.
> Dekka: "You'll drown in lava before touching me!"
Raelyn closed his eyes. A sun sigil formed behind his.
Clod opened a rift with spatial magic, warping the heat.
Akito tossed three cards glowing crimson.
> Akito: "Triple Stack – Sun Channel Boost!"
> Raelyn: "Solar Amarius… Full Discharge!"
A massive solar cannon formed in the sky, powered by Clod's spatial crossover and Akito's card combo.
> Raelyn (determined): "For the academy… for Show!"
The beam struck Dekka—melting his armor, breaking the ground, and ending his rampage.
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Lyra, Karen & Lily vs Likara
Likara's illusions twisted the landscape, creating copies and fearsome phantoms.
> Likara: "You'll lose your minds before reaching me!"
But Lyra stepped forward, her vines glimmering with gold.
> Lyra: "Your lies don't scare me anymore."
She snapped her fingers—Holy Briarfield.
The vines sliced through illusions, anchoring reality.
Karen moved in with Attraction Magic—pulling Likara's real body toward them.
> Karen: "You're charming, but I'm irresistible!"
Then Lily released her Blooming Shock spell—exploding flowers of light.
> Lily: "Time to blossom!"
The explosion consumed Likara in a burst of beauty and power—ending her illusions permanently.
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Cyrus & Presto vs Scones
Scones bent the earth, transmuting rocks into deadly spikes.
> Scones: "You can't hit what's always changing!"
Cyrus slammed his hand into the earth—charging it with raw energy.
> Cyrus: "Then I'll change the battlefield!"
The entire terrain began to crackle and glow.
Presto, grinning, channeled the energy into a massive thunderball.
> Presto: "Let's light this up!"
> Cyrus: "Thunder Crasher – Do it now!"
> Presto: "BOLT OVERDRIVE: CRASHER CANNON!!"
The combined move turned the arena into a thunderstorm, blasting Scones off his feet, crashing into the stone wall—knocked out cold.
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Veil vs Brody
Veil and Brody's shadows danced in deadly silence.
Brody grinned, weaving in and out like smoke.
> Brody: "You're good, but my shadows—are faster!"
Veil's cloak billowed. He narrowed his eyes.
> Veil: "But mine… are deeper."
He lunged forward. Shadow vs Shadow—they collided with cloaked fists and shadow blades.
Brody swung his Shadow Fang, but Veil vanished—reappearing above.
> Veil: "Shadow Strike: Phantom Rift!"
Veil's strike tore Brody's aura apart—slamming him into a wall, his own shadows devouring him before fading out.
> Veil (calmly): "The darker the shadow, the brighter the flame that defeats it."
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Criss vs Arconis
Arconis charged with armored fists and Stone Shieldons.
> Arconis: "You can't break the unbreakable!"
Criss stood, fists trembling.
> Criss: "No wall stands forever."
He slammed the ground with both fists.
> Criss: "FULL BOULDER: STONE GEISER!!"
An eruption of stone pillars blasted from the ground, lifting Arconis into the air before slamming him back down, crushed by his own defenses.
> Criss: "Break the earth if it blocks your path."
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All of Team Gamaron Defeated
They stood victorious.
Every member of Team Gamaron—defeated.
But—
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The Crystal's Reaction
Suddenly, the entire ruins shook.
A blinding flash burst from the inner chamber.
Everyone turned.
> Raelyn (terrified): "That… that power… it's Show!"
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Inside the Chamber
Byron was horrified. The crystal, instead of absorbing Show's energy, was overloaded.
> Byron (desperate): "What the hell is this…?!"
Show's pendant glowed, rejecting the energy drain.
The crystal cracked—then shattered.
A massive explosion of flames burned through the chamber, sending Byron flying.
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Show's Inner Void
In the aftermath, Show found himself in a blinding white space, floating.
All around him—flames. Endless, golden flames.
He heard a voice—faint, ancient, gentle:
> Voice: "The fire you hold… is more than power. It is memory. Legacy."
Show floated, his eyes glowing orange-red, as fragments of something started to piece together around him.
A silhouette appeared in the distance—two, maybe three figures—unseen, unclear.
> Show (softly): "…Who… am I?"
The fire around him burned brighter.
Something deep within him had begun to awaken.
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To Be Continued...