The match siren faded, replaced by a tense silence. However, what followed wasn't a mad dash towards the thrones or an all-out assault. The eighty contestants, divided into sixteen groups, locked eyes from a distance.
The atmosphere was like two packs of predators sizing each other up before a fight. No one wanted to make the first move, to be the one who exposed a weakness.
Then, from the ranks of an academy positioned closer to the edge, one group stepped forward into the center of the arena. Their uniforms were leaf-green with a creeping vine emblem. Echelon Academy. Their leader, Ivy Silgrace, stepped out ahead. The girl with neatly braided green hair raised her hand, and her clear, determined voice echoed within the dome.
"All of you! Listen to me!" she shouted, her emerald-green eyes sweeping over all the contestants from non-major academies.
