After the match was over, the cheers lasted for a while, rolling through the stands in waves. In the upper stands, the noble sections buzzed with quiet whispers and people in shock at the result of the battle.
"That was a close match…" a noble student said, leaning back in his seat. "If that blink went wrong they would've lost."
"Yeah… it was probably just luck," another said in agreement.
Another group nearby laughed.
"House Nox?" someone scoffed, "Forgot they were even a noble house still."
Most of the attention from the battle went to Corin Zenon. It was difficult for him to not get noticed. He was from one of the three great houses and his skill was a spectacle to watch. His immense speed deserved recognition, especially when it ended with him collapsing at his base after retrieving the enemy banner.
Very few people mentioned Lucien at all it was like he wasn't even there.
High above the viewing section's floor, Lucien's father stood with his hands resting lightly on the railing, his gaze still fixed on the field below.
After the winning announcement was made, he felt the tension easing from his chest. He had a subtle proud look on his face, he needed his son to perform well and he did just that.
Nearby, the princess leaned against the railing, her elbows resting comfortably as she watched the officials clear the field up for the next match. Her expression wasn't animated like those around her, she looked deep in thought.
"That match was quite messy," she said casually to her father, eyes still forward.
The king gave a quiet hum of approval to her words.
"The Zenon kid seemed quite reckless with his skill toward the end."
Her father glanced at her briefly, acknowledging her words as the truth, before letting out a subtle nod.
The contestant resting area beneath the arena was quieter than the stands above, the walls dampening the sound of the distant roars.
Lucien spotted Corin being carried between two attendants, his hands were empty but his fingers were still twitching as if trying to grab something that was no longer there.
Faye followed close behind him with a worried expression, the medics told her to wait while they heal him at the academy infirmary instead.
Alya walked slowly, her feet moving at an uneven pace. She kept one hand resting along the railing as she walked, her face still pale from over-using her skill so many times.
They reached the assigned resting room shortly after.
Corin was lowered onto a special bed that was placed against a wall, medics sitting on a stool next to him as they performed some type of healing skill. Their hands glowed softly in a pure yellow light.
Lucien noticed it was different from Faye's healing skill, this was more advanced.
Corin's wounds healed quickly, the hole from where the arrow had penetrated his knee regenerated the lost skin.
"He'll be out for a bit." The medic said quietly to the team while they stepped back and left the room.
Alya and Faye sank down onto the couch opposite the bed. Alya's body slumped the moment it touched the soft furniture, her eyes closing slightly before opening again.
"You can sleep," Lucien said quietly, "You need the rest."
Alya glanced at him, her eyes filled with sleep, as she nodded once. She rested her head on the corner of the couch then dozed off.
Faye exhaled slowly, leaning back on the couch as she watched Corin's unconscious form on the bed close by.
"Is he going to be okay?" she asked nervously.
Lucien nodded at her briefly, "He'll be fine."
The room quickly settled into silence, sound from outside the room and further in the arena stands could still be heard but not as much as before. No one spoke for a while, the urgency and adrenaline that was present less than 10 minutes ago had drained away, leaving only fatigue.
Lucien looked around the room, his eyes glancing at each one of his team. Corin unconscious but breathing steadily, Alya still pale and exhausted mid-sleep and Faye with that same worried look in her eyes that she had when he met her.
Lucien let out a small exhale.
They had won yet the cost was great.
His whole team was exhausted after the first match.
This isn't the kind of victory they could just repeat carelessly.
Lucien stayed in the room until he was certain there was nothing more to be done. Faye had drifted off to sleep beside Alya and he had nothing left to do for a while.
He left the room quietly, closing the door behind him with more care than necessary to try not wake anyone up. The corridor outside felt emptier than before, the traffic of people had shifted elsewhere.
He followed the growing sound from outside the resting area toward the arena. The noise grew louder as he moved closer, the sound was clearly cheers of excitement.
Lucien walked out into the balcony, not next to the stands but close enough to see what was happening on the battlefield below.
Another match was already in motion.
Regis Valmont stood at the center of his formation, his arms loose at the sides and his posture relaxed. He wasn't even looking at the opposing team, his expression bored as if they were an inconvenience.
They didn't matter to him.
The horn to signal the start of the match rang out.
Regis didn't move.
His team surged forward without thinking, their boots pounding against grass as they crossed the field in an aggressive formation. The opposing team reacted instantly, scattering into a formation of their own.
Regis watched the opposing team move forward with an irritated look across his face.
"Don't waste time!" he shouted. "Break them."
The first to act was the largest of his teammates, a big muscular student that looked old enough to be a middle aged man.
He drove his heels into the ground, the impact causing a violent thud through the battlefield as cracks opened in the ground. The impact created a loud boom as the ground split open sporadically causing their opponents to stumble against the changing terrain.
The crowd roared intensely.
He did it again, lifting his foot and stomping against the ground one more time.
Regis clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Stop shaking the field," he snapped at his own team mate. "You're messing up my angle."
Another one of Regis' team members moved forward holding a lighter.
She snapped open the lighter with a flick of her thumb, a small flame moving against the metal.
Her grin widened as the fire stretched out, responding to her will completely. She hurled it forward, the flame compressing as it split off into two separate projectiles before exploding in a large burst that forced the opposing team to scatter.
Cheers followed immediately, even louder this time.
She laughed, spinning the lighter around in her fingers as another flame blossomed. "That one was clean haha."
"Don't get cocky." Regis cut in sharply.
Her smile turned into irritation as she threw another flame, harder this time. The fire tore through the air in a blazing inferno that hit one of the opposing teams members directly. The opposing members' shield shattered instantly as the fire created a wall around the whole opposing team, separating them.
Regis frowned hearing the increased roars from the crowd, becoming more and more irritated that his team was stealing the spotlight from him.
"Move," he said firmly.
His third teammate was already running, once he started moving he couldn't slow. His stride lengthened in an unnatural way, his speed increasing as the ground beneath him tore apart under his boots.
Wind howled around his body from the pressure as he became a living projectile, a straight line of destruction aimed directly at the enemy.
Someone tried to dodge but they misjudged the timing.
BANGGGGG
Stone and dirt exploded upward as the impact threw one of the enemies flying across the field, unconscious as they laid in the dirt. The shockwave flattened everything nearby, tearing trees in half just from the aftermath.
Regis shook his head then stepped forward at last. The dust from the previous impact parted as he walked through it, his presence alone making the opposing team feel fear. His frame looked bigger than before, the air around him denser as his body began to emit a crimson light.
He caught sight of one of the opponents scrambling to their feet, his body swung heavily and struck them instantly without a second thought. The blow sent them crashing back into the ground, the impact leaving the opponent trapped in a small crater.
Another lunged directly toward him, he didn't even bother dodging. He took the hit, barely flinching. He punched them in the gut, causing them to scream out in agony as their body lifted into the air and landed back on the ground.
His teammates continued the attack, in the same aggressive formation but Regis' patience thinned with each second.
"Get out of the way!" he snapped to his team again as a shockwave came too close.
"Stop burning the field," he barked as the heat in the arena kept rising.
They obeyed instantly, adjusting their formation and letting Regis take over. It didn't matter how they felt, they couldn't do anything about it, he was their captain after all.
The longer the fight dragged on, the stronger Regis got. His strikes became heavier, carrying more weight than the one before. He didn't even bother grabbing the opponents banner, he just punched and beat them until they surrendered.
The horn sounded at last.
"Victory to Team Valmont"
The crowd erupted into unified applause, chants and cheers echoing through every stand as Regis walked off arrogantly, his teammates following behind.
From the balcony above, Lucien watched in silence.
The battlefield below was wrecked. Multiple trees split in half, the ground torn open, craters spread out across the field.
When he finally turned away, the calm on his face was gone.