The fog covering the tournament arena slowly began to dissipate. Within the gradually dissipating fog, a shadowy figure appeared lying on the floor. When the fog had completely cleared, it was clear who was lying there. It was Irene, covered in blood and slashes. The ice rapiers surrounding her had all shattered and fallen to the arena floor as shards of ice. The audience was shocked.

  -

  In the participant waiting room.

  "That was a truly deadly attack," I said.

  "You saw it, Rid? You have good eyesight, even though Gretta's attack occurred within the thick fog," said Senior Vyn.

  "Yes, I saw Senior Gretta slash Irene with her sword, and at the same time, the mist surrounding Irene also slashed at her. That's why Irene suffered so many slashes," I said.

  "Yes, you could say that's one of Gretta's strongest techniques. She rarely uses her sword or that technique. When competing against someone, she prefers to use her mana-enhanced leg attacks to attack and uses her clones made of mist magic to trick or assist them. Although she can't create more than three clones, even one of her clones is enough to be a nuisance, possessing power comparable to her true form."

  "But seeing as she chose to use one of her strongest techniques, it seems she considers Irene a formidable opponent," said Senior Vyn.

  "I see," I said.

  I looked back at the projection, which showed Irene still lying on the arena floor.

  "Irene..." I thought.

  -

  Back to the arena.

  Senior Gretta put her sword back at her waist and looked down at the lying Irene.

  "See, I just used this technique and you fell straight away. If I'd used this technique from the start, you would have fallen quickly, and that would have been embarrassing for you,"

  "I was forced to use this technique because I knew that kicks, clones, and ~Stealth Magic~ alone weren't enough to defeat you. I apologize for causing you such serious injuries, Irene. Well, it seems you can't hear me right now, so I'll apologize again later," said Senior Gretta.

  This time Senior Gretta looked away, turning her back to Irene. Then Miss Nora immediately announced the result of the match.

  "The semifinal match of the womens academy tournament between Grett-"

  Before Miss Nora could continue, the entire arena floor suddenly froze in ice.

  "What?!?!!" said Senior Gretta, looking shocked.

  Then Senior Gretta turned around, and Irene suddenly woke up and darted towards her.

  ~Freezing Air Slash~

  Irene immediately launched her attack at Senior Gretta. Senior Gretta blocked the attack with her foot. Irene's rapier and senior Gretta's leg clashed again.

  "How can you get back up, Irene? With injuries that severe, you should have already fallen," senior Gretta ?said.

  "Because... I... was... determined... to... win... this... match... so... an injury... like... this... is... nothing...," Irene stammered.

  The contest between them seemed evenly matched, but senior Gretta's leg, which was used to block Irene's attack, slowly began to freeze.

  "Ughhh," senior Gretta looked in pain.

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  Irene increased her strength, so senior Gretta was dominated by Irene's strength. However, just as senior Gretta was about to lose the contest, Irene suddenly fell face down to the arena floor. Irene immediately lost consciousness.

  "Eh?" senior Gretta ?said, looking confused.

  Seeing Irene fall and not get back up, Miss Nora immediately announced the results.

  "The semifinal match of the womens academy tournament between Gretta Schwartz and Irene Emerald San Lucia......., Gretta Schwartz win," Miss Nora said.

  Most of the audience cheered.

  "What a match,"

  "You were amazing, Gretta,"

  "I don't know what you did to the Ice Princess in the mist, but it was definitely a great attack," the crowd cheered.

  "It's a shame the Ice Princess lost, even though she managed to get back up."

  "It can't be helped, she was already quite badly injured. But the Ice Princess was amazing for getting back up and fighting back," the audience members said, chatting among themselves.

  Senior Gretta remained silent, seemingly still confused by what had happened.

  "I didn't expect Irene to get back up after being hit by one of my strongest attacks. I was caught off guard, thinking she was already down, which resulted in my legs freezing like this. I was also cornered earlier during our strength test with her. Luckily, Irene suddenly collapsed, probably because she had reached her limit. If Irene hadn't collapsed, I might have lost. You really are strong, Irene," thought Senior Gretta as she looked at the unconscious Irene.

  Not long after, several staff members entered the tournament arena. They quickly carried Irene to the treatment room, as her injuries were quite severe. Meanwhile, two other staff members approached Senior Gretta. They both wanted to take Senior Gretta to the treatment room as well, as she also had injuries on her body, and one of her legs was frozen from enduring Irene's attack.

  "Oh, no need, I can heal myself," said Senior Gretta.

  Senior Gretta began healing her wounds with ~Heal~ and melted the ice on one of her legs with fire magic.

  "See? I'm fine. You guys just focus on healing Irene," said Senior Gretta.

  The two staff members nodded and left Senior Gretta. Then Senior Gretta walked toward the hallway connecting the arena to the participant waiting room.

  "This is indeed my victory, but somehow I don't feel happy at all," thought Senior Gretta.

  -

  Back to the arena.

  Mr. Alan was seen in the arena, still frozen by Irene's ice magic.

  "The semifinal matches of today's academy tournament are over. The final match and the determination of third place will resume tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. The audience may now leave the tournament area. Thank you for coming today, and see you tomorrow," said Mr. Alan.

  Then Mr. Alan left the tournament arena. The audience also began to leave the tournament area.

  -

  In the audience seats where Her Majesty the Queen was.

  "I can't believe Irene can still get up, but it's a shame she suddenly collapsed because she's reached her limit," said Queen Kayana.

  "You're right, Your Majesty," said Commander Oliver.

  Suddenly, Duke Remy stood up from his seat.

  "Excuse me, Your Majesty, since today's match is over, I would like to leave the arena first. I need to meet someone," said Duke Remy.

  "I see, please go, Lord ?Duke," said Queen Kayana.

  "Then if you'll excuse me, Your Majesty, Commander," said Duke Remy.

  "Yes, Lord Duke," said Queen Kayana.

  Commander Oliver bowed respectfully to Duke Remy. Duke Remy then left the tournament area.

  "Let's go too, I have a lunch appointment with Charles and Chloe," said Queen Kayana.

  -

  In the participant waiting room.

  Senior Gretta had just returned from the tournament arena.

  "Congratulations, Gretta, on making it to the finals," said Senior Alisha and Senior Vyn.

  "Congratulations, Senior Gretta," I said.

  "Uh, thanks,"

  "Ah, I apologize for seriously injuring your girlfriend, Rid," said Senior Gretta.

  "You don't need to apologize to me, I'm fine with that, Senior. If you want to apologize, it's better to go to Irene directly," I said.

  "Yes, I do intend to apologize to her later," said Senior Gretta.

  "Since I've already congratulated Gretta, I'll be going now. I have to go see someone," said Senior Vyn.

  Senior Vyn then left the participant waiting room.

  "I'll be going now too, Senior. I'm going to the treatment room to visit Irene," I said.

  -

  A few minutes later, in the shopping area.

  Duke Remy and Princess Amelia were seen buying food there.

  "Because so many people are eating lunch in the cafeteria, this place is quiet. But this is better because we don't have to wait in a long line for food," said Duke Remy.

  "You're right, Father," said Princess Amelia.

  Then Senior Vyn approached Duke Remy and Princess Amelia.

  "Sorry I'm late, Uncle," Senior Vyn said.

  "It's okay, not too late. Go ahead and buy some food, Vyn," said Duke Remy.

  "Ok," said Senior Vyn.

  After buying some food, the three of them ate at the dining table at the end of the shopping area. The dining table was very quiet, just the three of them. After eating, the three of them began to chat.

  "I may be late in saying this, but congratulations on making it to the finals again, Vyn," said Duke Remy.

  "Thank you, Uncle. So, what did you want to talk about by inviting me here?" asked Senior Vyn.

  "It's about your match against Rid Archie in the finals tomorrow. This is a serious question, can you kill Rid Archie in a match against him?" asked Duke Remy.

  -To be continued