The spectators looked in amazement towards Rei's destructive power upon seeing the outcome of the battle although the slight twist of Tengen being a clone. "That's fucking impressive…" a male said before another one joined in. "It really was… although they are fighting one of the strongest sorcerers out there…" the male responded back. "But I'm wondering why Eunji is letting them get the spotlight…."
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Back in the battlefield, Eunji had already tried searching for Tengen but realised late as she immediately went to block the left side as she dashed in. The sounds of the blade clashing on one another. "You really are perceptive…" he grinned frustratedly as he withdrew himself before Eunji went in again as she brought her blade down harshly at him. "I get that a lot." She said as her eyes glowed bright, Tengen immediately retreated as the floor below him immediately shattered as a sharp blue crystal manifested itself.
Eunji was about to strike again before Tengen raised his hand. "I forfeit. You can have this." He said as he threw out a scroll to her which she caught it. She was confused but didn't hesitate to check if it was a trap which was not. "Why?" She asked before Tengen responded back without a care. "Y'all interest me despite the clear difference between us. Especially with that brat, the vessel of the ancient being." He pointed at Rei before he stood next to a tree. "I suggest for y'all to keep going if you wanna finish."
The team regrouped as Eunji helped Rei by using her prowess which levitated him off the ground as they dashed through the field to find their end route. "They really are interesting…" Tengen muttered as he watched them leaving before his eyes landing on both Eunji and Rei. "I'll see what I can do for now…" his lips turned into a sadistic smile as he stretched himself out before leaving via teleportation.
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Rei's team managed to finish in an hour or two due to the long fight, rest and routes they had to take. They were thankful for their seniors as Eunji and Rinka brushed it off as if it was nothing to be shameful of since they helped them to their own accord although Eunji didn't say much. Just like an Ice-Queen they all expected her to be as she went back to doing her own things like observing the surroundings or anything as usual while Rinka only continued to play with the junior.
They all went quiet as they watched every single team and participants either win or lose badly. Rei felt bad for them but had to push it aside when witnessing their own clumsy mistake which they honestly deserve since how could they dare to reveal their position when they had the upper hand for sneak attacks. It was utterly disappointing as he stopped paying attention.
"Is it just me or is Haru glaring at you?" Haruki asked as Rei felt a chilling gaze behind him before he turned around to see the same blue eyes. "Yep." Rei responded before going back to them. "Yes, he is…" he sighed before Rinka chuckled.
"I have to say. Nice guts to last so long against him… Especially when you manage to beat him too." She said as flipped a finger off to Haru while the quadruple juniors panicked. "Just let her be. It's just a brat sulking cause he didn't get the spotlight." Eunji stated as she also joined her by flipping off a finger at him which they could see how much Haru was shaking from his own rage. "Honestly, if he was planning to be a sorcerer at a high caliber then he shouldn't be thinking of shortcuts or any other stuff that can immediately make him stronger. He should be patient and cultivate that prowess of his until he has completed his mastery." She said before she looked over the results after every single team was finished.
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[Search and Destroy Results]
Rei, Haruki, Hinata, Erika, Eunji, Rinka [Team 8]: 01: 48: 56
Haru, Rin, Gerald, Gray, Elizabeth, Jinah [Team 5]: 01: 58: 23
Neon, Ruby, Anna, Andrew, Keitaro, Pietro [Team 2]: 02: 23: 30
Liam, Madeline, Akira, Gyomei, Hisashi, Cecile [Team 1]: 02: 24: 20
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The results were rather concerning for the rest as Rei assumed that only the top 4 or top 3 will be able to enter the next match before the final showdown. After all, an event for a one on one match for finals with this amount of students is gonna take a whole day or two depending on the match duration. Rei started formulating a plan on how to approach the supposed to be preliminary matches since he had enough mana but would it be enough to defeat whoever he faces? Some of them were unfamiliar students that he hadn't been able to fight against or witness their match since he was busy getting treated by nurse Eri.
"Seems like we have too many students to proceed for the final match." A staff member said as they walked into the stadium. "A preliminary match will be conducted to be chosen for the final match. To be chosen, you have to win the one on one match. Same rules as the final match. Either surrender or defeat your opponent to submission!" The staff said as the large projectile screen appeared in the middle of the stadium as the screen showed what seemed to be a roulette system to choose anyone, like a gacha game but for both parties. "Will the remaining 4 teams please move forward for us to be able to identify you."
Every single one of them took a step forward before they were immediately scanned as their names were listed on the roulette. "The best of luck for everyone." The staff said before the machine started spinning intensely before it halted on two names."Liam and Gray. Please come forward to the stadium to begin your match.
The two students went in as they bow to each other in respect before going into their respective stances. "Alright. Begin!" The conductor of the match shouted before the two started fighting right off immediately after the announcement.
Rei could see how bad their forms were due to the careless throws and things they were handing out. It felt like watching two children fight for something that wasn't serious as Rei could only sighed in relief if some of them were like this. Although, it would prove him wrong the moment the two started using their prowess. "Poison Release: Poisonous vines!" The brown haired male reached out his vines towards the grey haired individual as the vines were about to wrap around his limbs. "Snake Art Formation: Python!" The grey haired male suddenly was able to move like a snake as his limbs slithered smoothly away from the vines before diving close to them. "Python Formation: Constriction." The male immediately wrapped his entire body around the brown haired male in the manner of a python snake.
The male was suffocating before they were left unconscious when the grey haired male let go of them after checking their pulse upon putting them in submission. "Gray has won!" The proctor said before the nurses came in to carry the unconscious Liam as they went on to take care of them while Gray left the podium. "The next one please." The proctor looked back to the screen as it started the roulette once again before it landed on Eunji and Akira. The two blonde females went on to the podium as Rei was once again surprised with the amount of blonde people he had met this coming month.
David, Eunji, Amber, and now Akira. David and his mother Amber are in the honey shade color while Eunji leaned in more to the strawberry blonde shade. Akira, who he had just seen, had a lighter shade of blonde than David and Amber. Rei started to mutter to himself if this was just a coincidence though he would rather put those thoughts down the moment he heard Keith commenting about Eunji again which he rather not listen to at the moment due to how unhinged Keith was.
"Best of luck." Eunji said while Akira nodded upon them reaching the podium and standing on opposite ends. The proctor understood their stances as they immediately started the match.
Two glaciers made out of crystals immediately manifested with sharp ends, each of them reaching the spectator side as half of them were panicking from how close they were from getting pierced through. One had the colour of bright blue light Eunji's mana and glowing eyes while the latter were in a shade of violet that represented Akira's leaking mana wave and glowing orbs. The crystal glacier immediately shattered as both of them executed another technique in unison. "Crystal Release: Bullet barrage!" The crystal that were shattered immediately forming in a sharp bullet like shape as it all immediately showered down onto each other.
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"Holy shit…" the words that Rei could only mutter out upon witnessing the match between the two. While his variation of the crystal release was sufficient and powerful, it paled in comparison to the two original users that he copied although Eunji had a permanent copy to it while being able to adjust the firepower at will.
Rei was impressed with how both parties defended themselves in their unique choice of defence. Eunji had some sort of spell barrier formed around her in outlines and some rune language all over the spaces of the lines that it provided while it glowed bright when it was being hit by the purple crystal bullets. On the other hand, Akira had performed a wall made out of crystallised pillars as each bullets shattered upon impact although it started to form cracks and holes due to Eunji's bullet quality and quantity.
It was only a matter of time until one of them falls from the on going assault from the crystallised bullets. Rei noticed Eunji smirking as he wondered what was her next move. "Soul Resonance: Hunter Formation." She chanted in her mind as she dashed in without any hesitation as she dodged each of the bullets while her blade glowed bright as it was coated with her mana before it changed the shape of her blade which turned into a state of energy that he couldn't understand due to the mana he observed when it transformed into what Eunji had executed.
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Tengen whistled as he watched the match. "Isn't that the hunter formation from the purification scroll techniques?" He asked as headmaster Sho nodded his head. "Indeed. Eunji had borrowed the scroll when she went to the forbidden library with her clearance while asking for permission to study it." Sho explained as he watched in fascination regarding of her perfect control of the technique as she swung it against Akira upon speed blitzing through her defense and attempts to stop her when using every technique in her arsenal.
Each one being cut through like butter as if there was no hint of struggles against the oversized and larged crystal techniques that were being thrown against her. A wolf, bear and what seemed to be a summon that appeared to be a mix of the two were mutilated smoothly as Eunji managed to break through her defense. Akira had performed well to her best of abilities however it wasn't enough to last for another minute or three as soon as Eunji was now close to her.
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"Purified Blade: Rightful Judgement!" Eunji chanted in her mind as she slashed Akira which was devastating as a large amount of blood gushed out. The sight was gruesome but she was used to it since she had to deal with duties like this during her early school years while being in the Special Sorcerer Class: Assault Division. She was thankful for those classes as despite how cold and ruthless she can be during her duty, there were times where she felt emotions of a human such as empathy, kindness and comfort through her vulnerable moments.
Akira kneeled as she could feel both burning and stinging sensation lingering from the attack. The slash that struck her from the left lower front to the upper right of the torso sent such an agony feeling on her torso. She might've been ready to try giving out a good fight for herself and her pride as a Kamigami Academy student but against someone like Eunji was something impossible for her to achieve. Especially when she is just a high-end 'A' rank while Eunji was almost a high-end S rank which was almost reaching the SS rank status like the legendary Black Reaper.
"One last…" Akira grinned as she tried her best to land one hit on Eunji but failed as the whip-like crystal she had managed to manifest didn't land a bit but rather Eunji just disappeared before knocking her out from behind by hitting her neck. "Winner! Eunji Jeong lands in the finals!" The proctor announced as some of the spectators cheered for her, though mostly half the male students were the ones doing the most due to her beauty and elegance throughout the match.
Rei sweat dropped at the sight after witnessing the fight. "Man… I keep forgetting how ruthless she is…" he grimaced later on as pushed those thoughts away before the proctor announced the next match.
"Hinata and Cecile. Come to the stadium to begin the match!"
Hinata felt nervous as she went on to the stadium, she had never reached this far since her second year however she couldn't back down now not after being helped by her friends. Especially when Rei had helped her improve to the best of her caliber as she got more variations of techniques to be able to use at her level. Rei's usage might've been better than hers but she wasn't about to give up her efforts just because she felt nervous and unprepared emotionally. Hinata steeled her emotions as she thought to herself, being glad to get this far.
"Begin!"
Cecile immediately tried to overthrow Hinata by creating a horde of sharp and spiky vibes as it was about to reach her instantly. She smirked to herself since she knew that doing this will give her the upper hand but she didn't expect Hinata to retaliate at the last second. "Wind Style: Pulverise!" She shouted as Cecile's horde of vines were immediately gone, the way it was cut all quickly and instantly on each part as if it was eating it until nothing was left behind.
Hinata smirked as she saw Cecile thrown off guard, taking the opportunity to either knock her out or to try buying time for herself. "Wind Style: Wind Sphere Vortex!" She manifested a compressed rotating sphere on her left hand as she dashed in immediately, dodging the desperate attempts of Cecile's vines that tried to stop her. Hinata got close before slamming it into her guts that immediately sent her flying after the sphere instantly bursted which created a vortex. Cecile eventually hit the wall hard as cracks appeared upon landing harshly, she coughed out blood as she tried to stand up but couldn't as she immediately fell forward. She breathed heavily as she tried to get up from the floor but couldn't as she could feel part of her guts moving while her limbs shaking.
The proctor waited for a bit to determine the victor but was surprised when Hinata threw a wind bullet that knocked Cecile out after getting hit on the forehead. The technique wasn't severe as the mana that was used were the amount to knock someone out rather than putting a hole. "Winner! Hinata lands in the final match!" Hinata felt pride and joy upon hearing the announcement as she cheered for her victory before waving at her friends.
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"It really is nice to see such a sight like this…" Eri muttered to herself which the headmaster caught on. She was right since the faces they mostly have seen nowadays were the faces of those who resigned themselves to what they expect as a cruel fate, especially with the lower tier and mid tier prowess users despite being either in a mediocre, poor and noble family. "It truly is." The headmaster responded as he smiled at such a sight upon seeing Hinata run to her friends.
"I do hope we can keep this happiness for them." The headmaster said as Eri nodded at such words, hoping that it will last forever despite how everything seemed to be a mess.
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The next match was Rinka and Elizabeth, another blonde that Rei had to see once again as he wondered if he was gonna see a lot of blondes for the rest of his days at Kamigami Academy. Elizabeth had a presence that Rei could feel a familiarity due to the prowess he had copied before from his entire experience.
"Begin!"
Rinka immediately dashed in as she tried to strike Elizabeth with the spear she had made from her blood prowess. Elizabeth swiftly dodged before her eyes glowed a shade of red, her body immediately coated with red lightning as she tried to retaliate by landing a bit on Rinka's test as her hand immediately sparked a lightning which created noises of what seemed to be a thousand electric sparks that continued its rampage on one spot. "Lightning Blade!" Elizabeth shouted as she immediately tried to stab Rinka with it but failed due to Rinka immediately dodging it by side stepping before kicking her hard to make space.
Elizabeth immediately dispelled her technique as she slammed both of her hands on the floor as she smirked. "Lightning Release: Thunderclap current!" She chanted loudly as lightning appeared from the floor before it started spreading to Rinka's position. Elizabeth immediately added another assault as she raised her right hand. "Lightning Art: Zeus's lightning bolt!" She slammed her hand back down as a giant lightning immediately struck Rinka, electrocuting her in the process which she stood still as the current also landed.
Rinka, stood paralysed as she looked unconscious which made Elizabeth smirked before going over to try finishing their match by trying to generate her lightning blade which was an overkill to someone who already lost. If only it was true as the moment she got closer, Rinka exploded into a burst of blood as the remaining splattered all over the place. "A clone?!" She panicked before she felt a wave of mana emitting behind her.
"Blood Sealing Art: Chimera Formation." Rinka smirked as she formed a hand seal as she kneeled on one knee. "Seal!" She chanted as the blood splattered around immediately manifested strings that acted like tendrils before wrapping every part of Elizabeth's limb and torso. Elizabeth struggled as she tried to escape from its grasp although it was futile due to how strong it was. It went on for a short while before Elizabeth ran out of fuel as she breathed heavily before shaking her head in the direction of the proctor.
"Winner! Rinka lands in the final match!"
Rinka smirked before undoing her sealing technique as Elizabeth landed on the ground smoothly. Her eyes glaring at Rinka before scoffing and walking away from her. "Sore loser ~" Rinka teased loudly before heading out of the stadium as she made her way to Eunji.
The roulette wheel spinned for both sides as it landed on two participants, the results gave various reactions to every spectators and participants.
"Rei Nishimura and Keitaro Sasaki."