The air in the stadium tightened like a bowstring ready to fire.
After the scores were announced, Sabine raised her hand and cast a silent spell. Eight glowing runes spun in the air, pairing off at random. The fates of the eight competitors were sealed in seconds.
"The matches will be as follows," Sabine announced, her voice amplified by ancestral magic:
Nathael Grauheim and Celestia vs. Lukas and Kael
Karl and Orin vs. Ingrid and her companion
Elisabeth and Nyra vs. Clara and Solène
Anneliese and Lysander vs. Elias and his companion
A murmur of excitement rippled through the stands.
"Real duels!" a child shouted. "Magic without limits!"
"Not quite," Sabine clarified firmly. "Dark magic is forbidden. But everything else is permitted: modern magic, ancestral spells, even banned charms—as long as they don't corrupt the soul."
Romilda and her fan club, seated in the third row, already waved banners bearing Nathael's name and drawings of Celestia in a cape.
"NATHAEL! CELESTIA!" they chanted. "SHOW THEM WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"
First Battle: Nathael and Celestia vs. Lukas and Kael
The stadium transformed.
The stone vanished. The stands rose upward. And in the center, a vast prairie stretched beneath an intensely blue sky. The wind blew gently, the grass swaying like green waves—a perfect field for speed.
"Bad luck," Celestia murmured from Nathael's shoulder. "Lukas and Kael are twenty-seven. Their specialty is extreme speed. In an open field like this… they have the advantage."
"But speed is also a weakness," Nathael said, adjusting his glove. "It wears down the body. Exhausts the mind. If we make them run… they'll tire."
"Then let's make them run," Celestia said.
Sabine raised her hand.
"Let the first match begin!"
Nathael and Lukas faced each other, twenty meters apart. Both raised their wands in a gesture of respect.
Celestia and Kael locked eyes. The speed-rune cat nodded. Celestia returned the gesture. This wasn't rivalry—it was a fair duel.
"Now!" Sabine commanded.
Lukas didn't wait.
With a shout, he cast Impedimenta—but not an ordinary one. He wove it with ancestral magic—a Celtic binding rune—amplifying its effect. The spell didn't just target Nathael; it expanded into a red energy ring, aiming to trap them both.
At the same time, Kael activated his collar. The runes flared, his paws glowing with blue aura. He shot toward Celestia like lightning, claws infused with cutting magic.
But Nathael had already moved.
Without raising his wand, he whispered:
"Finite Incantatem."
Lukas's spell dissipated before it touched Celestia—but Nathael was briefly caught in its lingering effect.
Free, Celestia leapt aside. Kael landed where she'd stood half a second earlier, claws slicing empty air.
"Stupefy!" Celestia cried, casting the spell with a sharp meow.
Kael dodged with an impossible backflip.
Meanwhile, Lukas sprinted toward Nathael, firing three Expelliarmus spells so fast they seemed like one.
The crowd gasped.
"He casts spells like he breathes!" Tobias shouted from the platform.
Nathael raised his wand.
"Protego! Finite Incantatem!"
A golden shield deflected the three spells, and the second Finite fully freed him from the Impedimenta.
Without hesitation, Nathael struck the ground with his wand.
From the grass, black chains—woven with ancestral northern magic—rose like serpents, snaking toward Lukas.
But Kael wasn't idle.
"Ignifera Orbem!" he cried, launching blue fireballs from his paws. They struck the chains, incinerating them before they could touch Lukas.
Celestia seized the opening.
"Expulso!"
A blast of magical wind slammed into Kael, hurling him meters back. He rolled, regained his feet—but his eyes no longer held confidence. Only respect.
The two pairs locked gazes, breathing in unison. The duel had only just begun.
Lukas and Kael exchanged a look. Then nodded.
They began to speak.
In Old German.
Nathael frowned.
"Do you recognize the spell?" Celestia asked.
"Yes," Nathael said urgently. "It's Doppelgänger—a forbidden spell due to its complexity. If botched, it creates a shadow that devours you. But if done right…"
"It creates perfect copies," Celestia finished.
"Glacius!" Nathael shouted.
"Fulminis Tempestae!" Celestia yowled.
From the earth surged a wave of ice. From the sky, bolts of pure energy descended. The magics merged, shattering the grass, freezing the air.
But before they struck—
"Done!" Lukas cried.
Two new figures appeared.
Two Lukas. Two Kael.
The pale but solid copies took the full force of ice and lightning. They vanished with a silent scream—then reappeared beside their originals.
The originals stood unharmed.
The stadium erupted.
"Copies!" Mira shouted. "They used a forbidden spell!"
Now it was four against two.
The two Lukas launched four spells at once: Stupefy, Confringo, Petrificus Totalus, Expelliarmus.
The real Kael moved. His doppelgänger cast an ancestral wind charm, amplifying the original's speed to impossible levels.
Kael became a streak of lightning.
Nathael quickly threw up a wide-area Protego to shield himself and Celestia—but it was a fraction too late. The shield blocked the four spells, but Kael slammed into Celestia, claws blazing with pure magic.
At the last instant, Celestia activated a rebound charm—but the impact sent her flying. She landed hard on her side, a scratch on her shoulder.
Nathael saw red.
"Celestia!"
"I'm fine," she said, rising. "But enough games."
Nathael nodded.
With a flick of his wand, the black chains returned—but this time, not just a few. A web. They spread across the entire prairie, ensnaring the ground, the air, even the wind.
Lukas and Kael struggled to move—the chains responded to Nathael's will.
"Let's finish this," Celestia said.
Nathael nodded.
They closed their eyes.
And began to chant.
In Ancient Celtic:
"Brìgh na gealaich, cum rinn!"
"Fuil an t-samhraidh, thoir an cumhachd!"
The words vibrated in the air. The sky darkened. Thick fog rolled over the prairie—so dense even the magical mirrors couldn't pierce it.
"It's forbidden magic!" Eldrin cried from the judges' bench. "Ancestral sensory amplification!"
Inside the mist, Nathael and Celestia saw everything. Felt every heartbeat, every breath, every intention of their foes.
But for Lukas and Kael—it was absolute blindness.
"Now!" Nathael said.
"Now!" Celestia echoed.
Two perfect Expelliarmus spells, charged with ancestral magic, shot from the fog.
They struck all four opponents simultaneously.
The doppelgängers vanished.
Lukas and Kael collapsed, unconscious.
The fog lifted.
Silence held for a heartbeat.
Then the stadium exploded in applause, cheers, and roars.
"NATHAEL! CELESTIA!" Romilda screamed, tears of joy streaming down her face. "THE BEST!"
Sabine raised her hand.
"Victory to Nathael Grauheim and Celestia."
Nathael ran to Celestia and lifted her into his arms.
"Are you all right?"
"Just a scratch," she said, licking the wound. "But next time, I'll cast the Protego."
"Promise," Nathael said, smiling.