"Grand Cross."
"Ho?" Luka furrowed his eyebrows, understanding that no trash mixed in this team. Sihan, at least, had something remarkable like Laura and Scarlet.
Seeing the incoming attack, Luka raised his sword in front of his body, perfectly in the middle.
Suddenly, a burst of Magic Power occurred on his sword before it was enveloped by gentle blue light.
"Its power is remarkable and the style is unique. However, it's not elegant at all." Luka thrust his rapier, releasing sharp energy that was slimmer than his own blade.
The blue light continued and hit right in the middle of the cross as the two attacks clashed.
Surprisingly, Sihan's attack started to bend backward as if the blue light managed to overpower it and was about to pierce through.
Sihan widened his eyes and quickly put the shield in front of him as the blue light broke his attack perfectly in the middle and continued.
The moment the energy hit his shield, Sihan felt as if there was a mountain trying to push him back. It wasn't like a bullet because the force it carried was far more powerful.
Coupled with the fact it hit the upper area of his shield, Sihan couldn't help but duck down, being pressured by the inertia force coming from the attack.
"…" Sihan narrowed his eyes and glanced at Luka, trying to come up with a way to defeat him.
Before Sihan did anything, four mirrors, the size of a human, appeared and floated in the air. The frame was golden, but the mirror wasn't that clear.
"Golden Mirror."
Sihan didn't know anything about this power because Luka hadn't used this power when he fought China Team.
That was why the moment Luka leaped forward, Sihan quickly gained another distance, only to find himself being surrounded by the golden mirrors.
"Dawn Strike."
He tried to strike the mirror, but the latter flew to the side, avoiding him. In other words, Luka had the perfect control over his mirrors, making it even more dangerous.
"End."
Unexpectedly, the mirrors stood still for a moment as Luka emerged from behind one of them, thrusting his rapier, releasing the same attack as the one that destroyed his "Grand Cross".
Knowing it was bad for him to receive it with his shield, Sihan dodged to the side.
However, it turned out to be a bad choice for him because the moment the mirror behind him received the attack, it reflected the attack with the angle that perfectly matched Sihan's movement.
"!!!" Sihan widened his eyes and turned around, receiving it with his shield before deflecting it to the sky. Sihan muttered inwardly, 'Two skills? No, he has let go of his control when the mirrors stop moving. As long as I destroy the mirrors, I can escape from this prison.'
He stood up and struck the mirror behind his back, only to find his sword getting repelled by an unknown force.
"Huh?"
"That mirror is unbreakable. The moment you enter this place, you have lost." Luka chuckled and reemerged behind him.
Sihan clicked his tongue and waved his blade to Luka's feet.
However, the latter blocked the sword with his rapier and kicked Sihan's head, returning him back to the middle of the execution ground.
"Flash."
Luka's hand suddenly shone brighter like that of a flashlight before he pointed it to the mirror. The light then bounced in all directions and blinded Sihan.
"Kh." Sihan closed his eyes and relied on his Awareness, but his power was similar to Cheng Sui. Their Endurance was the strongest, but they were completely unable to use their Control or Awareness that well.
Even though Sihan managed to sense Luka, his reaction was still too slow.
'Behind me!' Sihan furrowed his eyebrows and raised his shield, covering his body from the strike above.
"It's better you don't rely on your eyes too much." Luka's voice echoed in his ears before his shield was launched to the sky.
Because he was trying to defend the attack from above, Sihan pushed the shield a bit, so he didn't get overpowered. Unfortunately, it became Luka's biggest weapon to end this battle.
In addition to that pushing force, he kicked the shield upward, sending it flying with half the effort.
After that, Sihan used that kick to determine Luka's position and struck him, only to find Luka bending down to the ground and rising again while pointing his rapier at Sihan's neck.
"The United Kingdom Wins!"
Luka smiled and retracted the mirrors as the light gradually disappeared.
Sihan opened his eyes and found Luka sheathing his sword with his eyes closed.
"Using the shield as if using a sword… You also used it to bait and push me back at the same time, making me feel a bit weird… However, in the end, you relied too heavily on the first one. As long as I seal your eyes, you won't be able to defeat me." Luka smiled. "You are strong… but I'm still stronger. If I can't defeat you, I will be too ashamed to meet Sir Lancelot, you see."
After those words, Luka opened his eyes and nodded to Diego as if thanking him before leaving the arena.
"…" Sihan was speechless as he clenched his fists, knowing he just lost. Despite using everything at his disposal, he couldn't hold the candle against Luka.
Still, the one that decided the match was Laura. If she didn't sacrifice herself to defeat Ellen, their team would be the one to win because Ellen could protect him in that situation.
Sihan looked down. His face was filled with disappointment.
He walked back while lamenting his own weakness before Ellen's voice echoed in his ears.
"Good work out there. We were close." Ellen smiled, not bringing up whose fault they lost. Instead, she quickly appreciated all the efforts they had done in this match.
Ellen was like a big sister, not only for Theo but also for everyone.
"We can still get stronger and should use this experience to grow." Ellen then looked at the incoming trio. "However, let's return to the room for now. We can only trust this match to them."
Laust, Phyrill, and Alea walked toward them with serious expressions.
"Leave it to us."