The seats of the Grand Arena were packed tight with the students from Nightfall Academy and the visiting academies.
All of them wanted to watch the duel that was sparked by a controversy between the hosts and the guests.
First and foremost, they only knew the name of the offender, which was Ethan.
They didn’t know who the offended party was, which only made this duel more interesting.
There were only fifteen minutes before the battle started, and neither participant had entered the arena.
However, at the last ten-minute mark, a handsome blonde teenager walked into the arena. The moment the students of Nightfall Academy saw him, they immediately broke into cheers and applause.
“It’s Lord Cedric!” a pretty Second Year student shouted like a fan girl.
“Lord Cedric was the victim? How dare that student from Brynhildr Academy do this! They are too much!”
“Bastards! They are only guests and they dared to insult the hosts? Such nerve!”
“Lord Cedric! We are with you! Beat that Ethan guy and show him who’s boss!”
“Lord Cedric!”
“Lord Cedric!”
“Lord Cedric!”
Cheers resounded in the arena, and the handsome Second Year only waved his hands toward his fans.
He then briefly glanced in the stands where the students of Brynhildr Academy were, and a frown appeared on his face when he didn’t see Luna.
‘Is she angry with me?’ Cedric thought as he subtly clenched his fist.
However, what was done was already done, so he could only hope to convince her with his apology later.
Cedric stood in the arena and crossed his arms over his chest while looking at the giant clock in the distance.
The battle would start at three in the afternoon, and there were only five minutes left before the specified time.
At that moment, a flying broom descended from the skies and landed in the stands of Brynhildr Academy.
Luna had just arrived, and she took the seat beside her older brother, Rowan.
Cedric’s gaze immediately landed on the angelic beauty, but Luna wasn’t looking at him.
Instead, she was looking at the skies with a smile on her face.
Following her gaze, Cedric noticed something peculiar happening in the sky.
A rainbow of colors descended in the arena as countless Fairies emitted colorful light that matched their hair colors.
In the center of that formation was a handsome young man with long blue hair that fluttered in the wind.
He then slowly descended into the arena as the fairies showered him with Fairy Dust, creating a stunning visual performance.
The students of Nightfall Academy looked at this scene with dumbfounded looks on their faces, obviously not expecting that Cedric’s opponent would arrive in a very flashy way.
Even Nero and the staff of Nightfall Academy couldn’t believe their eyes.
“… Those are our Fairies, right?” Nero asked another Professor who was seated beside him.
“Yes, Headmaster,” the Professor replied. “Those are indeed the Fairies that reside in our gardens.”
“Shouldn’t they be on our side?” Nero looked at the Professor in askance.
“… I suppose?” the Professor shrugged. “But then again, Fairies are moody creatures. We just let them do what they want since we’ll be the ones troubled when they are angered. Remember what happened to the visitors who angered them? They are still in the infirmary because they suffered grievously in the hands of those little critters.”
“Then how come they are siding with that brat from another academy?” Nero inquired.
“I don’t know,” the Professor asked. “Why don’t you ask them later?”
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The Fairies who had delivered Ethan to the arena then flew towards the stands where the members of Brynhildr Academy were currently sitting and started to cheer for the handsome young man.
However, the students who heard their shouts felt that something was very wrong with the current situation.
“Long live our Sugar Daddy!”
“““Long Live!”””
“Let life be sweet like our Sugar Daddy!”
“““Sugar Daddy!”””
“Life is sweeter with Ethan Gremory!”
“““Ethan Gremory!”””
“Cedric is a piece of poop!”
“““Piece of Poop!”””
“So what if Cedric is handsome? You can’t Polish a turd!”
“““Turd!”””
“Girls, who eats like a bird, and poops like an Elephant?”
“““Cedric!”””
“““Cedric!”””
“““Cedric!”””
The corner of Nero’s and Cedric’s lips twitched after hearing the traitorous Fairies side with their enemies.
Luna, on the other hand, couldn’t help but giggle after hearing the Fairies’ insulting cheers.
For a brief moment, she had forgotten her anger due to how silly their cheers were.
The other academies, who were very dissatisfied with Nightfall Academy, laughed and even cheered the Fairies, who were high on sugar.
Even Ethan, who was standing in the arena, couldn’t help but smile as the Fairies trash-talked Cedric with all their might.
It was a well-known fact that Fairies were very mischievous creatures. But once one gained their trust, they were very loyal and steadfast allies.
Nero, who was unable to take it any longer, stood up and magnified his voice to greet everyone.
“Thank you everyone for coming to watch this duel between Ethan Gremory and Cedric Raylight!” Nero said. “For the past few days, our guests have been too unruly and caused many grievances to the students of our academy. Take note that we will no longer tolerate troublemakers.
“What we wish is for everyone to enjoy their stay in our academy while we wait for the Legacy Gate to open. I hope that when this duel ends, everyone will become calmer and follow the rules that we have established.
“Otherwise, I will revoke your qualifications to participate in the expedition. This is not a bluff, so without further delay, I declare the start of the duel!”
A Professor appeared in the arena and raised his wand to activate a barrier protecting the audience from any stray spells.
“My name is Lockwind, and I will be the referee of this match,” Professor Lockwind said. “The duel will continue until one of the duelists surrenders, loses consciousness, or is no longer able to battle. There is a special magic imbued in the arena that will instantly teleport you to safety when you are about to be dealt a killing blow.
“I hope that neither duelist will resort to that method and uphold the sportsmanship between Wizards. Do either of you have anything to say to the other before the duel starts?”
Professor Lockwind glanced at Cedric and the latter nodded his head.
“Ethan Gremory, if you ask for forgiveness now, I will turn a blind eye to your offense against me,” Cedric stated. “I am even willing to forgive and forget everything that happened, so we can start anew. What do you say?”
The audience then glanced at the handsome young man with long blue hair and waited for his reply.
“You want me to apologize to you for negatively reacting to your attempt to steal my fiancee from me?” Ethan arched an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be the one apologizing to me? You even forced me to duel with you, and for what?
“So that you can avenge yourself for your shameful behavior? Is this how the students of Nightfall Academy treat their guests? Your face is very thick for someone who portrays himself as a Noble with a righteous character. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
Nero and the staff of Nightfall Academy frowned when they heard Ethan’s reply.
They only heard that someone offended Cedric, but they didn’t ask for the main reason why he decided to propose this duel.
Nero only thought that this was a good opportunity to show the other academies that they shouldn’t act so brazenly inside their academy. However, if what Ethan was saying was true then… this was indeed very shameful behavior on Cedric’s part.
Of course, they didn’t want to believe this.
Who was Cedric? His background alone allowed him to put pressure on Nightfall Academy. No woman would resist his charm, and anyone would gladly be with him.
The students of Nightfall Academy shared this sentiment, and they all started booing at Ethan.
“You bastard! How dare you badmouth Lord Cedric!”
“You commoner! How dare you spout nonsense!”
“Lord Cedric wants to steal your fiance? How absurd!”
“You bastard! Get the hell out of Nightfall Academy!”
“Get out!”
“Get out!”
“Get out!”
The resounding booing and derogatory remarks descended towards Ethan, but the latter simply stood there with a composed look on his face.
“It seems that Nightfall Academy only houses sheep,” Ethan commented, and his words reached everyone’s ears, despite the fact that he only talked normally. “Why don’t you ask your beloved Lord Cedric if I’m lying or not?”
The people quieted down and looked at the handsome blonde teenager, who was now glaring at Ethan.
“You’re lying,” Cedric said through gritted teeth. “I have already given you a chance to ask for my forgiveness, but it seems that you don’t want to repent. If I were you I would have gladl—”
But, Ethan didn’t give Cedric a chance to finish his words.
“My fiancee is a very kind and gentle young lady. However, she hates liars the most,” Ethan stated. “Even if she breaks up with me, which will never happen, she won’t choose a liar to be her boyfriend, or even consider him as a possible fiance, so I won’t stop you from talking. The more you lie, the more she will hate you, so go ahead and continue your act, Mr. Liar.”
Cedric briefly glanced in Luna’s direction.
She was too far away for him to discern her facial expressions. However, he didn’t want to become a man that she hated.
“You do not deserve her,” Cedric stated. “Someone like you does not deserve her. I will prove it by defeating you right here, right now!”
Ethan chuckled after Cedric finally showed his true colors.
“See everyone?” Ethan glanced at the crowd. “Your Lord Cedric lied earlier, but now he is having a change of heart. All of you sheep who blindly worship him are pathetic. I’m also very disappointed with the Headmaster of Nightfall Academy. I didn’t know he’d encourage his students to steal someone else’s fiancee.”
Nero, who was put on the spot, couldn’t help but curse the handsome young man in the arena.
He was not aware of the real reason for this duel, and Cedric showing signs that what the brat was telling was the truth made him feel as if he had swallowed a cockroach.
Even Professor Lockwind, who was in the arena, didn’t know how to proceed.
“Just start the duel,” Ethan commented. “I want to end this farce already.”
Professor Lockwind nodded and backed away.
“Let the match begin!”
Cedric summoned a one-handed sword and a round shield, while Ethan took out his Sea God’s Trident and wand.
“Magna Amplifico!” Cedric said and his body glowed briefly.
Ethan remained standing in place and simply waited for Cedric’s next move.
The blonde teenager raised his shield, which emitted a flash of light, bright enough to momentarily blind someone.
Cedric was hailed as the Champion of Light of Nightfall Academy.
Why?
It was because he specialized in Light Magic.
Due to his powerful and swift attacks, very few people were able to beat him in magical duels.
As if to prove this point, Ethan staggered after being momentarily blinded by Cedric’s initial attack, which gave the handsome young prince the opportunity to close the distance between them.
Cedric then raised his sword to strike, coating it with magical energy to blunt its edges. Although he hated Ethan, he didn’t have any intention of killing him.
But that didn’t mean that he would hesitate to give him a devastating blow that could cause serious injuries to his body.
He was burning with anger and shame, and the only way for him to vent his frustration was to beat his opponent until he could not stand up any longer.
‘It’s over!’ Cedric roared as he swung his sword to hit Ethan’s left shoulder, using the full weight of his body to increase his striking power.
However, before he could hit his target, Ethan sidestepped to his right.
It was then that Cedric realized that Ethan wasn’t affected by the blinding light that he had activated a while ago and was simply acting to lure him in.
Suddenly, the blonde teenager felt something hard hit his chest, which sent him flying.
Surprising not only the Headmaster of Nightfall Academy, but also everyone who was watching the battle inside the Grand Arena.