ACADEMIC WAR - FIRST BATTLE
The grand halls of the Academy of Stars buzzed with energy. Students from every House had gathered in the main assembly chamber, their murmurs of excitement and tension filling the air. Banners of each House adorned the walls, their sigils gleaming under the glow of enchanted lanterns. The entire academy was mobilizing—not for an ordinary lesson, but for war.
Not a real war, but something close enough.
The Grand Allied Academy Tournament—a simulated battlefield where the strongest academies across the four allied kingdoms tested their might against one another. This year, the tournament was being hosted in Kingdom Velmora, a land known for its towering cliffs, treacherous ravines, and vast magical plains. Each year, the location changed, ensuring that no academy had the advantage of familiar terrain.
And this time, it was their turn to compete.
The Academy of Stars had to stand as one.
The entire student body, usually divided by their respective Houses, would be forced to work together for a single goal: victory.
Ethan stood among the students, his arms crossed as he listened. Around him, Callan, Orion, and the rest of House Virgo stood attentively, waiting for their assignment. Across the hall, Darius and Gareth Ironwood from House Aries stood with their peers, arms folded, the fierce warriors radiating confidence. Selene Moonshadow from House Cancer stood still as ice, her gaze focused, while Liora Ravenscroft from House Aquarius smirked slightly, as if she already knew her House’s role.
At the front of the chamber, Instructor Alden Greybourne raised his hands, and the murmurs died instantly.
His voice echoed through the hall, firm and commanding.
“Listen well. In this tournament, each academy fights as one. Each House has a role. Strength alone will not win this war—strategy, adaptability, and teamwork will.”
The weight of his words settled over the gathered students. The Academy of Stars was filled with powerful individuals, but alone, they were nothing against the overwhelming might of a fully coordinated enemy team.
Instructor Alden stepped back, nodding to the secondary instructors, who would oversee further preparations.
“Dismissed. Prepare for departure at dawn.”
The hall erupted into movement.
As students broke off into their respective groups, House Virgo gathered in their assigned chamber, a large workshop filled with materials they could use for experimentation.
Ethan, Orion, and Callan stood at the center, analyzing their tasks.
“Weapons first,” Callan said. “If Aries is going to be fighting on the front lines, they’ll need something that won’t break mid-battle.”
Orion cracked his knuckles. “I’ll start on reinforced armor. No point in making them stronger if they fall before they can land a hit.”
Ethan, however, had something else in mind.
The terrain.
With his newly refined Leo sight, he could now see deeper into the structure of matter itself. If he could alter the battlefield itself—make the ground work in their favor, create safe zones, slow down enemy advances—then Virgo wouldn’t just be the “support” House.
They would control the battlefield itself.
Lysandra approached, arms crossed. “You look like you’re plotting something.”
Ethan smirked. “Just figuring out how we’re going to turn the entire battlefield into a weapon.”
Lysandra raised an eyebrow. “…You have my attention.”
At dawn, the students of the Academy of Stars gathered at the eastern gates of the city.
A fleet of carriages and enchanted transports awaited them, prepared to take them across the kingdom to the host academy.
House Aries stood confidently at the front, their armor gleaming in the early light. House Cancer was already preparing their supplies, while House Aquarius exchanged tactical ideas. House Virgo, meanwhile, was carefully packing their alchemical tools, enchanted materials, and transmutation equipment.
Ethan tightened the straps on his backpack, glancing at the massive transport in front of him.
Orion clapped him on the back. “Ready?”
Ethan smirked. “More than ever.”
Lysandra stepped up beside them, her sharp gaze locked ahead. “Let’s make sure we win this.”
Callan adjusted his gloves. “Agreed.”
As they boarded the transports, the realization settled in—this wasn’t just training anymore.
This was a battlefield.
And soon, they would face the best students from across the allied kingdoms.
Only one academy could stand victorious.
And Ethan had no intention of letting his team lose.
As the Academy of Stars arrived, Ethan took in the grandeur of the kingdom.
Velmora was built within massive mountain ridges, towering spires carved from stone, bridges suspended between cliffs, and streets filled with earth-based enchantments that made entire buildings shift and reshape seamlessly.
But what caught Ethan’s attention most was the atmosphere.
The War Festival had begun.
Banners of all four academies fluttered proudly across the city, and the people welcomed them not as rivals, but as honored warriors.
Merchants shouted in the streets, selling enchanted weapons, delicacies, and trinkets. Children ran between the stalls, pretending to duel like the students who would soon fight in the real battles. Music played from floating instruments, controlled by skilled mages, and above them, great airships hovered—likely carrying nobles and scholars who had come to watch the competition.
“Whoa…” Orion whistled, eyes wide. “I thought this was a war, not a festival.”
Lysandra scoffed, crossing her arms. “Velmora treats war as a celebration. They believe conflict refines strength.”
Callan nodded. “It’s their culture. This isn’t just a tournament to them—it’s a chance to prove themselves.”
Ethan exhaled slowly, already sensing the weight of the battles to come.
The King of Velmora had invited all four academies to a grand banquet.
Ethan and his classmates found themselves inside a massive stone hall, illuminated by enchanted gemstones that cast a warm, golden glow over the festivities.
Long tables stretched across the floor, filled with food—roasted meats, enchanted wines that shimmered with faint magical energy, exotic fruits from different kingdoms.
But the most important part of the evening wasn’t the food.
It was the speech.
The King of Velmora, a broad-shouldered man with streaks of silver in his beard, stood at the center of the hall. His presence alone commanded respect.
He raised a goblet, and the hall fell silent.
“Warriors of the Four Academies, welcome.”
His deep voice echoed through the chamber.
“This is not merely a competition. It is a trial of strength, wisdom, and unity. You are the future of our kingdoms—the ones who will forge the path forward. Some of you will clash as rivals. But remember, after this, you will stand as allies.”
Ethan exchanged glances with Orion and Callan.
This was bigger than just school pride.
The King continued.
“Tonight, you feast. Tomorrow, you fight. May the strongest academy prevail!”
The hall erupted into cheers as goblets clashed, food was passed around, and excitement filled the air.
But beneath the revelry, the tension of competition loomed.
The Rules of War
As the night continued, a massive stone map unfolded in the center of the hall, revealing the competition battlefield.
Velmora’s Academy Master, a tall woman with piercing amber eyes, stepped forward. Her voice was as sharp as steel.
“The rules of this war are simple.”
She gestured to the map, where four distinct territories were marked.
Each academy would be assigned a quarter of the battlefield, where they would establish a base.
Key Rules:
1. Defend your Academy’s territory at all costs.
2. Each territory has a flag. If an enemy captures your flag, you have until the countdown to steal another one. After the countdown if your academy has no flag then it’s eliminated.
3. The goal is to capture as many flags as possible.
4. The two academies with the most flags after the war will advance to the final battle.
5. The final battle will be an all-out war—every student from the two remaining academies fighting in a massive clash.
A murmur spread through the students.
Ethan’s mind raced. This was more than just skirmishes.
This was war on a grand scale.
The battlefield itself was enormous. Enchanted landscapes meant terrain could shift at any time—mountains, rivers, forests, even ruins that could collapse or change shape.
Every academy had to strategize, defend, and attack.
Velmora’s Academy Master looked over the students with a calculating gaze.
“Fight with all you have. Your kingdoms are watching.”
Later that night, the Academy of Stars students returned to their assigned quarters—a massive fortress built within the ruins of an ancient battlefield.
The instructors wasted no time.
Professor Alden Greybourne stood before them.
“We need a battle plan.”
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The instructors began assigning roles to each House.
House Virgo’s Role:
? Modify terrain to give their academy an advantage.
? Enhance weapons and armor for their allies.
? Sabotage enemy structures by altering materials.
Ethan listened carefully, already forming ideas in his head.
The others were thinking about how to fight.
But Virgo?
Virgo was going to control the battlefield itself.
As the war horns echoed through the night, Ethan clenched his fists.
Tomorrow, the real battle would begin.
?The Morning of Battle
The sun had barely risen when the Academy of Stars gathered in their fortress, the air thick with tension and excitement. The once-quiet ruins had been transformed into a war camp, buzzing with students preparing for battle. Each House had been given their role in the grand war, their instructors making final checks, while House leaders gathered for strategic discussions.
The fortress itself was a mix of stone ruins and magically reinforced walls, designed to serve as their stronghold. Across the battlefield, similar fortifications stood for the other academies, each preparing for the trials to come.
Headmaster Alden Greybourne and the House Leaders stood before a massive, enchanted battlefield map, where glowing miniatures of their fortress, terrain, and enemy academies flickered.
The competition was about strategy, coordination, and raw skill. And every House had a role to play.
Greybourne’s sharp gaze scanned the students before he spoke.
“This war is not won by individuals—it is won by houses working as one. Listen carefully to your assignments.”
? House Aries: The frontline warriors. They would lead charges, defend the fortress, and clash directly with enemy forces.
? House Taurus: The defensive wall, reinforcing positions and holding the line at all costs.
? House Gemini: The scouts and messengers, tasked with tracking enemy movements and relaying intelligence.
? House Cancer: The healers and support, stationed near the center to quickly recover fallen students.
? House Leo (Nonexistent in all academies) – Still a forbidden power.
? House Virgo: The strategists, alchemists, and battlefield engineers. Their task was to reinforce structures, set traps, and modify equipment.
? House Libra: The diplomats and tacticians, ensuring cooperation between Houses and forming temporary battle alliances.
? House Scorpio: The stealth operatives, disrupting enemy formations with sabotage and assassination-style tactics.
? House Sagittarius: The ranged attackers, snipers, and long-distance combat specialists.
? House Capricorn: The endurance fighters, capable of lasting through prolonged battles and exhausting their opponents.
? House Aquarius: The energy manipulators, controlling flow and mobility on the battlefield.
? House Pisces: The adaptive combatants, shifting between support and offense depending on the situation.
The students listened in focused silence, absorbing their roles.
Greybourne’s voice hardened. “You are not here to fight alone. You are here to prove that our Academy is the strongest. Remember the rules—if our flag falls, we have until the final countdown to take another.”
A moment of silence passed. Then—
BOOM!
The warhorn blared.
The time for strategy was over.
The battle had begun.
The massive war zone stretched across an ever-changing terrain, from forests and rivers to towering cliffs and ancient ruins. At the center of each academy’s fortified town, their flag stood, the heart of their forces.
The goal was simple—defend your flag and steal from the others.
Most importantly—if an academy lost their flag, they had until the final countdown to capture another or be eliminated.
A powerful voice echoed across the battlefield, amplified by magic.
“Warriors! The trial begins—NOW!”
The ground shook as battle cries erupted from every academy.
The Velmora Academy, hosts of the competition, had already begun terraforming the battlefield. Unlike the Academy of Stars, which had arrived on foreign ground, Velmora’s students were modifying their entire fortress to their advantage.
At the center stood Soren Calderon, the Titan of Velmora—a master of gravitational combat. His aura was so powerful it bent the ground beneath his feet.
“Let them come.” His deep voice rumbled through the fortress. “This land belongs to Velmora.
Ignis Academy did not defend.
They attacked.
Rather than wait for enemies to come to them, the warriors of Ignis stormed the battlefield, engaging in high-speed, high-destruction battles before enemy defenses could fully form.
At the head of their army was Valeria Pyrestorm, the Crimson Reaper—a student so powerful her flames warped the air itself.
“Burn them all.”
Unlike the others, Azureveil Academy never fought head-on.
They were already inside enemy fortresses.
At the head of it all was Kael Tideborne, the Phantom Raider—a warrior so stealthy even the battlefield didn’t acknowledge his presence until it was too late.
“They’ll never see it coming.”
The Academy of Stars stood at full strength, but they were fighting against overwhelming odds.
At the heart of it all was Ethan.
His Lion’s Sight allowed him to see the battlefield not as chaos, but as a system of moving parts.
He saw where defenses were weakest.
He saw where enemy forces would strike next.
The Academy of Stars had formed a strong defensive perimeter around their fortress, but Ethan knew defense alone wouldn’t win this war.
To stay in the game, they needed to strike first.
While most academies strategized or spread their forces, Velmora Academy took a differentapproach.
They didn’t defend.
They advanced.
As if following an unspoken command, a battalion of Velmora warriors surged forward, a relentless, synchronized wall of power. The ground trembled beneath them their House Aries and Taurus students bulldozed through the battlefield, leading the charge with earth-cracking might.
At the helm stood Soren Calderon, Velmora’s strongest Aries warrior, surrounded by his elite vanguard. His body was massive, his muscles carved from years of battle, but what set him apart was the gravitational force radiating off of him.
With a single step, the battlefield shook.
With a single swipe of his greatsword, he sent three enemy warriors flying into the sky—only for them to be crushed back into the ground by a sudden increase in gravity.
“Velmora does not wait,” Soren declared. “We take.”
A loud crack split the air as the Academy of Stars’ Aries warriors clashed against Velmora’s vanguard.
At the front stood Darius, his hands igniting with raw, explosive Aries energy.
Unlike Soren, who wielded gravitational dominance, Darius was pure speed and destruction.
He vanished—a blur of crimson.
Before Velmora’s warriors could react, Darius was already in the air, his spear spinning like a burning cyclone.
Then—
Boom!
A shockwave erupted as he slammed into the battlefield, sending waves of scorching energy through the ranks of Velmora’s warriors.
He didn’t give them time to recover.
His spear extended—turning into a flaming arc that carved through the enemy lines.
Soren narrowed his eyes, grinning.
“You’re strong,” he admitted. “But strength alone won’t break Velmora.”
Darius smirked, twirling his spear. “Then let’s test that.”
Their clash shattered the earth.
While Velmora and the Academy of Stars clashed, the true game was being played elsewhere.
Azureveil Academy had already infiltrated an enemy fortress.
Their warriors did not fight loudly.
They did not charge head-on.
They slithered through the battlefield like ghosts.
Their House Scorpio and House Pisces operatives moved like shadows, sneaking past enemy perimeters undetected.
Kael Tideborne, the Phantom Raider, led the operation himself.
With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed ink-like tendrils of water infused with stealth magic, choking out the guards before they could even scream.
In less than two minutes, the entire enemy fortress was overrun.
Then—
Azureveil’s banner replaced theirs.
The warhorn blared across the battlefield.
One academy had already fallen.
But that was only the beginning.
Back at the battlefield, Callan had positioned himself on a high ridge.
His weapon? A Virgo-forged compound bow, its arrows reinforced with precision-modified trajectory coding.
He took in the chaos below—Velmora warriors tearing through the battlefield, Darius and Soren shaking the earth with their duel, and enemy forces maneuvering around defenses.
But Callan didn’t waste arrows.
He waited.
Then—
An opening.
A Velmora Aries fighter rushed toward an injured Academy of Stars student.
Callan breathed in.
Modified his arrow mid-flight.
Fired.
The arrow curved in the air, changing its angle at the last moment.
It pierced through the ground, releasing a concussive force that sent the attacker tumbling backward.
Callan smirked. “Bullseye.”
While Callan sniped from above, Orion moved through the battlefield like a storm.
His weapons? Twin modified Virgo daggers, their edges sharp enough to slice through enchanted steel.
Rather than brute force, Orion relied on agility.
? He vanished between enemies.
? He struck where they least expected.
? He cut through defenses with ease.
When a Velmora warrior swung a warhammer down at him, Orion sidestepped, spun, and severed the hammer’s handle mid-swing.
The warrior stumbled, caught off guard.
Orion winked. “Too slow.”
Then—he flipped over them, slashing across their back in one clean motion.
Through all of this, Ethan watched.
Not passively.
Not hesitating.
He was calculating.
He activated his Lion’s Sight, not just to fight—but to understand.
The battlefield was a system.
He could see:
? Where defenses were weak.
? Where enemy formations would collapse.
? Where his academy needed to strike next.
He reached down, his hands brushing against the earth.
Then—
He rewrote the battlefield itself.
Using Virgo alchemy, he modified the terrain, reshaping the very ground into trenches, spike traps, and shifting elevations to give his allies an advantage.
When an enemy charged toward him, Ethan flipped his chain forward—rewriting its elasticity mid-motion.
The chain wrapped around the attacker, snapping back to Ethan’s hand, pulling them off balance.
He took a step forward.
Then—he struck.
The warhorn blasted again.
Another academy had lost their flag.
Now—they had one final chance.
If they didn’t steal another before the final countdown…
They would be eliminated.
And desperate warriors were the most dangerous.
As Ethan and his allies held their ground, a new threat emerged.
Not from Velmora.
Not from Azureveil.
But from Ignis Academy.
From the smoke of battle, a wave of fire-wielders charged forward—a last, desperate push to take their flag.
At the front, Valeria Pyrestorm’s eyes burned with violent flames.
And she wasn’t here to lose.
The Velmora battlefield had turned into a warzone.
Flames roared, the ground split apart, water surged through trenches, and unseen forces bent the very air.
The Academy of Stars had entered the war with a unified front, but they were not alone—
The warriors of Velmora, Ignis, and Azureveil were not holding back.
The tactical coordination between the different houses was what would determine victory.
And right now—the Academy of Stars was struggling.
Darius wasn’t fighting alone.
His fellow Aries warriors—clad in enchanted battle armor, their fists crackling with aura—charged into the heart of the battlefield.
? Rowan Flintclash, a massive brute of a warrior, swung his flame-coated warhammer, sending Velmora earth-wielders flying.
? Elaine Stormheart, a dual-blade specialist, weaved through enemies with lightning-fast precision, parrying a flurry of attacks.
But they weren’t invincible.
? Ignis Academy’s own Aries warriors met them head-on, their flames clashing in a battle of sheer raw power.
Sparks flew as Darius clashed against Valeria Pyrestorm, their duel setting the battlefield ablaze.
Behind Aries, the Taurus warriors held the front lines, forming a defensive barricade to prevent enemy forces from reaching their flag.
? Gideon Ironhide, a Taurus adept, slammed his shield into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Velmora warriors sprawling.
? Serena Rockwell, a master of reinforced body enhancement, took blows that would shatter lesser fighters—standing unshaken like an immovable mountain.
However, Azureveil’s Scorpio assassins had infiltrated their ranks—slipping through defenses with deadly precision.
One of them almost reached the flag—
Until Gideon’s earth-forged spear impaled the ground beneath them, locking them in place.
While the frontline clashed in brute force, the Gemini warriors of the Academy of Stars fought with deception and speed.
? Cassius Vale, an expert in mirage combat, split into three perfect clones, confusing his opponent before striking from behind.
? Lyra Moonveil, a masked trickster, used illusion spells to make their warriors appear where they weren’t—luring enemies into deadly traps.
Yet, Velmora’s own House Gemini were just as skilled.
The battlefield was filled with clones, illusions, and deception, making it impossible to tell friend from foe.
Orion, fighting nearby, had to rely purely on instinct—striking at enemies that left a real impact in the sand.
In the center of the battlefield, House Cancer warriors played a crucial role—support and counterplay.
? Selene Moonshadow, one of the strongest Cancer warriors, manipulated water into hardened armor, reinforcing the defenses of their Taurus allies.
? Arden Luthren, an expert in fluid combat, reshaped his weapons mid-fight—turning a spear into a whip, a whip into a blade.
But Azureveil’s water specialists were superior in sheer control.
A wave surged across the battlefield, freezing weapons and armor alike.
Selene barely managed to counter it—her water forming a protective dome that shielded her allies.
Ethan, Callan, and Lysandra weren’t the only Virgo warriors fighting.
? Nathaniel Crestfield, a tactician, controlled traps and barriers, guiding their forces like a game of chess.
? Celeste Aetheris, a runic crafter, carved temporary enchantments into weapons, reinforcing them mid-battle.
? Virgo alchemists modified the terrain—turning mud into solid ground, forming walls to block enemy advances.
Yet, Velmora’s Virgo house was equally skilled—reversing alchemy spells, warping materials mid-transmutation.
It became a battle of craft vs. counter-craft.
Among all these great warriors, one house remained conspicuously absent.
House Leo did not exist.
And yet—Ethan fought as if he was filling that void.
He wasn’t just a Virgo.
He was something else.
And as the battle raged—it became clear the Academy of Stars was losing ground.
A massive thunderclap split the battlefield.
The Velmora warriors had pushed through.
The Ignis fire-wielders had burned a path open.
The Azureveil assassins had weakened their forces.
And before anyone could stop them—
The Academy of Stars’ first flag was taken.
A distant bell tolled, marking the loss of territory.
For the first time in years—the Academy of Stars was on the brink of elimination.
And if they didn’t act fast—they’d lose the war before the final battle.
Breathing heavily, Ethan took in the battlefield.
They were losing.
His allies were giving it everything, but the enemies were too organized, too strong, too overwhelming.
The Academy of Stars was splintered.
Each house was fighting its own war.
Meanwhile, Velmora, Ignis, and Azureveil fought as one.
This war couldn’t be won with raw power.
It had to be rewritten.
Ethan took a deep breath.
If his Academy was going to survive—he needed to change the very battlefield itself.
And that meant using the most advanced technique he had ever attempted.
The battlefield was in chaos.
Ethan stood amidst the wreckage of the battlefield, his breathing heavy, his mind racing.
They were outnumbered, their forces scattered, and their defenses crumbling.
And yet—he could see it.
The world wasn’t just stone, air, and fire.
It was code.
And he was about to rewrite it.
Ethan didn’t waste time.
He turned to Callan, Orion, and Lysandra—his closest allies in battle.
“We can’t fight them head-on,” Ethan said, scanning the battlefield with his Lion’s Sight. “They’re stronger, more coordinated. If we keep playing by their rules, we’ll lose every flag before the time is up.”
Orion wiped sweat from his brow. “So what? You have some genius plan?”
Ethan smirked. “Something like that.”
He pointed to a stretch of open terrain near their remaining flag.
“We let them come to us. But we decide how they fight.”
Callan’s eyes narrowed. “You’re thinking of battlefield modification.”
Ethan nodded.
Lysandra, arms crossed, frowned. “That’s not enough. We don’t have time to reshape the terrain.”
“We don’t need time,” Ethan countered. “We need control.”
Ethan raised his hand—his aura spreading outward.
But this time, he wasn’t just modifying the ground or air.
He was rewriting how the battlefield interacted with perception itself.
Using the principles of atomic transmutation—he altered the way light bent around their territory.
The effect?
To the approaching enemies, it would seem as if the Academy of Stars’ forces were everywhere.
And nowhere.
The battlefield became a shifting mirage, where every movement was distorted, every shape doubled, every enemy unsure of where the real threat lay.
The first warriors to fall into Ethan’s trap were the Ignis Academy’s Aries students, led by Valeria Pyrestorm.
Her elite fire-wielders charged forward, expecting a direct battle—
Instead, they found themselves striking at shadows.
? Their flames burned, but hit nothing but air.
? Their attacks missed, while their enemies seemed to phase in and out of reality.
“Where are they?!” Valeria snarled, her aura flaring wildly.
From the shadows—the Academy of Stars struck back.
? Darius led the Aries counter-charge, his fists igniting in blue flames, punching straight through their scattered formation.
? Callan, using his refined bow technique, sent arrows curving mid-air, striking enemies from impossible angles.
? Orion’s blade-grass daggers cut through the battlefield, weaving through Velmora and Azureveil forces with precision.
And at the center of it all—
Ethan moved like a ghost.
Where others saw sand and battle—he saw patterns, lines, and flaws in the battlefield itself.
With every step, he modified the very air, shifting pressure points and density, forcing enemies to trip, stagger, or swing at nothing.
From afar, the strongest warriors of Velmora and Azureveil watched the battle unfold.
The commanders of the enemy academies realized one thing very quickly—
If Ethan wasn’t stopped soon, the Academy of Stars wouldn’t just survive… they’d turn the entire war in their favor.
Ethan felt it before he saw it.
A massive surge of power, like a tidal wave crashing toward him.
Before he could react—
BOOM.
The battlefield exploded, sand flying as a Velmora earth-wielder slammed a boulder the size of a house into the ground.
The illusions shattered.
And suddenly—the trap was gone.
The enemy forces realigned.
Ethan wiped dust from his face, his heart pounding.
It wasn’t over yet.
Far ahead, the final flag of the Academy of Stars fluttered in the wind.
And three enemy houses were closing in fast.
They had turned the tides once.
Now—
They had to win the war.
The battlefield was in chaos.
The Academy of Stars’ forces were holding their ground, but the three enemy academies—Velmora, Ignis, and Azureveil—were closing in.
This was it.
The final clash before the countdown reached zero.
Ethan turned to his allies. This was their last stand.
? Darius was at the front, fists blazing, clashing with Ignis Academy’s warriors in a brutal melee.
? Callan provided ranged support, his newly enhanced arrows piercing through defenses like guided missiles.
? Orion, using his bladed vines, weaved through the battlefield, striking with unpredictable precision.
? Lysandra and the Virgo students reinforced the defenses, modifying the terrain to slow enemy advances.
The final flag of the Academy of Stars fluttered behind them.
They could not let it fall.
Ethan clenched his fists.
His body ached from overuse of aura. His mind burned from the complexity of the transmutations he had already performed.
But he wasn’t done.
Not yet.
He activated his Lion’s Sight—
And the battlefield unfolded before him like a living, breathing program.
? The sand beneath them could be shifted.
? The air pressure could be controlled.
? The weapons of their enemies could be weakened.
He breathed deep—
And rewrote the battlefield itself.
The first enemy warriors who rushed forward suddenly found themselves sinking.
The sand beneath their feet—turned into quicksand by Ethan’s transmutation—dragged them down.
Ignis Academy’s fire-wielders tried to burn through, but Ethan redirected the air pressure, snuffing their flames out before they could ignite.
Velmora’s earth warriors attempted to strike back, but Ethan weakened their weapons, causing their stone weapons to crumble mid-swing.
Azureveil’s assassins leaped toward the flag—
Only for Orion’s bladed vines to intercept them mid-air, wrapping around their limbs and slamming them into the ground.
One by one—the enemy academies were thrown into disarray.
And that’s when Darius made his move.
At the center of the battlefield, Darius came face-to-face with Valeria Pyrestorm, the strongest warrior from Ignis Academy.
Her flaming greatsword crackled with heat, scorching the air around her.
Darius grinned, rolling his shoulders.
“Let’s see who burns brighter.”
The two clashed in an explosion of flame and force—
? Darius moved like a wildfire, striking with brutal speed and raw power.
? Valeria was relentless, her sword carving through the battlefield like molten lava.
Blow for blow, strike for strike—neither yielded.
But then—
Ethan saw the opening.
With one final transmutation, he shifted the air pressure around Valeria, forcing her movements to slow for just a fraction of a second.
That was all Darius needed.
With a roaring uppercut, Darius sent Valeria flying—crashing into the ground, defeated.
The Ignis forces faltered.
That was the last push they needed.
The countdown hit zero—
And the final flag of the Academy of Stars remained standing.
A loud horn echoed across the battlefield.
The war competition was over.
And the finalists were decided.
The Academy of Stars and Velmora Academy had the most flags.
They would face each other in the final battle.
