Adela snapped her fingers, causing all of the leaves around me to pelt me.

I slashed the air three times, cutting down most of the leaves. Those that remained crumbled as my ice took effect.

Adela took a deep breath and breathed fire out of her mouth.

I raised the ground before me, shielding myself against the flames. Though, some parts turned into lava.

"Ignis Draco!" Adela chanted.

My eyes widened as the rest of the wall melted. A fire dragon stuck its head through and whacked me with its rock-covered tail.

I winced as I was knocked to the floor. Hadn't expected that. How did the flames get... Wait, the lava on the rock. She used the lingering flames for her spell.

Adela smiled as she dashed at me. She flicked her wrist, causing a metal sword to fly out of the sleeves of her flowing red qipao.

I raised my sword and swatted it away.

"That was a close one," I said, smiling.

Adela continued to smile.

My eyes widened as I realized her fire dragon had disappeared. A giant hole had formed where it had been floating. With some focus, I could feel it burrowing through the ground, melting the parts directly below me.

I jumped into the air and covered the ground with a thick layer of ice. The floor shattered, and steam erupted as the molten earth met my magic.

The ground spun around the molten crater and rose to form a spiral hill.

Adela flew back as the hill turned into an earth dragon.

Leaf swords rained out of her sleeves, impaling my spell, shattering it.

I gripped my sword. It appeared I had to resort to using one of my new techniques after all. "Yuèyǐng héngsǎo!" I shouted. I appeared behind the High Priestess of Xian in a single second and slashed her back with my left hand. If this were a battle to the death, I would've used my blade.

Adela gritted her teeth as she staggered forward. ice formed on the region I had run my hand through. "How did you get behind me?"

I smiled and dashed at her. "Simple, magic." My eyes widened as a wall of flames appeared between us.

She snickered. "You know what I meant. That said, you failed to finish me off when you could." The crimson flames started to converge around her. Their heat was intense. Nearly as hot as Zelde's when using her spirit's power.

"Terra!" I raised several rocks into the air. Lava splashed outward as soon as my rocks struck the flames. Some parts got through the wall from the sounds coming from the other side. Though, those were of pebbles skipping against cement.

I clicked my tongue and flew upward to see if there was a hole on top of the spinning flames. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single opening.

"Zhìyù zhī huǒ!" Adela yelled. The flames contracted and flew into her body. Her wounds vanished entirely. Even her tattered clothes were back to normal.

"So, a defensive healing spell," I said, smiling. That sure was something. "Did you use that spell against Iah too?"

She gasped as if it was a strange question to ask. "Yeah, but he broke through it before I could be healed. Ratmir, he's a formidable foe." She glanced up at me and flew forward. "But that's why I have to get stronger!"

***

[Some Days Ago]

I hung my head low as I approached The Divine Moon. "I-I'm sorry," I blurted out as I fell to my knees. "I failed to guard Iah as you had asked. I'm a failure as a knight."

A hand caressed my face. "You're not a failure, child," The Divine Moon said. "The enemy you were up against was simply too great for someone your age. Plus, you did bring him back in the end. It was Iah's decision to leave."

"If only I had better stamina, I could've watched over him. Instead of passing out."

He patted my head. "Don't look at the negatives all the time. Plus, even if you were awake, I don't think Iah would've given up so easily. It was for the better that he left on a peaceful note rather than having to fight one of his friends again."

"Not to look at the negatives, huh? But isn't that the only way to grow? To look at one's mistakes."

"No. One can also grow by looking at what one did right. Being able to do both is the sign of any great warrior, artist, writer, and the like. Try to be a little more confident even in the face of failure. Mistakes can be the best teachers in life. I'm sure that Iah understands that too, wherever he is."

I nodded. "I'll try to do as you say, Divine Moon."

He laughed. "Try to be a little more laidback."

My eyes rose to the white cloaked figure seated on the throne. "Laidback?"

His lilac eyes widened. "You don't know how to do that, do you?"

I turned away and thought about the moments I had spent with my classmates during our first year. Vermeil would often tell me to be less uptight, that I made Sarah seem like the life of the party in comparison. The latter got mad at Vermeil for what she was implying.

I snickered at the memory. "I do, but I'm not the best at it. As a knight, I have to keep my guard up at all times. "

The Divine Moon leaned against his hand and sighed. "You remind me of a certain goddess."

I blinked. "Orihime?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. She's an uptight one. But she also cares a lot about her family and friends, just like you."

I wasn't sure whether to be pleased by the comparison or not. "I'm not sure if I can mellow out, but I will try to become stronger should I need to face Ratmir's power again."

He shook his head and laughed. "Alright. Good luck with your goals, my stern knight."

***

[Present]

"Likewise," I said, flying at her. Our swords clashed, creating an explosion that sent us flying into the barrier.

"Damn it," I said, wincing as I slid to the ground. Had I won? Or had I lost? I didn't want to go out on this match like Iah had against Lei in the games.

I pushed myself up. Adela swayed side to side as her crimson eyes met my lilac ones. So, she still had some energy left too.

Marina stepped into the half-melted ring. "Seems that this match is over, but who won?" She lifted her ocean-blue eyes toward the screen that had appeared over it. Half of the screen showed Adela and the other half me. It began from the moment of our swords clashing and the proceeding explosion that sent us flying.

I watched nervously as each of us got closer to the barrier. Leaves pushed against Adela's back halfway, slowing her down a little. On the other hand, I hadn't acted quick enough to pull off a similar thing.

My head hung low, already aware of the result.

"The winner is Adela Xian!" Marina yelled.

"Hey, good match out there. You really gave me a lot of trouble. I can see now how you were able to defeat Ayawamat and nearly defeat An," Adela said, smiling as she walked toward me.

I turned away. "Thanks." A slight smile dotted my face. "You did well too." My gaze shifted toward An and Hal in the stands. Who would win the last match of round one?

"Are you worried about An?"

My cheeks reddened. "Why do you think that?" Ugh, but now that she mentioned it, would he be okay? He has only had a few days of physical and magical rehabilitation. His body might not keep up.

"Welcome back," I said as Xue and Adela joined us again.

An grabbed Xue by the shoulders as she leaned forward. "Are you alright? You seem exhausted. Maybe you should go to the nurse's office and sleep."

Xue smiled slightly and shook her head. "I'll be fine. I just have to sit down."

"Are you sure?" Adela asked, crossing her arms.

She nodded. "Yeah. I can't sleep until their match is over."

The High Priestess sighed. "Sounds like something Lei would say."

Lei grinned. "Yeah, probably."

Adela shook her head at him and sat down beside him.

"Are all people who want to  be Magus Maximus like this?" Kanja asked, glancing over at Carter.

My little brother's teammate laughed. "Not sure, but it certainly applies to me."

Ling sighed. "Idiots."

Xue laughed weakly. "Pretty sure that Lei pushes himself more than I do," the lunar knight whispered.

An moved his arms up and down. "I'll try to make it fast so that you can rest!"

She smiled. "Thanks."

I crossed my arms and chuckled. "Hope that you mean lose quickly because I'm not going down easily!"

"Y-yeah. B-brother is tough!" Jude said as he jumped off of my back. I had been watching the match standing up so that he could see easily from up here.

I laughed and patted my little brother's head. "Thanks for backing me up, little bro."

An smiled. "I know." He scratched his cheek and smiled awkwardly. "I might have the advantage, but my power isn't what it used to be." He took several deep breaths. "Just hit me, and don't hold back. This is my first match in months, but going easy on me won't help."

"Right, this is your first match since you went against Aida," Vermeil said, walking over to him. She dug into her purse and pulled out an amethyst.

An gasped as she put it in his palm. "T-this is for me?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Planned to give it to you sooner, but the chance didn't present itself until now. Consider it a good luck charm."

He beamed back at her as he slipped it into his breastplate. "I will!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? An amethyst? Isn't that cheating?"

An frowned. "What?"

I raised a hand in the air. "You don't know? The amethyst is said to increase psychic abilities."

"It does?"

Vermeil nodded. "Yeah. It amplifies ESP."

An's already pale face managed to turn paler. He reached into his armor. "S-sorry, Ver. I will have to ask you to hold on to it for a bit longer."

I laughed. "It's not really cheating. We're allowed to bring various tools into this. If not, I wouldn't be able to use my needles."

He let go of his armor and sighed. "That's good."

I patted him on the shoulder. "Plus, as you said, your power isn't what it used to be. That amethyst should bring it to a level close to what you used to be able to do."

My teammate smiled. "Really? I sure hope so!"

I laughed. Despite all he'd been through, An continued to have that child-like naivety and pureness.

"Now, for the final match of tonight!" Marina yelled. "Step on down, An, Hal!"

An gasped as we appeared next to the ring. "Did you teleport us here?" he asked, looking at me.

I jumped into the restored ring. "Yeah. Why keep the audience waiting? Let's give them and Xue a heck of a show!"

An leaped into the battlefield. "Yeah, let's make this as good as Xue and Adela's battle!"

"Seems like our final participants are rearing to go! Without further ado, begin!" Marina yelled.

I summoned several needles and threw them forward.

He unstrapped his ivory sword from his back and jumped back. Much to his shock, none of them had even hit where he once stood.

I smiled at his confused expression. I wasn't sure how much power he could bring out after his coma, but it was best to be safe. Should he get too close, he would run straight into my trap. Only the back and above were left to cover!

I summoned wire and threw it into the air, forming a hard-to-see metallic net around me.

An didn't move. He kept his eyes on me. Seemed I wasn't so subtle about my actions. Not that I had to be. The only way he could attack me was with long-range spells.

My opponent took a deep breath and vanished. I turned around and watched as he effortlessly sliced through my wires.

I smirked. As expected of the one who defeated Aida. I'd be lucky if I only got to face half of that power. Thankfully, I doubted he would resort to it for this match, given the crippling side effects. If he did, I would've needed to finish this off as quickly as possible to avoid him hurting himself.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?**