Chapter 588: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Not an Easy Opponent

The arena still remained unusually quiet even after the winner of the match had been decided.

The fight platform was almost unrecognizable.

Large sections of the stone had been shattered or sliced apart, while other areas were covered in frost from Diane’s Frost Alchemy. Broken pieces of ice were scattered across the ground, mixed with spent bullets, fragments of firearms, and small pieces of metal that had been thrown around during the final exchange.

Cold air still drifted across the battlefield.

The force field surrounding the platform had finally stopped trembling, but faint ripples could still be seen disappearing across its surface.

Yet none of that was what most of the spectators were looking at.

Everyone was still staring at the two Flowers of Britannia.

Vera remained on the platform.

Diane was still outside it, kneeling after being sent flying by Vera’s final punch.

Then...

"Winner!!!"

Patrick West’s voice echoed loudly through the arena speakers.

Many spectators finally turned their attention away from the two Young Alchemists and toward the area where Patrick’s voice was coming from.

"Lady Vera Ashenlocke!!!"

Patrick shouted Vera’s name with clear excitement.

The response came almost instantly.

"YEAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

Almost all of Vera Ashenlocke’s fans raised their hands.

Banners, flags, handmade signs, and other merchandise bearing Vera’s name or the Ashenlocke crest were lifted into the air as the crowd erupted.

"Lady Vera Ashenlocke!!!"

"You did it!!!"

"I said it, I said it!!!"

"Ashenlockes forever!!!"

"Lady Vera Ashenlocke did it! She really did it!!"

"She got her revenge on a big platform!!"

"That’s our Jewel of Ash!!!"

"A true Gun Alchemist!!"

"Did you see her control over all those firearms?!"

"How many did she even suspend in the air with her Alchemy Levitation?!"

"I couldn’t possibly do that when I was an Adept Alchemist!!"

"Lady Vera!!!"

The voices overlapped until it became difficult to separate one from another.

Young adults shouted beside teenagers.

Children waved flags that were almost as large as their bodies.

Some spectators jumped in place while others leaned over the railings of the stands, trying to get a better view of Vera.

Several Vera supporters were already arguing about which part of the battle had been the most impressive.

Some praised her firearm control.

Others were still talking about the way she had moved through Diane’s attacks.

A few were simply shouting her name without even trying to form a proper sentence.

The entire arena was now filled with praise for Vera.

But Vera was not the only one receiving cheers.

"OUR LADY OF BERG, YOU DID YOUR BEST!!"

"DON’T WORRY ABOUT THIS LOSS! YOU ARE STILL THE STRONGEST!!!"

"YEAH! YOU CAN SURELY BEAT HER NEXT TIME!!"

"YOU DID YOUR BEST, ICE GIANT OF BERG!!"

"WE LOVE YOU, LADY DIANE BERGWYN!"

Many of Diane’s fans also raised their voices.

They were cheering for their Lady while she remained in a kneeling posture outside the fight platform.

Some looked worried about her condition.

Others simply continued shouting encouragement, refusing to let the defeat silence them.

For them, losing one match did not erase everything Diane had shown during the Combat Festival.

Back in the fight area...

Vera finally started moving.

She walked toward where Diane was kneeling.

Her steps were not particularly fast.

The fight had taken a great deal from both of them, and the damaged platform made walking more difficult than usual.

Vera held her left hand.

Purple marks had begun appearing across her pale skin around the damaged area, showing just how badly the bones in her hand had been affected by the final punch.

Her fingers moved only slightly.

Even that small motion brought a dull ache through the injured hand.

At the same time, the Medic staff rushed onto the fight area.

They had been waiting for the moment the match officially ended, and now several of them moved toward the two Flowers with medical equipment already prepared.

Before they could reach them, Diane suddenly sat down completely.

She folded her legs and raised both hands toward Vera.

"Vera, I’m sleepy, carry me."

Diane’s voice was light.

Vera stopped.

She looked down at Diane.

Then she looked at her own injured hand.

"You broke my hand, how am I expected to carry you?"

Vera tilted her head slightly to the right as she spoke casually.

Diane’s eyes moved toward Vera’s left hand.

"Your hand is broken?"

She looked at the state of Vera’s hand for a moment, as though she had only just noticed how badly the final exchange had affected it.

"That’s the hand you used to punch me."

She pointed tiredly toward Vera’s injured hand.

"Yes, and your strong cheekbone broke it."

Vera replied flatly.

Diane looked at Vera for a moment.

Then she answered without much reaction.

"Then you shouldn’t have punched me if your hand wasn’t strong."

Vera’s expression remained unchanged.

She stared at Diane.

Diane simply glanced toward the Medic staff who were now getting closer.

The senior Medic finally reached them.

"Flowers."

His voice was firm but respectful.

He immediately began checking Vera’s injured hand while several other Medic staff moved toward Diane.

Vera allowed the senior Medic to take her hand.

He carefully examined the purple marks across her skin, checking the position of her fingers and the condition of the damaged bones before beginning the first aid.

Nearby, another Medic examined Diane.

The girl had several cuts across her body from the earlier exchanges, and some of the wounds were still covered in frost. The blood had already stopped flowing from several of them because of the cold.

Neither Flower complained.

The arena was still loud around them, but the two girls remained focused on the medical staff.

After some time had passed and first aid had been applied to both of them, Diane and Vera finally left the arena with the Medic staff.

The crowd continued watching them until they disappeared from the fight area.

At the end of the day, Diane placed both hands on Vera’s shoulders while walking behind her.

Her steps were slow.

Her eyes were already closed.

She leaned against Vera while sleeping peacefully, seemingly having decided that Vera was the most convenient person to use for support after the fight.

Instead of allowing the Medic staff to assist her movements.

Vera continued walking.

She did not say anything about it.

The Medic staff stayed nearby as the two Flowers left the arena.

Seconds later, the Craft-based Royal Academy staff entered the fight area.

They looked across the ruined platform.

Then they looked at one another.

Their usual repairing work began.

Several staff members moved toward the damaged sections while others brought out equipment and materials for the repairs.

It would take time.

Since the platform had suffered too much damage during the fight between the two Flowers.

There were deep cuts across the stone, large areas covered in ice, and sections where the surface had been destroyed by the repeated clashes between firearms and Frost Alchemy.

In a way, the cold temperature of the fight area reminded them of how hot the arena had become when Maxwell fought.

And the next fight was going to involve him again.

One of the junior Craft-based staff looked down at the frozen section of the platform.

"Ahhhhh."

He sighed heavily.

He rubbed the back of his neck while staring at the damaged ground.

"All these children are monsters."

He said it with a genuinely amazed expression.

Another staff member nearby continued working without looking up.

The junior staff member could only shake his head and return to the repairs.

They had already repaired one battlefield just as damaged as this one was.

Now they had to deal with it, knowing that there was still another match remaining.

While the Craft-based staff began their work, the four holographic screens above the arena activated again.

The slowed replays of the fight between the two Flowers appeared.

The screens showed the battle from different angles.

One replay showed Vera controlling her firearms.

Another focused on Diane and her Ice Clones.

A third replay displayed the final close-quarters exchange.

The fourth screen showed the moment Vera’s final punch sent Diane flying outside the platform.

The spectators immediately began talking again.

Some continued discussing Vera’s performance.

Others were more interested in Diane’s Frost Alchemy.

The people who understood the battle to a certain level began explaining what they had seen to those who had struggled to follow the fight.

Even with the replay slowed down, there were still movements that some spectators could barely understand.

A few people pointed at the holographic screens as they tried to explain Vera’s firearm movements.

Others still continued to talk about Diane’s Ice Clones and the way they had worked together.

The arena slowly returned to its usual bright atmosphere.

The tension from the previous fight was fading.

But another kind of anticipation was already building.

The final match was coming.

At the First-Year seating section, several of the students remained in their seats while watching the replays.

Willow Derlis folded her arms.

One leg rested over the other as she looked at the holographic screen in front of her.

"Those Ice Clones are really unique."

She spoke while watching the replay.

Selena Galehart and Sasha Burnwick were seated to her left and right, while Cyrus Burnwick was seated in the next seating column in front of them.

The screen showed several of Diane’s Ice Clones moving together.

Willow’s crimson eyes followed them carefully.

The way they copied Diane’s appearance and moved as a group made it difficult to tell which one was the real Diane when they were all fighting at full speed.

"Hey, girls."

A familiar voice came from behind Willow and the other Flowers.

At the same time, Nina Ashenlocke, Zack Ashenlocke, and Lyra Ashburn could be seen running toward the exit of the stands.

They were heading toward the area where Vera would leave the arena.

Several Bergwyn Mainlines and Highlines followed as well.

The same voice then greeted Cyrus.

"And Cyrus Burnwick."

Cyrus turned his head.

"Fatima."

Selena called her name.

She waved toward Fatima with a pleased smile.

Fatima walked closer to the group and sat down.

Sasha looked toward her.

"Haven’t seen you since you lost in the first round."

Her tone was calm.

Fatima smiled warmly.

"Let’s just say, I had some thinking and meditating to do."

She replied calmly.

There was no bitterness in her voice when she mentioned her defeat.

She had clearly spent the time since then reflecting on it.

And the others did not press her about it.

The conversation soon shifted toward the final match.

Fatima looked toward the fight platform, where the Craft-based Royal Academy staff were still repairing the damaged sections.

"So, the next fight is Maxwell, the Sun Alchemist facing Ezra Ashenlocke."

She turned her face toward the platform.

The repairs had already restored several sections of the damaged surface, but there was still work being done across the arena.

Fatima watched for a moment calmly.

"You know about his Alchemy Path?"

Cyrus asked.

There was a hint of surprise in his voice.

He had not expected Fatima to already know about Maxwell’s Path.

"My mother told me after he revealed his Alchemy Path to everyone during his fight against Ravenor."

Fatima replied calmly.

"The Path is really strong. I don’t even know if Sir Ezra will be able to handle that power."

Selena spoke with an elegant, worried expression.

She placed one hand against her cheek while looking toward the fight platform.

The concern on her face was genuine.

Sasha slowly turned her head toward Selena.

A teasing expression appeared on her face.

"Is that why you have been grinning all this time, because you said those same worried words to Ezra and he thanked you for it..."

Sasha paused.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ehnn... S.E.L.E.N.A."

Selena blinked.

She pointed toward herself.

"I’m smiling?"

She looked genuinely surprised that she had apparently been smiling without noticing it.

Sasha’s expression became even more suspicious.

Selena lowered her hand from her cheek and looked toward the platform again.

She seemed to consider whether she really had been smiling.

Willow, however, remained focused on the upcoming match.

She had already seen Maxwell’s Alchemy.

She had also fought Ezra Ashenlocke herself.

Those two experiences gave her enough information to form an opinion.

"Well, to be honest..."

Willow spoke with her usual serious expression.

"With what I have seen from Maxwell’s Alchemy and after facing Ezra Ashenlocke myself..."

Her crimson eyes shifted toward the fight platform.

The Craft-based Royal Academy staff were now leaving.

The last pieces of damaged stone had been restored, the remaining equipment was being removed, and the battlefield had finally been returned to a condition suitable for the next match.

The platform stood beneath the arena lights once again.

The last match of the day was ready.

Willow looked at it for several seconds.

"Maxwell should win."

She said it firmly, without hesitation.

Sasha and Selena remained quiet.

Cyrus also looked toward the platform.

Willow’s eyes did not leave it.

"But then..."

She paused.

Her crimson eyes focused on the restored fight platform.

"Ezra Ashenlocke is not an easy opponent."

Her voice remained calm.

There was no need for her to say anything more.

The final match had not even begun yet.

But after everything the spectators had witnessed throughout the day, the arena already felt as though it were waiting for something much bigger.