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To the surprise of the group, the atmosphere heading to the stadium was not one of fear or worry. Instead, it mostly contained excitement and surprise.

"I'm happy they finally restarted the tournament," one student grumbled to his friend as they passed. "What took them so long?"

"It looks like no one was told about what had happened. Even the masters are in the dark."

"Probably didn't want to start a panic or something," Delta said, munching on a snack.

"Do you have your bracelet?" Lydia asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Whatever you do don't take them off. If Nu decides to trigger the energy draining spell, we might not have time to put them back on."

"Got it!"

"Good luck!"

James left his friends, who headed up to seats that Phanes had reserved. Similar to the tournament at the Quintessium, mages with upcoming matches had a special area to prepare. Upon arriving, James chose to sit down on the ground and spread his senses outward. This would help him attune to the nearby elements and make his fighting much easier.

Suddenly, the boy frowned as he felt his magic spike without a command. Far below the ground, he could feel a roiling field of energy. It was aggressive, seeming to leap up at him, and he pulled his awareness back instantly.

"That must be the Omega Rift," he thought, his face a bit paler than usual. "What a terrifying power."

He cautiously reached out again, testing out the waters. This time, he backed off the minute he felt any form of response. Doing this, he was able to figure out the best way to observe the rift. Now sensing it without the threat of attack, James' eyes widened.

"Jesus! All that and it's still half sealed?!?" He gulped. "If Nu completes his plan, all of it will be released... there'll be nothing we could do!"

Withdrawing his magic, he calmed himself down before returning to channel the nearby elements. Worrying about the things out of his control would only cause excess stress right now. Best to focus on the things he could deal with at the current moment. Soon, a master came to retrieve him for his match. Following the man up a hallway, James found himself at one of the stadium's two entrances.

"Well, at the very least, I can be sure that Nu won't do anything right now. So let's just relax and have a good fight."

He walked out to the crowd's cheers. Taking a glance around the vast arena, he saw Lydia and the others sitting in a far corner waving at him. In the headmaster's box, Phanes had taken a seat but was avoiding showing much emotion on his face. The reason for that was simple: right next to him, coiled on a chair, was the dark face of Nu. The snake was frowning at James and, turning around, flicked his tail at a dark shape behind him. The shape turned to leave the box, but Phanes reached over and said a few words, causing the headmaster to call his guard back.

"Looks like he's suspicious at the very least," James thought. "Lucky that the Chancellor hasn't lost his influence yet."

He breathed deeply, drawing his thoughts back to the battle at hand. Walking out of the other side of the stadium was a young red fox wearing a purple tunic. Twitching his whiskers, he looked over at his competitor before cupping his hand and bowing slightly. James returned the bow, and then looked over to the sideline, waiting for the judge.

"Representing the Arcane Quintessium, we have James Newman. James is a rare Pure Elementalist and a member of the winning team for his school's Celestial Tournament. Representing the Oltrias Academy, we have Karrington Domiscus. Considered one of his school's prodigies, he is currently a blademaster and a mid-tier Air Elementalist."

"This should be awesome, then!" Delta said. "I hope James uses Ion Cannon!"

"Delta," Lydia said with a glare. "That kills people."

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly. "Forgot."

Back on the stadium floor, James had focused his thoughts and primed several different spells. Although he couldn't use water to its fullest extent, there were still plenty of other elements to harness.

"And... begin!"

Karrington immediately materialized a broadsword with a thick blade. He swung it, sending out a massive arc of pressure that barreled towards his opponent.

Earlier in the year, James would have had no idea what to do. Now, his expression simply tightened and he took a step back.

"Gaia's Shield!"

A wall of reinforced earth shot up to block the attack, absorbing it entirely. Without missing a beat, James punched forward, cracking the wall into projectiles. He then turned and concentrated, removing a vast amount of air from the space behind Karrington.

The Elementalist's eyes widened as he saw the rocks explode towards him. Then, as James' second spell finished, the missiles drastically increased in speed, pulled towards the vacuum created. Karrington wasn't deterred, however, and spun his sword in hand. Slashing rapidly, he blew up the rocks as though they weren't even there, showing the ground behind him with dust and pebbles.

James prepped another attack but was thrown by Karrington's momentum. The Air Elementalist tossed his sword high into the sky, and raised his hands, shooting out another blast of pressure. James jumped out of the way, but accidentally left an opening in his form.

"Hmm, wrong move," Algon noted. "He's in trouble now."

Karrington leaped into the air. Grabbing his sword, he erupted into a blaze of energy and crashed down, smashing into James. The Pure Elementalist was blasted backward, managing to reinforce his body just in time to avoid being knocked out. Karrington's foot touched the ground and shot out, maintaining his momentum to attempt to end the fight right then and there.

"Alright then." James' eyes narrowed. "Looks like it's time to try this out a little bit earlier than I wanted."

He stretched out both arms and flicked his wrists. Light flew from his palms and the faint image of a sigil could be seen.

"Oh right!" Delta laughed. "I forgot he had those!"

Up in the headmaster's box, the Chancellor leaned forward with interest.

The light disappeared quickly, revealing a pair of swords. Not wasting time, James reacted to Karrington's rush and blocked, crossing swords in an X over his chest. A metallic clang rang out, and both competitors were locked together, each unwilling to give an inch.

The fox grinned suddenly and flew back, landing neatly on the ground several meters away from James. He raised his broadsword up in a salute, before charging it with turbulent energy.

"So you also train in the art of the sword? Please exchange pointers with me then!"

James nodded and flicked his blades, sending his own magic into them as well. Both mages hesitated for a moment before springing towards each other with incredible speed, Karrington channeling his Air Elementalism and James drawing on the surrounding energy. The audience looked on with rapture, not even daring to make noise.

James, primarily going off of his instincts, went for a strike with his right hand. Karrington reached up and met his attack, but was thrown by another strike from the left. Dual-wielding was one of the rarest forms of weapon proficiencies, so it was not surprising that he wasn't accustomed to dealing with such strikes. Stronger than twin daggers, and sharper than fists, this was the ability of a dual swordsman.

Karrington adapted quickly to this new way of fighting, though. His training showed itself as he fluidly flashed his sword around, seemingly mindless of its weight, to block each hit while also responding with his own. The force of their blades made the air ripple with pressure and magic, kicking up dust and bits of rock from the ground.

Feeling his control over the fight slipping, James finally jumped back, becoming the first to falter. Karrington didn't follow, choosing to allow his opponent to clear his head. From what he had gleaned from their short exchange, the Pure Elementalist had only recently started to train with his blades.

"Even so, he's still tremendously confident," the fox thought as he focused his own thoughts. "That was the hardest part when I began walking my path of the sword. His soul must greatly resonate with his art if he is this proficient. I wonder who his master is?"

After only a few seconds, James finished stabilizing his mind. As a Pure Elementalist, he had an overwhelming advantage in this regard, as no other path specifically focused on honing their thoughts to the extreme to succeed. Karrington smiled and raised his sword from the ground.

"Shall we go again?"

James considered it for a moment and then hefted his own swords as an answer. The fox's grin grew larger at the sight, and his blade charged once again, this time becoming surrounded with wisps of white magical power.

"Prepare yourself. Here comes my charge!"

"Who said that only you can attack first?"

James took the initiative and raced forwards, drawing on a much greater amount of power. His footsteps even left small cracks in the ground, and in an instant, he was right before Karrington.

The mage was surprised for a split second but reacted quickly. Blocking with the flat of the blade, he let out a massive pressure wave that shoved both of them back.

James touched the ground with one foot and shot forward again. The fox stood his ground, brandishing his sword. Raising into the sky, he called energy down to fill his body, and was lifted into the air by the pure power he was channeling. James' eyes widened.

"Oh crap!"

Karrington's eyes flashed with energy and he let loose a thunderous flurry of wind slashes towards his opponent. These were much different than his earlier pressure-based moves. They were incredibly sharp and could cut through almost anything, and, to top it off, they were amazingly fast.

In the face of such an overwhelming threat, James closed his eyes and entered his mental space. He could feel the elements surging around them in response to their battle. For a moment, an interesting concept flitted across his mind. What if I could battle just by feeling the energy around me? I wouldn't even need to open my eyes!

However, he banished that thought as quickly as had arrived. He was nowhere near that level yet, and trying to accomplish things way above his abilities wouldn't be a good way to train his sword skills anyway. Instead, he simply stabilized his mind, entering into a state of concentration, and opened his eyes.

The whole thing took only a fraction of a second in the real world, and James' hadn't stopped charging. As a result, he was incredibly close to the first wave of slashes.

Lydia promptly covered her eyes. "Oh my dear lord. That idiot!"

James breathed out. "Here we go!"

He dodged to the left immediately and brought a blade up, ripping apart a slash. Reacting without pause, he threw out strikes left and right, destroying more of the attacks. Then, James continued dashing forward, taking barely enough time to condense a wall of earth and fire to block a slash from above.

Karrington's eyes widened in surprise before he grinned. "What a fantastic ability! It is truly an honor to find someone this enjoyable to fight against!"

The audience's ears popped as the air in the stadium rippled before dropping rapidly in pressure. A violent wind filled the stage and rushed into Karrington, his fur growing visibly whiter. His tail swelled out, becoming laced with wind, and his aura erupted in power, cracking the ground beneath his feet.

"What is that?" Delta asked, sitting forward in his seat.

"He's putting off a tremendous amount of energy," Lydia said, looking at it with a Weird's eye. "It might be a Special Move, or even an Ultimate, but there's no way to tell for sure."

Down below, James felt the magical pressure of the area triple in force, and he looked up to see Karrington glowing with power.

"That's a lot of power. What spell is he using?"

The fox closed his eyes before being engulfed in white flames.

"Howling Kitsune, 1st Tail!"

A dominating presence swept through the stadium, shocking the spectators.

"That's nowhere near the level of an apprentice mage!"

"He's going to go far."

The fox ignored the comments, only having eyes for his opponent. He noted that James, although surprised by his change, did not back down in the slightest. Karrington grinned and hefted his sword, the blade also glowing with the strange white fire.

"Here comes my attack!"

A chain of sword and wind beams shot towards James, each more powerful than the previous one. James didn't dare take these head-on, instead flying across the battlefield as he dodged left and right. Moving faster and faster, he called on as much power as he could manage to accelerate to a speed that the average mage couldn't obtain.

"You guys should race again," Algon said as he watched the match.

"What, why?" Delta asked. "You do realize I'm an Aetherling, right?"

The Fire Elementalist nodded. "Yes, but right now he's fairly close to matching your speed."

Delta looked back down and saw that his friend was right. James was, in fact, moving incredibly quickly. To an Aetherling like himself, it wasn't even close to their absolute fastest speed, but in the context that James was an Elementalist and had only started his training that year, it was undeniably impressive.

James landed on the ground for a moment to catch his breath, but was forced to leap away right after. Karrington didn't give him much time to recover and his slashes only grew fiercer as time passed, eventually being able to cleave away huge chunks of the ground. If not for the shield surrounding the arena, the stadium would have been decimated right now.

Relative to the chaotic environment, James' mind was much more stable. Concentration was key to a Pure Elementalist's magic, and he was doing his best to remain focused in the face of Karrington's power. This allowed him to tap into the nearby elements even more efficiently. However, his power wasn't infinite.

James frowned as he felt his mental space shuddered. "I can't keep this up for much longer. I have to find a moment to counterattack."

Karrington, at that moment, decided to unleash a massive sword ray that seemed to extend from the ground to the sky. It possessed immense power, and the fox could feel his magic fade significantly after he finished.

However, instead of shielding himself or dodging, James sealed away one of his swords.

"What the hell? What is he planning?"

Karrington got his answer when James blasted off of the ground, flying directly at the giant attack. The entire audience gasped with shock.

"What's that idiot doing?!?" Lydia yelled. "That ray will severely injure him in even the best scenario."

James wasn't focused on that. Instead, he was remembering what had happened two times before.

"Come on, come on. Combine elements, modify electrons, channel energy!"

A white light began to fill his empty hand, less brilliantly than in past situations, but still positively roaring with power.

"He's using it! He's using it!" Delta yelled, bouncing up and down with excitement.

Lydia and Algon just stared with wide eyes.

Just as the attack was about to hit him, James threw his hand forward.

"Ultimate: ION CANNON!"

A sphere of energy formed and crashed into Karrington's slash. It was drastically different from the previous casts, but this was the first time that James had cast the spell by himself. That, on its own, was a tremendous achievement.

The fox looked on in shock as his attack was blown to pieces, sending a shockwave through the stadium and cracking the ground. Now free of obstacles, James came flying towards him.

"Ha!"

With a crash, their swords met once more. They both remained suspended in midair for a moment, magic rippling off them. Then, simultaneously, both of them shot in opposite directions towards the ground. Neither ended up hitting.

Karrington was engulfed in a gust and reversed direction instantly, while James rebounded off of an earthen wall. They blitzed back together again, ringing metal filling the air as they met in a hail of blades.

The audience was thoroughly engrossed at this point, everyone leaning forward in the seats to not miss a single piece of the action. Even those that had been dozing were now wide awake.

James was expending his concentration to the fullest. He felt a small wave of emotion go through him as he remembered that it was thanks to the mysterious man that he was even able to go this far, but quickly refocused on the battle as he felt Karrington's strength redouble. Whatever Howling Fox was, it contained tremendous power, and James knew that if he hadn't been imbuing his dual swords with his magic, then they would have already been shredded to pieces. When he had transformed, Karrington's broadsword had gained a new level of strength, moving at lightning speeds and containing enough momentum to crush even the strongest of non-magical weapons.

Even though both mages were only apprentices, this was a very impressive fight. Up in the headmaster's box, even Nu had taken a mild interest.

"Hm," he noted, tail twitching slightly. "That one has a bit of potential I suppose."

The snake let out a small hiss of laughter. "Pity he came here."

Below, Karrington narrowed his gaze as he fought. Suddenly, he twirled his sword in hand and jumped back, gaining a tiny bit of distance. James leaped forward, intending to capture the opportunity to attack back. However, his eyes widened as his instincts erupted, warning him of a danger. Not daring to take any chances, he charged both swords up to their fullest and went for a double overhead strike, the strongest attack he could muster.

Karrington laughed in exhilaration. Moving his sword out of the way, his tail became surrounded by a white tornado of pure power. Spinning around, the fox lashed out with a strike that cracked the stadium floor simply with its motion. The supercharged tail smashed against James' dual swords and power exploded out, completely destroying the ground and kicking up a massive whirlwind. Everyone shielded their eyes, unable to see anything.

"What happened?" Delta asked. "Did he win?!?"

The smoke cleared, and two silhouettes were revealed. Karrington had dispelled his transformation, and was holding his broadsword to James' neck. The dual blades were stuck in the ground several meters away, and both competitors were panting heavily.

Before the judges could do anything, James spoke. "I yield."

As the crowd cried out in admiration for the performances displayed, the fox stored his sword and smirked. He stepped back and, cupping his hands, bowed. James raised an eyebrow, but returned the gesture.

Standing back up, Karrington looked around and chuckled. "Quite the mess. Thank you for exchanging pointers with me."

"It was a good fight," James said. "Thanks as well."

They both left the stadium while several mages came to repair the damage. Delta sat back in his seat with a huff.

"Man, I can't believe James lost. I thought he was going to win for sure! Now he's out of the tournament altogether."

"Really?" Algon said, giving him a look. "We're trying to stop the end of the world, and you're worried about the tournament?" He shook his head. "Besides, he didn't look disappointed, so we shouldn't be either."

"When's your guys' next match?" Lydia asked.

"Algon has one tomorrow, if everything hasn't gone crazy by then. Otherwise, I'm three days away."

"Well, then I think we should go meet up with James and get some food. We didn't really have lunch and I'm starving."

"Fine, fine, keep your shirt on. Let's see if we can catch him before he escapes on his own."

James, for his part, was sitting in the preparation area looking over his dual swords. Unfortunately, that last clash had been much stronger than what the swords could handle normally. There were several large knicks and cuts in each sword, and although they were still usable, they were no longer in the perfect condition for fighting.

James sighed. "That was a great fight for practicing my dual wielding, but this really sucks. I still haven't figured out how to manipulate metal to create or modify my own blades, so I can't fix these up right now. I wonder if Lydia can do anything."

The sound of footsteps caused him to glance up from his inspection. To his surprise, he saw Karrington walking over with a smile on his face.

"James, right? I was hoping you hadn't left yet."

James stood up and nodded. "I'm him. What do you need?"

"I just wanted to talk. Your fight was very fun and I've never seen a person who used dual swords before. Isn't that one of the unique aspects of the Dragon God?"

"Yeah? Why do you want to know?"

James wasn't against having a friendly talk, but with the circumstances, he had to at least be a bit careful. The fox just shrugged, though.

"Two reasons I guess. For starters, I use a broadsword, so it's always fun to find someone who also uses a blade, even more so if it's an unusual style. Second, my arts are also a bit... special."

James instantly thought about the transformation back in the stadium. "You mean that spell, Howling Fox?"

Karrington let out an awkward chuckle. "Well, it's not exactly a spell per se. More like a trait that is incredibly powerful."

"Whatever it was, it was very strong. There was no way that I could win."

The fox laughed, his tail waving in the air. "You certainly didn't give off that impression. You've only been training for a year, yes? I've been consolidating my powers for a much greater length of time, so it's not a surprise that you would have a hard time fighting me. And I get the feeling that if I hadn't specifically gone at you with a sword, I wouldn't have won so quickly."

James shook his head. "You overestimate me. I'm not some sort of god."

"Well, my master doesn't seem to think that. It was on his recommendation that I find a chance to spar with you."

"Your master?" James asked, thinking back to the mysterious man. "Did he come with you?"

Karrington shook his head. "No, he never leaves his home at the Academy. Master is a bit reclusive." Here he paused. "Although the last time I talked to him, I seem to remember that he told me to see if you could come by for a visit after this tournament."

James frowned. "I'll try my best" - if I survive the coming days, he added in his head.

"Hey, James! What're you still doing down here? We're all hungry. Want to come get some food?"

Delta raced into the room, his questions as fast as his feet. James held out a hand, sending him skidding to a halt.

"Try again, this time 50% slower."

Delta took a breath and laughed. "We're going to go get a bite to eat. The others have already left, so they sent me to fetch you."

He finally noticed Karrington standing a short ways away with an eyebrow raised.

"Hey, you're that fox from earlier!"

Said fox just gave a bemused nod in response.

"Your fight was really impressive." Delta looked over at James. "Do you think I could return with an extra person and remain unscathed from Lydia's wrath?"

"Most likely," James said.

"Cool!" He turned back to Karrington. "Want to eat with us?"

"Sure," the fox replied.

Delta grinned and raced out. James rolled his eyes and followed a significantly slower pace.

"Friend of yours? An Aetherling perhaps?" Karrington said, walking with him.

"That obvious?"

"Let's see. High energy, fast movement, even faster talking? Sounds about right."

Lydia, Algon, and Aura were all waiting as the two arrived at the cafeteria. Delta was there as well, but was sitting sullenly in a corner.

"What's up with him?"

Lydia shook her head. "He left you guys behind, shot in here, and practically blew the entire place into chaos. No manners whatsoever."

James chuckled and sat down, Karrington following. He introduced himself to the table and, after grabbing food, started a round of conversations. All of the friends wanted to know about his transformation spell, but the fox just smiled and gave the same answers he had given to James.

The remainder of the day went smoothly. However, James and his friends could visibly see the effects of the energy draining formation active. Everyone got tired a bit faster during their fights, but no one passed out this time. It looked like Nu was at least attempting to be more inconspicuous.

The friends were hanging out in the Chancellor's rooms, chatting about the matches, when Phanes walked briskly through the door.

"I have fantastic news," he said. "The dragons will be arriving tomorrow."

"Really?" Delta said, jumping up from his chair. "We're saved!"

James was a bit skeptical. "So soon? How do we know that Nu isn't trying to trick us somehow?"

"The dragons have a sigil that can't be faked. Many have tried and all have failed," Phanes explained with a smile. "Apparently, our message was much more effective at rallying support than we had thought."

"Then we'll deal with Nu tomorrow and end this whole thing," Algon said. "With the dragons backing us, there should be no problems."

Phanes nodded. "I agree, but you all will not take part in the fight."

"What!!!" Delta said, aghast. "Why not!?!"

The Griffon shot him a disapproving look. "My old friend is a master Celestial mage. Even with the suppression from the dragons, he could wipe you out if you try anything. I want you to remain safe, so when they confront him, leave the stadium immediately. Understood?"

The friends were a bit downcast, but the logic was sound. They nodded and went to sleep, jittery over the events of the coming day. Tomorrow would decide everything, and was bound to be intense.