Chapter: 39. Victory and Defeat
On the way back to the Gladiatorial Arena, when Xiya asked why Xue Fei was so certain that Aimeres was a deity, Xue Fei responded:
—Because the eye that perceives all illusions has actually failed this time!
This was a novelty; it might well be the only time Visual Magic had ever failed to activate.
However, that statement isn’t entirely accurate… the magic had indeed been activated.
Throughout Aimeres’s storytelling, Xue Fei never stopped judging whether every word spoken was true.
But unfortunately, she didn’t get the answer she sought in such a straightforward manner.
Still, Xue Fei confirmed—Aimeres was indeed a being from ancient times.
After all, when insight that has never gone awry finally stumbles, that fact speaks volumes, doesn’t it?
In mid-air, approaching the waiting room of the Gladiatorial Arena, Xue Fei transformed back into Shaya’s appearance.
Holding Xiya’s hand, they landed steadily at the entrance of the waiting room.
It was like the return of two angels from the farthest edge of the sky~
“Phew… that landing was quite steady. Xiya, what score do you give me?”
“Score…? Hmm… then it’s full marks…”
“!”
Zero points.
As Xue Fei was about to accept the praise for full marks, she unexpectedly stepped on some fruit peel someone had thrown at the door and fell unceremoniously!
It was unclear whether the noise outside the tightly closed door alerted the waiting room, but the large door carved with stone lion heads slowly opened.
In a rush, a beautiful girl with ink-black hair and a flowing green dress dashed out, radiating an aura of grace.
It was Livra.
Her expression was originally very tense, but upon seeing Shaya and Xiya’s faces, her anxious emotions eased by half.
Yet, half the anxiety was still anxiety!
“Miss Shaya! Lady Xialet! Where have you been…!”
“It’s fine, Livra. I finished my donut before the Demon King arrived.”
“Ah… that’s good… but that’s not what I meant…! Miss Shaya, I wanted to say that your distant relative is in big trouble! We don’t know if she is safe!”
“Distant… relative?”
“It’s Xial.”
Xiya lightly tapped her shoulder to remind her, and Xue Fei punched her left palm with her right fist, finally remembering she also had a “distant relative”!
Uh, no… what about that pervert?
Livra turned around and led the way, jogging ahead, guiding Xue Fei and Xiya through the waiting room area.
They passed through the corridor leading to the arena.
As they pushed open the door connecting the waiting room to the Gladiatorial Arena, the dim surroundings suddenly became spacious.
The first sounds heard were definitely the rush of wind and the chatter of a concerned audience.
The mildly warm breeze lifted Shaya’s black hair at her forehead.
What lay before them was a Gladiatorial Arena that had become utterly desolate…
Uh, wait.
Where’s the Gladiatorial Arena…?
That gigantic Gladiatorial Arena?
“Oh, it seems the Fire Lizard really is a destroyer; the Gladiatorial Arena is gone.”
“Is this… Domain Magic?”
If one were to only look forward from Xiya’s position, all that could be seen was an opaque, crimson spherical barrier.
Extending her view.
If viewed from the audience seats above, one could see the complete picture of the arena at that moment.
—A red elliptical sphere large enough to cover the entire gladiatorial arena, exceeding a hundred meters, was emitting a heat wave, spanning across the field.
The original sand arena was completely gone.
What remained was just this strange ball of flame.
Xiya deduced this belonged to Domain Magic. She casually extended her sight and saw her father, Ecklight.
He was grasping a great sword, attempting to slash through the fiery barrier.
But that barrier was neither a wall nor a fire curtain that could be passed through. The great sword had no effect, and trying to walk through it was impossible; it would halt them as if they hit a wall.
It was clear that Ecklight was trying hard to think of a way to break this exaggerated Domain Magic.
After all, His Majesty the King and the Royal Family members were already up and observing; no one could guarantee that this unstable magic wouldn’t explode and affect others.
Xiya jogged over, and hearing her footsteps, Ecklight paused his sword swings and swiftly turned around.
“Xiya…? Hiss… Princess Livra! Please return outside! It’s not safe here!”
“I… I understand!”
Livra jumped at his admonishment.
Wuwu… Lord Ecklight, as the Sword of the Nation, is indeed powerful, but sometimes he really is quite frightening!
Shaya poked Livra’s waist with her finger, causing Livra to flinch and turn to see Miss Shaya smiling with her small tiger teeth showing, as if reminding her not to be overly concerned.
“Wuwu… Miss Shaya means this isn’t going to explode. It’s very safe, so I don’t need to run, right?”
“Not at all? I meant that if it were to explode, even if you ran outside the Gladiatorial Arena, you would still be blown to ashes~ So it doesn’t matter where you stand; indeed, there’s no need to run.”
“Isn’t that super dangerous!”
“But here’s the good news: it won’t explode.”
“……”
Livra was furious.
Livra wanted to cry.
Seeing the Domain not breaking, Ecklight clicked his tongue, calling over the members of the Knight Corps, signaling them to prioritize escorting the Royal Family to a safer place before evacuating the audience.
But just as the command was about to be given…
Xiya’s process of closing her eyes and sensing came to an end.
She stood in front, gesturing to the Knight Corps to hold on, interrupting Ecklight’s orders.
“Xiya?”
“It’s fine, Father. This Domain Magic poses no threat outside, and I estimate that shortly… the results of this match will unfold.”
“You can tell…? You must know the Fire Dragon Clan has been using this heavy-handed magic for dozens of minutes. No victor has been determined yet. Domain Magic is very unstable; let’s not even mention the potential for affecting the outside. At the very least… being trapped in Domain Magic for so long, I suspect that girl named Xial might have already…”
“No, she won’t.”
Xiya could assert that confidently.
After all, the Hero and the Holy Sword share a magic circuit akin to a contract; if Xialet were to face any danger, she would be the first to notice.
Moreover… the one who persistently bothers Xue Fei wouldn’t be so fragile.
Xue Fei wasn’t anxious, for almost the same reason.
Xialet obtained her rebirth from her magic; after all, magic resonates. How could Xue Fei not know whether she was alive or dead?
It’s fine; if you really do die, I’ll give you a grand funeral and a bit of magic to let you have a rebirth with a second chance!
Xialet: Thank you, Mom!
In the past, Ecklight would certainly say they were children being reckless, risking the Royal Family’s safety with unfounded conclusions.
But now…
Ecklight observed his daughter with his peripheral vision; her gaze was resolute, showing no sign of joking.
And behind her, Shaya, with her hands behind her head, appeared carefree.
Ecklight said nothing.
Xiya had grown up. She was already capable of handling things independently.
Sometimes, it was time to trust her judgment.
At that moment.
“It’s over.”
Without any ripples in the Domain—Shaya had already arrived at that conclusion.
And only a few seconds after her words fell, the entire crimson elliptical sphere began to wobble like jelly, flames surging from the top, causing the Domain to become exceedingly unstable.
Ecklight leaped into the air toward the King’s seat, blocking himself with his broad sword to guard against potential danger.
It was at this moment he realized… the Pope, who had originally sat on the other high platform, was merely a phantom, slowly fading, and the Demon King was no longer atop the platform as well.
Hiss… this match had proven to be far more complicated than anticipated.
There was no time to dwell on that; attention needed to be focused on the present matter.
As the crimson domain wobbled briefly, just as Xiya had predicted, it ultimately did not explode.
It merely transformed into light particles, without igniting any excess flames.
The completely scorched sandy ground reappeared in the Gladiatorial Arena.
After all… Timani no longer had the surplus magic to maintain the Domain.
Two sounds hit the ground in succession.
Thud.
—It was Timani falling from the air and hitting the ground.
Thump.
—And this was the sound of Xialet, breathing slightly unevenly, yet steadily landing with her golden great sword held out in front of her.
One lay flat on the ground.
One stood firm opposite.
Who lost and who won was instantly clear.
This semifinal, which had waited almost an hour to conclude, shook the audience for a moment.
But it was only a fleeting moment.
Finally, someone reacted, rising with raised arms, cheering excitedly, while others applauded in a continuous flow!
“She… she won! The winner is Xialet!”
“Incredible… the High-Level Race has been defeated! Our Human Race can defeat High-Level Races too!”
“Tsk, is Xialet really of the Human Race? I suspect she might have been a foreign aid invited by His Majesty!”
In every group, there were always a few killjoys.
However, Xialet didn’t care what others said; her focus was solely on Shaya, standing at the edge of the arena.
The Little Holy Sword tiptoed, raising her little hand high to wave at her, much like a child who had just received a championship trophy at a sports event, filled with radiant joy at seeing her parents.
Throwing down the golden great sword, the blade vanished into the ground.
While the Little Holy Sword took a few leaps, she dashed over to Timani, who was lying still and quite unable to move.
Extending her little hand toward her, she sincerely smiled and said,
“Big sister, you’re amazing!
I’ve never encountered a rival that made me have to use half of my strength! You held on until the end; you’re a commendable opponent! You should be proud!”
Timani did not reach out to reciprocate that little hand.
It wasn’t that she was rude.
But… Timani looked up at the bright moon hanging in the sky, and she no longer had the strength to even extend her hand.
The red dress was still so vivid, yet her dusty face bore an expression of unwillingness and helplessness.
Her magic had completely exhausted; even if she wished to continue fighting, it was already a wishful thought.
As the announcer declared the result of the match, Timani felt that everything that night was like a nightmare…
“‘I… I only used half of my strength’… ah, is this world just too vast?”
So vast that I can no longer see the way home…
However, even so, the Fire Dragon Clan had its attitude.
She persevered, trembling as she stretched out her hand, gripping Xialet’s hand, and with her pull barely managed to rise.
She waved at the audience, and even without a smile, it could be considered an acknowledgment of the end of her match.
The audience responded with thunderous applause for her wave.
A contestant who had given her all and exhibited a wonderful match deserved such applause.
Yes… Timani had indeed fought desperately.
That Domain Magic had never been successfully cast by her.
But this time, she had finally released it successfully.
And it didn’t go out of control, did it?
As she swayed unsteadily, a not entirely relieved smile finally appeared on her face, and just as she was about to faint…
A faint purple light suddenly shone from her body.
—Timani directly vanished from the spot.
The venue erupted in surprised murmurs; they hadn’t heard of a performance where someone became alive again after the match had ended!
Others couldn’t see clearly, but Xiya was able to sense the traces of magic activated by Xue Fei.
Well… Xue Fei probably didn’t want Timani to collapse here.
Xue Fei didn’t dislike those who would go all out.
Because… this scene reminded her of some memories she was reluctant to revisit.
Yet, when she did look back, the memories were quite flavorful.
【I tried so hard to save you, but why are you still getting worse day by day?】
【It’s beyond my ability, maybe… I can do better.】
【But I won’t give up.】
【If I stumble, I’ll just get up again; if not in this life, then we’ll meet in the next.】
Falling doesn’t mean one isn’t a hero.
The small figure that crawled up from the pool of blood, stumbling toward the next life, was something Xiya could see all too clearly.
Xiya took two steps back, returning to Xue Fei’s side.
Maintaining her gaze forward, she naturally lowered her voice and asked, with a tone of softness.
“Xue Fei, where did you hide Miss Timani?”
“To our home.”
“Huh?”
“I used High-Level Instant Teleportation to transfer her to the suburban mansion. It’s fine; just let her lie there for a while, and she’ll recuperate. This Fire Lizard has exceptional recovery abilities, so she’ll probably be up and jumping around in no time!”
“Whether she’ll be up and jumping is uncertain… but I can’t shake off the feeling that she’ll be startled awake when she opens her eyes…”
