The final stage of the tournament began without ceremony, only the heavy sound of stone shifting as the arena reformed itself into a massive circular battlefield surrounded by towering walls and layered viewing platforms. The crowd's excitement sharpened into something tense and hungry as the first round was announced, names echoing through the coliseum one by one. Neo fought first, her movements fluid and precise, ending her match cleanly and decisively with a calm strength that drew admiration even from nobles who had once doubted her. Eira followed, his victory quieter but no less absolute, disabling his opponent with controlled strikes that never wasted motion or intent. Ark burned through his match in a blaze of contained fury, and the mysterious competitor advanced as well, his magic leaving behind an unsettling residue in the air that made even experienced knights shift uncomfortably.
The second round was harsher, the duels longer and more violent as exhaustion began to creep in and the fighters' true limits were tested. Eira pushed through again, bloodied but unbroken, earning his place with steady resolve rather than raw power. Neo, however, was overwhelmed, her opponent exploiting a moment of hesitation and knocking her from the circle before she could recover. Her loss rippled through the stands, and while she accepted it with quiet grace, Eira felt it like a weight settling in his chest. When the dust cleared, only four remained — Eira, Ark, the mysterious fighter, and another girl whose magic flickered between sharp brilliance and reckless abandon.
The rules of the final round were simple and merciless: all four would enter the arena together, and the only one allowed to leave standing within the circle would be declared the victor. Killing was forbidden, and any attempt to do so would mean immediate disqualification and imprisonment, but the line between defeat and death was thin in a battle where restraint was not easily held. The fight began in a storm of motion and power, magic clashing in violent bursts as alliances formed and shattered within seconds. Ark was the first to suffer badly, caught between two attacks and driven to his knees, his flames flickering dangerously low as blood soaked into the sand beneath him.
When a killing blow was about to fall on Ark, Eira moved without thinking, stepping between them, intercepting the strike with his blade and his body both, forcing the attacker back despite the cost. The crowd roared in shock and confusion, but before anyone could react further, the mysterious fighter let out a sound that was not quite a shout and not quite a spell. The air twisted, mana warped violently outward, and the ground split open across the arena as a herd of summoned beasts tore their way into the coliseum — massive, feral, and howling with unnatural hunger. Stone shattered, barriers strained, and chaos exploded through the stadium as monsters flooded the battlefield, turning a controlled tournament into a sudden battlefield of survival.
Spectators screamed, royal knights surged into action, and the line between competitor and defender vanished in an instant. The tournament was no longer a test of skill or pride — it had become a crisis, and everyone inside the coliseum was now part of the fight.