Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 122 Winners' Finals: Fight! 1

It was everybody's guess just who would win the next match.

Would it be Lars with his magical masteries, deadly sword skills and great variety of abilities?

Or would it be Darius with his incomparably mighty bloodline, killer battle instincts and invincible divine-inherited powers?

Whoever would come out on top, everyone was sure of one thing: they were in for a fantastic, phenomenal show!

Even the nobles, Duke Leanne herself included, were greatly impressed with the capabilities of the contestants this year. If they were not mistaken and if Vignis Jamal had not advanced too much since the last competition, it was likely that they would have a new champion entirely!

The most shocking thing of all was that, of the three possible victors who were neck and neck with each other, one of them was a full 2 years younger at 15 years old!

Even though Duke Leanne's daughter, Alayna de Caldis had similarly triumphed over older contestants at the same tender age of 15, there were no descendants of the Four Great Houses among those 16 and 17-year-old seniors who she defeated - comparatively, her strength level back then was clearly lower than that demonstrated by the 17-year-old Darius and Vignis would have this year...

And Lars' presence standing on the same stage and same level as the grand talents of the city left everyone in amazement at his incredible talent and skills that allowed him to exceed his age group and defeat opponents with cultivation a full realm above his own!

After all, it was one thing for a noble heir to beat a common combatant who was a level above them, but a whole other thing when the opponent was also a similar person who was blessed with both talent, resources and the best martial training since their youths...

A story made even more preposterous and unbelievable when the roles were reversed! A commoner youth of unknown background like Lars managing to cross-levels against supreme talents to defeat them soundly!

Considering the fact that an Elite-level noble scion could cross a full realm with their battle power to contend with a normal Master-level fighter, this meant that the peak-Adept Lars had two full realms of battle power to match these Master-realm combatants... Truly unprecedented and unheard of!

Which was why Duke Leanne had made a special request for Alayna to interrupt her training and be here to watch a talent that exceeded even her one-and-half realms of battle power!

However, as they were hidden, ensconced deep within the best viewing rooms, the audiences still had not gotten their first glance of the reclusive expert and undisputed number 1 of the entire young generation.

Leanne looked over to her ever-serious daughter who remained silent even as the crowds roared and chanted for their favoured contestant. Seeing that Alayna was still taking every opportunity to practice and advance her cultivation and make a breakthrough in her comprehension, Leanne nodded in approval.

She observed her daughter's appearance and her cultivation slowly as she thought about how she should advise her.

A firm, pert set of lips that were always set in a severe expression. Long, dark black hair, inherited from her mother, lustrous and lush, hanging down past her shoulders. A pair of determined, always-frowning eyes that never yielded; eyes that many perceived as being proud and unwilling to lower herself, but were just a reflection of her personality that always strived for greatness. And an air around her expressing her sincere belief in her position as the number 1 greatest talent of the entire Northpoint region and perhaps, the entire Kingdom of the Sands!

She was tall, already the same height as her towering mother at 185 cm and constantly maintained a straight posture, straight as a reed at every moment.

Overall, she was sublimely beautiful - but her appearance and demeanour was far too otherworldly, far too detached from the world or its desires to be attractive to others - though, she was instead the object of many a persons' worship as their goddess of battle who they believed would raise Gorun City to far greater glory!

As Leanne considered her own daughter and how she could look so similar yet be so incredibly different from herself, she held herself back from sighing. She was proud of her flesh and blood, but always struggled to relate to or understand the girl who only seemed to care about training and practice.

In fact, she always felt inadequate as a mother, for apart from providing for her material needs, she found herself not knowing how to even speak to her daughter - always finding herself at a loss for words and even disdained by the girl almost 40 years younger than her!

However, she still spoke and gave her advice to the girl who was seated cross-legged and deep in her contemplation of the secrets of her Blue-Sky Divine Martial Arts and the laws underlying it.

"Alayna, I hope you'll be able to catch something good in the battle. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised...!"

Hearing those words, Alayna's eyes did not even flutter. Nonetheless, she answered softly, "Okay."

Leanne smiled, slightly bemused as she shook her head and said, "Really...! This girl... You can't always live with your eyes closed and looking inwards... Or eyes on the top of your head, watching the clouds above, but not noticing that the grass beneath your feet have already grown to envelope you!"

Alayna once more did not show any outer reaction, but she answered briefly once more, "Yes, mother. All I need to do is to ascend to the heavens first, right...?"

Leanne smiled wryly. It looked like the girl had her mind made up. She only hoped Alayna would deign to at least watch the battle. Lars had shown exquisite levels of control and held incredible potential - if he could enter the Elite realm by the time of the tournament, wouldn't that mean he could exert actual combat abilities on par with Alayna...?

That would give Gorun City two possible contenders for top positions at the nationals!

So she tried one last push, chiding her daughter gently, "Dear girl... There are always talents everywhere! I believe firmly without a doubt that these two young gentlemen, especially the younger one, will give you a pleasant surprise!"

She smiled and waited for her daughter to respond as she seemed to think it through for a moment, remaining quiet momentarily. Then this time, Alayna turned her head to face her mother.

"Mother... With all due respect..." Alayna began, then her eyes opened slowly, revealing eyes without whites, completely blue like the bluest sea or sky one could ever imagine - a sign of her godly inheritance she had come across by chance!

"...The greatest talents of Gorun City... Are indeed like rulers of the jungle. Only, I... Have already exceeded the jungle and already begun ascending to the mountains..."

With those words spoke, a deific smile adorned Alayna's lips as she closed her eyes and returned to her practice.

And Leanne could only shake her head in a mix of approval and disapproval as she heard Mr White officiate the beginning of the winners' finals match.

* * * * *

"Greetings, young men. First of all, my apologies for not being there to officiate your last match, Darius. Hence, my presence here to first wish you a grand congratulations for making it to the last winners' match! Not that I had doubted either of you advancing, yet still it must have not been an easy journey!" Mr White looked at the two contestants fondly, proud of their achievements and resplendent talent as he paused for them to respond.

Both Lars and Darius were already standing at attention on the stage, ready for their match to start as Lars nodded while Darius shook his head politely, causing Mr White to smile slightly and tilt his head in curiosity. But his unspoken question was quickly answered as Darius spoke.

"Sir, it was not challenging at all. I have not even exerted--" At this point of his sentence, Darius shot a pointed look over at Lars, as if directing the words at him specifically, "--30% of my abilities! How could this considered difficult...? In fact, I believe that my esteemed opponent here should be able to bring out a solid 50% of my strength!"

Darius smiled pompously along with his haughty words, but Lars merely maintained his relaxed smile and quietly waited for Mr White to continue.

The far older Head Administrator coughed in embarrassment, trying to dispel the awkwardness of one boy's bristly words and the other's taciturn reaction. Then he continued on, adding some words of exhortation and advice, "I notice that you are both not exactly on the best of terms, but I hope that you will remember; whatever happens, you are both the future hopes of Gorun City, our Northpoint region and the Kingdom of the Sands! And wider, beyond that, you are the young generation of warriors of the entire human race! We of the human race have many enemies both on this planet and through the cosmos, far too many enemies for there to be minor conflicts between our rising stars!"

He directed heavy gazes at first Lars then Darius as he implored them, "I truly, truly wish to see that despite your differences... When you are standing side by side on the battlefield, fighting for the future of humanity and mankind, you will always remember - there is a cause higher than your own, a reason to cooperate and a grander purpose than one's own ambitions! That is... The continued survival and prospering of the human race!"

With these words, Mr White's gaze rose up to the sky, a weighty look of sorrow in his eyes and seeming to bear down on his shoulders. His short speech drew to mind the recent horrors of the devil invasion and humbled the two boys who had been having an immature conflict.

What was mere rivalry or striving for supremacy against one another when there was a true enemy right on their doorstep, one that was eager to steal, kill and destroy their entire lives and dreams?

Darius' gaze slowly turned heavy and serious, no longer cocky nor arrogant but only determined to emerge victorious. He looked over to Lars who was still calm and relaxed, but if one looked into his eyes, they would see the pain of loss and the experiences of two lives reflected within.

Neither Darius nor Lars apologised to each other, but they could see the look of mutual respect and comradeship that came from being allies of the same faction.

"Shall we...?" Lars smiled as he invited Darius to begin the fight. His opponent for the winners' finals smiled in return though his eyes remained hard and sharp.

"Yes... For our dreams... For our glory, for our country... For the human race!"

Mr White this time nodded in genuine approval, pleased with the two boys' maturity to recognise what was truly important and reconcile.

Then he looked around to the great crowds gathered in the entire and took in a deep breath into his lungs before bellowing out the announcement they had all been waiting eagerly for!

"Your winners' finals! To determine who will face Vignis Jamal in the grand finals..." He paused for dramatic effect and smiled broadly, the perfect entertainer and showman even in his old age.

"LARS VERSUS DARIUS!! WINNERS' FINALS: FIGHT!!!"

Chapter end