[Wow! What a spectacular battle we are witnessing today! Kael dici and Jenna have just collided with a force worthy of the legacy of the dici Clan, one of the Grand Duchies of our Kingdom of Aragon.]
In the highest section, where the great families and mbers of the dici clan were seated, a solemn silence reigned as they watched the magical spectacle between two prodigies.
"I didn’t expect young Kael to be so skilled in magic. He’s almost on par with Lady Jenna," comnted Ad, a red-haired elder resident. A look of surprise flashed across his face.
Old Roy, who was among those present, did not seem particularly surprised. "But it’s only natural that he was good at magic too. He took the manual ’Flower Hemomancy’. Keep in mind that he created his dantian and magic circle by himself."
The other mbers of the Clan nodded in agreent, and their initial surprise quickly turned to understanding at this reasoning.
However, the mbers of the great families who heard this everyday conversation wore complex expressions as they looked at Kael and the achievents he had made.
Create his dantian and magic circle all by himself?
What kind of talent was that!
Not even Michel, from the Abraham family, had achieved such a feat. And now the last young master of the dici Clan had done it alone!
How absurd was that?
Therefore, without further ado, they fixed their serious gazes on the platform once again.
...
In the middle of the platform, Jenna continued to breathe steadily. Her posture conveyed relaxation, but a broad, almost unnatural smile blossod on her face. It wasn’t nervousness... it was delight.
It was the first ti she had been in a real confrontation of that level. Within the clan, most were Aura Masters; the few wizards that existed were busy with duties, research, or council missions.
But what truly baffled her... was Kael.
Her younger brother.
She had never seen him practice magic. And yet, what she had just witnessed could not be explained as re talent.
From the day he shared that formula with her, sothing had awakened in her. She had tried to decipher its layers, its architecture, its internal logic. But the more she analyzed it, the more questions arose. And now, seeing him fight...
She couldn’t contain herself.
"Hahaha! Brother..." Her voice was a mixture of euphoria and contained obsession. "I didn’t think you were so... fascinating. Show more!"
Her eyes sparkled like gems, fixed on Kael with growing intensity. She wasn’t looking for victory. She didn’t want a lesson. She wanted to see him break through the limits.
She wanted to witness how he compressed the magic circles even further. What equations danced through his mind, what hidden sches were woven into his every gesture.
Jenna leaned forward slightly, as if her body was responding to an intellectual hunger that was impossible to satisfy.
"Show everything..." she whispered, to no one in particular, with a crooked smile. "I want to see how far you can go."
Kael only smiled slightly when he heard the maniacal laughter echoing throughout the arena.
It was the first ti he had ever seen his older sister with that expression: eyes ablaze, face contorted with euphoria. In his past life, she had only ever given him cold looks, full of contempt and superiority. He had never seen her true face... until now.
"Co on, sister," he murmured, his voice as calm as a pond. "Let’s light up this stage even more."
He closed his eyes for a mont.
His essence of mana began to flow into his magical diagram.
A magical circle expanded at his feet with a crimson glow.
Delicate lines, living filants, and floating runes erged like roots in the air. It was a violent, living structure. As it manifested, Kael visualized the magic formula he had morized from the manual... but altered it in one key point.
"[Blood Lotus]"
A flower erged from the magic circle.
A crimson lotus the size of a mature tree. Its liquid crystal petals slowly opened. Roots of light and blood embedded themselves in the platform, rging with the stone, and a faint reddish vapor began to emanate from around it.
Jenna’s eyes widened.
The magic circle Kael had ford was exquisite, perfect down to the tiniest detail. Every line pulsed with aning. Every symbol carried weight. A shiver ran down her spine, and imdiately, a rush of understanding exploded in her mind like thunder.
A sudden flash of insight. A glimr of mania.
"Hahahaha!" Her laughter filled the air. "This! This is what I wanted to see!"
She raised her staff to the sky, murmuring a magic formula so quickly that her lips seed to dissolve into syllables. A new magic circle appeared, this ti floating above the coliseum like an eclipse.
"[teorite]"
From above, the circle released a glowing sphere of burning stone.
The air crackled. The ground shook.
Even the experienced elders watching the duel swallowed hard out of sheer instinct.
The sky seed to curve as the teor descended, enveloping the combat platform in a blood-red light.
"Co on, brother!" Jenna shouted, her eyes wild. "How do you plan to defend yourself against this?"
Kael didn’t flinch.
As the teor descended and the pressure threatened to crush everything in its path, he simply watched. Not with fear or anxiety, but with the sa serenity and indifference as always.
The blood lotus beside him trembled, slowly absorbing energy from the surrounding area. Its petals vibrated at a peculiar frequency.
Kael raised his left hand and touched the lotus.
"[Awake]"
In an instant, the lotus dissolved into a cloud of floating petals. Each bloody fragnt rose as if defying gravity, orbiting Kael like leaves caught in an invisible whirlpool.
But they weren’t just decorations.
"[Reflection of Blood Lotuses]"
The floating petals lit up. An inverted lotus-shaped containnt field ford above it, and just as the teor was about to strike, the petals gathered together like dragon scales.
BOOM!
The impact shook the platform. A shockwave tore through the air, shattering part of the floor. The blinding glare of the teor covered everything for a second.
The earth groaned. The entire coliseum shook.
And yet... Kael was still there.
Standing in the center of the crater, his black hair blowing in the wind. His petal shield was cracked, but not destroyed. He had resisted.
Jenna stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief... and ecstasy.
"Yes... Yes!" She laughed, as if possessed. "This is exactly what I wanted! Brother, you are a work of art!"
Kael ignored the maniacal laughter and examined his depleted mana essence, which was at 10%. All the attacks and defenses he had perford had consud a total of 87% of his mana essence, which was recovering quickly.
It’s ti to end this confrontation, but I don’t have enough mana essence.
Kael circulated his essence with a single thought. His body was imdiately enveloped in a faint scarlet aura.
In just three steps, he disappeared from his spot. His figure slid across the combat platform. Before Jenna could even blink, Kael was already behind her.
His arm rose fluidly, and with the precision of a trained executioner, he delivered a precise blow to the base of her neck.
There was no drama. Just a slight crack and a muffled sigh.
Jenna collapsed without making a sound, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Kael didn’t look at her.
He just exhaled slowly as the scarlet aura faded, dissipating into particles.
Silence filled the arena before the announcer shouted:
[What... what is this?! Kael dici ended the match in a matter of seconds! The incredible battle we were witnessing has vanished in an instant! But that’s not all! In that last attack... he used Aura! And with that, he has claid victory!]
The crowd erupted in shouts, hurling insults at Kael:
"Damn you, bastard! You said you’d only use magic! Where’s your honor, you piece of trash?"
"Disgusting! You’re a dirty cheater! You don’t deserve this victory!"
However, among the crowd, so defended him:
"Well done, Kael! The important thing is to win... Thanks to you, my wife won’t kill !"
"Hahaha! Are you so stupid as to believe in ’honor’ in combat?"
With all the insults and complints flying around, Kael remained indifferent to everything, his eyes as dark as the abyss scanning his surroundings and, finally, his older sister, who lay unconscious on the floor.
He turned and began to leave the combat platform, which was destroyed, with slow, calm steps. Under the gaze and insults of everyone present, which were completely ignored.
...
Kael returned to his waiting room, where his mother, Alessia, looked at him with a big, proud smile.
"Congratulations, son! Your fight was incredible!" Alessia congratulated him with a bi,g warm smile. At that mont, she couldn’t have been happier.
She had always been proud of her son. But seeing him in those fights, silent, with the whole world holding its breath in awe of his strength and precision... she felt sothing more than pride.
She wanted to shout it out with all her heart:
"See? This is my son! My pride and joy."
Is there any mother who doesn’t want that?
For a mother, the greatest happiness does not lie in riches or personal fa. She does not want crowns or statues.
She just wants to see her child succeed, walk steadily through the mud of the world, and have his na spoken with respect.
Have you ever stopped to think about how much you ant to her, even when you were putting yourself down?
Maybe not.
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