Vale didn’t think lightly of her, although he was pretty much confident that he could win against any of his seniors.

After all, he had a Dark Spirit, various Arcane Spells, and powerful Mystical Items, including Planar Spells, in his arsenal. If he still loses against other students, it would probably be because he lacks experience or he was being complacent and wouldn’t go all out.

“Alright, Senior. Let’s do it. I will arrange the third Arena for today. It’s free for two hours. That should be enough.” Vale said after looking at the time.

After confirming this, they no longer stayed in the Pavilion and entered the Arena Hall.

There weren’t many students in the Hall. Some of them were waiting for a battle to start, and some were even doing their assignments or self-study here.

“Vale, do you think it’s a good idea for us to work together?” Maya questioned, expressing her uncertainty about the decision they had made. They hadn’t yet collaborated in combat, so there might be some challenges when it came to coordinating their spells.

“You’re right… I’m not sure how we’ll be able to synchronize our efforts, but perhaps this is a great opportunity for us. After all, we’ll eventually need to work together since we’re in the same class and will be participating in the Competition.” Vale responded, feeling confident that he could adapt to Maya’s abilities.

“Alright… I’ll give you two three to five minutes to plan your strategy. Don’t be shy!” Thelma interjected upon overhearing their conversation. Vale and Maya gladly accepted the offer, taking advantage of the time to discuss their tactics while also waiting for the Referee to arrive.

“Vale! It’s been a while since you proposed a duel arrangement.” exclaimed a member of the Committee who had just arrived. It was Bailey Saxon, the former Corner Judge of the First Arena, who now served as a Referee for the Third Arena.

“Senior, we appreciate you coming… We’re just engaging in a friendly battle to prepare for the Competition…” Vale replied to the cheerful senior from their club.

He then explained their situation before they prepared Arena.

Soon, the students and the Referee gathered at the center of the stage.

“Alright! The rules remain the same. However, since this is a friendly battle, we won’t have Corner Judges overseeing the match… Vale Chambers and Maya Featherstar versus Thelma Cameron… You may now commence!” Bailey declared, signaling the start of the duel with a wave of his hand.

“Come at me! Don’t hold back!” Thelma shouted at the two after seeing them waiting for her to make a move.

Maya’s eyes gleamed with determination as she prepared to unleash her Dark Nova Spell, a powerful burst of dark energy that could engulf an area of the stage.

“I won’t be holding back, Senior!” Maya answered as she also prepared to use her movement spell in case she needed to dodge a counter attack from Thelma.

Vale, adjusting to Maya’s Spell, focused his energy and prepared to cast his Corrupted Chains Spell, conjuring ethereal chains that could bind their opponent. This may not be too effective against another Dark Arcanist, but it works well in restricting their movement.

Clink! Clink! Clink…

The sound of chains was heard as they charged towards the target.

“Good start!” Thelma commented.

She wanted to show these juniors the difference in their skills, so she was also not going to hold back.

With a swift motion, she unleashed her first special Spell, Terror Grasp, enveloping the Arena in a dark and menacing aura. The Spell had an eerie quality, as if two different forces were intertwining.

For some reason, Maya and Vale felt the chilling presence of Spectral Hands converging in Thelma’s Spell. It was as if hundreds of Spectral Hands were trying to draw them to the Eternal Darkness!

‘This…’ Vale wasn’t exactly sure what Spell she was using, but he could immediately tell that this was a powerful spell. It might even be at the peak of Tier 2 Spell! He was impressed by how Thelma only needed an instant to use this!

Not stopping there, Thelma followed up with her second special Spell, Dark Illusion. The air around them grew thick with darkness as an enigmatic mist shrouded the battlefield.

“Not good…” Maya gritted her teeth as she felt that her control with her Dark Nova Spell had disappeared.

Vale had the same problem as his Corrupted Chains were disintegrated just like that…

‘What an interesting Spell…’ Vale commented in his mind as he started to struggle to maintain his focus. 𝒊𝒃𝙖.𝙢

Maya was in the worst situation as she found herself trapped in a bewildering illusion!

The battle took a sudden turn as Maya found herself unable to defend against the onslaught of the Dark Illusions. If this continues, the Illusions would break her mind and eat her Soul!

It seemed like all hope was lost.

Vale, however, managed to secretly activate his Spell Dispersion, which provided him with a momentary reprieve from Thelma’s onslaught. This also helped Maya for a brief moment, stopping the Referee from saving her.

However, after the Spell Dispersion was deactivated, the Dark Illusion continued bombarding his mind or vision!

If not for his absurdly high Spirit Strands, he would be immediately affected.

‘No wonder she’s in the Ranking. With these two spells, she could go ahead and smack her opponent to death.’ Vale thought as he readied to break the Spell using the Previous Headmaster’s Cane or what he would like to call Black Flame Cane because of its emblem.

“Alright! That’s enough!” Anderson suddenly said as he saw that the two fourth-year students were just resisting the Spells thrown by Thelma and not counter-attacking.

Thelma nodded at this, as she was also not planning to continue injuring them.

Bailey naturally announced the end of the battle.

‘Oopss—‘

Vale immediately held back from using the Cane as he also ordered Yvaine to leave Thelma’s shadow. That’s right… Yvaine was already inside Thelma’s Shadow, ready to attack.

Whom~

Yvaine’s menacing figure wearing a huge Shadow Cloak appeared and floated towards Vale.

Seeing the Dark Spirit leave her Shadow, Thelma’s words were stuck in her throat…

“T-that… Did it just leave my shadow? Vale, you–” Thelma stammered.

Even Anderson and Bailey hadn’t expected that.

“Unbelievable! I never expected you to withstand Thelma’s Spell Fusion! I thought you guys were helpless…” Cassie exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise and curiosity, as she gazed at Vale.

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