Hearing the term "Glazed Crystal Heart", Alex frowned slightly before looking toward Elena with visible confusion.
"...Wait," he said slowly. "Does she actually have a crystal heart? Like… not a normal one?"
For a brief moment, Elena simply stared at him.
Then she laughed.
It was genuine amusement, a sharp contrast to her normally composed demeanor.
"What? No," she replied, shaking her head lightly. "I didn't mean it literally."
A faint smile lingered on her lips before her expression gradually settled once more.
"It's the name of her special constitution." she explained. "Though considering how abnormal she is, I suppose your misunderstanding isn't entirely unreasonable."
Alex remained silent, though the slight shift in his expression made it clear he still found the name questionable.
Aurora floated slightly closer, her gaze still fixed on the arena where Evelyne had returned to Crimson Bastion Academy's side.
There was genuine interest in her eyes now.
Alex glanced toward her briefly.
"You know about it?"
"A little," Aurora replied. "Not specifically about the Glazed Crystal Heart itself, though."
She crossed her arms lightly, as if organizing her thoughts before continuing.
"The Crystelle family's crystal attribute is already unusual to begin with. From what I can infer, their ancestor was probably someone who surpassed normal human limits. That's most likely where their attribute originated from."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Special constitutions like hers are usually tied to bloodlines like that. The trait is carried through generations, but it rarely manifests in descendants."
Alex listened quietly.
Aurora continued after a brief pause.
"But honestly, this is my first time actually seeing crystal attribute magic." She admitted, her tone thoughtful. "I can't infer much without observing it further or knowing more about how it works."
A faint grin returned to her face.
"So I don't know much more than that."
Meanwhile, Elena resumed her explanation, giving Alex a brief overview of Evelyne and the Crystelle family.
"She's still young," Elena said, "but among the younger generation, very few can match her. Even within Crimson Bastion Academy, she's treated as someone exceptional."
That much was obvious.
Although Evelyne had only appeared once on stage, the impression she left behind remained firmly etched into the atmosphere of the arena. Even now, several members of Blitz War Institute looked visibly tense whenever their eyes drifted toward Crimson Bastion Academy's side.
The remaining matches resumed soon after, and as expected, the intensity between Crimson Bastion Academy and Blitz War Institute only continued to escalate. The battles grew increasingly fierce and exhausting, both sides refusing to surrender ground despite the strain from the earlier rounds.
Spells collided relentlessly across the arena, drawing repeated cheers from the audience as the rivalry between the two academies unfolded with overwhelming competitiveness.
In the end, however—
Crimson Bastion Academy emerged victorious.
The final match concluded after a hard-fought and spectacular battle, securing Crimson Bastion Academy's place in the finals of the Magic Division Tournament as well.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
The remaining matches of the day continued late into the evening, determining the lower placements among the academies that had failed to reach the finals.
Although the intensity no longer matched the earlier clashes—especially after the overwhelming performances displayed by Alex and Evelyne—the participants still fought seriously. No academy wished to leave the tournament with a disappointing ranking, and the arena remained lively with cheers even as sunset painted the sky beyond the stadium walls.
And with that, the sixth day of the Nine Academy Tournament came to an end.
Yet rather than fading, the excitement surrounding the tournament only intensified.
Because tomorrow, the finals would begin.
And for the very first time in the tournament's history, the exact same academies would face each other in both the Knight and Magic divisions.
The revelation spread rapidly throughout the city, becoming the center of discussion everywhere—from noble estates to taverns and crowded streets. Countless people repeated the same conversations again and again: two academies dominating both divisions simultaneously was already unprecedented.
But what truly captured the public's attention were the individuals representing them, Alex Blanc and Evelyne Crystelle.
By the end of the day, those two names had become impossible to ignore.
One was the mysterious dark horse who had shattered expectations at every turn, while the other was the prodigy of the Crystelle family, whose mere presence placed immense pressure on her opponents.
Naturally, anticipation for tomorrow reached its peak.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Later that night, a quiet knock echoed against the door of Alex's hotel room.
Alex looked up briefly from where he sat.
It wasn't particularly late—far from midnight—but dinner had already ended some time ago. Most participants were likely resting or preparing themselves for tomorrow's matches.
Which made the timing somewhat unusual.
Before he could respond, Aurora casually phased through the door.
The spirit floated outside for only a moment before drifting back inside, a teasing, mischievous grin already spreading across her face.
"Oh?" she drawled lightly, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Now this is unexpected."
Alex glanced at her once before standing.
By now, he was long accustomed to Aurora's antics. She rarely reacted normally to anything, so her expression alone revealed very little.
Still, her reaction sparked a bit of curiosity.
Without much thought, he walked toward the door and opened it.
Then he paused.
A flicker of surprise crossed his face.
Vivianne stood outside.
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
The hallway lights cast a soft glow across her crimson hair, though unlike her usual sharp and composed appearance, there was an unusual stiffness to her posture tonight.
Alex genuinely hadn't expected her.
Vivianne herself seemed to hesitate slightly before finally breaking the silence.
"About this morning..." Her voice lacked its usual bite.
She exhaled softly before continuing. "I went too far earlier." Her gaze shifted slightly away from his. "Back before your match… when I pushed for Principal Elena to send you out."
A short pause followed.
"That wasn't fair to you."
The admission clearly didn't come easily.
For someone as prideful as Vivianne, apologizing at all was already unusual enough. Yet despite the visible discomfort in her expression, she still forced herself to say it properly rather than avoiding the topic entirely.
Alex studied her for a moment before stepping aside slightly, choosing not to make things awkward. "You can come in first." he said calmly. "Standing in the hallway isn't exactly the best place to talk."
Vivianne blinked faintly, seemingly not expecting such a normal response.
Still, after a brief hesitation, she nodded and quietly stepped inside.
Alex closed the door behind her before motioning toward a nearby chair.
"Sit."
Only after she sat down did he take his own seat across from her, the atmosphere settling into a quieter calm as the conversation truly began.
Neither of them spoke immediately.
For Alex, the situation still felt somewhat unexpected. Of all the people he imagined knocking on his door this late at night, Vivianne Scarlet had been near the bottom of that list.
Then again, after hearing Aurora's explanation earlier, some things made more sense now.
He still remembered her words clearly.
"Vivianne's been trying to get Elena to teach her for years now, but she always gets turned away. Maybe she's jealous that you managed to become Elena's student so easily when she's wanted that for so long."
At the time, Alex had mostly dismissed Vivianne's hostility as simple jealousy.
After all, from her perspective, the situation probably looked absurd. She possessed an S-rank affinity for fire, something far more compatible with Elena's abilities than Alex's ice attribute should have been. Yet despite that, Elena had repeatedly refused her while personally accepting him as a disciple.
Looking at it that way, her attitude toward him became easier to understand.
Still, even knowing that, Alex genuinely hadn't expected her to apologize.
What Alex—and honestly, most others—didn't fully realize was that beneath her prideful and fiercely competitive personality, Vivianne herself wasn't actually malicious.
She could be sharp-tongued and difficult to approach, but many of the things she said came out harsher than she truly intended.
At first, the exchanges remained somewhat stiff, but as they continued talking, the atmosphere slowly relaxed.
Most of their discussion revolved around the tournament and other casual topics, nothing overly personal.
'She doesn't seem unreasonable.' Alex found himself reassessing his earlier impression of her.
Once the earlier hostility faded, she was surprisingly straightforward in her own way. Even the sharpness in her tone felt less antagonistic now and more like a natural part of her personality.
Eventually, however, Vivianne glanced toward the window before quietly standing.
"I should go."
Alex nodded once.
"It's already late enough." she said. A faint trace of awkwardness crossed her expression before she added, "And staying longer would just create unnecessary rumors."
That much was true.
At events like the inter-academy tournament, relationships between participants were hardly uncommon. Relationships between students from different academies were hardly uncommon during tournaments, and gossip spread quickly whenever someone was seen visiting another participant's room late at night.
Especially when both people involved were well-known figures.
Alex didn't stop her.
Vivianne moved toward the door before pausing briefly.
"...And Alex."
He looked toward her.
"Good luck tomorrow."
The words came quietly, almost awkwardly, as though she wasn't entirely accustomed to saying something so sincere.
Before Alex could properly respond, she had already opened the door and stepped outside.
Silence settled over the room again once the door closed.
Aurora floated closer almost immediately, her grin returning in full force the moment the door shut.
"Oho," she dragged out playfully. "Looks like someone made a new friend tonight."
Alex sighed.
"You're enjoying this too much."
"Obviously," Aurora replied without the slightest shame. "This tournament is getting more entertaining by the day."