Thalamik had a notification that read:
[Final Stage is about to begin. Please use this transport function to move yourself to the colosseum, where a 2 on 2 duel will begin. You can review the rules here in the wilderness, but you can also choose to review them on the way to the colosseum.]
A woman in a witch-like outfit appeared in front of me and Momoka, who was still hiding in the forest.
"Congratulations, you both have qualified for the final stage! Please head towards the colosseum at once for your 2 on 2 duel!" the woman said gleefully.
"Who are you?" Thalamik asked.
"I am Nemain. I will be your announcer for this 2 on 2 battle!"
"Another gimmick, huh. Show me where I need to go." Thalamik sauntered towards her with Momoka's right arm held tightly. "Are you okay?" he asked, glancing at Momoka.
"I am. Let's go."
Nemain smiled as she flicked her finger, and some kind of vehicle that looked like a car appeared, driving up and stopping near them. Upon entering the vehicle, both Thalamik and Momoka took a seat in the large room-like interior. It looked almost like a limousine. Thalamik and Momoka sat on the right side.
Soft but high-tension music played as the vehicle started driving.
Then, in a flash, two more people suddenly appeared across from them, on the left side of the seat.
A woman with white-blue silky hair, her ethereal aura visible to the naked eye — a spirit folk woman with blue eyes, sitting in a strapless white dress. Beside her sat her mentee, Nanaya, who wore a matching dress. Unlike her master, Nanaya's hair leaned more towards white-pink.
"Thalamik?" Istar asked, seeing him in front of her.
"Istar." He replied with little to no comment. Thalamik's eyes stared downward as he closed them, feeling the weight of what he was going to have to do.
"As expected from you — surviving this long. I had no doubt that you, of all people, are strong enough to resist the control of the Artifact Fragments."
"Istar... we shouldn't do this." Thalamik said. "There must be another way."
Istar giggled and said, "For the past 5 months, me, Cobalt, and the others have tried so hard to find another way. Yet we never found one. What we found were only more corrupted people, enticed by the artifact to kill each other."
Thalamik shivered as he finally looked Istar in the eye. "Istar..."
"For the record, I was never fond of you, Thalamik."
Thalamik's eyes twitched, surprised by her words.
"I never liked you one bit. You always acted like you were above others. You always seemed to have an answer to every impossible situation. It made someone like me — more seasoned as a Hero Candidate — look useless. Yet..." Istar paused before showing a curt smile. "All of your actions. They are all acts of genuine kindness. To be honest, in this situation, I had high hopes that you would find a way somehow. But then again, just letting you shoulder the hardship alone was so unfair. Perhaps it was because I casually put the blame on you and normalized relying on you that I feel this way." Istar spilled out her thoughts right at Thalamik as the vehicle kept moving.
"On that battlefield, please don't think I will act as kindly as I am now. Even I... Even me, an ethereal spirit, am afraid of dying. A battle of survival is never great, but if it is needed to protect myself and Nanaya, I won't think twice about fighting with everything I've got."
The vehicle stopped.
"I'll see you there, my opponent." Istar and Nanaya stepped out of the vehicle, visible through its window. Both walked slowly towards the Colosseum. Before entering, however, Thalamik decided to open the rules one more time.
[Artifact War — Final Stage Rules]
1. Each team consists of a 'Master' and a 'Student', each given authority over a system.
2. The Master must not be a 1st year student. The 'game' system automatically determines which role each person takes.
3. The Master's capabilities are reduced to 10% of their original abilities. From 128 Masters and Students, each pair will do a 2 on 2 battle against one another. The Student is the only one allowed to engage in combat, while the Master is strictly prohibited from joining combat and can only provide commands, plans, or support magic. (Support magic is limited to 3 uses.)
4. The Student's capabilities are increased by 100% based on the stripped power of their Master (this includes spells the Master can use, mana reserves, and other techniques).
5. Each Master who possesses Artifact Fragments may choose to use them for their own advantage. Artifact Fragments can be spent by the Master to buy items from the Colosseum Shop, including instant healing items and other wares.
6. Each Master is entitled to 3 Overlimit uses. Each Overlimit usage has a time limit of 20 seconds. A Master may activate 2 or more Overlimit uses at once. In 'Overlimit mode,' the prohibition on combat for the Master is also lifted, and the Master will receive 100% of their original power during that time. Once the Overlimit time has passed, the Master will be paralyzed at the last position they stood.
7. The Duel ends when the Student is defeated or killed, or when their Master has no remaining Overlimit uses.
8. In the case of defeat, the victor may deliver a finishing blow. If that is somehow not enough, an automated disqualification will occur for the losers.
[End]
"Momoka... This will not be a battle to protect something. It will be a battle to survive. From here on out, we will do our very best to survive."
"I am as ready as you are, Master."
Thalamik walked towards the colosseum, skipping a trip to the shop, and entered the structure. There, Nemain appeared and guided him towards a door, opening it to reveal an arena where Istar and Nanaya could be seen standing, waiting for them.
[Let the final stage begin! Fight to survive. Fight till the end!]
[Live or die by the sword. What power do you hold in your hands...?]
[Round 1]
At the announcement, both Momoka and Nanaya charged at one another. Momoka directed her kunai while Nanaya wielded a wand. As the two clashed, a sudden shift was felt.
Momoka instinctively sensed danger as clones of Nanaya began appearing behind her — around ten, no, fifty clones — every one of them casting a flagship spell of Istar's: the wind element drilling magic, Zephyr Auger.
"Momoka, ignore them — focus on finding an opening for a counterattack!" Thalamik said via telepathy. "I'll cast my barrier around you this once!" Momoka nodded as she began to look for a way through.
CRUST!!!
The barrier Thalamik had placed around Momoka was drilled through by fifty wind magic attacks simultaneously.
[Thalamik has cast support magic onto his student. Remaining uses: 2]
Momoka focused her energy and imbued her kunai with fire magic before throwing it at one of Nanaya's clones. The clone that was hit dissolved, melting into pure mana. Momoka then pulled the kunai back, a string of mana already attached to its handle. As she pulled it back, she also gathered the residual mana from the dissolved clone and began to chant. "Fiery Heaven." Momoka imbued her kunai with fire magic once more and threw it again, this time towards the gap between the clones.
Istar raised her hand and cast a barrier around Nanaya.
Momoka's kunai glowed before exploding, consuming the entire clone army and leaving nothing but residual mana. The explosion was enough to damage Nanaya, but with Istar's interference, she was protected from the worst of it.
[Istar has cast support magic onto her student. Remaining uses: 2]
***
I am fighting the one and only Thalamik.
To underestimate his student would be a grave mistake.
He is the man who took down Raum.
He used abilities that can even manipulate reality.
To expect him not to go for the kill would be foolish.
I must do everything while he is still sizing me up.
I must do everything I can, right now!
Istar looked at Thalamik with firm eyes.
"I activate 'Overlimit' — usage 3."
Thalamik's eyes twitched as he said towards Momoka, "Here it comes, Momoka!"
With only 60 seconds on the clock, Istar had gambled everything on this one attack — a desperate move to draw out any further interference from Thalamik. She joined both her hands together.
In conjunction, Nanaya summoned more clones and began spamming Zephyr Auger towards Momoka. But it was futile, as Thalamik cast another support magic to protect her from the barrage.
[Thalamik has cast support magic onto his student. Remaining uses: 1]
Nanaya had read her master's thoughts.
Her strategy: finish it all in one blow.
Istar summoned a bow made of light element.
"The light of the stars — be my arrow of destruction. Follow my command as I strike down my enemy." Light energy began enveloping her almost instantly as she aimed directly at Momoka, who had closed her eyes as if meditating. "Bursting Destruction! 100% Spirit Burst!"
With a flick, the bow released a luminescent arrow that looked more like a wave of photons — a beam that destroys everything it touches.
BOOM!
[60 seconds have passed. You have been paralyzed.]
Istar fell from the sky, her body unable to move, forced into a kneeling position. Her eyes widened as she took in what had transpired.
***
Momoka was never strong in offensive magic.
She could only do so much with spells like fireballs, Zephyr Auger, photon beams, and the like.
Her true talent lay in regenerative and support magic.
One technique she had inherited from Thalamik — and had a natural gift for — was defensive magic.
She had mastered "Perfect Counter," a technique created by Thalamik that redirected an opponent's energy and turned it back against them. A technique that absorbs the force of an attack and uses that energy as a weapon.
But Momoka had gone even beyond that.
She had developed her own variation: 'Mirror Counter.' A technique not focused on melee combat, but on countering magic itself. With a required meditation period of 30 seconds, she was able to conjure Mirror Counter, capable of repelling magic entirely.
Momoka now held her Mirror stretched out like a net, filled with the light energy Istar had launched. All the energy Istar had unleashed was now under Momoka's control.
"Master..." Momoka said.
Thalamik formed a mana channel that connected Momoka's mirror to both Nanaya and Istar, creating a tube of magical energy that latched onto their bodies.
[Thalamik has casted a support magic. Remaining uses: 0]
By the time they realized what was about to happen, it was already too late.
"Mirror Counter!!!" Momoka released the captured energy, dispersing it through the mana channel Thalamik had created. The light energy surged through the narrow channel, accelerating as it flowed, and struck both Nanaya and Istar simultaneously.
BOOM!
The photon beam — Istar's own attack — blasted the two of them away, sending them crashing to the ground nearly 50 meters from where they had stood.
[Istar and Nanaya — Defeated. Congratulations, Thalamik and Momoka!]
[The victors are given the chance to deliver a finishing blow.]
Momoka waited for Thalamik to join her before the two of them walked towards Nanaya and Istar together. As they reached them, Thalamik sat down and took Istar into his arms, while Momoka cradled Nanaya in hers.
"Istar, can you still hear me?"
"Of... course..." Istar's voice slithered out.
Momoka placed both hands on Istar and Nanaya's heads, quietly healing them both. "Haha. Idiot. You know that's not allowed," Istar said to Thalamik.
"If I can be kind to you right now, I won't miss that chance, Istar."
"Hahaha. How pathetic." Istar smiled. "You really deserve to win..."
"No... I have killed too many. I never deserved to win. I just want to survive... I am sorry for this, Istar. I... I don't know what else to do..."
"Don't be like that, Thalamik. Just keep fighting for what you believe in. Oh — and if possible, tell my family that I loved them all." Istar said, smiling at Thalamik as black cracks began appearing across her body.
[Finishing blow insufficient. Automated disqualification will begin.]
Somehow it reminded Thalamik of something that had once happened to his teacher — not quite the same, but reminiscent of what had happened to Hale.
Slowly, Istar's left leg began to disperse into nothingness.
Then her right arm.
Then her limbs, one by one.
Her torso was the only thing that remained.
"Momoka... put them to sleep."
Momoka held back her tears as she cast a sleeping spell, putting both Nanaya and Istar to sleep as they slowly disintegrated.
When both had turned to dust, Thalamik and Momoka remained kneeling on the ground, feeling as though everything had been a dream. Istar and Nanaya had dispersed into thin air, their dust swept away by the wind.
Momoka was the first to stand. She extended her hand to her Master. "Let's go."
Thalamik nodded before taking it, and the two of them exited the Colosseum.
Outside, Nemain the Announcer greeted them with awe and energy. "Congratulations on winning! How was it? Wasn't it great?"
Thalamik walked past her without a response.
"I see — you must both be exhausted. Please get some rest." She said before presenting them with a vehicle.
As they entered, Nemain called through the window, "I'll see you two next month for the next round! Please enjoy your gift!"
The driver started the engine and moved off before asking, "Where would you like to go?"
"Take us to the forest," Thalamik said.
"Aye."
Momoka rested her head on Thalamik's shoulder as they both stared at the empty space on the left side of the vehicle seat.
"There is a gift for you from Miss Nemain," the driver spoke, pointing to a box on the floor. "It's a private room key. It can generate a pocket dimension accessible only to you and your student — a safe haven from everyone. It isn't impenetrable, but it's quite durable and secure, so long as you keep the entrance hidden."
"Thank you."
[Congratulations on your first victory!]
[You have gained 50 fragments]
[Your Artifact Fragments have increased from 99 to 149]
[Info! Your next opponent has been revealed]
[Your next opponent is Twinkle Snake Oryba and his mentee Kasruya. Be sure to prepare yourself.]