Chapter 318: Chapter 318 Aegis.
However, despite her chaotic mind, inside a dark tunnel that imprisoned her thoughts, a glimpse of light entered her vision.
Her vision brightened, and one thing that escaped her heart spilled through her mouth: "I want to protect!"
******
Soma saw Xiao Lian back on her feet, calmly observed her, and felt his instinct ring an alarm. So he waited, waiting for what would Xiao Lian presented in this match.
He wants to know Xiao Lian\'s potential. Xiao Lian, who recently deviated from the normal route, came to his side, and he wants to know if she still retains her true potential despite being far away from harm ever since staying near Soma.
The silence in the arena broke off as Xiao Lian\'s aura rose and surrounded her, a mist swirling before her at the center, creating a whirlpool of water gushed from thin air.
{Woah, what is happening to contestant Xiao Lian? Suddenly, she was submerged in water. Is this her new magic}
The water began to consolidate and take shape in front of her before a blinding light burst out, and white mist covered the whole arena.
{What? What is this?}
Everyone in the venue had the same question as the emcee. They could feel it albeit faintly, the smoke that enveloped the arena was not normal.
Soma, who watched everything happen with wide eyes, frowned as he felt danger coming from his sides. He witnessed four magic circles shine in blue before they released ice veins that almost trapped his limbs.
However, Soma acted faster, he leapt back and noticed the mist that covered the arena had dissipated a little. In front of him stood Xiao Lian, holding a medium-size of blue shield made from solid ice on her left hand.
"...Original Magic - Aegis".
Soma, Lee, and the emcee who heard her utter those words stood frozen in place. Soma sighed and thought, "Is the thing called original magic easy to create?"
This event truly concerned him, but he felt a bit happy about Hina and Xiao Lian\'s success in developing their magic to this phase.
{What a shocking development; we have another original magic in this competition. That makes Xiao Lian the third possessor of Original Magic in this academy}
A loud cheer and round of applause reverberated inside the stadium, raising the tension in the match.
"How was it, Soma?".
Xiao Lian expressed her pride in creating while her face had no change whatsoever.
"Truly surprising, let\'s see how hard it is?".
Soma responds calmly, but internally, he is grinning with joy. He is happy that Xiao Lian could manifest her original magic.
In front of him, the shield floats gently and radiates a chilly atmosphere that freezes even the air surrounding Xiao Lian.
Without warning, Soma rushes forward, intending to test just how hard the shield is, but to his surprise, Xiao Lian, who sees his action, parted her lips and begins controlling the shield.
The shield that Soma thought stuck to her arm moved forward, facing him head-on. He knit his brows in wonder but decided to accept its challenge and clenched his fist tightly.
"Fuu!".
Soma inhaled deeply, stomped his left leg firm to the ground, transferred every ounce of power throughout his body toward his right fist, and struck the shield.
Under the nervous glance of the spectator and the amazed glance of the students and teacher.
A loud bang rang in the stadium. It continuously shook their eardrums and made their heads dizzy for a moment.
"Hoo".
Soma, who saw no trace of dent or crack on the surface of the shield, was amazed by the product, and then his instinct skill flared up from the side.
Xiao Lian utilized Soma\'s delayed responses as she came from his left side, thrusting the spear straight at his ribs.
With a slight twist, he dodged the spear and intended to grab the shaft, but the shield in front of him slammed its medium-built body, forcing him to take a step back and jump back to regain his stance.
"That was a sturdy shield you got there".
"Mm, thank you!".
The shield floated and stood in front of Xiao Lian\'s stance, almost covering her entire body. This prevented her enemy from reading her next move.
"Aren\'t you blinded in that position?".
"...Do you think so?".
"I see, so it was like that".
Xiao Lian probably created it only to obstruct the enemy\'s sight that was directed at her and not her sight to observe her enemy. That was quite good thinking she had.
"Truly, you are amazing, Xiao Lian". Continue reading on m|v-l\'e -NovelBin.net
"...?!".
A sudden word of praise spilled from Soma\'s lips, making her heart dance in joy, but Xiao Lian shook her head violently so she could regain her calm.
Soma looked up, and the light from the sun that hung above him blinded his eyes. With his eyes closed, he prepare his stance and inhaled deeply, changing his approach and now his aura had clearly changed.
Xiao Lian, who happens to see it behind the shield protection, her body momentarily trembles under the slight pressure that came from Soma\'s current figure.
From her eyes, she could faintly see two stars that lit within Soma\'s body, and his aura had drastically risen at an unpredictable rate, before it tamed down, but radiate a dangerous feeling that slit her throat.
"My turn now!".
"!?".
Before Xiao Lian could gasp, a loud \'bang\' stung her eardrum, for she saw that Soma had appeared in front of her unnoticed.
"How, kuh!".
Another \'bang\' reverberated across the venue, and everyone in the Arena could see that Soma had unleashed a barrage of punches to push away the shield that blocked his advance.
A rapid \'bang\' kept raining down on the Arena, and over time, the sound invoked a fear that slowly crept through from the bottom of their consciousness.
Everyone\'s spine was tingling as they witnessed the girl single-handedly withstanding the barrage of those heavy punches. However, within that horror, their feelings were stimulated by amazement because despite being under pressure, Xiao Lian kept fighting.
"Kuh!".
Xiao Lian, who got pushed back, felt her brain throbbing intensely as her stance faltered, but she gritted her teeth and stubbornly stood under the pressure.
As everyone saw the scene, the fear that gnawed at their hearts slightly began to change, and one female student from Class A, who knew Xiao Lian, shouted.
"Hang in there, Xiao Lian!".
"You can do it!".
"Oi, Soma at least hold your punch for a bit!".
"Damn ruthless".
Seeing the students\' spirited call, the spectators who favoured Xiao Lian began to express their support, and the silent venue soon became lively.
Meanwhile, inside the VIP room, Serafina\'s groups watch the match with tension all over their faces, especially Xiao Rui, who knows the two of them and regards them as family. Her face was painted with worry.
"Tch, that Soma is so ruthless".
Serafina commented from the side, but everyone knew from her tone that she was not holding the slightest grudge against Soma\'s action. Instead, they could feel a certain joy and slight envy mixed with her sigh.
On the other side, Hina watches the match with a rope hanging on her neck; even looking at it feels suffocated. She wonders if she was the one who stood in the arena right now and unleashed her Original Magic. She wondered if she could survive that.
"It is impossible for me, at least!".
Xiao Lian kept defending against the relentless attack, and the throbbing in her mind intensified. She couldn\'t even differentiate what the hell happened.
Her mind turned blurry as the spell that held the shield in place almost broke down, But she stood up and kept her gaze forward, screaming.
"Aaaaah!".
With a do-or-die spirit, she forced herself forward. The shield and Soma\'s sister\'s hand collided, creating a shockwave that rebounded both parties\' attempts.
Soma startled, let his stance open wide, and Xiao Lian utilized the moment to her advantage by gritting her teeth and using one last strength she could muster.
"Haaa!".
Xiao Lian thrust her spear forward, and it travelled straight toward Soma\'s left chest. Eventually, her spirit gave in, and her consciousness slipped out. Then, the spear blade managed to graze Soma\'s side, making the brooch in his pocket let out a cracking sound.
Her body, now lifeless, dropped down, but Soma hurriedly caught her and hugged her tight with full affection.
"You did great, Xiao Lian".
He looked toward Lee, who absentmindedly watched them together. His mind resurfaced, and he shouted his instructions.
"The match is over!".
{...}
Without talking, the emcee proudly applauded the match, and everyone in the venue followed her: the students, teachers, and spectators. They were touched to see Xiao Lian endure an ordeal and keep fighting until she fainted.
The shield dissipated into thin air, and Soma carefully carried her body into his hands in a princess carry. He took the spear first and stored it inside his relic before going toward the tunnel where Hina was waiting.
{...The winner of this match is Soma}