Purple flames blazed atop the silver chalice.
Tiyi wore a blue-and-white Gothic long dress.
She gripped a heavy iron-gray greatsword.
Under the gaze of many apprentice Witches, she walked onto the sacred dais.
On the other side of the dais stood Dilovei.
A refined rapier hung at her waist.
Her small gloved hand rested on the hilt.
Standing here, Tiyi felt a lot.
These months of training and practice had met her goals, yet nothing was easy.
Bearing it all as a woman wasn’t easy either.
She drew a deep breath.
She felt every gaze from below, whether on her or fixed on some part of her body.
It was embarrassing.
Though her progress was real, she still couldn’t get used to her female body being watched by so many.
Still, an intuition pressed in her chest.
If she became the chosen Witch and went to the Imperial Sacred Academy, everything would finally make sense.
For Tiyi now, the full-rank Witch evaluation was no longer a problem.
She didn’t care about it either.
Her only goal was the Witch selection.
Dilovei looked across the dais at the petite silver-haired Witch a dozen steps away—Tiyi.
She bent her waist, sword held behind her, one hand placed below her chest.
She offered Tiyi the Witch’s salute.
Witches could be free in style, yet retain noble etiquette.
“Lady Dilovei, thank you for teaching me these months.”
“Miss Tiyi, it’s my honor to teach you magic,” Dilovei replied with a lady’s grace.
“Mm, but…” Dilovei’s pink lips parted. “Is your thanks a bit early?”
“Why say that, Lady Dilovei?”
“Perhaps you still have a lot to learn from me,” Dilovei said calmly.
“Soon, I’ll make you understand.”
“I’m happy to learn from you. But I will go all-out in this match.” Tiyi’s golden eyes held no doubt.
“You still won’t call me teacher? Mm, today, I’ll change your mind!”
Zing!
Silver light flashed before Dilovei.
She drew the rapier in an instant and pointed at Tiyi.
Tiyi swung her greatsword behind her, turned sideways, and stepped to face her opponent.
Dong, dong, dong—
The ancient bells of the underground Church tolled.
The top-tier duel between Church Witches was about to begin.
“Fourth-tier Acceleration Art, ‘The Wind’s Tryst of Handmaiden Sailia’…” Dilovei didn’t hesitate.
She chanted the old spell at once.
She also had the ability to shorten and omit verses, completing them by mental focus.
The apprentice Witches below drew sharp breaths.
Opening with fourth-tier Old Lineage magic—this was far beyond earlier matches.
Tiyi didn’t step in to disrupt Dilovei’s casting.
First, for respect toward her de facto magic teacher.
Second, Dilovei’s casting wasn’t so easily disrupted.
She steadied the greatsword at her side and back.
A cold, ghostly glow rippled along the blade.
Martial Art: Moonglow Frost.
Based on the body-arts burst from the Yedi era, Tiyi had tuned it for a woman’s frame.
It greatly boosted her speed and explosive power.
“Tiyi, careful.”
Swish!
Suddenly, Dilovei moved.
Her speed was extreme, like a fading phantom.
She crossed over a dozen meters in a blink and appeared before Tiyi.
Her rapier stabbed forward, a silver needle piercing air.
Clang!
Tiyi’s greatsword swung in wide arcs.
Her long legs gave her solid, powerful footing.
The glowing blade cut an arc like a crescent, easily parrying the rapier.
Yet Dilovei’s silver blade was blindingly fast, ever-shifting.
Knocked aside by the heavy sword, it flowed back and gathered strength, then thrust several times in a row.
Tiyi stepped and sprang back into the air to evade.
At the same time, she brought the greatsword down at Dilovei as she pressed in.
Ding!
Dilovei’s rapier was hammered toward the dais.
As Tiyi landed, she turned and slashed horizontally.
A sharp gale rolled out with the strike.
Though the sword was heavy, her speed was so high it left a trailing afterimage.
With fourth-tier lineage acceleration, Dilovei faced the whirling sword image.
Her body leaped back in a flash.
She hung in midair for a short moment, buoyed by the wind-lineage acceleration.
As she slowed into a fall, she stretched out her other small hand and chanted fast.
Ghostly blue magic circles arrayed themselves in the air along her descent.
Icicles drilled out from the circles, speckled with ice elements, sped by elemental force.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Countless ice spikes shot at Tiyi.
Tiyi’s long, beautiful legs flew in sword-steps.
She darted laterally along one side of the arena.
The ice spikes buried into the floor behind her.
Even the surrounding tiles were partly frozen.
While sprinting, Tiyi opened her fingers with one hand.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Fireballs launched from the red flame array glowing before her palm.
“What happened?”
“I didn’t hear her chant…”
“Miss Tiyi’s casting is even faster than Lady Dilovei’s?”
The apprentices were stunned one by one.
Even the eight masked Witches maintaining the barrier were stirred.
Tiyi possessed fierce mental strength and focus.
She did need chants, but a silent chant in her mind was enough.
A mind’s whisper outpaced any spoken verse.
“Tsk!”
Dilovei kicked off the barrier behind her.
Using the recoil, she dodged those fireballs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fireballs detonated around her.
The shockwaves still battered her balance.
She dropped to one knee on landing and slid.
The Servant’s Whip of Gamexi!
Dilovei was already chanting while evading.
Casting under such danger demanded extreme focus and split attention—few Witches could do it.
She swung her hand back and unfolded a large lightning sigil array.
Szzzt!
Three blazing lashes of lightning swung back and forth.
They snapped toward Tiyi.
Tiyi leaped high.
She likewise used the surrounding magical barrier.
Her feet tapped the air, ripples spreading across the invisible wall.
She ran and vaulted as if walking on what eyes couldn’t see.
She slipped past each bolt of lightning.
At the same time, she hurled massive mushroom-like fourth-tier fireballs at Dilovei.
“Whoa!”
Cold sweat beaded on the eight masked Witches.
They threw in everything they had.
Those destructive big fireballs could overwhelm even the barrier.
“Not good!”
Dilovei let out a delicate cry.
She might not fear the mushroom fireballs normally.
But space was tight, and she got driven into a corner with nowhere to dodge.
She had to invoke an Ice Crystal Shield.
Boom!
Flames rolled and echoed inside the barrier.
Terrible heat surged back and forth.
Dilovei blocked the mushroom blast, yet the aftershock smashed her to the ground.
She tumbled and slammed into the barrier.
Thankfully, an ice-crystal magic armor shimmered over her.
The armor shattered and faded, leaving Dilovei flushed and panting hard.
“This woman—does her mana have no limit?” Her eyes flicked, unreserved, to Tiyi’s ample chest swaying with her landing.
“Hmph. Who would’ve thought little Dilovei would get pushed this far?”
“Don’t belittle the glory of us full-rank Witches.”
On the high rock balcony, Xialda licked her full lips.
She waved her wand.
Spatial array vortices bloomed around her.
From each vortex flew a clockwork familiar with round membrane wings.
They looked similar, but their glowing single eyes and the energy colors flowing in their maws were different.
There were seven familiars.
With fanged, elemental maws gaping, they flew toward Tiyi.
