Chapter 91: Let The Finals Begin!

Nox's POV:

"Hey, master? Doesn't that look an awful lot like a taller version of you? You didn't rigg this event, did you?"

"Hell no!" As I was wondering why I suddenly found a me lookalike, the announcer revealed the answer.

"TODAY'S FINAL MATCH TO DECIDE THE WINNER OF THIS YEARS SPELLCASTER DIVISION WILL BE: SUZUKI SHINJI VERSUS LUNARIA FILIA"

"Master, are you going to be, okay?" Crybaby said giving me a sad look.

"Hey Crybaby! You're not making fun of me for being shorter than my body double over there, right?!" I said as I was getting pissed off.

"So, your fine then! Good to know!" He said as his concerned look turned back to normal.

"Hey! You didn't answer me!"

"Oh, look! They started!"

"Hey, don't ignore me!"

As I failed to get that tall, little twerp to fess up, I turned my attention to the match.

Brat number 2 had charged right in, but my double had used a fast 3rd tier ice element spell called 'Frost Touch' to cover ground around her in ice causing the brat to slip and fall on his ass. As he kept falling on his butt while trying to find his footing, she used that time to prepare a much more complex spell.

By the time he finally found his balance, she had completed her spell. It was the 4th tier spell 'Cryo-Gale'. It is what is known as a compound spell, which means it utilizes more than one element to create an effect. Cryo-Gale uses the ice and wind element to create a wind tunnel that freezes over anything caught in it. Its area of effect is limited to the size and range of the tunnel. So, as long as the brat can get out before he is turned into a popsicle, he should be fine. The only problem is…

"Ack!"

*Thud*

The dumbass got knocked over by the breeze and can't get up. I could see the frost bite creeping in on his hands as he finally got an idea. He cast the 2nd tier spell 'Air Burst' on himself, using the momentum and lack of friction to slide out the side of the wind tunnel. One moment longer and he wouldn't be able to move his fingers for the rest of the day.

After he escaped the limited range of the 4th tier ice tunnel, my double cancelled her spell and started prepping a 3rd tier spell, however.

*bang*

Just as she was about to launch her spell she was interrupted by the brat's 2nd tier 'Fire Shot' that went straight through her unfinished ice spell and lightly burned her hand. The disturbance from the Fire Shot, plus her lack of focus caused the spell to give a backlash, exploding into fragmented ice and knocking her back a few steps while covering her in small cuts.

"Wow! She flinched! Just from that? My lookalike is a wuss!"

"I've been telling you for years! Your standards are too high! Not everyone can take an explosion to the face and pretend to be fine!"

"What are you talking about! Anything I can do isn't something to brag about! It's just a matter of will!"

"And I'm telling you not everyone has the willpower to do that! Hey! Are you listening?! Don't ignore me!"

While the Crybaby was making a fuss over nothing, I decided to give him a taste of his own cold shoulder as I looked back at wuss and brat.

Apparently, the brat had used his new ice-skating technique I decided to call 'air burst travel', to close the distance while the wuss was regaining her focus. She quickly tried to cast an Air Burst of her own to buy some time, but the brat recognized the spell and countered with his own Fire Shot, causing an explosion that sent the two of them flying in opposite directions.

The wuss had been closer to the blast hence, she had taken the most damage, which is why she was now spotted with burns and coughing up blood while the brat was only singed here and there with some blood trickling down his forehead from a bruise on his head. At the very least his frost nip was clearing up thanks to the work of his little spriggans working to regulate his internal body temperature. Although, it's technically cheating by having outside aid, nobody who isn't already aware of his contracted spirits would be able to tell by just looking from afar and even if they did, they would have no way of easily proving it.

Spirits can sometimes aid and reinforce the body from the inside using their innate spirit magic to regulate and enhance the body's natural processes. This support buff is likely why brat number 2 didn't die from his poor health and terrible living conditions before we met. The reason he was so frail before was due to the two focusing all their energy on life support, but after half a year of my healthy food and medicinal bath in the form of dunking, he is no longer in danger of dying from his illness. Hence, now those spriggans can use what I taught them to strengthen his body instead. This is why despite taking more hits than the wuss, this brat is currently in a better condition than his opponent.

*Crackle*

After getting up the brat started casting his 3rd tier spell Chain Lightning, aiming to finish this, but the wuss managed to cast a defensive spell last second to mitigate some of the damage. She cast the 2nd tier spell "Earth Mound", which deforms the ground around you into a pile of dirt. It was barely big enough to reach above her head, but Chain Lightning travels through the target and into the next so she was still hit by a weakened flow of electricity. As the brat maintained the spells effect the wuss barely managed to crawl away from the spells effective range.

"This is over." Crybaby said.

"Don't count your horses until they hatch!"

"What? Don't you mean chickens?"

"No! Pegasi lays eggs, but that's not the point! That wuss is hiding something!"

"What is it?"

"Just watch!"

Just as the brat moved closer to knock her out with a dirt shot to the face, the wuss suddenly cast a 3rd tier 'Ice Lance' which forms a giant needle of ice and fires it at the speed of a bullet. Unlike her previous spells, this one had no delay or casting time. It was instantly formed and activated.

*Swoosh*

*Smash*

Fortunately, I focused heavily on training the reflexes of all the brats, otherwise that icicle would have gone straight through the brat's head, instead of just leaving a scratch on his cheek. After the icicle passed the brat, it went straight towards the gritted cage of the arena as it smashed into glittery dust upon hitting the transparent force field between the bars of the cage.

*smash*

Just then the blue gem inside the wusses neckless shattered as her last resort failed to finish him off and she took a pile of dirt to the face.

"LUNARIA FILIA IS UNABLE TO CONTINUE! I ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF THE WALPURGISNACHT SPELLCASTER DIVISION TO BE SUZUKI SHINJI!"

"THERE YOU ARE!" A somewhat familiar looking redhead yelled at us.