Moon

"I, Lynn Erningol, crowned princess of the Erningol Dynasty, challenge Luna de Selene for the third place," the girl with long golden hair and golden eyes said as she stepped forward in great confidence.

"I, Luna de Selene, accept the challenge," she replied with her gentle voice as they both stepped into the arena that was now covered in snow. 

The two of them stood still for a while, holding their Keys, staring and measuring each other's capabilities. After what happened in the battle of Laex and Philip, no one wanted to make the first move.

In the silence of things, Lynn made the first shot. A single beam of light crossed the arena in a second, immediately hitting Luna. 

However, before it could even scratch her clothes, a wall of protection defended her. 

"That is the Erningol and Selene Dynasty specials, light and protection," Malik said to the still resting Laex, which made the latter look at him as though asking, 'Why is he talking to me?'

After a few more shots from different directions, Lynn quickly found that her attacks were useless. The protection Incantations were too fast, strong, and wide. It was vastly different from what Laex was using, which was only capable of reacting to a sword swing and not a beam of light.

{Gate of Light: Solar Focus}

Beams of light quickly gathered at a single point of Luna's defense, shattering it from there. However, despite breaking through the first layer, a second one came to the rescue, then a third, a fourth.

{Gate of Protection: Reflect}

Just as Lynn was getting comfortable in her attack, Luna countered, returning the beam of light toward her in a moment of weakness.

"Tsk!" she irked as she narrowly protected herself from the reflection of her attack.

This trend went on for a while as the two tried and tested the limits of each other. It was completely different from the earlier battle, where it was already explosive from the start. Who could blame them, though? Seeing Philip lose because of his mismanagement of his Source left a deep impression on them.

Alas, it was not long before Lynn lost her patience and began to unleash her real attacks. 

{Gate of Light: Brilliance}

{Gate of Light: Radiance}

{Gate of Light: Solar Focus}

With consecutive Incantations, Lynn managed to blind Luna and launch an attack almost simultaneously. The barrage of light beams instantly overwhelmed Luna's defenses, tearing parts of her dress and wounding her in the process. 

"Alas," Luna sighed before opening her eyes.

/Oh, moons in the sky, hear my cry!/

{Gate of Tides: Surge}

As if being drawn by something, a massive surge of tide released itself from Luna's Key, overflowing onto the stage as though a tsunami had just come out of the air. 

{Gate of Light: Material Brillance} 

Lynn tried her best to protect herself, but the light surrounding her was slowly cracking due to the massive force coming out of the water. She waited for it to stop, but it was seemingly endless; the ocean itself was unleashed before them. 

'If I make the water around me explode, I will be hit by the explosion as well. I doubt that I will be able to remain standing if I take it at this distance,' Lynn thought before coming up with a plan.

She Chanted even more material light, which slowly expanded, creating more space for her. Finally, when she felt comfortable, she made another Chant.

/Light from the skies, burn all with your warmth and might/

{Gate of Light: Radiant Explosion}

Beams of light shot out from her Key, but it was unlike those from before. This time, they were denser and more concentrated, like a bomb about to go off.

As she released her protection, the water rushed in once more, but it was immediately met by the beam of light, creating huge explosions that made the water go everywhere.

Mist and dust covered the entire battlefield as finally, the rush of the water finally stopped. As the dust settled, though, Lynn found Luna right at her face with her Key directly at her stomach.

"Alas, you got me. I surrender," she said in resignation. 

"I just caught you off guard."

"Well, if it were a real battle, I would have died already. Shame. I could have shown a lot more if I had not been careless," she sighed.

'That is right. This is what a real battle is: exploitation of weaknesses. It does not matter how deep your Source is or how vast your knowledge is; if you lose focus and give the opponent a chance, you will die. At this level, a single light beam in the head will still kill you,' Laex concluded in his mind.

Fights continued to happen as the rest of the heirs challenged Malik and Luna simultaneously. They did not even try to challenge Laex for the first place, and this came from several reasons.

For one, Philip's display of strength was enough for them to recognize that he was definitely one of the strongest among them, yet he was beaten by Laex.

For another, they clearly saw how vast Laex's knowledge was and how wise he is. They knew without doubt that his experience and mastery over his capabilities far exceeded theirs. Yes, their Source was deeper than his, but he had already proven that it did not matter.

The last remaining students were Derek and a lady with long silver hair and crimson eyes. Her ears were pointed like Derek's, but it was shorter than his. Her complexion was also porcelain-like, pale, but glistening. It was clear at one look, she's a Vampire. 

Derek was about to step forward and challenge Laex, but the Vampire did not let him do so, coming forward herself. Normally, this would annoy the life out of him, but this particular lady was not one he wanted to anger.

"There she is, the favorite of this whole endeavor. The Crimson Nightmare, Elise Cruor, the crowned princess of the Cruor Dynasty, the youngest among those still eligible for the title, yet was the one who killed all her siblings to rise to position," Leila said with a wide smile.

"This will be fun. A classic battle between the dark horse and the prized unicorn."