Festival of Martial Arts (4) - The Queen of Magic's Opening Act
“Welcome, students, faculty, and guests of Terastial Academy!”
The grand arena of Terastial Academy, the Starray Stadium, was packed tighter than ever before. The spectator stands overflowed with academy students, and even the reserved seats for faculty and staff were filled to the brim without a single empty spot.
“I’m Monica, a second-year in the Magic Engineering Department, and I’ll be your host for the 35th Terastial Academy Martial Exhibition Festival! It looks like everyone’s been eagerly awaiting this event, and the excitement from the stands is reaching all the way up to our commentary booth!”
As Monica introduced herself, cheers erupted from one side of the spectator stands. She was a perfect all-rounder—bright personality, stunning looks, and top-three grades in her department—practically an idol in Magic Engineering. She’d also been handling events like this since last year, making her a seasoned emcee. Naturally, she had a ton of admirers among the students, and they were showing their fervent support.
Watching from the stands, Seong Hyun-jin couldn’t help but be a little impressed.
“She’s pretty famous, huh.”
“...You’re famous too, you know.”
Serena, who was with him as always, teased lightly.
“In all sorts of ways.”
“...Not that kind of fame.”
Hyun-jin shot her an incredulous look, and Serena let out a soft chuckle. While they bantered, Monica kept the show rolling.
“Joining me today for commentary is a very special guest! Please welcome Yeonhui sunbae-nim, the exchange student from Celestial Academy!”
“Hello, everyone. I’m Yeonhui, a third-year in Theology. I’m honored to be invited here and help Monica with the commentary today.”
Hyun-jin’s eyes widened at the sound of her voice.
“It’s Yeonhui sunbae-nim.”
Serena felt an inexplicable twinge of annoyance at his delighted reaction and pouted slightly.
“...It really is Yeonhui sunbae-nim.”
“Yeah, looks like she’s helping with the festival too. But isn’t she competing?”
“It’s second-years’ matches today. And she’s an exchange student anyway, so no reason for her to enter.”
Hyun-jin tilted his head at Serena’s slightly grumpy tone. Just as he wondered what was up, Monica’s lively voice boomed across the arena.
“The moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here—the Martial Exhibition Festival is about to begin! Yeonhui sunbae-nim, who are the students kicking things off for us?”
“Before I introduce them, let me mention that this year’s bracket is a bit different from past tournaments.”
Yeonhui’s voice echoed through the stadium.
“Unlike the completely random draws of before, this time the top and second-place reps from each department are matched up. That means from the round of sixteen onward, department heads will face off, preventing any early eliminations of top seeds.”
“Exactly! The first and second seeds from each department will cross paths! This change came from feedback that luck played too big a role in previous festivals!”
For example, no more scenarios where a department’s second seed lucks out against other seconds all the way up, dodging their own top seed. Sure, you could argue this favors the top seeds too much... but even in the old system, seconds had to beat a department head at least once or twice anyway. It wasn’t a huge disadvantage—just facing the inevitable opponent a little sooner.
“With that new rule in place, the brackets are set! For the 35th Martial Exhibition Festival, who’s opening the show, Yeonhui sunbae-nim?”
“It’s second-year Combat Department second seed, Gigs Crowell, versus second-year Magic Department top seed, Ciela Teraport!”
“They’re up first already? This is a total big match!”
Monica hyped it up, but surprisingly, no one in the stands laughed or jeered.
“The outcome’s too obvious...”
“Yeah, Gigs drew the short straw.”
“He’s not a pushover, though.”
Hyun-jin was a bit surprised by the atmosphere already predicting Gigs’s loss.
“...Those two are facing off.”
“You know them?”
“One was a proctor during entrance exams, and the other I ran into by chance on a walk recently.”
“...By chance? Which one?”
“Ciela sunbae-nim.”
Serena’s expression cooled at his simple reply.
“Ciela... a woman’s name?”
“Yeah, she is.”
“...Where do you keep making these ‘sunbae-nim’ friends?”
“We’re not friends... just exchanged greetings.”
Hyun-jin explained.
“On my way back from a walk, she said something guided her here. Turns out she’s the dean’s disciple—not your average person.”
“...The dean’s disciple?”
Serena stared at him in surprise, and he nodded lightly to confirm.
“Disciple of one of the Palstar Heroes, same as me.”
“...!”
Serena couldn’t hide her shock and peered down at the arena. Monica’s voice rang out again.
“Yeonhui sunbae-nim, shall we call out the fighters who’ll make this opening match unforgettable? Gigs Crowell and Ciela Teraport—come on out!”
“Come on out~.”
Yeonhui’s cute voice carried across the stadium, and the two combatants emerged from opposite ends of the arena: second-year Combat Department second seed Gigs Crowell and second-year Magic Department top seed Ciela Teraport.
Not just Hyun-jin—even Serena, who’d been wary of Ciela at first—watched them quietly. The entire crowd did the same, falling silent to focus on the match. Everyone knew whose disciple Ciela Teraport was.
“Hey, Gigs.”
“...Hah, my luck’s absolute trash. How do I draw you first thing?”
“Don’t be too down.”
Disciple of Demon Star Eleonora—one pillar of the Palstar Heroes and the supreme authority on spirit magic. Among the top second-years...
“Just accept it as fate. It’ll be easier that way.”
...she was in a league of her own.
# No need for commentary from Monica and Yeonhui in the booth. The match was a overwhelming mismatch.
Gigs Crowell wasn’t lacking in skill. He pressed Ciela with close-quarters brawling using his signature one-handed axe—quick footwork, thrusting punches, and off-beat axe swings that showed why he was Combat Department’s second seed.
But Ciela dodged every attack with minimal movement. His fists grazed her cheeks at best, the axe whistled past harmlessly—never a clean hit. The crowd thought she was reading and reacting to his moves, but Hyun-jin saw something else.
She wasn’t reacting to Gigs’s actions. It was like she knew what he’d do before he did, dodging without even tracking him visually. The half-beat lead in her movements proved it.
Spotting it with his sharp eyes, Hyun-jin murmured to Serena.
“Hey, Serena.”
“...Yes? What’s up?”
“Ever heard of Shamash?”
“Shamash?”
Serena tilted her head.
“A god from ancient texts, right? Not sure if it’s real.”
“What kind?”
“Hmm, god of the sun, law, justice, and...”
Serena added,
“...prophecy.”
“...Whoa.”
Her words clicked a puzzle piece into place for Hyun-jin. Ciela Teraport, who’d called him a “connection foretold by Shamash” despite never meeting—now dodging Gigs’s patterns like she’d seen them before.
“That sunbae’s using prophecy magic or something.”
“...What?”
Serena stared at him in confusion.
“No way that’s possible. Prophecy magic requires rituals and computation that’d demand a genius brain—basically making the caster a prophet themselves.”
“Nothing else explains those moves. She’s anticipating his actions like she’s seen them already.”
“What?”
Serena scrutinized Ciela’s movements and realized Hyun-jin was right.
“...You’re right. How’d you notice?”
“Eh, I’m just really into bodies.”
Serena jumped at his words, her face flushing pink.
“W-What...?”
Realizing the misunderstanding, Hyun-jin hurriedly clarified.
“Body movements! Like I said before, Master’s swordsmanship relies heavily on balance...”
“...Oh, right, that’s what you meant.”
As they cleared it up, the match reached its conclusion.
Snowflake
Growing desperate as his attacks kept missing, Gigs overextended. Ciela’s magic struck without warning.
Snowflakes bloomed under his feet. And—
BOOM────!!
The snowflake ritual exploded, spreading frigid air. Gigs’s legs froze solid, his upper body locked too. He grimaced, trying to force a move, then sighed deeply.
Looking at Ciela, he let out an admiring lament.
“Chantless casting... You make the impossible look effortless, Ciela.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, Gigs.”
She extended her hand, and a sharp ice sword formed at his neck.
Unable to counter, Gigs dropped his weapon with a sigh.
“...I surrender.”
The silent stands erupted in cheers.
“Ciela Teraport! Ciela Teraport!”
“A performance worthy of the Magic Department’s queen!”
“Overwhelming Gigs in seconds—she’s even stronger than last year!”
The crowd’s hype was justified by the domination, but the second-years’ cheers bordered on worship. It was a clear show of Ciela Teraport’s fame and popularity.
“She really is famous.”
“With skills like that, how could she not be?”
Hyun-jin nodded at Serena’s words, then glanced back down—and froze.
Ciela was staring right at him, as if she’d known exactly where he sat.
“Wonder if she’s figured out what Shamash is by now, huh, junior?”