Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst-Chapter 146: VOL 2 - 91: Prepare your weapons.

"Fellow disciples, everyone is already prepared for battle."

Suddenly, a male voice was heard from behind the girls, who simply nodded without turning around, completely focused on what lay before them. The girls' total lack of interest brought a somewhat bitter smile to the young man's face, who merely approached and stood next to them.

The young man appeared to be around eighteen years old, with fair skin and a very expressive face, featuring symmetrical features and a softly contoured jaw, along with intense blue eyes. His hair was longer on the top and styled upward, fading from black at the roots to a bright red at the tips, which, combined with the earrings in his ears, gave him a rebellious and modern style.

"What do you think our chances are of obtaining the staff, companion disciples?" Undeterred, the young man asked again with a charming smile on his face, causing Zoe to respond in a serious tone, although her gaze remained fixed on the column of light.

"Disciple Williams, that's irrelevant. What we must do is focus on doing everything possible to obtain the staff."

"Fellow Disciple Laverne is right. I apologize for my recklessness." The young man's face turned somewhat bitter at Zoe's serious words, but he quickly nodded.

"I hope you can stay focused on the battle, Disciple Williams, or you could be eliminated quickly, which would put us at a severe disadvantage."

Zoe added with a grave expression as a beautiful sheathed Katana appeared in her hands. She placed it at her waist, where it hung in midair as if by magic, defying gravity, and then spoke loudly to the companions behind her.

"Prepare your weapons! The battle is about to begin!"

With Zoe's words, everyone present took their weapons from their storage rings. Similarly, in Liliana's right hand appeared a beautiful long staff made of white wood that reached from the ground up to her head. Intricate runes were carved into its surface, and it was crowned by a lovely yellow crystal sphere, emitting a soft whitish aura of light, giving it a holy and immaculate appearance.

Meanwhile, in Elara's hand, a short and sleek black staff with a red crystal at the top and various engraved runes materialized. It had an elegant, polished look while also being easy to maneuver, as it was roughly the size of her torso.

As for Disciple Williams, he held a minimalist wooden staff with intricate geometric details around a beautiful blue crystal sphere at the top, which reached his waist, where a short sword also hung, defying gravity in the same way as Zoe's Katana.

All the young people present nervously watched as the other groups prepared, gripping their weapons tighter for fear they might slip from their sweaty palms. Although they had survived so far by facing various battles, they were fully aware that a single mistake could lead to their elimination.

The tournament was nearing its end, which meant there were very few spots left on the exploration team to fight for, making them even more anxious and prone to errors—fatal in a large-scale battle like the one about to begin. Moreover, that same anxiety affected their enemies, making them more ruthless than before and worsening the chaotic situation.

While the air grew so tense it could almost be cut with a knife, Zoe grabbed the sheath of her Katana with one hand and its hilt with the other, simultaneously spreading her legs and bending her knees. Her gaze was utterly focused, her mana rushing fiercely through her body, and the wind began to stir her robes gently.

Suddenly, the column of light dimmed completely, revealing the beautiful staff inside it. This served as a starting signal for Zoe, who shot toward the staff at blinding speed, propelled by the wind. At the same time, large amounts of mana swirled around Elara, Liliana, and Disciple Williams.

Zoe's action of racing toward the staff was imitated by several other participants. Each participant wielded different weapons in their hands, from spears to daggers, all converging in the center while powerful spells trailed close behind, threatening to annihilate them all without mercy.

The moment Zoe was close enough to her opponents, she unleashed her Katana from its sheath at a speed imperceptible to the others. At the same time, she executed four hand signs with her left hand, her fingers moving as though weaving, and then performed a rapid succession of vertical and horizontal slashes, so quick they seemed simultaneous.

"Dance of a Thousand Breezes."

With Zoe's soft announcement, a net of invisible slashes shot toward her opponents, forcing them to guard themselves in midair. At that moment, all the surrounding spells also arrived, threatening to engulf everyone. Yet, Zoe did not flinch, maintaining a serious and focused expression she once again sheathed her katana.

Although Zoe's attack did not do much damage to her opponents, it achieved its goal of halting their advance. At that moment, multiple barriers of different colors formed between her and the spells about to reach her, creating a robust barrier that protected her path. The same happened to the other participants.

When the wave of spells collided with the barriers, a powerful explosion shook the air, unleashing a shockwave that slammed into the barriers, managing to shatter some of them, though they were quickly re-formed. The participants seized this moment and rapidly sent out various elemental attacks at one another, causing several to be teleported to the space station, disqualified from the tournament.

Meanwhile, the momentum from Zoe's initial jump came to a halt, at which point a platform made of pale yellow light appeared in front of her. She stepped on it confidently, which seemed to trigger the formation of several other light platforms around her, though they were much more subtle and difficult to perceive.

"Dragonfly's Whisper."

Having memorized the positions of the light platforms, Zoe quickly made three different hand signs, ending with her ring and pinky fingers extended. She then began moving between the platforms at a blinding speed, leaving behind residual images of herself made of air, giving the impression she had cloned herself.

In mere moments, Zoe reached the staff at the same time as three other individuals who had stayed far enough away to avoid being affected by her first attack. After exchanging serious looks, they swiftly unleashed their best attacks in an attempt, at the very least, to delay their rivals enough to grab the staff.

"Combustion Chain!"

The first young man, with reddish-gold hair, wielding a long sword resembling a bastard sword, quickly conjured a small, simple-looking magic circle at the center of his sword's guard. He then performed a series of slashes that sent blazing flying cuts toward the other three.

"Final Judgment!"

The second young man, who had a muscular build, with long dark silver hair tied into what looked like a ponytail and shaved sides, and who was wielding a spear, spoke up as various runes tattooed on his skin began to glow. His spear crackled with powerful arcs of electricity as he launched a rapid series of thrusts at the others.

"Sharp Coral!"

The last young man, with short bluish hair, announced while a small and simple magic circle formed at the guards of his two scimitars. He then began executing a series of swift slashes, leaving trails of water in the air that appeared to crystallize into a type of super-long coral needles.

"Dance of a Thousand Breezes!"

With a sharp gaze, Zoe quickly performed the four hand signs with her left hand while simultaneously unsheathing her katana to intercept the attacks coming her way. However, her expression turned grim when she realized it wasn't enough, quickly concluding that it wasn't a four-way clash but rather a three-on-one. With a swift movement, she sheathed her katana once again.

"Dawn Vortex."

Almost instantly, Zoe unsheathed her Katana in an upward arc while making two hand signs with her left hand, causing a vortex of wind to form around her, deflecting some attacks. But just then, the water trails disrupted her vortex, and the fiery slashes and lightning thrusts struck simultaneously, generating a brutal shockwave accompanied by electric fire that tore through her defense like paper.

Wearing a grim expression, Zoe had no choice but to shield herself with her Katana, taking the full brunt of the triple attack that sent her hurtling toward the ground at high speed, while flames and electricity wreaked havoc on her body. In that moment, she glimpsed a line of fire in the air, which caused a furious explosion, emitting such a powerful red flash that it blinded her for an instant.

In mid-flight, Zoe slammed into a wall of light that materialized out of nowhere, forcing a dry groan from her lips. She quickly recovered, and without worrying about her burns or the numbing electricity, she used the wall of light as a platform to propel herself toward the young man with the bastard sword. He had managed to grab the staff and was swiftly flying away on his sword.

A proud smile spread across the face of the young man with the bastard sword as a series of multicolored barriers protected him from the spells pursuing him. Despite quivering under each impact, they held firm, keeping him safe from the powerful onslaught that filled the air with a scorched, murky smell.

Countless attacks of every kind struck the barriers shielding the young man as he fled at full speed on his sword. Suddenly, one of the barriers vanished, taking everyone by surprise—especially the young man, who could only turn to see the gap in his defenses, stupefaction written on his face.

Almost as if it were perfectly timed, the moment the barrier fell, a powerful fire arrow burst through. The young man hastily grabbed his sword, and a magic circle formed on its guard, causing its blade to be engulfed in flames.

"Ignition Recoil!"

With a fluid yet noticeably hurried motion, the young man swiftly intercepted the flaming arrow, at which point a pulse of fire erupted from his sword, deflecting the projectile. However, before a smile could form on his face, an invisible arrow struck his chest, causing him to lower his gaze in disbelief. In that instant, he was teleported to the station, officially eliminated from the selection tournament.

Meanwhile, the staff, which was now ownerless, began a free fall toward the ground as all sorts of mana constructs and elemental spells tried to reach it. But just before anyone could grab it, a burst of flames materialized beside the staff, taking the shape of a nine-tailed fox.

The breathtaking fiery fox caught the staff in its mouth and shot toward Zoe, catching her in midair as it fully materialized. Its stunning white fur shimmered with red markings on its face, and nine elegant, flowing tails extended from its back.

***

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