Mitoros looked up at the sky.
Just moments ago, he had been able to see it clearly—but now, it was completely obscured.
A vast number of floating "leaves" filled the air above him, having broken away from the colossal tree created by Aislyra's spell. And these weren't even all of them—the branches of the tree were still densely covered. It was far from bare.
For an instant, the minotaur felt as though he had witnessed the work of a god… and was now about to receive divine punishment for daring to behold it.
Of course, he knew very well that his opponent, Aislyra Elenlora, was no deity, nor did she intend to present herself as one.
And yet, those were the emotions that surged through his heart—a devoted follower of the god Animatico—after witnessing such an overwhelming display of power.
However!
That did not mean he would accept this "punishment" without resistance.
This was not a trial sent by his god.
And so, he would fight to the very end—because that was clearly what his opponent, this "deity," desired.
Mitoros raised his fists in a defensive stance, ready to shield his body the moment that rain—
No.
That divine storm—descended upon him.
And then, it began. The storm of ice fell mercilessly.
Pushing both his reflexes and his Physical Enhancement spell to their absolute limits, Mitoros moved frantically, striking and deflecting as many of the incoming needle-like leaves as he could. His fists, encased in incandescent magma, cut through the air as he tried to intercept every projectile aimed at his body.
At the same time, he swung his arms with enough force to move the air itself, hoping to deflect at least some of the incoming barrage.
And, in a sense, it worked. He had already managed to block an enormous number of them—hundreds of millions, at the very least.
But compared to the total…
…it was nothing.
The tree contained ten billions of those leaves.
And so, the relentless rain continued for an entire minute.
By the time it ended, the once-mighty minotaur resembled nothing more than a crimson-tinted ice statue, his entire body covered in countless small, pinecone-like formations of ice. The only parts of him that remained unfrozen were his hands, still protected by the searing magma that coated them.
The same fate had befallen the arena field itself.
It was now entirely frozen, its surface covered in those same strange, icy pinecones.
The effect of the Tree of Wisdom's leaves was simple, yet terrifying.
Once they pierced a target, they froze a small area—roughly three centimeters in diameter—around the point of impact. Then, from that point, they blossomed into small structures resembling sequoia pinecones, while simultaneously lowering the surrounding temperature drastically.
Fortunately, Mitoros had not suffered internal damage.
Aislyra, unwilling to kill him, had carefully controlled the depth of each strike, ensuring that the needles pierced only the surface of his skin.
Even so, the minotaur was in mortal danger.
His body temperature had dropped to a critical level, and if the ice encasing him was not removed quickly, he would undoubtedly succumb to hypothermia.
Seeing the state of her opponent, Aislyra understood that the match was over.
With a faint, almost melancholic expression, she spoke softly to the frozen figure before her.
"It was a beautiful match, Mitoros."
She did not expect a response.
BUT!
A faint cracking sound echoed.
The ice around the minotaur's mouth began to fracture, revealing lips severely damaged by the cold.
Then, with great effort, two words escaped him—the incantation of a spell.
"Magma Armor!!!"
Aislyra's smile immediately returned, filled once more with excitement.
Mitoros's entire body began to glow with a fiery orange light. Boiling magma erupted from his skin, and in less than a second, the ice encasing him melted away completely.
Then, just as before, part of the magma cooled, forming a hardened outer layer of obsidian-like rock. Cracks ran across its surface, through which the molten glow beneath remained visible.
However, this state did not last.
After barely two seconds, the hardened layer softened, returning to liquid form. The magma coating his body detached and fell to the ground, melting the ice beneath him before dissipating into nothingness.
What remained was Mitoros's now bare body—covered in wounds, riddled with small, bleeding holes, and marked by severe frostbite caused by the leaves of the Tree of Wisdom.
Many women in the audience averted their gaze from the minotaur's monumental, now-naked body, while others observed it with undisguised interest—some even with clear sexual desire, their attention lingering especially on the massive "rod" between his legs.
Aislyra, however, did not look away.
Her expression, at that moment, showed a trace of confusion—but that confusion had nothing to do with her opponent's nudity. Yes, Mitoros's physique was undeniably impressive, even to her eyes, but that was irrelevant right now.
He was her opponent.
She was a warrior.
Feelings such as lust had no place in her mind until the match was over.
No, the source of her confusion was something else entirely: the fact that her opponent's spell had failed almost immediately after being cast.
Sensing her thoughts, Mitoros spoke.
"It's not something I'm particularly proud of, but I'm not very good at using magic," he admitted. "I only know a few spells, and the only ones I can really say I've mastered are Physical Enhancement and Magma Gloves. As you just saw, I can't maintain what should be my strongest spell for more than two seconds… and because of my lack of skill, even those few seconds consume a huge amount of mana."
Despite the strain in his voice, his determination remained unshaken.
"But it seems that was enough to save me from your spell," he added.
Aislyra smiled faintly—a mixture of satisfaction and bitterness.
The reason was simple.
As she had claimed before, this match that had made her heart dance so wildly was about to end.
"I'm sorry to tell you this," she said calmly, her voice filled with absolute certainty, "but my spell isn't over yet."
Mitoros's gaze immediately shifted to the massive ice tree behind her—now stripped of all its needle-like leaves.
A few seconds passed.
Then his expression changed.
Shock.
Pure, paralyzing shock.
The same reaction spread across the audience, as most of them were witnessing one of the queen's bodyguard's three most powerful spells for the very first time.
Aislyra extended her arms and wrapped them around the enormous trunk of the ice sequoia—though, of course, they weren't long enough to encircle it completely.
And then—
She lifted it.
The sight was surreal.
Even Mitoros, despite his immense strength, could scarcely believe what he was seeing. Through this very battle, he had come to realize that he surpass her in raw physical power.
And yet—
Even he would never have been able to lift something of that size and weight.
But that realization also made one thing clear.
He understood exactly what she was about to do.
And he knew he could not avoid it.
So, instead of trying to escape, he planted his feet firmly and braced himself, gathering every ounce of strength left in his body—becoming, in that moment, a true immovable fortress.
Mitoros was right in one regard.
Even with her Physical Enhancement spell pushed to its limits, Aislyra could not lift the Tree of Wisdom through brute strength alone.
However, just as she could control the tree's leaves, she also retained a certain degree of control over its trunk.
That control was far more limited—due to its massive size—and only became possible once all the leaves had fallen. Still, while it wasn't enough to move the tree effortlessly, it was sufficient to wield it.
Like a weapon.
Not a sword, but something closer to a colossal staff.
Drawing upon the strength that still remained within her, Aislyra swung the massive ice trunk toward her opponent.
Mitoros roared as he raised his magma-covered hands to meet it, attempting to stop the attack.
For ten full seconds, he held.
But then—
The bones and tendons in his arms gave way, snapping under the overwhelming force.
The impact followed immediately.
Nearly the full power of Aislyra's strike crashed into his body, pulverizing a large portion of the bones within him.
His body was then hurled backward, slamming violently into the arena's indestructible wall. The collision broke several more bones along his back before he finally collapsed to the ground.
This time—
He did not get back up.
But surprisingly, Mitoros was still fully conscious.
For many, that would not have been considered fortunate, given the immense pain he must have been enduring. But the minotaur didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
The only thing visible on his face was a satisfied smile.
"Ah… Looks like I lost…" he muttered, his voice strained but calm. "Oh well. I didn't enter this tournament for any particular reason other than to test my strength and have a bit of fun. And with this match… I think I've achieved both."
He let out a slow breath.
"This is definitely better than winning almost every match without any real challenge, like what happened in the Red Thread Tournament. And thanks to this fight, I've realized I need to put more effort into my magic training… even if I'm not sure how much difference it'll make, given my lack of talent."
His words were not just for the referee or his opponent.
They were, above all, for himself—a clear acknowledgment of his defeat.
Then, with great effort, he turned his head toward Aislyra and said, "It was a fantastic match… Aislyra."
The elf blinked in slight surprise.
Then, after a brief pause, she smiled—pure and genuine.
"Yes… it really was."
A small smile appeared on Pinusal's face as well, pleased to see the princess satisfied with the outcome. But he quickly returned to his usual professional demeanor.
Stepping forward, he raised Aislyra's arm and declared, "The winner of this match is Aislyra Elenlora!"
At those words, a storm of applause erupted throughout the arena.
Even after the match had ended, Lucas could still feel the excitement coursing through his body.
He had just witnessed, without a doubt, the most beautiful spell he had seen since arriving in this world.
That said, he couldn't help but reflect on it.
The first part of the spell had clearly been far more technical than most of Aislyra's usual techniques—likely the reason behind its name and the person it referenced. The final phase, however, had been much more direct, far more in line with his sister's natural fighting style… and for that very reason, slightly less appealing to Lucas's personal taste.
Even so—
It was an incredible spell.
So incredible, in fact, that Lucas almost regretted not being able to participate in the tournament himself from the very beginning.
Fighting wasn't something he particularly enjoyed, but during his preparation for the tournament, he had learned many new spells. And after witnessing this match, he couldn't help but feel eager to test them in a real battle.
Still, Aislyra wasn't the only one who had impressed him.
Mitoros, with his overwhelming physical strength, had also left a deep impression on Lucas—while at the same time reigniting a lingering question in his mind about minotaurs and other beastkin.
"Katerina, is it normal for there to be such a huge difference in raw strength between beastkin like you—or the opponent you faced—and someone like Mitoros?" Lucas asked curiously.
"Yes, Mr. Lucas, it is completely normal," Katerina replied in her usual calm, composed tone. "Although Mitoros is clearly exceptional even among minotaurs, generally speaking, minotaurs are naturally stronger than most members of my species, regardless of the type of beastkin."
She paused briefly before adding, "However, I believe there is a misunderstanding. Despite their animal traits, minotaurs are not considered beastkin."
"Really?!" Lucas asked, surprised.
Katerina nodded.
"Yes. But I believe Lady Sequoria would be better suited to explain it, since this involves the gods—and as you know, she is far more knowledgeable on such matters," she said, turning her gaze toward the ex-queen.
"Exactly," Sequoria began, her voice calm and regal. "Minotaurs and beastkin are considered different species because of the way they were created, even though they share the same ancestral deity."
She continued with practiced elegance.
"Humans were among the first sentient species created on this continent by the gods. They were brought into existence by the now-deceased god of technology, Macchinonio. They were one of his earliest experiments—created in the likeness of most of the gods themselves, but without any particular traits beyond the ability to use magic."
"Animatico, the god of animals and life, became fascinated by these beings—creatures that resembled the gods, yet were far from divine. So he attempted to create his own version by incorporating traits from one of his favorite creation: the bull."
"And thus, the minotaurs were born."
She folded her hands gently.
"While Animatico loved this new creation of his and their strength, it was precisely that overwhelming power that made them too different from the humans they were meant to resemble. So he tried again. This time, he sought the help of Macchinonio, and together—drawing mainly from feline and canine traits—they created what we now know as beastkin."
"These new beings were far closer to humans in strength, though still superior in many ways, particularly in their senses. Still they were much closer to Animatico's original vision, so the god was very pleased with them."
Lucas listened in complete silence, fully absorbed in her explanation.
Meanwhile, Mitoros was carried away to the infirmary, and Aislyra made her way toward the royal cabin.
After that, the remaining matches of the day—most of them just as brief as the earlier ones—continued one after another, until only the final match remained.