Zora had conjured up his magic circle with the intent of reflecting Langris' attacks right back at him.

"Begone, I am the true Magic Knight here," said Langris.

Langris clearly expected this because, at the last moment, he caused his magic to swerve around the magic circle and struck Zora.

'It's swerved round the circle,' Maple gasped. "Careful, Xerx!

"Congrats on being the first one to hit me today, snubnosed noble," said Zora as a Magic Circle appeared all over his body.

"What?" Langris stared. "A magic circle on his body?"

"I don't believe my eyes," said King Clover stunned.

"Casting a spell like that over his own body, that would be a constant drain on his power," said Fishlegs. "Not to mention its extremely risky strategy."

"I agree it is rash, but then that does appear the way he operates," said Julius.

"There's no way!"

"Impossible!"

"Just who is this guy?"

'Oh, no one in particular, just a living embodiment of the anger of a filthy brat from some poor village. Now have a little taste of my rage, you pathetic excuse for a Magic Knight!'

Zora then released the energy he had stored up straight back at Langris.

"He just reflected that Spatial Magic!" Klaus gasped.

"But that will only double its power!" said Puli.

"I refuse to let some nobody toying with me!" Langris roared. "You'll pay for this!"

Langris counted the reflected spatial blasts with another round of spatial blasts cancelling each other out, though it is called a small explosion.

"What happened to that attack after he doubled its strength?"

"He made it go away."

"The Vice-Captain was powerful before, but this is something else entirely," said Klaus. "Where is all this magic coming from?"

Langris was completely overflowing with sinister magic power.

Fishlegs looked at Julius. "Your Highness?"

Julius just sat there and remained silent.

Deflecting Langris' previous attack of completely worn Zora down and he soon fell to the ground exhausted.

Langris then laughed at him. "As it turns out, not even your little ace in the hole was enough to slow me down in the slightest! All you did was give me more to work with!" He then conjured up more spatial blasts. "It's just like I've been telling you all along; I really am special, unlike my weak brother and unlike you as well! All of you are so pathetic; nothing you do will amount to much to anything!"

He then fired several spatial blasts at the weakened Zora.

"Want to bet!" Dak yelled.

He then suddenly jumped in front of Zora in his Black Dak form and completely cut through the attacks with his blade with blinding speed.

"How dare you!" Langris roared.


Maple was now healing Zora.

"Go away, royal; I don't need your stupid healing spell, so stop," said Zora.

"That's out of the question," Maple replied stubbornly. "Not only are we on the same team, you and I are both Magic Knights."

Zora didn't say a word.


Dak, meanwhile, was facing Langris as the two of them were about to square it off.

"What did you just do?" Langris stared. "Your appearance changed."

"Oh, it's really nothing special," Dak shrugged. "This is just what happens when a peasant gets tired of listening to your trash talk."

"Everywhere I turn, I see yet another nuisance the content with," Langris growled. He then began to remember his confrontation with Finral before the match began. "Even though I'm a chosen one, you dare still think that you are my equal? I am one-of-a-kind; you don't stand a chance against my supreme greatness!"

"Yeah, right?" said Dak with a somewhat sarcastic tone. "You are something else; even as nobles go, your power is crazy intense. Your Spatial Magic is off the charts; you were born incredible. That is what I always wanted, to be someone special."

Zora looked at Dak and can help but think of his father.

"Your power may be awesome, but you know what really sets us apart?" Dak continued. "I don't care whether you're impressed with me; you're not. I mean, I can't stand you. Just don't take from us for nothing. Unlike you, we don't want to be powerful just to get our way, we use magic to protect each other, and we compete so that we can get better! We fight as a team; that is the only reason we made it this far!"

Everyone who heard him seemed to be inspired by his speech; even Zora was moved by those words.

However, Langris looked more enraged than ever. "I've heard enough! If you wanted to live, you should have grovelled at my feet and kept your peasant mouth shut! Good for nothing, cur!"

He then unleashed spatial blasts at Dak with even more ferocity than before.

"You can call me names all day long, but you won't be lapping once you see my power!" Dak yelled as he began cutting through the blasts with his sword and then flew straight towards him with unbelievable speed. "I'll burn it into you!"

Before Langris had a chance to do anything, Dak slammed in with the flat of his blade into his chest. Dak continued and headed straight towards their crystal, dragging him along, and he found himself unable to unleash his magic.

"My magic is not working?" Langris stared.

Leyla just watched, stunned.

"Oh, Dak," said Adelaide softly.

Soon both Dak and Langris shot right past Axel and Fragil and towards their crystal.

"Black Meteorite!" Dak yelled.

Langris slammed right into the crystal, and a split second later, Dak cut it in half. However, at exactly the same time, Dak's crystal shattered due to all the damage taken previously.

"Both Crystals were destroyed at the same time! This match is a draw!" the referee announced.

Dak stood there, and he was completely worn out.

"Oh, my goodness," Maple gasped.

As if signalling the end of the battle, the dark clouds began to open, and the sun began to shine down upon them.

Zora couldn't help but laugh.

Axel and Fragil then quickly arrived on the scene and quickly approached Langris, who was flat on the ground.

"He is out cold," said Fragil.

"That was a flawless defeat," said Axel.

"I see; so long as you've got the advantage, that means always in the right, does it, Mister fancy pants nobleman?" said Zora as he walked over and looked down at Langris. "If so, now that you had your ass handed to you by a peasant, I guess that puts you in the wrong. Anyway, after that little tantrum, no one is ever going to let you be their Vice-Captain again."

Zora then turned his gaze upon Fragil. "Hey, fluffy hat girl. What were you even doing during that last battle? So scared of Portal Boy that you have to wait on the sidelines, must have been nice to kick back, huh?"

Axel then rose to his feet. "Listen, there's no reason for you to be such a jerk about it."

Zora then glared at him. "Shut your trap! Why would I care what a no-talent show-off like you thinks? You types are the most useless ones of the bunch, and we both know it's true! Quit the Magic Knights and go home already, you trash!"

Axel then collapsed.

Zora then turned to Dak, who had returned to normal. "And Shorty! You've got to stop putting so much trust in anybody who comes your way. Not everyone is a good guy, and the good ones ain't that good. You're going to end up getting yourself killed!"

"Please don't say that," said Maple.

"As for you, you're always trying to act accordingly to what is best for the given circumstances, but you had better be careful. Don't throw thinking out the window entirely when there's a situation you weren't anticipating, Little Miss Royal."

Zora then turned his guys to the cloud-free sky. "And you… yeah, you. The devilish handsome guy with the awesome mask, you should have depended on your teams a whole lot more."

'Draw,' said Dak as he took several steps forward. 'We didn't win. Man, I hate this.'

He then collapsed, completely exhausted, but Magnus caught him, and when he looked around, he saw that every Magic Knight that had been watching stood around him. Might not have won the match, but looking at everyone, they certainly didn't lose either.

"Let's do our best out there, everyone."

"No matter what, we're all Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom."


Langirs was now being taken away by Guardian mages, no doubt for interrogation.

"The fight ended in a draw between your brother and Dak's teams," said Vanessa to the unconscious Finral. "But our showing was better. The newbie superstar the Black Dragons giving the Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn a run for his money made a pretty big impression." She then grasped his hand. "Which is why you need a hurry and wake up soon. While you've been here catching zzzs, our friends have been accomplishing some great things."

"I've administered first aid, but his wounds are too serious," Owen informed her. "Let's take to the infirmary… Cob, do you mind?"

"Don't mind it one itty bit, sir," said Cob.

"Then I'll be going with you," said Vanessa.

Magnus looked at Luck, raising his fist towards him. "It looks like your team is on deck. You better not screw it up."

"Yeah, I got this," said Luck grabbing his fist and then electrocuting him.

"Next, we'll continue on with Team I, Gustav, Ruben and Nils versus Team K Puli, Klaus and Luck!" the referee announced. "Round two, match three will begin momentarily."

"Oh yeah, let's hit them with everything we've got, fellers," said Puli.

"Well, we're up against the captain of the Grey Deer," Klaus reminded her. "He'll just counter any attack with its direct weakness. What to do?"

"I think that I might have a good strategy," said Luck raising his hand. "Want to hear it?"

"I can't wait to see what kind of masterpiece I'm going to create this time," said Gustav excitedly.

'If we provide enough backup, we might win,' said Ruben and Nils in unison.

Gustav then sensed an immense surge of magic power coming from the other side of the mountain that blocked the view from both opposing teams.

"That magic, someone is condensing it and making it more refined," he said.

Using all three of their magic attributes, Luck's team were able to create a catapult which fired lightning javelins.

'There's no point in countering an ultrafast attack spell, one strike, and he will be toast,' Luck grinned. "I guess we're kinder copying the combo spell those other guys were using in the first round, but I bet you this technique is going to pack way more the punch."

"That looks bad," said Nils.

"We've got to get our team's crystal to safety," said Ruben.

"Don't bother moving out of the way on a battlefield like this; I'll always know exactly where you're hiding," said Luck.

'Oh wow, I'm sure it travels really fast. I better get to drawing then,' said Gustav as he raised his paintbrush and created a divine being behind him.

"Whatever your next move is, it won't help you at all because this spell pierces through anything!" Luck yelled.

"Compound Magic: Lightning Arrow!" the three of them yelled and fired the lightning javelins.

"Nobody's going to stop this attack!" Luck yelled.

The javelin pierced right through the stone mountain and carried on with incredible speed towards Gustav's team's crystal.

'He's right,' Gustav smiled. 'Picture Magic: Game of the Gods! Actually, I drew a little inspiration from the first round myself. The method is not quite the same…' His drawing then caught the javelin and spun around, changing its directions and sending it right back at Luck and his team. '…but I'm still speaking of the enemy spell and reflecting it!'

A split second later, the javelin but right through the mountain once more and demolished Luck's team's crystal instantly.

"Crystal destroyed! Team I wins!" the referee announced.

"What in the world just happened here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Gustav just stood there lapping at his teammates, looking at him, stunned.

'Well, he's not the captain for nothing,' said Ruben.

'That's Gustav Larson for you,' said Nils.

"Wow, that was so much fun, and I got a glimpse of my great masterpiece," said Gustav.

"Oh boy, that didn't last very long," said Magnus.

"Shake it off, you guys," said Charmy.

"Luck's came to a tremendously far in this selection exam," said Gordon. "I'm writing it all down in my diary. Excellent work."

Maple then approached the Black Dragons. "Excuse me, Black Dragons; it's Dak. He was severely exhausted now; we took him to the infirmary downstairs. I'm going to stay for him for a while; please be here for Adelaide in my stead."


The next match was about to begin, and both teams were already in the starting positions.

"The next match-up is Team M… Ben, Brad and Eric versus Team P… En, Adelaide and Leyla. Standby for round two, match four!" the referee announced.

'This is for Dak,' said Adelaide and turned her team, blushing slightly. "I'm going to fight for everyone who's lost and deftly, not the one specific person!"

"Of course we are," said Leyla with a small smile. "And we're going to win."

"Round two, match four begin!" the referee yelled.

Leyla didn't waste any time and immediately took off into the air.

"Hey, don't just go without me!" Adelaide yelled, running after her.

'I can't waste my time standing still,' said Leyla.

"There they are!" said Ben.

"Just her?" said Brad.

"Who is this girl?" Eric stared.

"Begone!" Ben yelled.

Then he and his team unleashed their offences spells at Leyla, but she merely raised her hand and unleashed a tornado wind.

"Wind Magic: Towering Tornado!" she yelled and unleashed a powerful tornado that ripped through their spells.

"What the?" they stared, stunned.

"But she's nothing but a peasant," King Clover stared.

'Dak, you may be down, but you'll get back up,' said Leyla. 'I see how quickly you have adapted and proved; the more it hurts, the further you push yourself. Soon you will be countless times stronger than you are now.'

Everyone then stared, stunned, as she completely overpowered her opponents and destroyed their crystal.

"Uh, crystal destroyed! Team P wins!" the referee announced, stunned.

"What did she just do and how?" said Adelaide stunned.

"Oh man, that spell was pretty damn sweet," said Magnus.

"Yeah, I wish I could fight her too," said Luck.

"I knew she was powerful, but I didn't expect this," said Ruffnut.

"And I think she still hasn't reached her limits," Tuffnut added.

Julius smiled. 'Leyla, I can see you have gotten much more to show us.'

Summer floated up to Leyla. "Don't you think you are showing off a bit, Ley?"

"After Dak's battle with Vice-Captain Langris, I just couldn't hold back," Leyla smiled.

"Next up, match two of the Semite finals!" Julius announced. "But it will be much more than that; since the first match of this round resulted in a draw, this face-off between Team I and Team P is going to be the last bout of our great tournament."

'Dak, I moving forward,' said Leyla.