"The first requirement of being a hero isn’t being right. It’s being strong. That’s why the hero always wins."— Koyomi Aragari, Bakemonogatari

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  Just then, the crowd parted, and a hush fell over the students.

  Velsaria Eva Fahrengart, a pristine white coat, emerged from the crowd, followed by four uppercssmen from the former Sylphid Knights.

  She stopped before Cire and the others, her icy blue eyes fixed on Ellis with a cold, disdainful look.

  "Ellis, I thought you were smarter than this. It seems I was mistaken."

  Ellis met her gaze with defiance, her heart filled with determination.

  She couldn't lose. She had to secure a spot in the Bde Dance for Rakka and Reishia, who had entrusted her with their dreams.

  And for her fellow Sylphid Knights who believed in her.

  "I will defeat you, Velsaria. I'll surpass you and prove my own path as a Knight," Ellis decred.

  "How foolish. Then I shall crush your so-called 'Knight's path' pletely," Velsaria sneered.

  The bell signaling the start of the match rang out.

  The a relic, the St, activated, opening the gate to the Elemental Spirit World.

  A fsh of white light engulfed the two teams, transp them to the battleground.

  The students watg the match erupted ied chatter.

  "It's starting! I'm so nervous. I wonder if the Night Demon King will be defeated easily."

  "Why are you worried about him? Shouldn't you be worried about Velsaria-senpai?"

  "She's the stro Elementalist in the academy. That man is no match for her!"

  "But Roy-san blocked Lux-senpai's ultimate attack! Even Velsaria-senpai couldn't do that unscathed!"

  ...

  Team Scarlet materialized in a clearing within a dense forest.

  The thick foliage limited their visibility, making it difficult to locate the eeam.

  Cire quickly firmed that her teammates were safe.

  "Scarlet, let's go!" she decred, summoning her fiery cat spirit.

  Ellis and the others also began ting their summoning intations.

  "Ellis and I will search for the enemy. Fianna, you set up the formation," Cire instructed.

  Fianna's task was to find a safe location and perform the fourth ritual dahe Song of Glory.

  This dance would el divine power from the earth veins to their allies within the area of effect.

  "There's no need for that, Cire Rouge," a voice suddenly interrupted.

  "...?!" The members of Team Scarlet froze.

  They looked up and saw a massive fortress floating in the air.

  It was Velsaria, her Elemental Waffe, the Dreadnought.

  "Is Velsaria pnning to fight us alone?" Cire gasped in surprise.

  "It seems so," Roy replied with a chuckle, his arms crossed.

  "Fet those nuisances. Your oppo is me," Velsaria decred coldly.

  It seemed she had abandoned her teammates.

  "Look out! Here she es!" Ri shouted in arm.

  The fortress's armor unfolded, revealing tless ons.

  Velsaria, the stro Elementalist in the academy, looked down at them like an empress, her hand raised.

  "Disappear! Crushed beh my Dreadnought!"

  Dozens of ons fired simultaneously.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  The ground shook as a barrage of projectiles rained down on them.

  The destructive power of her stro Elemental Waffe was overwhelming.

  "How b. You're all just small fry," Velsaria scoffed, watg the explosions and dust clouds.

  She assumed they had beeed by her attack.

  The once lush forest was now a wastend, riddled with craters.

  As the dust settled, a figure emerged from the wreckage.

  "What?!" Velsaria's eyes widened in shock.

  Ri, wielding her Ice Bow, stood there with a fearless grin.

  "Hmph! No one match my speed when it es to summoning aal Waffe!" she decred, then fired an Ice Shot.

  Although her cim was debatable, she was ihe fastest in Areishia Spirit Academy.

  "Useless effort," Velsaria scoffed.

  She shifted her fortress's armor, defleg the ice arrow.

  "I'm not do!" Ri tinued her assault, firing a barrage of arrows.

  The ice projectiles soared through the air, all four striking the fortress.

  However, they couldn't pee its armor.

  Although Ri's Fenrir was slowly regaining its strength, it wasn't fast enough. pared to the inal story, Ri wasn't much stronger.

  "How foolish. Your puny arrows are meaningless against my Dreadnought," Velsaria sneered.

  "Oh? Are you sure about that?" Ri smirked, twirling her golden hair.

  "What?" Velsaria was about to retaliate when she finally realized Ri's true iion.

  Ri wasn't aiming to damage the armor.

  She was using the freezing effect of her Ice Shots.

  Velsaria's armor was now encased in ice.

  ...

  "Just as you pnned, Cire," Ri said with a grin.

  "Yes. The Dreadnought has high defense against physical attacks, but it's vulnerable to elemental attacks," Cire expined.

  Velsaria's face was etched with worry.

  Her ons couldn't fire in this state.

  And the ig her armor had increased its weight, drastically redug her mobility.

  The fortress was now a sitting duck.

  "Ellis, terattack!" Cire anded.

  "Yes!"

  Cire and Ellis ted their intations simultaneously.

  They unleashed their magic towards the immobile fortress.

  "Take this! Bzing Inferno!"

  "O winds of disaster, bee a bde that cuts through all! Sylphid Hurrie!"

  Velsaria couldn't evade their attacks.

  BOOM!

  The explosions shook the air.

  "We hit her!" Cire excimed.

  Even with the armor's prote, Velsaria couldn't have emerged unscathed from that attack.

  But then...

  "Is that all you've got, little sister of the Camity Queen?" Velsaria's voice rang out from the smoke.

  "What?!"

  The ground shook violently.

  Dust and debris filled the air.

  Cire was thrown back by the powerful shockwave.

  It was like a meteor had struck the ground.

  A massive crater appeared, and at its ter stood the Dreadnought.

  ...

  ...

  "Well done. You actually mao knock me down," Velsaria chuckled.

  The impact of the fall had shattered the ig her armor.

  "But that's as far as you go. My tracted spirit is ah Elemental. I'm even stronger on the ground."

  The Dreadnought extewo massive arms with sharp cws at their ends.

  The cws tore through the remaining trees.

  "Impressive destructive power, but your movements are full of openings," Ellis ented, seizing the opportunity.

  She swung her Windashnce, ung a bde of wind towards Velsaria.

  But the Dreadnought was no lohere.

  Velsaria had moved with incredible speed, appearing before Ellis in an instant.

  Her movements were like gliding across the ground.

  Her mobility was far greater than when she was flying.

  "Ellis, look out!" Cire shouted, shing out with her Fme Whip and ing it around the fortress's arm, slowing its movement.

  But that was all she could do.

  The immense power behind the attack was too much for her whip to withstand.

  "I'll take it!" Fianna decred.

  A knight shining armor appeared, wielding a massive shield. It was Fianna's tracted spirit, Geios.

  The Knight Spirit used all its strength to block the fortress's attack.

  Its armored boots sank deep into the ground.

  A deafening g echoed through the air.

  However, even the Knight Spirit, with its unparalleled defense, couldn't pletely withstand the onsught.

  Its armor started to buckle, and a rge crack appeared on its shield.

  "Geios, hold on!" Fianna cried out, worried.

  "Lost Queen didate, I didn't expect you to be foolish enough to oppose me," Velsaria sneered, gring at the Knight Spirit.

  "Hmph! You're the foolish one!" Fianed.

  Velsaria raised her arm, preparing to strike again.

  "Not so fast!" Cire shouted, leaping onto the raised arm and ing her Fme Whip around its cws.

  She had used her whip earlier not to restrain the fortress but to get closer to Velsaria.

  At this range, even the armor couldn't pletely protect her.

  Cire was a master of high-speed intations.

  She unleashed her most powerful atta the surprised Velsaria.

  "Dance, crimson fmes of destru! Fme King's Breath!"

  A massive fireball engulfed Velsaria.

  "You damn fly!" Velsaria cursed, grittieeth.

  That attack had hurt.

  She swung her arm, trying to crush Cire.

  Just then...

  "Onee-sama, face reality!" Ellis shouted.

  BOOM!

  A powerful gust of wind desded from above.

  Ellis's Windashnce pierced Velsaria's chest armor.

  "Gah!" Velsaria cried out in pain.

  But it wasn't over yet.

  "O winds of disaster, tear my enemy apart!" Ellis ted.

  A powerful tornado erupted from the ground, lifting the Dreadnought into the air.

  Crash! The fortress smmed into the ground, creating a massive cloud of dust.

  "Huff... huff..." Ellis colpsed, exhausted from the attack.

  Cire also panted, lig her lips.

  "Velsaria, you were tant. Fighting us alone was foolish," she taunted.

  "You're the foolish one, Cire Rouge," Velsaria's voice rang out, seemingly unharmed.

  "What?!"

  The firls stared at the dust cloud in disbelief.

  A massive figure was moving within the dust.

  "Inpetent weaklings are nothing but stepping stones before true strength. You're worthless."

  The dust settled, revealing the Dreadnought, its armor unscathed.

  "Disappear!" Velsaria roared, and the fortress unleashed another barrage of on fire.

  ...

  Roy watched the battle with amusement.

  It reminded him of a boss fight in a video game.

  Cire and the others were the pyers trying to defeat the boss, Velsaria.

  Although Velsaria had been pushed back, she still seemed to have plenty of energy left.

  Cire and the others, however, were exhausted.

  This was because Velsaria had a cursed seal that provided her with a vast amount of divine power.

  "Velsaria-senpai's Bde Dance is amazing!"

  "She's the stro Elementalist in the academy! She's incredible!"

  "Velsaria-senpai is my idol now!"

  "Why isn't the Night Demon King doing anything? Is he scared?"

  "No way! The Night Demon King is the stro!"

  ...

  The students watg the mat the rge s were buzzing with excitement.

  The battle intensified.

  As the Dreadnought tis barrage, Ri fired her Ice Shots.

  Id fire cshed, creating a shower of sparkling fragments.

  "Damn it! Does that fortress girl have an endless supply of divine power?!" Ri yelled, wiping the sweat from her brow.

  Although her Ice Shots were more powerful, if this turned into a drawn-out artillery battle, Velsaria would have the advantage.

  Ri would run out of energy first.

  "My Knight Spirit is reag its limit..." Fianna said, panting.

  Geios's shield was covered in cracks from blog the relentless barrage.

  Cire and Ellis couldn't get close to Velsaria.

  Fag the imperable fortress, Team Scarlet's attacks ceased.

  Their only option was to wait for Velsaria to exhaust her divine power.

  But Geios, proteg the firls, wouldn't st much longer.

  "We 't win against Onee-sama?" Ellis murmured, biting her lip in frustration.

  "e on, Ellis, I believe you defeat her!" Roy cheered from the sidelines, casually mung on sunflower seeds.

  Cire and the others rolled their eyes at his nont attitude.

  The battle raged on.

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