The sun rose sharp and golden over the Academy grounds.
Today was the day.
The opening ceremony of the Founders' Tournament.
The central coliseum was packed—
thousands of students filling the grandstands, nobles watching from their private balconies, professors gathered at the edges.
Floating above the marble battlefield, a massive magical screen displayed the pairings:
House Checkmate vs House Vermillion Rose
House Blackthorn vs House Bluefang
House Ironcrest vs House Solaris
Mira adjusted her new battle uniform—a sleek, black-and-silver design marked with the Checkmate crest.
Ayaka wore reinforced gauntlets and a massive hammer strapped to her back.
Clara wore her traditional calm mage robes, trimmed with icy blue patterns.
Yuuji, standing at their head, wore a slightly fancier version of their cloak—with a brilliant silver chess king on his back.
Mira nudged him.
"You ready, King Boy?"
Yuuji smiled faintly.
"Always."
The Headmaster stepped onto the central stage, raising his hand for silence.
His voice boomed across the coliseum:
"Welcome to the Founders' Tournament!
The first test of strength for our newest Houses.
Show your power.
Show your spirit.
And above all—play the game with honor!"
The crowd roared in excitement.
The magical screen flashed:
First Match:
House Checkmate vs House Vermillion Rose.
Yuuji turned to his team.
His eyes were calm.
Sharp.
"Formation standard.
Mira first engagement.
Ayaka second wave.
Clara support from behind.
I command overall field."
Mira saluted playfully.
"Roger, Commander King!"
Ayaka grinned wide.
Clara simply nodded.
Across the field, Selene Vermillion stood quietly with her own team—
three calm, cold figures in crimson.
She watched Yuuji with a slight, knowing smile.
Yuuji smiled right back.
The battle was about to begin.
And the board was set.
"Combatants ready?" the referee called.
Both Houses stood firm.
The magical barrier around the arena shimmered into place—
locking the field for the duel.
Yuuji stepped forward, his voice sharp and clear:
"Mira Valentina, forward!
Open the match!"
Mira grinned widely.
She twirled her sword once, cracked her knuckles, and dashed onto the battlefield.
Across from her, Selene simply lifted her hand.
A quiet signal.
A slim figure stepped forward from House Vermillion Rose.
A boy with silver hair and a crimson cloak.
He wielded a slim rapier, his steps graceful, almost lazy.
Yuuji's eyes narrowed.
"Fast striker type.
Careful, Mira."
The referee raised her hand.
"Begin!"
Instantly, Mira exploded forward.
She dashed across the marble in a series of sharp L-shaped bursts—
classic Knight-style movement, unpredictable and fast.
The silver-haired boy smirked, stepping lightly sideways and thrusting his rapier at where Mira should have been.
Instead, she twisted mid-dash—
her momentum flipping direction in an impossible angle.
She swept behind him, swinging a clean horizontal slash.
CLANG!
The boy barely deflected her blow with a quick parry.
Mira didn't stop.
She pressed forward in a relentless assault—
spinning, jumping, hammering at his defenses from every crazy angle imaginable.
The crowd roared in excitement.
Students leaned forward in their seats.
This wasn't a cautious duel.
This was war.
Selene watched quietly from the sidelines, arms crossed.
Her eyes gleamed.
Yuuji, observing carefully, noticed something odd.
"Selene isn't ordering any commands."
Usually, Captains micromanaged their fighters.
But Selene?
She just... watched.
Like she was playing a deeper, hidden game.
Yuuji's mind raced.
Meanwhile, on the field, Mira was grinning fiercely.
"Too easy!" she thought.
She drove a sharp thrust at the boy's shoulder—
Only for the silver-haired fighter to suddenly smirk.
A magic glyph flashed at Mira's feet.
A trap!
Too late, Mira realized—
The floor beneath her erupted into chains of crimson energy, trying to bind her legs.
The crimson chains snapped upward, trying to bind Mira's legs tight.
For a heartbeat—
the crowd gasped.
Had House Checkmate already fallen into a trap?
But Mira grinned.
"Not today."
In a fluid motion, she twisted her entire body, swinging her sword downward with brutal force.
CLANG!
The magical chains cracked.
She pushed off the ground mid-spin, using the momentum to shatter the bindings before they could lock fully.
Fragments of crimson energy scattered like broken glass.
The silver-haired boy's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected anyone to break free so quickly.
Mira didn't give him time to recover.
In one sharp L-shaped burst—
she appeared behind him again.
Her blade stopped an inch from his neck.
The referee raised her hand instantly.
"First Victory: Mira Valentina, House of Checkmate!"
The crowd exploded in cheers.
Students screamed.
Professors nodded approvingly.
Yuuji smirked slightly.
"Knight counterattack: successful."
Clara nodded.
"Elegant improvisation under pressure."
Ayaka pumped her fist.
"Nice one, Mira!"
On the other side, Selene simply smiled softly.
No anger.
No surprise.
Just quiet amusement.
She whispered to her second fighter—
a tall, red-haired girl carrying a heavy mace.
The girl nodded once and stepped forward.
Yuuji turned to Ayaka.
"Your turn."
Ayaka cracked her neck.
"Finally."
She slammed her fist into her palm and stomped onto the battlefield with a wild grin.
The second match had begun.
And Selene's game had only just started.
The second match began with a thunderous roar.
Ayaka didn't waste time.
She charged straight at her opponent—
a tall, muscular girl wielding a heavy mace almost as big as Ayaka herself.
Their auras collided mid-field.
BOOM!
The shockwave kicked up dust and cracked the marble slightly.
The crowd screamed in excitement.
"A slugfest!" someone yelled.
"Pure power battle!"
Ayaka grinned wildly, loving every second.
"Finally someone who can take a hit!"
Her opponent, the red-haired girl, smiled coldly.
"You're tough... but you're sloppy."
She swung her mace downward in a brutal arc.
Ayaka caught the blow with her reinforced gauntlets—
the impact sent a shock through her arms, but she held firm.
She grinned wider.
"Sloppy, huh? Let's find out."
They clashed again and again—
brutal, relentless, neither giving an inch.
Each blow sent shockwaves through the field.
It wasn't a pretty duel.
It was a war of strength.
Meanwhile, Yuuji watched from the sidelines, eyes sharp.
He noticed the pattern.
Selene's first fighter—fast but tricky, trying to trap.
Selene's second fighter—raw power, trying to exhaust.
Each move wasn't about winning individual battles.
It was about wearing down House Checkmate before the real game started.
Selene was playing a resource attrition game.
A chess strategy.
Sacrificing minor pieces to weaken the enemy for the real kill.
Yuuji narrowed his eyes.
"So that's your game, Selene..."
He smiled faintly.
"Then I'll just have to turn the board upside down."
On the field, Ayaka and her opponent both breathed hard, armor dented, sweat dripping.
But Ayaka grinned fiercely.
She slammed her foot into the marble—
cracking the ground beneath her.
Power surged into her muscles.
Her gauntlets glowed faintly with stored magic energy.
"Sorry, Red," Ayaka said.
"But brute force? That's MY specialty!"
She launched forward with a roar—
and smashed her fist directly into her opponent's stomach.
The red-haired girl gasped, air exploding from her lungs.
She staggered back, mace dropping from her hand.
The referee raised her hand:
"Second Victory: Ayaka Stoneheart, House of Checkmate!"
The crowd roared even louder.
House Checkmate was two for two.
Across the field, Selene only smiled wider.
Like everything was still going according to plan.
Yuuji's mind raced.
The final match would decide it all.
And Selene herself was stepping onto the field next.