The crowd hushed to a dead silence.
Even the wind seemed to pause.
All eyes locked on the center of the marble battlefield—
where two figures now faced each other.
Yuuji Serizawa.
Selene Vermillion.
King versus Queen.
Yuuji rolled his shoulders slowly, relaxing his stance.
He wore a calm smile—
but inside, every nerve was sharp and alert.
Selene, across from him, stood still as a statue.
Her violet hair barely moved in the breeze.
Her dark crimson uniform looked almost regal.
Her eyes—cold, focused, dangerous.
The referee raised her hand.
"Final match:
Yuuji Serizawa of House Checkmate versus Selene Vermillion of House Vermillion Rose."
The magical barriers around the field pulsed brighter—
thickening to withstand the coming battle.
Yuuji tilted his head slightly, smiling lazily.
"So... you're coming onto the board yourself?"
Selene smiled faintly.
"Of course.
A true Queen does not fear to fight."
She drew her weapon—a thin, elegant rapier with a crimson gemstone embedded in the hilt.
Magic shimmered faintly around her.
Controlled.
Lethal.
Yuuji slipped his hands into his pockets casually.
He didn't draw a weapon.
He wouldn't need to.
The referee's voice cut sharply:
"Begin!"
Neither moved.
For a heartbeat.
Two.
Three.
The entire arena held its breath.
Then—
Selene moved first.
A single step forward.
A light feint to the left.
Yuuji didn't react.
He simply watched.
Calculating.
Selene circled slowly.
Probing.
Waiting.
Setting the stage.
Yuuji smiled wider.
"A Queen, moving carefully across the board..."
He chuckled softly.
"I wonder—who will trap who first?"
The battle of minds had begun.
Selene moved first.
A simple thrust.
Precise.
Elegant.
Not aimed to kill.
A test.
Yuuji leaned slightly to the side, letting the blade whisper past him harmlessly.
He didn't attack back.
He didn't even flinch.
He just smiled faintly—
eyes locked onto hers.
Selene adjusted immediately.
A second thrust, sharper, feinting high and sweeping low.
Yuuji shifted exactly one step back—
barely out of range.
The crowd murmured.
Most fights so far had been explosive—wild, chaotic.
But this...
This was different.
This was pure chess.
Selene's rapier danced in controlled arcs.
Her strikes were careful, efficient, cutting off Yuuji's options like pieces disappearing from a board.
But Yuuji kept moving.
Small steps.
Precise pivots.
Every retreat placed him in perfect counter-angles—
King movements.
Slow, methodical, impossible to trap.
Mira watched from the sidelines, fists clenched.
"He's not attacking..." she muttered.
Ayaka growled.
**"Is he stalling?!"
Clara shook her head calmly.
"No.
He's... setting something up."
On the field, Selene's eyes sharpened slightly.
She increased the tempo.
Her rapier became a blur, slashing diagonally in rapid bursts.
Still—
Yuuji dodged.
Stepped.
Shifted.
Exactly where he needed to be.
Selene finally paused, breathing a little heavier.
She smiled faintly.
"You're good at dancing, King Serizawa."
Yuuji smiled back.
"Dancing?"
He stepped forward, closing a tiny bit of distance.
"No.
I'm just... waiting for your first mistake."
Selene's eyes gleamed with amusement.
The real game was just beginning.
Selene's faint smile faded.
She shifted her stance slightly—
a tiny adjustment invisible to most.
But Yuuji saw it immediately.
"Here it comes."
Selene launched forward, her rapier stabbing out in a flurry of attacks.
Not wild.
Not chaotic.
Controlled chaos.
Every strike forced Yuuji into very specific directions—
little by little, tightening his movement options.
He dodged high—
she swept low.
He pivoted left—
she struck from the right.
Every move was met by a perfect counterpressure.
The crowd leaned forward.
Some students gasped.
"He's getting boxed in..."
"Can he even escape that?!?"
Mira's fists were white from clenching so hard.
Ayaka growled low in her throat.
Clara's eyes narrowed slightly, calculating.
Yuuji kept moving, staying calm.
But he could feel it.
The walls were closing in.
One wrong step—
one wrong reaction—
and Selene would pin him completely.
Then he saw it.
At the far edge of the field—
a faint shimmer of magic on the marble.
A hidden glyph.
A trap.
Selene was herding him straight into it.
If he stepped there, he'd be stunned for a critical second—
more than enough for her to land a finishing blow.
Yuuji's mind raced.
Two options:
• Dodge left into the trap and lose.
• Dodge right into Selene's waiting blade and lose.
A perfect checkmate?
No.
Not yet.
Yuuji smiled faintly.
He didn't dodge.
He stepped forward.
Right into Selene's charge.
Her rapier thrust toward his heart—
but at the last second, Yuuji dropped low, almost collapsing, sliding under her extended blade.
Selene's eyes widened slightly in shock.
She overextended—
just for a fraction of a heartbeat.
And that was enough.
Yuuji spun on one knee, driving his foot into the ground.
A hidden magic circle under his feet flared—
one he had secretly planted during his earlier defensive dodges.
A burst of force exploded upward.
Selene stumbled, caught off-balance.
Yuuji surged up.
He didn't go for her body.
He didn't need to.
Instead—
he flicked two fingers forward, sending a concentrated shockwave right into her rapier's hilt.
CRACK!
The weapon flew from her hands, spinning through the air.
Selene landed lightly a few meters back, disarmed but still composed.
She smiled faintly.
For the first time—
truly impressed.
The crowd exploded.
Screams, gasps, wild applause.
On the sidelines, Mira whooped loudly.
Ayaka punched the air.
Clara allowed herself a small, satisfied nod.
Yuuji straightened slowly, breathing hard but smiling.
He raised two fingers again.
"Check."
Selene tilted her head slightly, smiling wider.
"Very good, King Serizawa.
But the match isn't over yet."
She lifted her empty hand.
Magic flared.
Selene wasn't done.
She was just getting serious.
Selene's empty hand glowed brighter.
Magic—
dense, ancient, overwhelming.
It poured from her like a rising tide.
The audience gasped.
Even the instructors shifted nervously.
This wasn't ordinary battle magic.
This was Royal-Class Combat Magic.
Selene's eyes gleamed coldly.
"You fought well, King Serizawa.
But the Queen always rules the board in the end."
A giant crimson sigil expanded beneath her feet—
stretching across half the arena.
Dozens of complex glyphs intertwined:
binding, striking, trapping.
Yuuji narrowed his eyes.
"Full area control magic...
If that spell completes, it's over."
No more space to dodge.
No more safe squares.
Only one move left.
Selene raised her hand higher.
The air crackled with power.
Chains of blood-red light began spiraling toward Yuuji.
Mira shouted from the sidelines.
"YUJI! MOVE!!"
Ayaka bellowed.
Clara's fists tightened silently.
Yuuji didn't move.
Not yet.
His eyes flickered.
Calculating.
If he dodged too early—
Selene would adjust.
If he waited too long—
he'd be crushed.
Timing.
One heartbeat.
One move.
The chains raced forward.
Selene's spell roared to life.
Yuuji smiled.
He moved.
Straight at Selene.
The crowd screamed.
"Is he insane?!"
Selene's eyes widened—
just for an instant.
She lifted her other hand to adjust the spell trajectory—
but Yuuji was already inside the sigil's perimeter.
Inside the zone she had created.
Too close.
Too fast.
Too reckless.
Exactly what she hadn't prepared for.
Yuuji snapped his fingers.
A burst of golden energy exploded around his body—
King's Domain: Limited Zone Disruption.
A royal technique designed to temporarily destabilize battlefield magic.
Just enough—
to crack Selene's full control.
The crimson sigil flickered.
The chains shuddered.
Selene gasped, feeling the collapse.
In that moment, Yuuji launched forward—
two fingers extended like a chess move.
He tapped Selene lightly on the forehead.
"Checkmate."
Selene staggered back, stunned.
The referee raised her hand instantly:
"Victory: Yuuji Serizawa, House Checkmate!"
The coliseum exploded.
Thunderous cheers.
Screams.
Applause.
Mira burst into wild cheers, Ayaka roared, and even Clara allowed herself a rare, tiny smile.
Yuuji stood in the center of the shattered marble.
Breathing hard.
Smiling quietly.
His team rushed toward him, laughing, shouting.
Selene, standing across the field, watched him silently—
then smiled softly.
And bowed her head.
Acknowledging her defeat.
House Checkmate had claimed their first major victory.
But the true battles were only beginning.