The elf mage continued to rain down arrows on her opponent, but he quickly countered with an earth spell that sent a shower of rocks towards her. She swiftly dodged and used her earth magic to create spikes from the ground, which burst through the earth dome and impaled her opponent's legs. He grunted in pain but managed to break free from the spikes with his own earth magic by manipulating the elements.

The battle continued in a flurry of spells and arrows. The elf mage used her agility to evade the earth mage's attacks while shooting arrows from her bow, each one imbued with magic to pierce through the defenses of her opponent. The earth mage countered with powerful spells, sending rocks and boulders crashing towards the elf, he tried to close in on her but failed, rendering his large hammer useless. She dodged and weaved, using her own manipulation of the elements to create barriers and shields.

As the fight raged on, it became clear that the elf mage had the upper hand. Her agility and range gave her an advantage over the earth mage's close-range attacks. I watched in interest as she embedded an earth element in her arrow, only this time something seemed different. With a final burst of magic, she released it, it flew true and immediately exploded on impact, sending her opponent flying back and knocking him unconscious.

'Her manipulation over the elements might be the best so far,' I inwardly noted.

The crowd erupted in cheers as the elf mage was declared the winner. She bowed to me, to which I gave her a nod in acknowledgment, then she bowed to her opponent before turning to the crowd, a smile on her face as she basked in their adoration.

The earth mage from Tinada, on the other hand, was quickly carried off the stage, his wounds being tended to by healers. With this loss, Tinada was officially out of the tournament. They had also lost all their upcoming spots for the next ascension ceremony.

It was then that the Lumia emperor turned to glance at the emperor of Yadour with a smug expression. He knew that the Yadour empire had high hopes for the Tinada kingdom, hoping they could make Lumia suffer a loss, but they were out of the tournament now.

The crowd erupted in cheers, praising the elf mage for her impressive victory. She held up her bow and waved to the crowd, basking in their adoration. She seemed to be enjoying the attention.

I watched all of this with a stoic expression before glancing at the collapsed Tinada mage. A hint of disappointment flashed through my eyes.

"Congratulations to the elf mage from Lumia for her victory," the dragon announced to the crowd. "With this loss, the Tinada kingdom is officially out of the tournament. They have fought well, but it seems their magic wasn't enough to match the other kingdoms."

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As I finished my speech, the Tinada kingdom's king stood up from his seat, his face stern and unreadable. He approached the edge of his booth and bowed deeply to me, acknowledging my authority.

"Your Highness," the king said in a formal tone. "I apologize for the disappointment that my kingdom has caused in this tournament. We had hoped to bring glory to our name, but it seems we have fallen short."

The king straightened up and looked directly at me, his eyes cold and determined. "But we will not give up. This loss will only make us stronger. We will continue to train and hone our skills, so that we may one day earn the honor of facing you once again."

With a final bow, the king turned and led his entourage out of the arena. The crowd murmured in respect at his words, recognizing the determination and pride of the Tinada kingdom.

I simply watched them go without adding anything. There was no point after all. The Tinada kingdom will not participate in the next ascension ceremony, the only way they can join again is by earning themself a spot in the next tournament. Though even that was going to be hard since they will only have one chance. Still, I was curious as to what the future held for them.

****

With that out of the way, I watched with keen interest as the two strongest nations in the tournament prepare for their next battle. On one side stands the Lumia Empire, their representative a human fire mage. On the other side, the Yadour Empire has sent their earth mage, the second demon with sharp horns curving back from his head and scales covering his arms and legs.

The crowd roars as the two contestants take their positions, their eyes locked on each other with a fierce intensity. The demon smirks confidently, his arms crossed as he waits for the human to make his move. The fire mage took a deep breath, his eyes closed as he focused on the surrounding fire elements.

Suddenly, he raises his arms and unleashes a powerful burst of flames towards the demon. He responds quickly, summoning a massive wall of earth to shield himself from the flames. The wall cracks and crumbles under the intensity of the flames, but the demon remains unharmed.

With a fierce grin, he raises his hands and slams them down onto the ground. The earth beneath the fire mage erupts, sending him tumbling through the air. He crashes to the ground, dazed and disoriented. The sheer scale of the spell was very impressive affecting the entire arena ground.

The human fire mage quickly recovers from the surprise attack and jumps to his feet. He stretches his arms out and a bright flame ignites in his palms, growing larger and larger until it reaches the size of a small cart. The Yadour Earth mage demon takes a step back, his face turns serious as he feels the heat emitting from the flame.

Without wasting any time, the human mage thrusts his arms forward, and the giant ball of fire hurtles towards the demon. The demon creates a wall of earth to stop the attack, but the flames were too intense causing the wall to quickly crumble.

As the flames engulf the demon, he screamed in pain and started to stumble backward. But with immense effort, he forcefully regained his composure and raised his arms. Suddenly, the ground beneath the human mage starts to tremble, and giant stone pillars shoot out from the earth, sending him flying into the air.