Owen glanced at her speechlessly with his mouth slightly open.

Then he placed a hand on his chest dramatically.

"...That hurts," he said, feigning pain. "How could you say that?!"

Lyra’s eyebrows twitched immediately.

"You killed my pet!"

Owen looked at her, pressing his lips together for a moment as if contemplating.

Then he shrugged.

"Nobody forced you to participate," he said innocently. "Besides, won’t the organizers revive it anyway?"

Lyra’s face immediately began turning red.

She pointed her finger at him, trembling slightly.

"You... you..."

For the first time, it looked like she wasn’t even sure what to say.

Owen’s smirk widened, a chuckle escaping his mouth.

Theo looked between the two of them before quietly shaking his head.

’They’re definitely going to keep doing this whenever they meet, huh.’

Before either of them could continue, footsteps echoed through the corridor.

A female staff member quickly approached the group, slightly out of breath.

"Everyone," she said politely, "the ceremony is about to begin. Please follow me."

Owen clicked his tongue.

"Saved by the staff again."

Lyra instantly scoffed, crossing her arms.

"As if I’d waste more time talking to you."

The staff member awkwardly pretended not to hear any of it and quickly guided the group through the corridor.

Soon, the noise of the arena started growing louder again.

By the time they stepped into one of the small preparation areas, the entire arena had already been repaired.

Theo stared at it for a moment, surprised by how fast they’d done it.

Then his gaze shifted to the massive screens above the arena, finding everyone’s highlights playing on them.

Whether it was his own water tornado, Owen’s transformation, Lyra’s summons, or Iris’s petal storm...

Whenever the crowd saw the screen change, their cheers grew louder.

"Okay," the staff member said, attracting their attention. "The announcer will be calling you out any second now. Just walk towards the middle when it happens."

Each of them nodded once.

With that, the staff member turned around and disappeared back into the corridors.

For a brief moment, the four of them simply stood there in silence.

The loud cheers outside echoed faintly through the walls, making the entire room vibrate every few seconds.

Owen rolled his shoulders slightly before glancing at Theo.

He leaned closer, a grin on his face.

"Did I take good care of this or not?" he whispered.

Theo looked over at him, confused.

"What are you talking about...?"

Owen placed a hand on his chest, his voice growing just a bit louder.

"I promised you the championship... and generously fulfilled that promise like a true man."

Lyra instantly scoffed from the side.

"Coward."

Owen gasped dramatically, immediately changing his behavior.

"Excuse me?!" he shouted. "I nearly died for this city’s entertainment!"

"You were acting."

"You can’t prove that."

Theo quietly pressed a hand against his forehead.

’How are they still arguing after all that?’ he thought tiredly.

Beside him, Iris couldn’t help but laugh again.

Just then—

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The announcer’s voice suddenly thundered through the arena outside.

"For the final time today — please welcome our top three contestants onto the stage!"

The gates in front of them slowly began opening. Bright lights instantly flooded the preparation room.

For a split second, the noise from the arena completely drowned everything else out.

Theo couldn’t help but pause, his eyes widening slightly.

’This... is insane.’

"Come on," Iris’s soft voice echoed out beside him.

He glanced at her, a faint smile on his face.

That’s when all four of them finally stepped into the arena.

The moment they did, the crowd exploded into cheers and applause.

"The strongest young talents of the city!" the announcer shouted excitedly.

All four of them continued to the center, where three larger stone blocks stood with three numbers engraved on them.

In front of them stood an elder man with a microphone in his hand.

He gestured towards the blocks with one hand, a warm, excited smile on his face.

Lyra and Iris moved forward right away, climbing onto the third-place block.

Owen moved right after, jumping up onto the second-place block.

That left just the tallest center block.

Theo stared at the center block for a brief moment.

Then, under the deafening cheers of the crowd, he slowly walked forward and jumped onto it.

The arena erupted even louder, even the giant screens above the arena instantly focusing on him.

For a moment, Theo honestly didn’t know what expression he was supposed to make anymore.

The announcer chuckled warmly as he looked at the four youths standing before him.

Slowly, the entire arena fell silent again.

"Historic battles were fought in this competition," he said loudly, his voice echoing throughout the arena. "I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen youths this strong come out of our city before!"

The announcer slowly gestured toward the side of the stage.

Several staff members immediately walked forward carrying beautifully crafted trophies. Each one a different color, signifying their placement.

The announcer handed them their own trophies one by one alongside sincere congratulations.

When the elder reached Theo, he paused for just a moment longer.

His aged eyes quietly studied Theo before a warm smile spread across his face.

"Congratulations," he said sincerely. "You deserve it."

Theo accepted the trophy carefully.

The moment his fingers wrapped around it, he felt a strange sensation in his chest again.

Just two months ago...

Something like this would’ve been completely unimaginable.

The announcer stepped back slightly before raising the microphone once more.

"Let us give one final applause to the future of our city!"

The entire arena erupted again, making as much noise as possible.

Fireworks shot into the air above the arena, their bright lights flashing down.

’How... peaceful,’ Theo thought, feeling a warm sensation bubbling in his chest. ’I wish it could always be like this.’

"This marks the end of this year’s competition," the announcer’s voice echoed through the air. "I wish to see everyone back here next year, as it might be even crazier!"

Finally, he turned to Theo and the others.

"And for the four of you..." he started. "May each of you have a blessed future!"