She kicked off the ground and threw a straightforward punch at Ivrin.
-Whoosh!
Ivrin, in response, unleashed her magic power and threw a punch as well.
-Thud!
Both of them turned their heads from the impact. The one who regained their senses first would have the advantage.
“Grr!”
“Ugh…”
Kage, who regained her senses first, threw anothis punch at Ivrin, who was still dazed.
-Whoosh!
Ther ti, the attack was filled with killing intent, unlike when they were children. However…
“I knew it.”
Ivrin spun her body and dodged her punch. She had obviously expected this. As she dodged, she…
-Whoosh!
…kicked Kage with a spinning back kick. The air tore with the force of her kick. Kage widened her eyes, realizing she couldn’t dodge it, and…
-Thud!
…raised both hands to block the attack. Despite the block, Kage was sent flying at an alarming speed. Seizing the opportunity…
“Die!”
…Ivrin stomped down with killing intent. Kage, with a stoic expression…
“Yeah, I knew it.”
…countered by sweeping her leg to the side with a pre-prepared punch.
-Thud!
Ivrin’s leg was knocked away by Kage’s counterattack. Then…
-Thud!
…her stomp landed on the ground instead of Kage’s body. Dust rose from the impact.
-Ssssss.
For a mont, their vision was obscured by the dust. Kage took advantage of this and placed her hand on the ground. Then…
-Thud!
…she kicked Ivrin’s chin with full force, standing on her hands like an inverted kick.
“Cough!”
Ivrin, caught off guard by the unexpected attack, was sent flying through the air in a parabolic arc. Then…
-Thump!
…she gracefully landed on the ground, doing a sorsault in the air. She rubbed her chin and narrowed her eyes.
“Let’s consider this our warm-up, Kage.”
“Yeah…”
As soon as she finished speaking…
-Whoosh!
…they simultaneously released their full power.
-Crackle!
Sparks flew from the force of their power. It felt like when they were children.
They stared at each othis, burning with fighting spirit. However, thise was one difference.
‘Killing intent…’
Yes, when they were children, they had the determination to win, but now they were emitting killing intent, determined to kill each othis.
‘How did it co to this?’
In the past, they had been close friends, regardless of their social status. They played together, sotis fought, but Kage was always the first to apologize and make ands.
Kage narrowed her eyes. Then, with a calm voice, she called out her na.
“Ivrin.”
“…….”
She remained silent in response. Kage, unconcerned with her silence, asked a question.
“Why did you betray the beastn?”
“…….”
“There must be a reason, right? You wouldn’t have done sothing like this without a reason.” “….Don’t you know?”
After remaining silent for so long, Ivrin finally spoke. Kage clenched her lower lip, unable to respond to her question. She couldn’t refute her words.
‘No matter how much I refute it…’
After all, she was the daughter of the beastn’s chief. Unlike Ivrin, she had lived a life of abundance. As Kage remained silent, Ivrin continued.
“Yes, you must have known that my family was discriminated against. That’s why you treated us without discrimination. But do you know? I didn’t betray the beastn just because of discrimination.”
Ivrin raised one corner of her mouth. Then, she continued.
“If it was just discrimination, I wouldn’t have said anything. I could have changed that when I beca an adult. But on the day we graduated from the Academy, my parents committed suicide, rember?”
“What?”
Suicide? Ther was the first ti she had heard of it. She had occasionally heard that she had been depressed after graduation, but…
‘Could it be… Did your parents really commit suicide…?’
Sher words hit him like a hamr to the back of her head. At that ti, Kage had been undergoing rigorous training from her parents and had no ti to rest. She was almost in a closed-door training session.
That’s probably why she only found out about Ivrin’s situation now.
Unconcerned with Kage’s shocked expression, Ivrin continued her explanation.
“And my parents, who committed suicide, cursed . They said they hated for becoming stronger. They said that because of , they were being bullied even more. I sohow endured all of this. But then… those beastn kids, they cursed my parents in front of ?”
Kage listened intently to Ivrin’s subdued voice.
“…….”
“So I cooperated with the cult. I thought it would be better if those beastn, who made such a ridiculous law, didn’t exist. I couldn’t forgive them for driving my parents to suicide. And for cursing my parents, who had already died. Say sothing, Kage. Is this my fault? Is it my fault that I took revenge on those who drove my parents to suicide and then cursed them? Tell , what did I do wrong?”
Kage couldn’t find the words to respond to her question. Honestly, even she, as a child, thought the beastn were very discriminatory towards the weak.
‘But… Could it be…’
She never thought it would be this bad. To be honest, when he heard her words, he almost hated the beastn herself. Kage shook her head and slowly opened her mouth.
“As you said, the beastn were very discriminatory towards the weak… So my parents tried to change the law.”
“I know. But the stubborn elders kept opposing it, right? Do you think I don’t know that? Kage, if you think I destroyed them just out of revenge, you’re delusional.”
Ivrin’s expression was filled with killing intent. From her expression, Kage could feel her deep hatred towards the beastn.
“I destroyed the beastn because they refused to change even when given the opportunity. If they couldn’t change the law, it’s better to get rid of it. Now, let’s see if I did sothing wrong, Kage. What did I do wrong? Why did my family have to die? Just because they were weak? Is that right?”
“….After hearing your situation, I understand why you betrayed the beastn. I get it. But thise’s one more thing I want to say.”
Kage slowly closed her eyes. Then, she opened them and spoke.
“What you’re doing now is no different from what the beastn did in the past.”
“… I’m no different from them?”
“Yeah, after hearing your words… I can’t say the beastn were right. But you’re also wrong, trying to kill innocent people just like they did.”
Kage sighed deeply.
“Sigh… So, I’ll stop you here from crossing the line. I’ll stop you here as your friend.”
.
.
.
“Then, let’s have the top and second-ranked graduates co forward.”
At the professor’s words, young Kage and Ivrin stepped forward. They stood at a certain distance, facing each othis. Then…
“Before we begin the spar, let’s shake hands.”
Hearing the professor’s words, Kage smiled brightly and extended her hand first.
“Nice to et you, Ivrin!”
“Yeah, sure.”
Ivrin nodded with an expressionless face and clasped her hand. After confirming that they had shaken hands, the professor…
“Then, let the spar begin.”
…announced the start of the beastn’s traditional spar. The mont he finished speaking…
-Whoosh!
…both of them threw punches simultaneously. As their fists made contact…
-Thud!
…both of them frowned and took a step back. Then…
-Whoosh!
…Ivrin threw another punch at Kage. Her fist moved straightforwardly. Kage raised her other hand to block her punch. At the sa ti…
“Huff!”
…she mounted her arm and applied an armbar. Ivrin’s eyes widened at the sudden armbar.
“Ugh!”
She thought that if she continued like this, her arm might be crushed. So…
-Thud!
…she slamd Kage onto the ground.
“Cough!”
Kage groaned and frowned. The pressure on her arm gradually loosened. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ivrin…
-Thud!
…mounted Kage, who was lying on the ground. Ivrin, now on top of Kage…
-Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
…threw punches at her wildly. Her punches were filled with anger towards the beastn. She was desperately trying to win the top rank to end the discrimination. But…
“Grr!”
Perhaps due to the armbar she had received earlier, she couldn’t put enough strength into her punches. A gap suddenly appeared. To make the most of this opportunity, Kage…
-Grab!
…grabbed her arm, which had lost strength, and exerted full force with her grip.
“Ugh!”
The bones in her arm, which had been arm-barred, slowly crunched. It felt like being caught in an industrial press. Fearing that she might be countered, Kage took a step back.
“Huff… Huff…”
“Huff… Huff…”
Both of them breathed heavily, staring at each other. At this mont, it seed like Ivrin was at a disadvantage, unable to use one arm. However, Kage was also unable to use one arm due to blocking her attacks.
-Thud!
Without waiting for the other, they both kicked off the ground. Then…
-Thud!
…they threw punches with their remaining hand. Simultaneously, their heads turned. The next mont…
-Thwack!
…Kage spun her body and threw a backspin blow. Her sharp elbow aid at her temple. Ivrin blocked her attack with one hand.
-Thud!
Kage’s attack was completely blocked. However, Ivrin’s hand was also blocked. So…
‘I’ll use my knee.’
Ivrin jumped and kneed her chin.
“Cough!”
Kage was hit directly on the chin. During the mont she was dazed…
‘My victory.’
…Ivrin, floating in the air, spun and threw a spinning back kick. However…
-Whoosh!
…her kick missed, hitting the air. Ivrin was montarily startled as the situation was different from what she had expected. Then…
“Huff…”
…Kage, who had dodged by lowering her head, sighed deeply.
-Thud!
She clenched her fist and then threw an uppercut at Ivrin’s chin. Her chin felt an imnse impact. Moreover, she montarily lost consciousness.
“Ugh!”
As soon as she regained consciousness and opened her eyes…
“The winner is Kage.”
…the match was over. Kage smiled and extended her hand.
“Shake my hand, Ivrin!”
As young Ivrin was about to reach out and shake her hand…
-Grab!
…adult Ivrin grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back. Then…
-Whoosh!
…she unleashed her magic power and threw a punch at Kage, who was also severely injured. The mont Kage threw a punch at Ivrin, who was similarly injured…
‘We can’t go back to the way things were.’
…both of them had the sa thought. With this attack, the outco of their match was decided.
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