The arena slled like incense and bloodlust.
Rei sat in the "VIP Husband Seat," which was basically just a chair with iron chains bolted into the ground. (They said it’s for his safety.)
The announcer, who had sohow survived yesterday’s Lilia-Drakana catastrophe, sounded like a man on the brink of early retirent. His voice wavered like a dying candle:
"L-ladies and gentlen, esteed nobles, fellow victims of this... festival... today we present Round Two! In the left corner, we have Her Radiance, the Crown Princess of Light herself, Seraphina! Defender of the realm, wielder of celestial fire, saintly paragon of—"
A thousand radiant spotlights bead down, and Seraphina strode onto the platform, wings unfurling like a golden sunrise. She glowed so brightly Rei had to squint. Her battle gown trailed with woven starlight. She smiled serenely at the crowd, like the goddess of weddings had just stepped into mortal flesh.
Half the spectators fainted imdiately.
The announcer gulped, turned to the other side, and sohow kept going.
"—a-and in the right corner, our underdog, the academy’s most discreet maid-turned-assassin, Rosette. Wielder of silent blades, ghost of shadows, and, uh, cleaning supplies."
A hush fell.
From the shadows behind the gate, Rosette simply appeared. Without any dramatic light, music, nor announcent. One mont there was nothing—then she stood there, her maid dress fluttering gently, eyes calm and cold like winter’s edge.
In her hand? A silver tray. And on the tray? A goblet of holy wine.
Seraphina’s smile tightened.
"Rosette," she said softly, voice ringing with angelic clarity. "You shouldn’t have co."
Rosette curtsied. "I always co when it’s about Rei-sama."
The crowd collectively shivered. Rei buried his face in his hands.
[System Alert: Arena risk level: 97%. Insurance companies have pulled out of sponsorship.]
[System Suggestion: Acquire bunker or shovel. Shovel may be more useful for digging your own grave.]
The match began with what the announcer optimistically called "an exchange of courtesy."
Rosette stepped forward with the tray. "Princess, before we duel... a toast. To Rei-sama’s eternal happiness."
The goblet glead, or i say too glead.
Rei shot upright in his chair. "Seraphina, don’t—"
But it’s too late. The princess lifted it, sniffed daintily, and sipped.
Silence.
Then the cup quivered. The liquid hissed like acid in a cauldron.
Seraphina’s lips curled in a faint, dangerous smile. Her eyes lit like suns.
"Oh, poison." She flicked her wrist, and holy light surged from her throat like fire consuming oil. The poison evaporated instantly, turning into a burst of black mist.
The goblet in her hand exploded with such divine fury that shards of sanctified glass rained across the arena, embedding themselves like glowing daggers in the floor.
"Cute," Seraphina whispered. "You thought darkness could touch ?"
Rosette didn’t even flinch. "No, Princess. I thought it could touch your lips and that was enough."
The crowd scread as Seraphina raised her hand, summoning a halo of golden flas that spiraled around her like a crown.
"ROSSETTE!" she thundered. "You dare defile my toast? You dare poison my holy wine in front of my husband?"
Rei shot to his feet. "Correction: I am not your husband! And not anyone’s husband! I’m a free man!"
[System Correction: False, You are five-tis-married, and contractually bound, and in debt to three divine entities. Freedom rating: 0%.]
"Shut up!" Rei hissed at the sky.
The duel truly began.
Rosette flicked her wrist, and knives of frost erupted from her sleeves, flying with deadly precision. Seraphina caught them midair in radiant hands of holy fire and snapped them like twigs.
Rosette darted forward, tray in hand, striking with blinding speed. The tray rang against Seraphina’s halo with a clash like church bells.
Each strike from Rosette was silent, clean, deadly efficient. Each counter from Seraphina was a blazing sermon, light crashing like thunder.
The arena floor cracked, scorched, then froze, a patchwork of burning sunlight and crystalline frost.
Spectators whimpered, one man prayed and another tried to crawl under the bleachers.
anwhile Rei, tried to crawl out of his chair restraints. "I didn’t sign up for divine Armageddon on campus grounds!"
[System Note: You literally did. See Arc 1, Chapter 10, "Escape Plan Alpha."]
The duel escalated.
Rosette vanished into shadows, only to reappear behind Seraphina with a blade poised for her wings.
Seraphina whirled, eyes blazing, and unleashed a beam of radiant fury that split the sky in two. A golden crack ripped across the heavens, light pouring down like molten divinity.
The shockwave knocked backward so hard Rei think, he can montarily astral-projected.
When Rei blinked, dazed, his reflection on the bleachers looked a little more sunburnt.
"...Did I just get a tan from holy fire?" Rei croaked.
[System Confirmation: Yes, SPF 0 detected. Recomnd sunscreen factor "Apocalypse."]
On the battlefield, Rosette was already moving again, sliding beneath the beam with fluid grace. Frost erupted from her step, freezing chunks of molten stone midair.
Her daggers glead with poison, each inscribed with tiny letters, Rei squinted.
"Wait—are those my initials carved on the blades?!"
Rosette flicked her wrist. "Every cut belongs to you, Rei-sama."
Rei scread into his hands.
The clash was too fast for most eyes. Light and shadow collided, divine fire scorching assassin’s frost into steam that blanketed the arena. Every strike sent shockwaves rippling through the stands.
The announcer sobbed openly. "Why... why couldn’t I have been born an accountant...?"
Seraphina’s wings burst open, scattering feathers that turned into blazing swords midair. They rained down like divine teors.
Rosette responded by tossing her maid apron into the air. It split into dozens of shadowy shrouds, each intercepting a sword with a clang of impossible cloth-turned-steel.
The arena shook and the ground split.
By now, half the spectators were gone. The other half were selling snacks at panic-inflated prices.
And then, Rosette did sothing insane.
She flicked her tray. A single goblet reappeared on it, she tossed it forward.
It hovered midair, filled again with holy wine.
Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "You dare—"
Rosette’s voice was cold, but her gaze burned hotter than fire. "Drink or I’ll pour it into Rei-sama’s mouth instead."
The entire stadium gasped.
Rei jaw hit the floor. "EXCUSE ?!"
Seraphina snapped, flas roared and her halo turned into a burning sun.
"You... would DARE threaten him?!"
The ground shattered.
Rei scread, "I didn’t agree to be used as poison bait!"
[System Comnt: You are always poison bait. Check your stats screen. Title unlocked: "Husband-Shaped Target Dummy."]
The final exchange ca like thunder.
Rosette lunged, blades of frozen death outstretched. Seraphina unleashed a torrent of holy fire, wings blazing brighter than the sun.
The clash of frost and fla erupted into a blinding explosion. The shockwave flattened half the arena, ripping banners from the sky and turning the sand floor into shimring glass.
When the smoke cleared, both stood bloodied but unbowed.
Rosette’s arm was nicked, her blade dripping. Seraphina’s gown was scorched, halo cracked.
They stared each other down, eyes burning with one truth: whoever wins, Rei belongs to .
anwhile Rei, lay smoking in his chair, his hair sticking up like a fried hedgehog.
"Why..." Rei croaked. "...why do my romances look like divine world wars?"
[System Response: Because your life is a romantic cody written by Satan.]
The duel wasn’t over, ofcourse not yet. But the world already trembled from Round Two.
The announcer’s voice cracked like a man experiencing both divine revelation and impending unemploynt.
"L-ladies and gentlen! What an e-exquisite display of... of uh... mutual homicide disguised as romance!"
Half the crowd clapped politely. The other half were busy updating their wills.
Seraphina extended her hand, fingers dripping radiant blood that turned into glowing motes before it even hit the ground. "Rosette, yield. You cannot win. Your shadows are nothing before my holy fire."
Rosette calmly wiped frost from her cheek with the edge of her tray. "Win or lose doesn’t matter. If I fall, soone else will rise. But until then, my blades... will never leave Rei-sama unguarded."
"Stop making sound like a treasure chest!" Rei shouted.
[System Reminder: You are a treasure chest.
[Loot table:]
[Sighs of Exhaustion x999]
[Accidental Charm Points x1 per grimace]
[Yandere Aggro Multiplier 500%]
"WHO PROGRAMS THIS SYSTEM?!"
The arena rumbled again as the duelists resud their stance. Rosette’s daggers glittered with frost so sharp they cut the air itself. Seraphina’s cracked halo nded with audible snaps, each piece locking into place like gears of a celestial weapon.
The audience leaned forward, whispering prayers or placing bets.
"Fifty gold on the maid!"
"No, no, put down for the Princess! Her crit rate is literally divine!"
"Why are we still here? Just to suffer?"
Rei thrashed against his chains. "You lunatics are gambling on his marital stability?!"
[System Update: Side Quest "Bet on Your Wife!" still active. Current odds: Seraphina 2:1, Rosette 4:1. Rei’s sanity 0:∞.]
The announcer raised a trembling hand. "Combatants, prepare for—"
But before he could finish, a massive chunk of ceiling plaster fell from the previous explosion. It narrowly missed him and instead flattened the snack vendor.
"Popcorn! Get your holy-burnt popcorn!" soone wailed from beneath the rubble.
Then Rei groaned, slumping in his chair. "This isn’t a duel anymore. This is... performance art for divine insurance fraud."
[System Comnt: Correct. Also, your dical co-pay just tripled.]
Both combatants now stood amid the ruins, breathing heavily but unbroken. Their eyes t across the cracked arena floor, and Rei realized with dawning horror: this wasn’t just about victory.
It was about proving to —to —who could scorch their love deepest into history.
And for the first ti, Rei prayed neither of them would win. Because whoever did... he was dood either way.
To be continued...
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