After waking up, I went through my usual morning routine, even though I wasn't in my dorm back at the academy.
The place felt unfamiliar, but habits are habits.
And just as soon as I left my room, I ran into Yara.
"What...?"
She had just told
so shocking information.
"You heard ." Yara crossed her arms, repeating herself like she was talking to a clueless kid. "The match isn't happening until 10 p.m."
I stared at her, my surprise pretty obvious.
Damn it.
That was way later than I expected.
"Do you have any training rooms around here?" I asked, trying to keep myself busy instead of wasting the whole day waiting.
"Why? Bored already?" she smirked.
"Yeah." I nodded, not even trying to deny it.
I an, what else was I supposed to do until the match started?
I honestly can't stay looking at my phone for a whole day.
"Well, how about sparring with ?" Her tone contained amusent as she stood up from the sofa she always seed glued to.
'Mhm...'
I thought it over for a mont.
That wasn't a bad idea, actually. I could use this chance to test how much mana this gray 'heart' of mine could handle.
"Sure."
"Sweet." She grinned, her eyes lighting up with excitent.
"Follow ." And just like that, she snapped her fingers.
Out of nowhere, a hidden passage opened up in the room.
Co to think of it, why was her house in such an obvious spot? It was literally right next to the entrance of the black market.
Who does that?
I pushed the thought aside and followed her down the passage.
After a short walk, we stepped into a massive room that looked like sothing out of a gladiator's true dream.
Weapons of all kinds were neatly displayed on small stands, and a glowing green barrier encased the battle arena in the center.
"A no-damage barrier?" I muttered, raising an eyebrow.
Those things were insanely expensive to make. But knowing Yara and her wealth, she could probably buy a hundred of them without blinking.
"Go ahead, pick sothing." She waved toward the weapons like they were toys at a store. "They're way better than what you've got."
Her casual dismissal made
frown.
'If you hadn't stolen back the morph weapon, I wouldn't need any of this trash,' I thought bitterly.
Of course, I kept my mouth shut.
Still, as I approached the stalls, my eyes widened. Every single one of those weapons was at least a low-grade artifact.
The price tags on them must've been ridiculous.
I didn't think too hard about it.
I grabbed a taichi sword and a handgun and stepped into the arena.
The mont I passed through the barrier, a strange, refreshing sensation washed over . It was like stepping into another world.
"Are you ready, sweetie?" Yara called out, pointing her sword at
with a smug grin. Her tone was strangely sweet tone as she addressed .
Sweetie?
Did she fucking think I'm a child or sothing?
Ah... right.
I almost forgot.
She's a crazy fucking bitch.
『 Judgent Eye (?? S-Level Skill ??) 』
Of course, since I was fighting her, I was using everything I had.
No holding back.
"Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art..."
『 First Move! (?? Ice Lotus Bloom ??) 』
A frozen lotus appeared in front of my sword, its petals twitching wildly. But instead of throwing them like I usually do, I kept them close, hovering around
like a shield.
"Oh? That's an interesting move..." she said, licking her lips and crouching down.
Then, without warning...
Fwoop!
She vanished, reappearing right in front of , swinging her sword straight at my head.
Clink!
The petals ford a shield just in ti, blocking her attack. For a second, I felt the pressure, but I quickly swung my sword back at her.
She jumped back, just out of reach, then charged at
again. This ti, her sword was glowing with her grey mana.
I leaped back to avoid her strike, seeing how she sliced through my protective petals with ease.
Then, she raised her hand, and I could feel the ground tremble beneath , so I jumped high in the air.
Thack!
Sharp earth spikes shot up from where I had been standing.
If I was there for a single second more, my body would be pierced by then.
"Co on! Use your full power!" she taunted, appearing beside
mid-air and sending a powerful punch towards my stomach.
My eyes widened as I quickly coated my body in silver mana.
Thud!
I was sent flying towards the ground, but it didn't make a crater or anything in that. Instead, I felt the whole pain of being thrown against a really strong floor.
"Now we're talking, Aestrea~" she grinned, disappearing again.
Her speed was insane, and the only way I could track her was by seeing her after images, thanks to my Judgent Eye.
'Behind!'
I spun around fast and crossed my arms in front of , forming an 'X' and then taking another punch that sent
sliding back, my feet digging into the ground.
"Damn it..."
I cursed under my breath, quickly wrapping my sword in more mana and focusing on her figure.
『 Second Move! (?? Ice Lotus Barrage ??) 』
I unleashed a wave of crescent-shaped ice energy at her. But with a simple flick of her hand, she made them disappear into thin air.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." she clicked her tongue continuously.
"I thought you were stronger than that," she added as a disappointed expression appeared on her face. It was easy to know that she was provoking .
"It seems that I overestimated you." she shook her head.
Her words didn't affect
at all.
After all, I didn't have to prove myself to anyone.
Instead, I rushed forward, swinging my sword toward her left shoulder.
Fwip!
She countered with a slash that sent my sword flying, then aid a thrust straight at my chest.
But... I was expecting that.
BANG!
The sound of a bullet rang out.
My lips had slipped into a small smile.
"Ah... that was a surprise. I didn't expect you to press the trigger so fast... it's a pity that guns are useless." she sighed with a sly grin.
I looked at her chest, where the bullet should've hit, and saw a tiny crack in the shield of mana surrounding her.
Thack!
She disard
in a flash, taking my gun from my hand.
But of course, I expected that too.
There's no way I'd win against her, so I need to make an impossibility turn possible.
"Explode."
I said it quietly, but the mont I spoke, I saw her eyes widen.
BAAM!
FREEZE!
The explosion sent ice shards flying in all directions, covering the spot where she had been standing.
I waited, watching the smoke rise, wondering if any of it had hurt her.
"Phew... that was close. But, unfortunately, too weak..." her voice ca from the other side of the smoke.
I didn't expect that move to defeat her, but at least to cause so damage.
But unfortunately...
It didn't cause her any damage.
Instead, her clothes were the only thing that took a hit. They disintegrated, leaving her outfit in tatters, for example, one of her breasts had so remnants of cloth while the other had a nipple out.
Her whole body was undamaged, but her clothes were a ss.
"...Such a pity," she sighed, glancing down at her ruined blouse.
"That was my favorite one."
And yeah...
She didn't seem to care that I was staring at her either.
I quickly grabbed my sword again, leaving the gun on the ground. I just wanted to test how much damage it would cause, but it was downright useless.
"Prepare yourself Aestrea... I'll take this a bit more seriously..." she licked her lips.
Fwoop!
She disappeared into thin air, and suddenly, I saw the flash of her sword.
It was slicing through the air so fast it created a high-pitched whistling sound as it cut toward .
Clang!
My sword caught hers just in ti, but the force pushed
back, my feet skidding against the ground.
I barely kept my balance.
Yara didn't pause.
She was already jumping in the air, flipping over
like a predator closing in on its prey.
"Getting tired, Aestrea?" she teased, her voice smooth as silk, but was filled with mockery. "I thought you'd put up more of a fight."
She landed behind , spinning around to strike at my back. My eyes widened as I heard the sound of her sword slicing through the air again, this ti aiming for my spine.
Whoosh!
I dove to the side just in ti, feeling the wind of the blade rush past . The ground where I had been standing exploded in a burst of dust as the force of her missed strike hit the earth.
BOOM!
I rolled back onto my feet, quickly recovering, but she was already there.
This ti, she was so fast I didn't even see her move—only the faintest blur before a punch slamd into my side.
Thud!
The impact sent
flying sideways, crashing into a nearby stone pillar.
The world spun for a mont.
I could taste blood in my mouth.
'Fuck... wasn't this supposed to be a spar?'
I told myself, but knowing her character...
She was going to try and damage my body as much as possible. She's a crazy bitch and fucking sadist after all.
"Is this really all you've got?" Yara's voice ca from above, her face still holding the sa sly and mocking grin.
I forced myself to stand, wiping the blood from my lip, but I didn't speak.
"Haaa...."
Taking a deep breath, I shook the dizziness off and squared up again, clutching my sword tightly as my eyes landed on her figure.
"Co on, don't tell
you're already out of tricks." She crouched low to the ground, then shot forward like a missile, moving so fast that I almost couldn't track her.
Before I could react, she was there, a blur of movent, her foot slamming into my stomach with a sickening crunch.
Thwack!
I gasped, my body bending forward from the sheer impact, but before I could catch my breath, she was already behind
again, her sword coming down toward my back in a deadly arc.
I whipped around just in ti to raise my sword to block. The sound of tal scraping against tal rang out in the air.
She was really taking this more seriously!
Clang!
"You're slow, Aestrea," Yara said, voice dripping with disdain.
She wasn't even breathing heavily.
"Is that all the power you've got?" She circled around , her eyes containing so kind of sadistic pleasure.
"This is almost pathetic."
Her sword ca for
again, aiming for my neck, but I caught it at the last mont. The impact pushed
back, making my arms tremble from the effort, but I held on.
She swung again, and this ti, I couldn't react fast enough. The blade cut across my side, leaving a deep gash.
Shiiiing!
Pain flared, but I gritted my teeth, ignoring it. I was losing ground, but I couldn't give up.
"Pathetic," Yara repeated, watching as I staggered back. "How did you even make it this far? Maybe you're just lucky. I'll give you that. But luck won't save you now."
I barely kept my footing. My thoughts were clear, my focus razor-sharp. But the pain was starting to get to , dulling my reactions.
"You really are weak..." she sighed deeply, furrowing her eyebrows.
"I can see why your childhood lover died under your eyes," she shook her head in a disappointed yet mocking manner.
Those words hit
like a blow to the chest.
My breath caught, and my stomach twisted.
I completely froze at her words.
Imdiately, my control over mana started turning erratic. I looked towards her as my posture completely changed, and a bitter cold tone escaped my mouth.
"What did you just fucking say?"
Slowly, a violet aura started leaking from my body...
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