I had to find the right moment for my next move. If I timed it incorrectly then chances were that this entire facility would be caught in her aura combustion.

I didn’t know whether some of them would survive such an explosion. An aura combustion causes a person’s aura to multiply and grow in power. The resulting explosion would be three times its normal power output. That was on average. There were cases of the explosion being multiple times stronger.

It was doubtful whether Aubrey or those other cheat bastards would get hurt. Roman would obviously prioritise Damian’s safety. Zexel would probably only stand still even while getting blasted by a powers similar in danger to nukes. If he could survive a dragon’s breath without injury then an aura explosion would be nothing to him.

As I just said, I had to time my next EMP perfectly. But this time on a smaller scale. If I used one like the first time then she’d explode into pieces no doubt. That will result in me being caught up in it as well.

The dumb brute didn’t seem to have a brain to think about the consequences of using aura in such a way. That would make this battle short and unsatisfying.

It was my revenge after all. It had to be sweet but slow as well.

“Aaaah!”

I gave her an uppercut when she tried kick me, which I dodged. Her movements weren’t exactly that of a skilled martial artist. It was more like she only knew how to street fight. Well, the two of us weren’t any different. I could use some swordplay but I had no skills on fighting in close combat.

I was basically copying the moves I saw in movies and games. I was into those genres after all. Arielle would occasionally teach me during our lessons in the past. Although, she was a bad teacher. I couldn’t absorb a lot through her.

Zelda didn’t keep her distance like before and charged at me continuously. Our strikes made sparks fly through the air. Both of our injuries grew by the second. My blue spirit art combined with her explosive red aura created a myriad of colours. Most of the arena was heavily damaged by our attacks.

It might’ve looked beautiful from a distance. The same couldn’t be said for when one got up close.

I surpassed her in overall power yet she was still holding on. It was because her aura was constantly supplying her with power. My spirits were being burned up by the second. Nothing was infinite in this world. My chance to use Lightborn had long since disappeared. If I were to use it then my core would be drained drastically.

Since my core grew a bit after my recovery, I could hold about one-and-a-half million spirits inside my body. My physical power was far more than before. Spirits weren’t just used as fuel. They were also very effective in boosting physical strength. That was something I—as a mage—needed.

If I used spells against Zelda then I’d lose. Strong spells took longer to activate even with the help of Ring of Silent Casting. The problem was that mana had to gather first for the spell to activate.

‘Despite being stronger than in the past, I still have many things holding me back. Undine would’ve made this easier.’

This was why hiding my abilities was so inconvenient. But I had no choice. There was no telling what would happen if I revealed my odd powers to the world. It was ironic how I didn’t trust humans as I did elves.

While she attacked Zelda with spells, I could be the vanguard. I swung my blade back and then it was coated in black lightning.

Zelda clicked her tongue in annoyance but she didn’t widen the distance again. Rather, she attacked with more vigour than before. Her attacks got faster and more precise.

I managed to dodge a few but if I had no choice then I had to parry the strikes.

Our constant slashing caused strong winds to accumulate and damaged the arena even further.

“Ugh!” She managed to graze me with her daggers across my chest. As if she had gained confidence, she went for another strike.

I used a type of hand-to-hand combat move to shift her hands which held the daggers to the side.

‘Time for my secret douchebag technique.’

“Kyaaa!!”

After using my palms to stop her daggers, I twisted both her nipples and kicked her in the stomach. She tumbled onto the ground while rolling. While covering her chest, Zelda glared at me with a red face.

“Y-Y-You bastard!”

I heard a few snickers from the stadium seats.

“So the young lady can be that flustered too, huh?”

“That scream was adorable.”

“Gyahahaha!”

“S-Shut up! You better shut up!”

All of them went silent when she poured even more aura into her daggers. She trembled when she lowered her head.

“…I’m going to kill you, you little shit.”

“….”

I remained unfazed even as she threatened me. With a wide smirk on my face, I gestured.

“Bring it on then.”

◇◆◇

I tumbled onto the ground after being struck by an aura blast. I forgot that aura wielders could shoot out projectiles out of their weapons. It worked similar to enchanted weapons.

The force of the slash itself was immense that I couldn’t remain standing. Each and every one of her attacks was filled with killing intent.

A slash of wind almost cut my cheek but I managed to dodge in time and do a back flip. When I looked ahead, I saw that Zelda was pulling her daggers out of the ground. Not only had her power increased but her speed as well.

She smirked evilly.

“Why are you running, you little brat?”

I frowned. She was seeming more confident than before.

The impression the current Zelda was giving off was that of a serial killer. Her hair was a mess, entire face covered in blood, glowing red eyes and her ominous aura. Just by looking at her, a baby would definitely cry.

“It seems your tine in running out! Kukuku!” Zelda lifted her hands and spread out her arms. “Ah~! That helpless expression on your face. I want to see more of it.”

She swung her right leg towards me. I managed to block it but her aura did some significant damage.

“Kuh...”

I was flung to the side. I crashed into the coliseum wall.

Zelda had a disgusting grin on her face as she hummed while looking down on me. Her expression was that of pure ecstasy.

How had Clyde killed monsters like her or even stronger than her? I thought I grew stronger since last time but here I was again.

I was in a situation where I was vulnerable to my enemy.

I looked at Ring of Silent Casting. It was on the verge of breaking apart. It wasn’t that surprising. I could guess that it had been used by mages for thousands of years.

It was more surprising how it was able to survive until now.

‘Maybe there’s a way to make one. I’ll think about that later.’

I stood up and held my sword in a stance. The blade was coated in fire spirits again.

Instead of waiting for Zelda to cone towards me, I closed the distance myself. A dull clanking sound of metal shook the arena.

“Kuh!”

The vibration that I felt through the hilt made my hand go numb for a second. But I held on and swung my sword again while being mindful of her poison daggers.

Sparks flew as the two of us clashed with our blades.

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I narrowly evaded an aura slash that came aiming for my neck. She dodged my strike which agile movements and responded with a kick to my leg. I gritted my teeth and used the fire spirits to make a small fireball.

When I was about to throw it, Zelda grabbed my hand and squeezed hard.

“Ugh.”

“You’re really annoying, you know that?” She head-butted me in the face. My nose broke upon impact.

My vision went flickering for a second. In that second, she had already broken my right arm coated in spirits.

She kicked me in the stomach. I flew into the arena walls again.

RUMBLE

My body sunk into the broken wall.

“Where’s your fancy magic now, huh?” Zelda dusted off her clothes and approached me. There was a crazy look in her eyes. It was like she enjoyed seeing me suffer.

‘Fuck.’

I sensed a disturbing amount of aura leak out of Zelda’s body. It was thicker than the previous times she used her aura.

‘Huh?’

“W-What’s going on!?”

She fell onto her knees and clutched her heart. Her entire body was oozing with dark mana.

“Guh!”

‘She’s really at death’s door.’

In exchange for that extraordinary amount of power, she had to expend her life-force. This was similar to suicide for mages and warriors in a war. Well, she had no choice but to fight that way since her opponent was me. I managed to counter her massive aura and powerful attacks using my magic spells alone. If I hadn’t managed to use the magic called EMP then I would’ve been in Zelda’s situation. Was it fate that I was suitable to use that spell?

I’m not sure.

When Zelda was about to get up, I lifted my finger as I stood up. The Ring of Silent Casting glowed.

‘This’ll be the last spell for this ring.’

“!!!”

Zelda got up with difficulty and sped up towards me with her daggers crossed. She probably knew what I was going to use.

“...『EMP』...”

“NOOO—”

Before she could finish yelling, a shockwave was released from my hand. It was soundless but destructive. You could hear and feel the ground itself tremble.

“Ugh!! Guh!!!”

Zelda fell down on her back and clutched her chest while screaming out in pain. She tore off her armour and opened up her shirt. That was useless. She was still having difficultly breathing.

“H-Help–“

When she was about to crawl towards the exit located a few meters away, I stood over her. Her entire body trembled.

‘Yeah. I would’ve been the one tasting dirt. How does it feel, you bitch?’

I shot a look of detest at Zelda who was squirming on the ground. It was strange but I felt a sense of satisfaction seeing my enemy on the ground.

I spat the blood out of my mouth and bent down.

“I-I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll kill you!”

“...”

I lifted my hand into the air and activated Ring of Silent Casting again. Hundreds of magic circles filled the entire arena. All of them manifested lances of pure magic power. Each possessed power similar to advanced class magic. I was using the last of my spirits to fuel my arcane magic. The ring was also on the verge of breaking.

“Beg for your life.” The entire crowd gasped. They must’ve thought that I would’ve killed her without hesitation. However— “You must know now how it felt to me when I lost my power, don’t you?” She glared at me with hateful eyes. Her face was stained with blood.

“Do you finally see what it feels like to be powerless? Have that power you cherished so much taken from you?”

“....!”

She tried to curse again but only coughed up more blood. Fragments of a type of energy was in her blood. That meant that her entire body was filled with impure aura. If she didn’t get rid of it then her entire body would collapse.

“Why is there a need for her to beg for her life?” A thunderous voice came from the arena seats. He was located at the highest platform. It was a man with wild silver hair and a towering build.

Zexel. His golden eyes narrowed at me.

“Even if it was unexpected, you are still the winner. So why? Why choose to lecture her when she will die anyway?”

I snickered. What a cold bastard.

His eyes narrowed even further.

“I won. As you have said. So doesn’t that mean her life is in my hands?” His eyes widened as his frown distorted more. “I get to choose her fate so stay out of this.”

“...!?”

The entire crowd gasped again. Even Aubrey looked surprised. Zexel’s eyes looked like round plates as he uncrossed his arms. His father chuckled next to him.

“Silenced by a young one. What a disgrace.”

“Tch.”

Despite his displeasure, he didn’t say anything and continued observing. I turned back to Zelda who was coughing up blood.

“Well? Do you want to die in the hands of the one you mocked? Or do you want to beg for forgiveness and live?”

“Kuh....!” Zelda’s entire face was red with shame. She was gritting her teeth so much that it made scraping noises. “Dammit! Dammit!”

She hit the ground in frustration.

“I-I can still—!” Before she could finish, I sent a lance flying into her hand.

“!!!!”

A beastly roar came out of her mouth as she flailed. Her hand was locked to the ground by the light lance.

“Do you surrender?”

“Kugh! N-Never!”

“....”

I threw another one without saying anything else. It impaled itself into her thigh.

“!!!”

Zelda spat more blood. The entire crowd was silent. It was like the two of us were the only ones there. The only sound that I could hear was Zelda’s screeches.

“Alright, then. I guess your answer is to refuse?”

I combined the light lances and formed a giant single lance. I applied space magic to it which made it rotate at tremendous speeds. Anything in its way would be reduced to shreds.

I wordlessly swung down my hands. The lance followed a moment later. The people at the arena were at the edge of their seats. None of the Minerva family members seemed fazed that she was about to die.

“I-I’m sorry!!!” Just then, I saw Zelda pry the lances out of her body and crawl towards my shoes. Tears streamed down her eyes as she looked up at me. It was a pitiful sight to see her grabbing my pants with a pleading gaze.

The lance stopped right when it was above us. I could feel the threatening winds that was being released from the lance. The cold air brushed past my face and caused my hair which was tightened before, to loosen.

I used one hand to sweep back my hair. I bent down and looked Zelda in the eyes. Even though she surrendered, her glare was still filled with killing intent.

“What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you.” my tone sounded emotionless.

“....I...give....up...”

She gritted her teeth as tears came out of her eyes.

I heard someone land behind me.

It was the family head butler. Roman. He walked towards me and held something out to me.

It was a dagger.

“...What’s this?”

“As you are the winner, you can use this to pierce her heart. This is a dagger of the highest quality so there will be no resistance in penetrating her flesh.”

“...”

I silently looked at the dagger before scoffing. Roman looked confused when I turned around without taking the dagger. My eyes landed on Zexel.

“I shall allow her to live. She will remember this shame and I hope she has learned a lesson from this.” I grabbed her by the hair and stared down at her with a smirk. “Remember this face: I was the one who let you live.”

“...!”

When I let her go, I could hear sobbing as she lowered her head.

When I looked back at Roman, I saw a mysterious smile on his face. Without minding it, I stretched my arms. The spirits had already left my body so the pain should come any time now.

Absorbing spirits into my body to its limit always had a side effect. I could already feel my legs stiffening up.

“Ah~ I’m so tired.”

Roman put the dagger away and approached me. He held up my hand and declared:

“The winner has chosen to spare the life of a member of this family. As stated in the rules: The one that was spared will owe the winner a great debt. Clyde Astley is that winner!”

‘There was something like this?’

The crowd cheered to me who was an outsider.

“Splendid use of magic!”

“That boy is so young yet he can fight so proficiently. Truly amazing.”

“Lady Zelda has been beaten by an outsider. Such a disgrace.”

All of them had different opinions of the fight. Nonetheless, I was satisfied. Moreover, the depression I felt before instantly faded away. The helplessness I felt was but a sour memory to me now.

I overcame an obstacle in my life. I did it on my own as well.

It was something that would change my life forever.

◇◆◇

Before I fell after losing the feeling in my legs, I felt someone’s strong hands hold me up. I opened my eyes with a little difficulty.

“...Damian.”

A young man with ash black hair and golden eyes was smiling at me. If I was a maiden then I would’ve kissed him right there.

“You did well.”

It was only a few words but it made me happy.

“Yeah...”

Under the loud applause of the people in the arena, Damian helped me towards the resting area.

My senses were overwhelmed with the thumping of my brain. It felt like my head would explode. It was the second time I felt total exhaustion. Although it was the second time, I didn’t faint immediately like the time when Miya headed towards my location back then.

After sitting down on a bench, I looked at Damian. He was silently putting on his gear.

Before I could open my mouth, the door burst open.

“W-Wha—”

I thought it was assailants but what I saw confused me instead.

It was a girl with long black hair and blue eyes. She was the very definition of a wallflower. Pale white skin, dazzling luscious lips and a tall nose. Her face was at least on par with Charlotte.

‘Who’s this beauty?’

Her eyes was on one person.

Damian.

“Laurielle? What are you—”

She didn’t give him a chance to speak and only hugged him.

“Finally. Finally....” With a bright smile on her face, she hugged Damian tight. “I can finally meet you!”

“Laurielle...”

“E-Eh?”

Damian pushed her away which made her look at him in both confusion and shock.

“I don’t have the confidence to face you like this.”

“Huh? But...!”

“Please.”

He lowered his head. Her eyes turned towards me. I averted my eyes awkwardly and coughed.

She bit down on her lips.

“...Fine. You better come see me after you win.”

She clenched both her fists and backed away towards the door. A loud thud echoed in the room after she slammed the door when she left.

“....”

“.....”

......

“Err...”

Damian scratched his head with a troubled expression. With a clear of his throat, he turned towards me and asked as if he was changing the subject.

“Do you want me to order Roman to send you home? I wouldn’t want you to be late for your ceremony.”

I smiled wryly at his concern. It was true that I had somewhere I had to be but...

“No. I’ll stay and observe your fight. I can make it there in time tomorrow. Besides...” I chuckled. “I want to see you kick your brother’s ass.”

Damian smiled after what I said.

“After the break—” He added on with a wide smile. “...Just watch how I beat the shit out of him.” With confident strides, he walked towards the arena.

I chuckled and leaned forward with a groan. I took out my staff so I could use it as a cane to help me walk. I rummaged in my spatial ring to search for anything to eat. Since Damian left the door open after he left, I could hear someone’s footsteps.

“Clyde.”

I suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to me. I looked up and grimaced.

Short red hair and bright blue eyes. She was a beautiful young woman in her twenties wearing a maid uniform.

“...How did you get here...Brielle?” I stood up with the help of Redheart. I almost fell down but Brielle managed to catch me.

“...You won.”

She didn’t answer my question and only sighed in relief.

“Miss Eleanor and the others are worried. We need to go now.”

“Brielle. Wait.”

“......”

She lowered her head and clenched her fists. The next moment I knew, she lifted her head and stepped towards me. I couldn’t react fast enough to her actions.

I stiffened when I felt her lips on mine. I didn’t have a lot of strength left in my body so I could do nothing to resist. Brielle ran her fingers through my hair and inserted her tongue.

She moaned as if she enjoyed it.

I tried to push her away with the last bit of my strength. She didn’t budge. Rather, she held on tighter.

I opened my eyes and saw that she was crying. I wasn’t dense. I knew right then that she loved me.

Not as the little boy she always had to look after. No, rather as a man.

I kissed her back and put my hand around her lower back.

Only the sound of us kissing echoed in the room.