Chapter 97: It’s over
"What’s happening...?"
"Wasn’t Young Master Caeril just dominating Alen? How’s Alen suddenly fighting back?"
"What are they even doing?"
"Young Master Caeril!?"
Eiros himself was struggling too. He couldn’t understand how Caelir had managed to keep making Alen slip like that. But he could at least guess that Caelir had been engineering the whole thing, exploiting his own ability from the start.
He could see how Caelir kept steering Alen toward specific positions, and as a result, Alen would slip, suddenly losing his balance.
While Alen was being completely dominated by Caelir, Eiros could obviously tell that Alen had been learning, trying to guess and find a solution at the same time.
He knew that much, but what happened next?
Alen now wasn’t showing any sign of using his usual star power. He appeared to be fighting purely with a manifestation stripped of its usual trait.
But the result?
Alen was succeeding.
He seemed to be avoiding footholds that would’ve made him slip, as though he already knew which spots had been marked and was steering clear of them. Even though his attacks still struggled to fully land on Caeril, Alen had at least managed to put up genuine resistance.
’I’m curious...’
Eiros genuinely found himself curious. He’d already checked Caeril’s stigmata profile, but unfortunately found no useful information beyond the fact that Caeril’s power carried Radiant potential.
That was surprising, honestly, given just how unique and disruptive his ability was—but it was unfortunate that he’d be limited by his own potential ceiling.
Out of curiosity, Eiros checked everyone else’s reactions. He glanced at Godon first, who was casually enjoying his snack, seeming not all that interested in what was happening.
Lovia reacted dramatically, not questioning anything at all about what was going on. All she did was cheer and shout to encourage Alen.
Then there was Valkas. For a moment, Eiros was startled to find Valkas watching the match with intense focus. Especially when his pupils shifted, forming sharp vertical slits, radiating an energy that made Eiros feel genuinely uneasy.
The grin on his face made it even more unsettling.
Valkas blinked, his eyes returning to normal, then the next instant he laughed and immediately glanced over at Eiros.
"Wow! Did you see that?"
Eiros stayed quietly awkward for a moment, then composed himself, pretending not to know anything, and let out a small laugh.
"I didn’t see what actually happened."
Valkas smirked. "Really? Man... too bad. If you’d seen it, you’d definitely be shocked. That bastard’s genuinely hiding something incredible."
"Since you’ve already mentioned it, you have to explain it now, right?" Unable to hold back his curiosity, Eiros asked honestly.
"First, stop calling me Lizard, and I’ll tell you the secret."
He raised a finger and gave a thin smile. "Second, call me His Grand Majesty Herion."
His thin smile widened into something much broader.
Eiros froze for a moment, then rolled his eyes. "Forget it. I’ll just stay in the dark—Lovia’s gonna ask you point-blank later anyway."
Valkas groaned. "That’s not fair!"
"What’s not fair about it," Then, after a moment of thought, Eiros smiled. "How about this—I’ll tell you how I managed to get so strong so fast."
Knowledge Valkas might genuinely need right now. Of course, Eiros had no intention of revealing the actual truth—he’d just offer some simple solution Valkas would never actually be able to pull off.
Valkas froze, staring at Eiros with a stiff neck, swallowing hard before nodding.
That day, Valkas felt like he’d been genuinely scammed.
***
Clang—!
Whoosh!
Baaaam–!!!
Caeril’s body got knocked backward as he blocked a kick coming from Alen. His body floated briefly in the air, then he landed gently, softly, back on the arena floor.
His face looked genuinely confused as he stared at Alen, whose expression stayed completely flat, a hollow smile on his lips.
’What’s going on? How’s he dodging all of this?’
Caeril remained calm, but his mind was completely thrown off, feeling genuinely uneasy about the first-year student standing in front of him.
Was there something he was missing?
But Caeril couldn’t quite figure it out. All he could see was Alen dodging every single one of his traps, without showing any other sign of using his ability.
Was it something related to his sight? And then, what was the meaning of that earlier dark star energy?
What was going on with the mouth on that sword’s blade?
Caeril knew that mouth could swallow attacks and someone’s soul essence, but Alen hadn’t used it at all.
Whoosh—!
Alen shot toward him, drawing his sword, which now looked perfectly ordinary, showing no trace of that starry darkness at all.
Slash—!!
Caeril raised his white Estoc, leaving a faint white trail in the air for a moment, letting his Estoc collide with Alen’s sword.
Clang!
The same friction, the same clashing sound, the same white trail from Caeril’s ability that made Alen’s sword slip. But unlike before, Alen was genuinely ready this time. The moment his sword slipped, he was already prepared to follow up with a punch or a kick.
Punch—!
Seeing Alen’s fist coming, Caeril rolled his eyes for a moment, then ducked. The punch swung past over his head, leaving behind the sharp whoosh of displaced air.
Then, from below, Alen’s leg came rising up next. Alen’s knee met Caeril’s face, making Caeril click his tongue and lower his sword, blocking the knee.
Slip—!
But in that position, even with his knee slipping, it wasn’t enough for Caeril to fully avoid it. So he used his other hand to minimize the impact.
Bam—!
Caeril pressed his lips together, his body jolting into the air, his blond hair whipping wildly. His sword swung out, leaving a white trail behind. But even in that brief instant, he saw Alen swing his own sword too, his gaze seeming to lock onto a specific spot.
That spot was exactly where Caelir had left the trail of his sword’s path and his ability earlier.
’Ah, that slash...’ Caelir immediately realized it.
He was struck with sudden clarity, understanding that Alen might possess some kind of invisible energy, and had somehow been using it to detect the exact locations of the traps Caeril had laid.
A smile crossed Caeril’s face.
’I figured he might be able to see it—if he could, I’d genuinely be finished.’
But Alen could only figure it out after swinging his sword and releasing his own invisible energy. Which meant Caeril’s power wasn’t fully neutralized.
Caeril closed the distance, pouring in far more soul essence than he ever usually would. Every path, everything around him, he filled entirely with those traps and thin lines.
His soul essence drained rapidly, but that didn’t matter—he admitted it to himself, if this kept up, he might lose the moment he let his guard down even slightly.
As a second-year student, as a senior, and as one of the best in his class, Caeril couldn’t afford to humiliate himself by losing here.
Sure, he might be obsessed with women, but that didn’t mean he lacked ambition to win. If anything, that same ambition was exactly what had earned him his position.
The wind howled fiercely, and he kept smiling, watching Alen swing sword after sword, trying to find openings he could use to close the distance to Caeril.
But Alen quickly realized the only paths available were narrow ones that would spell his end if he took them.
In the end, Caeril managed to find a moment and enough time to catch his breath. He smiled, tilting his head as he looked at Alen.
’A first-year student’s genuinely a monster, huh...’
He was about to prepare his next move, since Alen wouldn’t dare act recklessly for now. But that was only Caeril’s assumption.
Pierce—!
Alen looked like he didn’t care at all. He shot forward, heading straight into the area saturated with traps, making Caeril freeze, his eyes going wide.
He was about to wonder what Alen was doing, but his body reacted instantly. Because he immediately understood—one second too late in stopping Alen, and he’d let Alen slip right through.
His mistake was letting himself freeze up at all. Alen entered the trapped zone, dodging the dangerous spots—luckily, Caeril himself was fast enough.
Just a little...
Just the slightest misstep, the slightest wrong positioning, and Alen would’ve hit every single trap laid beneath him.
Just knock him down.
Caeril raised his Estoc, then swung it in a curve, aiming to slash straight at Alen’s neck.
For that, Alen raised his sword, blocking the attack with a loud, forceful clang.
Slip—!
Alen’s sword slid backward, and Alen actually followed that motion, spinning his body along with the direction his sword slipped, and the next instant, Alen’s body dropped low while his leg rose high above Caeril’s head.
Caeril was already prepared, ducking his head, dodging the attack with a controlled expression.
Gust—!
Wind burst above his head, sending his hair flying. Right then, Alen touched the arena floor with two fingers, using it as leverage to launch himself back up.
Using the gaps between the traps, slipping through without ever losing his footing.
He swung his sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Once, twice, three times, and even when his sword kept slipping, Alen kept meeting Caeril’s Estoc head-on.
And the next instant, Alen’s foot touched the floor. He slipped backward, his body completely exposed, and Caeril’s smile curved wide.
"It’s over."
He smirked, certain of his victory, and closed in on Alen swiftly. But it seemed he’d forgotten—one of the things Alen’s ability could do was leave a trail of starlight along the path of its slashes, and then—!
Slash—!!!
Spurt—!!!
"Geh?!"
Caeril’s chest was sliced open deep, revealing three gashes tearing through his academy uniform. Blood seeped out, time seeming to slow as his eyes trembled in disbelief.
His throat felt full, and then he vomited blood, coughing, losing his balance completely.
Alen hit the arena floor, but he got back up quickly, then swung his fist straight at Caeril’s face, still frozen in disbelief.
Seeing a punch that might finish him off, Caeril screamed with great effort, tensing every muscle in his body, pouring every last drop of soul essence he had, swinging his Estoc.
But he was too late—the punch reached his face first.
The spectators couldn’t make sense of what had happened, all of them stunned into silence. Because, suddenly, Alen had found himself in the winning position after acting recklessly.
Not just winning—his position was decisive.
Bam!!!
Alen’s fist slammed into Caeril’s face, sending his body flying into the arena wall. A tremendous crashing sound rang out, followed by the sound of cracking and a cloud of scattering dust.
Second after second passed, revealing Caeril lying limp in a slumped sitting position. He’d lost consciousness entirely.
Alen drew a breath for a moment, feeling pain wrack his entire body, nearly cursing out loud. But he managed to hold himself together and didn’t collapse at all.
The supervisor, though stunned and having a hard time understanding what had just happened, finally made the announcement.
***