Chapter 109 - Dual
Luna and I waited to the side of the arena while talking and observing the other participants.
The first match began between two contenders.
I watched carefully as they exchanged blows.
Soon, more and more matches began throughout the tournament grounds.
Since the opponents were selected randomly, every battle was different.
Some fights were close.
Others ended almost instantly.
I continued observing the participants, paying attention to their fighting styles and abilities.
Then—
"Luna von Valtherion!"
Luna’s eyes immediately lit up.
She looked at me and clenched her fists with determination.
"Hmph."
"Just watch how I crush this match."
She looked so excited that I couldn’t help finding her adorable.
I smiled.
"Good luck."
Luna nodded confidently before walking toward the arena.
Her opponent was a young noble.
The moment he saw her enter the arena, his expression changed.
He clearly recognized her identity.
He looked surprised for a moment before trying to start a conversation with her.
"Princess, it is an honor—"
Luna completely ignored him.
Instead, she looked toward the referee.
"Let’s start."
The referee nodded.
The noble boy awkwardly closed his mouth.
Then—
"Begin!"
The instant the signal was given, Luna disappeared.
She moved like a flash of light.
The noble boy was still distracted by her appearance when Luna reached him.
At the last possible moment, he managed to raise his weapon and block her sword.
Clang!
Luna didn’t stop.
Ice instantly spread from her blade and froze his leg to the ground.
The noble’s eyes widened.
He desperately tried to break free.
But before he could—
Luna’s sword was already pointed at his neck.
The referee immediately raised his hand.
"The winner is Luna von Valtherion!"
Luna didn’t even spare her defeated opponent another glance.
She simply turned around and walked back toward me.
The noble boy remained standing there in disbelief before slowly slumping onto the ground.
Luna stopped in front of me with a smug smile.
"So?"
"How was that?"
"Aren’t I amazing?"
I smiled.
"Not bad."
Luna froze.
Her smile disappeared.
She slowly turned toward me.
"...What did you say?"
A chill immediately ran down my back.
I realized my mistake.
"I said you did amazing!"
"That’s exactly what I said."
I waved my hands quickly.
"You were incredible."
Luna narrowed her eyes.
"Hmph."
"You better be."
I quietly sighed in relief.
Then—
"Gray Starlight!"
My name was called.
I stood up and walked toward the arena.
As I entered, I immediately noticed my opponent.
A boy with completely black hair and black eyes.
He wasn’t carrying a sword.
"Interesting..."
I unsheathed Eclipse and took my stance.
The boy calmly reached behind him.
Then he pulled out two daggers.
My eyes narrowed.
Two daggers...
An assassin-type fighter?
I immediately increased my perception and carefully watched his movements.
The referee raised his hand.
"Begin!"
The boy instantly rushed toward me.
His two daggers flashed toward my body.
I could read his movements perfectly.
But I immediately decided not to use Eclipse.
If I attacked him with my real sword, I might seriously injure him.
Instead, I dismissed Eclipse and formed a small sword from Darkness.
It wasn’t particularly sharp.
Just enough for this battle.
I moved forward.
But—
The boy suddenly vanished.
I blinked.
"What?"
He was gone.
I immediately pushed my Perception to its limit.
Then I detected him.
"He’s inside my shadow..."
My expression became serious.
If I didn’t have Perception...
I wouldn’t even be able to detect him.
I remained still and waited.
I didn’t know when he would emerge.
Then I sensed his movement.
There!
I immediately coated my body with a thin layer of Darkness.
Instead of combining Darkness and Space completely, I simply used Space to enhance the Darkness around my attack.
Then—
Slash!
My sword struck directly into the shadow.
The boy’s eyes widened.
He clearly hadn’t expected me to detect him.
Even more surprising...
I could attack him while he was inside the shadows.
The attack connected.
He was thrown backward and rolled across the ground.
I immediately sprinted toward him.
Eclipse returned to my hand.
I pointed the blade toward him.
The boy stared at me for a moment.
Then he raised one hand.
"I give up."
The referee immediately announced my victory.
I lowered Eclipse and smiled.
"That was a great move."
I extended my hand toward him.
The boy looked at it for a moment before accepting it.
I helped him back onto his feet.
As we stood there, I couldn’t help thinking about his technique.
I need to try that with my own Darkness.
The boy looked at me.
"You’re the first person in our age group to defeat me while I was using that technique."
I smiled.
"It’s a good technique."
"I hope we can fight again someday."
"See you later."
I turned and walked back toward Luna.
As soon as I reached her, she looked at me curiously.
"What did he do?"
I smiled.
"I don’t really know how he does it."
"But he can enter the shadows."
"It’s similar to what Selena and the royal guards assigned to us can do."
"I’ve never tried it myself because I thought I was still too weak."
"But after seeing him..."
"I really want to try it."
Luna immediately shook her head.
"Ah, I remember now."
"It’s probably related to becoming one with your element."
"You’re right that we’re still too weak to attempt something like that."
"But he has a Shadow Affinity."
"So he might naturally have access to that ability..."
"Or perhaps he learned it from someone."
She looked at me seriously.
"So don’t try it yet."
I listened carefully before nodding.
"Hm."
"That makes sense."
"Thanks for warning me."
"If you hadn’t..."
"I probably would have gone and thrown myself into the Darkness to see what happened."
I smiled sheepishly.
Luna laughed.
"That sounds exactly like something you would do."
I immediately looked offended.
"What do you mean?"
"Do I really look like such a reckless person to you?"
I puffed out my cheeks.
Luna stared at my expression for a moment.
Then her smile widened.
"Oh, yes."
"You’re exactly that kind of person."
I could only pout.
"...You’re evil."
She simply laughed.
Then Luna’s name was called.
At the same time, my own name was called as well.
I couldn’t watch her match because I had to enter the arena for mine.
I walked into the dueling arena and looked at my opponent.
She was a girl with green hair and bright yellow eyes.
We stood across from each other.
I gave a small nod.
"Gray Starlight."
She nodded back.
"Lucy Hunt."
I nodded and drew Eclipse.
She also drew her sword and took her stance.
The referee raised his hand.
"Begin!"
The instant the match started, Lucy moved.
A barely visible blade of wind shot toward me.
Wind Blade.
For most people, it would have been extremely difficult to see.
But with my Perception...
It was no problem.
I easily stepped to the side and avoided it.
Then I rushed forward.
I coated the edge of Eclipse with Ice Mana.
The blade immediately became covered in a thin layer of frost.
Clang!
Our swords collided.
The moment our blades met, ice rapidly spread across her sword.
Lucy immediately pulled back.
Her eyes widened when she noticed the frost covering her weapon.
Before she could react, I formed an Ice Spear.
Whoosh!
I launched it toward her.
Lucy quickly dodged by using her Wind Affinity to propel herself sideways.
But as she moved, she suddenly noticed something wrong with her sword.
It felt heavier.
And it no longer moved naturally.
She looked down.
The ice had completely covered her blade.
Without hesitation, she swung her sword toward the ground.
Crack!
The impact shattered the ice surrounding her weapon.
I smiled slightly.
Good reaction.
While she was dealing with the ice, I had already prepared my next attack.
Several Ice Spears formed around me.
But this time, I didn’t aim them directly at her.
Instead, I fired them toward the ground around her.
The spears struck the arena floor.
Crack!
Ice spread across the ground.
Lucy immediately realized something was wrong.
Then—
Darkness erupted from beneath the ice.
Several dark vines shot toward her.
Her expression changed.
She immediately tried to use Wind Mana to escape.
But I had already predicted it.
I moved to the side and intercepted her path.
She tried to change direction.
Too late.
The Darkness Vines wrapped around her legs and arms.
Lucy struggled.
"Damn it!"
The vines tightened.
She was completely trapped.
I walked toward her and raised Eclipse.
The blade stopped just beside her throat.
I waited.
Lucy stared at the sword for a few seconds.
Then she sighed.
"I give up."
The referee immediately raised his hand.
"The winner is Gray Starlight!"
I withdrew Eclipse from her throat and stepped back.
"Good match."
Lucy nodded, still looking slightly frustrated.
"Yeah..."
I turned around and walked away.
As I left the arena, I could hear whispers spreading throughout the audience.
"Did you see that?"
"He barely struggled."
"Those Darkness Vines..."
"And that perception..."
"Who exactly is that kid?"
"Gray Starlight..."
I ignored all of it.
I wasn’t interested in what the crowd thought about me.
I simply wanted to find Luna.
I quickly looked around the tournament grounds.
Where is she?
After all...
I still wanted to see how her next match went.
————
A/N:-
I hope you guys enjoy the Chapter i had hope to upload another but now i can’t i felt so much sleepy but if i sleep now i dont wake up until midnight and miss the dinner so i stay wake up and in this state i try to wrote my other novels but i can do it so i abandoned idea but i finally managed to finish this
Thanks for suppor for this novel i really appreciate it❤️