The Villian Who Broke The Story

Kael held Auriella’s dagger tightly in his hand. A smirk slowly spread across his face despite the blood running down his body.

"Tell me..."

"Have you ever fought yourself?"

Kael asked.

Auriella didn’t answer.

She ignored his question entirely and immediately went in for another attack.

Her dagger flashed toward him with incredible speed.

Kael shifted sideways, narrowly dodging her first strike.

Without wasting a single movement, Auriella followed with another slash.

Kael responded instantly.

Instead of relying on the Celestial Star Art...

He copied her.

Strike for strike.

Movement for movement.

Every slash she made was mirrored almost perfectly by Kael using the dagger he had taken from her.

The sound of steel colliding echoed repeatedly throughout the arena.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Auriella quickly noticed what he was doing.

He wasn’t simply defending.

He was mimicking every attack she performed.

Rather than changing her fighting style, she calmly chose another solution.

She increased the speed of her attacks.

Her movements became noticeably faster as she relied on her superior physical abilities to overwhelm Kael before he could completely imitate her rhythm.

The pressure immediately increased.

Kael was forced backward.

He narrowly avoided another sequence of strikes before using Vanishing Step to create distance between them.

He reappeared several meters away, taking a deep breath.

"Well... it wasn’t meant to be easy."

Kael thought.

He adjusted his grip on the stolen dagger, holding it in a reverse grip while watching Auriella carefully.

Neither of them rushed forward.

For a brief moment, both simply observed the other.

Then Auriella finally spoke.

"Your strength seems to have increased."

"You seem stronger than you were at the start of the tournament."

It wasn’t a question.

It was an observation.

Kael simply smiled.

"Well..."

"What can I say?"

"I’m special."

He replied casually.

Auriella continued staring at him.

"But you didn’t take the help of the healing mages."

"At this point in the tournament..."

"You are supposed to be at your weakest."

She stated.

Her eyes quietly observed the Darkness Mana slowly consuming Kael’s body.

The black aura surrounding him seemed thicker than it had been during his previous battle.

Kael already knew what she was trying to figure out.

She was wondering why someone who refused treatment...

Continued growing stronger after every battle.

"The reason is simple."

"I have a cheat..."

"[Infinite Adaptation]."

Of course...

He had no intention of saying that aloud.

"I guess talking to you now would be a waste of time."

Kael said with a faint smile.

Knowing exactly what she meant, he chose not to explain why he had rejected the healing mages.

"That’s aside the point."

Kael continued.

The instant the words left his mouth—

He vanished.

Using Vanishing Step, Kael instantly appeared beside Auriella.

Without hesitation, he began replicating every movement she had used earlier in the battle.

The angle of the slash.

The positioning of her feet.

Even the timing between attacks.

Everything was reproduced with frightening accuracy.

Auriella’s violet eyes calmly followed every movement.

She immediately spotted the flaws hidden within Kael’s imitation.

The moment his blade came down—

She intercepted the strike with her dagger.

Instead of forcing the clash...

She redirected it.

Kael’s attack slid harmlessly past her.

Almost simultaneously, she launched her own counterattack.

Kael narrowly avoided the strike by twisting his body before both of them disappeared once again.

Their figures blurred across the arena as they repeatedly exchanged positions at incredible speed.

The spectators could only catch brief flashes of black and silver before the two combatants vanished once more.

Neither of them was willing to surrender even the slightest advantage.

The battle had only grown faster.

Their figures flashed across the arena once again.

The instant Kael found an opening, his dagger was already in motion.

"Fifth Form."

His voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Meteor Shower."

Kael appeared directly before Auriella, bringing his sword down before unleashing a relentless barrage of strikes from every direction.

Each slash flowed seamlessly into the next, forcing even the spectators to lose sight of the individual attacks.

Auriella didn’t retreat.

She remained standing exactly where she was.

Using only a single dagger...

She calmly intercepted every strike.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The continuous barrage of the Fifth Form was stopped one attack after another.

She blocked the Meteor Shower of the Celestial Star Art with only one dagger.

It was a feat that even Zion had yet to accomplish.

Holding Kael’s blade firmly in place, Auriella’s figure suddenly blurred.

She disappeared for only a fraction of a second.

Kael’s instincts screamed.

Before he could react—

Several sharp pains erupted throughout his body.

His eyes widened.

Multiple cuts appeared across his chest, shoulders and waist almost simultaneously.

Blood sprayed onto the arena floor.

Before he could regain his bearings—

Two more precise slashes followed.

The tendons in both of his arms were severed.

Kael’s fingers immediately weakened around the hilt of his dagger.

He could barely feel either arm.

Without giving him a chance to recover—

Auriella instantly advanced.

Her dagger shot straight toward his neck.

Their eyes met for the briefest moment.

Then—

Darkness exploded.

An overwhelming surge of Darkness Mana burst out from Kael’s body, swallowing nearly half of the arena in an instant.

The black mist spread rapidly across the battlefield.

Auriella immediately abandoned her attack and leaped backward, widening the distance between them.

She silently observed the lone silhouette standing within the sea of darkness.

"Did his Mana Pool really increase by that much after his battle with Zion?"

Auriella wondered.

Without hesitation, she prepared to charge into the darkness once more.

Outside the battlefield...

The group of academy mages who had just finished repairing the arena collectively froze.

One of them stared at the newly destroyed section with an exhausted expression.

"...We just fixed it."

He complained.

Several others let out helpless sighs.

The battle had once again damaged the very arena they had spent hours restoring.

Another mage rubbed his forehead.

"At least this is the last fight."

He said, trying to console both himself and the others.

Even so...

None of them looked particularly convinced.

Far above the battlefield...

Zion quietly watched from the stands.

His brows slowly furrowed as he stared at the expanding darkness covering the arena.

The Darkness Mana surrounding Kael continued growing stronger with every passing second.

It was unlike anything Kael had displayed earlier in the tournament.

Yet Zion remained silent.

He simply continued watching.

Because even he wanted to know...

What Kael intended to do next.

The Principal quietly walked over before taking a seat beside Zion.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Their attention remained fixed on the battlefield below.

After a brief silence, the Principal stroked his beard before giving Zion a side glance.

"Well, I always expected the last battle to be between you and Auriella."

"I always wanted to see who would come out the victor."

Zion didn’t take his eyes off the arena.

"Of course..."

"Auriella would win."

He replied calmly.

Only then did he turn toward the Principal.

"If I am to battle with her as I am now..."

"She will definitely win."

Zion explained.

The Principal slowly shifted his gaze back toward the arena.

"Who do you think would win in the battle against these two?"

He asked.

"It’s obviously Auriella."

"Kael has already revealed all his cards, and Auriella is yet to take the battle seriously."

"She is still observing Kael."

Zion replied without hesitation.

The Principal stroked his beard thoughtfully before nodding.

"If Auriella is yet to reveal all her cards..."

"And is still observing him..."

"I think she might never be able to completely observe him."

The Principal said.

"He is basically a copy of every opponent he has faced."

Zion remained silent for a moment before answering.

"But Auriella is yet to use her Eyes of Ruin to the fullest."

He replied.

The Principal narrowed his eyes with renewed interest as both of them returned their full attention to the fight.

Within the darkness...

Auriella cautiously stepped into the area consumed by Kael’s Darkness Mana.

The instant she crossed its boundary—

Dark Mana spikes erupted from the ground beneath her feet.

Without warning, dozens of jagged spikes shot upward from every direction.

Auriella immediately twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the first wave before springing backward to evade another.

The attacks came one after another.

They weren’t random.

Every spike emerged precisely where she intended to move next.

"Is he now battling the entire arena itself?"

Auriella muttered quietly.

Before she could regain her footing—

Kael appeared directly in front of her.

Still holding her stolen dagger in one hand, he immediately launched another attack.

Every strike forced Auriella further onto the defensive.

Whenever she attempted to counter—

Another Dark Mana spike erupted from beneath her feet, disrupting her rhythm.

For the first time since the battle began...

She found herself being completely pressured.

Her expression remained calm.

But only one thought crossed her mind.

"Guess I should stop holding back."

The next instant—

She vanished.

Not with Vanishing Step.

Not with speed alone.

She simply disappeared from Kael’s perception.

When she reappeared...

She was already standing on the opposite side of the arena.

Kael remained perfectly still.

The Darkness Mana surrounding him slowly dispersed into the atmosphere.

Silence filled the battlefield.

Then—

The dagger in Kael’s hand shattered into countless fragments.

Two deep gashes slowly opened across his chest.

Blood stained his uniform almost instantly.

Kael’s knees buckled.

He dropped onto one knee, struggling to remain conscious.

Across from him...

Auriella stood motionless.

No longer holding her daggers.

Instead...

A long black scythe rested quietly in her hands.

Its curved blade reflected the sunlight with an eerie glow.

Her violet eyes burned with an intense purple radiance as she looked directly at Kael.

"It has been fun while it lasted."

She muttered coldly.