Chapter 115: Beating his ass
Eren had counted on the hero falling for the most elementary rage bait in the textbook. Reinhardt’s psychological stability was practically held together by cheap tape and pure hubris.
Still, as the aura infused wooden blade tore through the air toward his chest, Eren had to respect the sheer horsepower.
He raised his weapon, channeling his greenish-yellow aura along the wooden edge.
BOOM—!
The collision of high-density aura detonated across the arena ring, kicking up a violent shockwave of dust and loose gravel. The force sent both combatants skidding backward, their boots carving deep grooves into the dirt.
The surrounding spectators erupted into a collective gasp. Dozens of students leaned over, their eyes wide at the spectacle. That wasn’t just a basic academy exchange—that was professional-grade swordplay right out of the gate.
"Now that is what I call a kick-ass opening sequence," Eren murmured, effortlessly rolling his shoulders to disperse the impact momentum.
"Shut your damn mouth!" Reinhardt screamed.
Refusing to waste even a microsecond, the second male lead lunged forward again, his sword transforming into a blinding storm of golden arcs. He unleashed a relentless, light-speed flurry of thrusts, slashes, and overhead chops, leaving zero room to attack.
Eren dodged across the ground, leaning back, side-stepping, and parrying the frantic barrage with thin margins. Even though the weapons were wooden, the absurd amount of aura Reinhardt was pumping into his blade meant a clean hit would easily shatter bones or slice through skin.
Spotting a delay in Reinhardt’s heavy slash, Eren struck the underside of Reinhardt’s hilt, forcibly knocking the hero’s guard wide open.
Without missing the chance Eren stepped into the opening, driving the tip of his sword straight toward Reinhardt’s exposed ribs. At the absolute last millisecond, Reinhardt forcibly twisted his torso and slammed his sword down, blocking the strike, though the force sent him tumbling back several paces across the dirt.
Up on the first-floor balcony of the nearby building, Aria stood there with her friends, her eyes tracking every move by Eren.
"My goodness... Lord Eren’s movement speed is absurd!" one of her friends gasped.
"He’s not even letting Lord Reinhardt touch him!"
Aria gave away an intense proud smile as she casually raised her instant camera to her eye, snapping a quick portrait of her fiancé in motion. "It seems I continually underestimate just how terrifyingly skilled my future Duke really is..."
Down in the ground, Reinhardt stood breathing heavily as he glared at his love rival.
Eren twirled his wooden sword. "You’ve got two minutes left, Reinhardt."
"I will take back everything!" Reinhardt screamed in desperate rage. "Everything I lost because of you! I lost Aria because of your filthy schemes! Even Alice won’t even look at me anymore! It’s all your fault!"
Eren sighed heavily, slowly circling his opponent, looking onto the trembling second male lead with absolute clarity.
"Do you actually like Aria, Reinhardt?" Eren asked smoothly. "Because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t feel like you ever loved her. Or Alice, for that matter."
Reinhardt froze, his bloodshot eyes widening.
"If you had truly loved Aria, things never would have ended up like this," Eren continued, laying out the brutal truth without hesitation. "You never once committed to her, nor did you ever have the courage to tell her how you felt. And the moment things got rough, you tossed her aside to chase Alice’s attention. You don’t love either of them, Reinhardt. What you actually crave is the validation of being the center of the universe. You’re just a glorified, crying baby throwing a public tantrum."
The second male lead’s sanity was completely gone.
"How dare you... HOW DARE YOU!" Reinhardt shrieked, his voice soaring into a high pitch.
Abandoning every concept of defensive strategy, he poured every single drop of his aura into his wooden sword, turning the weapon into a blazing, blinding torch of light. Kicking off the dirt with enough force, he jumped high into the air, descending like a madman with a two-handed, sky-splitting overhead strike aimed directly at Eren’s skull.
Eren gave a satisfied smirk. "Now that is exactly what I was waiting for."
He channeled a dense, concentrated surge of Level 2 greenish-yellow aura along his blade. Rather than dodging, he met the descending blow head-on, swinging his weapon upward in an arc.
BOOM—!
The collision detonated across the training grounds like an artillery shell. A blinding flash of light exploded, followed by a violent shockwave that blasted dust and gravel outward in all directions. Spectators across them instinctively yelled out, throwing their arms up to shield their faces.
But Emma stood frozen, her storm-grey eyes wide in shock as she felt the density of Eren’s aura control.
As the dust slowly settled, silence filled the arena. Hundreds of students strained their eyes to see the result.
In the center of the crater stood Eren, completely unbothered, casually holding his intact wooden sword.
Directly in front of him, Reinhardt was kneeling in the dirt, staring at the shattered, smoking hilt in his trembling hand. His blade had been completely obliterated.
"Match over," Eren announced, looking down at his defeated rival. "I win."
Turning his back, Eren tossed his wooden sword onto his shoulder and began casually strolling toward the shaded canopy where a pink-haired captain was waiting.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Reinhardt’s cowardly scream echoed from behind. Completely losing his noble dignity again, the hero lunged up from the dirt, raising his hand to attack Eren from behind.
"Look out!" One student ahead shouted in panic.
Without turning his head, Eren side-stepped and caught Reinhardt by the back of his collar, and slammed his face into the hard dirt ground.
CRACK!
Before Reinhardt could even process the impact, Eren planted his boot firmly on the simp’s back, pinning him to the ground. Raising his wooden sword like a hammer, Eren gave a swift, grand beating directly onto the hero’s backside and shoulders.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Reinhardt groaned in pathetic, muffled agony, his legs twitching helplessly against the dirt as the entire crowd watched the glorious beatdown in stunned, hilarious awe.
Eren delivered one final strike to the hero’s ass before stepping off, dusting off his uniform with a satisfied exhale.
"Consider this your final warning, you delusional simp," Eren stated, tossing away his sword. "Don’t you ever dare mess with the people around me again. And if you try to send another delusional guy, this time it would be direct."
The crowd was still laughing. The sight of the academy’s hero getting his ass paddled like a misbehaving toddler was a level of entertainment that even duel could never hope to match.
Meanwhile, Vaelis rested his chin in his palm, chuckling as student laughter echoed. Even Alice and Violet were covering their mouths, giggling.
Vaelis glanced sideways at Prince Theo, who was staring down at the ring in stunned silence
.
"Tell me, Your Highness...do you think Eren was addressing only Reinhardt with that little speech down there?"
Theo blinked, snapping out of his trance and looking at the exchange student with innocent confusion. "Huh? What do you mean, Vaelis?"
"Nothing at all, Your Highness."
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