"Septem Treina! Double Thrusts!"
"Wall!"
"F-Fuck!"
The battle was intense, and my exhaustion was evident as I attempted to catch my breath. My hands were aching and red from the repeated thrusts of my staff. I knew that I had to keep pushing if I wanted to win. As expected, when I thrusted my staff for the hundredth time, I lost my grip and the staff flew away.
Ronald, my opponent, was also gasping for air, his hands trembling. However, he refused to give up, and I knew I had to be prepared for his next attack.
Despite my weariness, I managed to stand upright and muster a smile. "Second Wing," I muttered under my breath, activating my bloodline's ability once more.
"Again this shit!"
Ronald let out a frustrated growl, clearly irritated by my use of the "cheat" ability. But I had no choice - it was the only way I could hope to match his mastery over earth.
As expected, Ronald launched a fierce attack, sending three sharp lances of earth towards me. I barely dodged them, feeling the wind from their passage brush against my skin.
I darted towards Ronald, my fist raised to strike. He mirrored my movements, strengthening his own punch with the power of earth.
Our fists collided with a loud thud, causing both our faces to swell up in pain. I couldn't believe the force behind Ronald's punch--I had underestimated him.
"Damn you!"
"I thought you were a coward hiding behind earth walls," I muttered, struggling to catch my breath.
"I damn hate you, Edward," Ronald spat, his breath ragged.
"Your feelings are reciprocated," I replied, blood trickling from my nose and mouth as I pinched my nose.
"You asked for it, Edward!" Ronald shouted.
I gritted my teeth as I saw mana overflowing from Ronald's body. Demeter's power was reminding me of Louisa's monstrous strength, and it didn't bode well.
The Trueheart family was blessed by Demeter, but how was Ronald able to use such power only a month into the academy? It didn't make sense.
He became stronger because of me then?
"Stop the match," a cold voice rang from the stands.
I turned to see Louisa standing up. Why did she want to stop the match?
"I won't!" Ronald replied to his sister angrily and then turned back to me. "Do you want to stop, Edward? Are you scared?!"
I couldn't help but laugh at his words. "Scared? Me? Never."
[<Then why did you run away from your third legacy?>]
I ignored the voice in my head and focused on the task at hand. I jumped back, and the staff came back to my hand.
"Let's finish this, Ronald."
A tremendous amount of mana overflowed from me, straining my body. Cleenah's voice of warning echoed in my mind, but I ignored her. I knew what I had to do, no matter the risk.
Now, more than ever.
In front of all of them.
In front of my family.
In front of my father who was probably watching the fight.
I don't need the blessing of the Trueheart family, nor its mana.
"Anathemas Fire."
As I muttered those words, the heated atmosphere cooled down immediately.
"Stop the match!"
Louisa's voice echoed loudly again through the arena, her expression tense as she tried to put a stop to the escalating situation. But as the referee remained frozen, unable to intervene, she raised her hand, preparing to forcefully end the match herself.
"No."
Before she could take action, however, a hand stopped her. The hand belonged to a man with brown-black hair and hazel eyes, his trimmed mustache complementing his wide smile. This man was none other than Donald Trueheart, the Celesta Kingdom's Chancellor and foster father and uncle to both Louisa and Ronald.
Louisa looked up at her uncle, her expression one of surprise mixed with a tinge of fear.
"Uncle-"
"..."
Donald's cold glance was enough to make her freeze in place, though no one else seemed to have noticed.
I couldn't help but wonder about the dynamics within the Trueheart family. As I had grown closer to Ronald and Louisa, I had started to pick up on their family's complexities. One day, I knew I would have to take care of the Trueheart's House and consequently Louisa's event, but for now, I silently gave thanks to Donald for stepping in and diffusing the situation.
I could feel the strain on my body as I channeled my remaining mana into my next move.
"Rings of Vysindra," I muttered under my breath. As I did so, a purple ring coiled and swirled around my staff, its power enhancing my magic.
"Legacy of Demeter," Ronald muttered. This time, rocks on the ground floated and began to agglomerate, slowly forming a weapon. A mace.
[<Amael!>]
"Ronald!"
Cleenah and Louisa shouted our names, their voices filled with concern. But we paid them no heed. Ronald and I were both wearing smiles, caught up in the intensity of the moment.
I knew Cleenah was worried about the Anathemas Fire but I wouldn't be as reckless than I had been in the Holy church. It was now or never. And I was determined to come out on top.
My arm was burning, but I was getting the hang of it. I kept the output at a perfect level to protect myself. I mean, Maria and Seraphina could heal me so easily because they possessed the Saintess' power, but I couldn't back then. In any case, I wouldn't need it because I was keeping my fire under control.
Ronald gritted his teeth, and his mace reached its perfect shape.
Not bad at all.
He was clearly stronger than he was in the game in this period of time. I was then indirectly responsible of his growth huh.
"Divine Mace!"
"Gather."
"H-Hey?! Did you see that! Edward is using fire!"
"N-No way...!"
"H-He has another legacy???"
"I-Impossible..."
As purple fire swirled around my staff, I could see the looks of pure shock in everyone's faces. My siblings and all of my childhood acquaintances were there with their mouths agape, clearly surprised by the unexpected turn of events.
The referee didn't even dare to approach to stop the match. Both our auras were preventing anyone weak from getting near us, creating an almost palpable tension in the air.
"Go!" Ronald shouted, his voice filled with determination.
At his words, the immense mace rushed toward me at high speed. I squeezed the end of my staff tightly and started to mutter the incantation for my spell. "Burnin-"
But just when I was about to thrust my staff, something grazed my left eye, disrupting my concentration.
"Shit!" I cursed under my breath, quickly realizing that I needed to protect myself from the incoming attack.
Instead of thrusting my staff, I held on with both hands to shield myself from the attack. The impact was like a truck striking me head-on, sending me flying like a bullet across the arena.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, I crashed on the other end of the arena, feeling every bone in my body crack and my body screaming in pain.
The arena fell silent for a dozen seconds before the referee finally spoke. "H-Huh, Ronald Trueheart is the winner..."
The entire crowd erupted in shock at his words, clearly confused by what had just happened.
"Wh-What happened?!" I could hear someone in the crowd asking.
"It happened so fast..." another person muttered.
"I didn't see anything..."
"I thought something bigger was going to happen though..."
Lying there in a pool of my own blood, my body felt like it had been hit by a freight train. I clenched my teeth, trying to ignore the intense pain as I looked up at Ronald, his face contorted with confusion. He couldn't understand why I chose to defend myself at the last moment instead of attacking him.
My mind was consumed with anger and hatred, boiling over at the thought of what had just happened.
Punching the ground, I stood up.
Blood entered my left eye, clouding my vision, but it couldn't cloud my other senses.
"U-Um, please stay sti-hyaa!"
I slapped away the healer's hand.
I couldn't let this go. That attack, that mana, it was unmistakable. It was a wind attack of the highest caliber, and only three people I knew had that kind of power: Miranda, her father, and Loid, her brother.
The thought of Loid filled me with rage. I gnashed my teeth, promising to myself that I would cripple him for life.
Ignoring the pain coursing through my body, I walked away from the arena with an unsteady gait.
I will cripple that b*tch.
[<Amael, you should rest first. You are exhausted.>]
'No, I will rest after crippling him for life.'
[<You can't in your state!>]
'I don't care. I will burn down all of his freaking limbs.'
Squeezing my stomach, I walked, ignoring the pain.
That b*tch ran away as soon as he threw that attack at me.
"I know!"
"!"
I immediately hid in the corner when I heard the familiar voice.
"What are you talking about?"
That hateful voice belonged to Loid.
I wanted to smash him right away, but the other one was problematic.
"Elona..."
What the hell is she doing here? And with Loid, on top of that. They hate each other as much as I hate Alfred.
"I know you attacked my brother," Elona glared at Loid.
Oh, so she noticed that as well.
"Oh, you noticed? Good for you," Loid snorted.
The strong and talented had undoubtedly noticed, but no one dared to say anything for a variety of reasons. The presence of the Chancellor, who is probably overjoyed with Ronald's victory, Miranda, and Loid's status.
The most important factor was my popularity, which was clearly lower than Ronald's. After all, I was a criminal. The lower-ranking nobles may have forgotten everything, but the high-ranking nobles were raised strictly and were immune to such things.
What do I mean by immune to?
Appearance and social standing.
My physical appearance was enticing enough to entice any noble girl--except the high-ranking ones like Lyra, Aurora, or Miranda. They weren't going to help me, especially since I was a well-known jerk.
Despite my abandonment, my status remained visible, so people would approach me but again only lesser nobles.
In the end, no one would have helped me there. Jayden or Milleia probably didn't notice that, and I wouldn't have blamed them even if they didn't step up for me. I was tricking them for nearly two months now.
And Kleah...well, she hated being the center of attention for obvious reasons, so it was the same for me.
But Elona...
This sister of mine...
Despite all my previous deeds and despicable words, she is still...