Chapter 142: Defying Prophecy [2]
The match between Gert Grotz from the second year and Yuria Sandra from the third year ended with Gert’s victory, breaking everyone’s expectations.
Alkan Domirn and Rob Kaellin.
The pride battle between the third-year second-ranked and the fourth-year top-ranked ended with last year’s champion showing the same prowess as last year.
"Gillet Fiens! Luina Berchef!"
And finally, Luina stood up.
’Senior will win, right?’
<The level of the third-years is quite good.>
<Only the fourth-years are mediocre, and all the first, second, and third-years are decent.>
Among them, on average, the third-years were the most excellent.
<But I don’t think Luina will lose.>
<Indeed, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone stand so proudly against a demon.>
<In terms of mental strength, she’s a knight superior to anyone here.>
"Senior, I’m cheering for you. Please win."
As Luina passed by, Aint whispered.
Luina paused briefly and nodded.
<By the way, do you realize that if she wins this time, she’ll be your next opponent?>
’...Oh, that...’
<Are you confident you can win?>
’...I’ll manage somehow, won’t I?’
<What a careless guy. I told you that you must win.>
Of course, that was true, but Aint had something to say too.
’If I want to win the whole thing, I’ll have to face her at some point anyway.’
<Do you think Luina Berchef will go all the way to the finals?>
’Of course. Who else would advance if not Senior?’
<I don’t know whether to call this infatuation or good judgment...>
Gardner sighed. Despite being unable to sigh as a black sword, his tone conveyed it.
<Just pay attention to your own opponent. How ridiculous would it be if you got eliminated first after saying all that?>
’Yes.’
Luina returned after easily securing victory.
"Impressive. I had my eye on her last year, but her skills have improved even more this year."
"As expected of Berchef..."
"Her swordsmanship is beautiful. Her opponent wasn’t lacking either, but they never had a chance to gain an advantage."
The cheers from the spectators were proof of how magnificent a duel she had showcased.
Now it was Aint’s turn.
"I’ll definitely win too, Senior."
"...Right."
Luina nodded slightly as she wiped off her sweat. Her expression seemed somewhat disappointed, but Aint didn’t understand why.
"...Huh?"
Not until he faced Almon Donertz.
<This guy is quite strong!>
When Aint’s confidence, which had soared high after defeating Andromalius, plummeted to the ground as the artifact activated after he failed to block a sword strike aimed at his chest.
"Winner, Almon Donertz!"
"...That’s impossible."
Aint couldn’t believe his defeat and couldn’t easily get up.
But in the spectator stands, there was someone even more surprised.
"...Huh?"
Gerhard’s mouth fell open.
"Right, that guy was there...!"
He had been thinking Aint would obviously face Luina and hadn’t considered him.
But Almon was by no means an ordinary person.
He was the wall that had been blocking the future Royal Knight acknowledged by Gardner, Luina Berchef, throughout the entire year.
His skill was definitely...
Not inferior to Luina Berchef.
’To make such a mistake...!’
He had been too fixated on the prophecy book. He had been overestimating Aint, who had caught Andromalius and would become a hero in the future.
But he wasn’t a hero yet.
Gerhard acknowledged his own foolishness.
"...My money."
And the price was painful.
Again, again, again, he had lost money.
==
The battle was fierce.
The three jousting exchanges ended without either gaining an advantage.
The subsequent sword duel continued for over three hundred exchanges.
Their auras gnawed at each other as the duel proceeded with extreme intensity, and the spectators chanted their names.
"As expected of an Armian? He’s impressive for a first-year!"
"Armian! Armian!"
"Win, Almon Donertz! Preserve the pride of the second-year!"
"Almon! You must win this time!"
What decided the outcome was something very trivial.
Experience and stamina.
Aint’s aura, having consumed the Saint Bird’s heart, clearly surpassed Almon’s.
But the difference wasn’t that significant, and Almon narrowed that gap with his proficiency.
Additionally, his body and stamina, honed over a long time, slowed down the rate at which his strength depleted.
And that...
Clang-
Became the reason why Aint’s sword flew through the air.
It resulted in Almon’s sword being placed at Aint’s neck, dividing them into loser and winner.
"Winner, Almon Donertz!"
The referee declared the match decided, and...
"You fought well despite losing!"
"You might win next year!"
"So this is Armian. Incredible."
"Aint Armian!"
"Almon Donertz!"
The spectators sent warm encouragement and cheers to Aint and Almon, who had shown a brilliant match.
"Schwaben might not be pleased with this."
"Almon Donertz? The Donertz viscounty?"
"I’d like to make him my knight."
Some, impressed by their skills, eyed them with interest, but Aint sat down helplessly, as if he couldn’t believe his defeat.
"I, I lost..."
After killing Andromalius, he had thought he wouldn’t lose to anyone except Luina or Gerhard, who had fought alongside him.
Why?
<Were you thinking such a foolish thought?>
<It’s rather fortunate that you lost now.>
’Fortunate? Gardner, whose side are you on?’
Aint, upset at Gardner’s words, rebelled vehemently.
<The world is vast, and there are many strong ones. And you’re just a first-year at the academy.>
<Though you’re strong for your age, that’s all.>
’But I defeated a demon...!’
<The power of light that Armians possess is the natural enemy of demons. But in other words, against non-demons, it’s just a top-tier swordsmanship and cultivation method.>
Even with just that, the value of the Armian Vision swordsmanship was indescribably high.
But there was a clear difference between facing a demon and not.
<Above all, Andromalius couldn’t manifest with all of his true form’s power. If it had been him from a thousand years ago, you would have been killed with a single punch.>
<Even without that, if it hadn’t been for Gerhard, that parvenu’s golem, you would never have won.>
<What’s impressive isn’t you but the parvenu.>
’...How could that be.’
Aint lowered his head at Gardner’s candid words.
Almon didn’t bother to comfort or raise him up.
’What a monstrous guy.’
At the entrance exam, he had been ranked 38th. But in less than a year, how had he become this strong?
’Is it because he’s an Armian?’
Is this the difference in talent?
The world is so unfair, Almon thought. Just as others thought when looking at him.
Almon sheathed his sword and returned to the waiting room. There, Luina was resting.
"Luina."
"Almon."
"You know, right? My next opponent is you."
"I know."
Quarterfinals. The two, who wouldn’t have met before, now faced each other due to Gismond’s intervention.
"I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while."
"Should I ask why?"
"Because you became the top-ranked."
"It sounds like you can’t accept it."
"Accurate. We’ve never properly faced each other, have we? We’ve all been victims of Gerhard’s schemes."
"The credit for the pair is also my credit."
"I’m not saying that’s wrong."
That was the academy’s rule, and Luina had rightfully become the top-ranked according to the rules.
He couldn’t say it was because of her partner either.
While it was true that Gerhard had shown remarkable achievements, Almon’s partner Rudger wasn’t inferior to Gerhard.
Nevertheless. Nevertheless, he couldn’t accept it.
Because since becoming a second-year, Almon had never properly faced Luina.
Because he was confident he could win in a one-on-one.
"As knights, we should speak purely with our swords, right?"
Luina was silent for a moment.
They looked into each other’s eyes.
"That’s right."
After a while, she nodded.
"I was a bit disappointed too."
Because it wasn’t a title earned purely as a knight against knight, there was a slight uneasiness despite her joy.
"Tomorrow, we can blow all of that away."
"Yes, that’s right."
Almon smiled at Luina’s fighting spirit.
"You seem to have forgotten, but you’ve never beaten me even once."
"The top rank is mine."
"As you said, an uneasy top rank."
"Is there a need to talk at length? The result will be out tomorrow."
"Fine!"
Almon left the waiting room.
However, Almon would not have a satisfying match with Luina.
"...Ha, this is ridiculous. Such a long-awaited moment, and I’m hindered because of that guy?"
"It’s unfortunate, but I have no intention of going easy on you."
Almon, who had poured all his strength into the battle with Aint...
"Winner! Luina Berchef!"
...suffered a resounding defeat in the subsequent battle against Luina, as if it were a lie.
Luina advanced to the semifinals.