Chapter 314: Abnormality [2]
"Наа..."
I took a deep breath and suppressed the pain that was invading every inch of my body. A lot of the wounds that I had sustained were merely surface level with Angela trying to bleed me out throughout the entire match.
She was trying to turn the fight into one of attrition.
Her thoughts weren't wrong. I was just a few minutes away from losing too much blood to continue.
I was thankfully able to turn things around in the nick of time.
"...Hm."
As the familiar cube materialized before me, I instinctively reached out and grasped it. Instantly, my surroundings blurred, and I found myself standing beneath the platform. There were several people already waiting beneath.
"You don't look so great."
Leon was one of them. Unlike me, he looked to be in tip-top shape.
As his gaze wandered over my body, he tossed me a towel.
"Here."
"Thanks."
I wiped the blood and sweat that had accumulated all over my body. I then applied some ointments. My injuries were not too bad, and I could hold onto the pain, but I still needed to take care of them.
I tossed the towel back once I was done.
Plack!
Leon never received the towel as it fell to the floor.
The two of us stood in silence for a brief moment before looking at each other. I was the first one to speak,
"Why did you...?"
"....No."
"But..."
"That."
"Uh?"
"Eh?"
I scratched the back of my head. We had some sort of miscommunication. Realizing what the problem was, I went ahead and picked up the towel before handing it over to him.
||||
He once again stood in silence.
"You want it?"
Leon's expression shifted slightly.
"Why would I want it?"
"Because it's yours?"
I pointed at the name etched on the towel.
'Leon Ellert'
Leon shook his head.
"Not anymore."
"....Then what do I do with this?"
"Keep it."
"But it has your name on it."
"So?"
"I don't like it."
I tossed the towel to the side. Things would be a little weird if they saw me using a towel that had someone else's name on it.
"Hiek!"
I had just thrown the towel when I heard a startled yelp.
I felt my entire body tense, turning rigid like stone. Leon, frozen in place, seemed to experience the same sensation. In perfect sync, we turned our heads simultaneously. "What the hell?!"
Aoife yanked the dirty towel from her head, retching as she threw it to the ground. Her head snapped in our direction, eyes burning with unmistakable anger and rage.
"Who!?"
She rose from the spot.
It was the first time that I had ever seen her so angry.
"Haa."
I sighed and looked at Leon.
He looked back at me and shook his head.
'No, don't.'
'...I've been meaning to tell you about this joke I've heard recently.'
Leon's face became rigid as his eyes turned bloodshot.
I nodded at him and pointed at the name written on the towel.
"It was Leon."
"Leon?"
Aoife's gaze, filled with malice, shifted toward him. He stood frozen, staring back at her with
a helpless expression, unable to move.
In that state, I could pretty much hear his inner thoughts.
'...Should I tell her the truth?
'No, but if I do he will say 'that'?'
'What is worse? Aoife, or 'that'?'
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'But I didn't do anything wrong.'
I bit my lips and covered my mouth. The scene was so heart-wrenching. I just couldn't find it
in me to look at him any longer and just turned my head.
'He is so... pitiful.'
"Uh?"
A sudden, startled sound jolted me back to reality. I turned my head and was surprised to see Aoife, her anger gone, clutching the broadcasting tablet in front of her with a calmer
expression.
Her expression was unusually serious.
I inched closer to get a better look, and that was when I saw it.
Kiera's fight.
||
I blinked my eyes for a short second before I heard Aoife's quiet voice echo around us.
"....Since when was she this strong?"
***
Clank! Clank-!
Agatha twirled her body lightly and slashed down with her sword several times. Each one of
her movements was fluid and graceful, benefiting that of someone who was hailed as the next
'Sword Saint'.
On the other hand, Kiera's fighting method was a lot wilder and unrestrained.
With a forceful thrust of her hand, a spiral of flames erupted, roaring toward Agatha.
Swoosh!
<The two of them seem to have infinite stamina>
In the broadcasting studio, Johanna paid close attention to the fight. It was a fierce fight that had been going on for the past ten minutes with neither side taking advantage.
This came as quite a shock since most believed Agatha to be stronger than Kiera. And not by a
small margin.
Agatha was close to Amell in terms of strength.
She was ranked as a top five to top ten prospect, while Kiera was placed in the top fifties. Both were undeniably talented, yet there should have been a significant gap in their abilities.
And yet...
Clank!
Agatha drove her sword into the ground, but the force still pushed her back several steps. Her
icy blue eyes locked onto the blazing figure in the distance. Flames flickered in Kiera's palm, and her ruby-red eyes gleamed menacingly.
With a cold, unreadable expression, Kiera flicked her finger, summoning several red magic
circles around Agatha.
Despite the number of attacks that were staring down at her, Agatha remained composed, carefully noting the angles of each magic circle. Then, with a calm demeanor, she closed her
eyes.
The magic circles fully formed, glowing red as several streaks of red shot down.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Each attack moved at incredible speeds. From the moment they appeared and shot down, it only took half a second. Faced with such relentless attacks, Agatha was calm as well.
She brought her sword forward and stabbed in all sorts of directions. Her movements were
crisp and smooth.
Through speed at which the naked eye couldn't see, she stabbed exactly in the spots where Kiera's attacks were.
Each thrust punctured the center of the energy streaks, dissipating much of their power. At
the same time, she made subtle adjustments, shifting small parts of her body just a few inches
in specific directions. Through such calculated and minimal movements, she was able to dodge several attacks.
This went on for several seconds until all of the spells had rained down. Once she opened her
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eyes again, Kiera stood on the opposite end, her breath slightly heavy.
Agatha's lips curled up slightly.
".... Have you finally gotten tired?"
She had been waiting patiently for this moment since the very start. At first, as the fight went
on, she had been worried that her opponent had infinite stamina. But... it didn't seem to be the
case anymore.
Agatha drove her foot into the ground and shot forward like a bullet, her speed so tremendous
that she left a blur of after-images in her wake.
Sword in hand, she stabbed in Kiera's direction.
Swoosh!
Startled by Agatha's sudden charge, Kiera raised her palm, and a wall of flame surged up
between them.
She thought that would be enough to buy her time but she thought wrong.
"Ha!"
With a slow, deliberate twirl of her sword's tip, Agatha drew the flames that blocked her path
toward her blade. With a subtle flick of her wrist, she dispersed the absorbed flames into the
air.
A small hole appeared, displaying the flustered Kiera on the opposite end. Planting her right foot firmly, Agatha
past the
and reache
fluid motion, she swung her sword toward Kiera's exposed back.
Pft!
Blood leaked out from Kiera's back as she stumbled forward.
But Agatha wasn't done.
's
In one
Seizing the moment, Agatha's sword flicked forward in a blur, delivering thirty rapid slashes
in the span of a single second. Her movements were so swift that Karl, observing the fight in real-time, couldn't even track them.
Only Johnna could and her expression was filled with admiration. <Those watching may not see it, but Agatha has stabbed a total of thirty-one times in the
span of a single second. As you can see, this is the result of such an attack>
She pointed toward Kiera, more specifically her exposed back which soon came to view for all
those watching as the flames surrounding her died down.
<Hiss....>
Karl took a cold breath.
Karl wasn't alone in his reaction. Many of the spectators mirrored his shock, with the younger
or more faint-hearted among them turning away as Kiera's vulnerable back was laid bare for all to see.
Drenched in the color red, all everyone could see was the deep gash on her back as the ground
beneath her polled with her own blood.
"Uhkh...!"
In such a state, Kiera was able to remain standing, but to those watching, they knew that the
match was as good as over.
Agatha's stamina was still great, and she hadn't sustained any major injuries.
On the opposite side, Kiera's stamina was low and she was bleeding profusely.
<She's done enough. Especially against a top-five contender. If...>
Karl didn't have time to finish his words before Agatha's figure blurred, and she charged
toward Kiera. Given Kiera's condition, Agatha couldn't afford to let her rest and recover. Although she didn't show it, she was actually extremely tired. Even if Kiera was about to bleed
out, Agatha felt the need to end the fight right this instant to not let an unforeseen variable
occur.
As such, her focus remained sharp, refusing to let arrogance cloud her judgment.
Just like before, she used her abilities to the fullest and skidded over to Kiera who was
struggling to keep standing.
In a heartbeat, she was already before Kiera and their gazes met.
A pair of red eyes and a pair of blue eyes.
Two platinum-colored hair.
Agatha stabbed forward, and...
Swoosh!
Hit nothing.
'....Uh?!'
Carrying over with the momentum, Agatha stumbled forward. The broadcast panned over to
her expression which was filled with confusion. I hit nothing? How could that be...? Where
could she-!?
Agatha felt something cold press against her back, and her entire body froze.
Following this, the referee's voice echoed.
"The winner is..."
His voice quietly echoed through the platform.
"Kiera Mylne of the Nurs Ancifa Empire."
Agatha looked down to see her shadow squirming before realization dawned on her.
"Ha, I see."
The grip of her sword loosened. With a 'Clank,' her sword fell and she stumbled forward,
Thump!
She fell face down on the ground, exposing Kiera's cold, and unamused expression. Her entire body was shrouded in black, with only her deep ruby-red eyes visible. Kiera didn't
appear pleased with her victory; in fact, she seemed indifferent, her gaze fixed firmly ahead.
Toward a distance, a statue stared back at her.
It was an Angel... of Sorrow.
