Chapter 323: Cleric [1]
Evelyn found her opponent to be unexpected.
"....Oh, this."
Seeing Aoife stand opposite her, Evelyn found herself silently biting her lips. She had just returned from the library looking for any information but was disappointed to have found nothing. When asked, she was told that the books had already been taken.
Because the books were classified, as 'scholarly' books, there weren't many copies around. There were a few but all of them had been taken.
When Evelyn checked to see who the last one to have signed up for the book was, she was surprised to see that it was Aoife.
'Is something really wrong with her...?'
Despite the referee announcing the match's start, neither of the two moved.
All Evelyn could see were two fiery locks of hair and a pair of gleaming yellow eyes that stood out starkly against the bright white sun hanging overhead.
"Are you not going to attack?"
Startling her out of her thoughts was Aoife who poised herself like she normally did.
It was unfortunate that she didn't know her all too well, otherwise she would've been able to tell better.
'But is this really the case?'
Evelyn bitterly smiled when she recalled a certain figure. With him... she always struggled to tell if he had changed or not.
He would change so often that she now struggled to understand whether he had really changed or not.
....It was something that still affected her to this day.
But after observing Julien for as long as she did, she was now confident that he had truly changed again.
The thought made her thoughts complicated, but she didn't have much time to think about such situations.
Lifting her head, she looked at Aoife. She was looking at her with a simple smile, seemingly waiting for her to act.
Evelyn didn't leave her hanging for long.
As she pressed her finger forward, a small purple magic circle appeared. It formed with such speed that it was almost impossible for the naked eye to catch.
Upon its completion, a purple streak tore the air and headed straight for Aoife who tilted her head.
Boom!
A second later, a thunderous boom echoed through the air, shaking the ground beneath them.
Aoife's hair fluttered gently as she looked back.
"....That was close."
Though she said that, she still managed to avoid it.
Evelyn didn't appear disheartened as she pressed the air again. This time, she did so in multiple succession. Aoife's eyes dilated the moment Evelyn moved, and in the next second, her entire body trembled as she rushed forward, twisting her body in all sorts of ways. Boom! Boom! Boom!
The platform trembled under the force of Evelyn's relentless assaults, each strike making the air sizzle and crackle with power.
Though Evelyn's attacks were swift and precise, Aoife seemed to be able to see the future, dodging everything by a hair's length.
With every narrow miss, she edged closer to Evelyn, her movements as graceful as they could be
Evelyn's rhythm remained steady, her fingers tapping out a precise pattern as she maintained her barrage. Yet, despite the relentless pressure, Aoife remained calm, her eyes locked on Evelyn as she closed the distance between them, inch by inch.
Тар. Тар. Тар.
Evelyn's consistent rhythm, though powerful, became predictable to Aoife. With each step, Aoife grew more confident, her focus sharpening as she closed the gap.
Within a few breaths, she was only a few meters away from Evelyn, whose composed exterior began to crack, revealing the first hints of fluster and uncertainty.
As Aoife took another step forward, Evelyn tapped the air once more.
...Or at least, made it look like she did as she paused her finger. Caught off-guard, Aoife moved in advance.
'Ah.'
It was then that she realized all of this had been a setup.
But the realization came too late as Evelyn pressed down with her finger.
Boom!
Aoife was struck directly, her head recoiling back as she stumbled back several steps.
How could Evelyn give her a chance to recuperate? With the opening now presented to Evelyn, she dashed forward, her eyes crackling as faint bolts of lightning curled out of her eyes.
Boom-!
With another roar, her body faded, appearing right in front of the distracted Aoife.
Moving her shoulder down, Evelyn pressed her hand toward Aoife's abdomen where another magic circle formed.
Cracka!
A massive magic circle formed above them, hanging over her head with a dense flow of mana. Lightning crackled within it, gathering power as it prepared to strike down with a terrifying
force.
Cracka! Cracka!
The charged energy hummed in the air, casting eerie, flickering shadows across the platform, and the tension escalated as the power continued to gather.
Aoife, who was still recovering from the shock of Evelyn's previous attack, barely had time to react as she looked up.
Despite the situation she was in, her face remained calm.
Casting a look in Evelyn's direction, she flicked her hand up.
"Eh!?"
Evelyn's body shot above her.
In the direction of the looming lightning.
"!"
It was a good thing that Evelyn's control over the lightning was strong. The moment she realized what had happened, her expression changed and her teeth clenched. Clasping her hands together, the lighting shattered before it could fully materialize and she twisted her body mid-air, landing on the ground safely.
Thud.
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"Наа.... Наа..."
With heavy breaths, she looked at the otherwise normal Aoife.
Unlike her, she didn't seem to have used much energy at all as her complexion was still rosy
and her breath was ragged.
Evelyn raised her hand, prepared to attack again when Aoife raised her hand in a stopping
motion.
|||||
Evelyn felt her entire body stop.
Evelyn's body froze as if an invisible force had wrapped around her, locking her in place.
Aware of Aoife's powers, bolts formed around Evelyn, jolting her body out of Aoife's control. Evelyn immediately followed up by raising her hand, a magic circle forming on the top of her palm in preparation for a counterattack.
But how would Aoife let her?
"Scatter that."
Aoife flicked her hand to the left and Evelyn's hand flung in the same way.
"Ukh!"
As Evelyn's body was carried in the direction her arm had been flung, Aoife stepped forward.
With a swift movement, Aoife flicked her other hand in the opposite direction. The sudden force caused Evelyn to feel her other arm being pulled the other way, resulting in her arms
crossing in an awkward and disorienting manner.
"Uekh!"
Evenlyn felt an immediate sense of pain.
However, before she could even have the chance to retaliate, Aoife flicked her hands down,
and Evelyn's face came smacking against the pavement beneath.
Thud!
The blow stunned her.
For a brief second, she blacked out. By the time she recovered, her eyes flared open as she
realized the situation she was in.
Flicking her head up she noticed a shadow looking down on her from above and without much
thought, she jolted her mind awake and pushed herself up.
Thud!
....Or at least tried to.
A powerful force weighed down on her the moment she tried to move up.
"Uuekh!"
Regardless of how much she tried to struggle, her body remained planted against the ground. Whenever she tried to move one hand, it'd straighten and stop her from helping herself up.
She struggled like this for several seconds before her entire body was left paralyzed.
Her struggle was useless.
"Khh!"
Gradually, she felt her body being lifted from the ground, rising steadily until her eyes locked
with Aoife's.
"It was a good fight."
Was what she said.
Everything that came after that was a blur as Aoife pressed her hand against her forehead and
she blacked out.
"The winner is..."
The last thing Evelyn heard was the referee's voice.
"Aoife Megrail of the Nurs Ancifa Empire."
***
<The results were as expected, but Evelyn put on a wonderful performance. It appears as
though this is the golden age of the Nurs Ancifa Empire. If not for the fact that she had been matched up against Aoife, Evelyn would've certainly been another dark horse>
As Karl sighed with disappointment, he turned to look at Johanna who was staring intently at
the broadcast.
Her eyes were set on Aoife who carefully handed Evelyn's body to the referee before smiling and waving at the camera.
Her actions were probably meant for the audience.
<Johanna...?>
<Oh, right>
Shifting her attention back to the broadcast, Johanna went on to explain the details of the
match. As she did, her mind couldn't help but wander back to the match.
In the last moments, she felt that Evelyn could've been able to turn the match around. Or at
least, she felt that Evelyn had all the means to not lose the way that she did.
In particular, the last moments when her body was locked against the ground. Had Evelyn
used her powers, she would've been able to free herself from Aoife's Telekinesis.
...There was also the time when Aoife flung her in the air.
That could've also been prevented had she been more careful.
There were a few instances where Johanna felt that she could've turned things in her favor.
And yet, she didn't.
'Could it be inexperience...? Or was she perhaps nervous?'
With how many mistakes she made, it almost felt as though she wanted to lose.
But was that truly the case?
Johnna wasn't sure, and the thought bothered her a little.
'Could it be that because Aoife is the princess she purposely lost? It wouldn't surprise me if that's the
case. The Nurs Ancifa Empire is known to do such things.'
In the end, however, she had a job to do. And so, she could only throw those thoughts toward
the back of her mind as she continued to explain all the details of the match.
<As you can see the turning point was this moment. Right when Evelyn's body was lifted off
the ground
she...>
***
The darkness felt suffocating.
Embracing her body like a heavy cloak, Evelyn felt her entire body grow cold. She looked around her, scanning the darkness that had taken hold of her body, and pursed her lips.
Turning toward a certain direction, her eyes fell on a certain statue.
It stood in the darkness, half of its body masked and embraced by it.
It was a chilling sight that would send chills down anyone's spine.
And yet...
"So they were right."
Evelyn murmured to herself as she closed her eyes.
'... Aoife and Kiera were really possessed by someone.'
When she opened her eyes again, the statue was only a few inches away from her, its nose a
few inches away from her as black tears fell down its eyes.
Evelyn stared at the statue without much emotion as her lips parted.
"I've been waiting."
