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“Pathetic things.”

At that moment, a voice infused with magical power resonated throughout the area.

The owner of the voice was none other than Isabella Graham.

Along with Edgar, she was known as the most powerful cadet in the Empire.

Having already made her way to the center of the arena, she looked around at the crowd and said.

“Those garbage who couldn’t even make it into the Top 20, why are you getting so worked up over every single match? If it were me, I’d feel so pathetic watching the competitors who beat me, I’d wish I could just die.”

“······.”

Isabella’s words were laced with sharpness in every tone and nuance.

The cadets in the audience gazed at her with stiff faces.

Isabella chuckled and said.

“Don’t you think you look like a bunch of idiots? What have you entrusted to those competing? Ignoring your own pathetic situation, you’re worried about the Empire’s future because of someone else’s defeat or the Academy’s prestige dropping… How ridiculous. Do you want to know what real despair is? It’s your future. A future where you sit comfortably in the audience, shooting your mouths off. Know your place!”

Finishing her sentence, Isabella scanned the cadets around her.

Waves of black haze were swirling up from all directions.

It was their anger at her words.

– Swooooosh…

And Isabella began to absorb all that emotional energy.

The corners of her mouth twisted grotesquely as they split open.

Having finished feasting on the emotions, Isabella licked her lips and declared.

“Right. So this is your anger? I’ll make good use of it, so just sit back and watch.”

With that, Isabella moved to the water tank.

At the same time, Leon’s elite soldier ascended to the top of the tank.

This elite soldier was a highly trained hunter, having already captured sea monsters classified as ‘extremely difficult’.

Leon had carefully selected this hunter as Isabella’s opponent.

“…Hehe. Quite the fiery lady, isn’t she? She’s pretty enough too.”

Thus, the elite soldier provocatively taunted Isabella from the top of the tank.

Isabella smirked, her lips twisting again as she replied.

“I’ve decided to take some damage.”

“…Huh?”

However, Isabella’s answer was perplexing.

It was hard to grasp what she meant.

“…What?”

“I said I’m taking some damage. I’m going to use the emotions I’ve built up.”

Use built-up emotions?

The elite soldier was still tilting his head in confusion.

But he could tell that Isabella’s gaze was anything but ordinary.

At that moment, the announcer signaled the start of the match.

“Dive!”

In response, the elite soldier executed a flawless diving pose.

However, Isabella elevated her body into the air and slowly entered the water.

– As expected of a witch…

– What the heck is she made of?

Even underwater, Isabella moved like a ghost.

She didn’t perform any actions to keep afloat.

Yet, she glided smoothly through the depths.

Like a ghost soaring through the air.

– Fwoosh!

Then, observing her bizarre movements, the elite soldier displayed his true skills.

He created a sinkhole in the water with his magic.

Isabella’s figure began to be swept away at high speed.

– Swooooosh…

But Isabella countered it with ‘reverse magic’.

Using the same magic technique of her opponent, she nullified the spell itself.

This was an advanced technique that even seasoned magic users found challenging.

‘What a monstrous girl.’

With that realization, the elite soldier stared at Isabella in amazement.

To think she could apply reverse magic to his spells at such a young age.

It was truly a talent bestowed by the heavens.

‘I can’t afford to let my guard down!’

Thus, the elite soldier began exerting all his power.

He enhanced his body for close combat and used wave and freezing spells to attack in various ways.

However, Isabella countered all those attacks with her mana shield spell and began to use her secret technique.

– Fwoosh!

Her eyes were entirely tinted black.

A special spell unique to the Graham family had been activated.

“A mental attack, you say? Do you really think I’d fall for that!”

In response, the elite soldier activated his ‘Seeing Eye’ ability.

He soon detected a dark current approaching him at high speed.

The elite soldier immediately activated his mana shield and released mana to neutralize the dark current.

His mana began to adhere to the dark current as they both canceled each other out.

– Fwoosh!

However, the next attack came from an entirely unexpected pattern.

A massive surge of dark energy erupted from Isabella, enveloping her and transforming into a specific form.

The shape resembled an eerie vision of an actual witch.

– Hooook!

Isabella, now transformed into a 3-meter-tall witch, rapidly approached the elite soldier.

Sharp, claw-like nails pierced through the elite soldier’s protective barrier.

With a terrifying crunch of sound, the elite soldier punched forward.

A spear made of his released mana pierced through the witch’s heart, creating a massive hole.

“······?”

However, Isabella was nowhere to be seen.

She had clearly hidden within the center of the dark energy that took on the witch’s form, but despite piercing that center, she was still absent.

– Crunch!

Meanwhile, something sharp suddenly pierced his mana shield from right behind him.

It was Isabella.

Having concealed herself within the dark energy of the witch’s form, she snuck out and targeted the elite soldier’s back.

“You little rat!”

The elite soldier immediately turned around and unleashed an attack at Isabella.

But in that instant, the mana shield cracked, and a tiny gap allowed a minuscule amount of dark current to seep through.

The dark current quickly invaded through his ear.

【I’m…hungry…】

In that moment, a long-buried trauma resurfaced.

It only took a second, but it reminded him of his near-starvation as a child.

“Gah!?”

With that shock, the elite soldier clutched his forehead and shook his head vigorously.

Just that simple act freed him from that horrifying memory and sensation.

– Crunch!

However, that brief moment had left a gap.

Because he lost focus during that single second, the mana shield weakened, leaving a hole the size of a 500-won coin.

– Fwoosh────!

And that led to a catastrophic result.

Through that 500-won gap, a great deal of the dark current surged in.

Ultimately, the invading dark current penetrated his nose, ears, and mouth.

With that, the elite soldier’s seeing eye vanished, and he could no longer see anything.

He had already fallen prey to a curse spell that rendered him unable to use his seeing eye.

– Fwoosh!

Afterward, he began to behave strangely.

He focused mana into his fingertips, forming a mana blade, and began to slice into his own arm.

“I’m having steak!” he repeated over and over.

“Delicious! Delicious! Delicious!”

Then, he gave up on breathing underwater and started gulping down the water.

He choked as he forced water into his lungs, repeatedly exclaiming, “Delicious.”

“Pfft…”

Isabella chuckled at the broken elite soldier and rose back to the surface.

Once on land, when she released her mana, water splashed in all directions, and the liquid that had soaked into her clothes all escaped.

Of course, even her wet hair became dry.

“······.”

Isabella drifted down elegantly and returned to the waiting room.

During her departure, no one dared to speak up.

Even the cadets and Prince Clendor were rendered speechless by the unexpected outcome.

***

“Damn it! What kind of disgrace is this!!! How can I lose to a cadet who hasn’t even completed a year!!!!”

As the live broadcast continued smoothly, Prince Leon Clendor suffered from unexpected variables.

Fuming with anger, he pounded his fist on the desk repeatedly.

Crash! The wood cracked, and the table was completely demolished.

“Yo-, Your Highness.”

At that moment, Leon’s subordinate approached him cautiously.

Breathing heavily, Leon shot a fiery glare at his subordinate.

The subordinate quickly bowed his head and made his report.

“I humbly apologize, but…there hasn’t been a significant change in public opinion… In fact, it seems those who witnessed the bizarre power of the Empire’s talents are concerned for our defeated soldiers…”

“…Bring me the magic crystal.”

It seemed the fact that public opinion was still alright calmed the prince down a bit as he ordered the retrieval of the magic crystal.

Soon, as the subordinate handed him the magic crystal to check the public sentiment, Leon sighed and set it down.

“…Yeah. That girl’s power was indeed bizarre. It must have been an unfair power obtained through some improper means.”

Leon stated this and ordered a manipulation of the public opinion.

He would say that Isabella’s elite soldier lost because she used ‘forbidden powers’.

Moreover, he added that the backed into a corner Empire resorted to cowardly tactics to gain victory.

“Right… the important thing is the final match. We can label this recent match as an unfair win for the Empire, but we must secure an overwhelming victory in the end.”

As he spoke, Leon’s gaze fell upon a golden iron safe.

Inside the safe was an artifact known as ‘The Sea God’s Equipment’, said to be the heirloom of Clendor.

This was the artifact Leon personally brought to dismantle the Empire Academy’s top-ranked cadet.

“Your words are most correct, Your Highness. That disturbing girl may have caused a little trouble, but the important part is in creating a spectacular finale. The former citizens and nobles of Clendor will witness the descent of the Sea God.”

At that moment, Leon’s subordinate opened the golden iron safe and revealed a grin.

Inside the safe was a set of armor adorned with magnificent patterns.

An artifact crafted by a dwarf who was awarded the title of ‘Creation’.

Simultaneously, it served as the heirloom of Clendor.

“Good. Then I’ll put an end to this battle.”

With that, Leon’s spirits lifted, and he positioned himself before the Sea God’s Equipment.

He meant to have the armor put on him.

The quick-witted subordinate began to dress Leon in the equipment.

With every piece of golden and blue scale armor adorning him, a smirk crept onto Leon’s face.

Draped in an artifact crafted by a dwarf who received the title of Creation, he naturally felt a surge of confidence.

“I’ll show them what an overwhelming victory looks like…”

And Leon was confident of his crushing victory.

Having heard that Edgar Fix was merely riding on the equipment’s coattails, he judged that his own armor would not fall behind Edgar’s.

What’s more, Edgar was from a lowly commoner background.

He had not handled mana from childhood, was clumsy with spells, and was said to possess quite a limited range of abilities.

Without the armor he wore, he was nothing but trash.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Thus, Leon pictured the scene of defeated Edgar in his mind.

He envisioned utterly shattering the armor that made him Academy’s top cadet while Edgar flailed helplessly in water.

“I’ll show them what the Sea God’s lineage can do.”

After all, ‘The Sea God’s Equipment’ had a special ability.

It granted even greater strength underwater, enhancing its wielder’s capabilities.

“Then I will count on your communication. I will bring back victory.”

Leon said that and stepped out into the waiting area.

As he walked to the center of the arena, the Academy cadets gazed at him with tense expressions.

“Where’s my next opponent?”

However, the top-ranked Edgar Fix was nowhere to be seen.

When asked why he was absent, he heard it was because the start time had been delayed.

Leon let out a hearty laugh and shouted.

“Hahaha! I was sure he’d be here before the match! Surely he isn’t so scared after hearing the match result that he backed out, right?”

He said, glancing around the arena.

Everyone looked at him with anxious eyes.

If Edgar Fix didn’t show up, this could end in a default win for him.

“Don’t worry. I will wait for him.”

Yet, Leon was not about to let this match go unchallenged.

The entire reason for this spectacle was to show the world how he, equipped with the Sea God’s Equipment, could crush the Academy’s top rank.

He couldn’t let the highlight of the duel fizzle out.

“Don’t worry, folks. I, the main character, won’t shy away from the fight. I’m here to impart a lesson, and I will carry out my duty.”

With that, Leon intently made a grand statement, aware that the words would be transmitted via the communication crystal.

The thought of his dashing appearance spreading throughout the Empire made his lips twitch.

‘Capturing the moment when he rushes over in a panic will look good on screen.’

And he envisioned the image of Edgar hurriedly sprinting towards the tank.

The top-ranked cadet clambering up, while he stood above, holding his trident, was a scene he found quite fitting.

It appeared as if an unprepared challenger was approaching a divine being.

‘A fitting line…’

Thus, the prince pondered his line.

He wanted something perfect to belittle Edgar while also instilling pride in Clendor when he revealed himself.

– Whoosh!

However, at that moment, a colossal shadow loomed over the arena.

A giant black wing blocked the sunlight.

“······?”

Everyone, including Leon, looked up at the sky.

A demon with red eyes was descending upon them.

And that demon began to plummet rapidly toward the ground.

Leon, startled, gulped down and stepped backwards.

 

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