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The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

Chapter 184: Yearning from That Day

It’s the second match of the semifinals. After Iris’s match ended, there was a short break, and now, Sharueina and Sonia were taking the stage.

“Wow!!! Princess Sharueina!!!”

The moment Sharueina appeared, the venue erupted, and cheers calling her name echoed throughout.

In response to the audience’s cheers, Sharueina waved once and turned her gaze toward Sonia standing before her.

“El, who do you think will win?”

“If we go with the safe bet, it would be Princess Sharueina. Her swordsmanship and ice magic can cut through even magic, and her iai speed is something Sonia won’t be able to catch with her eyes. Plus, while Sonia can use a whip, it’s a mid-range weapon. She has less maneuverability, so if Sharueina closes the distance, Sonia’s chances of winning drop.”

Indeed, whips can be fast weapons, capable of speed that even leaves sound behind. But when combined with the length of the arm and the whip itself, it becomes quite long, making it difficult to attack when someone closes in.

In that regard, swords are weapons that allow for more agility. As I’ve mentioned before, the iai speed is truly divine.

There’s no way Sonia, a magician, could keep up with that speed, so if she wants to win, she must engage in a magical battle while maintaining the right distance.

“Then, if Sonia wants to win, she has no choice but to bring it into a magic battle.”

“However, Princess Sharueina can also cut magic by enveloping her sword in ice magic. Just because it’s a magic battle doesn’t necessarily mean it’s advantageous.”

Shuvina and Sephiria seemed to understand that Sonia was at a significant disadvantage, watching the stage with keen interest in what she planned to do.

(Whether in close combat or magic battles, Sonia’s disadvantage remains unchanged. I wonder what she’s going to do?)

I waited, feeling a bit of excitement about what kind of fight Sonia would show against Sharueina as the match was about to start.

～Side Sonia & Sharueina～

The two faced each other on stage, and while Sonia bore an expression more serious than usual, Sharueina spoke in a calm voice.

“Sonia, I’ve been looking forward to fighting you.”

“Oh my. Hearing that from Princess Sharueina makes me happy. I’ve also been looking forward to fighting you.”

“That’s good to hear. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed when I heard that Is and Fiera wouldn’t be here, but I’m truly glad to compete against strong fighters like you and Iris.”

“If Lewis had participated, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“Haha, true. Is and Fiera’s skills utterly surpass ours.”

When Sharueina saw Lewis for the first time in years, she was surprised by how much he had changed since they last met in the hallway after he enrolled.

Both humans and monsters develop a distinct presence as they gain experience.

Whether it manifests in aura, spirit, or for magicians, magic power, the way it shows varies from person to person. Regardless, when one sees that presence, they can gauge how strong that person is.

However, from the Lewis and Fiera she met that day, she felt nothing, as if they were a natural phenomenon, so common that they couldn’t be distinguished from the wind blowing by.

(I was truly surprised back then. I almost want to congratulate myself for being able to greet them normally.)

Those with little experience might think the unaffected Lewis and the others are weak, but that was absolutely the opposite.

They were overwhelming monsters. It was precisely because they were so strong that Lewis and the others consciously suppressed the aura emanating from their bodies, making it seem like nothing.

“But I really wanted to fight. I wanted to see how far my swordsmanship could reach; as a practitioner of martial arts, I just wanted to spar with you once.”

“I understand how you feel, Princess Sharueina.”

While neither of them were as battle-crazy as Lewis and Fiera, they both wished to fight with them at least once as fellow martial artists and magicians.

“Well, while we can save fighting Is and the others for another time, this time, I want to enjoy it with you, Sonia.”

“Absolutely. I’ll do my best not to disappoint you, Your Highness.”

As they awaited the signal to start the match, the referee, having completed the preparations, stood between them and confirmed the rules once more.

Once he saw that both were ready, he declared the start of the match in a loud voice.

The match began, and two minutes in, neither Sharueina nor Sonia moved, staring at each other as if trying to confirm something.

Caught up in the heavy atmosphere between the two, there were no cheers from the audience. For the first time in this tournament, a moment of silence filled the air.

(Amazing. No matter how they attack, there isn’t a single gap in Sonia’s magic range. I’ve never seen anything like this.)

With her hand on her sword, Sharueina was contemplating how to attack and how to respond to Sonia’s magic while watching for any openings.

However, even if she could recognize a gap, Sonia’s magic filled the surroundings as if to cover it, meaning that if she approached to exploit the opening, magic would be triggered immediately.

(As expected, she’s strong. She’s aware of my magic power.)

Sonia also noticed that Sharueina was hunting for an opening while keeping a watchful eye on her magic power, further astonished by her high level.

Sonia knew she wasn’t suited for close combat.

A combination of being a woman and having lower strength, magicians generally aren’t adept in close-quarters combat, and mastering the fighting spirit used by top martial artists is also quite challenging.

Thus, to compensate for her weakness in close combat, Sonia had spread her magic thinly over a wide area.

Because her magic was thin, it was invisible to the average person. However, if one entered that field of magic, Sonia could immediately utilize it to cast spells.

It was as if she created her own domain, where within that area, the speed of her magic activation would be far faster than launching magic from a distance.

“…Here I go.”

The first to move was Sharueina. Using body enhancement, she lowered her stance, narrowed her eyes, and kicked off the ground hard.

Without hesitation, she entered Sonia’s domain, and dark hands reaching to catch her and black arrows trying to shoot her were immediately unleashed.

Yet, Sharueina crouched, leaped, and evaded the attacks while keeping her body movement to a minimum.

“Ugh…”

Sonia couldn’t keep up with Sharueina’s unexpectedly superior movements, and before she realized it, Sharueina was upon her, locking eyes with her as she gazed up with narrowed eyes.

“Second Style of Drawn Sword: ‘Ice Dwelling Divine Sword.'”

“Ugh!!”

The moment Sharueina infused magic into her sheath, the once-white sheath transformed into a light blue resembling ice, releasing a fog-like coldness.

Then, as Sharueina’s hand momentarily blurred, Sonia was sent flying, tumbling across the ground and narrowly stopping at the edge of the stage.

“How was that? My technique?”

Ice Dwelling Divine Sword. This was a technique Sharueina crafted herself to maximize the speed of her iai. By channeling ice magic into a sheath made of special material, the inside of the sheath would freeze, reducing friction and increasing the speed of her draws.

That speed could only be described as divine, and the impact of her sword, imbued with ice magic, had the power to shatter the ice dragon replica Lewis had defeated before.

“That was quite… a good strike.”

“Oh? You can stand?”

Sharueina was somewhat surprised at Sonia’s ability to stand after having seen her take the hit but was more astonished to note that there were no signs of damage apart from the rolling.

“Can I ask you something? How did you defend against that last strike?”

“Oh dear. Isn’t it against etiquette to ask your opponent about their techniques?”

“Haha. Indeed. Then… I’ll go again.”

With that, Sharueina lowered her stance once more, dodging Sonia’s magic to get close.

As she prepared to unleash the Ice Dwelling Divine Sword by channeling magic into her blade, an icy chill ran down her spine, warning her to quickly escape the spot.

“Oh? Did you notice? That’s unfortunate.”

“What was that…?”

As Sharueina glanced back at her previous position, a pitch-black door was laid out there, opened as if it were a monster ready to devour its prey.

“The ‘Door of the Abyss’…”

“Correct. But don’t worry; it’s a degraded version, so it won’t erase your existence.”

The Door of the Abyss. This was one of the dark magic spells Sonia had used when Lewis was attacked by assassins while he was attending the Magic Academy. Anyone trapped in that door would disappear from this world, a terrifying spell.

While this magic could create doors anywhere at will, once made, the door couldn’t be moved until the magic was dispelled and wouldn’t activate until the opponent approached.

“When did you learn such magic…? No way…”

“Exactly. I used this magic when I was sent flying. The center of the stage had the potential to be attacked from all sides, but in this corner, there would only be three directions to cover. Once that’s set, predicting becomes easy.”

“So, getting sent flying was precisely your intention. But I’m still lost. How did you defend against my blow? Could it be… the Door of the Abyss?”

“Another correct answer. As expected of you, Princess Sharueina. Watching your matches, I noticed you always attacked head-on when defeating your opponents. So, I assumed you’d do the same against me. That’s why I set a small Door of the Abyss in areas where I anticipated an attack.”

What lay inside the Door of the Abyss could only be understood by those who entered it, and since anyone entering would cease to exist, ultimately, no one could know.

However, that door could trap not just humans but also monsters and magic, so Sonia utilized that characteristic to shield against Sharueina’s strike.

“Haha! I’m impressed. No wonder my technique didn’t work on you.”

“Hehe. I came prepared.”

“Indeed. If I let my guard down, I might just end up losing.”

“Don’t worry. Even without letting your guard down, I’m still going to win.”

“You sure have a lot of confidence. But don’t underestimate me too much.”

Sonia sensed a change in Sharueina’s aura and promptly focused her entire awareness on every movement of her opponent.

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If you have time, please check out my simultaneously serialized work, “Former Hero, Becoming the Demon Emperor and Offering the World”!

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330663836544021

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