Chapter 28: I Don’t Want You Get Hurt

*BOOM!

The explosion rang out loud as Elias’s sword collided with Elysia’s magic.

Elysia’s sword, coated in thick, pitch-black energy, was her second attack, already prepared in advance. With Elias still stuck in midair, and his own sword still lodged in the ground, there was simply no way for him to dodge or pull his weapon back in time.

"Even if you yank your sword back, that still takes time."

Elysia swung her blade upward. The strike released a wave of dense black energy, shaping itself into a blade of pure force that shot straight toward Elias.

"Damn it! There’s no dodging this!"

*BOOM!

Elias took the hit dead on, then crashed down to the ground, dust billowing up around him.

"Whoa, that guy’s done for."

"He’s gotta have at least a broken bone or two from that."

As the dust began to clear, Elias could be seen on his knees, struggling to get back up. Parts of his clothes were torn through, his body covered in cuts. Blood trickled from his head down to the corner of his mouth, a clear sign the impact had done some serious internal damage, enough to make him cough up blood.

Watching Elias on his knees, covered in wounds, Felix froze in shock. Worry flashed across his face, though it had nothing to do with Elias’s wellbeing, he was worried about losing his bet.

Sure, he knew the odds of Elias winning were slim, but what was the harm in trying his luck? Besides, he’d already gone all in on Elias earlier, so there was no backing out now.

"Elias! If you lose, I’m going to kill you! Forget that she’s your employer for a second! Figure out how you’re actually going to win here, figure out what you should be trying!"

Elias pressed a hand to his chest, which throbbed with pain. At least a few of his ribs had to be broken.

"My head’s spinning too. Did my brain just get rattled around in there or something?"

Elias pulled his sword back using the mana thread, then forced himself to his feet, leaning on the blade for support.

Seeing that Elias was still standing, Elysia channeled energy into her sword and charged straight at him.

"Good grief... You’re really taking all your frustration out on me."

Elias downed a healing potion before charging right back at Elysia.

The crowd watching could only stare in shock at Elias’s move. Fair enough, really, everyone could feel just how overwhelming the energy pouring off Elysia was. Even though the energy she was releasing stayed under Grade D, the sheer pressure and suffocating weight of it was nothing to scoff at.

And here was Elias, charging straight toward Elysia’s overflowing energy without releasing a single bit of his own.

"Is he out of mana? Why isn’t he using Arcana?"

"Father, he hasn’t even figured out how to use Arcana yet. We traded a few moves together the other day. Even after I explained it and showed him firsthand, the result stayed exactly the same."

Hearing his daughter’s words, the Marquis looked genuinely stunned, watching Elias, someone who couldn’t even use Arcana, dare to clash swords with Elysia while her energy raged out of control.

As if feeling nothing at all, Evelyn kept her arms crossed, staring at the arena with a sharp, unreadable gaze, offering no comment whatsoever.

No telling what was going through her mind as she watched the two people closest to her fight it out. But judging by her expression, missing her usual smile entirely, something about her was clearly different right now.

The moment Elias and Elysia’s swords clashed, Elias was obviously outmatched in raw power and got sent flying back several steps.

But before Elysia could chase him down, Elias had already shot forward again, swinging his blade.

*CLANG!

Their swords collided once more. The black energy wrapped around Elysia’s blade suddenly flared, like fire doused with gasoline out of nowhere.

*BOOM!

A small explosion erupted from the clash, sending Elias flying back several more steps.

A few spectators fell silent, watching Elias get right back up after taking that hit.

"Is he seriously still pushing forward?"

"He knows he’s overpowered, and he’s still attacking?"

But Elias pushed himself up immediately and charged forward again, gritting through the stabbing pain in his chest.

*CLANG!

This time, Elias’s slash came from the side, but Elysia blocked it just as effortlessly. Elias’s body got knocked back again, but he spun around mid-motion and swung again right away.

*CLANG!

Every single time their swords collided, the gap in their raw power sent Elias flying back a few steps. And every single time, he sprinted right back and attacked Elysia again.

*CLANG!

*BOOM!

*CLANG!

Elias got knocked back once more, but moments later, he was already standing right in front of Elysia again.

"Why does he keep doing that?"

"No idea. But he’s genuinely not giving Lady Elysia a single opening to attack."

Right, then left.

Elias kept attacking from every angle, while Elysia only had to block each strike as it came. But even after getting sent flying again and again, Elias never stopped, charging right back in the second his body found its balance.

The fight dragged on with Elias getting knocked back over and over, only to charge in again each time, as if he had absolutely no intention of giving Elysia a single moment to catch her breath.

"Elias."

"..."

Knocked back again, Elias immediately shot forward toward Elysia and swung his sword once more.

"Elias, stop."

"..."

Elias got sent flying again and repeated the exact same thing.

"Elias, I said stop!"

"!!!"

Elysia suddenly let loose a surge of energy far more intense than before. She’d been calling out to Elias this whole time, telling him to stop, but it was like he was too caught up, too locked in, to hear a single word of it, charging at her relentlessly again and again.

Caught off guard, Elias finally staggered back a few steps from the shockwave of Elysia’s energy.

He looked up at Elysia, still radiating that energy, her face twisted with obvious frustration.

"Why? Why are you looking at me like that?! Why does your gaze look so terrifying right now, when you’ve been getting knocked flat every single time you tried to attack me?!

Why didn’t you listen to me when I was calling out to you? When I told you to stop?!

Why? What is it? Were you so fixated on attacking me that your eyes ended up this sharp, huh?!"

"..."

All Elias could do was stay silent, struggling just to stay standing under the crushing pressure of Elysia’s energy.

This was the first time he’d ever seen Elysia genuinely furious, but for some reason, her voice trembled slightly the whole time.

"You won’t answer me... Fine then, I’ll just assume you’re still thinking about how to attack me..."

Elysia raised her sword toward the sky. The thick black aura wrapped around her blade swelled even larger before suddenly rocketing straight up, tearing through the sky and forming a massive pillar of black energy.

The pressure radiating from it made the air around the entire arena tremble.

"I’ll end this right here. And I’ll knock some sense into you so that look disappears for good."

The people standing closest to the arena immediately bolted away, terrified of getting caught in the attack’s aftermath. Only Evelyn stayed exactly where she was, watching Elysia with a dead serious expression.

"Damn it! She’s completely crossed the line!"

"That’s way past Grade D!"

"Everyone, clear out now!"

"Father, you need to stop Elysia right now."

Before the Marquis could make a move, Prince Edwin stopped him outright.

"With your strength, you’d be fine. But you’ll definitely end up injured!"

"But I can’t let my own daughter’s last night of celebration turn into a tragedy!"

The Marquis clenched his fists, staring at the arena. He knew Edwin was right, but letting Elysia unleash power on that scale wasn’t exactly something he could just accept either.

Meanwhile, Elysia kept her eyes locked on Elias, standing several meters in front of her.

She swung her sword straight down.

*BOOOMM!

A slash of black energy rocketed toward Elias and slammed directly into his body.

A massive explosion thundered through the air. The ground along the slash’s path shattered completely, dust scattering in every direction until it swallowed the entire arena.

"Insane..."

"That guy’s got to be dead."

"This is terrifying. Why would Lady Elysia suddenly unleash that much power?"

The Marquis just stood there in silence, staring at the devastation left behind by the attack. The slash’s path had torn up the ground for a considerable distance, showing just how much power had been packed into that single strike.

’How am I supposed to explain this to Marquis Nocturne...?’

Elysia slowly drew back every bit of energy flowing through her body. Her breathing came heavy, but her gaze stayed fixed right where Elias had been standing.

She bit down on her lower lip, waiting for the dust still blanketing the arena to clear.

A moment later, everyone’s expressions shifted to pure shock.

Through the thinning dust, someone was still standing there. Of course, it was Elias. No one else would’ve been willing to take a hit that size meant for him, except maybe the Marquis himself.

Evelyn, who’d been on the verge of drawing her own sword moments earlier, finally let the thought go. Her gaze stayed fixed on Elias, not a trace of panic showing anywhere on her face.

Elias’s body hunched over slightly, his face deathly pale. Blood poured even more heavily from his head, soaking half his face. His breathing came in ragged gasps, and he started coughing up blood.

Even so, he was still standing.

And right above his head, a crack in space hung suspended in the air, far bigger than Elias’s own head.

Elias stared straight at Elysia, who was staring right back at him with an expression impossible to read.

"W-what’s that above him?"

"Is that some kind of protective magic?"

"That’s... that’s..."

Seraphina’s eyes went wide at the sight of the crack hovering above Elias’s head. A thin sheen of sweat broke out on her face.

"Do you know something about this, my Lady?"

Seraphina stayed quiet for a moment before turning her gaze back to the crack in space.

"I’ve seen it before, in an old book... But I never thought I’d actually witness it in person."

"What is it?"

Seraphina took a breath before answering.

"That’s... Space Arcana."

Struggling against the pain, Elias managed to raise his hand, pointing toward Elysia, blood dripping from his fingertip.

"Goodness... I completely forgot your ribbon... carries a protective effect in dangerous situations."

Elysia finally realized something was off. Looking down, she found Elias’s sword had nearly run her through. But thanks to the protective effect of the ribbon she wore, the blade had melted away, leaving nothing behind but the hilt.

"Since when..."

Elysia’s pupils shrank. Her eyes went wide with shock, staring at Elias’s sword, which had come within a hair’s breadth of stabbing straight through her.

"But I... I’m the one who picked that ribbon out for you... How could I... forget something like that."

While Elysia had been looking down, she hadn’t noticed Elias was already right in front of her. She looked back up and found Elias forcing a smile through the blood still streaming down his head.

"I... really can’t... beat you. But... I’m glad... you’re not hurt... my... La...dy..."

*THUD!

Before his hand could even reach Elysia’s head, Elias collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

* * *