Arc 2 Chapter 14 : Valeria Vs Vlad

[Valeria PoV]

What an incredible match that was...

I never expected that archer woman to win...

If I remembered correctly, she was one of Raul's subordinates on the disciplinary committee. I'd seen her fight during last month's second-stage exam. But I hadn't paid her much attention back then, since she never really stood out in terms of strength or speed.

I still couldn't understand how her shots had gone completely undetected by Senior Mariana...

Could it be she'd already awakened her Codex?

I supposed the students who'd made it into the main tournament really were a cut above the academy's ordinary students.

I couldn't afford to underestimate any of them.

"Today's second match is about to begin!"

At the announcer's words, the spectators, who'd been buzzing about the previous match, fell silent.

Was it my turn now?

My opponent was Prince Vlad of the Kingdom of Draconia. His family possessed a unique blood-based Nature Mana.

Fire, wind, water, and earth were the most common Nature Mana affinities found among spellcasters in this world. That's precisely why these four affinities were the easiest to predict—information about them was widely available.

Which meant the rarer someone's Nature Mana, the harder it became for others to gauge their true strength.

But there was very little documented information about blood-based Nature Mana users like Prince Vlad—even the academy library held no detailed records on blood-magic spells.

"Valeria de Artagnan!"

I heard the announcer call my name.

"Facing off against Prince Vlad mel Dracus!"

I rose from my seat and glanced over at the black-haired man sitting beside Elena. He was smiling, as though he'd been looking forward to this.

Alright then. Let's defeat this man and move on to the next round.

[Raul PoV]

Valeria and Vlad were already standing in the center of the arena. Their match was about to begin.

"Look, look! Isn't that foreign prince incredibly handsome?"

"Lady Valeria looks just as beautiful as she did in last year's tournament too!"

The spectators started commenting on both competitors.

This was shaping up to be an interesting match...

It was true—Valeria had grown considerably stronger since the survival exam. But Vlad's mysterious magic would almost certainly catch her off guard.

She'd need to adapt quickly to Vlad's rather unusual fighting style.

Prince Vlad mel Dracus fought like an assassin. Yet many of his spells operated at mid- to long-range, giving him qualities closer to a mage as well.

Throughout the qualifying round, he'd fought exclusively bare-handed, leading many to assume he was simply a Brawler.

"Are both competitors ready!?" the announcer asked them both.

Both nodded. Valeria raised her hand, clearly ready to unleash magic the instant the match began. Vlad, meanwhile, looked relaxed, wearing a confident smile.

"The second match of the first round in the Grunbelt Academy Tournament... begin!"

The moment the announcer started the match, cheers erupted throughout the arena.

Valeria extended her hand and began firing Wind Blow spells at Vlad.

A fairly typical opening for a mage, peppering her opponent with ranged magic. But Vlad dodged both of Valeria's shots with ease, still wearing that same smile.

The prince then began sprinting toward Valeria.

The mage extended her hand again, this time firing three Fireball spells at the prince. But he dodged Valeria's spells once more, weaving in a zigzag pattern as he ran.

His agility was impressively sharp.

With the distance between them closing, Vlad used Charging to close the gap instantly and launch an attack. But suddenly, the mage's body lifted into the air—a massive Earth Wall rose beneath her feet, putting distance between her and Vlad once more.

The mage then began firing spells down at the prince from atop the towering earthen wall.

Vlad dodged again, then used Sartaxio magic to execute a massive leap, closing in on Valeria.

Seeing this, the mage leapt backward and collapsed the Earth Wall she'd built, hoping the falling rubble would catch Vlad in the debris.

A thunderous rumble echoed as the earthen chunks crashed down onto the arena floor, dust rising and briefly obscuring our view as spectators.

"I wonder what kind of blood magic the Draconia royal family actually wields?"

"Will Prince Vlad finally reveal it this time?"

"Of course he has to! His opponent is Valeria! One of the strongest students in the second-year class!"

The other participants continued commenting on the match.

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It was true—without relying on his unique Nature Mana, Vlad would almost certainly stand no chance against Valeria.

Back to the match. The dust obscuring our view had cleared, revealing the prince standing atop the ruins of the Earth Wall Valeria had created, completely unharmed.

The prince then gripped his right wrist with his left hand and aimed it at Valeria.

Suddenly, a mass of blood surged from Vlad's palm, streaking toward Valeria.

The mage dodged once again, creating an Earth Wall beneath her feet to launch herself upward.

Vlad's blood spell then struck the Earth Wall, punching straight through it. But he didn't stop there—raising his hand further, he made his projectile carve through the earthen wall entirely, closing in on Valeria above.

Valeria leapt sideways to dodge, watching as the Earth Wall she'd summoned split cleanly in two, sliced apart by the prince's spell.

"A blood shot that can cut through anything, huh?"

"That's not all—he can redirect his spell however he likes, making it incredibly dangerous even at range."

The participants in the stands continued commenting on the match's progress.

In the game, Vlad mel Dracus had indeed been a fighter capable of engaging at any range. Assuming you could easily beat him with ranged magic alone would be a serious mistake.

A green magic circle formed in front of Valeria's palm—it looked like she was about to unleash her strongest spell.

Both fighters aimed their palms directly at one another.

"Rayo del Velde!"

"Bloody Burst!"

Both fired simultaneously—Valeria with a green laser, Vlad with a high-pressure stream of blood.

The two spells collided head-on, creating a phenomenon known as Spell Clashing. It was reminiscent of two characters from a famous anime locking beams together in a clash of pure energy.

The difference was, Spell Clashing in the game Path of Destiny never lasted very long.

—Boom!

The point where their spells collided exploded, sending both fighters flying backward from the Backlash effect of the Spell Clash.

Valeria tried to get back up, blood trickling from her mouth from the impact.

Meanwhile, the prince was already back on his feet, a burn wound visible on his right arm.

"By the Goddess Diana! This is the first time I've ever seen a Spell Clash!"

"That can only happen when two spells collide head-on!"

The spectators and fellow participants watching looked utterly amazed, witnessing a phenomenon that should only be possible between top-tier fighters.

The key to winning a Spell Clash came down to Mana Control.

When two spells made of differing mana collided, the resulting magic became unstable, causing the Backlash effect both fighters had just experienced.

Back to the fight.

Vlad appeared to be doing something—the blood covering his body lifted into the air, forming several solid red objects resembling shuriken.

He then charged toward Valeria using Acceleration magic, the floating blood shuriken trailing behind him.

Seeing this, Valeria fired several Earth Missile spells at the charging prince.

The prince then formed a blood sword from his own blood and began slicing through the incoming chunks of earth one by one.

He was closing in on Valeria now.

The mage murmured something again, and suddenly, four two-meter-tall golems formed before her. The four Earth Guardians charged forward, moving to intercept Vlad's approach.

The prince then sent the blood shuriken orbiting his body flying toward Valeria, weaving past the four golems.

Seeing this, the mage began using magic to move away from the approaching blood shuriken. But no matter how far Valeria evaded, Vlad's blood shuriken kept tracking her relentlessly, like guided missiles.

This displayed just how refined Vlad's mana control truly was.

Meanwhile, Vlad was fighting off Valeria's four golems blocking his path. He managed to sever the arm off one of the golems Valeria had created, using his blood sword.

Seeing this, Valeria created another Earth Wall and climbed it, trying to distance herself from the pursuing blood shuriken. She then shot down every shuriken with the same green laser spell she'd used earlier.

—Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every one of Valeria's shots hit their mark, shattering the shuriken into small fragments of blood. But those blood fragments liquefied and reformed into a single, massive shuriken, once again chasing after Valeria.

The mage looked startled and tried to dodge. But the massive shuriken managed to slash across her shoulder.

The large shuriken then flew back toward Vlad, who appeared to be struggling against the three remaining golems simultaneously.

The prince managed to sever one golem's leg, but doing so left his own defense exposed, allowing another golem to land a heavy blow against his body.

Vlad was sent flying backward, blood spilling from his mouth from the golem's punch.

The spectators' cheers erupted once more, watching both competitors trade blows across the arena.

But I already knew this was the beginning of the end...

Vlad caught the massive shuriken that had slashed Valeria's shoulder earlier and smiled.

He then licked Valeria's blood clinging to the shuriken's surface.

The mage looked utterly confused by what Vlad was doing, clutching her bleeding shoulder.

Valeria's two remaining golems resumed their pursuit of Vlad.

The blood shuriken in Vlad's grip dissolved into liquid droplets, which then flowed back into the prince's own body.

He then calmly began dodging the attacks from Valeria's remaining two golems.

Meanwhile, the mage appeared to be murmuring something, seemingly preparing to fire off her ultimate spell once more.

Vlad found himself increasingly cornered by the golems' relentless assault, leaving him very little room to dodge Valeria's upcoming attack.

Seeing this, the mage aimed her palm directly at the prince, waiting for the perfect moment to finish him off.

Vlad then found an opening and severed the leg off one of Valeria's golems. But the maneuver he used to destroy it left his own defenses wide open.

Valeria's last remaining golem seized the chance, grabbing hold of Vlad's body and pinning him in place.

Seeing this, the mage activated her spell.

A green magic circle formed, and a green laser beam surged forth, streaking toward Vlad, who now had no way to dodge, trapped as he was by the golem.

But the prince showed no sign of panic—instead, he simply smiled.

—Boom!

An explosion erupted. Valeria's green laser missed entirely, instead slamming into the arena wall behind Vlad.

The spectators and fellow participants looked utterly shocked by what had just happened—even Valeria herself looked stunned, unable to understand why her own spell had failed to hit its target.

Taking advantage of this, Vlad broke free from the golem's grip and destroyed it.

He then raised his palm, aiming it at Valeria.

The mage refocused, bracing herself to react to whatever Vlad threw next. But her expression twisted into shock once again as her own body began moving on its own, walking toward the prince.

"Huh? What's happening? Why is Valeria calmly walking toward the prince like that!?"

"I have no idea! Shouldn't she be keeping her distance!?"

The participants watching looked completely baffled by what Valeria was doing.

The mage tried firing spells at Vlad, but every shot went wide, her body still walking steadily toward the prince.

The two fighters now stood face to face, and Vlad immediately began unleashing a brutal combo of strikes against Valeria, sending her flying.

"What is she doing!? Letting the prince attack her so easily!?"

"This is strange... Prince Vlad must be using some kind of spell on Valeria! There's no way she'd walk toward him just like that!"

Valeria tried to get back up, but her face made it painfully clear she had no idea what was happening to her.

Prince Vlad broke into uncontrollable laughter in the arena, wiggling his fingers like a puppeteer controlling a marionette.

Valeria's body then lifted into the air, flailing about like a child's plaything.

Before long, Vlad brought both hands down sharply.

Instantly, Valeria's body slammed into the ground from above with brutal force.

The mage couldn't do anything at all. Her body was covered in wounds, her right arm bent at an unnatural angle.

It looked like... her arm had been dislocated, and several bones had broken.

Vlad continued torturing Valeria, lifting her back into the air and slamming her into the ground over and over again.

He laughed maniacally, utterly lost in the moment.

The spectators watching this fell into stunned silence, no longer seeing this as a match, but as pure torture.

The prince lifted Valeria's body once more—now completely covered in blood and wounds—and slammed her into the ground yet again.

This time, a red magic circle formed around Valeria's body, signaling that she'd reached her limit and would be eliminated from the tournament.

"The winner of the second match, Prince Vlad mel Dracus!"

Today, every student at Grunbelt Academy, and every citizen of the imperial capital, witnessed the true strength and horror of the one known as the Bloody Prince.