Chapter 149: The Final, For Real

From the highest stand, Armani swept her gaze across the arena before finally settling on Zac.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Zac’s expression remained calm. Unfortunately, his mind did not.

[Congratulations. Your sugar mama has arrived just to watch her boy take the win.]

"Don’t."

[It would be deeply, madly, horribly embarrassing if you lost now, wouldn’t it?]

"I said, ’Stop it.’"

Zac clenched his jaw in frustration.

Marty’s eyes widened when he spotted Armani. The memory of the first time he’d seen her, covered in blood, flashed through his mind. "Is that really the vice-principal?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes. In flesh and blood."

"Please don’t make me remember the blood part."

Kelly looked at Marty questioningly.

"It’s trauma from what happened the first time I saw her. Long story."

Adrian placed a hand over his chest. "Perhaps she believed I would be the one standing in the final and came to witness my glorious form. Unfortunately for her, she shall be disappointed. Such a tragedy."

[Make sure your sugar mama doesn’t hear what he just said, or it’ll be his tragedy.]

Sabrina remained silent.

Marty turned to Zac. "Did you know she was coming?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?"

Marty glanced at Armani, then back at him. "The way she’s looking at you makes that very hard to believe."

Shobin thought for a moment. "She’s most likely here because of you."

Zac gave him a flat look. "You don’t have to say everything you think."

"I don’t know about that, but I still can’t believe you two are actually related," he muttered.

Marty leaned forward again. "So, Zac. The vice-principal herself came all the way here to watch you fight. No pressure at all, right?"

Zac slowly turned and stared at him.

Marty immediately leaned back in his chair. "I just got out of the hospital. Medical immunity, okay?"

To most people in the arena, Armani’s arrival had turned a small in-house tournament into something much bigger.

Why would someone like the Infamous Wild come here?

Why would a woman rumored to be one of the strongest people in the world bother watching a first-year tournament? And more importantly, why now?

Questions spread through the stands like sparks through dry grass. But after Simon’s warning, the crowd slowly recovered from the shock.

Mimi was the first to regain control. She was in a terrible mood after Armani had stolen every scrap of attention in the arena, but a small part of her was also pleased.

The tournament had just become much bigger, and bigger meant more fame.

Mimi turned toward the audience with her usual bright smile. "Well, well, well! It seems today’s final has attracted a very special guest. Vice-Principal Armani Wild has honored us with her presence!"

The arena finally came back to life, and applause burst out from every direction.

Mimi glanced upward and saw Armani didn’t react.

Mimi swallowed. "She didn’t even blink. Is she alive?"

A second thought immediately followed. "No. Worse. Lovable Mimi will now stop making eye contact with her."

She clapped her hands together and forced the same cheerful smile back onto her face. "Alright, everyone! It’s finally time!"

Her voice rose across the arena.

"Entering first from Class A! Cold, precise, terrifyingly composed, and blessed with mana control sharp enough to cut your confidence apart... the Ice Queen herself, Sabrina Snow!"

Sabrina stepped forward, and the crowd erupted again.

Her white hair shimmered beneath the arena lights, and her expression remained calm despite the noise. She walked onto the stage without hesitation, every step measured and quiet.

Whispers immediately broke out among the girls in the stands.

"How can she be so beautiful?"

"I really want to know what cosmetics she uses."

"Forget cosmetics. What does she use for her hair? How is it that shiny?"

Mimi’s smile twitched. "Is my hair not good enough? Why is no one commenting on mine?"

Once Sabrina reached the stage, Mimi continued.

"And now, her opponent! Also from Class A! The ever-so-handsome, the charming devil, the troublemaker of this year, and the one and only Zac Delencore!"

The moment Zac stepped out of the waiting area and started toward the stage, cheers, whistles, and murmurs rolled through the arena like a tidal wave.

A noticeable portion came from the girls in the stands.

"He’s really handsome."

"Yeah, look at him."

"Oh my God, he’s exactly my type."

"His height, his body, his face... what kind of unfair character design is this?"

A few girls stared at him with strange expressions.

"What is that aura around him?"

"I don’t know... it almost feels like I should worship him."

Zac climbed onto the stage and stopped opposite Sabrina, and the referee stepped between them. Before the match could begin, a familiar voice entered Zac’s mind without warning.

"Don’t soil my name."

Zac’s mood instantly sank. He looked up toward the highest stand, where Armani sat.

Sabrina noticed him. "Distracted, are you?"

Zac turned back to her. "Not anymore."

The referee raised his hand.

"Begin!"

For a breath, neither Zac nor Sabrina moved. The noise of the arena thinned into a strange silence. Then, at the same instant, both stepped forward.

Their swords met at the center of the stage. There was no explosion, no flashy burst of mana. Just one clean clash, followed immediately by another, then another as their blades struck in rapid succession.

A few people from the market area blinked in confusion.

"That’s it?"

"I thought the final would start bigger."

"Why does it look so normal?"

Several second-year students and those who understood what was happening on the stage gave them strange looks.

"Normal?"

"Look properly. Neither of them is wasting even a thread of mana. Their control is so precise that not a single strand is being wasted."

From the upper stands, Murphy watched closely.

"Looks like they’re testing each other. Neither of them wants to reveal too much first."

Below, Zac twisted his wrist and knocked Sabrina’s blade aside. Before she could reset, he stepped in and struck from a short angle.

Sabrina blocked, but the force still pushed her back.

Mimi’s voice immediately rang across the arena. "And our Charming Devil takes the first small advantage! Sabrina Snow has been pushed back! I repeat, the Ice Queen has been pushed back!"

Zac’s eyebrow twitched.

[I think she’s going to keep calling you that until retirement.]

"If she keeps making names for people, I don’t think she’ll survive until retirement."

Zac attacked again. This time, instead of relying on a heavy strike, his sword moved faster, cutting into Sabrina’s space with short, controlled pressure.

His mana coating shifted from his wrist to his shoulder, then down into his legs, reinforcing whatever part of his body needed it at that exact moment.

Sabrina defended with clean precision, but Zac’s physical strength kept forcing her to give ground.

Daniel watched seriously. "He’s using his physical strength to his advantage."

Shobin nodded. "Not only that. His instincts are better than ever. He’s reading her like a book."

On the stage, Zac’s sword came down with crushing force. Sabrina raised her blade and blocked, and the impact cracked the stone slightly beneath her feet.

Her mana coating held, but her arms trembled from the force. "You’ve improved a lot since back then," Zac said.

Sabrina remained calm. "So have you."

A faint smile touched Zac’s lips. "Was that a compliment?"

She didn’t answer. Instead, Sabrina suddenly stepped forward, and her rhythm completely changed.

Until now, her movements had been precise and direct. Cold, efficient, easy to understand even if they were difficult to stop.

Then her sword seemed to soften. When Zac struck again, Sabrina didn’t meet his strength head-on. Her blade curved around his, her body turning lightly as she slipped past the force rather than blocking it.

Her feet moved across the stone with a strange elegance, and her sword followed, not merely cutting through the air but drawing smooth lines through it.

The entire mood of the arena changed. Even those who knew nothing about swordsmanship could feel it.

Sabrina was no longer simply fighting; she looked like she was dancing.

Her white hair flowed behind her as her sword flashed in pale arcs, her steps light and quiet. Every movement flowed seamlessly into the next, soft enough to escape Zac’s strength yet sharp enough to punish the slightest mistake.

Zac stepped back and watched her elegant swordsmanship. For a moment, something in his gaze changed.

"Beautiful."

[Yes, very pretty. She’s also trying to cut you, in case your brain has gone on vacation.

Zac’s focus snapped back into place. "I know."

[Good. Admire the art after surviving it.]

From the upper stand, Simon’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the sword art. "So that art really did reach this generation."

Matilda caught the change in his expression. "You know that swordsmanship?"

"Only a little."

Hearing the hesitation in Simon’s voice, neither Matilda nor Murphy pressed him further.

On the stage, Zac tried to push forward again, but Sabrina’s sword kept slipping around his strength.

Whenever he pressed, she flowed away, and whenever he pulled back, she struck.

Mimi, who had been stunned silent for almost the entire time since Sabrina revealed her swordsmanship, finally remembered she had a job to do.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have absolutely no idea what our Ice Queen is using, but it looks expensive, dangerous, and emotionally unavailable!"

The crowd burst into laughter and applause.

Sabrina’s eyes shifted toward Mimi for the briefest instant.

Mimi immediately straightened her back. "Compliment! That was a compliment!"

Zac seized that tiny distraction and closed the distance with his sword coming in low.

Sabrina blocked it, but Zac’s foot struck the stage as mana surged through his legs, driving his body forward faster than before.

For the first time, his blade cut through her rhythm. One strike followed another, forcing Sabrina back and nearly breaking through the flow of her sword dance.

But she corrected her stance almost immediately, and once again, Zac found himself being pushed back.

"Oh, no!" Marty clenched his fists. "Push her! Push her! Pound on her, Zac! "

Kelly slowly turned toward him with a strange look. "You really need to be clearer when you say things, Marty. That can be misunderstood very easily."

Daniel remained silent, his eyes following every movement on the stage.

Shobin spoke quietly. "He’s not matching her style, and he isn’t using any particular swordsmanship either. He’s using simple movements to cut into the gaps between hers."

Zac continued forward. His body moved before his thoughts could fully form, reacting to danger from angles he hadn’t even properly processed yet.

If Armani’s training had taught him anything, it was one simple lesson.

After being attacked from blind spots, crushed under pressure, thrown through dirt, forced back onto his feet again and again, and pushed close to death more times than he cared to remember...

If something felt wrong, move first.

Think later.

Sabrina’s blade flashed toward his shoulder. Zac shifted his mana coating there and took the strike while his own sword swept toward her wrist.

Mimi leaned over the railing. "Zac Delencore is pushing back! The Charming Devil refuses to be outshone!"

As Zac moved in for another strike, Sabrina’s gaze suddenly caught on something beneath his sleeve.

Zac noticed it too.

"Tsk."

He immediately pulled back, putting distance between them. The sudden pause left the referee and the audience confused.

Zac slowly raised one arm and pulled back his sleeve. A dark bracelet was locked around his wrist.

Sabrina stared at it. "All this time?"

A small smile appeared on Zac’s face. He removed the bracelet and tossed it off the stage.

Those who recognized what it was shot upright in their seats.

Marty stared in disbelief before jumping to his feet. "No way. He’s been wearing that this whole time?"

Zac rolled his shoulders, stretched his body slightly, then looked at Sabrina with his sword still in hand.

"Now then! Let’s go for real."