Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 230: Severed

Chapter 230: Severed

They clashed again, and he dashed forward while she cast another earth wall. It rose quickly, but he managed to break through it

A spike rose, and he dodged it, closing the distance again.

Their movements collided again as his sword came down and she barely blocked, the impact forcing her back.

“Do you know what I made him do?” William said as he circled her.

“We used to drag him into the training room,” he continued, his grin twisting as he dodged another stone bullet, though his breathing hitched slightly, “and make him stand against the wall…”

Aria’s casting wavered.

“…and use him as a dummy for target practice.” He laughed loudly.

Aria froze for a split second. Just a split second, and William saw it.

Her heart clenched painfully. She had heard the rumors about what William and his friends would do to Elion, but she made no note to remember that past; it pained her.

“Shut up!” she shouted, clearly agitated.

That was all William needed. He moved faster than before. Pushing through the fatigue and closing the gap instantly.

His sword flashed toward her. Aria barely reacted in time, twisting her body as the blade cut through the air beside her.

She stumbled a step back, and he was already there.

“Got you,” he muttered.

Steel clashed again as she brought up a hurried defense, but this time the pressure was more aggressive. His strikes were coming one after another, not giving her any room to cast properly.

Aria tried to retreat, and he followed. She tried to turn sideways, and he cut her off. She stepped back, and he stepped in.

He was physically stronger and faster, and it was showing.

When William finally realised that he had her right where he wanted her, he smirked slightly.

Imperceptibly, he did something unthinkable.

His jaw shifted slightly as he crushed a small paper talisman hidden in his mouth between his teeth, his lips curling into a faint smirk as he swallowed the remnants.

’Time to make him pay.’

The talisman held a spell that was meant to put her in a trance. This was definitely an illegal move.

But he had executed it perfectly. And it was expensive for a reason; it would not show or leave any traces of mana when used.

No one would notice.

He looked at Aria; she was close to him now, merely an arm’s length away.

’Perfect.’ But then his pupils shrank slightly in shock when he looked at her expression. ’Why is it not working!?’

She looked fine; her eyes were clear and focused.

She was already moving again, her hand lifting as mana gathered, preparing to cast and block his next strike.

Then something went wrong.

Her heel struck against a raised section of the platform, one of the uneven protrusions left behind from her earlier spells, and in that instant, her balance broke as her body tilted backward, her movement stuttering as she lost her footing completely.

She tripped.

Time seemed to stretch as she began to fall.

William’s eyes widened slightly.

This—

This was not what he had planned.

But he did not stop. A smirk spread across his face again. His sword was already in motion, and he let it continue.

The proctor saw it.

She saw Aria trip and begin to fall. She saw the opening that was impossible for Aria to recover from. She saw the danger. But she did not call the match.

Her fingers tightened slightly at her side as she stood there, watching.

She had been paid off not to call the match immediately and to let him have his fun for a bit. Then she could step in before things went too far. That was the deal she had made.

She had hesitated for a moment as she thought about calling the match.

But the promise of money, enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life, had already sealed her decision.

’What’s the worst that could happen…?’

William’s blade cut through the air in a clean, smooth arc.

Aria, who was falling, had instinctively thrown her right arm out to shield herself from the fall.

Shing!

The blade met a thin mana barrier that shimmered in blue. Aria and William’s eyes both widened in shock, but William wasn’t having it.

He used the weight of his body to push forward, and the thin barrier cracked, and then it shattered.

Crack!

The sword continued its descent as William put in even more strength into his strike when he saw that he had successfully destroyed the barrier.

He roared as he put in all the anger he had buried deep inside into that single strike.

He snorted inwardly, ’This is my new epic grade sword made from dragonbone steel! Whatever tricks she had planned won’t work!’

The blade met flesh at the shoulder, and the steel cut clean through from one end of her shoulder to the other without resistance.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, shocked gasps echoed all across the arena. Some people turned away, instantly unable to bear the sight.

Others froze in shock, unable to process what they had just seen.

Thud!

A hand fell onto the platform.

Thud!

Aria hit the ground painfully, her body landing awkwardly as she sat back from the fall. Her mind struggled for a second to catch up with what had just happened as her eyes drifted slowly toward the severed hand lying a short distance away.

Then she shifted to look at the stump that was her shoulder, where blood was already gushing out.

Her eyes widened in absolute horror, and then the realisation that she had lost something precious, and the pain finally hit her.

It exploded through her body all at once, sharp and overwhelming as her breath hitched violently, her remaining hand clutched at the bleeding stump instinctively as a horrific sound tore from her throat.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH—!”

The scream was loud and filled with terror.

It echoed across the entire arena, cutting through the air like a blade, sending chills down the spines of everyone who heard it. Many of them flinched as if they could feel that pain themselves.

It sounded like it came from the depths of her very soul.

William stepped back slightly, his bloodied sword still in his hand as he stared at her, his expression no longer smug, but a bit stunned.

Even he had not expected his sword to be sharp enough to cleave through her arm. Yes, the fall had caught him off guard, and the strike had gone further than intended.

But that is not why he was pissed with himself. He had not meant to end things so quickly. ’I wanted to play around with her longer damnit!’

“…Fuck…”

Around them, every other match had stopped as all eyes were drawn toward Aria and William. They all looked at the blood pooling across the platform below Aria with different expressions.

What was truly sad was that it only took a moment, a single moment, for the silence to break as wild cheers erupted from the crowd, drowning out the gasps and the looks of pity as people shouted, clapped, and lost themselves in the excitement.

To them, this was entertainment, blood, pain, and power all mixed into one spectacle.

“Did you see that!” someone shouted, “That was insane! She lost an arm though,” another yelled, “Who cares, that strike was clean!” and just like that, Aria’s scream, the horror, the pain, all of it was swallowed by the roar of the audience.

On the platform, the female proctor stood frozen for a brief second, her throat tightening as she looked at the severed arm, then at Aria clutching her bleeding shoulder and screaming in agony.

Her stomach churned as a wave of discomfort rose within her, but she forced it down, swallowing hard as she straightened her posture, reminding herself of what she had agreed to.

Then she raised her hand slightly, her voice was a little stiff when she finally spoke, “The match is over… winner, William Dawncrest,” she announced, trying to keep her tone professional, even as her eyes flickered briefly away from the girl on the ground.

Up in the high balconies, Lord Moon shot to his feet so suddenly that his chair broke and fell loudly behind him, his aura flaring uncontrollably as his eyes locked onto the platform below.

“I’ll kill that boy!” he roared. His voice was filled with rage as he stepped forward, “My baby!” but before he could move any further, a hand grabbed him firmly, stopping him in place.

“Stop,” his wife said, her voice steady even though her eyes trembled slightly, “you are not allowed to do that,” she added, tightening her grip on his arm as he struggled slightly.

But she’s hurt!” Lord Moon shouted, his chest heaving, “She lost her arm!” he added, his voice cracking with anger and helplessness.

“I know!” she raised her voice slightly before steadying herself again, her expression tightening as she forced herself to stay calm, “I know, but you will only make things worse if you do something stupid!” she said.

Her gaze briefly dropped toward the platform where Aria lay, blood pooling beneath her.

“They have healers here… they should be able to stop the bleeding at least, I hope they have something to restore her arm,” she continued quietly.

Though there was a faint tremor in her voice, “they have to,” she added under her breath.

Lord Moon’s fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white; his entire body trembled with restrained rage as he stared down at the scene. “I will make someone pay,” he said coldly.

His wife nodded once before pulling him back, “Come, we’re going down,” she said firmly, and without another word, the two of them turned and left the balcony in a hurry, moving quickly through the corridors as they rushed toward their daughter.

She wasn’t taking any chances. This experience was bound to traumatize Aria, who had been pampered for most of her life. She would not be able to take losing an arm, even if she recovered her arm; the mental scars would remain.

If she could help it, she would rather her daughter not spend any longer than necessary with only one hand.

And that brought everything back to the present, to this exact moment, where Elion stood at the entrance of the waiting room, his breathing heavy, his eyes bloodshot, and his entire body trembling with badly contained rage as he faced William, who stood in front of him, bruised but otherwise fine.

“You’re a dead man,” and before anyone could react, he moved.