Chapter 212: Using Someone’s Power To Win

It had looked ordinary enough during the fight, but now that the dust had settled, Aisha could make out faint markings etched into its surface. They were almost impossible to see beneath the lingering residue of psychic energy, yet something about the object bothered her.

She stood up.

"Let me see it."

Jayden turned toward her.

For a moment, he looked surprised that a Guide would approach him and make such a demand. Then he scoffed.

"Why? Your friend already lost. What are you going to do about it?"

Aisha didn’t answer.

She walked toward him, her gaze never leaving the gauntlet.

Jayden’s smile faltered slightly when she stopped in front of him.

"What, are you going to complain that we used a weapon?" he asked, raising his hand as though displaying the gauntlet for her inspection. "There’s nothing against the rules about using weapons in a duel. If you’re too poor to afford one, you can always borrow something from the academy."

Aisha reached out.

Before Jayden could react, she grabbed his wrist.

His expression changed instantly.

He tried to pull away, but her grip didn’t budge.

"What the—?"

He stared at her hand, unable to understand how a Guide could hold him in place with such strength.

Aisha raised his arm slightly and examined the gauntlet.

Her expression remained calm, but the coldness in her eyes made it difficult for Jayden to keep smiling.

"Let go of me," he demanded.

She ignored him.

The instant her fingers touched the metal, she felt something.

A faint trace of energy clung to the inside of the gauntlet. It was far stronger than the psychic power Jayden could produce himself, and its distinct signature immediately told her that it had come from someone else.

This energy hadn’t come from him.

It belonged to someone far more powerful.

Aisha’s thoughts briefly returned to the ring Nykos had given her, the strange artifact capable of storing a portion of his power. Although she didn’t fully understand how the ring worked, she’d already seen what it could do and knew it wasn’t an ordinary accessory.

The gauntlet worked on a similar principle, but its construction and purpose were vastly different.

Someone had stored Sentinel energy inside it.

Whoever had supplied that energy possessed far greater power than Jayden. Aisha suspected it was someone Corwin knew. Alternatively, Corwin might have obtained the gauntlet through the black market, already loaded with another Sentinel’s energy.

Aisha ran her fingers along the gauntlet’s surface, searching for any remaining trace of the foreign energy. She found only faint remnants, barely enough to confirm her suspicions.

The stored energy was gone, leaving no substantial trace behind.

Whatever mechanism had released it had exhausted the gauntlet’s charge, leaving little more than an ordinary piece of equipment.

Aisha slowly released Jayden’s wrist.

Her gaze lingered on the gauntlet for another moment before she finally looked at him.

Jayden rubbed his wrist, visibly unsettled by how easily she’d stopped him from moving.

He hadn’t expected that kind of strength from a Guide, especially one who was supposed to be D-rank.

But Aisha had already turned away.

Across the arena, Corwin had been watching the exchange with growing unease.

The moment he saw Aisha approach Jayden, his expression changed. He’d expected her to remain beside Vesper, perhaps crying or demanding that the academy punish his team for winning the match.

Instead, she’d walked straight toward the gauntlet.

Corwin’s fingers tightened around the edge of his seat.

He knew Aisha had noticed something she shouldn’t have.

If she discovered what the gauntlet had been used for, the situation could become troublesome.

Fortunately, Jayden quickly recovered from his surprise and raised his voice so the surrounding spectators could hear him.

"What the fuck?! Are you so envious of my weapon that you want to grab it and steal it in broad daylight?"

A few students laughed.

Emboldened by the attention, Jayden continued.

"There’s nothing wrong with using a weapon. The academy allows us to use them in official duels, so if you don’t like it, maybe you should have prepared better."

Corwin finally stood up, his face settling into its usual smug expression.

"That’s right. Vesper lost because he wasn’t strong enough. If one hit was enough to take him down, perhaps he shouldn’t have been so confident in his abilities in the first place."

He glanced at the spectators before continuing, making sure his words carried.

"Perhaps he spent too much time lazing around with the rest of Class 7-D instead of training. An A-rank is useless if he doesn’t know how to fight properly."

The crowd reacted immediately.

Some laughed, while others began whispering among themselves.

A few students who had bet on Corwin’s team seemed especially pleased, as Vesper’s defeat had apparently confirmed what they’d believed all along.

"See? I told you he’d lose eventually."

"He couldn’t even win two matches."

"What’s the use of having an A-rank Sentinel if he can’t defeat someone who ranked lower than him?"

Another student leaned over the railing and called out, "If your strongest Sentinel has already lost, why don’t the rest of you just admit defeat? You’re only making excuses because your team isn’t good enough!"

More laughter followed.

Jayden seemed to relish the attention.

He raised his gauntleted hand again, deliberately displaying it to the audience.

Sabel’s hands trembled.

She had spent years enduring the academy’s disdain for their class, from professors who barely acknowledged their presence to students who treated them as though they were nothing more than an inconvenience.

She was used to being underestimated.

But this was different.

Vesper had fought fairly. He’d endured the smoke and won the previous match through his own strength. Even in the second match, he’d relied on his physical abilities before finally using his Sentinel power.

And now he was lying unconscious because their opponent had done something that left him in that condition.

Yet everyone was laughing.

Sabel’s eyes burned.

"You bastards! You—"

She stepped forward, ready to shout back at the students insulting them, but Aisha returned to her side before she could finish.

"Don’t respond to them."

Sabel turned toward her, her face flushed with anger.

"Did you hear what they said? They’re all mocking him!"

"I heard them."

Aisha’s voice was quiet, but there was enough weight behind it to make Sabel stop.

Sabel stared at her, frustration and disbelief mingling on her face.

"Then why are you letting them talk like that?"

Aisha didn’t answer immediately.

She crouched beside Vesper again and placed two fingers against his wrist. The faint pulse beneath his skin was still there, but his breathing remained uneven, and the residual energy from the blast continued to disrupt his system.