Chapter 214: Sabel Vs. Jayden

The third round was about to begin.

[Participant: Sabel]

[Age: 18]

[Rank: D- Sentinel]

[Class: 7-D]

[Previous Academy Performance: 80.16

On Corwin’s team, the display also showed Jayden’s name on the screen.

[Participant: Jayden]

[Age: 18]

[Rank: C]

[Class: 2-B]

[Previous Academy Performance: 90.3

When the holographic displays appeared above the stage, the audience immediately began discussing the matchup.

Although Jayden held a higher rank, the difference between them wasn’t particularly great. Under normal circumstances, the outcome would depend on their combat abilities, experience, and how well they could make use of their strengths.

However, this wasn’t exactly a normal situation.

Jayden had just finished fighting Vesper, and although his gauntlet had secured him the victory, the battle hadn’t come without a cost. He had already expended a considerable amount of energy, and the gauntlet that had supplied him with that overwhelming power was now nothing more than an ordinary piece of equipment.

Sabel, on the other hand, had spent the past few minutes watching her friend being carried away on a stretcher.

She hadn’t forgotten the blood covering Vesper’s face or the way his chest had barely moved as he struggled to breathe. Even after Aisha managed to stabilize his condition, Sabel couldn’t rid herself of the image.

And now, the person responsible was standing right in front of her.

"The third round will now begin!" the announcer declared. "Participants, prepare yourselves!"

Jayden raised his hand and flexed his fingers, the damaged gauntlet still covering his fist.

"Try not to cry when you lose. Your friend already embarrassed himself enough for the whole class. At least, entertain me longer, okay?"

Sabel’s fingers curled into fists.

Jayden had barely finished speaking when she rushed forward.

Her first punch came straight toward his face. Jayden tilted his head aside and raised his arm to block, but the second strike arrived before he could retaliate, slamming into his shoulder and forcing him several steps backward.

His expression changed.

He had expected Sabel to lose her temper, but he hadn’t expected her to attack with such aggression from the very start.

Sabel didn’t give him time to recover. She followed with a kick aimed at his ribs, then used the opening to drive another punch toward his stomach.

Jayden blocked the first attack and twisted away from the second, but he was forced to give ground as she continued pressing forward.

Bang!

Their fists collided.

The impact traveled through both their arms, and Jayden’s boots scraped against the combat alloy as he tried to steady himself.

For a moment, neither of them gained an advantage. Sabel was faster than he had anticipated, while Jayden’s greater rank allowed him to withstand her attacks and return them with considerable force.

They exchanged blow after blow, neither willing to back down.

However, Jayden gradually realized that something was wrong.

His body wasn’t responding as quickly as it had during his previous fight. His arms felt heavier, and even the psychic energy he used to reinforce his movements seemed less effective than before.

He had already spent a substantial amount of his strength fighting Vesper. The gauntlet had supplied the overwhelming power needed to end the previous match, but it hadn’t restored the energy he’d exhausted beforehand.

Now that its stored power was gone, he could only rely on his raw strength and power to fight. The difference was becoming increasingly obvious, and it was getting harder to ignore.

Sabel’s fist struck his guard again.

Crack!

A fracture spread across the surface of Jayden’s gauntlet.

He barely had time to register it before another attack landed against his arm. The damaged metal groaned, and a small fragment broke off, falling onto the stage.

Jayden’s face twisted.

If this continued, the gauntlet would fall apart before he could finish the match.

He needed another weapon.

The moment Sabel noticed his hand moving toward his side, she became more alert. She remembered Aisha’s warning about hidden weapons and immediately adjusted her stance, refusing to let him take her by surprise.

But Jayden had already reached into his personal storage and retrieved another weapon.

It was a beast’s skull mounted on a dark handle, its hollow eye sockets releasing a sinister energy that made the air around him feel unnaturally heavy.

The weapon looked disturbing enough to make several students in the audience exchange uneasy glances.

Sabel didn’t waste time examining it. Instead, she reached for the staff secured inside her storage bag and pulled it free.

It was a weapon her father had bought for her as a present, and its polished surface concealed a mechanism capable of releasing powerful electrical currents. Blue sparks began crawling along its length the instant she channeled her Sentinel energy into it.

Both combatants moved at almost the same time with their weapons.

Jayden swung his skull weapon from the side while Sabel thrust her staff forward, bringing the two weapons together with tremendous force.

BOOM!

A violent explosion erupted at the point of impact.

The blast swept across the stage, sending dust and debris flying into the air. Even the protective barrier surrounding the battlefield flickered under the force of the collision, and several spectators instinctively leaned away from the railing.

Sabel and Jayden were both thrown backward as well. The force from that blast was too powerful for either of them to remain on their feet.

Their bodies struck the combat alloy, and the impact sent another cloud of dust rising around them.

For several seconds, neither moved.

Then Jayden pushed himself up on one arm, coughing as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His other hand remained wrapped around the handle of his skull weapon, although his fingers trembled from the force of the collision.

Sabel fared much worse.

She struggled to sit upright, her palms slick with blood where the recoil had torn through the skin of her hands. Her staff had been sent flying across the stage, landing several meters away from where she lay.

She tried to get up, but the pain in her arms made her movements unsteady.

On the opposite side, Jayden lowered his head toward his hands.

His fingers were still shaking.

The electric current from Sabel’s staff hadn’t disappeared after the collision. Instead, it continued circulating through his body, making his muscles twitch whenever he tried to move.

That damn weapon...

He had underestimated her.