Deciding to seize the initiative the moment the wind blade slammed into the ground, she charged once more, hoping to catch Trey making a mistake.
Aiming for his shoulder, Samantha struck downward.
But her attack was easily blocked by his sword.
At that same moment, her instincts screamed danger.
Samantha immediately retreated—and just in time.
At the spot where she had been standing a moment ago, Trey swung the sheath in a wide arc, wielding it as though it were a полноценное second weapon.
I was probably lucky that Samantha either didn't know the style of the Krey Empire or had simply forgotten it. Or perhaps both.
After all, why would an elven princess care about one of the human empires?
There was a reason I had decided to reveal to everyone that I possessed darkness. It was a way of hiding one secret inside another. Sooner or later, the truth about my darkness magic would become known anyway. Hiding it forever had been impossible.
But questions regarding my true identity could eventually fade—so long as I didn't reveal the sword style of the Krey Empire.
Of the two evils, I chose the lesser one.
Let the Krey Empire continue believing that Prince Aluric had simply run away.
As I continued blocking Samantha's attacks, I couldn't help but note the fluidity of her movements. She handled her sword beautifully, moving in near-perfect synergy with it. Whether that was natural talent or the result of some special technique was difficult to say.
Compared to hers, my style was built differently.
It emphasized breakthrough, deception, and inflicting damage through the use of the sheath as a полноценное second weapon. While the opponent focused on blocking the sword and didn't expect an additional threat, the sheath would strike—capable both of hitting vulnerable parts of the body and blocking incoming attacks in return.
Deciding to try something new, I gradually began accumulating darkness within the blade.
Samantha seemed to sense something, because she almost immediately increased the pace of her attacks.
Some strikes I blocked, others I dodged or parried. Just like me, she had been trained to fight since childhood.
The world created an illusion of safety, but anyone born into a noble family knew the truth perfectly well: this world had never been a safe place. On the contrary—it was an extremely dangerous one.
Seeing the blade finally become fully enveloped in darkness, I made two short slashing strikes—upward and downward—aimed directly at her emblem.
Not knowing just how destructive the force of the strikes would be, I deliberately tried to soften them.
Samantha realized she was almost out of time and attempted to retreat farther, but it was too late.
Two rapid strikes reached their target, cutting across her emblem and destroying it.
Realizing her defeat, Samantha slowly lowered herself to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself.
Seeing her reaction, I clicked my tongue in irritation.
Once the darkness dispersed, everyone would witness a highly questionable scene: me standing over her while she sat on her knees, hugging herself.
They'd probably decide once and for all that I was some kind of monster.
Shaking my head, I canceled the darkness.
Gradually, the arena began to reappear before my eyes.
Letting out a quiet sigh, I was already preparing to continue the fight against Cassandra.
However, after glancing around, I noticed a strange sight.
The Martyr was standing in one place without moving. Its chains were pointed directly above me.
Not understanding what the creature was doing, I raised my head upward.
And froze.
Above me hung Cassandra, completely bound in chains.
Her face was red from humiliation and anger brought on by her own helplessness. She could do absolutely nothing to free herself.
Until the very last moment, Cassandra had hoped Samantha would defeat Trey in a one-on-one duel.
But when the darkness dispersed, the first thing she saw was Samantha sitting on the ground, head lowered, arms wrapped around her shoulders.
"Lower her," Trey's voice sounded out.
Following his command, the Martyr slowly lowered Cassandra down.
But the chains did not disappear. They remained tightly wrapped around her body, preventing even the slightest unnecessary movement and completely stripping away any possibility of resistance.
Looking at Cassandra, I understood there was no turning back anymore.
She had lost. Even if I recalled the Martyr earlier now, nothing would change. Internally, she was already broken.
Touching her emblem with two fingers, I felt it crack and shatter directly on her uniform.
Recalling the Martyr, I simultaneously made the chains vanish as well, finally allowing Cassandra to sink down beside Samantha. Almost immediately, she sat next to her friend and embraced her.
Mentally, I could only shake my head.
From the outside, it looked as though I really was some kind of monster who had subdued two beautiful princesses.
But they were the ones who had challenged me, not the other way around.
For some people, that might not be sufficient justification. But for me—it was more than enough.
When you raise your sword, be prepared to meet another sword.
Those were the words my fencing instructor in the castle of the Krey Empire had drilled into my head since childhood.
Turning my head toward the screens, I saw two completely emotionless faces.
Then I shifted my gaze to the director. Judging by his expression, it was obvious this entire situation had gone far beyond anything he had expected.
Though the same could be said for practically everyone currently in the stands.
Most had come here expecting to witness the demonstrative beating of an overly arrogant first-year by two second-year princesses.
For many, this was supposed to be a lesson: never overestimate yourself, or your own arrogance would one day destroy you.
But everything had gone entirely differently from what they expected.
"Director, I won." As I spoke those words, I noticed him flinch almost imperceptibly. I didn't know what exactly he was thinking in that moment, but personally, I wanted to end all of this as quickly as possible.
"stufon Trey is victorious. Matriarch and Queen of the Light Elves, do you acknowledge the defeat of your princesses?" the director said, clearly still not fully comprehending what had just occurred in this arena.
I shifted my gaze toward the screens displaying the two faces symbolizing the highest authority among the dark and light elves.
A heavy silence descended.
I silently stared at them, and they returned my gaze in the same manner.
It was easy to guess what questions were currently spinning through their minds.
For the dark elves—how was I capable of possessing darkness?
For the light elves—was this the reason Princess Keyrin had knelt before me?
"The Light Elves acknowledge Princess Samantha's defeat. From this moment onward, her fate rests in the hands of the half-elf Trey," the Queen of the Light Elves was the first to break the silence.
Despite her outward composure, it was obvious that what she had witnessed today at the academy had shaken her far more than she wished to show.
"The Dark Elves acknowledge Princess Cassandra's defeat. From this moment onward, her fate belongs to the half-elf Trey," the Matriarch declared.
Her voice sounded noticeably quieter, but even so, everyone heard it.
If the Queen of the Light Elves was merely shocked by what she had seen, then judging by the expression on the Matriarch's face, she was ready to personally pounce on Trey just to immediately learn how he was capable of using darkness.
Hearing their words, I lowered my gaze to the two elven women.
With every sentence spoken, their bodies trembled more and more.
Only shaking my head, I turned around and headed for the exit.
Under the absolute silence that had blanketed the arena, I left it behind.
Together with Keyrin, we returned to the dormitory without any problems and decided to rest.
At least there was one silver lining: since a servant was required to live beside their master, that meant Keyrin's room was now located within my apartments as well.