Chapter 14
───────────
Episode 3 - The duel of the strongest [3]
─────────────────────────────────
When the current duel ended, it was finally my turn: the last duel before the semifinals.
Honestly, I was anxious because, regardless of the outcome, my life at this Academy would only get worse.
From the very first day, I've been treated like an outsider by all the cadets and professors.
'Well, I think the magic teacher is just like the director.'
The principal shared ideals with the first and third Santa, so she doesn't care if I'm a Dark attribute user.
She might even be on my side in the future if I prove that I'm not like other Dark attribute users.
The magic teacher would be just like the principal.
"At least two people don't see me the same way the rest of this academy does."
I murmured as I stood up from my seat to climb onto the platform.
And, of course, Rinna has been kind enough to side with the principal and the magic teacher as well.
'Mhm, I suppose I could also include the Theory teacher.'
Anyway, as I climbed onto the platform, I looked at Princess Clana, who was holding a sword and staring intently at me.
Until now, she hadn't even looked at me directly or out of the corner of her eye.
However, she hasn't shown any contempt toward me; you could say she's neutral at the moment.
Princess Clana doesn't have much participation until the end of chapter one and all of chapter two.
'And from what my senses are telling me right now, she is fully prepared for the fight.'
At least, she seems to be the only one who recognizes my strength and knows that one must be careful when fighting me.
In any case, the referee raised his hand and said:
"Greet one another."
Princess Clana and I brought our hands to our chests and, at the same time, spoke:
"I am Clana Ordeal, rank 3."
"I am Adel, rank 1."
Then, the referee finally said:
"Let the fight begin."
The referee lowered his hand as if it were a car race.
Clana and I did not move in the first second, unlike Verónica and the other cadets.
Instead, she took a defensive stance and tried to hide her weaknesses without leaving any openings.
But, of course, that was impossible with my Weakness Detection.
With my True Sight, I could see several points and lines of blue through which my sword could pass and easily defeat her.
The problem was this:
"..."
"Wow, Princess Clana is going all out. She's using Light attribute mana."
"Light is stronger than Darkness. There's no need to guess who will win this battle."
"Ha, the blind Dark attribute user will definitely lose."
"What if it's rank 1? If his opponent has the Light attribute, he will naturally lose."
"..."
These nobodies haven't even seen a fight to the death between a Light and Dark user.
Indeed, the most intense battles are those in which the opposing attributes repel one another.
In particular, Light and Dark.
These are mostly battles of attrition, and in special cases, those with a higher level of refinement in their attributes emerge victorious.
'The Holy Church says that those with the Dark attribute lose their minds and seek only to bring chaos to the world.'
But that's a lie; the Dark attribute has no abnormal effects. In fact, the attributes that tend to have abnormal effects are the rare ones.
A light radiated from Clana's sword; white mana covered her weapon.
Feeling the mana of the Light attribute, I laughed inwardly.
'Honestly, I don't know what she's trying to accomplish by using her attribute.'
None of the previous combatants had used their attribute yet.
After all, these were duels of honor and peace, not deadly combat.
That's why no one had channeled mana into their weapons, but Clana was taking it a step further:
'Should I fight with my attribute...'
In any case, I was already screwed; my life at the Academy didn't matter if things got worse.
So I started to channel mana into my sword.
I didn't use inverted mana, as doing so would cause me to use Inverted Heaven.
'If I knew another basic sword art, like Mercenary Fencing, I could use inverted mana.'
But that wasn't the case.
When the Dark attribute mana covered my sword, grimaces of disgust and boos instantly filled the room.
But I didn't give it any importance and simply continued to cover my sword.
A thick darkness covered my weapon.
Naturally, I didn't use too much mana. Compared to me, Clana only had a Legendary-ranked sword, and I had a Mythic-ranked sword.
The differences are clear: if I use more mana, her sword will be cut, so I used the minimum.
Then, I looked at the blue lines on my True Sight and, without hesitation:
Boom!
I charged at Clana.
***
Lumina frowned.
She didn't understand what she had done to cause this strange change in the regression.
'Who is Verónica?'
A girl who appeared out of nowhere and possesses one of the Five Arts of the Five Swords.
And not only that, but there's also Clana.
'In the previous regression, when Adel appeared out of nowhere, she fought Clana, but she didn't use her attribute. Then, why is she using it?'
These are questions she couldn't easily answer unless she investigated personally.
But since it's Clana, a princess, that's impossible.
However, it's different with Verónica.
'I should find out who Verónica is.'
In any case, Lumina watched the fight just as Adel charged at Clana.
The two swords clashed, and light and darkness repelled each other.
However, Lumina yawned and thought:
'Adel's dark attribute is extremely refined, as if he had worked on it for years, while Clana doesn't come close. So the fight is already decided.'
While thinking this, she watched "her" Adel move and strike Clana's weak points with her sword.
Clana gritted her teeth, sweated, and was pushed backward.
Adel's next moves brought Clana to the brink of losing her sword.
'Adel told me she learned to use a sword from a veteran mercenary, and within a month, she had honed her skills to the point where her swordsmanship was on par with that of the noble houses and she could hold her own against the first form of the five houses' sword arts.'
Lumina knew of Adel's talent with the sword; however, she had noticed another talent.
'She has a natural talent for alchemy.'
It was probably due to her past, and although Lumina didn't know much about it, she knew that Professor Franklin's elixir was made with Adel's blood.
A melancholy expression appeared on Lumina's face.
Adel doesn't seem to show any emotion right now, but she probably feels extreme hatred when she sees that elixir.
'If she's given an elixir made from her own blood, she'll likely find it repulsive, and it will only bring back memories of her past.'
Lumina decided to win this hastily organized tournament by Professor Franklin.
Finally, the battle between Clana and Adel came to an end.
"The winner, Cadet Adel."
***
"Ahh...!!! Ah...!!!"
Clana felt as if she were about to collapse to the ground.
Her exhaustion and fatigue were so intense that her breathing was labored.
'I didn't underestimate him, but now I understand what it's like to face someone who can block and counter invisible attacks.'
Like Clementine, Clana couldn't help but think of Verónica.
Her swordsmanship is a mystery, but if she were to become even stronger...
She would definitely be a world-famous monster.
'I didn't see the movement of her sword, but I'm sure she moved it.'
In that case, how did her opponent defeat her so easily?
Adel paid attention to her, and Clana wanted to try something; the results were as expected.
As she sat down, she looked at the cadet who had defeated her, sitting far away from the others.
He was silent, with his head down, as if he were thinking about something.
Clana could see it clearly: somehow, he seemed very lonely.
Of course, technically, he's always alone, except during cafeteria time.
Rinna is the one who talks to Adel; however, he doesn't seem to show any emotion, and every time he smiles at Rinna...
'it's... fake.'
A forced smile and the feeling that, when you see him, you can't help but notice how lonely he looks.
Clana shook her head and looked at her trembling hands.
She could still feel some pain from the mana-infused attacks she'd taken from her opponent.
And when she saw Adel...
Well, he looked exactly the same as always; he didn't even look tired. Clana thought Adel was incredibly resilient.
Anyway, she sighed and ignored the words of the nobles around her.
Something about punishing that vile blind man with the Dark attribute.
And other things.
'Thanks, these nobles are irritating.'
***
After the battle with Clana, I returned to my seat and thought:
'I hadn't realized it, but my Dark-attribute mana is highly refined.'
During the battle with Clana, I felt the difference in the refinement of our mana.
Clana's was inferior to mine, so her Light mana didn't have much effect on my Dark mana.
On the contrary, I decided to end the fight immediately, disarming her and finishing her off.
〖You certainly have highly refined Dark attribute mana. How long have you been training?〗
"..."
I didn't even know that.
In any case, refinement refers to the purity of an attribute.
If the purity is high enough, then attributes that repel each other... if one of them has a higher purity, it can easily defeat its opponent.
For example, the fight between Clana and me.
"From the moment I escaped 'that' place, of course."
In fact, I could tell when Adel refined her Dark attribute mana.
And, in fact, it hasn't even been a year.
"With this last battle, we advance to the semifinals."
Professor Franklin's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
Lumina has won in a landslide, by the way: first she fought Leon, then Clementine, and she'll likely face Diana in the semifinals.
"Okay, let's see who I'll fight next."