Roaring to psyche himself up, Rourke readies his sword to meet the stone pillars.
The first one comes spinning towards him. Rourke swings his sword upward from below, infusing it with the utmost spirit power. With a high-pitched sound and a shower of sparks, he succeeds in altering its trajectory.
The second pillar follows immediately. Rourke stands his ground and brings his sword down on its tip. The tremendous impact travels through the sword into his arm. His arm, already overused from the battle with Dreadnought, can no longer hold onto the sword, which is deflected upwards.
He manages to deal with the second pillar, but the third and final one Ophelia launched is now closing in.
There’s no hesitation. In less than a second, Rourke makes his decision and thrusts out his arm, reinforced to the maximum with spirit power, in front of the pillar.
“Oooooh!!!”
The incoming stone pillar pierces through his palm, tearing flesh and spraying blood, but Rourke endures it through sheer willpower and grasps the pillar stuck in his hand.
Even as he holds it, the rotating pillar continues to inflict hellish pain, but Rourke doesn’t let go. Using brute force, he forcibly alters its trajectory and spins his body to kill its momentum.
“What!?”
Ophelia, who had been certain of victory the moment Rourke’s sword was deflected, is dumbfounded by his ability to completely block the attack at the cost of one arm.
In that situation, in that instant, Rourke’s decision-making ability to minimize damage by sacrificing an arm left Ophelia not just surprised, but terrified.
And Rourke doesn’t miss the huge opening left by the stunned Ophelia. He forcefully pulls out the stone pillar, catches his falling sword with his uninjured arm, and closes the distance to Ophelia in one swift motion.
“Now, is this truly the end?”
“…Yes, I admit defeat.”
With the sword pointed at her face, Ophelia slowly exhales and raises both hands, finally accepting her loss.
As soon as the referee confirms this and announces the match result, a roar of cheers from the observing students echoes throughout the arena.
The first round of Rourke’s second-year rank battle ended in victory.
“See, I told you Rourke would win.”
“You were right.”
Lily nodded in agreement with Gareth, who was smiling with satisfaction. Just as he had predicted, there were indeed some dangerous moments when Rourke got too close, but throughout the match, it seemed like Rourke held the upper hand.
It wasn’t that Ophelia was weak. It was just that Rourke was better in close combat.
“Still, why isn’t he getting treatment for his hand?”
“Isn’t it painful?”
“No way it doesn’t hurt.”
Below them, Rourke and Ophelia were talking about something. Rourke’s expression seemed normal, but having a hole in your palm must hurt no matter how much you strengthen your body with spiritual power. If it were Gareth, he would have headed straight for the infirmary…
“Gareth, let’s go to Rourke.”
“You’re right, let’s go.”
Nodding at Lily’s words, Gareth stopped thinking about it, stood up, and left the seats with her.
“…………”
Leia, who had just watched the rank battle, silently reflected on Rourke’s fight. The enormous golem, the spiritual power required to maintain it, and his exceptional swordsmanship.
She had already sensed it when they went out for crepes together, but once again, Rourke managed to win without summoning his contracted spirit.
“Rourke-senpai is amazing!”
“Yes, he really is.”
Leia nodded at Meili’s words. She truly agreed.
Ophelia Ringlad was probably stronger than Leia herself. Yet, even Ophelia couldn’t reveal Rourke’s hidden contracted spirit.
[But next time, I’ll push Rourke-senpai to the point where he has no choice but to summon his contracted spirit, so be prepared.]
Her declaration back then wasn’t a lie. But still… but…
“…………”
“I can’t wait to fight him…”
Beside the serious-looking Leia, Akari was laughing cheerfully, as if she couldn’t be more excited.
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“Shall we go, Sena?”
“Yes.”
Sena Thiedor, the student council secretary, followed Misha as she stood up from the spectator seats and left the arena.
The surrounding students were buzzing with excitement, discussing the battle they had just witnessed. In contrast, Misha walked calmly down the hallway with her usual composed expression.
“Excuse me, may we pass through?”
“Oh! Lady Misha, sorry! We’ll move right away!”
“We apologize!”
The students blocking her path hurriedly stepped aside, watching Misha’s figure as she walked briskly away.
“Lady Misha seemed to be in a bad mood, didn’t she?”
“Maybe she’s frustrated because she thought she’d finally get to see Areas’s contracted spirit this time.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. The match was impressive to us, but since Lady Misha has already defeated Areas once, she’s not interested in him unless he summons his contracted spirit.”
As Sena, who was following Misha as her secretary, overheard the students whispering doubts about Misha’s mood,
she understood why they might think that way.
However, Sena had noticed something different. Misha’s steps were lighter than usual, her voice a bit higher, and though she tried to hide it, there was a flicker of excitement in Misha’s chest.
“Sena.”
“Yes.”
Misha turned around after they exited the arena. On her face was a smile so beautiful that it could captivate anyone, regardless of gender.
“He really is interesting. I’m sure this year’s Grand Spirit Martial Festival will be exciting.”
The memory of her rank battle with him crossed her mind. The way he barely parried her angelic strike and even managed to land a blow on her, Rourke Areas.
This match had been just as thrilling as their previous one. No, today, he might have shone even brighter than before. It was a pity she couldn’t see his contracted spirit, but the match was still worth watching.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Imagining the upcoming festival, Misha smiled with genuine joy.
My hand hurts. It hurts so much.
“Well done, using minor spirits like that was impressive.”
“It’s nothing, just a simple trick.”
Pain has been shooting through my hand the whole time. It’s so bad I could scream.
“You say that after holding back my Dreadnought? You had me completely fooled.”
“Haha, well, if you’d hit me with that barrage at the beginning, it would’ve crushed my golem in an instant.”
I want to go to the infirmary. I need painkillers… no, I need treatment right away.
“I see. So you deliberately took the first hit to make me waste spiritual power. As calculating as ever.”
“Haha.”
I force a laugh, sweat dripping down my forehead.
Can I go now? We’re done talking, right?
“By the way, there’s one more thing I wanted to ask.”
“Do you really need to ask it now?”
I try to keep calm, but there’s a hole in my hand. If I could, I’d sprint to the infirmary right now.
“I’d prefer to resolve it now, if possible. Is that alright?”
“Sure, what is it?”
I should’ve said no, but I go along with it, asking with a forced smile. I’m too nice for my own good.
“I noticed there were dozens of minor spirits embedded in your golem. There’s no way I would have missed that many. When did you set them up?”
“While I was taking your barrage. In the middle of that storm of spiritual bullets, it was easy to hide them.”
Alright, I answered. Can I go now? I’m leaving, okay?
“I see. I’m completely defeated. I thought you were underestimating me by not summoning your contracted spirit, but it seems I was the one underestimating you.”
Ophelia nodded with a refreshing smile as if she had reached some kind of understanding.
Just as I was about to walk away, Ophelia extended her hand to stop me. What now?
“Congratulations. I won’t lose next time.”
“…”
I exhale to hold back the pain and shake hands with Ophelia. Finally, she notices the blood dripping from my hand. Took you long enough.
“Sorry for holding you up. It’s a bit late for me to say this since I’m the one who hurt you, but you should really get that treated.”
“Yeah, I will. Well then, I’ll be going now.”
With that, I turn on my heel. Honestly, I want to run to the infirmary right now, but after enduring this long, that would be pathetic.
I walk toward the exit of the arena with a stride that hides the pain.
Hang in there, me. Just hold on a little longer. If worst comes to worst, I’ll sprint once I’m out of the arena. So for now, just endure it!
“Amazing, Areas-kun! I heard the rumors, but you really didn’t summon your contracted spirit!”
“Haha.”
Just when I was almost there, a teacher acting as the referee caught me.
Damn it!!!!!!!!
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