Sona only felt the world spin around her.
It seemed a special power, born from nothingness, surged directly into her body. Wave after wave of warmth flowed from her head throughout her body. Sona's mind entered a special, ethereal state, like a sudden enlightenment. In an instant, one unfamiliar memory after another was branded directly onto her soul. Though she had never learned them, she felt as if she could use them at will.
For a moment.
In Sona's eyes.
The flow of time in the entire world seemed to slow down considerably. Even the demon knight's strike, which was originally hard to follow with the naked eye, became incredibly slow under Sona's gaze. The leaves of the artificial forest fell from their branches, drifting and fluttering down slowly.
This....
One of Sona's bright brown eyes instantly turned pure black, and within the depths of that blackness, a brilliant gold seemed to shimmer and flow.
I can see it! I can see it clearly!!
Sona easily dodged the demon knight's attack. The moment its greatsword struck the ground, kicking up dust, Sona took a deep breath, clenching her teeth tightly. From the gaps between her teeth, puffs of mist billowed out of her mouth.
[Sun Breathing!]
This strange sword style, a name she had never heard before, Sona instinctively executed it as if she had known it since childhood.
The white mist exhaled from between her teeth instantly transformed into scorching flames.
On the blade of her knight's longsword, flames like flowing lava enveloped the blade. This fire gave off no heat, nor was it as bright and blinding as ordinary flames, but for some reason, it exuded a sharpness, a piercing quality that seemed capable of annihilating all evil.
"Ahhhh!"
Sona roared, swinging her arms, and slashed the flame-wreathed knight's longsword upward from below.
*Tchii~~
The expected sound of metal clashing never came.
Unlike before.
It was clearly the same sword, the same her, yet before she couldn't even nick the demon knight's armor. Now, however, it was like a cleaver cutting through bone. Although difficult, as long as she used enough force, she could still cut the bone open.
After Sona's slash, the rushing flames of the sun surged upward, transforming into a blade made entirely of fire that shot into the sky. Splattering into the air along with it was the demon knight's dark red blood.
"!!!"
In the audience, many of the wealthy capitalist merchants clearly couldn't hold back. They stood up one by one in shock, their mouths slightly open. Their eyes of various colors, hidden beneath golden masks, widened slightly as they stared in disbelief at the giant screen in front of the private box.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!! How did that little squirrel do it!!"
The greasy, pot-bellied tycoon in the center said in disbelief: "The demon knight is specifically used to block the top 16 contestants in the Knight Major qualifiers. It has even killed a top 4 qualifier contestant before. How could it possibly be injured by this little squirrel, who isn't even an official knight!!"
"Moreover, the armor on the demon knight is top-tier. Ordinary swords can't possibly break it. That crude, broken sword... Why!! And those flames? What the hell are those flames? Originium Arts?"
As for many of the tycoons to the side, they were pleasantly surprised.
"Not bad, not bad. This little squirrel truly never fails to impress us. If she can kill the demon knight... hehe..."
"Someone, get rid of the other three runners. Cowards who only know how to flee have no entertainment value..."
In the artificial forest.
The demon knight staggered back two steps. After delivering that slash, Sona deftly rolled away, putting distance between herself and the demon knight.
The demon knight blankly touched its chest.
Dark red blood soaked its armor. The blood continued to flow, staining the green grass on the ground a crimson red. A slight stinging pain constantly pricked at the demon knight's nerves.
It paused for a moment.
The smell of its own blood wafted out and was inhaled by the demon knight.
The blood of its enemies made it incredibly excited, but the smell of its own blood made the demon knight extremely furious.
After its not-so-flexible brain processed the fact that it was injured...
The pain in its chest, the instinctive humiliation of being wounded, and the stimulus of its own blood's metallic scent sent the demon knight into a furious roar. The eyes hidden beneath its helmet turned completely crimson, like fresh blood.
ROAR!!
A beast-like roar bellowed from the demon knight's wide-open mouth. In its rage, the massive muscles under the demon knight's armor actually bulged at a visible rate. In just an instant, its entire body, originally just over two meters tall, swelled by another size. On its muscles, which had risen to another dimension, it was as if magma flowed within the blood beneath its skin, instantly circulating throughout the demon knight's entire body.
The being looked even more like a monster than before.
An oppressive aura, even more terrifying than before, made Sona's scalp tingle. She felt incredibly nervous. She didn't know why she had been able to so smoothly execute that sword move she had never learned, nor did she know why she had entered that profound and mysterious state just now. But Sona only needed to understand one thing: because she had entered a special state, she had angered this big oaf into entering its second phase.
The demon knight swung its greatsword with incredible speed. Despite the massive size of the greatsword, in the demon knight's hands, it was now faster than an ordinary knight's longsword.
"Don't panic! Deep breaths. Calm yourself."
Lucas Reeve's voice rang in Sona's mind.
Sona, after all, still lacked combat experience. Without having gone through many battles, she was still somewhat lacking. Sometimes, combat experience is even more important than sword techniques. Take Liskarm, for example. Her Originium Arts are a one-time use, and her physical fitness isn't great. As a Defender Operator, Liskarm's physical stats would rank at the bottom, but Liskarm is still an Elite Operator.
This has a lot to do with Liskarm's combat experience and tactical planning.
Sona's own combat talent was good, but after panicking a little at the start, she quickly stabilized her emotions at Lucas Reeve's reminder and blocked a series of attacks.
"Hello, may I ask... what was that I just used, and what are all these things in my head?"
Sona hurriedly asked.
"Er... we're still in a fight. Can't this wait until after you've won?"
"This is power I control, I just lent a part of it to you. I also enhanced your physical condition through my own means. Don't worry, there are no side effects. As for who I am? You can think of me as someone who came in response to your call, someone who can help you achieve your wishes."
"Compared to all that, focus on the fight in front of you."
"Don't just stand there, to your side!!"
With Lucas Reeve's warning, Sona barely managed to dodge the monster's tricky attack.
To be honest, even with this, Sona still wasn't guaranteed to win.
Although she had Lucas Reeve's help, her physical condition was still inferior, as was her combat experience. How long had this young girl Sona been fighting? This demon knight, at the very least, was a formidable warrior in its past life. Even having lost its consciousness, its body could instinctively use many dirty tricks that only seasoned fighters would know.
Sona's only advantages now were her agility and... her brain.
Although this demon knight's stats almost completely crushed Sona's, its reactions weren't fast, and... it had no brain. It could only rely on instinct to fight, giving the impression that it wasn't very smart. It was a typical boss from a game: high attack, high defense, high health, seemingly powerful on paper, but weak in actual combat, easily kited to death.
"Tsk tsk... Little girl, to your left, roll!!"
Sona seemed to be on the defensive, but in reality, this was more like a training session.
The demon knight, despite clearly having the upper hand, had become an unlucky sparring partner.
"Yes!!"
Although Sona was still curious about who Lucas Reeve was, she trusted his words completely. After all, besides this voice in her head, she had no one else to trust.
Facing the berserk demon knight, Sona's footwork gradually went from messy at the beginning, to stable, and finally, to moving with ease.
Only twenty minutes had passed.
But Sona felt she had improved more in these twenty minutes than in all her previous battles combined.
"Try to strike with your sword."
Lucas Reeve said again.
In truth, if Lucas Reeve took over Sona's body, forget fighting for twenty minutes, he could kill this somewhat weak demon knight so badly it wouldn't know what hit it, all in an instant. But that would be boring.
Just helping her by 'piloting' her body wouldn't improve this squirrel-girl at all. The squirrel-girl was a knight, and her combat talent was genuinely not weak. She had a strong, optimistic heart that yearned to become stronger. So, Lucas Reeve chose to guide her from the side rather than intervening directly.
"Yes!!"
Although it had only been a short twenty minutes.
But Sona had already grown accustomed to Lucas Reeve's rhythm. When Lucas Reeve told her to dodge, she dodged. Use strength, she used strength. Twist her waist, she twisted her waist. During the process, the voice in her head was even teaching her how to exert force, how to breathe, and how to perform the same actions while expending less energy.
These special and important techniques couldn't be learned through self-study. Even ordinary knights didn't know these minor details. They were small but extremely practical tricks that could only be summarized by powerful warriors who had experienced countless battles.
After dodging the demon knight's horizontal slash.
Sona gripped her sword with both hands, gradually exerting force under Lucas Reeve's guidance.
"Engage your core, mobilize your whole body, feel the Originium energy within you, let it spread through your body like a net, and use all your strength to deliver your most brilliant strike yet!"
"Yes!!"
Every muscle in Sona's body tensed. Following Lucas Reeve's instruction, Sona tried her best to channel the Originium energy within her, spreading it throughout her body in a more refined way. A faint red glow gradually lit up her entire form.
The flames of Sun Breathing once again ignited Sona's blade.
Her hands, and indeed her whole body, unleashed strength she had never used before. The blade, wreathed in the flames of the sun, slashed directly at the demon knight's neck. *CLANG!* It was blocked by the armor on the demon knight's neck.
"Ahhh!!"
Sona roared, and the flames on her blade burned even more intensely. The sharpness of the knight's longsword instantly increased by more than a single notch.
Like splitting wood with a giant axe.
After the blade sank deep beneath the skin, she put her strength into it. The flames and the blade slashed through the demon knight's neck together. A head flew into the sky from the demon knight's shoulders. Dark red blood spurted out like a fountain, spraying in all directions. Bathed in blood, Sona at this moment looked like a young goddess of war. Though her thoughts were still naive, her eyes were exceptionally resolute.
"Oho, you did it. Although this 'demon knight' thing was pathetically weak, I'll still praise you. Well done, little squirrel."
Sona listened to the voice in her head and once again raised her question.
"Why are you inside my head?"
"Don't misunderstand..."
Lucas Reeve said: "I'm not in your head. I'm in the necklace around your neck."
In the private box, the atmosphere fell into an eerie silence. No one spoke. Even breathing seemed to stop. The *thump-thump-thump* of heartbeats could be clearly heard.
Killed... She really killed it?!!
The faces of all the tycoons in the box were filled with disbelief.
Although the demon knight was no different from an ant in their eyes—or rather, even a champion knight was nothing they ever took seriously. A so-called champion knight was just a tool in the hands of capital. If they became disobedient or lost their value, they would be ruthlessly discarded.
But... although the demon knight's strength was average, for a little squirrel who wasn't even an official knight, it was simply an insurmountable mountain. And this little squirrel... actually... really killed the demon knight!
This....
*Clap, clap...*
The box was silent for a good while.
A solitary clapping sound rang out.
Everyone turned their heads. To the side, a young tycoon wearing a golden wolf mask was the first to stand up and lead the applause. Because he started it, a few others couldn't help but clap along.
"How exciting. This little squirrel truly knows how to impress. And she grew up in the slums, becoming an independent knight as one of the Infected. No teacher, no systematic training, and just like that, she can kill a knight strong enough to defeat a top 4 qualifier contestant. What if she was given resources? Her future might be limitless."
"Her status as one of the Infected, her powerful and flashy strength, her cute appearance and determined eyes... isn't this a better selling point than that Blood Knight of theirs?"
This young tycoon looked at the greasy middle-aged man in the center and said: "Corbett, you almost killed a cash cow that could make a fortune."
The greasy middle-aged man in the center snorted coldly, ignoring him. He didn't want to refute it, because the other party was speaking the truth. He himself could easily see the value of this little squirrel. With a bit of capitalist hype, this rising star could definitely become a star knight.
Many others agreed with the young tycoon's words. With their sharp business acumen honed over many years, they could clearly see whether a person had value.
At least, in their eyes.
The cute squirrel on the screen, bathed in blood, with resolute eyes, could absolutely become a brand new, money-making star under the operation of capital.
Hmph....
The three-time runner-up Black Knight was unwilling to follow capital and was bought by a large foreign investor, barely escaping certain death. The previous champion, the Radiant Knight, who possessed an absolute glory unmatched by any previous champion, was unwilling to follow capital and was forced to leave Kazimierz.
And this time...
The capitalists decided they must create a champion knight who would obey only them, unlike the previous two troublemakers.
The Knight Major has been held 22 times, producing many champions. But the most well-known are still the Black Knight and the Radiant Knight. Because the Black Knight won three consecutive runner-up titles with an invincible posture, and the Radiant Knight's glory outshone even that of capital.
Therefore, an ordinary champion knight was not what they wanted. A champion knight with enough selling points was what these people desired.
And Sona, fit all the selling points they were hoping for.