Chapter 13: vs Zahard's Princess (3)
Now that I think about it, her face looked familiar—
she looks almost exactly like Maschenny Zahard did during her D-Rank Regular days.
Of all people I could have run into, it had to be that battle maniac.
From what I can tell, she must've heard somewhere that I'm "the strongest among the Arie trainees," and came running to test herself.
Seriously—I'm suffering for my own pride.
If I hadn't accepted every duel the Arie kids challenged me to, I wouldn't be stuck in this mess right now.
I gritted my teeth and reached for my sword—but she didn't even give me time to draw it before hurling another bolt of lightning.
I countered by shaping Shinsu Blades, deflecting the strike, and finally drew my sword to assume a stance.
Unlike some people, I don't start fights just because I want to test myself—but once someone picks a fight with me, I'm not the type to turn the other cheek.
"Shinsu Body Reinforcement."
With a sharp crack, the floor tiles shattered beneath my feet as I launched forward.
Maschenny, too, charged at me—her whole body crackling with electricity.
As much as I hate to admit it, she's faster than me.
Among my peers in the Arie family, no one surpasses me in speed—but she's on another level.
The combination of direct lineage, Zahard's blood, and innate talent is impossible to ignore.
"Tch—!"
Her lightning-imbued needles shot straight toward my heart.
Was she seriously trying to kill me?
Outsped, I barely managed to intercept with the flat of my blade.
Even so, the sheer force of her thrust sent me skidding backward—but that was exactly what I wanted.
I adjusted my stance as the distance opened.
Good. Now she's within my ideal range.
Sparks danced violently around Maschenny as she lunged again, refusing to give me even a second to breathe.
But the moment she stepped into the Shinsu space I'd already seized control of—I swung my sword.
The Arie Family's signature swordsmanship—sending slashes along impossible trajectories.
No matter how strong Maschenny was, without being an Arie herself, dodging or blocking that strike would be impossible.
Slash—!
A streak of blood arced through the air. Maschenny staggered back, freshly cut—but it wasn't over yet.
I continued the motion seamlessly, flowing into a second strike.
Another burst of red.
She clenched her teeth, clearly in pain…but—wait.
Despite being struck twice, both cuts near vital arteries, she didn't falter.
Instead, she forced her body forward through the pain, throwing her lightning needles like spears to force me to block— baiting out my third slash—then leaped high, fist wreathed in electricity.
My fourth strike was still on cooldown, and before I could recover, her punch was already in my face.
Hold on—
I've seen this before…
KRRAA-KOOOOOM!
Thunder roared as a lightning-charged fist crashed straight into me.
"Gahhh!"
That's how you fight an Arie:take the hit—then land a stronger one in return.
Of course, if an average person tried that, they'd die instantly.
Only someone from the Ten Great Families—or a Princess of Zahard—could pull it off.
And Maschenny Zahard, belonging to both those categories, had just demonstrated the perfect example.
God, that hurts.
My white uniform was scorched black in patches,
and residual sparks still crackled from my body.
I spat out the blood that rose to my mouth
and tightened my grip on my sword.
I'd taken a hit, sure—but she'd been cut near major arteries.
The match wasn't decided yet.
I lunged again toward Maschenny.
This time, I planned to push her beyond the limits any human body could endure.
She came charging too, electricity blazing violently around her, determination burning in her eyes.
And then—
BOOOOM—!
A deafening shockwave rippled through the surroundings.
Dust exploded outward.
Within the storm, blue lightning crackled wildly,
and white light flared like a raging storm.
As the dust settled, two figures—a boy and a girl—came into view, each restrained mid-attack by an adult standing between them.
"Princess, my apologies, but please refrain from causing trouble before the opening ceremony even begins. You'll have your chance to fight during the tournament."
"And you—what were you thinking, turning this place upside down while I was gone for five minutes to make a report? Calm down and sheath your sword."
I silently slid my sword back into its scabbard.
Maschenny, however, still brimming with irritation, glared at the Ranker from the Khun family who had stopped her.
Only after noticing that I'd already put my sword away did she finally dispel her lightning and turn her back.
Honestly, I also hated leaving a fight unfinished—
but like that Khun Ranker said, we'd meet again in the festival soon enough.
Still, the difference between us and a Ranker was staggering.
I could barely see the moment they moved, let alone react.
They really were on a completely different level.
"Here, take my video stone. Yours got fried earlier—use this one instead."
"Thanks. But wow, you were pretty intense back there, you know? When you jumped in and deflected all my slashes, I thought you were a High Ranker."
"Says the guy who left a cut on one of Zahard's princesses. You've got some serious guts."
"Ugh, she started it—!"
My pocket device suddenly rang, cutting me off.
I answered without thinking, and a barrage of voices immediately exploded out of it.
....
Albelda: "Hey! It's me, Albelda! Anna's crying her eyes out right next to me! Are you okay?! I saw the video—you got electrocuted hard! Tell me you're alive!"
Vicente: "It's Vicente. Are you unharmed? That was quite a powerful discharge. Which Khun attacked you? If you're badly injured, I'll file a formal complaint with their family. I've already contacted our Floating Castle's administrator."
Anna: "H-Hic… Hoaquin… Oppa… Waaahhh!"
....
Ugh… I shouldn't have sent that video stone in the first place.
After barely calming down Albelda, convincing Vicente not to start a diplomatic incident, and soothing Anna until her sobs subsided, the noise from the pocket device finally began to fade.
"Anyway, I'm fine. I just got ambushed while trying to take a selfie. Anna, stop crying, okay?"
"… Sniff … okay…"
....
I ended the call after some difficulty, but before I could put the pocket away, Anna must have pressed the video call button—she wanted to see my face.
"Activating video call function."
Wait—what? Why is it turning on automatically?!
"Ah crap, right… all my video stones are set to automatic activation…"
And before my Ranker could even finish saying it, the call went through mercilessly.
My burnt clothes, messy hair, and bloodied face filled the screen—and the moment my friends saw me, they collectively lost their minds again.
It took another full hour just to calm a sobbing Anna down this time.
....
I narrowed my eyes and glared at my supervising Ranker.
"Ahem, ahem… Well, uh… you all seem really close, huh? Hahaha…"
"Thank you for the compliment, Ranker in charge."
"Hey! Why aren't you calling me noona (big sis)?!"
"Considering your age, Ranker-nim, I thought 'noona' might be a bit… inappropriate."
"…No, but I gave you the video stone because I thought of you!"
That's true. My kindness backfired and smacked me in the back of the head—she's kind of a victim here too, so let's just let it go.
"True enough, noona."
We finished the opening ceremony without further trouble, changed clothes, and are now getting our injuries treated at a medical facility inside the Archimedes.
Come to think of it, I didn't take much damage since it was mostly blunt-force attacks, but Maschenny had cuts near major arteries — she's probably worse off than I am.
As an Arie I can't help having landed the hits, but cutting major vessels was a bit harsh; I feel kind of bad about that. Still, I'm the one who made Anna cry, and that's unforgivable.
"…So, from that fight, who do you think is stronger? You? Her?"
"Hard to say — we'd have needed to clash a bit longer… Honestly, I was getting pushed back then."
"And without that?"
"…Why would I remove that?"
It was two whole years' worth, you know.
"Fine, do whatever you want then."
After some chit-chat, the machine scanning and treating me went dark — that means the treatment's finished.
"Arie Hoaquin. All medical treatment is complete. Your natural recovery ability was beyond expectation, so no special measures were necessary. You may act freely immediately."
"Thanks—"
I pulled my clothes back on and headed toward the stadium where the festival is being held. Partly to watch — partly because, annoyingly, I'm the last one scheduled to appear today. Tired, but can't avoid it.
"Oh, right."
"What? Something you left at the lodging? I'll bring it."
"No, that's not it. I've been wondering since earlier."
"What is it?"
"This festival — each participating family is staking some kind of interest, right? A gamble for territory, rights, and so on?"
"Calling the sacred Ten Families festival a gamble… rude, but not entirely inaccurate. So why?"
"I heard the Khun staked a floor's governing rights, Ropovia put up some exclusive rights to a species of Shinhaeo, and Ha and Yeon families staked other things. What did our family put up?"
"Oh, that? Us."
"What—?"
"Our floating castle."
"You mean our floating castle? I don't know if you know, but our floating castle is huge. Aside from the Ten Rulers' exclusive castles, it's one of the top five in the Tower. So that's what we staked."
"…So that means—"
"Yep. If we lose this, we're homeless."
What the—give that back!
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