Chapter 53: The Final Battle
Lira's POV:
Not far from the battle, I hid behind the shadows of the forest as I watched them fight. I had been here since Ren performed his technique.
Why did I know him? Well, besides being the Vice Student Council President, he was also a character from the Novel I read.
You're right, I am a reader who entered the world of the novel, and moreover, it was a novel I frequently read.
And now I was watching the character I only read about, moving, living, breathing, and being strong.
"What do you think, Nyx?" I asked the goddess.
[You are indeed right. He is very strong, isn't he?]
Nyx replied in a small tone.
"Yes, extremely strong…"
But something was strange. Ren should have used his lightning technique during the exam, not the Flame Breathing Technique. That technique—I never saw him use it in the novel.
'Is it because of my presence that he changed?' I said internally.
And then I looked at the wheat-haired girl, she... I had never seen or known her, even in all the chapters I had read.
'Huh... Maybe it's just a coincidence because I'm in this world, right?'
While I was thinking hard, Nyx's voice sounded in my mind.
[So, kid, when are you going to join in?]
The voice made me realize where I was. Then I looked forward. In the eyes of me and Nyx, we saw Ren as if he were dancing in the middle of the battlefield.
Umara and Mia were already exhausted.
Kyle attacked from above, but Ren slid smoothly, jumped, then spun in the air, striking back. His blue fire kept following his every movement.
Kyle ducked, to avoid the strike. Noah appeared from behind Kyle and joined the attack, their swords clashing.
Ren shifted his sword to the side—his movement was smooth, forming a semicircle. The blue fire followed the swing like a painting of light, spinning, dancing, pulsating.
Clash!!
The collision between Noah's sword and Ren's odachi produced a heat wave that made the air ripple. Noah was thrown back one step, his eyes widening when he saw the blue fire didn't subside—but grew wilder.
I held my breath.
"What kind of dance is that?" I asked slowly. Not just out of curiosity but also surprise, because why wasn't such a powerful technique in the novel?
[I see it as such, too.]
Nyx replied, her voice sounding genuinely serious.
Ren wasn't fighting like a typical fighter.
There were no rough movements, no raw strength… but every step had a rhythm. As if he was following a tune that only he could hear.
Every time Kyle attacked, Ren tilted his body with elegance.
Every time Noah's swing approached, Ren moved half a turn and converted his body's momentum into a counterattack.
His blue fire blazed, spun, crept along his movement path.
Swoosh~! Swoosh~!!
Like a dance of fire. Like an ancient ritual.
With one stomp of his foot, Ren pressed into the ground and his body shot forward, spinning once, then slashing sideways.
Kyle raised his sword, but Ren's movements were too smooth and fast.
The odachi swing sliced the wind, forming a beautiful blue line… yet deadly.
Brasshh!!
Kyle was dragged backward, the ground beneath him scratched long due to the immense push.
It wasn't over yet.
Ren lowered his body, one knee almost touching the ground—then slid forward. Like a ballet dancer shifting their body with one foot, light yet precise.
His blue fire stretched out like the tail of a fire dragon.
Lucius came from the side, but Ren raised his sword with a small circular movement, brushing the attack aside as if merely shooing away a hand.
Cling—!
Lucius was thrown back, taking a direct hit, and vanished like light, Eliminated.
Ren spun once fully in the air and landed silently. Then ten light arrows flew towards him.
Ren saw that and jumped slightly from the ground, then he slashed with a rotating movement, cutting sideways, backward, forward, and upward. The fire followed the rhythm of the movement.
This made it look beautiful. The blue fire was like water—flowing, splitting, spinning, then breaking into sparks every time it hit an arrow.
SWISH—SWISH—SWISH—!
Each of Ren's slashes was like a brushstroke in the air, and his blue fire followed flexibly, not wildly. As if it wasn't fire… but something obedient to the direction of the dance.
The light arrows shattered into golden dust before they could get within a meter of his body.
I swallowed hard for a moment.
[What are you waiting for, kid? Fight him now!]
He raised his sword with both hands. Not in surrender, but for an attack that made the air tremble.
He murmured:
[Flame Breathing Technique: Fifth Form: Fire Phoenix!]
Slowly, the fire on the blade of his sword formed a fire Phoenix bird. The Phoenix bird formed slowly—flat, solid, beautiful, but deadly.
It wasn't just a fire illusion… but a living form. Its wings blazed, its feathers trembled as if touched by the wind, and its gaze… felt real.
I got goosebumps.
That was not a technique in the novel.
It didn't exist at all.
"Nyx… what the hell is this?" I whispered in fear.
[I don't know... I haven't seen it either.]
Nyx's voice sounded slightly strained for the first time.
The Phoenix bird flapped its wings once.
WOOM—!!
A heat wave swept through the forest, scorching the edges of the leaves.
Abel, Kyle, Noah, Mia, and the others all halted. Even Maira, who was ready to attack, froze. Their skin felt like it would burn if they walked any closer.
The Phoenix flapped again, and Ren took a deep breath, hissing. The breathing pattern was strange, not any basic mana breathing pattern.
Ren took a stance, then he whispered something.
"It's over."
He lunged—
In an instant, he and the Phoenix following behind him shot forward like a flaming meteor.
Noah gritted his teeth and shifted his sword to the side, then muttered quickly:
[Divine Sword Technique: Skybreaker Slash!]
Noah's hair fluttered wildly as the silhouette of angel wings appeared on his back. Then he lunged straight ahead.
[Wind Divider.]
But before anyone could react, a line of wind sliced through the air, directly cutting the cord of the bell on Ren's waist.
They all froze; the world also seemed to hold its breath, unsure of what had just happened. Ren, he stopped mid-stride. Not because he didn't want to move, but because he couldn't.
Clink! Clink!
The sound of the bell falling to the ground echoed in everyone's ears. As for me, my mouth opened and closed several times.
It was Lia who did it; she stood a bit further away, her hand still raised. She was covered in sweat but still stood tall.
"Hah.. Ha.. I did it!" Lia yelled huskily.
"W-what!?" Noah, who had also stopped mid-stride, said in disbelief.
Abel, Maira, and Mia stood with their mouths slightly open, seemingly unable to process what had just happened.
Ren was also not exempt from the shock; his eyes were wide open for the first time. His Fire Phoenix slowly disappeared, blown away by the wind.
"What…?" he looked at Lia with a blank expression, "What just happened…??"
Before Ren could say anything more, he vanished like fractured light.
Instantly, a voice loudly echoed throughout the virtual world:
[The Exam is over!]