[Raul's POV]
- Tap ... Tap ... Tap ...
Only the sound of our footsteps could be heard in the hallway leading to this arena field. I have to fight Elena in the first match of this round.
Glancing to the side, I saw the face of the blonde-haired woman who was smiling confidently. It made me wonder how much Elena has developed at this point after the survival exam. Has she unlocked the themes of her Profound Codex?
Princess Elena de Aragon...
In the game Path of Destiny, she was nicknamed the Goddess of War of the Empire. Why did she receive this nickname? It is because one of Elena's Profound Codices can make a battle turn around at the moment her side is cornered.
The name of the Codex Elena possesses is Glorious Thunder Reign, where the more you can inspire or motivate someone, the stronger you will become. This Codex has three Profound Codex themes, namely Honor, Glory, and Inspire.
The Profound Codex with the Honor theme belonging to Elena can unlock an ability named Almario del Relampago. Elena has used this ability twice while fighting me. By activating this ability, Elena's speed can increase three to five times faster than usual.
Next is the Profound Codex with the Glory theme, which can unlock the ability named Thunder Emperor. When activating this ability, Elena can absorb natural lightning in the vicinity or her own creation and then concentrate it into a very powerful AoE.
And the last one is Inspire; this Profound Codex can make the morale and strength of the soldiers she leads increase by many times over during battle. This ability is what earned her the nickname Goddess of War.
"Hey, Raul," Elena called to me. "Are you going to use your Nature Mana when fighting me this time?"
I only shrugged my shoulders in response to that question. Elena then fell silent and continued her steps out of this hallway. Upon arriving at the arena field, Elena's blue eyes were seen staring at me directly. Her gaze seemed to say, "I will not forgive you if you are not serious in this fight."
It is not that I do not want to use my Nature Mana against Elena. The actual reason I never use my Nature Mana in public as Raul de Garcia is so that they do not hunt me down when I join the The Masquerade group later.
"Are both participants ready!?"
Asked the Promoter who would begin our match. Elena and I nodded and then unsheathed our respective swords.
"The first match of the quarter-final round, begins!"
Elena and I activated Accel magic and then darted toward each other.
- Clang!
Sparks of fire were created as we clashed sword slashes. Elena then performed a stabbing attack toward my neck, but I was able to avoid it by shifting my head. Seeing Elena's defense slightly open, I immediately performed a diagonal upward slash. However, Elena quickly swung her sword back to withhold my slash.
Currently, it is a contest of strength; however, because my sword's position is below Elena's sword, I am the one in the disadvantaged position this time. Our faces were facing each other; she was seen smiling happily.
"This time will not be the same as before," said Elena, who was further strengthening her sword's pressure on mine. "I will not be hit by that Reject Impact magic of yours!"
Even if you say that, I also doubt that magic will succeed easily considering I have used it on you before. Elena will definitely be very vigilant.
"I have another surprise for you besides that magic, Elena," I said while launching a kick aimed at her head.
Elena withheld my kick with her left hand; her body was pushed slightly to the side, which resulted in our strength contest being broken.
"Heee~ I will gladly accept that surprise of yours!" Elena replied while again darting toward me.
It seems this will be a very exhausting match.
***
[Alisha's POV]
The match has been ongoing for about two minutes; it is seen that Raul and Elena have already been trading attacks. Every time Princess Elena attacks with her sword, Raul is already prepared to withhold it and then perform a counter-attack. However, not only Raul, but Princess Elena also does the same, making their swordplay like a dance of a pair of lovers rather than a serious tournament fight.
Princess Elena de Aragon...
Yesterday, I searched for information regarding her. She is a lightning Nature Mana user, possesses extraordinary speed, and her swordplay ability is unrivaled in this academy. She is also a student of one of the Grand Espadas—Raymond de Chatelon, who is better known by the nickname The White Knight. This is because Count Raymond is famous for his pure swordplay without any magic at all.
This means that, at the very least, Princess Elena's pure swordplay ability without magic cannot be underestimated. According to my analysis, Leon could lose to her even if he neutralized Princess Elena's magic. Her pure sword ability is that dangerous.
The two of them again launched attacks at each other; it appears Raul so far can keep up with Princess Elena's swordplay. He does not possess the same speed or strength as Princess Elena's swordplay, but why is he still able to rival her? I do not know; swordplay is not my expertise.
"Leon, can you defeat Raul with that Anti-magic of yours?" I asked my loyal servant.
"Of course, Princess Alisha," Leon answered confidently. "So far, I do not see any special abilities at all from Raul de Garcia that are dangerous."
What Leon said is true; Raul de Garcia does not have any dangerous abilities at all. Then, how does he always win matches against enemies with abilities far greater than his in this tournament?
Against Emilia, he defeated her with a Trading Blow strategy and then made her let her guard down at the last moment and finished her off. Against Prince Vlad, he was able to know the secret of his blood ability, again making him let his guard down and then delivering a fatal attack to him.
So far, he has always won using strategy and dismantling the abilities of his enemies. If we fight, will he also be able to read my ability with just a single look? However, I will ensure his defeat before he realizes that ability of mine.
For now, let us see how far your limits go, Raul de Garcia.
***
[Raul's POV]
As expected, fighting her when Elena uses a sword is much more difficult than our previous fight during the first stage exam. This time, Elena's legs were seen glowing, signaling that she was activating Accel magic. The blonde-haired woman then darted quickly toward me and launched a powerful slash.
- Clang!
I withheld it, but my body was pushed slightly backward due to the momentum Elena gained.
"Let us end the warm-up, Raul," said Elena, who was seen holding her sword with two hands. "It is time for us to have a real fight."
This is not good; Elena has prepared that signature stance of hers. This means she will start attacking me with her very troublesome attack combos.
"For a long time, I have wanted to try attacking you with my newly created attack combo," Elena said, smiling confidently. "I want to know if you can avoid my attack that I haven't even shown to anyone yet."
"Oh, I am very honored to be able to take your first experience, Princess," I said to her with ambiguous words and a sarcastic tone.
Hearing my words, Elena looked slightly angry. I must focus; this is a twenty-attack combo. Both the speed and destructive power of this attack are very high.
"I am coming, Raul!"
Elena again darted toward me; the first phase is right, right, cross, horizontal, then left. Remembering her attack pattern in the game, I began to avoid and parry the powerful and fast slashes that Elena launched at me.
Elena looked slightly surprised that I could parry and avoid the first phase of her attack perfectly, but she again performed an attack to start the second phase. Next is left, right, stab, vertical up, then diagonal down.
I was again able to parry and avoid the second phase attack combo of Elena's dance. This time, Elena's face looked serious and then returned to launch the final attack combo. This is the most difficult; ten consecutive fast attacks will be launched in this last phase.
Elena then again performed fast slashes and stabs toward my body; I struggled to again avoid and parry according to the memory I possessed regarding this combo. However, what was surprising was that this time Elena changed her attack pattern differently from what I remembered in the game, causing my body to be hit by several of her sword cuts.
She then performed the final slash; I did not know if she would change the direction of her slash as well? I cannot just rely on my knowledge that exists in the game to fight her.
- Clang!
I managed to withhold it, but because her slash was very powerful, my body was thrown backward several meters.
"I cannot believe you were able to escape from fatal wounds after receiving that attack combo of mine," said Elena, who looked surprised. "However, I have finally found out a little regarding your ability, Raul."
She realized something? Was that the reason she changed her attack pattern differently from the one in the game earlier?
"You can read all these attacks of mine even though I haven't shown them to anyone yet," said Elena, who stared sharply at me. "However, when I changed my attack pattern from what it should have been, you suddenly had difficulty reading it."
I already suspected she could find out; Elena's observation ability while fighting truly cannot be underestimated. From now on, it seems I must focus more on observing her movements rather than relying on the knowledge that exists in the game.
"So that is the reason you can read every movement of your enemy," said Elena, whose body began to be enveloped by yellow lightning. "This time, I will truly defeat you, Raul!"
This is it; Elena has activated one of her Profound Codices, which is Almario del Relampago. Her speed will increase by many times over. Elena then disappeared from my sight; I have to guess where she will appear. Suddenly, I felt an alien mana flow to my left.
- Bam!
Before Elena could attack me, I first performed a kick to the place where she would appear, making her immediately tumble to the ground.
"It's not as if you are the only one who has adapted to the enemy's ability," I said to her. "After using that ability three times on me, did you really expect I wouldn't get used to facing it?"
Elena got back up; her mouth was seen bleeding after being hit squarely by my kick. She again disappeared as fast as lightning and then appeared behind me. I placed my sword behind my head and then heard the sound of clashing metal. I then spun my body clockwise to launch a Spinning Kick at Elena's head. However, she managed to withhold it with her hand.
Her body was thrown slightly due to withholding that kick of mine; she then jumped away to maintain distance from me. However, I will not allow her to disappear again. Activating Acceleration magic, I hurried to chase her and then performed a vertical slash.
- Tang!
Elena withheld my attack with her sword, but I immediately kicked her chest, making her again thrown backward. Elena got back up; this time her sword began to be enveloped by yellow lightning.
Lightning Blade, huh?
Elena again disappeared and then appeared right in front of me and immediately performed a vertical downward slash, but I was able to withhold it with my sword.
"Thunder Scatter!"
My body was thrown because Elena suddenly activated magic in the form of a lightning explosion from her body that radiated in all directions.
"Thunder Whip!"
Suddenly I felt something tying my leg; Elena's lightning sword was seen changing and elongating like a whip. She then swung my body toward the arena wall; I began to feel extreme pain as my body hit that concrete wall hard.
"It's not over yet!"
My body was again lifted into the air; Elena pulled her whip and then tried to smash my body down to the ground hard. However, I managed to slash that lightning whip of hers with my sword and landed smoothly.
But I did not have time to breathe a sigh of relief; Elena suddenly appeared in front of me and then performed a vertical attack.
- Crack!
I withheld her attack with my sword; a crack was seen created in the middle of my sword due to Elena's attack. It seems this sword will not be strong enough to receive the attack from this woman's Lightning Blade. Elena again launched a powerful horizontal slash at my body, but I was able to avoid it by jumping backward.
"I will not let you go!"
Elena appeared in front of me and then again slashed her sword powerfully.
- Crack!
This time, my sword shattered into pieces from trying to withhold Elena's attack.
"Waterfall Dance!"
Elena launched an attack combo toward me after finding out I no longer had a sword to parry her attacks. With great difficulty, I tried to avoid slash after slash that Elena launched at me. After her combo ended, I activated Temper magic on my legs and then launched a kick at Elena.
- Bam!
The woman managed to withhold my kick, but her body was pushed slightly backward. After activating it for a long time, the lightning enveloping Elena's body then began to disappear. Her panting breath was seen due to exhaustion.
My condition was worse; after receiving attack after attack from Elena, my body was covered in fresh blood and bruises. Elena jumped backward, then began to take a deep breath and then released it slowly.
"Raul, I will end this," Elena said with a serious look. "You will not be able to avoid my ultimate attack."
She is going to use the AoE from her Profound Codex, is she?
It is true; I will not be able to avoid it. This attack is as fast as actual lightning. I only have a three to five percent chance to avoid it.
- Wosshhh!
A strong wind blew across this arena field; Elena's body began to emit yellow-cloded lightning sparks. She then lifted her sword into the air; the lightning around her began to envelop the sword she gripped with both hands.
"Lightning My Might ... Bring Thunder Cloud close to me ... "
The terrifying sound of lightning began to roar, centered on Elena's sword. Her figure this time was like a Lightning Goddess ready to punish someone without mercy.
I must perform a Redirect, although the success probability is only ten percent. This chance is much higher than avoiding this attack.
"Shines Through The Dark ... Bring Hope to The World ... "
Stretching out my right hand, I was prepared to receive the attack that Elena would launch. If this fails, then my journey in this tournament is over. Even if it succeeds, I will still receive a quarter of this magic damage in my body. However, this is still good news compared to being directly destroyed by this magic.
"Thunder Emperor ... Dragon Thunder Damnation!"
Elena then slashed the sword enveloped by the lightning flow; a lightning dragon was then created and darted toward me.
Here it comes...
- Bzzztt ...
Ughhh... My entire body felt painful when Elena's magic hit me. However, I still tried to control it so that the mana from Elena's magic that entered my body could be stable and not go on a rampage.
Stay calm... Hold this pain and balance the two manas that are inside my body... Do not let them both explode and destroy each other...
The lightning flow from Elena's magic that entered began to come back out of my body. Next, I tried to concentrate it on my right hand and directed it back to where Elena was. The woman's eyes were seen opened wide because she was shocked that I could dampen this ultimate magic of hers.
"Redirect ... Impact!"
The lightning flow enveloping my right hand then darted toward Elena.
- Boom!
A fairly large explosion occurred when that magic hit Elena directly. Plumes of smoke and dust blocked my view of Elena's body. I do not know if the counter-attack from the magic she launched at me would be enough to defeat her.
My body and right hand were seen blistering and emitting smoke after trying to reverse Elena's ultimate magic earlier. I knelt on one knee to regulate my breath, which was starting to become abnormal, and rest a little. Every part of my body felt painful... It seems I will soon reach the limit of the limiter I am wearing.
Not long after, the plumes of smoke and dust blocking Elena's body disappeared. Elena was seen lying on the ground with a body full of wounds; her uniform was even tattered and her sword also seemed shattered due to not being strong enough to withstand the earlier magic attack that reversed toward her.
However, this match is not over yet. Elena began to get back up; her face was seen to be holding back extreme pain.
She then smiled at me, "Was that your surprise you mentioned earlier, Raul?" Elena asked me. "I do not know what you did earlier, but I must admit I was truly shocked you could reverse my magic."
After using two Profound Codices and some Nature Mana, it seems Elena can no longer use Elemental magic. Elena again prepared her stance and activated Accel and Temper magic simultaneously; it seems she will not give up until she truly defeats me.
I also did the same; we both then darted to approach each other.
- Bam!
My punch hit Elena's cheek, as did her punch which hit my face. Our bodies were thrown as we landed punches on each other. I got back up; Elena was seen doing the same.
"Give up, Raul," said Elena, whose breath was seen to be panting. "I will win our duel this time!"
"If you want to win, you must force me to give up!"
We both again shortened the distance; this time we only exchanged attacks. Elena punched my solar plexus, while I reciprocated by landing a kick toward her head. We both began to walk staggeringly because of the wounds we received. I even began to vomit blood from my mouth while Elena's head was already bleeding.
I used a Charging technique and then performed a Tackle on Elena's body. At this moment, I was on top of her body, but Elena quickly rolled to the side and then mounted my body, making our situation reverse.
- Bam! Bam! Bam!
She began to beat my face; my vision began to blur and I was very tired. Elena lifted her hand, trying to punch my face again.
- Bam!
However, I pulled her head with both hands and then headbutted her nose with my forehead.
"Ahhh!"
Elena groaned in pain while holding her nose. I tried to turn my body over, but Elena hurried to withhold it. Both of her hands held all of mine; we were in a state of locking each other.
"Hey ... "
In this condition, Elena suddenly called me. She then brought her face close to mine and smiled mischievously.
"Doesn't our current state remind you of that?" Elena said with a weak voice.
When Elena's tongue was dancing inside my mouth to find that red crystal, was it? At that time, Elena was also on top of my body exactly as she is right now.
"Too bad I have no reason to do it this time like back then," said Elena, whose grip on my hands began to weaken.
Her body then collapsed on my chest. Her head rested on my shoulder; her breath was weak enough, it seems she has reached her limit just like me. My vision was also very faint; all I felt at this moment was the pain from the wounds I received and the warmth of Elena's body in my embrace.
"Ended in a draw again, huh...?" Elena whispered beside my ear. "But it's okay; that means I have another reason to enjoy a fight with you, Raul."
Not long after, a red light appeared surrounding our bodies. This signaled that both Elena and I had been eliminated in this tournament in the quarter-final round.