The Third Prince Of Darkness

Chapter 142: Advantage

When I stepped into the arena, it had grown much quieter. With the start of the semifinals, far more important people had gathered here. There were highly distinguished individuals from both within and outside the academy. Their mere presence silenced the ordinary students, though without the Dragon Queen, this aura might not have been as effective.

As I glanced at the ancient and majestic queen of the dragons, I saw her thick, white hair. Since she was seated, her full size wasn't apparent, but it was clear that her figure was extremely curvaceous. As I continued to watch her out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly felt my skin prickle. When I looked into her eyes, I saw them widened and fixed on me, staring intensely.

It was as if she was questioning how I dared to look at her body. I quickly averted my gaze. In the meantime, Alpshar and the Emperor of Tamerid were also here. In fact, to put it plainly, the most powerful individuals from all continents were present. Even the one who was likely Limahlat's father was here with his intimidating figure.

With so many powerful people gathered in one place, it wasn't surprising that all eyes were on me and Kayle, which only added to the tension.

Lastly, I had to mention Isabella. She was likely here representing the Kingdom of Asina, and the fact that Richard wasn't present further proved my point. It was likely that Isabella herself had offered to represent Asina. I noticed her red eyes gleaming momentarily as she discreetly tried to communicate something with them. It was probably a warning for me not to be too harsh on Kayle.

I made a mental note to speak with her after the tournament, if possible, before finally turning my attention to Kayle.

Interestingly, she had a wicked smile on her face. Her short and thin blades, like little knives, were held just behind her hips. When I looked into her red eyes, I saw once again how they were both similar and different from her mother's eyes, which I had looked into just moments ago. Kayle's golden hair was neatly tied up, and her expression made it clear that she was eager to fight me.

Thankfully, the referee didn't keep Kayle waiting long and started the match.

Kayle ran toward me at incredible speed, but I did nothing. Even when she reached me and slashed my arm with her knife, leaving a wound, I didn't react and just stood there. She continued to strike me with her knife, causing more injuries, but she was still careful in how she did it.

To make a performance impressive, there must be something unexpected or shocking. Ultimately, if something surprises or impresses the audience, the performance will be memorable. For a fight to be impactful, there must also be an unexpected element.

For example, after the last matches, Limahlat was clearly the tournament favorite, but if I had beaten him after a long fight, it would still be unexpected and definitely impressive for the audience. However, this logic didn't apply to my fight with Kayle, because in the eyes of the audience, Kayle and I were two participants with almost equal chances of winning.

That's why I needed to surprise the audience to make the fight more captivating.

When Kayle saw that I wasn't moving, even after she left wounds all over my body and I was only tracking her movements with my eyes, she stopped right in front of me, staring at me angrily.

"Why aren't you fighting? A- Arthur?! Are you underestimating me? Or are you scared?" Kayle asked angrily.

Thanks to the architectural design of the arena, inherited from the dragons, the sounds from the center of the arena, where Kayle and I stood, could be heard throughout. This was all thanks to highly precise adjustments and mathematical formulas that had been used to construct the arena.

The reason for this was so that the audience could hear the sound of bones breaking, blood splattering, or even the clash of swords. Everyone here would likely hear clearly because of this, Anything I said.

"No, Lady Kayle. I was just giving you a bit of an advantage," I said calmly, as if the knife wounds on my body didn't hurt at all.

"An advantage? What do you mean?!" Kayle asked, growing even angrier.

"An advantage is nothing more than a temporary upper hand given to the opponent. In other words, a gift," I replied, in a mocking tone and with a clear voice.

As murmurs rose from the audience, I noticed Kayle becoming more and more frustrated. She was so angry that it looked as if steam was coming out of her ears.

"Are you mocking me?!"

As her question echoed in the arena, there was an emotion hidden beneath the anger spreading across her face. Everyone could only see her fury, but I... I felt that something deeper was at play. This feeling resonated in my heart, telling me that this fight wasn't just a physical challenge.

"Be patient," I thought to myself. While considering Kayle's speed and sharp blades, I knew she didn't really want to hurt me. Kayle wanted to defeat me, but I realized that all the wounds she inflicted were superficial. It was clear that she just wanted to win, not to kill or seriously injure me. Although this didn't seem like a romantic connection, I felt a silent bond between us.

Deep down, I knew that Kayle had always harbored forbidden feelings for me, but I had chosen to ignore them. After all, even the fact that she hated all men except me was telling something, if looked carefully. Kayle had feelings for me and they had developed slowly since we were children.

And if I wanted to, our relationship, which from the outside looked like a sister-brother relationship, could have been shattered at any moment and turned into something more romantic. For now, I still have to postpone this for later, but when the time comes, I will have to decide what I have decided about Kayle.

When Kayle started moving again, I pushed these thoughts aside and finally activated my Kaizer power. As my eyes adapted to her speed, the last pieces of my plan to win the fight stealthily began to fall into place in my mind. If I could limit her speed, it would be much easier to fend off her attacks and bring her down. I needed to create an environment where she couldn't move as fast.

I took a deep breath, gathering the energy of the earth within me, and felt something shift around me. Manipulating the ground beneath my feet, I set the entire arena into motion. Suddenly, cracks erupted from the ground, shaking the arena. Amid the shocked and frightened gazes of the spectators, the arena floor began to rise and shift, as the earth beneath us cracked and rocks jutted upward.

The arena floor was fully manipulable for the fight, and adjustments were made after each match if needed. So what I was doing wasn't against the rules. Kayle lost her balance for a moment, but quickly recovered, preparing to move forward again.

But this was my moment.

Using the air element, I gathered wind around my body and, in the blink of an eye, sped toward Kayle. For a brief moment, I saw a mix of surprise and admiration in her eyes. She swung her blades swiftly, but it was already too late. I had used the wind to increase my speed and agility, and in an instant, I was behind her, grabbing her wrist.

"No matter how fast you are," I whispered, "there are things you can't escape." I twisted her wrist and placed my sword at her neck.

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Kayle froze. Her body seemed ready to continue the fight, but I realized instinctively that she didn't want to hurt me. In that moment, as we locked eyes, she dropped her swords, and the silence in the arena deepened. The crowd fell silent, but Kayle's breathing echoed in my ears.

"I surrender…" Kayle said, and immediately after, the referee stepped in and shouted, "The winner is Arthur Connan!"

Kayle's voice trembled as it echoed throughout the arena. When she surrendered, I saw the disappointment in her eyes. Although she had been fighting to win from the start, the fragility of our bond made it feel like something had shattered in this moment of surrender. While the crowd celebrated and applauded my victory, Kayle's expression closed off entirely.

Anger, disappointment, and helplessness were all there, but there was something more beneath it.

"I'm sorry, Kayle…" I whispered in her ear. But those in the crowd with sharp ears might have heard me. Since I would soon be revealing my true identity, whispering in Kayle's ear wasn't going to be so mysterious anymore.

Kayle glanced at me out of the corner of her eye before quickly looking away. "Congratulations on your victory," she said, stepping back to face me. "Find me after the tournament. There's something important I need to show and tell you," She added in a low voice, before slowly leaving the arena.

I straightened up and started walking to leave the arena after her. It was clear that many eyes—no, all eyes—were on me. The next match was the final. I was the one who would face the famous and powerful warrior princess, Limahlat. Ultimately, my fight with Limahlat would be the most challenging battle of my life, or at least that's what everyone thought.

However, the outcome had already been decided before the match even started. Because, no matter who stood before me from now on, their defeat was certain...