SSS-Rank Pervert: Reincarnated in the World of Summoners-Chapter 67: The Art of Losing Like a Winner

[Freya’s POV]

What the hell is he doing now?

That signal. I recognized it instantly.

The bet.

My eyes darted toward the betting stall at the arena’s edge. A girl was turning away from spectating, moving toward the counter.

From this distance, her features were difficult to confirm. But the silhouette. The posture. The way she carried herself.

Celestine.

’So this was Eren’s game all along.’

But something didn’t add up.

If he wanted to maximize profits, he should have placed the bet at the start. Or better yet, the moment his Zenos was defeated. That was the peak. The point where his odds would have skyrocketed to their absolute highest.

And right now?

I doubted the odds would climb any further. Ashen wouldn’t fall easily. Nobody watching this match would believe otherwise.

He was the treasure of the Astrea Clan. The second most powerful summon in our entire bloodline. A legend among legends.

Sure, Eren’s summon appeared strong. Impressive even. But maintaining that level of output over a prolonged battle?

I had my doubts.

Just like what happened with Thalia’s Lady Aerin. The strain would eventually show. The cracks would form. And then everything would crumble.

My gaze drifted back to the battlefield. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

There stood Eren. Casual as ever. Tapping his shoe against the ground like he was waiting for a carriage. His axe hung loosely at his side. His eyes fixed on the sky above.

I followed his gaze.

My breath caught in my throat.

Darkness had consumed the sky. In broad daylight. Over fifty void rifts had torn open above the arena. Swirling portals of absolute blackness hovering like the mouths of hungry beasts.

’This looks exactly like the Level E void rifts from the danger zones. Not one. But more than fifty of them.’

FWOOOOSH! FWOOOOSH! FWOOOOSH!

From those portals, death rained down.

Arrows. Dozens upon dozens of them. But hidden within that storm were needles. Thin. Nearly invisible. Far more difficult to track than their larger counterparts.

And Ashen?

He didn’t cower. Didn’t retreat. Didn’t even consider defense.

He went offensive.

CLANG! SHING! CLANG!

His blade became a blur of golden light. Dodging the majority while deflecting what he could. Taking hits from the needle-like projectiles that slipped through his guard.

He leaped from tower to tower. Using the structures as stepping stones. Climbing higher with each bound. Escaping trajectories while pushing relentlessly toward Amelia.

I had stopped commanding him entirely.

He wasn’t listening anymore. Lost in his own ego. Infact didn’t even listened when I told him about the spikes earlier.

’When this is over, I will make him pay for this insubordination.’

THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

A new nightmare emerged from the portals.

Massive spheres of black metal. Dropping like cannonballs from a warship’s deck. Each one large enough to flatten a house.

Ashen dodged the first. But then I saw the spikes emerging from the ground Moving towards him to pierce him again.

’Watch behind!’ I screamed through our mental link.

This time he actually listened. His head snapped downward. Eyes rapidly scanning the terrain below. Analyzing. Calculating. Finding a safe path through the forest of spikes.

He spotted a gap. Launched himself toward it.

WHOOOOSH!

Midair. Committed. No way to alter his course.

CRASH!

A cannonball caught him from above. Slamming directly into his back. The impact drove him downward with catastrophic force.

And waiting below?

SQUELCH!

A spike pierced straight through his chest. The momentum carried him forward even as metal tore through flesh and armor alike.

But this was Ashen.

He didn’t stop. Didn’t falter. He used that very momentum to his advantage. His body twisted mid-fall.

CRACK!

The spike’s top shattered as he broke through it. His form crashed into the ground in an explosion of dust and debris.

THUD!

When the cloud cleared, he was already rising.

The broken edge of the spike still protruded from his chest. Blood poured freely, staining his golden armor red.

He gripped the metal shard with one gauntleted hand.

And ripped it out with pure rage.

SCHLICK!

He tossed it aside like garbage. Standing tall. Defiant. Despite wounds that would have killed lesser beings a hundred times over.

But Amelia had already prepared his tomb.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

From the earth erupted walls. Massive structures of black metal rising higher than even the towers before. Larger. Thicker. More imposing.

They connected around him. Sealing him within a cage of absolute darkness.

CLANG! CRASH! BOOM!

Sounds of war echoed from within those walls. Sword strikes against metal. Structures collapsing. More spikes growing. More attacks being unleashed.

An entire battlefield contained within that prison.

I watched with genuine shock at the sheer power of Eren’s summon. The scale she could produce without apparent effort.

But what shocked me more?

Eren was running.

Directly at me.

His axe gripped firmly in both hands. His expression focused. Determined. Closing the distance with every stride.

’He’s trying to make me submit directly?!’

I relayed the situation to Ashen through our mental link. Told him exactly what was happening outside his cage.

CRACK!

The very next moment, a fissure split the cage wall.

CRACK!

Then another. Creating a hole large enough for a man to pass through.

FWOOOOSH!

Ashen exploded from the gap. Moving with inhuman speed. A golden streak crossing the arena in the span of heartbeats.

Eren was barely a meter away from me now.

I didn’t move back.

Didn’t flinch.

Didn’t even blink.

Because I knew this idiot had made a fatal mistake. Ashen would catch him in less than a second. This reckless charge would end in absolute defeat.

But then a thought struck me like lightning.

’This is Eren.’

However much of a maniac he appeared to be, he was undeniably a genius. Every move he made carried purpose. Every action served a greater scheme.

’This is a trap.’

I looked upward at his summon.

Amelia floated in the sky doing absolutely nothing. No magic gathering around her fingers. No attacks being prepared. She simply hovered there with an annoyed expression on her face.

Staring down at us.

’Why isn’t she helping him?’

It made no sense.

If Eren wanted to win by targeting me directly, he could have used her spikes. One attack and victory was his. Sure, he’d suffer a massive penalty to his overall score, but the match would end in his favor.

And him attacking me personally? That also meant point deductions. Lower than using a summon, but still significant.

’He knows all of this. He cursed himself the moment he learned these rules existed.’

So why? What was the play?

I was constantly analyzing. Searching for any trap. Any hidden scheme. Any trick waiting to spring.

His axe was inches from my face now.

And then he stopped.

Not because I moved. Not because I defended myself.

He stopped his own advance the instant Ashen’s blade reached his throat.

SHING!

The legendary sword hovered there. A hair’s width from cutting his jugular.

Eren looked down at the weapon. Then at me. His expression unreadable.

CLANG!

He dropped his axe.

My eyes immediately locked onto his hands. Scanning. Waiting. He was going to pull something. I could feel it.

And he did.

He raised both hands slowly. High above his head.

Then turned toward the announcer with a lazy grin.

"Looks like I lost." His voice carried zero defeat. Only amusement.

"I surrender, you slowpoke."

I stared at him. "What?"

The word escaped sharper than intended. "What did you just say?"

He turned back to me with that insufferable mocking smile.

"Milady, it was truly entertaining fighting against you." He gave a theatrical bow. "But I suppose there’s simply too large a gap between branch blood and direct blood."

He shrugged casually.

"Can’t be helped."

And then he started walking away. Like none of this mattered. Like he hadn’t just thrown away a match he could have won.

My mind was racing. Processing everything. Connecting every single dot from the moment this battle began.

And then it clicked.

This was all according to his plan. Every single moment. Calculated from the very start.

I smiled despite myself.

"Wait."

He stopped. Turned around.

And put on the most innocent face I had ever witnessed on a human being.

"So you planned this from the very beginning, didn’t you?" I stepped toward him. "Even before the match started."

He blinked with exaggerated confusion. "What do you mean, Princess?"

That innocent act made my blood boil.

"Don’t act innocent with me." My eyes narrowed to slits.

"Now I understand what you meant earlier. When I promised to deliver a humiliating defeat, and you shot back with that illogical reply."

I quoted his exact words. " ’If things weren’t like this, I would have shown you a different side of me in this fight. But it’s too late now.’ "

I laughed. A genuine laugh born from grudging admiration.

"Tell me. Why did you do it? What did you gain from all this?"

The innocent mask crumbled away.

What replaced it was something devilish. Predatory. The face of someone who had just won a game nobody else knew they were playing.

"Why would I tell you?"

I had expected that answer.

"What if I told you to keep the gold coins you borrowed?"

His eyebrow twitched. Interest flickering behind those calculating eyes.

Then he smiled.

"Deal done."

He turned to leave again.

"But not here. Not now." He glanced over his shoulder. "I’m genuinely curious to see if Celestine did her part correctly."

That grin widened.

"And if she did, I really want to know how much I made this time."

I watched him walk away.

This man was a book written in a completely foreign language. And no matter how much you studied and learned to understand one page, the next would reveal entirely new characters. An entirely different tongue.

Completely unreadable.

[Eren’s POV]

I was leaving the arena through the main entrance path.

My mind buzzed with calculations. Celestine’s work. My profits. How much I could pour into Amelia’s development.

But those thoughts scattered the instant I saw her.

A striking woman leaned against the corridor wall. Taking its support with practiced elegance. Arms crossed. Posture relaxed yet somehow radiating danger.

Mid-twenties. Perhaps older. Impossible to tell with certainty.

White hair that seemed to capture light itself. Green eyes beautiful enough to attract hearts. Even her eyelashes were white, giving her an almost otherworldly appearance.

On closer inspection, recognition struck me.

Another character from that novel’s cover. Another figure whose story remained a mystery.

I kept walking. Pretending I hadn’t noticed her. Planning to pass by without engagement.

Just ignore and move on.

BOOM!

Her leg shot out. Heel crashing into the opposite wall with enough force to crack the stone.

Blocking my path completely.