"I didn’t expect it... for it to suddenly be Ariel like this. I’m completely unprepared."

On the way out of the draw room, Muen couldn’t help lifting his head to the sky with a melancholy look, once again sighing over his miserable luck.

What he’d been thinking was: no matter what, he should at least have to wait until tomorrow’s finals before he ran into Ariel, right?

But of course, it just had to be this round.

Sure enough, that so-called “good luck” earlier was nothing more than groundwork for this dramatic twist.

After all, whether it was the finals or not had a pretty big impact on this exchange tournament—especially when that seventeenth prince was basically already the default finalist at this point.

Ariel definitely had her fists clenched and was ready. What happened earlier, with her catching the thing between him and Liya, wasn’t going to pass that easily. All the resentment she’d been bottling up would naturally use this as an outlet and explode all at once.

A rampaging, blackened phoenix-proud protagonist... just imagining it was terrifying.

So...

"Should I just concede?"

Muen couldn’t help thinking that quietly to himself.

Just let Ariel go smash that seventeenth prince. It still wouldn’t damage the empire’s dignity.

It sounded like an easy decision—one button to defuse every crisis in front of him, and he could go find his cute tsundere fiancée and kiss and hug her to his heart’s content.

But...

"Muen, good luck!"

From the stands, a distant cheer came drifting over like a gentle breeze, and in the dazzling slanting sunlight, from that one-way VIP room, it was almost as if a cold, clear gaze landed on him.

Maybe it was just an illusion. Everyone had illusions—like that seventeenth prince who was supremely confident and convinced of victory, like Ariel right now, fighting hard for her “strategy.”

But...

Muen lowered his head and looked at his hands.

He spread his fingers, then clenched them into a fist.

Vast power flowed through flesh and blood.

Every trial inside the Black Book, every time he faced a strong enemy, every time he stared straight at an Evil God, every time he repeatedly danced back and forth on the edge of death... all of it had thoroughly turned into his nourishment, letting him reach this step in just one short year.

Those things absolutely weren’t an illusion.

He shouldn’t fear anyone anymore, and he shouldn’t keep hesitating between life and death over whether to run or not.

"Looks like..."

Muen suddenly smiled, relieved. "I already don’t have any reason to run anymore."

...

...

"This draw definitely has a problem!"

Back in the resting room, Coton was still furious.

"He didn’t fight for two rounds and advanced automatically, and then in the third round it’s still a civil war! Does Muen Campbell really have luck that good?"

"Calm down."

Milne, on the other hand, looked like he didn’t have any objections to this draw result at all. He continued leisurely tasting the red wine he’d just gotten.

"It’s nothing more than letting that Muen Campbell save a little face. Losing to his own side is better than losing to me."

"Pah, coward!"

Coton’s face was full of contempt. He couldn’t understand why Saint Maria Academy’s side would actually push out a guy this disgraceful. Was it just because he was the imperial empress’s fiancé?

From top to bottom they were all this vile, helping him hide it together—at this rate, the empire would be doomed sooner or later!

Sevier watched the scene. Her lips moved a little, but in the end, she didn’t say anything.

"There’s no need to be this angry. From his perspective, doing this really is the smartest choice. It makes his results look a bit better, and it protects the Campbell family’s reputation and the imperial empress’s fiancé’s name—just that the method is a little dishonorable."

Milne shook his wineglass and sneered.

"In a sense, this really is the optimal solution."

"Then... our goal..."

"It doesn’t matter. Did you forget? The meaning of us organizing this exchange meet is to let that empress see my value. So all we need is for me to successfully become the final victor. In the process, the only one who can even slightly block me is Ariel."

Milne looked toward Sevier.

"Sevier, cousin."

"I understand."

Sevier nodded lightly. "I will concede proactively."

"Very good. Then I can be in the best state, duel Ariel on the finals stage, and I will certainly obtain victory!"

Milne grew even more confident. Because once he’d reached this step, there was only one step left from that final victory.

His burning gaze turned again to the VIP room where the empress sat. That position was high above, overlooking the whole arena... and his goal was to be qualified to stand there as well.

"Then next, let me properly enjoy the ending of this farce."

Milne went to the stands, watching the arena with a cold smile as he silently waited for the match to begin.

Even if it was only a farce, it still barely had the qualifications to kill some time for him.

...

...

At a spot slightly lower than the empress’s dedicated VIP room, inside another VIP room, mysterious honored guests had also taken their seats.

And there wasn’t just one.

"Oh my."

Anna, still in the Silent Bureau uniform, deliberately teased the girl in front of her with a surprised tone.

"The grand saintess of the Life Church, and you still have time to watch this kind of boring student brawl?"

"Y-You’re the one who should be talking."

To hide her identity, Liya didn’t even use Holy Light. She was wrapped up in a wide robe, puffing her cheeks in refusal to lose.

"The Silent Bureau isn’t some leisurely place, is it? You, a Swordbearer, running around everywhere—are you really fine?"

"So-so. After the empire had Evil God incidents several times in a row, things have calmed down. I’ve gotten a rare chance to take a vacation."

Anna sat elegantly on the left side of the sofa. Her long legs shifted slightly, revealing smooth, glossy black stockings.

Liya sat on the far right side of the sofa, doing her best to lift her chest and head. Even the wide robe couldn’t hide that magnificent curve.

"I... I’m the same. A saintess’s work usually isn’t that busy. Stealing a bit of free time is still possible."

"Is that so... then it looks like I was worrying too much."

Anna smiled with narrowed eyes.

"But I didn’t expect the academy to arrange our seats together. They even said something about the seats being tight. Looks like some improper guy wanted to watch a good show."

"Don’t worry, I already tattled to the teacher. That stinky bear is dead tonight."

Liya waved her little fist.

"Good, then."

Anna shifted her gaze to the arena, resting her cheek on her hand.

"What does Your Highness the Saintess think?"

"Think what?"

"One side is your childhood friend, the other side is Muen. Who do you think will win?"

"...What about you?"

Liya didn’t answer. She asked back.

"Me? Of course I think Muen will win. That flat Ariel isn’t my friend, after all."

Anna’s tone was meaningful.

"Th-Then... pick Ariel. She’s my best friend."

Liya nodded hard, putting on an expression of righteous loyalty, like she was supporting her friend with all she had.

But in the instant Anna turned her head, Liya still quietly clenched her fist, lowering her voice.

"Muen, good luck..."

... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

...

"Because Sevier voluntarily forfeited in the first round, we’ll begin the second round directly."

"By Muen Campbell versus Ariel Bugaard!"

Under the referee’s announcement, Muen—who had been waiting a long time—and Ariel—who was eager to try—both stepped up onto the platform.

A burst of cheering rose from the stands, but it was impossible to tell who exactly it was for.

After taking the stage, Muen and Ariel didn’t follow the usual procedure of announcing names, because the two of them were, in a sense, already familiar enough that introductions were unnecessary.

They only stared at each other in silence.

"I didn’t expect it... I still got to wait for this opportunity!"

Ariel suddenly spoke.

"Opportunity? What opportunity?"

Muen paused.

"You forgot?"

Ariel gave a cold snort.

"Back when we were heading to the Holy City, I said that once I had the chance, I would personally challenge you! I didn’t expect so many things to happen afterward and the challenge kept getting delayed, but in the end, it still landed for real—just in this form!"

"Challenge... ah, I remember."

Muen suddenly understood.

There really had been such a thing—on the night the convoy rested, Ariel had said that to him.

But compared to Ariel’s words, what Muen remembered even more deeply was—

"The stars were beautiful that night. Liya liked them too."

Muen smiled.

The scene of watching stars with a pretty girl seemed to still be right in front of his eyes. It was those few nights—poor little lamb still didn’t know she’d fallen into the big bad wolf’s trap. For just a few hundred thousand Aimier, she’d even sold herself out.

"..."

Hearing Liya’s name, Ariel’s delighted expression instantly stiffened. Then seeing the happy smile on Muen’s face, the anger in her heart surged and ignited with a whoosh.

She roared furiously, "Good! So you were already plotting back then to poach my girl, huh!"

"N-No, no, no... back then I still hadn’t—"

"Shut up! Take this chance—new grudges and old grudges, we settle them all together!"

With a clang, Ariel drew her greatsword and drove it viciously into the ground, like that was Muen’s chest.

"Muen Campbell! This time, I’ll make Liya, and Celicia, and even more people all see clearly... who the more outstanding one is, who is the one they should long for!"

"..."

Feelings weren’t something you could steal through fighting, right?

Even though he had countless things he wanted to complain about, Muen only smiled indifferently.

At this point, saying more would only add a stain to this battle—one that was deeply meaningful, to both him and Ariel.

Since they were going to fight, then fight.

"Looks like you’re both ready."

After watching their conversation—which carried an enormous amount of information—with a cold, detached expression, the referee finally raised a hand slowly.

"Then, the match begins. All-Phenomena Simulation, activate..."

"Wait."

Muen suddenly stopped the referee.

"May I specify the terrain?"

"Specify the terrain?"

The referee frowned slightly.

"For the sake of fairness, terrain is randomly chosen."

"What if both sides agree?"

"Both sides..."

"Sure."

Ariel crossed her arms, the corner of her mouth twisting.

"No matter what terrain you specify, I don’t care. It won’t affect the final result anyway."

"Fine, then. Since neither side objects..."

The referee looked at Muen with a strange expression.

"Say it. What terrain do you want to specify?"

"I want to specify..."

Muen smiled.

"The plains."

"..."

In an instant, Ariel’s expression turned solemn. Her brows lifted as she looked at Muen in surprise.

The referee was also startled.

"Are you sure?"

The purpose of using All-Phenomena Simulation to reshape terrain was to test adaptability through special environments and make the match closer to real combat. But different terrains ultimately did affect different contestants—like a fire-magic user randomly getting a lake or ocean, a water-magic user randomly getting a desert, a speed specialist randomly getting dense forest...

Yet there was one terrain that had no effect on anyone at all. It was like the platform they were standing on right now: completely exposed, lowering all external factors to the minimum, leaving only “hard power” to clash.

That was the ordinary plains—no obstacles, no cover.

"Yes. I’m sure."

Muen nodded slowly.

"The plains."

"...Fine. Since you both agree."

After confirming neither side objected, the referee clapped.

The earth rumbled. The platform, originally only a hundred meters in diameter, instantly extended outward in every direction under the transformation of All-Phenomena Simulation.

The lively stands vanished. Green grass spread all the way to the end of sight. A gentle breeze blew, bringing a real scent of grass... and aside from that, there was nothing.

The referee also disappeared.

Only Muen and Ariel remained, standing in this vast wilderness.

"I thought you’d pick some complicated terrain to compete on."

"No need. This match is to prove certain things. The simpler and more direct, the clearer what I want to see becomes."

"Is that so?"

Ariel yanked her greatsword free.

"Yes."

Muen tightened his grip on Elizabeth’s hilt.

"Then begin. You first?"

Ariel bared her teeth.

"Since you’re being that arrogant, I’ll try your depth first."

"If that’s the case, then I’ll comply."

Muen nodded.

"I’ll go first, then."

Before the words even finished, the wind suddenly grew chaotic.

The wild grass on the ground abruptly pressed itself flat, struggling as if an invisible boulder was crushing it, forced to expose the reddish-yellow soil beneath.

Thunder boomed—like dry lightning tearing across a cloudless sky.

The echo of speech vanished abruptly. In a daze, all sounds went silent. Even Muen, at some point, had disappeared from where he stood.

It was as if everything in the world had vanished here.

Leaving only...

A dazzling blade-light!

Clang—

In an instant, the earth was ripped open. A huge wound, like a vicious magical beast had gnawed through it, exploded with flying grass, sand, dust, and stone. The wind itself stopped—because under that slash, the air was directly torn apart!

"So fast!"

Ariel’s gaze sharpened. She only had time to bring her greatsword horizontally in front of her.

Boom!

It was clearly a slash, yet it exploded with a sound like a meteor smashing down. Ariel’s feet plowed a hundred meters of deep grooves into the ground before she barely stabilized her body—and the gigantic gash carved by that blade-light chased her for a full hundred meters.

If the battleground had been the stage, it would already have been split in two by that one strike.

Ariel wiped her cheek. Warm blood flowed.

Just now, even though she’d thrown up her battle aura defense in an instant, that blade-light had still seemed to ignore her protection and injured her anyway.

It was only a tiny wound, but...

That was only one slash.

Since she stepped onto the path of cultivation, she’d always been the one fighting above her tier, crossing ranks to face stronger enemies. This was the first time that with a single exchange, she’d been injured by someone of the same tier—someone whose realm was even slightly lower than hers.

"Impressive."

From Muen standing in front of her, to requesting the plains, to this slash... the last trace of contempt in Ariel’s eyes finally dispersed completely. In her pupils, Muen’s current figure was reflected in full.

His hands hung low, gripping the blade. His clothes were neat, not even a strand of hair out of place. He still looked like that blond noble who only knew how to please women.

But the curve at the corner of his mouth was something that could only bloom after countless bloodbaths and tempering—

A ferocious smile.

A massive shadow finally emerged behind him—terrifying darkness that had returned again and again from the edge of death, about to swallow everything like a savage beast!

"Impressive. You’re even more impressive than I imagined, Muen Campbell!"

Ariel didn’t fear him because of it. Instead, her blood started boiling. The corner of her mouth rose high as well. She slapped her greatsword, shouting excitedly.

"Come! Again! Keep going!"

...

...

Resting room.

"Hm. He actually chose the plains? What is that Muen Campbell doing?"

From the audience’s perspective, watching Muen’s “wild move” of choosing the plains, Coton felt deep confusion.

In his view, if Muen Campbell wanted his results to look better on the surface, then a more complex terrain would definitely benefit him more. He’d heard Muen was good at speed—then he would certainly rely on complex terrain to drag Ariel around, to avoid being smashed into serious injury in under three minutes like Baror. That would look awful. It would make all his earlier “avoid fighting” cover-up completely meaningless.

Yet he chose this terrain...

"All I can say is he’s stu—"

Coton’s last word hadn’t even come out.

Then he saw it.

Muen’s slash, like it was declaring the true beginning of battle.

Just one slash, and the entire audience fell silent.

Because that slash was strong.

From the audience’s angle, it was even more shocking, because they could see more directly how that slash went from nothing to something in an instant, ripping the earth apart, deafening.

"So... so fast... so strong!"

Coton went blank.

He couldn’t believe that slash had been cut by Muen Campbell—the guy he’d always despised as someone who only advanced through cheating methods.

But that was the truth.

The draw could be rigged, but the fact of who /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ cut that slash—under the gaze of so many spectators—there was no way to argue it.

Muen Campbell... was actually this strong?

"What a fast slash. I couldn’t see at all how he moved, and the strike was so fast—why is the power still this huge? It looks like dozens of blade-lights fused together.

Y-Your Highness, what do you think? This kind of move... you should be able to do it too, right?"

Like someone encountering something he couldn’t believe and instinctively seeking support, Coton looked at Prince Milne with eager eyes.

But...

Coton shuddered.

Because Milne seemed not to have heard him at all.

This genius the kingdom had hidden away for years—right now, one hand was gripping the balcony railing of the resting room so tightly it looked like it might snap, and the other hand had already crushed the wineglass, letting the bright red wine spill and dye his gold-trimmed sleeve.

And the face he had, staring fixedly at the arena...

Held a massive shock and a trace of fear he hadn’t even noticed himself.

"Impossible..."

He murmured in a low voice.

"This kind of thing... is absolutely impossible..."