The combat test was supposed to have ended, however, the moderator didn't dare end the match. This was due to the voice he heard in his ear a few minutes ago.
When Arthur got injured, he was about to end the match, however, he heard a voice sounding in his ear,
"Don't. Let him continue till he doesn't want to anymore."
That was when he realized someone was standing beside him, he looked back to see a woman with silver hair and dark eyes. He had lived in Aeturn most of his life so there was no way he did not recognize who she was.
'Arch Devil of Destruction Cattleya!'
He then remembered the one who was currently battling an instructor was none other than her son, Prince Arthur. He wondered why she wanted him to extend the fight at first, however, he simply gave up on thinking about it and agreed.
He just stared at the battle occurring in front of him that had gotten the attention of the thousands of spectators in the hall, even those who were watching from outside on their phones or televisions. The other matches had long ended and both the examinees and instructors had eyes on his match.
In the VIP seats, the directors of the royal academy looked at the royal family members who seemed to have complete faith in Arthur being able to defeat someone an entire realm above him without using any energies.
Creuserey and Cattleya were even making bets on how long it would take the instructor to lose.
◇ ◇ ◇
Since Arthur's sword had broken, he was ready to use his hands to complete the fight, but the instructor passed him one of his blades.
"Is this allowed?"
"Who knows?"
The both of them chuckled to each other, and the next moment the instructor disappeared. The moment Arthur thought that, he swung his sword to the side.
'He should be there!'
He heard the sound of a sword clashing against another sword. The instructor had stopped his sword. Maybe, if Arthur's swordsmanship was not as good as it was, he would have been ended after the first surprise attack. The instructor wasn't only fast.
Every being had its own rhythm. Their breathing rhythm, heartbeat(s) rhythm… etc.
By being in complete sync with their own rhythm, people were able to easily use high-grade techniques that were disconnected from their recognition.
"Can you see me?"
"Well, I wonder."
Despite their physical strengths being on the same level, their years of training and technique mastery were different.
It's also impossible to see through each other's thoughts. However, Arthur knew what kind of attack the instructor will do in certain situations. He had predicted his style in the earlier exchange. Therefore, he was able to attack him with his sword.
"You have quite the good sword arm."
"Unfortunately, hand-to-hand combat is more of my style, you know? It'd have been perfect if I could use aura to strengthen my body."
They were conversing amidst the flurry of attacks like normal, then suddenly the air around Arthur changed, and the instructor who was about to attack backed away instantly. His sword wasn't even pointed at Arthur.
Laughing lightly Arthur held up his free hand and asked.
"Not coming? Low-rank Instructor?"
"I am Griphi. Even if I'm only low ranked, I am still an instructor of the royal academy, do not underestimate me."
"Worry not. I'm taking you seriously, definitely not underestimating you."
Although Arthur said that, it was true that Arthur had not been taking this seriously from the start. The young prince honestly felt there was nothing the academy could teach him.
For combat lessons, he had two of the strongest entities in the entire universe training him. What could the instructors of the academy possibly teach him?
He only had two reasons for attending the academy. One was because of Alexia's advice to go to Varona during his realm expedition. The other was because he'd stand out if he didn't.
Rumors would spread about him, causing unwanted eyes to fall upon him again. They'd begin theorizing why he didn't attend the academy all devils attend, in the end, some might resort to dirty tactics to confirm their theories.
He did not want that so he agreed to go to the academy. Even if he wasn't serious and only got bad grades, it would still be fine. Looking up at Griphi in front of him, he couldn't help but unconsciously underestimate the man a bit.
'It doesn't matter how good he was compared to other grandmasters on his home planet, he was just a fish in a large pond who didn't know how vast the oceans were. In other words, he's just a third-rate.
Still, even a third-rate grandmaster can easily defeat the average master. Although I'm far from the 'average' master, I should still be careful.'
Arthur narrowed his eyes as Griphi dashed towards him with the speed of a bullet. However, Arthur's figure disappeared, causing his sword to strike the air.
"What?!"
Immediately afterwards, Arthur was standing behind him. His back was compromised in a mere moment and he stood rooted to the spot as if he could not move.
As if forgetting about the flow of time, Griphi held his sword still and even stopped breathing, concentrating every last drop of his concentration towards his back.
"You said not to underestimate you but perhaps, you're the one underestimating me?"
Griphi's face distorted with burning humiliation. Immediately, he turned around with a sharp mowing attack. But there was no longer anyone there.
"How cou-...?!"
It was then he realized Arthur was now standing a few feet away from the reach of his sword while panting slightly like he was exhausted.
"This thing is tiring. No wonder he said you need energy to do it properly."
Griphi recognized the technique Arthur just used. It was a combination of stealthy steps and breathing techniques from martial arts.
It was impossible for one to recognize in detail everything they saw or heard. Even if they had parallel minds, some information was unconsciously ignored by their brain(s).
What Arthur just used, was a technique that hid oneself in their opponent's unconscious mind. It could only be used in one on one fights so it was perfect for the current situation.
Griphi was clearly seeing and sensing Arthur's movements, but his conscious mind categorized it as unnecessary information. This continued until the last moment when Arthur had already completed his movement.
It was a technique that Creuserey drilled into Arthur's body every day, for over six months. At this point, Arthur could use it almost perfectly.
To some of those watching, it would seem like the instructor was striking air on purpose, but the truth was that he unconsciously ignored Arthur's movements. Only the sufficiently skilled were able to see through what he just did.
Griphi recovered himself and attacked with an even faster speed than before. The white blade cleaved the air, flying straight towards Arthur's neck.
However, Arthur easily received the attack. Griphi tried to lock their swords together into a pushing contest, but Arthur instead let all the strength out of his sword and used Griphi's momentum to fling him away.
The last possible moment before smashing into the wall, Griphi performed a flip and recovered his stance.
But the disturbance in his heart was now clear on his face.
Neither of them moved.
For Arthur, he was simply choosing not to move, taking the time to recover his stamina. For Griphi, he could not move because he was under the illusion that every single one of his moves had been sealed.
"Haaaaa!!"
Along with his roar, Griphi swung his sword. Multiple thrusts with the speed of a raging whirlwind and continuous slashes with the fierceness of a raging fire.
Unfortunately, not a single attack landed.
"AAAAaaaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
His battle cry echoed around the quiet arena emptily. It was almost like a practice session between an adult and a child.
Layla watched this fight with enormous shock. She knew Arthur was strong and skilled, she had battled him personally many times after all. But even so, she did not expect that he would be able to deal with Griphi so handily.
**KAN! KAN! KAN!
The sword sounds ringing out were so light as to be out of place there. It was unmistakably the sound of a practice session.
As the two white swords drew arcs in the air, all the spectators realized that what they were seeing, was not what one would expect from a fight between a grandmaster and a master unable to use energy.
At one point, Griphi's body had crashed on the ground so many times that he was barely able to stand anymore. The ground had been cut up by the force of his sword swings yet not a single attack landed.
Arthur calmly dodged his swings and threw a kick to his stomach, sending him flying. Before he could hit the wall, Arthur had already arrived to send another kick to him up in the air.
Jumping up higher and faster than expected, Arthur punched him back to the ground with enough force to create a small crater as he crashed into the ground.
Griphi's body bounced back up in the air, and Arthur who had already landed on the ground, dashed to him with speed one would not expect from a twelve-year-old, sending another kick towards Griphi's torso.
Surprisingly, he was able to block it.
But that was only the first. Arthur sent more punches and kicks towards him at frightening speeds. His sword was long discarded on the floor so he could not counter-attack properly, he wasn't very skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
'This is why he's third-rate, he lost his sword and he can't fight back properly.
Why does the academy use these clowns for the tests?'
Arthur clicked his tongue and decided to end this.
He put one foot back and readied himself in a side stance. He grasped the hilt of his white sword with both hands then set it horizontal to his waist. It was all to maximize the velocity and the manoeuvrability of his sword.
Layla recognized that stance, it was the one he used during their first duel after all. For some reason, he never used it again after that day.
It wasn't that he couldn't use it but that he didn't. That day he felt he used something else other than the technique, but he hadn't been able to tell what that thing was.
However, After meeting Alexia and getting the time law crystal, he finally understood what he used.
Closing his eyes and concentrating, he decided to test out the results of his training in the past year. The instructions Alexia left in the crystal were easy for the twelve-year-old to understand so he had made considerable progress.
Griphi had picked up his sword and was readying an aura attack. The two of them faced each other, one with eyes wide open and the other with eyes shut tightly.
The next moment, they both moved.
The world around him felt slow, the movement of Griphi's sword, the cheers, and jeers around him. Everything was slow.
'This is it!'
**CRACK!!
'Ha!, I finally got it right! I thought school was going to be boring but if the exams are like this then...'
"Scratch that! School is fun!"
Griphi's sword was broken before he was even able to release his attack and the aura that filled the sword, exploded in his face.
With that and Arthur's diagonal slash that cut from his shoulder to his waist, it was impossible for him to fight anymore.
Even if he was a devil and could regenerate, it would take time, the match was effectively over.
There were cheers from the audience, none of the examinees had defeated the instructors so for those who came just to see the fights, Arthur's match was enough to make them happy.
◇ ◇ ◇
The matches soon continued after that, however, the atmosphere in the VIP seats was tense. Even the directors who were supposed to be annoyed that an instructor had lost were scared.
That was expected, because Cattleya and Creuserey had released their auras without warning.
Fortunately, Diablo reacted quickly and contained it otherwise all the beings in the arena would have passed out due to fear.
Inglis and Aurora were surprised since they never expected Creuserey to go along with Cattleya's whims and do such a thing, however, the words they heard made them shut their mouths.
"He's reached the peak of the superior stage, that's my son for you."
"Well, he's my student too. However, that's not the main issue."
"Yes, I noticed it too. He did that again."
"Are you sure he can't use magic? No matter how I look at it, he definitely did right there."
"I'm guessing it was unconscious. Although he can't use his magic at will, he's unconsciously manipulating the ambient mana."
Creuserey relaxed in his seat and sighed before looking towards Cattleya as he spoke.
"He's hiding something from us."
"He definitely is. That move, it's not the first time he's done it, so it was definitely on purpose."
"Even though you said he's unconsciously using magic, it didn't feel that way to me."
"How did it feel to you then dear brother?"
"It felt more like...the power of a law."