'Where did they all come from? They appeared out of nowhere. Was I so occupied that I didn't notice their arrival?' I thought as I distance myself away from the group surrounding me.
I double-checked the ogre and his buddies whether they're still conscious or not. "Good, stay down," I muttered.
'How can I deal with them? I'm pretty much outnumbered by a lot... One against an army.'
A student with big glasses steps up, taking his battle stance. At first glance, I thought he was about to go to war as he was wearing full-suited golden armor. "Our inseparable love binds her and me! Whenever our eyes meet each other..."
Another guy stepped forward, cutting his speech off. "We have reassured our feelings with each other, yet...!"
Then another. "We shall stop you here, right here, right now! We shall stop you from tainting them from your demonic curse!"
"I'll cut each of your limbs..." Then one after another, they babbled about how I stole, broke, or how I'm a nuisance to them, etc.
"Huh, the heck are you all on? What did I just get into?" I exclaimed.
The guy with big glasses stepped in and raised his voice. "But, here you are trying to interfere with our true love! I, a chosen participant from the previous Rite Festival, shall give you a taste of my swordsmanship that I honed throughout the years!"
'Is he on drugs?'
"You won't separate us apart!"
"Which one of them are you talking about?" I blurted out loud which for some reason pissed them off.
"My beloved, princess Lise Heinford!"
'How did Lise... Got mixed in?! The heck?! Heck, scratch the drug part. Does he have brain damage?'
Then another random guy steps in.
"Surrender, ask for mercy and take an oath to never ever get near, The Elf Goddess, The Sword Goddess, The Flame Princess...!"
I ignored the last guy, carefully scanned the surroundings, looking to identify someone, and saw some familiar peeps that I recognized from back then in the registration building. 'So, that's how it is, huh?' I thought.
"Heh." An idea dawned on me.
Suddenly, both corners of my mouth jerked up, and mockingly looked at them. "Looks like this is an uprising against me. However, you guys are years too late! I won't run nor surrender because today, I will make sure to lodge into your brains that what you are doing is useless because you won't attain the unattainable with me here!"
Took me a few seconds before regretting the words that spouted out of my mouth. 'That's so freaking embarrassing to say! Aaaah! I want to hide in a hole! I just hope they won't learn about this. I should've kept my mouth shut!'
"What do you mean by that?!" They screamed.
Instead of answering them, my entire body erupted a terrifying dark-purple aura, invoking my presence to engrave fear within their heart. Then, I looked at the sky to see the contorted clouds which were obviously out of ordinary. Suddenly, my intrusive thoughts were cut short as my entire body shivered unwittingly. Above me, there seems to be a spell covering the beautiful contorted sky.
"Did they do this?" I muttered coldly.
Some of them stepped forward, yet the rest simply stared at me with their cowardly eyes. They already understand that I'm not going back down without a fight, unfazed by my presence. I applauded them for that, but that's what I'd been expecting. As for the people who came forward, I must say the world is truly filled with stubborn people. This world is really wild. They came here to prove themselves and got together to fight me. They're aware of what I can do... That's the reason why some of them were wary of me at the start, yet there were still some people who were underestimating me.
Needless to say, it's logical considering their number against me. Furthermore, they also have relatively strong people from the A-Ranking and... one that seems to be an S-Ranking student.
"Forty-three... Seriously...? This is even too much for me… But good enough. What can I say, I'm also one of the stubborn ones. If I need to go all-out then so be it. This is a message." I muttered
[Overload] will allow my physical body to increase the intake of my quintessence from my soul, however, using this will take a toll on my body and it's too risky because of last time. I haven't recovered from my fight yet, so using it right now is not the wise option.
"Let me guess, you're all seeking a duel against me?"
"Isn't it obvious!? I'll shred you!"
"I'll accept, but there's a condition." I leaned forward, mocking them with a smile.
All of them looked at each other, seemingly confused by my words.
"I won't accept a one-on-one duel because going against all of you will waste a lot of time for me, so I want to suggest for all of you attack me with 10 or fewer people per group—whatever suits you all. So that way, it'll be easier for me."
"Absurd! Cocky bastard...!"
"Group!? I'm enough to beat you...!"
"I'll shut that cocky mouth of yours...!"
And so on... comments about me kept adding on as seconds passed by.
"I'm not done yet. Adding to that, we will do the covenant spell, the Rosch magical contract. The loser shall be the one who loses consciousness first. How does that sound? Obviously, the loser will do what the winner says."
They're all wondering if I'm bluffing or not, but I'm totally serious about this. And so, they began whispering to themselves. Yet, one man was undeterred by it and simply stepped forward, holding his sheathed claymore on his back—the man was from the S-Class, a third-year, and the one I'm wary of the most.
'Come on, buddy. Eat the bait.'
He has a rugged appearance, the wildest appearance I have ever seen; long chestnut-colored curly hair under his hood, crooked teeth, dry olive-skinned, and most importantly, a tattered uniform. Any person will think of him as a beggar rather than a student.
"Friend, your guts... It's admirable, but out of anyone in here—I think I alone am enough to whoop your ass back from reality. I'm the perfect candidate." He said.
'Voila! Easier than I expected it to be, now let's wait for the rest.'
"Does that mean, you're the leader of this... Intervention? What do I even call this...?" I asked.
"No. I will be representing. Obviously, I'm the strongest person." He steadily unsheathed his claymore on his back.
"Then, he'll act as the representative for all of you?"
"Provocation will only lead you to your death!" said the boy with glasses.
Casually glancing at him and said. "Not talking to you."
"Youuu—!"
He pulled out his sword and pointed it at me, almost attacking me with it but was stopped by the beggar.
"Now, now, he's right. Shut your mouth here and let me make a deal with him. Weaklings need to shut their mouths and sit on the sideline."
"Haah?! I'm the weakling—?!"
The beggar-looking guy grabbed him by the mouth. "Yes. Why don't you sit your ass on the ground and shut your mouth? Play with your tiny dick or something. Anything that will entertain you." After saying that, the boy with glasses clicked his tongue in disdain and backed away.
Then he returned his attention back to me."Aaah~ Disciple of the Great Sword Saint. Such bliss~ What are the odds that the disciple of the person I'm looking up to would be the one I despise the most? This is fate~" He said as he creepily smiled at me.
'What the… Come on! I thought he would be at least decent!'
Then he continued speaking while caressing his weapon. "I'll act as the representative for all my comrades here. Among everyone, I'm the strongest in here, and I dare someone to prove that wrong" He wandered his eyes around.
No one spoke a word.
"Now, I shall proceed." He said with a smile.
He drew some runic magical patterns in the air where a piece of paper materialized out of it. He grabbed the paper with his two fingers. "Mark it with your blood." He said before handing the papers to the people behind him.
'Being strong really has benefits, huh?'
Rosch magical contract was a mid-tier spell used for covenant contracts known for its harsh punishment once an individual broke its promise the curse would activate on that person which brings some sort of punishment. Death is not among them because this spell is considered on the 'ethical' side, or what was at least written in the books.
According to Diana, it wouldn't work on me since it's a spell created under Gaia's divinity. I'm not bound to this world. In order for it to work, I need some way to bypass it with some of the souls in my stash; however, I'm not sure whether they'll work or not.
Once everyone signed it with a smirk on their faces, the beggar gave it to me and said. "Our condition is simple, whoever loses shall never go near them ever again. And if you win, we'll leave you alone. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me. Also, you forgot, everything that happened here shall be kept only to ourselves, loser or not. Everyone shall keep their mouth shut from saying a word." I added.
'Bullshit, that's so unfair.'
"Yeah, because it would be devastating for your self-este—" A guy remarked.
"I agree. Now, here." He tossed the paper to me. "The Academy—"
I stared at the paper, attempting to execute my plan. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, the academy will not give any sort of punishment since this is a student's duel agreement, and the academy honors that. Every duel must be honored. No need to tell me because I know what I'm getting myself into."
"Of course, I know. It's just a heads up." He sneered.
(Can it really be done, Diana?)
(It's supposed to... Theoretically, it should work... Give me a minute... Got it!)
(Thank you, Diana! I love you so much!)
The paper basked in light before it began crumbling like dry leaves. The contract was now set in progress.
He grinned widely before saying. "Let's fight to the death! Get ready—Ugh!"
Before he could even finish his sentence, I rushed forward and swung my spear downward which he easily blocked with his claymore. "Nice try. Trying to catch me off-guard, eh? Let me introduce myself first, I'm Haze."
Unfazed by his words, I simply cast [Walpurgis Hollow] into my spear. His entire face paled, yet for some reason, rather than backing away, he pushed forward trying to overpower me with his strength; however, the excruciating scorching flames in the blade of my spear that's near his left shoulder finally made him push back.
Once I saw the opportunity, I didn't show any sort of hesitation and I thrust my spear forward, stabbing him right on his left abdomen. The blade penetrated through his skin.
"Ack... Gaaah—!" His mouth began spewing out blood.
The rest who were watching the fight gasped. Then, I simultaneously summoned another spear on my other hand, planning to stab him with another one; however, his mana exploded which resulted in me retreating a few feet away from him. Once I put the distance between us, I carefully examined his condition.
On top of that, I can feel something coursing through my veins, a strange tingly cold sensation. A feeling of excitement? Or fear?
Haze was clutching the open wound on his abdomen, staring me in the eyes with a smile.
"Haa... Haa... Kihihihi! That's unexpected. Let's go! All or nothing!"
Soon after, two creatures manifested behind him. Haze dashed forward with the two spirits running behind him that resembled a wolf. The two wolves were strange, as they were different from one another, a gray and red wolf. As soon as those two appeared, the air became heavy which made everyone back off except for me who simply stood my ground, unfazed by this strange phenomenon. Then, I noticed the wound I inflicted on his abdomen healed completely.
'Regeneration? Also, a quick one. Am I seeing things? Need to set up quickly.' I thought.
[Diana.]
[On it.]
As they chased me, in an effort to answer my questions, I activated the traps that I laid beforehand which are currently on Haze's path toward me. Numerous magical circles activated, concealing Haze's movement with chains, and some even plunged through his body. Not even his spirits were safe from it, or so I thought because the red one disappeared through the shadows meanwhile the gray one disappeared out in thin air. Before I knew it, they appeared right in front of me from the shadow of the unconscious person near us.
However, before they could even catch me, I reappeared behind the gray one and kicked it against the red one, sending them to the crowd of people.
"You're dead—!" Haze yelled, unshackling himself from my chains by using force.
Halfway through his strangle, I shoved my spear into the exact location where I wounded him earlier. His eyes bulged out of surprise. "Argggh! Wha—" Yet again, before he could even finish his sentence, I shut him off by punching his lower jaw in an attempt to break his jaw completely. Then I hurled him into the crowd of people along with his spirits. I did it out of consideration, so he would hit the crowd rather than a tree.
Obviously, after what I did, there would be people who got caught but I didn't care. Some of them wanted to join the fight, or try to catch me off-guard, perhaps out of fear from what I have showcased. However, they wouldn't dare considering they're also in the contract, so the outcome of this fight is already out of their reach.
Amidst the pile of people, Haze emerged from within along with his hanging dislocated jaw. He was looking me directly in the eyes that were filled with murderous intent. The mana and rage of Haze spread like wildfire, suffocating the weak-minded. I see his mouth moving, probably saying some hurtful words to me, but I can't hear it since I'm so far away from him.
'He really does have regenerative abilities.'
His two spirits were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, his appearance changed, transforming into a creature with sharp canines and claws, and a hairy body that stood about 11 feet tall with daunting eyes that seek the blood of its prey. After his brief transformation, his feet began sinking into the shadows.
"Ahh, now, that makes a lot of sense. He's a lycanthrope."
As soon as he sunk into the shadow, a radiating light blinded everyone that simply came out of nowhere. My senses kicked in. I sensed something above me, then suddenly, I felt a pair of hands on my ankles restraining me to the ground.
"What the!"
I immediately slip out by using [Shifting Point] above everyone else.
My eyesight gradually returned to normal, checking my previous spot and saw the werewolf holding the claymore. The ground below him was filled with darkness. He stretched his arms forward and a massive wolf shadow manifested from that darkness, flying toward me. It was massive enough to devour an entire building.
"You! Comeback coward! Grr—!" He howled afterward.
'Ugh... I'm getting a headache from using this... So, within a second, he emerged from the shadow of his claymore and threw it above me. I can use that as bait. Fortunately, we're in an open area. Take it slow and analyze him.'
Our little game of cat and mouse continued for quite a while. As soon as I saw that his spirits usually appear around 5-10 feet apart from each other, I took a gamble. I teleported in front of him. He quickly reacted by swinging his sharp claws at me. I blocked it, but there was also this white and black shadowy figure attacking me from all directions. Tsuki manifested in her cat form fending each of them before returning back.
"Hold on, I don't need to hold back when he can just heal it," I muttered.
Meanwhile, I got what I wanted and ran off with the claymore. When he saw that, his eyes were ignited in anger. Haze sunk into his shadow once again. But knowing his plan, I poured my quintessence on his claymore, overwhelming it with potent energy—the claymore shattered into pieces and then I incinerated it.
His eyes widen as he emerges from the ground. I dashed over with an intent to kill which he noticed, and hesitatingly attacked me. After a few dodges, I began my attack. Upon dodging his last swing, I hid behind his arm and used that against him. I clenched the spear in my hand tightly and thrust it.
This is the advantage of being smaller than my opponent, I'm more agile and they have more blind spots since perception is above—the same could be said the other way around, needless to say, at the end of the day, it will all depend on the person itself.
"Aaaggggh! M-my arm! Grrrrrh! Gaaaaah—!"
I teleported right next to him, pummeling his face to the ground. Subsequently, my chains wrapped his entire body from head to toe, not allowing him to leave my grasp. And then...
[Walpurgis Hollow]
"Aaaaah—!" His agonizing screams reached my ears, yet I continued burning his body.
Needless to say, the only thing that was keeping him alive was his regenerative ability. It was able to keep up. Since he has the same ability as mine, the only way to win would be to continue until his mana depletes completely.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
"Whoa, isn't this convenient? You made it easier for me to not hold back."
Not only burning was torturing enough for him. I also summoned numerous spears that pierced his massive body.
"It's my first time seeing a lycanthrope. I thought they were extinct, yet, here you are."
"Ack—! Aggh! Aaaaaaah! B-Bastard!"
Rather than responding to him, I increased the intensity of my flames. I glanced at others and saw their fears reflected in their eyes every single of them like witnessing the devil torturing an innocent lamb. Some fell to the ground as their knees gave out and some stood frozenly. There are people who peed their pants out of fear, especially the ones who spoke ill of me earlier. What's more surprising, there are still a few of them wearing tough faces, wanting to intervene in the fight but they can't since they're shackled by the contract.
"Idiots." I flashed a grin.
Then I heard the sound of a bell blaring through my ears, an indication that the contract had been fulfilled. So, I backed off, seeing the lifeless eyes of Haze still breathing for his dear life. I scoured around. No one dared to look me in the eye. Since the contract has now been activated, they need to leave me alone now. A piece of gem materialized in my palm, the proof that the contract has been activated.
"Any of you who are willing to fight me, I welcome you. No, test me." I coldly announced.
Despite my bold statement, and proving myself to them, the stubborn guy with glasses still attempted to attack. "Fool, you underestimated me—Hic" He stopped once the tip of my blade appeared in front of him.
"You know what, among all of them, you're the one that pisses me off," I said before veering my attention toward the rest with a furtive smile. "You're all next."