"Huh?"
At that moment, several flowing lines bulged from Arthur's feet, although they were invisible to others due to the shoes covering them. Mana was transferred directly to his feet in order to invigorate them.
As he put strength on his calf muscles, Arthur curved his foot, lifting his heel.
With his longsword pointed backwards and his elbow in front, Arthur's eyes calculated the distance between him and his foe. Then, he condensed a certain amount of mana within his leg muscles.
'[Mana Step].'
Bang!
As he stepped forward, the condensed mana propelled him forward. A stinging pain spawned in his calf, but he ignored the meager inconvenience. Mana burst from his feet, and he entered a new realm of speed.
Jake's eyes widened as the figure before him moved at tremendous speeds towards him. In a desperate attempt to survive, he attempted to deflect whatever strike Arthur was planning on delivering.
Then, he could alter its trajectory, narrowly avoiding a lethal move.
But, instead of simply approaching him with the intention to kill, Arthur instead twisted his body. He turned his body upside-down within the air, flying towards Jake with an inverted vision. "Got you."
They were simple words, yet a certain sense of fear arose in Jake's chest.
"Kek!" Instantly, Jake was assaulted by several strikes, which he barely managed to parry. Arthur landed on the ground behind him, and Jake turned around immediately. Without much thought, the dirty-blonde-haired man swung his sword horizontally.
Clang!
His longsword collided with Arthur's, after which he twisted his body to nullify the sword-lock.
Jake's breaths were unstable, and his composed demeanor was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Arthur seemed to be taking the battle quite casually, which was something that perplexed the crowd.
"Jake! Kill him quickly!"
"Jaaaaake!!"
'Fucking retards,' thought Jake, refusing to allow the annoying voices of those infatuated with him from disrupting his concentration. Instead, he simply gazed into the crimson eyes in front of him… they seemed to smirk back at him.
Jake gritted his teeth, cursing at himself for taking Arthur lightly. At first, he believed the crimson-eyed man was simply a fairly powerful person… yet nothing too special. But now… fear.
Yes, a single word remained in his mind.
Fear.
"Aren't you going to respond?" Arthur inquired, tilting his head innocently. "They seem to be quite desperate for your attention. Don't you think they might stop if you address them directly once."
Jake didn't respond. He wanted to refute Arthur's statement, but it did make sense.
Making up his mind, Jake turned around to face the girls who begged for his attention. Clearing his throat, he prepared to deliver a heartfelt speech.
Step! Clang!
At that moment, a presence appeared behind Jake.
Shing! Thud!
Before he could notice, Jake's left ear detached from his body. It flew in the air for a few milliseconds before landing on the ground with a loud thud. The entire arena turned silent for a few seconds.
"You backstabbing bastard…" Jake's anger rose, and a searing pain assaulted his body. Tears escaped his eyes.
"I didn't become who I was by maintaining morals."
Jake's vision darkened, yet there he sat. A crimson figure arose in that darkness. He arose from the dead and spread his darkness, as if announcing his return to the world. Chills shot down Jake's spine.
And he fell unconscious.
*
'That shouldn't have been enough to make him faint,' thought Arthur, stroking his chin in confusion. Creases appeared on his forehead before he simply shrugged. 'Well, I don't give a shit as long as I win.'
Although prideful and arrogant, Arthur knew he couldn't reveal [Judgment Regeneration] just yet.
Moreover, Jake was quite powerful for someone his age. Despite his subtle naivety, the man seemed to have gained his strength through hard work and determination, something Arthur respected.
But he didn't care about things like that when his plans were on the line.
'My reputation will decline,' thought Arthur. 'Oh well, I never had a reputation in Arcadia in the first place.'
As a few people carried Jake on a stretcher, the crowd broke out into insults.
"Die, scum!"
"Trashy bastard!"
"Backstabber!"
The announcer then stepped up.
"The winner of this battle is…"
"Arthur Solace!"
Yet, despite his words, not a single person cheered. Not even Arthur's parents cheered for his son.
But that was because of Arthur's stern gaze. The crimson-eyed man directed a knowing glance at Magnus, who gulped before nodding. He then instructed Anna and Lily not to reveal their connection with Arthur.
Arthur knew the extremities people commit. If they knew of Arthur's connection with his family, the latter would suffer. He couldn't allow that.
Although some people suspected Lily due to her cheers before the battle began, no one thought much of a child's words. No one knew of Arthur's connection with his family except… Alisha Mason Ainsworth.
Yet, she simply narrowed her eyes at Arthur, refraining from revealing such information.
Although Arthur was confused, he didn't question. After feigning a bow to the crowd, Arthur sped off into the distance. He wished to spectate from a place no could see him from. It wasn't right to sit in the crowd.
*
"Big brother will be back, right?" Lily asked in a trembling voice. Her voice was lower than a whisper, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Anna pulled her close, wrapping her in her embrace. "Yes, big brother will be back soon."
Magnus didn't respond, and simply observed Arthur's movement. He wondered when he would see his son. Considering his recent popularity, Arthur wouldn't be able to sneak back into the hotel they were staying at.
That meant this was farewell for a considerable amount of time.
*
'I could use this information to blackmail him,' thought Alisha, forming a devilish expression as she imagined the scene.
Considering she seemed to be the only one who knew of his connection with Lily, she could definitely utilize this information efficiently. But, what should she make Arthur do? Killing him would be a waste of such information.
By what she'd witnessed, Lily was his weakness.
And she'd gotten a hold of it.
On a silver platter.