Show of Strength (2)

Yesterday's chapters...

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"[Imaginary Slash]."

When Bloed's calm voice sounded, the atmosphere in the entire stadium changed.

It was as though a terrible monster had been released, destined to bring destruction to all things.

Instinctively, the strongest students in the stands stood up. Even when the attack was not directed towards them, their instincts told them to protect themselves.

At the same time, Wave's face changed.

"Careful!"

But it was too late.

Under the fox girl's perplexed eyes, [Molecular Disintegration] bisected the fox of fire, broke through her mana defenses, cut through her skin, and pierced her bones.

The fox girl did not even manage to react. Only her instincts as beastman told her that something was terribly wrong.

'I'm dead…'

But then–

*Bam!*

A hand appeared suddenly in the path of the invisible blade, creating a wall of mana that blocked it.

Then, Headmistress Wave grunted, clenching her hand and turning the wall of mana into a powerful mana storm that struck Bloed's Imaginary Slash.

"Break!"

Instantly, her mana clashed with the disintegrative energy, quickly wearing it down until it disappeared completely.

When she was done, she narrowed her eyes and looked at Bloed with a sharp gaze.

"… Very impressive."

She then smiled before looking at the audience.

"The winner is Bloed Norman, leader of [Machine Revolution]."

Only at that moment did the people in the stands reacted.

"… What in the hell happened?" A student could not help but ask confused.

He only saw the blue-haired young man swing his saber. Then, the headmistress appeared in front of the fox girl and announced that the young man had won.

But in the next instant, the student's eyes shrunk.

Because he saw that the fox girl was standing behind the headmistress with her body drenched in blood and her eyes opened wide in fear.

And in her body, a long cut extended from her right shoulder, stopping just a few centimeters before reaching her heart.

"How in the hell…?"

The student was not the only one surprised. Most of the people in the audience could not understand what happened when Bloed swung his saber down.

Only a few ones were looking at Bloed with a solemn expression.

"What a monster…" The leader of the Martial Arts Club could not stop himself from sighing.

"Leader, what in the hell did he do?"

"… I don't know.... However, if someday you have to fight him, you better don't try to block it."

"Huh?"

"Even I am not confident about blocking whatever he did. I will have to avoid it."

The girl opened her eyes wide in surprise. Then, she looked at the blue-haired boy with an expression of fear.

At the same time, the leader of [Beast Brotherhood] was staring at Bloed fixedly.

"… So the rumors were true, huh."

When he heard that Bloed had killed eleven A-Rank and B-Rank practitioners with a saber slash, he did not believe it completely.

However, after seeing that saber slash, he was sure that the rumors were true.

Because–

'My instincts warned me to keep away from it.'

Until now, the only two students that had made him felt so threatened were Mu Quan and Isabella.

Now, a third one had appeared.

'A new monster has appeared in the city, huh.' The leader of [Beast Brotherhood] smiled bitterly.

Similarly, In a nearby seat, Isabella Castor was looking at Bloed with her eyes opened wide.

'Impossible! How could he have injured master!?'

She was sure of it. She was sure she saw an injury in her master's hand after she stopped the attack.

However, the wound disappeared in the next instant. It disappeared so quickly that Isabella thought it was an illusion.

'Am I imagining things?'

Frowning, Isabella looked at the demon young man seated several meters away, trying to gauge his reaction.

The strongest student in the city, Mu Quan.

But right now, he was looking towards the arena as though he had met a terrible enemy.

Meanwhile, the black-haired girl in the seats of [Wings of Liberty] was looking towards the blue-haired young man with an astonished expression.

Joy, excitement, pride, and relief appeared on her face at the same time.

'So strong! My big brother is so strong! I knew it! He is not trash!'

But at the same time, her eyes flashed with a tinge of confusion.

"… That attack… I don't think it's [Skysword]."

…

While the students in the stands were trying to understand what happened in the arena, the fox girl was looking towards Bloed with an expression of shock and fear.

"You…"

But before she could say anything, her body shook violently and a lot of blood spurt out of her wound.

Headmistress Wave frowned slightly before waving her hand. Instantly, a magic circle appeared around the fox girl, suppressing her injuries and slowly healing them.

"You should not talk or move for a while. Your injuries are very serious. You could have died if I don't stop the attack at the last second."

The headmistress glared at Bloed angrily when she mentioned that.

Bloed could only smile wryly.

"Actually, I would have stopped the attack just before reaching her heart even if you don't intervene, Headmistress."

In effect, the fact that the girl was injured and not dead showed that Bloed had held back when he attacked.

Otherwise, he could have extended the range of [Imaginary Slash], and instead of injuring the fox girl, he would have bisected her.

Or he could have aimed to the fox girl's neck and not even Headmistress Wave would have been able to save her.

Perhaps aware of that, Headmistress Wave did not refute Bloed's words.

"You are right. Go back to your seat, and congratulations on winning the first battle of the War of Clubs."

"Thank you. And sorry to you, senior. I'll treat you to a meal after your wounds heal."

The fox girl said nothing, but the way her face turned white was enough for Bloed to know that she did not like the idea very much.

Bloed put on a wry smile and shook his head. Then, he returned calmly to his seat.

Behind him, Tito and Leto followed him as two loyal pets.

And an instant later, the entire stadium erupted in cheers.