Hearing her infatuated words, Gray felt nothing whatsoever. He simply grabbed her hand and pushed it away from his face.
He even brushed his sleeves at the place where she had touched as if he was disgusted by her.
"I don’t like you, Aurora. Simple as that," he retorted calmly with a shred of hesitation.
Those words caused the frozen Aurora to instantly flare up in a rage, as a gloomy aura started leaking from her body.
’...Tsk.’
"Hahaha..."
Aurora started laughing as the gloomy aura suddenly started forming creepy creatures as if it was actually materializing.
Those creatures eerily stared at Gray with an amused look, trying to analyse him with their asly weak brains.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!"
Her laughter grew increasingly louder as she dug her nails into her face, revealing an extre look of madness.
Her eyes went bloodshot as the gloomy aura started wrapping itself around Gray’s body, as if threatening to take him away.
"Aurora."
Gray calmly called out her na, looking at her like he wasn’t about to be devoured by whatever that gloomy aura was.
"Will you teach your personal sword art or not?"
He asked lightly, causing Aurora to directly rember how they had gotten into this situation. In an instant, the gloomy aura dissipated into wisps.
"...."
Her eyes stared at him with unrestrained possessiveness.
"Deal."
She waved her hand, causing the barrier surrounding both of them to disappear, revealing once again the arena.
Then, she suddenly flew into the sky and shouted:
"New challenge! Gray versus Ovrin!"
For a single second, the arena stayed frozen.
Then it exploded.
"WHAT?!"
"GRAY VERSUS OVRIN?!"
"IS THIS REAL OR AM I LOSING MY MIND?!"
"OVRIN IS A FIFTH YEAR! A PEAK KING REALM MONSTER!"
"No, no, wait, did you hear her right?! The headmistress just declared it herself!"
Shouts crashed into each other, rising into a deafening roar.
Students stood up from their seats, so climbing onto benches, others gripping the railings so hard their knuckles turned white.
Excitent, disbelief, fear, all tangled together into raw noise.
"Is Gray insane for accepting this?!"
Argunts broke out mid-cheer.
So laughed nervously, others shouted warnings, others scread Gray’s na with wild excitent.
Even the returning fifth years changed their posture, sharp eyes narrowing as heavy auras stirred among them.
They knew about Gray’s power from before... and now they were a little curious to know how much he had improved.
"Of course, since this is an extrely unfair battle, Ovrin’s realm will be sealed to the Grandmaster, just a single big realm above Gray’s!"
The arena once again started shaking because of the audience.
"ONE REALM ABOVE?!"
"THAT’S STILL OVRIN!"
"Peak King Realm sealed to Grandmaster... even then, he’s a sword monster!"
In the sky above the arena, Aurora slowly descended, her long hair drifting as if stroked by an unseen hand.
Her eyes swept across the crowd with a faint smile.
"This fight ends when one of you cannot stand."
Aurora drifted backward, her body dissolving into light as she exited the arena, her laughter trailing behind her like a curse.
Silence fell.
Shing...
Ovrin slowly drew his king-grade sword.
The steel slid free with a sharp cry, sword qi spilling out in dense waves that pressed against the arena floor, cracking stone beneath his feet.
His aura stabilized at the Grandmaster stage, sharply refined through countless battles.
As for Gray, he gently tapped the two daggers on his waist while calmly looking at Ovrin’s posture.
Fwip!
Ovrin’s eyes narrowed, and his sword flashed.
A clean horizontal slash tore through the air, sword qi stretching outward like a pale arc, slicing straight toward Gray’s torso.
Fwoop!
Gray’s body twisted, foot sliding, torso bending at an angle that looked wrong. The sword qi passed close enough to shave fabric from his robe, ripping threads free.
Gray stepped inside the range.
Ovrin reacted fast, his blade snapping back, elbow tightening as he reversed the edge and stabbed downward.
[Spirit Eyes]
Gray’s hand instantly ca up.
Thack!
His knuckles struck the flat of the blade with a dull thud, mana flooding his arm, muscles swelling beneath skin.
The impact shoved the sword aside by a hair.
Gray’s other hand followed and was slamd into Ovrin’s ribs.
"Kugh!" Ovrin grunted, body skidding half a step back, his sword qi bursting outward to cushion the blow.
"So fast," soone shouted from the stands.
Ovrin exhaled sharply and twisted, sword spinning in a tight arc.
"Drifting Through Clouds!"
His feet slid across the ground as he used his movent technique, his body blurring for a blink as he circled Gray and struck from behind.
The blade descended toward Gray’s shoulder.
"[✧Swap✧]"
Gray vanished, causing Ovrin’s sword cut through empty air. At the mont, he reappeared to Ovrin’s left, low to the ground, knee bent, fist already swinging upward.
The punch caught Ovrin beneath the chin.
’Tsk!’
Not clean.
Sword qi flared at the last mont, dulling the blow, yet his head snapped back and blood sprayed from his lips as his boots dragged a long line across the stone.
The crowd erupted.
"He hit him again!"
"He’s inside his guard!"
Ovrin planted his foot and roared, sword qi surging harder, thicker, pouring from his body like a storm breaking loose.
Pale light wrapped around him, sharp enough to sting the skin from a distance.
"You think those small tricks can make you win against ?!"
He raised his sword high.
Fwoooom!
Countless swords made out of qi materialized around him, surrounding Gray like he was a caged zoo animal.
"Go!"
The swords shot towards Gray, who took a step forward into the direction of the swords, and just when a sword was about to pierce his body...
Swish...
His body transford into mist.
[✧ Dream Mist ✧]
At the sa ti, multiple afterimages appeared around the arena, causing Ovrin to grit his teeth, taking a few steps back before diving the swords into killing all the afterimages.
"S-shit! Where is he?"
After killing all of them, Gray still hadn’t appeared, causing him to get even more nervous than he already was.
"Boo!"
Suddenly, a voice ca from behind him, causing him to yelp, but that yelp was short-lived as Gray struck his wrist with his hand.
"Aghk!"
Ovrin’s grip on his sword loosened for a breath.
Then, Gray’s knee smashed into Ovrin’s thigh, and an elbow cracked into his chest, mana roaring through muscle and bone.
"FUCK!"
Ovrin was trying to counter with a headbutt, but Gray quickly crouched down before slamming his elbow into his stomach.
"Kugh!"
Saliva spilled from Ovrin’s mouth as his body skidded across the stone, rolling hard before stopping after several ters.
"OH MY GOD!"
"GRAY ACTUALLY HAS THE ADVANTAGE IN THE BATTLE?!
"HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?"
The crowd only seed to grow wilder, not to ntion the look of satisfaction on both Maelis and Seraph’s lips as they watched Ovrin get beaten up.
Then, Gray walked toward him at an unhurried pace.
His boots tapped softly against the broken floor. He rolled his shoulders once, then lightly knocked the hilts of his daggers together.
"Is that all?"
He stopped right in front of Ovrin.
"I didn’t even have the chance to use my weapon," he spoke in a disappointed voice.
This caused Ovrin’s already fragile ego to be reborn, as his eyes flared up with a strange, undying madness.
"YOU DAMNN BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAARDDDDDDDDD!!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
His aura exploded, causing Gray to jump back and gather enough distance away from Ovri.
"GGRRRR!!!"
Ovrin rose slowly.
Sword qi poured from his body in thick waves, wrapping his blade until the tal almost vanished inside pale light.
His stance changed as his shoulders hunched, his knees bent lightly, and he started breathing heavily.
The pressure crushed down on the arena.
"He’s gone mad..."
"That sword qi... It’s different now!"
Ovrin moved first.
CRACK!
The ground broke under his foot as he rushed forward, sword raised high. He swung straight down, a heavy chop aid at Gray’s head.
CLANG!
Gray drew both daggers in a flash.
Steel scread as he crossed the blades above him, stopping the strike inches from his skull. The force drove him to one knee, stone splintering under the impact.
Ovrin pushed harder.
"DIE!"
Gray twisted his wrists, slipping the sword aside, then rolled to the left as the blade slamd down again.
BOOM!
The floor exploded where Gray had been.
Gray sprang up low and fast, closing in. His right dagger shot toward Ovrin’s ribs, but Ovrin twisted and summoned his black knight armor, taking the complete hit.
CLACK!
Sparks flew as Gray followed with a kick to the knee.
THUD!
Ovrin staggered but did not fall, and instead, he answered with a backhand slash.
WHOOSH!
Gray leaned backward, blade passing a finger’s width from his throat. He stepped in again and punched Ovrin square in the chest.
BAM!
Sword qi flared, softening the blow, yet Ovrin still slid back half a step.
The two clashed again.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Daggers and swords t again and again.
Gray ducked under wide swings, slashed at wrists, thighs, and shoulders. Ovrin hacked back with raw force, each strike heavy enough to crack stone.
[Spirit Eyes]
Gray suddenly slipped past a thrust and drove his elbow into Ovrin’s jaw.
CRACK!
Ovrin reeled, roaring, then swung blindly.
"[✧Swap✧]"
Gray vanished before he appeared behind Ovrin and kicked him straight in the back.
THOOM!
Ovrin crashed forward, rolling, then forced himself up, blood dripping from his mouth as his eyes strangely burned brighter than before.
He lifted his sword with both hands...
FWOOOOOMP!
And a ginormous amount of sword qi started gathering into it.
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