Chapter 83 : Chapter 83
Chapter 83 Pride.
“Michelle!”
“M, Michelle!”
Adellian and Odekerkh shouted.
Having confirmed his victory, Marcus showed a laugh full of satisfaction.
“Isn’t Lightning Sword too much for a martial arts tournament? A person could get seriously hurt!”
Adellian glared at Marcus and burst out in anger. However, it didn’t reach Marcus, who was focused on the duel.
Marcus, that kid is truly pitiful too. He tried hard to look good to Adellian, but he’s ending up with a result worse than not doing it. And he laughed too early. The opponent is not an ordinary cadet, but Michelle Marian Antoine, the descendant of Raphael Antoine.
Woosh!
Along with the sound of wind, the thick smoke scattered in an instant.
“Cough! Cough!”
And Michelle, with tears streaming down……. Huh?
“Are you crying?”
“I, I think s, snot is running too.”
Odekerkh also saw the same thing as me.
Michelle is currently crying sorrowfully, endlessly shedding tears and snot. But why is she crying?
“Spicy.”
Ah……. The smoke is a bit like that.
“No, she was hit by the Lightning Sword, how…….”
It’s not unreasonable for Marcus to be surprised. Although Michelle was crying, she was in a very neat state without a single scratch. Except for her face being a bit dirty.
“That can’t be. It’s Lightning Sword. A technique I obtained with such difficulty!”
Seeing his effort’s fruit become useless, it seems neither Adellian nor anything else enters his eyes.
“Thunder Rain!”
Marcus shouted the technique name so the whole world could know and swung his sword.
Crackle-crackle-boom!
“Woah!”
The spectators who saw lightning pouring like rain spat out exclamations all at once.
And I, Adellian, and Odekerkh looked at Michelle and spat out exclamations.
“Is that possible?”
“W, what! Like a G, Goddess.”
Where would the skill of dancing go? In the task of feeling the flow of air and placing the body in the optimal position, no one can follow Michelle.
“Why? Why? Why aren’t you getting hit? Why?”
Becoming urgent, Marcus circulated mana while sweating enough to soak his clothes. The two Mana Circles the guy possessed twinkled as if they would explode.
“Crude.”
Michelle, who had dug into Marcus’s embrace before he knew it, delivered a sharp remark and swung her bow.
Marcus urgently turned his sword to block Michelle’s attack.
“U, ugh!”
Marcus’s balance collapsed.
At that moment, a strange light stood in Michelle’s eyes. She took one step back and took out three arrows.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three arrows stuck in the ground.
Seeing this, Marcus let out a sigh of relief.
‘Is he a fool?’
Watching Marcus’s state, one cannot help but think so. Because he’s feeling relief without knowing what Michelle has unfolded just now.
Pa-ak!
The stuck arrows resonated with each other and connected lines of wind.
Placed beneath that, Marcus realized something was wrong belatedly.
Pang!
He tried to roll his body to escape. However, pushed by the strong wind, he was pressed flat to the ground.
“Th, th! This isn’t right!”
“Noisy person.”
Michelle’s bow aimed at Marcus’s face.
Marcus gulped down saliva and only looked at Michelle.
“Wh, what? What happened?”
“Did Marcus lose?”
“Marcus really lost? The Marcus of the Lightning Sword?”
The spectator seats buzzed. It seems they can’t believe the fact that a guy with a name value lost to a kid they don’t even know. But what to do? The situation unfolded before their eyes is reality.
Tweeeet!
“Cadet Michelle wins!”
The referee confirmed reality.
However, most of the spectators couldn’t open their mouths as if they couldn’t believe it.
Only intermittent applause came out.
“10-minute break for stadium maintenance!”
Until Michelle came down from the stadium, those people only buzzed.
“Uaaang! I, I! Losing, i, it makes no sense! Uaaang!”
Marcus started crying like a child. A cadet close to him went up to the stadium and dragged him down forcibly.
“Ugly.”
Michelle, catching her breath, looked at Marcus and shook her head.
And the corners of my mouth went up.
“He said he aimed for the top seat and even confessed, so I thought he was decent, but he’s not it at all, is he?”
“I said there was no such thing!”
“Why get angry? You said you were never confessed to.”
“…….”
Adellian’s muttering of ‘Annoying,’ entered my ears, but I should pretend not to hear. If I tease more than this, it will become tiring later.
That aside, where did Piontek go?
***
Drip, drip, drip.
Water drops fell and wet the sink.
Piontek lifted his face.
“Huu.”
His reflection in the mirror, eyes full of turmoil, lips where confidence couldn’t be found.
Piontek sighed repeatedly.
‘To think Michelle is that strong.’
He admired Marcus. Handsome appearance, excellent eloquence, outstanding swordsmanship, high grades, and even using the power of thunder.
‘Looking Adellian is not great, though.’
Still, Marcus was cool. Even if Adellian chose Marcus, he felt he could understand.
‘Um…… just a little.’
Anyway, Piontek respected Marcus. His specialty, the Lightning Sword, was also a legendary technique he wanted to learn. That Marcus was defeated by Michelle. It wasn’t an equal fight either. He was defeated miserably enough that the word ‘helpless’ would be perfect.
“Only me…….”
His mind isn’t troubled because Marcus lost. The fact that he was lagging behind alone troubled his mind. Adellian is 2nd Circle, Odekerkh is 2nd Circle, Michelle is 2nd Circle, and Maxim possesses ridiculous abilities.
‘We fought together.’
When fighting the Amirios clan, when fighting in the black market, Piontek was with them.
Yet only he is stopped. Everyone else is developing, but only he lost his way. He felt the limit of the sword and switched to the spear, but nothing changed.
Piontek closed his eyes. Seeing nothing seemed like his future.
“Waah!”
At the cheer coming from outside, Piontek’s head turned.
Sounds of something breaking and smashing were heard continuously.
‘It started.’
Piontek lowered his head again. The second match opened, but he didn’t want to go watch.
He didn’t have the confidence to watch those he was with winning.
“There’s no pity party like this pity party.”
A familiar voice.
“If the air is precious, you should bang your head properly in a basin, not a plate. What is this? This.”
Maxim looked at Piontek’s face and let out a snort. He tapped the water gathered at the bottom of the sink tap tap. Every time, water droplets hit Piontek’s face.
“D, don’t.”
“Don’t do it.”
“Ah! I said don’t.”
“Why?”
At Maxim’s question, Piontek blinked. Receiving ‘Why?’ to the request not to bully him, nothing came to mind to answer.
“Don’t you see I’m pouring water to make a guy who lost his mind come to his senses?”
“…….”
“What’s the problem? What’s the problem that you’re wearing a face like chewing shit throughout the tournament?”
Boom!
“What great battle are they doing to be noisy like that?”
Piontek stared blankly at the brusquely speaking Maxim.
“Who is fighting?”
“The kid you like.”
Piontek nodded.
‘She’ll win.’
Before the martial arts tournament, Adellian was greatly delighted saying she gained enlightenment. Saying she learned what to feel and focus on, she even unfolded her sword gracefully.
‘It was different. Definitely different.’
He felt he understood what it meant to rise one step higher.
Thud.
“Huh?”
Piontek looked at his chest. Maxim was placing his hand on it.
“What are you doing?”
“You saw what Nigues did in the black market, right? Copying that.”
“No, no. You aren’t a mage.”
“Using mana is the same.”
“How is it the same when you aren’t a mage? Understanding of mana is differ……!”
Before he could even finish the reason why he shouldn’t, Maxim’s hand emitted blue light.
Piontek opened his eyes wide and looked at Maxim. He had learned that if someone with imperfect understanding of mana handled mana clumsily, great disaster would follow. But Maxim, Maxim who is neither a mage nor has a Mana Circle, is pushing mana into his body.
He can’t even tear it away forcibly. Because mana flows could tangle and make him a cripple. So Piontek chose the best method he could do.
“Stop glaring. Your eyeballs will fall out.”
Maxim lightly mocked Piontek’s choice.
‘I knew it.’
Piontek created a circle with a sword. However, the swordsmanship he uses relied on spearmanship. The power of mana was the same. So the energy was misaligned. Because mana couldn’t combust properly, residues filled here and there. Having lifted a spear in such a state, even if he found his path and used strength, he couldn’t do anything about the already accumulated residues.
“Ucha.”
Maxim took his hand off Piontek’s chest.
“How should I do it for you?”
“Wh, what?”
“Odekerkh and Adellian asked me to help desperately, very deeesperately, you know? What will you do?”
“……What do you mean help?”
“Eyy, why are you like this? Let’s not pretend ignorance with something obvious. Making it boring.”
Piontek swallowed dry saliva gulp. He knew Maxim was amazing. But he didn’t say the words asking for help to become better. It was because of jealousy. Because Adellian seemed to like Maxim.
‘My pride is hurt.’
In Piontek’s honest feelings, it didn’t matter if Marcus liked Adellian. Since it wasn’t Adellian liking him. She even confirmed it by rejecting Marcus’s confession harshly. But Maxim was different. It didn’t seem like Maxim liked Adellian. But the opposite was…….
‘The eyes looking at Maxim were different.’
The atmosphere when Adellian looked at other people and when she looked at Maxim was different. This was a man’s intuition. A very sensitive intuition towards the liked target. That’s why he didn’t want to receive Maxim’s help. He wanted to become strong on his own, suppress Maxim, and win Adellian’s heart. But he was blocked by a wall.
“Live as a 1st Circle for the rest of your life then.”
Maxim tried to move his steps waving his hand as if he had nothing to regret.
Piontek bit his lip tightly watching his back.
‘If I fall behind here, will I become distant from Adellian too?’
He imagined the picture of Maxim and Adellian getting closer.
‘N, no!’
Piontek grabbed Maxim’s shoulder. Very urgently at that.
At that moment, a broad grin hung on Maxim’s lips.
“Why?”
“Help…… me.”
“What did you say? This old man is hard of hearing so I can’t hear well?”
“How are you old? You’re completely youn…….”
Maxim looked at Piontek sullenly.
“No, that is. I mean…… help me.”
“Trooper. Voice is too small. Again, louder!”
“Help me.”
“Again.”
“H, help me!”
“Louder!”
“Help me!”
“Politely.”
“Please help me!”
“Alright.”
Piontek grimaced as if feeling wronged that he spoke according to Maxim’s will swept by the atmosphere.
Maxim patted Piontek’s shoulder with a feeling that he made a wise choice.
“How will you do it? You aren’t using mana dangerously, right?”
“I said I’ll take care of everything? Don’t worry.”
“How can I not worry? If something really goes wrong, crip…… Keuk!”
A handprint appeared darkly on Piontek’s chest.
Maxim drew an evil smile looking at Piontek.
“I should have said it beforehand, but it can’t be helped. It will hurt enough to die.”
Thwack!
Piontek crumpled his face and glared at Maxim. He wanted to pour out every curse in existence, but he couldn’t do so. Because dark blood close to black was flowing out from inside his mouth.
“Nigues just burned it, but as someone said, I’m not a mage. So you have to throw it up.
Very cleanly.”
Thud!
Piontek wanted to scream to just kill him instead.