My Yandere Empress

Alyssa won her ninth match, the closest among the group to qualify the Isikolo test. Shen and Smut both sat with eight victories each, and in that same round as Alyssa, Enzo won his seventh match.

Combining the efficient footwork of Drifting Step with the resonating mana strikes of Harmonic Slash, Enzo had been able to overpower a burly guy quite proficient with a halberd.

The match had been fierce, but Enzo had held his own and won.

"Candidate nine hundred ninety-nine and twenty-six. Head over to ring number one!"

Enzo bit his lip lightly as he was called for his eighth match. It was already afternoon, and the oppressive heat had reached its peak.

While it was affecting him, that wasn’t his biggest problem.

It was rather, as he had discussed the night before, his stamina.

For all his comprehensive abilities and his natural talent with the sword, having to fight five times in a single day wasn’t something his fragile body was built for.

This was only the third match of the day, and yet Enzo was already feeling sheer exhaustion in his muscles.

So he walked over to the assigned ring, his fingers flexing and adjusting his grip on the rusty short sword he’d been using since day one.

His opponent was already waiting outside the ring by the time he arrived — a boy with a fit, wiry build, holding a spear. His eyes carried a quiet confidence as they took in Enzo’s battered form.

"Ready? Start the match."

The boy moved first.

His spear lashed out in a straight thrust, mana gathering faintly along its tip, hissing through the air.

’Mana Slash... an inferior version of Harmonic Slash.’

Enzo immediately recognized the weapon technique.

He blinked into Mana Vision for half a heartbeat, caught the shimmer building along the weapon, and stepped sideways just enough to let it graze past his shoulder instead of his ribs.

"Point!"

’Definitely weaker than mine. But why is he so damn fast?!’

That was the problem with the boy. His mana slashes didn’t carry the same brute weight Enzo could put behind his own strikes, but the boy was quick...quick enough that the spear’s reach made up for whatever it lacked in raw power.

Enzo raised his sword, Harmonic Slash rippling to life along the blade, the mana in the air resonating with the mana on its surface.

He wanted to counterstrike but his opponent was blitzing at such speeds that dodging the attacks was becoming a harder task by the second.

So he could only raise his sword and block the strokes directed at him, which wasn’t a huge problem, given that Harmonic Slash was already supplying him the raw power to deflect the mana slashes.

He had Drifting Step as well but that was only at Basic Mastery. Using it, he could merely read his opponent’s footwork and gain a decent sense of positioning for now.

With points accumulating in the boy’s favor, Enzo decided he had to take risks to break his opponent’s rhythm. Otherwise, the match was as good as lost.

So for the next few seconds, he focused on his own defense, trying to put distance between them and buy himself time to deflect the long-ranged spear.

At the same time, Enzo observed him through Mana Vision.

He was drawing on everything in his arsenal — all to find one tiny flaw in his opponent that he could exploit.

He noticed the way the boy’s mana flowed along dual paths — one towards his legs, strengthening and quickening them, and the other towards his spear, charging his slashes.

"That’s a good use of your skills..." Enzo muttered, just loud enough for his opponent to hear the compliment.

The boy didn’t react. His expression held the same composure it had throughout the match.

Enzo offered a small smile as he dropped his guard, letting the spear leave a shallow cut across his thigh.

"Point!"

The boy didn’t stop, spinning his spear into a follow-up strike.

But Enzo hadn’t dropped his guard for no reason.

Using the brief window between the boy’s two strikes, Enzo charged a harmonic slash of his own.

As the spear descended in a horizontal arc, Enzo spun his sword in a vertically circular motion and intercepted it with all his strength.

The boy felt his arms tremble under the force as his spear lurched sideways, catching him off guard for a moment.

Seizing the opportunity, Enzo closed the distance between them and thrust the blade of his sword towards his opponent’s head.

The boy panicked and raised his spear to save himself from what looked like a potentially fatal strike.

However, before the blade could reach him, Enzo twisted his wrist and slammed the hilt of his sword against the boy’s chest instead.

"Point!"

The boy’s eyes widened from the sudden pain, and the composure he had maintained for so long finally shattered.

Enzo, not one to waste such an opening, rained down blows on his opponent, drawing twice as much blood from him as he’d taken himself.

The boy raised his spear in desperation but his resistance soon grew feeble as he was pushed back.

He suddenly dropped his spear and lunged at Enzo. Two fireballs bloomed in his hands as he attempted to fire them at point-blank range.

Unknown to him, Enzo had already foreseen it. Through Mana Vision, he’d caught the surge of mana rushing into the boy’s hands a second before.

Of course, he’d known some skill or element was about to come into play.

So Enzo rolled backwards as the fireballs sailed over his head. In the same motion, he snatched up the fallen spear and rose to his feet, keeping a small distance from his opponent.

"Damn you, slave! Why would you do that to me?!"

"Because I want to win. Isn’t that obvious?" Enzo looked at the fuming boy as though he were staring at an idiot.

The boy didn’t respond, only raised his hands as more fireballs gathered in his palms.

In retaliation, Enzo crouched and leveled the spear at the boy like a javelin. At the same time, the sword in his left hand shimmered with resonating mana.

But just before either of them could engage, the invigilator interrupted.

"One hundred eighty breaths, time! Hold your weapons!"

The two boys looked at each other for a moment before disengaging.

Enzo turned towards the invigilator, his heart pounding. Even he wasn’t sure who was leading on points...

"Candidate twenty-six has scored thirteen points. And candidate nine hundred ninety-nine has scored sixteen points.

Candidate nine hundred ninety-nine wins the match!"

Enzo nearly dropped to his knees in relief. He turned towards the boy, handing back the spear.

"That was genuinely a good match." He offered the compliment sincerely. The boy’s hand clenched around the spear.

"Yeah... right."

With that, each went their separate ways — Enzo back towards his group, and the boy leaving the fenced grounds, no longer permitted to remain inside.

"That was intense to watch, Enzo." Smut said the moment Enzo reached them.

"I agree, man. He’s fighting so much better than the last two days. Especially those mana slashes... they look so powerful." Shen added.

"They hit just as hard." Enzo grinned but soon a hand smacked lightly against his head.

He turned to Alyssa in confusion. Her eyes were narrowed as she glanced between the three of them.

"Why you all speaking of fighting? Enzo hurt!" she said in her broken speech, pointing vehemently at his injuries.

Enzo gave her a reassuring smile. "Trust me, they’re nothing compared to the pounding in my head."

Which was quite true.

Throughout the day, he had been silently enduring his swollen forehead, which showed no sign of getting better anytime soon.

He was called for his ninth match in the next round, alongside Alyssa, who was about to fight her tenth and final match.

"Name’s Rurik. Pleasure to fight you." His opponent gave a slight bow as he stepped into the ring.

Following him, Enzo offered a small bow of his own — probably looking ridiculous in his bloodied rags, the slave collar still bound around his throat.

But just as he was about to introduce himself, his system dinged.

He was about to ignore it until it dinged again. And then again.

So Enzo reached down and pretended to brush sand from between his toes.

He subtly summoned his runes to see what it was about.

His eyes widened in surprise as he tapped through the three direct messages.

[Valerie: Don’t!]

[Valerie: Don’t say your name to anyone.]

[Valerie: ...And look to your left.]

A chill ran through him as he turned to his left. Past the pavilion, his eyes instinctively skipped over the huge crowds outside the fenced grounds and landed on a hooded figure seated atop a horse, her gaze fixed in his direction.

His eyes shifted to her right, to the Bewitcher who had helped him before, now explaining something with a frantic expression.

What the hell is she doing here?!