CHAPTER 197: DESPERATION

Leon looked directly into Seraphine’s eyes, his sharp gaze and confident smile reassuring her entirely.

And knowing him, Seraphine was not worried, but there was one more thing on her mind, something she had to talk to him about later. She had noticed earlier that his eyes had changed slightly after he came back, but for now, she didn’t want to discuss it.

Malverick had already arrived inside the arena. His father had told him that if worst came to worst, he should forfeit the match, as they had already planned to take care of everything afterward.

But he wasn’t worried. He had a trump card he was willing to use to make that arrogant man eat dirt. In the end, he would kill him in front of Seraphine—that would be a sight worth watching.

She wouldn’t be able to interfere in an academy match. Kek kek, I would love to see the helplessness on her face when I kill him. She might even beg. Ah! I can’t wait for it!

For years, he couldn’t find a proper weakness of hers. Still, now it was right in front of him, one that even made a level-headed person want to offend the entire Seraphine Kingdom by disrespecting the crown in front of everyone.

Which couldn’t be ignored.

This was all a blessing in disguise for him to put her in her place.

And it was Leon who was talking with Seraphine, which only made Malverick more determined to end his life today. His killing intent reached its peak when Leon kissed her on the lips and then jumped down as if it was nothing.

You are dead, bastard! You touched something that was supposed to be mine!

—

Leon jumped down from the top floor, his figure traveling through the air without slowing before he landed on the ground with a resounding impact, cobweb cracks spreading around him.

Boom!

Cheers and shouts erupted in support of both sides—it was not one-sided. Unlike Emily, Malverick was a contender for the top five, and his strength was far greater than hers.

And then there was the fact of his relationship with Commander Seraphine, which was going to make this match personal. Everyone knew this was going to be a brutal fight, and they were excited for it.

The air trembled with anticipation as both stood a few meters apart, only the announcer between them. He could feel the obvious killing intent from Malverick Arselin, the duke’s son, and from Leon, who no longer wore his previous easygoing face but instead a ruthless, cold expression.

He knew this match was going to be brutal, one where one of them could potentially die. He had to remain on high alert in case one of them forfeited, so he could stop it in time.

This wasn’t just duty—it was personal. For a talent like Leon, even in the Middle Domain, such a one was rare. He couldn’t let him die from his own foolishness. This was the first time he brought his personal feelings into a match. None before had been worth the effort.

Phillips had the Headmaster’s backing, so he wasn’t worried. He could handle the animosity that would come if the duke’s son survived.

As for the absolute rule of not interfering with Lower Domain business, he couldn’t break that. Only influential figures from the Higher Domain could alter such things. Two such beings were present here, but Phillips knew they had no interest in either the Middle Domain or the Lower Domain.

Other than enforcing rules, they never interfered—especially with the Lower Domain.

It was surprising to him that they had even come here after hundreds of years.

But two important people were present now.

Clearing his thoughts, he looked at both combatants.

"Are you ready?"

Confident nods came from each side, one even mixed with slight mockery. Phillips felt that the ignorant duke’s son didn’t know what Leon’s previous elemental control and attack had shown. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so high on his horse.

He fired a magic bullet into the air to signal the start and then moved to the side of the arena.

Bam!

While laser-focused on preventing any tragedy, he imagined the duke’s son forfeiting in the middle of the fight. When that moment came, he would have to act swiftly to stop it.

—

Leon and Malverick locked eyes.

Let’s see how much pain it takes to crack your pride.

Learning from Emily’s defeat, Malverick didn’t even consider testing Leon’s strength. He directly used his Master’s Rank Mana Body Enhancement, which he had achieved only a few days ago. He was confident in his strength, not just because of this but also because he had been given a treasure by his father—their family heirloom, which he always kept close.

A ring that would increase water affinity by one rank for half an hour once fully charged.

He still couldn’t believe his father had given him such a broken treasure, even just for this fight.

I can never lose this fight.

He activated the treasure, and the whole aura around him intensified even further.

Malverick also used his Aqua Enhance technique. He wasn’t going for a long fight—he was planning to one-shot this arrogant bastard. The sword in his hand trembled with water energy provided by a massive amount of mana, more than fifty.

That was around seventy percent of his entire reserve. He was going for the kill.

"You bastard, you are dead for trying to put your hands on what was mine!" Malverick’s cold words echoed as his attack was about to be completed in a second.

Leon could sense the change in Malverick’s aura. He was surprised; the man’s water affinity was at Rank 6. He hadn’t encountered anyone with such a high affinity until now.

Yet he wasn’t here to entertain children’s play. He was here to give Malverick hell. He had no intention of letting him put up a fight. The humiliation would come when Malverick started begging for his life, and Leon knew it would be soon. When that time came, he would give him hope only to crush it.

The arrogant words didn’t affect him; he knew this fool would take them back soon.

The muscles in Leon’s legs tensed.

Let me return your arrogance—shoved straight down your throat.

In the next moment, his figure blasted forward with a sonic boom, and Malverick was still busy preparing his finishing move.

Even though Leon hadn’t used full force—only a fraction—the air pressure alone slammed into Malverick, sending him flying back like he had been hit by a bull. The wind knocked the breath from his lungs.

In Malverick’s mind, the whole world turned upside down. Flying backward, blood poured from his mouth, pain erupted across his body, and his precious mana was wasted.

W-What is going on?! What is this pain? Why am I being knocked back? What happened?!

He didn’t even understand how he had ended up in such a state.

Leon didn’t stop there. He caught Malverick mid-air by the leg with one hand, then swung him like a sack of air before slamming his body down onto the ground.

BOOM!

From where Leon had gripped his leg, it was utterly crushed.

"ARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Malverick screamed. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. His legs burned, his head throbbed as if it were struck by hammers, his bones and organs screamed—all of him was in agonizing torment.

"ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!"

Another scream. Malverick still didn’t understand what had happened or who had put him in such a state. His vision was blurry, his mind shaky. He remembered preparing to kill a pest, but now—how was he the one dying?

Leon looked down at Malverick’s broken body without an inkling of sympathy in his eyes. Instead, dissatisfaction filled his mystical gaze.

He was just getting started. This was the one who had pestered Seraphine for so long, the one who had tried to assassinate him, the one who claimed Seraphine as his own. Now he screamed in pain like a broken doll.

Every scream is an apology I don’t accept.

This is nearly not enough.

Another slam would kill him, but Leon didn’t want that. He felt lucky Malverick had a healing element—this was going to be long.

Leon waited a few seconds while the entire arena held its breath. Duke Arselin was ready to launch a spell to save his son; the only thing stopping him was that terrifying young man who wasn’t doing anything.

Why terrifying? He had already surpassed their Commander of Knights with ease, without even using mana throughout the competition. That speed earlier was just abnormal.

He even questioned if Leon was human or something else entirely. Still, he believed his son would be safe. The young man seemed intelligent and was only waiting for surrender.

And he wasn’t wrong.

"Argh!"

Finally, Malverick could see clearly. He saw Leon staring at him like a predator, his strength terrifying. He was about to surrender, to accept defeat. But in his mind, it wasn’t over. After the festival ended, he would kill Leon—with the help of his grandfather and the crown prince.

"I—" his bloody mouth formed words.

But a cold voice cut him off.

"Be quiet."

A horrible pain struck him.

ARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!

He spat out pieces of his tongue.

A realization he had never imagined crept up his spine alongside the pain.

I-I c-can’t speak...

His tongue was gone. Those words had not been simple speech but an absolute command. He couldn’t surrender now.

You don’t get to surrender. You’re mine until I say you’re done.

His shaky eyes were left with only desperation and pain.

As Leon gazed down at Malverick’s pathetic self, he was struck by the echoing sound of applause from above; it was music to his ears.