CHAPTER 129: MIDTERMS EXAMS [VII]

"Gray, my sweet big brother, are you finally going to help those pathetic little things that you can teammates?" Maelis uttered in a teasing tone.

"Bitch!"

Selene hissed through clenched teeth, her aura trembling around her sword.

The others were also quite uncomfortable at her words, but most of them didn’t dare to actually say something about it.

But Gray... didn’t react at all. He stood there, silent, sword resting lazily against his shoulder, his dull black eyes fixed elsewhere.

He wasn’t even looking at Maelis.

His gaze was locked onto Leon.

’...A low-level Space Spirit?’ His eyes narrowed lightly as he gazed down at Leon’s shoulders, where a faint purple and dark wisp could be seen circling around him.

’No wonder he got so strong that easily.’

The only reason Gray was able to see spirits, something that usually only elves and people contracted by spiritis could see, was because he had met... the Fairy Queen once.

Even until now, he hasn’t forgotten about it.

After all, she was probably the only person he had considered as a second mother, and the warmth she gave him back when he was nothing more than a lost boy with blood on his hands.

Even now, the memory was sharp enough to sting.

"Whatch’a looking at?" Leon scoffed, noticing his gaze. "You seem awfully distracted for someone who’s about to lose."

Gray’s head tilted slightly, his smirk returning.

"...At your frog-looking face, why?"

Leon blinked, clearly thrown off by the bluntness.

Gray slowly drew his rapier, the faint shing echoing through the air. His movements were strangely calm, and that made everyone nearby tense instinctively.

They all had seen his fighting before.

He pointed the blade straight at Leon’s face, just a few inches from the prince’s nose. Then, his lips curled up even more.

"Come on, little prince," he teased him lightly.

"I’ve been waiting for you to make the first move, but it looks like you only swing at people weaker than you."

"Watch your mouth, commoner," Leon’s jaw tightened.

"Oh?" Gray chuckled lowly, tilting his head.

"Did I hit a nerve?"

His eyes glinted dangerously, that usual emotionless stare replaced by something cold and mocking.

"Tell me, Leon," Gray continued with a casual tone, though the pressure around him started to rise.

"Do you beat the weak because it makes you feel like a real man? Or because you know you’d get torn apart the second you fight someone who doesn’t kneel to you?"

Leon’s smile slowly vanished at his words.

His eyes darkened, the playful expression fading into something cold and sharp.

Thrum...

The air around him started to twist slightly, small cracks of light forming where his mana leaked out.

Everyone nearby could feel it, the sudden weight pressing down on them.

"Damn... his killing intent is no joke," Ronan gritted his teeth.

Even Maelis stopped smirking, her green eyes narrowing as Leon’s mana grew heavier.

"You talk too much..." Leon clenched his jaw tightly, his voice trembling with anger.

His hand twitched as the ground below his feet cracked.

Then, in one instant, he vanished.

WHOOSH!

The air ripped apart as Leon shot forward, a flash of distorted space following his movement.

Gray’s eyes sharpened as his rapier rose slightly, catching the incoming pressure with perfect timing.

CLANG!

Their blades met, sending out a shockwave that pushed dust and sand across the arena floor.

Gray slid one foot back, the ground cracking beneath him, but he didn’t lose balance.

"Finally decided to move," he said quietly, pushing Leon’s blade away before swinging his own with frightening speed.

"Gaaah!"

Clang!

Sparks flew in every direction, lighting the air between them.

Leon growled, his space magic flaring with each movement, distorting the air and making it hard to tell where he would strike next.

But Gray’s eyes followed perfectly, predicting every attack as if he had seen them all before.

"You’re quite fast," Gray said with a mocking smirk, twisting his sword and forcing Leon to stumble a step back.

"...But for someone who stole one of the strongest talents to ever exist... you’re quite mediocre, aren’t you?"

Leon’s expression darkened even more, his killing intent growing thicker.

"YOU’LL FUCKING REGRET SAYING THAT!"

He lifted his hand, a faint purple circle forming behind him as his sword flickered out of sight.

And Gray... just smiled coldly, lowering his stance slightly, his rapier glowing faintly with that strange dark outline again.

’...I don’t even need a proper technique to deal with you,’ he thought, his eyes scanning around, trying to see if one of his ’teammates’ was actually going to make a move.

But like the useless idiots they were, they only stood still, watching the fight between the two of them.

Crackle!

Leon’s eyes gleamed faintly purple as the air around him rippled, folding like shattered glass as space itself bent to his will.

"LET’S SEE YOU DODGE THIS THEN!" he shouted madly, losing his elegance as the Empire’s Prince, but well... almost everyone already knew that he was quite the mad dog.

Soo... it was easy to say that he was acting like he usually does.

FWOOM!

In an instant, Leon vanished.

The sound of air imploding filled the arena as he reappeared behind Gray, his blade already slicing down with killing precision.

CLANG!

Gray’s rapier twisted backward without even looking. Sparks exploded where steel met steel, the impact forcing both of them to slide across the ground.

"Tch!" Leon clicked his tongue, disappearing again.

FWIP!

FWIP!

FWIP!

He flashed across the field like a storm of afterimages, appearing at Gray’s left, right, above, and below, each time swinging with perfect coordination.

But Gray’s body moved like it already knew every strike.

He ducked under the first slash, sidestepped the second, tilted his rapier to deflect the third, then twisted his wrist, parrying the fourth in one smooth spin.

Sparks scattered in a circle around them.

’...Having my reaction time enhanced by more than one hundred times really is useful... especially my senses, which were already deeply developed.’

"Aren’t you too weak?" Gray yawned lazily.

Leon gritted his teeth, teleporting backward, then instantly reappearing above Gray with both hands gripping his sword.

The weapon hummed with warped energy as space folded around its blade.

Gray tilted his head, raising his sword with his hand.

SHING!

The moment Leon’s strike descended, Gray’s rapier met it perfectly. The collision rang like a bell, and a powerful wave burst outward, sending sand and debris flying everywhere.

Leon pushed down with all his strength, veins bulging at his neck, but Gray didn’t even flinch.

His feet dug slightly into the ground, the muscles in his arm tightening for a brief second before...

CRACK!

Gray twisted his sword upward.

The angle shifted just enough to throw Leon’s balance off. Then, before Leon could even blink...

FWOOSH!

Gray’s silhouette vanished.

"Wha—?!"

Leon’s eyes widened as Gray appeared right behind him, his rapier already slicing forward.

CLANG!

Leon barely managed to teleport again, but Gray’s sword grazed his cheek, cutting a thin line that drew blood.

"You managed to dodge that?" Gray raised an eyebrow in surprise.

’Are Spatial Spirits even at the low level that strong?’ His eyes focused on the faint dark glimmer around Leon once again.

’...Should I kill it?’

His eyes briefly turned colder before getting back to normal again.

He isn’t a person who cares much about promises, but he still knows how to keep... some of them, especially from someone as useful as the Fairy Queen.

And since he had promised not to kill any spirits without her permission, so be it... for now.

"You think this is over!?" Leon growled, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his hand.

Then, before Gray could reply, he slammed his palm into the ground.

CRACK!

A dome of twisted space spread out from his position, the arena floor bending unnaturally as sharp distortions cut through the air like blades.

The world seemed to tilt sideways, but Gray didn’t react at all.

His rapier glowed dark, a faint shadow coating it like ink. His body flickered, his movements growing smoother, faster, quieter.

And then, as Leon blinked his eyes, he disappeared.

"W-what—?!"

Leon’s eyes darted around wildly. His spatial sense caught nothing, no mana trace, no sound, no image.

CLANG!

A strike came from his right.

He turned, blocked, but another one followed instantly from the left.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Every movement was seamless.

Gray didn’t just attack; he flowed.

His feet barely touched the ground as he spun, stabbed, and redirected the weight of Leon’s blade with surgical precision.

Leon tried to teleport again, but Gray was already there.

Their swords collided mid-step, and Gray leaned in close, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Stop blinking around and fight me properly."

He twisted his blade, locking Leon’s weapon between the rapier’s guard before driving his knee straight into Leon’s stomach.

THUD!

"Gah—!" Leon coughed, air bursting out of his lungs as he stumbled backward.

Gray didn’t give him a chance to recover.

In the next heartbeat, Gray’s rapier darted forward.

SZZZT—!

A faint black streak of energy followed the blade’s path as it cut through the air, grazing Leon’s shoulder and leaving behind a thin, smoking line.

"Ba...BASTARD!" Leon gritted his teeth, pain flaring up.

He swung desperately, warping his sword through space itself, making it reappear from impossible angles.

But Gray’s body bent, twisted, and weaved through each attack like a shadow come alive.

"Spatial tears... nice trick," Gray muttered, side-stepping the last blow. "Too bad your hand shakes before each cast."

Leon froze for half a second, just enough time for Gray to move.

FWOOSH!

Gray thrusted his rapier forward.

The tip stopped right at Leon’s throat, just barely grazing the skin.

The arena went silent.

Gray’s cold eyes locked on Leon’s.

"...And that," he said slowly, "is why I don’t wait for weaklings to finish showing off."

He pulled the blade back with a flick, wiping the faint dust off its edge before turning his back to Leon, already walking away.

But then... as if recalling something, he turned around with a cold smile.

"If I remember correctly... the Professor seemed to mention that ’severe injuries’ were expected, right?"

Leon’s eyes dropped cold as he heard Gray’s words.

And then, just before he could react...

THUD!

"ARGHH!"

A mouthful of blood was spilled from Leon’s mouth as Gray’s fist slammed against his stomach, also making his eyes roll back.

"Gu... ga, ahh..."

His body started staggering back, but just as he was about to fall...

Grip!

Gray grasped his hair hard, lifting his head to meet his eyes.

"Don’t worry... I’ll try to be gentle~"

He ’gently’ smiled.