The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 41
Kaang⎯Kaang⎯!!
In just a few short seconds, countless clashes occurred.
Arterion and Alicia.
Both of them swung massive swords that exceeded their upper bodies, yet it seemed as natural as if they had forgotten about the mass and weight.
In the midst of battle, their eyes analyzed each other, searching for weaknesses.
Kkagagagak⎯!
Sword met sword.
The power struggle didn’t last long.
After deflecting a sword, they would again aim for an opening, and once more, the sound of clarity would ring out.
The battle was so fast that if you didn’t watch carefully, you wouldn’t be able to see their swords.
“⎯!”
As Arterion’s sword rapidly thrust, Alicia either made a large movement to dodge or deflected with her own sword.
Alicia wasn’t just on the defensive. She combined the swordsmanship and experience she had learned so far.
Softly, yet sharply.
She charged like a cavalryman.
Shu-ak⎯!
Alicia’s sword, glowing blue, and her eyes, reflecting that light, gleamed like those of a raptor.
Arterion didn’t avoid her strikes but faced them head-on. He could have dodged, but he chose not to.
“Impressive.”
“Kh…!”
Alicia knew this as well.
Every time Arterion clashed directly with her attacks, it felt like swinging a sword against an iron-made rock, causing intense shock.
Despite having the same type of person and aura made from the same mana, the mass was different.
The density was different.
The time spent on the sword was different.
⎯Kagagagak!
In this bout, Arterion pushed with sheer strength, not allowing any room to deflect the sword.
The sound of clashing auras was heard.
Even though the brightness seemed similar, the difference in level was clear. Alicia’s aura began to crack. and she gritted her teeth as she poured mana into it.
If this continued, her sword would be cut in half.
Alicia instinctively sensed this.
Tuwak⎯⎯!
Alicia leaped.
Like performing acrobatics, she drew a large arc and leaped behind Arterion, using wind magic to gain propulsion as if rockets had been attached to her.
Even in the fleeting moment of the leap, her eyes searched for Arterion’s weaknesses. She memorized his every movement.
She inferred from his movements.
Muscle movements. Momentary glances. The direction of his toes. These small changes provided clues to his next actions.
If this continued.
The place where Arterion’s sword, which seemed to pierce through space, aimed was where she would land.
Then.
⎯Taang!!
The high-pitched sound of a shot. But it wasn’t a gun. It was Alicia’s elemental magic.
The highly compressed air burst out, providing more kinetic energy than during her leap.
A charge in midair.
The speed left an afterimage.
“⎯!”
However.
Alicia’s sword ended up aiming somewhere other than her intended target.
Noticing her change, Arterion stopped his thrusting motion and avoided her attack.
An unbelievable level of reflexes.
And a body that made it possible.
He had far surpassed an ordinary human.
⎯Impressive skill.
Just before hitting the ground.
Arterion murmured softly.
He reached out to Alicia, who fell to the ground.
This match wasn’t to kill. It was structured to declare defeat by neutralizing or touching the opponent’s back.
Arterion decided he had seen enough of Alicia’s skill and sincerity, intending to disqualify her by standard rules.
This woman named Alicia had quite the remarkable talent. If given the opportunity in the future, he would⎯
“⎯ what?”
As soon as he touched her, her body burst into black smoke, obscuring his vision.
His senses were limited.
It was illusion magic.
Only a few could use it, given its sensitivity to aptitude, but she could.
It was the type of magic that was like Arterion’s Achilles’ heel.
In front of Arterion.
The smoke was sucked in.
Shu-wak⎯!
Alicia charged through the thick smoke. As the smoke dispersed, she came into view.
For the first time since the battle with her, Arterion frowned.
Even with his exceptional physical abilities, it was difficult to counter this. He couldn’t dodge it. He had to block it.
However, if he swung his sword to block, it would likely bounce off.
There was no time to strengthen his grip on the hilt or accelerate the sword. Her charging posture was more suited to striking than thrusting.
Thousands of thoughts crossed his mind.
In the end, the sword swung.
⎯⎯!
With a clear sound, the severed sword blade spun in the air and fell to the ground. Despite being shrouded in aura, the blade was cut like a radish.
“Oh. This is….”
Naias, who had been observing the battle in Vargan’s form, showed a look of surprise, while Arterion gazed at Alicia with calm eyes.
“…….”
Alicia steadied her disordered posture and caught her breath.
Clack.
She pointed her sword at Arterion again.
However, the situation was effectively concluded.
Alicia’s sword was cut in half, now as short as a dagger.
Arterion’s intact sword glowed brighter and redder than when it was blue.
A color of aura she had never seen before.
Alicia instantly sensed that this ominous aura was not ordinary.
The red sword rose toward Alicia.
It exuded an intimidating aura as if it could cut through anything, yet it wasn’t directed at her with hostility.
Arterion spoke. His melodious voice, carried through the air’s vibrations, was as calm as ripples on a lake.
“… you have an eagle within you. Though still a fledgling unable to fly, soon you will gaze down upon the world.”
“…….”
“What a shame. To have the talent to rule the skies yet be trapped in a cage.”
Alicia understood what he meant by <cage>.
The cage was the Schugenhartz family.
This meant Vargan.
“…….”
She felt as though the recent graded match with Liam overlapped with the current situation.
Though the words differed, their meaning was the same.
Freedom.
Currently, Alicia had no freedom, judged to be in a state of oppression by Vargan.
Liam had actively tried to help Alicia, expressing sympathy.
Arterion showed pity.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand.
They simply didn’t know.
They didn’t know how much she had received from Vargan.
The awakening and teachings of her talent in magic and swordsmanship.
The luxurious clothes she wore for the first time and all her living expenses.
The golden opportunity to become a hero.
…….
They didn’t know.
They knew nothing.
They knew nothing and pitied her, considering her only as someone in need of help.
Every time she heard such words.
Every time such situations arose.
Alicia tasted an unfamiliar emotion she had never felt before. This fierce emotion, which she thought of as anger but felt somewhat different, resembled that but had an oddity.
“… no. You’re wrong.”
Muttering quietly, Alicia swallowed her breath.
A small breath crossed her throat, dragging out that inexplicable emotion.
However, it didn’t go down but rather surged up, growing larger.
Fragments of that emotion turned into language and appeared in the world. They solidified.
“You are wrong, Arterion.”
It wasn’t just her tone that had hardened.
Her gaze.
Her posture.
Even her resolve.
With clear and bright eyes, Alicia looked at Arterion and continued speaking.
As if declaring that this would be the last time, she attached no more trivial frills.
Everything was resolute.
“My sky is here.”
⎯Thaat!
Before the words even left her mouth, she charged forward.
With a sword broken in half.
A sword imbued with a more radiant blue aura than ever before.
In truth, she had much to say.
Explanations about her circumstances.
Clarifications about the misunderstandings and prejudices regarding the Master she served.
Also, to convey that even this current situation was part of his plan, to proclaim his greatness.
But she didn’t.
For it would be meaningless, no matter how much she talked.
Thus, Alicia ended her speech with a concise statement of her perspective and re-engaged in battle.
To clash swords.
Simply because she wanted to.
The difference in skill between her and him was clear.
She knew.
She had known from the start.
Her Master did not expect her to win.
⎯Hold him off, Alicia.
She knew.
She knew her actions were irrational.
If she merely wanted to buy time, talking would be better. He didn’t entirely avoid conversation, after all.
But.
Grit.
Alicia’s intense aura made her sword shine as if it would disappear.
She remembered the surge of power when Arterion summoned his red aura. A power and flexibility incomparable to her own.
Clack⎯
The moment she closed in on Arterion.
That brief moment where she couldn’t even catch her breath.
It felt like seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours, flowing slowly.
Alicia poured more magic into the handle she held.
It was not just about having a lot of mana. Superior mana. High purity. And flexibility to create a more perfect form…!
⎯Swaying.
A weak wind that barely made the small blades of grass on the field nod.
That gentle and innocent energy reached Alicia, who was fiercely extending her leg.
Her sword, which was merely emitting light, began to change.
It wasn’t a remarkable transformation. Just a weak breeze. A delicate movement like a gentle wind. The fine threads of the wind gathered one by one.
One thread.
And another.
Gradually thickening into a skein, and then rapidly growing uncontrollably.
The skein of thread was a bundle of wind.
And that wind was made of a very thin aura.
Eventually, when the entire sword was enveloped in this new form of power.
The two closed in.
‘I want to prove that my sky is right!’
The sword was swung.
With her firm resolve.
Alicia collided with Arterion with that single determination.
Rumble⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!
It was a new power that even Alicia, cloaked in aura, was surprised by. A power she intended but wasn’t conscious of.
It wasn’t the red aura.
Nor was it merely an ordinary aura.
It felt like a typhoon was wrapping around the blade.
“……!”
Arterion, who was crossing swords with her, also noticed the change in Alicia’s aura.
He couldn’t help but notice.
It was on a different level than the power from before.
A blue aura with special attributes imbued in the sword.
This was an advanced form of basic aura and one of the steps towards the red aura.
[Attribute Establishment]
Alicia had reached the state of infusing her attribute into her aura through this brief battle.
Realizing this, Arterion inadvertently smiled faintly.
Looking at her, who had her own faith.
Apparently.
She wasn’t just a woman with exceptional talent.
Such thoughts crossed his mind.
***
⎯Baaaang!
[The king of Class 2, Lauga Solus Ocell, has been killed. The king of Class 2 has been killed. All remaining members of Class 2 are automatically out. Once again….]
Arterion stood still, listening to the mechanical broadcast.
Defeated.
It was the second defeat by the same person, and the second bitter loss of his life.
“… he anticipated my arrival and acted accordingly.”
Arterion calmly analyzed the situation.
The communication link with Pallon seemed dead, as there was no response. The Vargan waiting at the base was a familiar disguised as him.
Vargan had anticipated his ambush, prepared in advance, and was watching for an opportunity elsewhere. Since a familiar couldn’t be appointed as the king, he must have moved immediately after ending the large-scale illusion magic. He didn’t dare to imagine it until he saw the spirit mimicking him.
“……”
It was a complete defeat without a doubt.
But unlike the entrance exam, it wasn’t humiliating or disgraceful.
Instead, he even felt a bit refreshed. Maybe because it was such a clear defeat.
Perhaps, but it was likely her role that made him feel this way.
“… a fascinating woman.”
Arterion looked down at the fallen Alicia. She was merely unconscious for a moment, not severely injured.
She would probably wake up soon.
She would head back to the battlefield and do her best again.
Though she was currently out, she would be revived according to the game’s rules since Vargan had captured the king of Class 2.
Capturing the king of another class allowed for the revival of previously out members.
It wasn’t for the entire class, but for a third of them. Given her abilities and injuries, she would lead herself back to the battlefield.
Finishing his brief reflection, Arterion turned to leave.
He spotted Naias watching the situation from afar.
Without stopping, Arterion left, leaving a message like a remnant for Naias.
“Tell your Master, there won’t be a third time.”