Chapter 323

323

Ku-gu-gu-gung-!

A pillar of flames surged upwards as if piercing the sky.

Chaaaaaak-!

Celia, who had been thrown back, hastily planted Flame Storm into the ground to steady herself.

Clutching Ranchea tightly, Celia grit her teeth as she saw Leo approaching.

‘I haven’t even had Ranchea for that long…’

It is difficult to wield a powerful weapon.

Because if you mishandle it, you might end up being controlled by the weapon.

It took Celia a long time to properly wield Flame Storm.

‘And yet Leo managed to do it in just a few days…’

Thinking back, Celia realized…

‘Since the first time we met, Leo has always been like that.’

The overwhelming swordsmanship skills.

The powerful physical abilities.

And the sense to quickly master Auras and even wield Zerdinger’s flames in the blink of an eye.

Celia might have been with Leo the longest among the second years.

‘We’ve practiced together a lot.’

Because of that, Celia understood the gap between her and Leo better than anyone else.

Celia grit her teeth.

‘I’ve never once thought of seriously going against Leo.’

Because she always recognized the gap between them.

The more she tried to close the gap, the more painfully aware of it she became.

She hasn’t fanned the flames of competitiveness against Leo since their first meeting, though she hasn’t given up on chasing him.

Still, part of her has been intimidated by Leo.

Though she was a model student befitting her family name, that was all there was to it.

In such a situation, and with many people watching, Leo had taken the initiative to challenge her seriously.

‘I can’t back down.’

Hwaraek-!

Flames burst forth from Celia’s body.

The tip of her Rapier-shaped sword glowed with fire.

‘Prominence.’

From the start, Celia brought out the maximum firepower she could deliver.

Flame Storm vomited powerful flames.

The Phoenix’s legacy, the treasure of Zerdinger, which embodies the will of the infernal storm, it was a blade that would never break, corrode, or chip as long as the user’s will burned.

Ssik-!

A sharp sound reverberated as the sword pierced the air.

Together with it, a blade of fire flew towards Leo, intending to pierce him.

Seeing it, Leo twirled Ranchea.

Huh! Hoohoo-hoo-hoo! Kwaaaaaaah!

The incredibly fast spin of Ranchea wrapped up and negated Celia’s flames.

Horururuk-!

Ranchea blazed even more fiercely.

Celia’s face froze when she saw it.

‘My maximum firepower…!’

“Fires are bound to be devoured by stronger flames, Celia.”

Celia clenched her teeth.

“Especially when dealing with the ‘same’ flames.”

Leo wields the flames of Zerdinger.

Even more, as the Vow Keeper of ‘Phoenix,’ who can be considered the root of those flames.

As Leo approached, Celia took a step back.

“Well, the main reason probably is…”

Horuruk-!

Flames erupted from Leo’s body.

“…that you think you can’t win, I reckon.”

“Eek! Shut up! That’s not true!”

Enraged, Celia gripped her sword tightly and lunged at Leo.

Sshik-!

Celia pulled out a small dagger from her robes.

Parrying Dagger.

It was the secondary weapon Celia had chosen.

Celia, who wielded powerful knightly abilities, was already a student with impressive advantages when it came to area attacks.

What Leo recommended to enhance Celia’s close combat skills was the Parrying Dagger for precisely that reason.

Chaeeng-!

Celia parried Leo’s spear aimed at her with the Parrying Dagger and swung her sword at Leo’s neck.

Hwaek-!

Leo charged forward, dodging Celia’s thrust, and pressed into her guard.

Chaeeng-!

Leo pulled out a Parrying Dagger from his own robes.

The small daggers clashed in the close quarters.

“K?”

Celia, having allowed Leo to get so close, gritted her teeth and adjusted her grip on the Rapier.

Leo, who had let go of Ranchea, grabbed Celia’s wrist holding the Rapier.

“It’s uncharacteristic of you to give up so easily.”

“Who said I gave up?”

Celia unleashed her Aura suddenly at maximum power, causing Leo to be thrown back.

Suddenly, a blade of wind came flying towards the recoiling Leo.

Tak-!

“Wow! Wow! As expected of Brother Leo! Amazing!”

Chelsea was exclaiming in admiration repeatedly.

Seeing that, Celia gritted her teeth and shouted.

“Chelsea! This is not the time to take Leo lightly! This is an exam!”

Confused, Chelsea protested.

“I’ve never taken Leo lightly!”

“Then fight seriously! Such mediocre magic won’t work on Leo!”

“What? Mediocre? This is…!”

Just as Chelsea was getting angry at the more irritable-than-usual Celia,

Sswik-!

Leo’s fingertips pointed towards Chelsea.

Oooong-!

Powerful mana was released.

Hooaaaang!

“Ugh?!”

As a strong gust swept towards her, Chelsea’s eyes clenched shut.

‘Wind Magic!’

Desperate to counter Leo’s magic, Chelsea suddenly felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

Kwaga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak-!

A vortex of wind swirled around Chelsea.

“Wind Storm.”

Seeing Leo completing the spell in the blink of an eye, Chelsea felt Goosebumps all over her body.

‘High-speed incantation!’

Chelsea’s specialty – high-speed incantation.

Moreover, the spell he completed was an upper-tier magic.

After hastily chanting a dispel spell, Chelsea flew upward to escape Leo’s magic.

“Chelsea!”

Celia called out anxiously as Chelsea’s face turned pale.

“…”

Chelsea’s face also turned blue as she stared at Leo standing before her.

Leo sent a flying kick towards Chelsea.

“Win-d Shield!”

Ppoeng-!

Winds clashed, emitting a sound like tearing ears.

Hwaaaaaak-!

The shockwave caused by the collision between Leo and Chelsea blew the surrounding leaves in the opposite direction.

The surface of the ground flipped and flew away.

“Uaaaah!”

“What is this!”

Students who were busy attacking the walls of Glory let out screams as a sudden storm blew over them.

Bang-!

“What flew over?”

“Is it artillery? What is this?”

Showing confusion as something flew towards the walls.

As the thick cloud of dust cleared,

Chelsea, lodged in the wall, became visible.

“Hyeok!”

“Che, Chelsea!”

Harmony students hurriedly supported Chelsea.

Right that moment,

“Rreeeek!”

“Leo is coming!”

Seeing Leo rushing towards Chelsea at an incredible speed, everyone gasped in shock.

Ssik-!

A sharp sound accompanied the spear that flew and stopped Leo.

“Haul!”

Haul Neiff, one of the top students in the Department of Knights, blocked Leo.

Haul, who used Posion Aura, challenged Leo with his snake-like spear movements.

Seeing Haul, Leo smiled.

“Pretty cool, huh? You look like a knight guarding his king.”

Haul swung his spear with a hardened expression.

Hwiriirik-!

“Celia’s a competent strategist too.”

The motto of an excellent student worthy of Jerdinger’s direct lineage, as Celia aspired to maintain both literary and martial skills.

“Clara said this.”

Leo smiled faintly.

“If it were Celia, she’d choose Chelsea, the most mobile and capable in a melee, as her king in the second year.”

The reason for pushing Chelsea forward was to conceal that very fact.

“Seeing the reaction, it seems like that’s the case.”

With a smirk, Leo swung Ranchea behind him.

Chaeeng-!

Flame Storm and Ranchea clashed, spewing flames.

Haul took advantage of the moment to swing his spear at Leo.

Ssik-!

Just like a snake biting its prey, Haul’s spear lunged at Leo in unpredictable motions.

Kwaang-!

Leo kicked away such a spear.

“K?”

Haul was blown back.

At the same time, Leo punched Celia’s abdomen with his bare hands.

Kwaang!

“K?”

Celia’s body was bent in half and flown by Leo’s fiesty Aura-clad fist.

Leo’s gaze turned to Chelsea.

The Harmony students supporting Chelsea let out a “Hiik!” in panic.

“Spar! Spar!”

“Protect Chelsea!”

“Chelsea! Run away!”

The moment the king dies, Harmony is out.

Normal students charged at Leo.

Celia, who had staggered back to her feet, gritted her teeth.

‘To be driven into a defensive position since the beginning of the exam…’

Usually, revealing that Chelsea was the king wouldn’t push them into this level of a crisis situation.

The reason for choosing Chelsea as the king was as Leo had said.

Difficult to be driven into a defensive position with high mobility.

And the speed and combat abilities to break through any crisis.

It wouldn’t have been easy to catch Chelsea, even with a combined attack from Warden and Celia.

That’s why Chelsea was chosen as the king.

But…

‘After all!’

Celia clenched her teeth.

Leo’s abilities far exceeded expectations.

‘Is it because you think you can’t win?’

Celia’s hands trembled.

‘No! That thought never… never once… came to mind…’

As Celia’s eyes wavered,

“Selia!”

Haul urgently called out to Celia.

Upon hearing it, Celia snapped back to reality.

“Leo is pursuing Chelsea, we need to stop him!”

“Understood!”

Shaking off the pain in her abdomen, Celia hurriedly got up and chased after Leo.

Harmony students who were rushing to protect Chelsea were being swept away.

Chelsea clenched her teeth, raising her mana as she saw Leo pursuing her.

‘Taking Leo lightly, am I? No, that’s not the case! I just…!’

Chelsea inwardly resisted at Celia’s comment but was caught up in the storm.

Leo, using wind magic, was dominating Chelsea effortlessly.

As Chelsea tumbled on the ground, she looked up at Leo.

Seeing his emotionless face as he approached with a spear on his shoulder, Chelsea felt goosebumps run down her spine.

She realized what Celia had meant by “taking it lightly.”

At the same time, Halind’s words came to mind.

‘Do you chase behind their backs? Or do you walk your own path?’

Halind’s words came back to her.

Kwaga-ga-ga-ga-kak-!

Once again, a storm swirled in front of Chelsea.

Managing to dodge, Chelsea watched Leo approaching her with a detached gaze.

She clenched her teeth, staring at the object of her admiration who now saw her as a target to knock down.

She had never once viewed Leo as a rival or something to overcome since their first meeting.

He seemed like a hero in a fairytale, someone to admire…

Someone she just wanted to observe quietly.

She never once thought about walking beside him or being behind him.

She simply longed for, like reading a fairytale, to admire his adventures with excitement.

Today, for the first time, Chelsea felt the distance between herself and Leo.

She never thought she could win.

Celia, who was just as aware as Chelsea of the gap between them, thought that admiring from afar was enough.

But now…

‘It’s no longer visible.’

She realized now that it was far beyond reach, even if she stretched out her hand.

‘What should I do…?’

Chelsea’s eyes trembled.

“Chelsea?”

Then, a familiar voice reached her.

“Onii-san.”

She looked up at someone else she admired.

Seeing Chelsea who, for some reason, looked to him for help, Abad rose his mana with a hardened expression.

Kwaga-ga-ga-kak!

Abad, who deflected Leo’s magic, shouted.

“Selia!”

By now, Selia had reached behind Leo and was raising her flames.

“I don’t like teaming up with you, but…”

Flames burst from Celia’s eyes.

“Right now, this is the only way!”

Horururuk-!

Fire and Wind.

Of the second years,

The most powerful combination fused their powers.

“Prominence.”

“Tempest.”

Celia’s Aura and Abad’s mana merged, creating a massive storm of flames.

Sword raised high, Celia shouted.

“Prepare yourself, Leo!”

Seeing this, Leo rose his Aura and mana.

Horururuk! Hwi-oo-oo!

A storm of fire also formed in Leo’s hands.

“Ha-a-a-aap!”

Celia let out a battle cry and swung Flame Storm towards Leo.

Kwa-a-aang!

The storm of flames clashed, sweeping through the surrounding area.

*

The flames subsided.

Chelsea blankly stared at the scene in front of her.

“Chelsea.”

Abad painfully smiled and stretched out his hand to stroke his younger sister’s head.

“Onii-san…”

“Now… isn’t it time for you to take flight?”

With a bitter smile, Abad received a d*ath judgment and disappeared.

Puk-!

Ranchea, which had been embedded in Abad’s back, fell onto the ground.

Celia’s hand, which held it with all her might, trembled.

She stared at the blade she firmly held with both hands.

bl**d flowed from her hands, burns appeared,

But that hand was holding back Celia’s attack firmly.

“Were there never any times when you thought you couldn’t win?”

Leo pressed harder on his hands.

Lord’s sword, eternal as long as the fire burns within.

Kwajik-! Horuruk-

The blade of Flame Storm, now broken by Leo, dispersed into flames.

Celia’s face distorted.

“Even like this?”

To Celia, who was battered to the extremes, Leo’s cruel question made her step back.

The bracelet that showed life flickered out.

“Chelsea.”

Celia turned and looked at Chelsea.

“Run away.”

Hwaek-!

Celia also received a d*ath judgment and vanished.