The overcast sky was blanketed in velvety clouds that choked off the sunlight, and a damp, oppressive chill hung over the School of Knights' Arena.
In the distance, low rumbles of thunder rolled through at intervals, echoing across the expansive dueling stage.
Kuse strode toward Lanqi with heavy, oppressive steps.
Hyperion immediately stepped in front of Lanqi. She watched Kuse with fierce vigilance, ready to treat him as an enemy and strike regardless of her duties to the student council should he make a move.
Noticing Hyperion, Kuse paused for a moment.
"Well now, what's this? You've got quite the body on you, don't you?"
Kuse looked Hyperion up and down as she shielded Lanqi, making no effort to conceal the vulgar thoughts in his head as he spoke with naked aggression.
"..."
Hyperion's gaze turned chillingly cold.
"Oh right, aren't you that Duke Mikhail's daughter?"
Realizing something, Kuse's surprise gave way to an even more frivolous tone.
"I don't mind in the slightest. Damaged goods like you are unwanted anyway, so why don't you come back with me to the Aloran Kingdom? I'll make sure you get a proper taste of just how potent humanity can be."
With that, he burst into boisterous laughter.
His contemptuous provocations practically begged Hyperion to throw the first punch.
That way, no matter how brutally he retaliated or what he did, none of the blame would fall on him.
*Aloran Royal Academy truly has an all-star lineup...*
Even Hyperion, who was usually even-tempered, felt veins throbbing on her forehead.
Phoenix, Karen, Kuse—each one a bigger heavyweight than the last.
Looked at this way, Adams was surprisingly the rare normal person among them, practically looking refined and agreeable by comparison.
Hyperion fought hard to hold back her fury.
She had long grown accustomed to the malice of others.
Right now, she had to focus on protecting Lanqi.
After Kuse's words fell, Lanqi and Frey both fell silent for a moment.
In truth, both of them possessed an exceptionally high tolerance for insults.
Provided, of course, the insults were aimed at them.
They did not care in the least what people said about them.
Yet Hyperion had done nothing wrong. She was the one person in their team who never deserved to be slandered.
Finally.
"Hyperion, I think I'm starting to understand a bit of what you meant about the importance of winning and losing."
Lanqi's expression remained as calm as ever.
Yet, unusually, a strange glint had surfaced within his eyes.
He turned his gaze toward Kuse with a faint smile.
That brief gaze made Kuse hesitate for a fraction of a second.
He could not put his finger on what kind of shift had occurred within this boy, who still gave off no sense of physical threat.
"What nonsense are you babbling? A fellow hiding behind a woman is no different from that useless bunch of fighters."
Kuse quickly resumed his stride. Regardless of what kind of bluff the boy was running, he was determined to test the kid's mettle today!
"Don't move another inch."
Frey, who had not spoken a word until now, had raised a hand crossbow in his left hand, aiming directly at the center of Kuse's forehead. In his right hand rested three portable magic-engineering bombs as he issued a freezing warning.
"!"
Instantly, not only Kuse, but even the fighters behind him instinctively took several steps back.
"You bastard!!"
These fighters were seasoned enough to gauge Frey's strength.
If it came down to hand-to-hand combat, they had no fear of this tier-five student, but the munitions in his hands were far too alarming. Unbound by rules, the man was an absolute terrorist who wouldn't care one bit about regulations or the fighting spirit of martial artists!
The standoff dragged on for several tense seconds.
"Tch. We'll let you off easy today."
Kuse pointed a finger at the bruised and battered Ikerite Academy fighters strewn across the floor, breaking into a sinister grin.
"But come the official public duel the day after tomorrow, let's see how you protect these spineless cowards."
Turning on his heel, he led the other fighters in a swift stride out of the arena until the entire group had vanished from sight.
Heavy dark clouds drifted across the sky, and the chilly wind left the School of Knights' dueling stage feeling utterly desolate, as if rain might pour at any second.
"What a repulsive jerk!"
Hyperion stomped her foot twice in anger, her mood thoroughly ruined.
While most students from Aloran Royal Academy were polite, there were still vile characters like Kuse who would be universally despised anywhere.
Looking at Lanqi, she truly envied his composure and demeanor—warm on the outside yet unmoved within. No matter how others taunted him, he remained unflappable. Right now, he would surely just offer a few comforting words with a smile, then carry on as if nothing had happened.
"There, there."
Lanqi reached out and patted Hyperion's head, then walked past her toward the wounded fighters.
"?"
Hyperion froze on the spot in a daze, raising a hand to touch her hair.
As far as she could remember, this was the first time Lanqi had ever physically touched her.
In her memory, Lanqi never let others initiate physical contact easily, nor did he touch them lightly.
On the vast, open grounds, Lanqi came to a stop before the fighters.
"Do you want to win?"
Lanqi, his collar crisp and his suit jacket immaculate, looked down at the battered, disheveled fighters on the floor and asked.
"...We can't win. There's no hope."
"They're right..."
"Without Big Sis Cervini, we're just useless trash!"
The burly men were completely dispirited, all light gone from their eyes, having finally recognized the harsh reality after suffering two brutal defeats in a row.
"Even if it means Cervini will be ganged up on, humiliated, and ultimately left lying in a hospital bed with severe injuries, unable to even sit for her judicial exam... does that truly not matter to you?"
Lanqi's voice was soft.
Yet, like an incantation, it echoed in the fighters' ears, refusing to dissipate.
"...!!"
Hearing this, they gritted their teeth tight.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down their cheeks.
They knelt on the stone, pounding the ground with their fists.
"When Kuse fights dirty... Cervini is still a girl, after all. If she gets struck down by Kuse but refuses to surrender, what do you think will happen to her?"
Lanqi's tone remained gentle, sounding as though he were merely recounting a predetermined story.
"Picture it in your minds. Do you really want to see that scene become reality?"
"...No!!!"
"No, anything but that!!!"
Those mere words conjured vivid frames inside their minds, feeling as though their hearts were being ripped apart, driving them to roar with bloodshot, bulging eyes.
Their eyes were webbed with crimson veins, blazing as if they wanted to tear Kuse to shreds and swallow him whole.
With that, Lanqi ceased speaking.
He waited until the roars and wails gradually subsided, until those eyes stained with tears and blood were all fixed on him.
"If I have a way to let you defeat Kuse with your own strength, requiring only a small price... would you be willing?"
Lanqi asked once more.
"We're willing!!"
"Even if you must be plunged into mortal peril to survive, cast into the jaws of death to be reborn, are you still willing?"
"No matter the cost, we're willing!! Help us, Lanqi!!!"
Their hoarse, booming cries rang out alongside tears of fury.
At this, Lanqi finally let a slight smile show.
Leaning down, he placed a warm, amicable hand on the vice-captain's shoulder.
"Then allow me to grant your wish."
Lanqi whispered.
Standing off to the side, Hyperion's eyes went wide. Looking at Lanqi now that he had awakened a desire to win, a sinking premonition welled up within her, growing worse by the second!
To her, Lanqi had always been dependable. She had no doubt he would stand up for her, but the problem was that this guy could sometimes be dependable to a terrifying fault!
Chapter 221