Chapter 348: Shock [1]

“How long has it been since the two stopped moving?”

Karl asked, his eyes fixed on the platform which had grown extremely quiet. All eyes were on the two contestants who stood on opposite ends, their faces and expressions frozen as they looked at each other.

Despite neither side doing anything, tensions ran high.

In the silence, everyone waited…

Everyone waited for the inevitable shift that would occur.

Whoever came out on top was going to most likely be the winner.

Karl bit his lips in anticipation, trying his best to calm his nerves. He wasn’t sure why, but he was nervous.

Something about the silence left him unsettled.

Unable to hold for much longer, he turned his head to face Johanna.

“Is there no way we can see what is going on between them?”

“…..No.”

Johanna answered, her eyes glued to Caius and Julien.

“There’s no way for us to see what is happening in their minds. That’s something that only the two of them can see.”

Turning his attention back toward Caius and Julien, Karl frowned.

“Then…?”

“We can only wait. Wait for som—”

Johanna’s words came to an abrupt halt as a change occurred to the two contestants on the stage. Julien’s and Caius’s bodies suddenly started to shake, their faces growing pale.

“This…!”

Karl’s eyes shot up.

He wasn’t the only one who noticed.

One by one, the audience leaned forward from their seats to get a better look at who the winner was going to be.

The silence felt suffocating, and as the referee glanced between the two, Caius’s eyes flared open.

“Ah…!”

The spectators’ lungs began to fill with air as they prepared to cheer for the winner, but before they even had the chance to do so, Caius’s eyes shook and he staggered back.

“Uehkh!”

Splat—

Blood leaked out from his eyes and mouth as his face grew paler.

“Ukeh!”

Holding onto his chest, his knees buckled and the ground was stained with even more blood.

Splat—

It was a horrifying sight that left some of the audience members frozen, unable to react at all while some other individuals stood up from the spot, their expression unable to hide the shock in their faces.

One such figure was Theron who had unknowingly stood from his seat, his hands gripping the metal railing before him as he leaned closer to get a better look at Caius.

“No, this…”

His eyes shook as Caius took another step back.

The sight of Caius taking a step back left him utterly shaken.

“….How is this…?”

On the opposite end, Julien’s eyes slowly opened to reveal his pupils.

As if the Colosseum had been stripped away of all air, all eyes fell on Julien whose pupils turned white.

Drip…!

A single tear streaked down the side of his cheek as Caius staggered back once more, his expression paling further.

And…

“Uekh!”

With one last stagger, his body stopped moving.

He stood in the middle of the platform, frozen on the spot. As though he was a statue.

“….”

A heavy silence settled over the Colosseum, the air thick with tension as every eye fell upon him.

Was he okay…?

Did he stabilize himself?

All sorts of thoughts ran down the minds of those watching.

Caius took in the sight before him, from the looks of the audience to Julien whose eyes returned to normal.

“Haa.”

He raised his head, and let out a long breath.

As his body began to twitch, his body began to lean forward.

Thump!

He fell face first shortly after that, the sound of his fall resounding deeply throughout, raging into the ears of all those present.

“The winner is…”

Following his fall, the referee’s voice echoed in the air.

“….Julien Evenus of the Nurs Ancifa Empire.”

This marked the end of the first Semi-Final match.

“….”

“….”

But despite the announcement, the audience remained silent. No one dared to say a single word as they all stared at the passed-out Caius, unable to articulate a single word.

He was… the best.

Everyone knew this. They had witnessed his powers, and how he had dominated his other opponents.

In everyone’s mind, he was the undisputed winner.

And yet…

Yet…

“It’s simple really…”

Breaking the silence, Johanna looked toward Julien who had turned around and moved toward the tunnels that led to the locker rooms.

He stood tall, looking completely unaffected by it all.

It was a sight that captivated the audience.

“The reason why Caius lost.”

“Why?”

Karl subconsciously asked, blinking his eyes and snapping out of his daze. When he turned his head, he could see Johanna leaning against her chair and closing her eyes.

“…Because he fought Julien at his best aspect.”

“His…?”

“Emotive Magic.”

Johanna answered dully, her lips curling into a helpless smile.

“I was wrong before.”

A chuckle escaped her lips.

“He wasn’t just better than Caius. He was… a lot better.”

***

Walking back into the locker rooms, all I was met with was a strange silence that carried on until I closed the door behind me.

Clank—

“H-huu.”

As opposed to my other fights, I was doing a lot better physically.

I wasn’t bleeding, nor did I sustain any serious injuries. On the outside, it seemed as though I had an easier time with Caius than most other opponents.

And yet…

“H-haa.”

That was the furthest thing from the truth.

I felt like shit.

My mind continuously throbbed, while a constant ringing and buzzing sound echoed loudly within my mind, making it impossible for me to think properly.

The worst part of it all was the pain that gripped my heart and chest.

It squeezed at my chest tightly, latching onto my heart and never letting go.

“I…”

I clenched my teeth, trying my best to suppress the raging emotions in my mind.

Biting my hand, I let the pain engulf my mind.

The pain always helped when dealing with such situations.

“…I won.”

But at the same time, I reminded myself of the fact that I won. I had done what I had to do in order to win. The little suffering that I was experiencing was merely fleeting.

“Hooo.”

Taking a deep breath, I touched my forearm and mumbled,

“Joy.”

Instantly, the pain in my mind eased.

My heart eased and the shaking stopped.

But that wasn’t enough.

“Joy.”

I repeated the process a couple of times before finally regaining control of myself.

“…That was dangerous.”

Closing my eyes, I thought back to the last moments. That was the first time that I had fully utilized my level four Emotive Magic to its fullest.

I thought back to my saddest and most traumatic moment.

…The moment when I made the decision to give up on chemotherapy and chose to die in order to let my brother live better.

That moment… was the moment when I gave up on myself.

The sense of emptiness that I had felt back then…

I let it all burst out and flooded Caius’s mind.

I didn’t try to control the intensity of my Emotive Magic. No, I let it all out and didn’t bother controlling it at all.

The result was my victory.

But at the same time, I was reminded of a past that I wanted to forget.

A trauma I had tried to forget.

“It’s over.”

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall behind me, taking a deep breath. The stillness wrapped around me like a blanket, and I let the darkness slowly seep into my mind, surrendering to its quiet embrace.

I was tired.

I was mentally exhausted.

But above all…

“I won.”

I was a winner.

∎ Lvl 2. [Joy] EXP + 5%

***

“He won…”

Evelyn mumbled quietly, staring at the platform with her mouth hanging open. She had only recently come to terms with the fact that Julien was strong, but the fact that he had won against Caius of all people shook her completely.

Since when did he become so strong…?

Despite having come to terms with Julien’s change, the more she saw him, the more foreign he appeared to her.

And yet…

He also felt vaguely familiar.

Why…?

“Ha.”

As opposed to her, Leon didn’t appear at all to be fazed.

Rather, he seemed to have expected such an outcome.

Evelyn blinked her eyes, raising her chin a little to get a better look at him.

“You were that sure that he was going to win?”

“No.”

Leon made a face.

“….I was just thinking about the past.”

“The past?”

“Yeah.”

Leon’s expression cracked.

“….I also fell for his trick in the past?”

“Uh?”

Trick? What in the world was he talking about…? Evelyn looked at Leon with a blank look. But then, she suddenly recalled something.

“Are you talking about the time when he said that he beat you?”

“Yeah.”

Leon replied honestly, slowly standing up from his seat and heading for the exit of the Colosseum.

Evelyn similarly sat up and caught up to him, walking side by side with him.

“Are you saying that he beat you in the same way?”

“More or less.”

“….Wah.”

“I was caught off guard. Because he was so completely immersed in his curse magic, he made me completely forget that he was an Emotive Mage. By the time I realized, it was already too late and he got me.”

Leon ruffled his hair.

“Other than that, he was weaker than me in every other aspect just like he was weaker than Caius in every other aspect. In the end, he still won and that’s all that matters.”

“….”

Evelyn followed in silence, unsure of what to say.

In the end, slowing down her steps, she asked,

“What about now?”

“Hm?”

Leon’s steps similarly slowed, his head turning to face her.

“What about what?”

“….If you were to fight Julien now, who do you think will win?”

“Ah.”

Leon’s expression froze for a second before relaxing.

Turning around, he shrugged.

“I don’t know. I…. really don’t know.”

***

Evenus Household.

Two figures sat on a lush red sofa, staring at the projection that stood before them in silence. Neither said a word as their gazes remained glued on the figure that stood at its center, slowly walking away.

Linus’s eyes traced over Julien’s back, his fist slowly balling tightly.

Clench.

With a visible clench of his jaw, he turned to face his father who was similarly staring at the projection.

His expression… as always was hard to read.

Was he proud? Was he confused? Was he happy?

Linus didn’t know.

Their father was a man who never showed his emotions. Taking a deep breath, Linus turned to face his father.

“Father.”

“….”

In silence, Aldric turned his head, meeting Linus’s gaze.

He didn’t say anything, but his questioning gaze prompted Linus to speak as he glanced at the projection once more.

“Haven.”

He mumbled quietly, his fist slowly starting to relax.

“…Allow me to enroll to it for next year’s semester.”