SWNOVELXO Chapter 199 - The Great Battle of the Dragons (8)
Chapter 199: The Great Battle of the Dragons (8)
Yuri turned away without a hint of hesitation, as if his only goal had been to strike Arin on the head.
But Arin was not about to let him walk away so easily.
“That hurt!”
She clutched the side of her head where she’d been hit, stood up, and shouted.
Then, without warning, she rushed toward Yuri and clung to his back.
Crunch—crunch!
Arin bit down hard on Yuri’s crown, gnawing on it fiercely.
Yuri flailed, convulsing as if in a fit.
“Hey, damn it! Get off! Aren’t you getting off? Damn it!”
“Why you hitting me! Why you hitting me!”
“I’m going to go bald! Get off!”
“Why you hitting me! Why you hitting me!”
Yuri shook his body frantically, trying to dislodge Arin like a bug clinging to him. But the more he shook, the tighter Arin latched on, gnawing away at his crown.
Seeing the two entangled, the three people outside quickly rushed in.
“Stop it already! You’re not kids!”
“Enough of this.”
“I’m hungry!”
After a concerted effort, the three managed to pry Yuri and Arin apart.
Even as Poppy lifted Arin up, she still panted with anger, her face showing she wasn’t over it yet.
“Why did you hit me?!”
The irritated outburst made everyone else turn their eyes to Yuri as well.
Though they had separated them, they were just as curious.
Why on earth had Yuri hit Arin?
“Yeah, really. Why did you hit her?”
“What’s the reason?”
“I’m hungry.”
With everyone’s eyes on him, Yuri was held up, his arms restrained by Gunther and Theresia, dangling in the air with a sullen expression.
“The crime of making me feel frustrated.”
“…What crime?”
“The crime of… making you feel frustrated?”
“What kind of crime is that?”
“I’m hungry.”
From Arin to Poppy, everyone muttered something in disbelief, staring at Yuri.
Most of them had expressions that said, “What kind of nonsense is this?”
Unbothered by their stares, Yuri remained defiant.
“Seriously, watching that damn match of hers was so frustrating, I felt like I was going to explode and die! What was she waiting for, after landing only seven arrows? When she had the upper hand, she should have used every arrow she had left!”
“……”
“What did you learn from sparring with me? Huh? Did I teach you like that? Huh?”
“……”
“I’m so embarrassed I could die!”
Yuri’s eyes were filled with disgust, and everyone fell silent.
Arin, the target of Yuri’s ire, was beginning to feel confused.
“…Did I mess up that badly?”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Yuri started to convulse again.
“This idiot still doesn’t get it!”
Yuri kicked toward Arin from mid-air.
Of course, with Gunther and Theresia still holding him, his kick merely sliced through empty space.
Watching Arin quickly retreat and hide behind Poppy, Yuri clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Click, if you’re going to kill them anyway, just kill them quickly! Why drag it out?”
Yuri’s last words made everyone flinch and glance at Arin nervously.
Gunther cautiously spoke up.
“Well… she did make her first kill, so she might be struggling emotionally… Shouldn’t we talk about this later?”
Everyone else nodded in agreement with Gunther.
Yuri snorted dismissively.
“Struggling emotionally? Who?”
“Obviously Arin…”
“What nonsense is that?”
“……”
“She’s struggling? That girl? Does she look like she’s struggling to you?”
Following Yuri’s pointed glance, everyone turned their eyes to Arin.
Arin still had a slightly annoyed look, seemingly resentful of being hit. But her demeanor was noticeably different now, almost as if she had returned to her old self, her eyes sparkling with clarity.
The group blinked in slight surprise at the sudden change.
At that moment, Yuri’s calm voice reached their ears.
“She might hesitate before killing, but she’s not the type to be tormented by guilt afterward.”
Yuri’s gaze shifted to Gunther.
“Whereas you, you’d make decisions quickly, but you’d carry that guilt with you for the rest of your life.”
Then his eyes landed on Poppy.
“That one would beg forgiveness and even spare someone he should have killed.”
Those under Yuri’s scrutiny shuddered at his blunt assessments.
Finally, Yuri turned to Theresia, who met his gaze with a hopeful expression.
“So, what about me?”
“Tescha, you’re probably similar to me.”
“You and I? How are we similar?”
Without much concern, Yuri replied to her question.
“A person who would never hesitate or regret. If it’s a necessary kill, you’d gladly stain your hands with blood—a true fiend.”
“…I’m not that bad of a person.”
Theresia’s face fell in shock, her expression downcast.
During that time, Yuri pulled his arms free and landed on the ground.
As he adjusted his shirt, he said,
“Anyway, if you’ve figured it out, go ahead and hit that idiot once on the back of her head and disperse.”
Arin flinched as Yuri gestured toward her with his chin.
Everyone turned their attention to Arin, and Theresia, representing them all, asked,
“Then… what were you doing just now?”
Arin tilted her head, looking as if she didn’t understand the question.
“What do you mean?”
“You know… you were staring out the window with such a troubled expression just now.”
“Oh, that?”
Arin clapped her hands, realizing what Theresia meant.
Everyone’s gaze followed her, and Arin’s nonchalant voice continued.
“I was just feeling a bit down for personal reasons.”
“……”
A moment of silence fell.
Gunther, looking slightly confused, asked,
“Not because of guilt… or the turmoil from your first kill?”
Arin tilted her head again at his question.
“Guilt? Why would I feel that?”
“What?”
“If I never intended to kill in the first place, then maybe, but why feel guilty after you’ve already done it?”
“……”
“It wasn’t an accident; it was done with clear intent to kill.”
Yuri’s assessment was spot-on.
Arin truly wasn’t troubled by any guilt over her first kill.
“……”
“……”
“……”
The expressions of those who had gathered to console Arin gradually soured.
Arin looked back at the three pairs of eyes staring at her and tilted her head.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Why are you all looking at me?”
Seeing Arin’s unaffected demeanor, they realized they had been worrying over nothing and turned away.
“…We should’ve just gone to sleep. By the way, Gunther, wasn’t your first match tomorrow?”
“Yes, senior. But… we wasted time on something pointless. I should’ve been preparing for tomorrow’s match.”
“I’m hungry.”
Poppy patted Gunther on the shoulder.
Seeing everyone walking away with dispirited expressions, Arin tilted her head, still unsure of what she had done wrong.
And then.
Smack—!
Yuri struck the back of Arin’s head once more.
“Ow!”
Though it was gentler than the first time, causing her only to hunch slightly, Arin raised her head in anger, only to find that Yuri had already disappeared without a trace.
“That jerk!”
Arin grumbled, staring at the open door.
After a moment, her furrowed brow relaxed slightly.
She stood there, rubbing the back of her head.
Swipe, swipe—.
“It hurts…”
To be honest, it didn’t hurt much.
While there was still a slight twinge, she didn’t feel particularly bad.
In fact, she felt a strange, ticklish warmth in her chest.
As she stood alone, rubbing the back of her head, Arin recalled the question Theresia had asked earlier.
[Then what were you doing just now?]
Arin removed her hand from her head.
The ticklish feeling in her chest faded, replaced by a faint sadness and frustration.
She murmured the honest answer she hadn’t given Theresia.
“But… I used something I never wanted to use again…”
Arin’s face was filled with bitterness.
The day of the third round of the Battle of the Martial Dragons, an event that had already seen the most upsets in its history, dawned.
From the third day, the round of 12 began, and the first contestant of the match was Gunther.
“Gunther Irons, enter the arena.”
At the command of the Black Sword Corps, Gunther glanced around the empty waiting room and moved forward with a slightly sullen expression.
But that expression soon faded, replaced by a neutral one.
Step, step—.
He passed through the corridor he had walked once before and finally reached the entrance to the arena.
“Phew…”
Exhaling softly, he pushed aside his thoughts and pulled down the visor of his helmet.
Clank—.
‘Let’s go!’
With a determined stride, he entered the arena.
‘Who’s my opponent?’
Gunther surveyed the area with tense eyes as he stepped into the arena.
And it wasn’t long before he spotted a woman walking toward him from straight ahead.
‘…That’s her.’
A woman approaching with a slightly drowsy expression.
Her steps were so light that they showed no trace of tension.
Gunther scrutinized his opponent closely.
Jet-black hair and eyes tinged with violet.
Skin so pale it was almost sickly, with dark circles heavily shadowed beneath her eyes.
To put it kindly, she looked like a frail beauty.
To put it unkindly, she looked like she could die if nudged.
But she was by no means someone to be underestimated.
‘Susan Ripley, 4th year.’
She was from the 47th generation and ranked first among them.
‘I couldn’t gather much information because her previous match ended so quickly.’
In the round of 24, Susan Ripley had fought right after Gunther’s match.
In that bout, she had defeated a fifth-year contestant.
And, remarkably, she had done it right as the match began.
By the time Gunther had arrived in the audience, Susan was already gone.
‘According to what I heard… Susan Ripley’s opponent was the fifth-year, ranked fifth.’
Even if she had defeated the weakest of the fifth-year participants, Susan’s skill in swiftly overpowering him couldn’t be taken lightly.
Step, step—.
As Gunther observed Susan through the slit of his visor, they came to face each other at a certain distance.
Gunther raised his sword and saluted.
“Gunther, firstborn of Irons, seeks a lesson from a senior.”
As always, Gunther conducted himself with the decorum of a knight.
Hais sneered at the sight, but Susan simply nodded slightly in response.
Gunther’s face tensed at her calm demeanor.
‘It would have been better if she were careless like in her previous match…’
From the way she acknowledged his salute, it seemed Susan was likely a composed and level-headed individual.
She wouldn’t underestimate him or let her guard down.
‘This will be a tough match.’
Gunther braced himself, recalling his brief conversation with Theresia yesterday.
[Uh, senior…]
[No.]
[…I haven’t said anything yet.]
[You’re probably going to ask for information about your opponent in the round of 12.]
[How did you know?]
[Just a guess.]
[You’re starting to sound more and more like Yuri Holland.]
[I was going to share some information about your next opponent, but now I don’t feel like it after what you just said.]
[I, I’m sorry.]
[And besides, you should learn these things through direct experience.]
[So, in Yuri’s terms… you’re saying I should figure it out by getting my head smashed in?]
[Yeah, that’s it. But if I were to give you a small clue… That senior is the one I’d least like to face in the Cradle. Actually, most cadets here would say she’s the person they’d least like to face.]
[Even with Yuri around?]
[…Up until last year, yes.]
[Last year… But didn’t Gunther—that jerk, no, Gunther Ryder—win the Battle of the Martial Dragons last year?]
[He did.]
[And even so, you’re saying Susan Ripley was ranked first? She topped Gunther Ryder?]
[Yep.]
[Why?]
[Figure it out by getting your head smashed in. If you don’t know, learn by experiencing it.]
[…You’re too harsh.]
Reflecting on their conversation, Gunther raised his sword horizontally.
It was a stance meant to react quickly to any move Susan made.
‘Before Yuri appeared, she was the person most cadets in the Cradle wanted to avoid.’
Furthermore, if she was chosen over last year’s champion, Gunther Ryder, it might not necessarily be for her combat prowess alone.
‘Is it her personality?’
She seemed calm, not someone with a worse temperament than Yuri.
Granted, almost anyone in the Cradle would have a better temperament than Yuri.
‘…But you never know.’
If you judged purely by appearance, Yuri looked like an angel.
But inside, he harbored a demon straight out of the underworld.
‘Of all things, she has black hair…’
Gunther heightened his tension, feeling uneasy at her dark hair that eerily resembled Yuri’s.
And just then—
Swish—.
Susan Ripley extended her arm toward Gunther.