episode_0042

The people watching the arena couldn’t believe the situation they were seeing with their own eyes.

People naturally assumed Ropri would win. No, they were certain.

Of course, before the duel started, they had heard about Loki. The stories of him flying around and slaughtering magical beasts at the entrance ceremony.

Those who heard the stories thought they were exaggerated. Even if it were true, they believed he wouldn’t be able to match Ropri with a sword.

However, Loki didn’t use a sword. As soon as the duel began, he fled to the back, sat on a chair, and only threw daggers.

“Didn’t that guy say he uses a sword?” “Yeah, maybe he got scared.”

Even the students who initially thought Loki was scared and throwing daggers were impressed by Loki’s attacks using thread and daggers.

“Did he calculate all of that before throwing?”

The special class students weren’t surprised by the attacks using thread and daggers. That was because it was a method Loki frequently used when fighting against Professor Alicia.

However, the tools he used afterward were new even to the special class students. Daggers that emitted immense light and sound, bombs that exploded when stepped on, frogs that sprayed water, and even arrows that flowed with electricity.

He even made fake walls using real walls and unique magic to toy with Ropri.

Meanwhile, there were also people not watching the duel from the arena. It was the Emperor, Empress, and Yerika, observing the duel through the communication orb Lucas was holding.

“Our clown is winning right now, isn’t he?!” Yerika said with an excited voice.

Upon hearing that Loki was fighting against a top-ranking third-year, Yerika worried that Loki might get seriously hurt.

However, far from getting hurt, Loki didn’t take a single hit. His opponent, Ropri, was a mess unlike Loki, but that was none of Yerika’s concern.

“Hahaha.” The Empress looked at such Yerika and chuckled.

“Mother, how is it? Our clown is amazing, isn’t he?” Yerika, nestled in the Empress’s arms, looked up and spoke.

The Emperor, upon hearing the word ‘our’, was about to say something to Yerika, but he closed his mouth when the Empress glared at him.

“Heh heh. He hasn’t even moved from his chair yet. I understand why Your Majesty allowed him to be a guard knight.” The Empress, after glaring at the Emperor once, stroked Yerika, who was nestled in her arms, and said.

She was surprised when Yerika said she wanted to make an academy student her guard knight. But she was even more surprised when the Emperor allowed it.

“He didn’t use such traps and magic tools when he fought me. The reason I allowed Loki to be a guard knight is because I judged he was sufficient even without magic tools.”

“But isn’t it too arrogant that he deliberately didn’t attack?”

As the Empress said, Loki’s current actions could be seen as arrogant. If Loki had attacked when Ropri was hit by the flash bomb, the duel would have already ended.

However, for some reason, Loki didn’t attack and instead provoked Ropri.

“Empress, that child is not arrogant, nor does he let his guard down. Rather, it was Prince Ropri who was complacent and arrogant. He thought he could easily defeat Loki, so he keeps falling for Loki’s provocations.”

Ropri, looking disheveled, arrived in front of Loki, who was sitting in the chair.

“Now we’ll get to see that child fight with a sword.” “Well, I don’t think that will happen.”

Loki, who was in front of Ropri, vanished in an instant and reappeared in the exact opposite direction.

“Did Your Majesty notice?” The surprised Empress asked the Emperor.

“I noticed it halfway through as well. I don’t know when exactly he made the fake.”

All the magic tools Loki used were flashy in appearance and loud in sound.

In such a situation, it was difficult to tell when Loki had created the fake.

“It seems Prince Ropri has already lost his will to fight.”

Ropri dropped his sword and sank to the ground. He had come all this way, enduring much humiliation and pain.

‘Move that much again?’

Just as Gedra, who was officiating, realized Ropri had lost his will to fight and was about to announce the end of the duel.

“It’s still a shame to end it like this.” Loki got off the chair and slowly walked towards Ropri.

He couldn’t end the duel with this worm like this. He had prepared so much, and to think he’d give up so soon.

“I haven’t even swung a sword yet, you know?”

Saying that, Loki stretched both hands high and threw threads.

The students couldn’t understand what Loki was doing now.

But when Loki pulled the threads again, the students gasped in astonishment.

“There were that many?” “When on earth did he set up so many?”

This was because dozens of traps, entangled in threads, rose from beneath the ground at a glance.

“With this much, you can fight, right?” Loki looked down at the cowering Ropri and said.

“You bastard—!!”

Ropri, seeing Loki insulting him, couldn’t bear it any longer. He grabbed his sword and swung it.

Swoosh.

But Ropri’s sword couldn’t reach Loki and only sliced through empty air.

“You should swing carefully. Did you deliberately swing it like that to cut the air?”

Loki was directly behind Ropri. Loki had gotten behind Ropri but didn’t swing a sword, instead keeping his hands in his pockets.

“Are you insulting me!!!!!”

Ropri aimed for directly behind him and swung his sword, but it once again cut through empty air.

“I told you to swing carefully, didn’t I? Why do you keep cutting the air? The air must be hurting.”

Loki, again, was behind Ropri, his hands in his pockets, as he spoke.

The spectators had thought until just now: If he hadn’t used traps and fought with a sword, Ropri would have won.

But the situation unfolding before their eyes was shattering that belief.

Ropri swung his sword multiple times, but Loki remained standing behind Ropri with his hands in his pockets.

“Shall we wrap things up now?”

Loki, who had been continuously behind Ropri, put some distance between them.

Now that the distance had opened up, Ropri focused as much as he could. If he lost here, everything would be over.

‘First, I must maintain the distance and swing my sword.’

Ropri tried to raise his sword and get into a stance, preparing for Loki to move, but his body wouldn’t budge.

“?????”

No matter how much he exerted himself and tried to move, his body wouldn’t obey.

“Oh dear. It seems you can’t move, so I’ll help you move.”

Ropri instinctively looked at Loki and discovered threads wrapped around Loki’s fingers. And that those threads were connected to himself.

As Loki moved his fingers, Ropri raised both hands high. When Loki moved his fingers once more, Ropri knelt this time.

Ropri was now kneeling, with both hands raised high. Like a child being punished for a mistake.

“This is fun.” Loki said, sneering at Ropri.

Ropri felt shame, as if he had become a puppet, but there was nothing he could do.

After that, Loki continued to play with Ropri like a toy.

At that shocking sight, the spectator stands fell silent. A first-year academy student was toying with a top-ranking third-year like a toy.

Everyone watched the scene with different emotions.

“Just how strong is that guy?” “That’s a first-year?” Some were amazed.

“Can you become that strong if you enter the special class?” “If only I had entered the special class…” Some were envious.

‘If I fought him, could I win?’ ‘This won’t do. I need to get stronger.’ Some quietly burned with determination.

“It’s time to finish up now.”

Loki moved his fingers.

Ropri, following Loki’s fingers, picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground.

‘What on earth is he trying to do?!’

Ropri’s hand was bringing the sword to his own neck. As he felt the sword approaching his neck, Ropri felt terror.

‘If I stay like this, I’ll die.’

He struggled to move somehow, but his body wouldn’t obey.

Just as the sword was about to touch his neck.

“That’s enough. The match is already over.” Gedra, who was officiating, announced the end of the duel, and Loki released the threads.

“Haa… haa…” Although he could move again, Ropri collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

And then he glared at Loki.

“I said I’d end the match with just one sword swing, but I didn’t even get to swing it once.”

Unlike Ropri, whose body was a mess, Loki was so clean it was as if he hadn’t even participated in a duel.

“Should I just swing it like this then?” Loki grabbed a sword and casually swung it through the air.

“I’ll kill youuu!!!!!!”

Ropri couldn’t contain his rage. He poured mana into his sword and charged at Loki.

“The duel is already over!” Gedra’s voice didn’t reach Ropri, whose brain was consumed by rage.

Seeing Ropri charging at him as if to kill him, Loki smiled behind his mask.

Yes. He had waited for this moment. The moment when the worm would charge at him to kill him after the duel ended.

That’s why, even though he could have ended the duel, he didn’t, and kept toying with him.

‘I’ll turn you into a half-wit.’

He created a mist with an illusion, trapping himself and the worm inside. With this, nothing inside would be visible or audible from the outside.