Ch.288283 – Imperial Palace Martial Arts

Everyone carries a room of their own within their heart.

In that space, one can play freely like an innocent child, or perhaps curse a boss in ways reality wouldn’t permit.

While how one decorates this room remains their freedom, I’ve completely entrusted that authority to these pitiful children.

“Schadenfreude.”

The ‘me’ who has been with me the longest.

It’s also the nickname the servants gave me in my childhood, saying my misfortune was their joy.

I awakened the self that forms the foundation of my current memories.

[Get me out of here.]

Schadenfreude, having lost all power and left with only instinct, pleaded desperately while slumping down.

I shook my head at the request I couldn’t possibly grant anyway.

I can’t reveal my innate magic here.

“What I want is the Second Princess, Josephine Floria Kaizen.”

[Simple-minded bitch.]

“Yes, I know that well.”

The second form of my innate magic, modified from Envy’s Corrosion, can copy the circuit formula of anyone I see.

But that’s merely a function of the innate magic, not the ability of Corrosion itself.

Just as Gluttony controls metabolism, Sloth changes aura properties, and Wrath interferes with barriers,

Schadenfreude can perfectly copy the properties of aura.

[But you don’t seem to kill people much these days?]

“…”

Only for those whose Aura Heart I’ve personally destroyed.

[Envy: Aura Synchronization – Josephine]

* * *

Oh Deok-jae’s face revealed undisguisable bewilderment.

‘The atmosphere has completely changed… Is it because of the aura?’

Deok-jae had long realized that applying age standards to NoName was meaningless.

But an unfamiliar sensation triggered an alarm within him.

He felt something bestial and ferocious, similar to what he sensed from Lee Minyoung in the same year.

‘Even with aura, she shouldn’t be able to exceed physical limitations… No, I should keep all possibilities open. I can’t let my guard down.’

NoName flaunts her golden aura around her entire body as she springs from her position, while Deok-jae simultaneously creates magic circles.

[Casting: Friction Coefficient Adjustment]

[Casting: Sinkhole]

NoName takes a deep breath and glances at the magic circles forming on both sides.

She anchors herself to the ground with sharp aura protruding from her shoe soles, then hops over the weakened ground, zigzagging to close the gap.

Amazed by the sight, Deok-jae cancels his own magic circles and raises his guard to block NoName’s frontal attack.

Bang-!

BANG-!

A merciless low kick, followed by a mid-kick that spins half a rotation in mid-air with enough force to pierce through his abdomen, hammers Deok-jae’s body relentlessly.

SWOOOSH-!

NoName, having penetrated to close range, cuts through the air and drives her fist in without mercy.

Deok-jae’s eyes dart everywhere as he loses his center, looking for a chance to counterattack.

With each of NoName’s strikes, bestial golden aura swirls and tears at his flesh.

Each impact shaves off chunks of Deok-jae’s particle barrier.

Had he taken those hits directly, his bones would have been crushed.

At that moment, NoName’s eyes flash dangerously, and her legs firmly plant against the ground.

[Quick Cast: Smoke Screen]

He managed to complete a magic circle between the flurry of attacks.

As NoName extends her left hand, a magic circle forms in front of Deok-jae’s face.

A casting with extremely shortened activation time.

His arm rises to disrupt the magic circle, breaking his guard, and in that moment, a harsh wind sound cuts through his ears as she strikes again.

“Hnngh!”

KWAAAANG-!

A direct hit to the center of his abdomen.

The sophisticated manipulation of aura flowing from NoName’s legs through her waist, shoulders, and arms.

A deceptively simple attack that paradoxically contained the most powerful force, sending Deok-jae’s body folding in half and flying backward with a thunderous boom.

“Kuhak!”

SWOOOOSH-

Simultaneously, a powerful shockwave emanating from around NoName swept across the ground.

“Urgh… Even with the barrier, it hurts like hell…”

Deok-jae stood up, supporting himself with his hands on his knees, treading on the wave-like sandy beach.

His endurance was considerable, but his tattered clothes made him look a mess.

“Seems like your aura is running low too, right?”

“I still have plenty.”

“The scoreboard shows 10%, don’t lie. I guess… like that senior said, I feel like if not this year, I might never be able to beat you.”

“Even this year will be difficult. It’s better not to expect to win against me from the start.”

“Hahahahaha!”

He slowly raised his arms and finally burst into maniacal laughter.

“Haa… haa… Yes, come at me with that confidence! HUAAAAAAAH!”

[Casting: Compression Coefficient Adjustment]

[Joint Casting: Hydraulic Lift]

With skillful double casting, Deok-jae slams his fist hard against the ground.

A circular magic circle forms beneath NoName’s feet, and the strong repulsive force sends her body high into the air.

“No matter how good you are, in mid-air…!”

[Area Casting: Arc Discharge]

[Joint Casting: Insulation Breakdown]

CRACKLE-!

Merciless bombardment raining down from the sky.

BOOOOM-!

Dozens of large and small purple lightning bolts cut through the air and cover the earth.

Humanity’s desire to control nature was passed down to later generations in the form of letters in oral legends,

And was reborn as lightning magic that realized humanity’s aspirations by incorporating the wisdom of sages.

As sparks scattered in all directions and the smell of burning stung the nostrils,

The purple mana began to converge back into a single point.

“What the-!”

[Innate Magic – Devil’s Horn]

[Casting: Grounding]

“Can a human ever be stronger than the earth?”

NoName completely nullifies the lightning magic using the Devil’s Horn as a lightning rod.

Crackle-!

While the horn greedily devours the lightning, she calmly walks forward.

Just as Deok-jae tries to create a new magic circle, he suddenly clutches his chest and collapses.

“So I ran out of mana first…!”

Forcing magic would strain not only his Aura Heart but also his actual heart.

Without mana, he has no choice but to use aura.

“HUAAAP!”

He applies propulsive force to his feet planted on the ground.

His body springs forward at a speed impossible for an ordinary human body, wildly swinging his fists.

With adrenaline secreting madly, time seemed to flow slower.

But the same was true for NoName.

THWACK-!

NoName deflects his straightforward attack to the side,

And kicks his flank, completely destroying Deok-jae’s balance.

“Urgh!”

A clear scream emerges from deep within. Perhaps because little of his barrier remains.

Thud-

Deok-jae, barely managing to grab NoName’s ankle, yanks her arm hard and trips her.

“I’ll never give up…!”

Deok-jae, unable to abandon magic despite his nearly depleted mana, creates one final formula.

“Arc discharge magic… planning to self-destruct?”

“If I can’t win, I’ll at least prevent you from winning. Ha… hahaha!”

NoName tries hitting his head with her small fists, but at such close range, they do no damage at all.

Moreover, he was using all his aura to hold onto NoName’s ankle.

Just before Maxwell’s equations were fully written, NoName grabbed a handful of sand and scattered it in his face.

“ARGH! My eyes!”

[Casting: Arc Disch-]

“How dare you!”

[Disruption: Arc Discharge]

Before the magic circle can fully form, NoName successfully disrupts it by deriving the result value from the line integral of a closed curve.

“What? Why isn’t my magic working!”

Deok-jae, rubbing his eyes, questioned the surprisingly fast disruption formula.

And the burden of an uncast spell falls solely on the caster.

Soon, a tingling pain enveloped his body.

“AAAAARGH! Ugh… AAAH!”

Now is the perfect time to eliminate him.

NoName’s long straight hair, her hair tie broken from the earlier fierce battle, flutters in the wind.

As if predicting the final moment of the battle, the observer camera zooms in to capture NoName’s expression on screen.

She grimaced at her face, now grimy with sweat, sand, and dust mixed on her white skin.

Rumble-

The aura that shallowly surrounds only her skin erupts like an angry flame.

As if there couldn’t be two suns under the sky, clouds covered the sunlight, casting a shadow over the entire arena.

[Casting: Uplift]

[Chain Casting: Uplift]

[Chain Casting: Uplift]

Three pillars rise from the ground.

NoName, with a body light as a feather, steps on each pillar in turn and jumps high into the sky.

Golden aura replaces the sun.

After spinning her body once in mid-air to maximize rotational force, NoName

Finally extends her right leg,

And strikes down on Deok-jae’s body with her heel.

[Kaizen Imperial Martial Arts: Earth Splitter]

KWAAAANG-!

The impact concentrated at a single point is indescribable.

Crack-

The immense weight from her slender frame presses down on flesh and muscle.

Hissss-

The transparent particle barrier compresses to its limit to protect the participant,

CRASH-!

But it shatters like glass, leaving Deok-jae to bear part of the impact himself.

Deok-jae collapsed without even a whimper.

As the male body was buried in a pile of sand and colorless smoke rose from the friction heat,

The girl who created this miracle sat awkwardly on the ground, silently gazing at the high sky.

A cool breeze brushed past her face like a caress.

Too lazy to spit out the sand grains grinding in her mouth, she gathers saliva and swallows them.

Simply wiping her lips, she takes a deep breath of the cold air to her limit.

“Hmmph.”

Her impression of the match, exhaled with hot breath, was brief and clear.

“The autumn wind is sweet.”

As she got up and dusted herself off, four assistant referees and one main referee rushed over to check on the participants’ well-being.

As the outcome of this historic match was decided and the spectators’ cheers echoed,

Autumn had truly arrived.