Chapter 31 : Eye of the Storm

If this were a turn-based game like chess or Go, where someone was being told every move they needed to make to win, then the person giving the advice would be praised as extraordinary.

However, the battle at hand was a real-time fight where victory or defeat was decided in increments of 0.1 seconds.

No matter how quickly I read Palace Star Neriel’s patterns and relayed them, the fact that Iris could react accordingly was proof of just how exceptional her reflexes and speed truly were.

“You managed to identify the blind spot. Impressive. But the fight is already over.”

Spiral Arrow.

This time, Palace Star Neriel didn’t aim for the sky.

She directly pointed her Divine Armament Eokeira at Iris.

The moment she drew and released the bowstring, a massive vortex of magical energy swirled around the arrow, shooting forward like a drill.

Thankfully, Iris had followed my advice.

The moment she reached the edge of the arena stage, she immediately dashed toward the opposite corner, completely dodging the area of effect of Spiral Arrow.

Instead of hitting Iris, the arrow struck the barrier meant to protect the audience.

It let out a deafening explosion, putting the surrounding instructors on edge before it finally dispersed and disappeared.

Iris let out a sigh of relief—only for a moment.

Without saying a word, Palace Star Neriel unleashed a follow-up attack.

That technique is called Tailwind Arrow.

It automatically tracks the enemy’s vital points and fires three homing arrows simultaneously.

“What? Homing arrows? With Arrow Rain still active, my movement is restricted. Dodging them won’t be easy. Should I use my Falcon Wing Shoes to try escaping into the air?”

No, taking to the air would lead to the worst possible outcome.

Instead, focus your aura on both knees and your solar plexus to block it.

The power of Tailwind Arrow isn’t even one-tenth that of Spiral Arrow, so you should be able to withstand it.

The three Tailwind Arrows, gliding gracefully through the air like live fish, suddenly went into a sharp dive just as they neared Iris.

Ting, ting, ting!

Fortunately, Iris had already cloaked her vital points in aura and was able to deflect the Tailwind Arrows with ease.

Now that the situation had come to this, even Palace Star Neriel refrained from attacking directly.

She ceased her mana-hungry Arrow Rain and began the kind of probing skirmish she claimed to dislike.

She pulled two regular arrows from the quiver on her back—not ones formed from mana—and loosed one toward Iris’s ankle and another toward an obviously off-target direction.

Since these weren’t magical arrows, no matter how well-crafted they were, they couldn’t penetrate Iris’s aura.

She responded by catching them midair and snapping them in half with her bare hands.

“I thought this would end quickly, but you’re more interesting than I expected.

I figured you might have some kind of future sight-type Mystic Eye, but it turns out your reflexes are just insanely good.

And that incredible leg strength… it’s not from some artifact but purely your physical ability, isn’t it?

Honestly, if you didn’t have a Divine Armament, I might have lost.

But for me, regardless of whether I win or lose, it’s humiliating enough to be fighting a Junior Division student for more than ten minutes.

I’m sorry, but from here on out, I’ll treat you like a First-Class Devil Doll and go all out.

Respond to my call—Sylphid!”

Palace Star Neriel used the arrowhead to trace a magic circle on the ground, and then summoned Sylphid, a First-Class Spirit Beast.

The spirit took the form of a wolf with pale green fur, nuzzling affectionately against Neriel’s feet before merging into the arrow she had just nocked.

Then, an immensely powerful gust of wind surged—far beyond anything seen during Spiral Arrow—creating a tornado with such force that Iris was pushed back just by the pressure.

At this point, this wasn’t just archery anymore; it was practically a natural disaster reenactment.

It seemed like there was no possible way to counter it—but a gap still existed.

‘Lord Nameless King, what on earth is that technique? If the instructors are reinforcing the protective barrier, then it must be incredibly powerful… but I can’t think of any way to counter it.’

It’s called Tornado Arrow, a spirit-fusion technique.

It’s actually a finishing move originally meant for use against large monsters like First-Class Devil Dolls.

Palace Star Neriel must be feeling pretty desperate.

No need to panic—this is the exact moment to use the Falcon Wing Shoes.

Use the artifact to soar into the air, then enter the center of the tornado.

‘Huh? You’re telling me to go into it, not dodge?’

Exactly.

One of Tornado Arrow’s weaknesses is that the space inside it is completely hollow.

It’s calm and even cozy in there—just like the eye of a storm.

Don’t be afraid.

Enter the tornado and move as if you’re stepping on one tile per second.

As long as you follow my instructions, you won’t be harmed—not even a single hair.

Of course, saying that was easy.

Entering the center of a tornado that could grind even Devil Dolls to pulp like a blender wasn’t something anyone but the most fearless could attempt.

Even Iris hesitated for a moment, her eyes betraying doubt—but then she leapt nearly ten meters into the air and used the Falcon Wing Shoes to drift through the sky with acrobatic grace, entering the tornado’s core.

Cheers erupted from the spectator stands, both from the Senior and Junior divisions alike, but in truth, the most shocked person was Palace Star Neriel herself.

Tornado Arrow wasn’t meant to defeat Iris outright—it was used to force her to surrender or be disqualified by going out of bounds.

She never imagined someone would respond with something so close to suicide.

But Tornado Arrow, unlike Arrow Rain, couldn’t be canceled just because the user wanted to.

As Neriel began looking toward the professors for help, something truly unbelievable happened.

While the Tornado Arrow was locked in a power struggle with the audience protection barrier and its force was starting to weaken, the wall of wind suddenly split—and Iris shot out like a bullet.

‘Now, Iris—this is your first and last chance to defeat Palace Star Neriel.

Just like when you took down that Grade-2 Devil Doll, the Human-Faced Fish, go all out and use the second form of the Wolseom Kicking Technique—Crescent Moon Kick.

The Divine Armament’s defense is beyond your imagination, so even with that much, you’ll barely force her out of bounds.

Don’t worry about hurting her—Neriel likely won’t even get a bruise. Just strike!’

‘Yes, Lord Nameless King!’

At this point, Iris would probably believe me if I said I made fermented soybean blocks with red beans.

With complete trust, she squeezed out every last bit of her mana to deliver a desperate final blow.

Wolseom Kicking Technique – Second Form: Crescent Moon Kick (Banwolgak)

BOOOOM!

The Crescent Moon Kick, empowered by the momentum she had built by crossing 100 meters in the blink of an eye, struck Palace Star Neriel square in the solar plexus.

Neriel instinctively raised her Divine Armament Eokeira to block, but it wasn’t enough—she was knocked out of the arena like a billiard ball, slammed into the protective barrier, and tumbled onto the lawn in disgrace.

Everything happened so suddenly that even the spectators and the referee instructors were left stunned.

After a moment of blank silence, the victory was finally declared.

“Due to Neriel’s ring-out… s-student Iris is the winner!”

“Whoa! A Junior Division student beat a Senior Division student—isn’t this the first time in the Academy’s history?!”

“And it’s not like her opponent was some low-tier Senior either—it was Palace Star Neriel!”

“She was already amazing with a sword, but now she seems even stronger. Could it be because of that mysterious Constellation she supposedly made a new contract with?”

“I dunno… It didn’t look like she used any of the Constellation’s Authority. Maybe she just stuck to the fundamentals, while her opponent relied too much on the Divine Armament?”

While wild speculation and misunderstandings ran rampant, as expected, Palace Star Neriel—completely uninjured—brushed the dirt off her clothes and returned to the arena.

Then, extending her hand for a handshake, she spoke to Iris.

“Congratulations. A perfect victory—Iris Lunai.”

“Ah, th-thank you.

B-but I think I was just really lucky in a lot of ways.

If the Tornado Arrow technique you used hadn’t clashed with the audience-protection barrier and weakened in power, I wouldn’t have even thought of escaping.

I would’ve just lost from a ring-out.

And if we weren’t fighting in the Colosseum but in an open field…”

“Shh! No need to talk about all that right now.

Sure, there were various environmental factors at play, but we were both fighting under the same conditions.

At this moment, you have every right to fully enjoy your victory.

That’s also a form of respect for the one who lost.

Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t embarrassed about losing to a Junior Division student, but I learned a lot from this match.

I’m grateful you gave me such a valuable experience.”

Compared to the likes of Corpse Hawk Belimond, Palace Star Neriel Windwalker displayed a level of sportsmanship that was truly admirable.

With her flawless personality and the elegant beauty unique to High Elves, she was in no way inferior to Iris.

Having been focused solely on the battle and viewing Neriel only as an opponent the entire match, the moment I saw her gentle expression, I felt all the tension in my body melt away.

As I deactivated the Constellation’s perception and returned to my original body, I found Anemoa Dallant standing there—looking even more shocked than the person who had actually lost.

Alrighty then!

Time to hand over those 1,000 Dallant silver coins!