DPAA 65

chapter 65

The black eyes glaring at me were intense.

They were eyes like a well-sharpened predator.

Seeing that, I lifted one corner of my mouth.

“Ah, really?”

“Yeah.”

He shot me a look, his words like teeth grinding.

“The one you think of as your little sister is just that girl, not even listed in the family register, right?”

My eyes cooled instantly.

“So you expect me to treat the two of you the same?”

Ridiculous.

I turned my back on him.

There was nothing more to say.

And through this conversation, I was certain.

Claude and I could never coexist under the same family.

Once everything was over, another name would go onto the Escliff family register instead of mine.

Returning alone to my waiting room, I looked across at the room where Claude would be and smiled wickedly.

“I’ll have some fun with him.”

Until he begged me to stop.

[The contestants enter.]

The announcer’s voice echoed through the arena, amplified by magical devices.

At the same time, I moved forward.

Claude did the same.

From the waiting room across the field, he slowly stepped into the vast arena.

‘Hmm.’

I studied his expression, puzzled.

I had expected him to either be desperate and reckless, or floundering while trying to assert dominance over me.

Instead, Claude remained calm and collected, waiting for the buzzer.

“Is he plotting something?”

“Maybe.”

That was a good enough answer.

If I had answered Yes or No, he could have used the “Eye of Truth” skill to determine whether I was lying.

Of course, he probably didn’t imagine I had such a skill—so it was likely just coincidence.

Still, one thing was certain.

‘He’s planning something.’

He must have thought of a strategy worthy of facing me.

That’s why he looked so composed.

‘I wonder what it is.’

I found out soon enough.

• Beeeeep!

Bang!

The moment the arena buzzer sounded, Claude slammed his fist into the ground.

The floor quaked like an earthquake and then split apart.

It looked as if the ground had turned into flowing water.

The compacted sand shattered, scattering fragments, revealing solid rocks and slabs beneath.

Dust filled the air.

Ignoring it, I raised my fingers to generate an electric current.

Crack.

Blue sparks leapt.

The electricity extended from my hand, passing through the dust straight toward Claude.

Rumble. Bang.

Something shattered.

Wait, shattered sound…?

The approaching heat forced me to leap aside.

In the exact spot I had been, flames approached that would have melted my body on contact.

Seeing that, I shivered.

‘Interesting.’

• Not fatal.

The “would melt you” explanation is for ordinary people.

Even if I were hit directly, I’d hardly die.

Recovering my body with healing magic would be faster than letting it burn from the attack.

Perhaps letting it hit me might even crush his spirit more effectively.

If someone’s ultimate attack hits me and I remain unfazed, that’s truly disheartening for them.

The only reason I didn’t take the hit…

…is because it hurts.

I wish I could just turn off pain like in a game—oh well.

Similar attacks continued.

Claude hid behind rocks and dust, launching pre-cast attacks at me.

The first is fine, but the latter is impressive.

He accurately aimed for the exact space I had just been occupying, targeting a constantly moving opponent.

Of course, I could summon rain to electrocute him immediately, but too many people were watching.

So I decided to wait calmly.

But that wouldn’t last forever.

Dust doesn’t linger forever.

The air, initially thick with debris from the first strike, was clearing.

If he couldn’t defeat me by now, the delicate balance he maintained would soon collapse.

Then an unexpected problem occurred elsewhere.

‘Oh no.’

I felt nauseous.

Specifically, it felt like indigestion.

I had no idea what caused it.

But I knew I wanted to leave the arena immediately.

“Wait a m—”

Bathroom!

Just as I was about to shout, Claude, for the first time, threw a piece of rock instead of fire.

It wasn’t a threatening attack at all.

Unlike fire, it wouldn’t even hurt.

My body was as hard as iron, so even colliding with a rock wouldn’t leave a scratch—it might even break the rock.

So I didn’t bother dodging the rock.

Thunk.

It struck my stomach.

“Ugh.”

That was enough to trigger me, and I ended up spitting out part of the pomegranate juice I had just drunk.

‘Damn. Gross.’

The sticky residue on my lips irritated me instantly.

I narrowed my eyes.

‘Clean magic…’

• could have instantly cleaned both my lips and the sleeve I wiped them with.

But that’s water-element magic.

I plan to reveal it eventually, but for now, I want to stick with mind-element magic—at least for the public.

Alright. Decision made.

Forget everything, let’s just finish this quickly.

Then I could teleport back and change clothes.

“Heh. Haha, what’s this? Showing off all that skill and then taking a hit?”

I heard a low voice as I made that decision.

“Looks like you really haven’t been awakened long. To cough up blood from just a rock!”

“?”

What is he talking about?

Swoosh.

I raised my finger toward the direction of the voice.

[Lightning Strike (A)]

Flash. Crash.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky toward Claude.

No need to explain further.

The rock shielding him split in half instantly.

As a result, he took the lightning head-on, though it was only slightly weakened.

“Argh!”

A scream of pain echoed.

I clicked my tongue at him.

“Foolish.”

If he wanted to ambush me from hiding, he should’ve attacked the moment I hesitated.

Not broadcast his position to everyone.

Even so, if I had summoned lightning across the whole arena, he would have been helpless.

“Anyway, he won’t die.”

Lightning usually kills instantly.

But the one I used was a much weaker version.

With his training, even if he took the brunt of the strike, he wouldn’t die or sustain permanent damage.

‘Ah, come to think of it…’

I had asked for one arm to be neatly cut off.

I now observed Claude lying there beyond the perfectly clean air, pondering.

Then.

[Match Over!]

[Winner: Canis Escliff!]

The announcer hurriedly declared the end of the match.

True, it would feel wrong to do more to an unconscious opponent.

Too many eyes were watching.

In a dark alley, cowardice might work, but killing a relative without justification wouldn’t look good, so I stepped back.

More importantly, I wanted to change clothes quickly.

I returned to the waiting room leisurely, leaving Claude behind.

Then slammed the bathroom door.

‘Teleport!’

[Coordinate Move (S)]

In an instant, my vision shifted to the dorm room.

I used the coordinate move skill to swap the spare clothes with what I was wearing.

[Clean (B)]

Then, cleaning my removed clothes and wiping my lips was done.

I dried off with a skill that generated a warm breeze.

Now, teleport back to the waiting room bathroom.

[Coordinate Move (S)]

Perfect.

I stepped out of the bathroom.

Immediately, I came face to face with Felix.

“Canis! You just coughed up blood, didn’t you?!”

“?”