Isn't that Cryus's ability? Roland thought, completely stunned.
Cryus's eyes also widened, clearly caught off guard by Alice's counterattack. Reacting quickly, he slashed through the flaming blade with his sword, causing it to dissipate — though not before leaving a small, charred wound in his abdomen. Wincing from the pain, he dashed backward and plunged his sword into the ground, sending a burst of dark red flame erupting beneath Alice.
Clutching his stomach with his left hand, Cryus narrowed his eyes as Alice weaved gracefully through the erupting flames, rapidly closing the distance.
With a sudden swipe of his hand, he flung droplets of blood into the air. The crimson drops hovered briefly — then launched toward Alice like arrows.
Alice, relying on her superhuman reflexes, managed to dodge most of the projectiles, though one grazed her thigh. From the shallow cut, thin, dark red blades jutted outward, tearing through her flesh.
Their speed, strength, and reflexes... they've clearly surpassed what's humanly possible, Roland observed, analyzing every movement. Alice is far faster than when she sparred with her knight. She must've gone easy on him earlier.
From what I've seen, her unique ability must be the power to copy others' abilities...
But Cryus... Roland narrowed his eyes. He can create solid blades of fire and even manipulate his flesh and blood — healing his wounds and turning his blood into a weapon. That's not just raw power. That's versatility.
These abilities are completely broken... why couldn't I get something like that?! Roland grumbled inwardly.
Back on the battlefield, Alice was clearly struggling to avoid Cryus's long-range attacks. The injury on her thigh had slowed her down significantly, forcing her to take more risks with every dodge.
"She's slowing down," Eugene muttered, watching with interest.
"Archduke Cryus's divine energy pool is exceptionally vast," Elder Regan commented from the stands.
"Typically, abilities involving the creation or manipulation of matter require massive amounts of divine energy. The fact that he can continuously produce those flame blades shows that he was blessed with an enormous divine energy reserve from the beginning."
Wow… In short, he's just lucky. Roland rolled his eyes inwardly.
By now, Cryus's wound had fully healed. However, it clearly cost him — the signs of fatigue were beginning to show on his face.
Knowing he couldn't keep relying on his divine energy for long-range attacks, Cryus pressed forward, grabbing his sword and charging at Alice.
Seeing this, Alice pushed herself into motion as well, choosing to go on the offensive. With her injuries slowing her down, she knew that staying defensive would only lead to defeat. Her only chance was to strike first and create an opening.
Just before they clashed, Cryus fired a flaming blade from the tip of his sword. Alice, anticipating it, sliced cleanly through the flame — but in doing so, left herself open.
Cryus followed up immediately, swinging his black flame-covered sword. The blade barely missed Alice as she twisted to the side.
Mirroring Cryus, Alice coated her own weapon in black flames and swept in with a horizontal slash aimed at his abdomen.
Cryus adjusted his grip just in time, using the flat of his blade to block. As their swords clashed, he suddenly drove his sword into the ground. Alice's blade caught against the guard of his weapon, holding it in place.
At that moment, Cryus surged divine energy into his sword. In his mind, he shaped the energy into a single image — a blade. Then, with precision, he split the image into five distinct swords and released them into the ground, curving them upward.
Sensing the eruption of divine energy, Alice instinctively tried to retreat — only to find her path blocked by three blades emerging just behind her.
Before she could react, Cryus released his sword and lunged low, dashing past her side.
In a blur, he placed his hand against her abdomen and spoke calmly.
"The match is over. I've won."
After a brief silence, Cryus slowly backed away, maintaining eye contact with Alice.
"You almost beat me," he added, offering a rare, sincere smile.
Alice, however, remained unreadable. Her expression was blank as she slowly lowered her arms.
"Thank you for your praise," she replied softly, then turned and calmly walked off the training grounds, heading toward the medics.
Poor Alice… Roland thought as he watched her leave. She got unlucky and had to fight Cryus — probably the strongest among us. If it were me out there, I wouldn't have even been able to dodge his long-range attacks.
But pity quickly gave way to anxiety. He was next.
Roland cast a glance to his left at Eugene, then shifted his gaze to the head elder.
"You're up next — Roland Erkhart and Eugene Lyron," the head elder said casually, a pleasant smile on his face.
"Hell yeah! After watching that fight, I'm all fired up!" Eugene shouted, grinning wildly at Roland.
What the hell are you smiling for? Roland furrowed his brows. If you think I'm going to be an easy win, you'd better think again.
Without a word, Roland stood and walked toward the training ground. Eugene followed close behind, his previous grin replaced with a serious, focused look.
They reached their positions on opposite ends of the field, staring each other down.
Meanwhile, the elders took their seats.
"As the winner of the first match, who do you think will win this next fight, Archduke Cryus?" the head elder asked.
Cryus thought for a moment before answering. "The obvious choice would be Eugene. He's trained in martial arts from a young age, while Roland probably hasn't even seen the sun from his bedroom window."
"That may be true," said the white-robed elder, adjusting his glasses, "but I doubt it'll be so one-sided."
"You should never underestimate a vessel based on appearances," Elder Regan added. "The power of the gods' descendants doesn't always follow logic."
The arena fell silent as tension grew between the two competitors.
"You sure you don't want to forfeit?" Eugene asked, smirking as he stretched his arms.
"I beg to differ," Roland replied coldly, standing tall with both hands resting on the handle of his gold-inlaid cane.
"Suit yourself. Just don't cry when it's over," Eugene said, crouching low and raising his fists like a lion ready to strike.
"If you're both ready — begin!" Elder Regan shouted.
In an instant, Roland reached into his coat with his right hand and pulled out three small rocks. With impressive force, he hurled them straight at Eugene.
Eugene dodged to the right, but just as the rocks neared him—Snap!
A blinding light exploded from them, followed by a sharp burst. Shards of stone embedded into Eugene's arms and shoulders.
"You—!" Eugene roared and charged toward Roland with explosive speed.
He's fast! Roland panicked, recognizing that Eugene was even faster than Alice or Cryus.
Thinking quickly, he reached into his coat again and threw two paper balls to the ground, snapping his fingers.
Boom!
Smoke and ash billowed out, clouding the field and cutting off Eugene's vision.
But Eugene didn't stop — he leapt into the center of the smoke and punched the ground.
Bang!
The shockwave shattered the stone floor and blew the smoke away.
Yet to his surprise, Roland was behind him — hand already pressed to Eugene's back.
Eugene twisted sharply, swinging an elbow back. Roland, nimble and narrow, ducked under the strike and swiftly pressed his other hand against Eugene's stomach.
Then, with a quick flick, he struck Eugene's chin with the end of his cane—Snap!
A dual explosion erupted from both Eugene's back and abdomen, launching him slightly off the ground and forcing him to stumble backward.
Seeing Eugene stumble back from the blast, Roland allowed himself a slight smirk. Now for the next—
But his thoughts were cut short.
Without warning, a surge of bright orange flames erupted from Eugene's body, swirling violently as they engulfed him in a fiery aura. The heat distorted the air around him, causing the nearby floor to crack and blister.
Eugene slowly raised his head, eyes burning with intensity. "Not bad…" he said, his voice low and steady. "But not good enough."