Chapter 345 - Quarter Finals (5)

Hime stood in the center of the ring and was waiting for Afeus to strike. The movement technique Afeus was using was indeed something she couldn't deal with. If Afeus were a stronger individual she would've been dead already. But since Afeus was too weak he hasn't attacked yet.

While Hime continued to wait she suddenly felt something hitting her from behind. The walls of her mana barrier were cracking. Hime tried to move away from whatever was hitting her, but it followed her as close as possible. Each layer of her mana barrier was being broken and the horrifying pressure of the mana ball could be felt coming ever closer to her. 

Even though it was evident that this attack could defeat her, Hime didn't panic, instead, she quickly tightened her defense by concentrating more of her mana into her barrier. The moment she did that Afeus suddenly appeared in front of her. 

"You finally took the bait!" Afeus who appeared before her shouted with a smile on his face. Hime was surprised by his sudden appearance and was about to reflexively cast a spell but Afeus's move was faster. Afeus swung his hand that was bleeding and some of the blood sprayed onto Hime's eyes. She was momentarily blinded by the blood that covered her eyes, it was then she felt Afeus was touching her in different places, but they weren't attacks he was just touching her. 

"Are you a pervert!" Hime screamed as she tried to rub the blood out of her eyes. Afeus was unperturbed by the accusation as he did touch her, but it wasn't for anything s.e.x.u.a.l.

Hime was about ready to attack since Afues had already made his move. She started to gather mana but as she did so she felt her body was becoming heavier. The more mana she circulated through her body the heavier her body became. 

"What did you do?!" 

Afeus smiled as he saw that his long time experiment was a success. With the movement technique, as well as the mana circulation he learned from Kretos Afeus was able to create a chance to use his new magic. 

"This is an original spell that I created which I call blood magic. Well, the truth is the name is temporary it's not really blood magic, but it is magic that uses my blood. I have enhanced my blood using alchemy for over a decade. Now with my distinct mana signature, I can do various spells with it as the medium." Afeus happily replied as he started writing some runes on the floor using his blood. 

Hime felt that something wasn't right and started to struggle free. Yet no matter what she did her body wasn't responding properly. She tried forcing the blood away using a spell, but every time she tried to do so the blood that was all over her body started to feel like it was burning. 

The moment Afeus was about to unleash his strongest original spell, Henrietta spoke. "STOP!" When Afeus heard Henrietta's voice he wasn't sure what she was saying as he was fully concentrated on the spell he was constructing. It was then Afeus was suddenly surrounded by three men one of which was Layfon. Someone was also on the other side helping Hime. 

Seeing the scene the audience was confused. Why did the supervisors of the tournament stop the match? 

"So Afeus, I want you to stop circulating your mana flow for now. If you make an unexpected move, I might accidentally kill you out of reflex." Layfon gently spoke to Afeus who quickly did as he was told. 

"Good boy." Layfon smiled as he no longer felt Afeus circulating his mana. Henrietta came down as well and approached the confused Afeus. 

"That was a good match Afeus, but unfortunately you might have done some things that went against the rules."

"Huh?" 

"Do you remember the few rules this tournament has?" 

"One cannot kill the opponent. Using a weapon from swords to staves are prohibited. The use of potions and other miscellaneous artifacts that enhances one's abilities is also prohibited. Every participant can only use outward spells and cannot use body enhancement spells. Victory is determined when the opponent surrenders or is unable to continue." Afeus recited the rules of the tournament word per word.

"So do you understand what you did wrong?" Afeus thought about it for a while and finally understood what was happening. 

"Is the blood in which I enhanced with alchemy considered a weapon, or is it considered something akin to a potion?"

"It's both actually. You did really well to get this far, if it weren't for the rules you would've actually won the battle. But unfortunately, this is it for you. Can you undo the spell you used on Hime?" Afeus sighed as he nodded his head. After doing some few hand movements the blood that was all over Hime's body started to disperse. As she regained her sight Hime gritted her teeth and glared at Afeus. 

Based on what she heard, it would seem that she was going to win this match. But she knew that her victory was a hollow one. She was still a bit angry at Afeus for touching her body all over, but aside from that, she was angry at her own overconfidence. If the battle continued she would've lost without being able to do anything at all. 

...

"Due to violating the rules, Afeus is disqualified. So the winner of today's match is Hime!" When the audience heard Henrietta's announcement they were confused. No one clapped nor cheered as the winner of the match was the person who wasn't able to do anything, while the loser was the one who had one-sidedly attacked. 

After a while, some of the audience members started booing and throwing stuff at the stage. The people in charge of security immediately moved in and tried calming the audience down. 

...

As the audience was being suppressed by security Hime approached Afeus. Seeing the half-demon girl approaching Afeus smiled wryly. 

"Congratulations on the victory."

"It is not my victory it is yours. I had looked down on you and that was my mistake. You are a true mage, and from now on my rival. This time it is your victory, but the next time it will be mine." Hime extended her hand towards Afeus. 

"Heh, very well I will wait for our next confrontation but I'm sure I'll be the winner at that time as well." Afeus shook Hime's hands. After shaking hands Hime nodded her head and left the stage.