Chapter 148 Beneath the moonlight [3]

Chapter 148 Beneath the moonlight [3]

The location that I chose was near the cave where I had previously trained. I still had access to it, and used it now and then. The only problem that I had with the facility was that I'd return all battered up and bruised by the end.

It usually made the days after a complete nightmare for me.

".....This isn't a bad place."

Leon murmured while looking around.

Surrounded by trees, the area was one of the few flat spots within the forest outside of the Academy campus.

Technically speaking we weren't supposed to be here. In fact, we weren't even supposed to be outside of the Academy campus.

The only reason why we hadn't got caught was because I had explicit permission from Delilah to go out of the Academy walls. The guards in charge knew me which hence why they granted me leave.

And since Leon was my knight it was also not a problem getting him out.

Most likely though, they would notify Delilah of the situation.

I was fine with that.

Clank—

Clamping the bracelet on his wrist, Leon looked at me.

I stared back before putting my own.

Clank—

"There's three settings. Put it in the second setting. It should limit our mana to the same level."

"Got it."

Listening to his words, I did as he told me and adjusted the setting of the bracelet.

It wasn't hard. There was a small display at the top, and all I had to do was turn the small wheel that was on the side.

[II]

Locking onto the second setting, the mana within my body started to drain.

It wasn't much but I felt a little uncomfortable.

".....Are you ready?"

When I looked up, I noticed that Leon's expression was rather pale.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine."

He didn't seem fine at all.

"I'll take your word for it, I guess."

Bad condition or not, I was sure he'd still be able to hold well against me.

"H-haa."

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. Though I didn't show it, my hand was currently shaking. It would be a lie if I said that I wasn't nervous.

Leon.

.....Besides being my knight, he was the true strongest cadet of the year.

The main character of this world.

He was someone that even Aoife would have a hard time defeating, let alone me. It'd be delusional to say I wasn't nervous, but,

I opened my eyes.

'I want to try.'

.....I wanted to see just how far I had gotten over the past half a year in this world.

"Are you ready?"

"....."

I didn't answer immediately and channeled the mana inside of my body.

Clank, clank, clank—

Chains wrapped around my left arm.

Then,

Staring directly into Leon's eyes, I nodded my head.

"I am."

"...I'm coming."

Leon's voice faded into the night, his figure blurring away from the spot he had previously been standing on.

In the next moment, he was right before me.

I instinctively raised my left hand.

Clank—

Despite the fact that he was using a wooden sword, the moment the sword came into contact with the chains, a loud metallic sound reverberated through the air as I slid back several meters.

"..."

In the silence, I looked at my arm which was entirely numb.

The pain that accompanied the numbness was something else. Thankfully, pain was something I could deal with and I brushed it off just in time for Leon's second attack.

I raised my hand again.

But as if the sword was a snake, it curled around my arm and directly aimed for my exposed torso.

".....!"

In that brief moment, I caught sight of Leon's face.

His gaze...

It was almost unrecognizable. He was usually stoic and hardly showed any emotions, but at this moment, there was something more to that gaze.

It was cold.

.....Chillingly cold, and,

The wooden sword hit my torso.

Bang!

"...."

I remained quiet.

The pain was there. It was certainly there. I could feel it.

My left eye twitched involuntarily as I met Leon's gaze. Then, in that brief moment when our gazes met, I squeezed my right hand.

Threads encircled the surroundings.

They neared his neck, his arms, his legs, and almost every part of his body. Wherever I looked, there were threads.

"..."

His movements halted then.

The two of us stood face-to-face with each other.

Such a moment lasted only for a brief moment before Leon's body suddenly blurred, reappearing off into the distance.

In the moment when his figure appeared again, I reached with my hand in his direction. The mana inside of my body drained rapidly and my hand turned purple.

At the same time, a translucent purple hand materialized right beneath his chin.

".....!"

His expression changed the moment the hand appeared.

Still, he was quick to react.

Bending back, he just narrowly missed the hand.

"Tsk."

I clicked my tongue.

'That was close.'

Still, I didn't stop. I knew that I needed to be aggressive.

Without hesitation, I reached with my hand again.

At the same time, I withdrew the threads.

Swoosh—

Dodging again, Leon slammed his foot against the ground and pushed his body in my direction.

The damage didn't appear to be much, but in that moment, something dripped down from his nose.

It was, red...

"Haaa... Haaa..."

My breath quickened. So did my heartbeat.

More...

That red.

I wanted to see more of it.

Within the colorless world, the only color staining it was red.

Swoosh—

Without care, I charged at Leon.

Bang, Bang—!

A familiar scene repeated.

Dashing at Leon, he'd counter-attack and hit me all over. I'd disregard each and every one of his attacks, exchanging blow for blow with him.

Through his footwork, he was able to mitigate the damage that his body sustained.

Sometimes, he'd tilt his chin just enough to reduce the impact from my punch or sometimes even avoid the threads carefully set up around him.

Not that it mattered to me.

'More, more...!'

At this very moment.

All I cared about was red.

I wanted to see red.

Bang, Bang, Bang—!

We continued to exchange blows. I ignored the pain, and just went wild. Such reckless fighting method clearly flustered Leon who started to look overwhelmed.

"Hahaha."

I laughed then.

I felt like I was close.

Close to seeing even more red.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

I continued to swing and charge forward.

'More...!'

Leon took as step back.

Clank!

And then another.

Clank...!

And then another one.

"Mo-Ukh...!"

But that all came to a stop after a certain moment.

Just as I had taken a step forward and was mid-swing, my body froze. It just stopped moving.

"Uh....?"

My arms sagged and I blinked.

"What the, huh?"

My body.

It refused to listen to me.

Regardless of how hard I tried, it just wouldn't budge.

And just as I tried again to move my body, something flashed from my right side. Before I even had the chance to understand what it was, I was lying on the ground.

The moon shone brightly from above and the left side of my face hurt like hell.

'....Ah, so it's come to this.'

I looked up slightly to see Leon in the distance, supporting his body slightly on the nearby tree.

"Haaa... Haa..."

I could practically hear his breathing from where I was. I could also see the bruises and cuts all over his face.

He clearly didn't have an easy time.

Still, compared to my injuries, they were probably nothing.

The victor was clear for everyone to see.

He had won.

.....And I had lost.

"....."

This was the expected outcome, and yet...

'Why do I feel so frustrated?'

My left hand twitched.

I could now move my arms, if ever so slightly.

"H-huu..."

Taking a deep breath, my chest trembled.

I hurt all over, but that pain...

It was nothing compared to the sense of frustration that I was currently feeling.

'I don't want to lose.'

It wasn't as though I didn't accept my loss.

He was clearly better than me.

Still, I didn't want to lose.

'...Not when I've yet to do everything.'

There was still something that I could do.

It had been a while since the last time I had used it.

The mental toll it would have on my mind wasn't something I could deal with for a short period of time.

In fact, it had taken me several months just to feel okay again.

It wasn't an experience that I wanted to relieve again.

But...

Rustle!

Hearing the faint rustling sound, I bit my lip.

Leon was coming over.

Rustle!

"....."

His steps drew nearer.

In that moment, I brought my left hand over my right where a tattoo rested.

Rustle!

'....."

He was just a few meters away from me.

I could feel it.

....And when I raised my head, my eyes met with his.

That was when our eyes locked.

And just before he could say anything else, I pressed it.

The first leaf.