Chapter 348: Shock [1]

Chapter 348: Shock [1]

Chapter 348: Shock [1]

“How long has it been since the two stopped moving?”

Karl asked, his eyes fixed on the platform which had grown extremely quiet. All eyes were on the two contestants who stood on opposite ends, their faces and expressions frozen as they looked at each other.

Despite neither side doing anything, tensions ran high.

In the silence, everyone waited...

Everyone waited for the inevitable shift that would occur.

Whoever came out on top was going to most likely be the winner.

Karl bit his lips in anticipation, trying his best to calm his nerves. He wasn’t sure why, but he was nervous.

Something about the silence left him unsettled.

Unable to hold for much longer, he turned his head to face Johanna.

“Is there no way we can see what is going on between them?”

“.....No.”

Johanna answered, her eyes glued to Caius and Julien.

“There’s no way for us to see what is happening in their minds. That’s something that only the two of them can see.”

Turning his attention back toward Caius and Julien, Karl frowned.

“Then...?”

“We can only wait. Wait for som—”

Johanna’s words came to an abrupt halt as a change occurred to the two contestants on the stage. Julien’s and Caius’s bodies suddenly started to shake, their faces growing pale.

“This...!”

Karl’s eyes shot up.

He wasn’t the only one who noticed.

One by one, the audience leaned forward from their seats to get a better look at who the winner was going to be.

The silence felt suffocating, and as the referee glanced between the two, Caius’s eyes flared open.

“Ah...!”

The spectators’ lungs began to fill with air as they prepared to cheer for the winner, but before they even had the chance to do so, Caius’s eyes shook and he staggered back.

“Uehkh!”

Splat—

Blood leaked out from his eyes and mouth as his face grew paler.

“Ukeh!”

Holding onto his chest, his knees buckled and the ground was stained with even more blood.

Splat—

It was a horrifying sight that left some of the audience members frozen, unable to react at all while some other individuals stood up from the spot, their expression unable to hide the shock in their faces.

One such figure was Theron who had unknowingly stood from his seat, his hands gripping the metal railing before him as he leaned closer to get a better look at Caius.

“No, this...”

His eyes shook as Caius took another step back.

The sight of Caius taking a step back left him utterly shaken.

“....How is this...?”

On the opposite end, Julien’s eyes slowly opened to reveal his pupils.

As if the Colosseum had been stripped away of all air, all eyes fell on Julien whose pupils turned white.

Drip...!

A single tear streaked down the side of his cheek as Caius staggered back once more, his expression paling further.

And...

“Uekh!”

With one last stagger, his body stopped moving.

He stood in the middle of the platform, frozen on the spot. As though he was a statue.

“....”

A heavy silence settled over the Colosseum, the air thick with tension as every eye fell upon him.

Was he okay...?

Did he stabilize himself?

All sorts of thoughts ran down the minds of those watching.

Caius took in the sight before him, from the looks of the audience to Julien whose eyes returned to normal.

“Haa.”

He raised his head, and let out a long breath.

As his body began to twitch, his body began to lean forward.

Thump!

He fell face first shortly after that, the sound of his fall resounding deeply throughout, raging into the ears of all those present.

“The winner is...”

Following his fall, the referee’s voice echoed in the air.

“....Julien Evenus of the Nurs Ancifa Empire.”

This marked the end of the first Semi-Final match.

“....”

“....”

But despite the announcement, the audience remained silent. No one dared to say a single word as they all stared at the passed-out Caius, unable to articulate a single word.

I was a winner.

∎| Lvl 2. [Joy] EXP + 5%

***

“He won...”

Evelyn mumbled quietly, staring at the platform with her mouth hanging open. She had only recently come to terms with the fact that Julien was strong, but the fact that he had won against Caius of all people shook her completely.

Since when did he become so strong...?

Despite having come to terms with Julien’s change, the more she saw him, the more foreign he appeared to her.

And yet...

He also felt vaguely familiar.

Why...?

“Ha.”

As opposed to her, Leon didn’t appear at all to be fazed.

Rather, he seemed to have expected such an outcome.

Evelyn blinked her eyes, raising her chin a little to get a better look at him.

“You were that sure that he was going to win?”

“No.”

Leon made a face.

“....I was just thinking about the past.”

“The past?”

“Yeah.”

Leon’s expression cracked.

“....I also fell for his trick in the past?”

“Uh?”

Trick? What in the world was he talking about...? Evelyn looked at Leon with a blank look. But then, she suddenly recalled something.

“Are you talking about the time when he said that he beat you?”

“Yeah.”

Leon replied honestly, slowly standing up from his seat and heading for the exit of the Colosseum.

Evelyn similarly sat up and caught up to him, walking side by side with him.

“Are you saying that he beat you in the same way?”

“More or less.”

“....Wah.”

“I was caught off guard. Because he was so completely immersed in his curse magic, he made me completely forget that he was an Emotive Mage. By the time I realized, it was already too late and he got me.”

Leon ruffled his hair.

“Other than that, he was weaker than me in every other aspect just like he was weaker than Caius in every other aspect. In the end, he still won and that’s all that matters.”

“....”

Evelyn followed in silence, unsure of what to say.

In the end, slowing down her steps, she asked,

“What about now?”

“Hm?”

Leon’s steps similarly slowed, his head turning to face her.

“What about what?”

“....If you were to fight Julien now, who do you think will win?”

“Ah.”

Leon’s expression froze for a second before relaxing.

Turning around, he shrugged.

“I don’t know. I.... really don’t know.”

***

Evenus Household.

Two figures sat on a lush red sofa, staring at the projection that stood before them in silence. Neither said a word as their gazes remained glued on the figure that stood at its center, slowly walking away.

Linus’s eyes traced over Julien’s back, his fist slowly balling tightly.

Clench.

With a visible clench of his jaw, he turned to face his father who was similarly staring at the projection.

His expression... as always was hard to read.

Was he proud? Was he confused? Was he happy?

Linus didn’t know.

Their father was a man who never showed his emotions. Taking a deep breath, Linus turned to face his father.

“Father.”

“....”

In silence, Aldric turned his head, meeting Linus’s gaze.

He didn’t say anything, but his questioning gaze prompted Linus to speak as he glanced at the projection once more.

“Haven.”

He mumbled quietly, his fist slowly starting to relax.

“...Allow me to enroll to it for next year’s semester.”