Chapter 208: Alice Subjugation (4)

Chapter 208: Alice Subjugation (4)

“Distinguishing by student or adult in the middle of a fight...?”

Isaac’s voice was as cold and composed as frost.

“I don’t need you to patronize me.”

Zenon spat out blood, straightening up to glare at the sliver-blue-haired boy.

Though part of his leg was frozen, impairing his movement, he still believed himself to be superior to Isaac.

However...

“Or, did you want to show some sympathy before killing me because I’m a student?”

Whether it was the exceptionally talented boy, Isaac.

Or Zenon, whose years of training far exceeded Isaac’s.

“Here, it’s all about who wins and who loses. Nothing else matters.”

In the end, this fight would destroy one of their futures.

“Does the process matter?”

...That’s right.

Zenon’s expression softened. Those few words from Isaac had cleared the turmoil in Zenon’s mind.

Did he pity the boy before him until just now?

Yet, he couldn’t shake off this guilt.

“...You’re right, Isaac.”

Zenon removed his military cap and dropped it to the floor, along with his ludicrous hypocrisy.

That’s right... I shouldn’t feel any guilt about trampling on this boy’s future.

Neither needed to speak until this fight ended.

Zenon gripped the hilt of his Tachi in both hands, readying himself for battle again.

“...”

Isaac closely observed Zenon and adjusted his grip on Zhonya’s Staff.

His body felt heavy. It was slowly freezing under the amplified coldness from Zenon’s Tachi.

Dragging out the fight against Zenon would only put him at a disadvantage, especially when time was not on his side.

He decided to end the battle swiftly.

Isaac resolved himself and dashed towards Zenon with a kick off the ground.

Kkaang!

Boooom!

The two men clashed elemental magic and swung their weapons at each other. The flurry of cold strikes drew countless lines in the air.

Then, Zenon retreated, thrusting his Tachi upward.

Heavy ice and lightning cloaked his blade. Having already foreseen Zenon’s next move through [Psychological Insight], Isaac immediately conjured a wall of ice infused with rock, [Fossilized Ice].

Soon, Zenon swung his Tachi downwards.

Kwagagagang!!

A cold slash wrapped in lightning tore through the ground.

Countless bolts of lightning whipped like chains and mercilessly struck the ground.

“...!”

[Fossilized Ice] shielded Isaac’s body and shattered into fragments as the cracked ground crumbled away.

With nowhere to stand, Isaac’s body hovered in mid-air.

As he fell with the rubble into the vast first-floor hall, Isaac examined Zenon coldly.

Boom!

Zenon launched himself off the rubble and leaped towards Isaac.

This was the decisive moment.

Isaac shouted.

“Eden!!”

[Kyuuu!]

Zenon vomited blood onto the floor. The sudden onset of drowsiness made his vision blur.

Isaac stood in front of him and stared him down, without any expression.

Clearly, Zenon had the upper hand in terms of power.

Yet now, it was Zenon who lay bleeding and incapacitated.

Remarkable...

Somehow, Zenon felt not inferiority or anger towards Isaac, but admiration.

He saw the younger version of himself, who used to wield a sword and train. But this boy... he was going to be far stronger than him.

Suddenly, he wanted to see this boy’s future.

But Zenon thought that was a wish that would never come true.

“...It’s my loss.”

A mix of guilt for not completing his mission, regret for not being able to see this man’s future, and an odd sense of relief came together.

The bitter taste of metal lingered in his mouth, and a bittersweet emotion burst out as a hollow laugh.

Lastly, with a voice choked with emotion, Zenon spoke.

“I’m glad you were my last opponent... Not a bad feeling at all...”

Puuhk!

“Puhuk!”

Out of nowhere, Isaac delivered a spinning kick to Zenon’s head.

Zenon collapsed to the side, losing consciousness.

“Shut up.”

Isaac didn’t want to hear anything from the loser.

He seemed to be lost in sentiment, but all Isaac could think was “So what?”

The rock-powered form of the Obsidian Blade returned to Isaac’s body. His eyes reverted to a dull red, and the ring of rock behind him vanished.

[Level Up!! Your level has increased to 125!]

[You have gained 4 stat points!]

“Good.”

Isaac breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good job, Eden.”

[Kyuuu!]

Isaac gave a thumbs up to Eden. The little golem, Eden, responded by raising his right arm.

Then, Isaac reverse-summoned Eden.

“...Ah, right.”

Before moving on, Isaac remembered.

In ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, there was an item drop after defeating Zenon.

Isaac quickly stripped the uniform off the unconscious Zenon and rummaged through the pockets.

“Oh.”

As seen in the game, he found ten small vials of healing potion. These potions, sourced from the Heart Kingdom, were quite effective.

Though not as effective as healing magic, they were good recovery items for emergencies.

He drank one. It was almost sweet but bland, with a strong bitterness rising before it went down his throat.

Isaac grimaced.

“I’ll take the loot.”

He kept the remaining potions as extras and retrieved Zhonya’s Staff and the Sheath of Disaster.

His petrified fingertips were slowly healing. The pain, as well as the parts of his body that had frozen due to Zenon’s chill, slowly improved. The recovery speed was faster than he expected.

Isaac ran up the stairs. He needed to meet Alice as soon as possible.

“...”

The first floor of Bartos Hall was left with piles of debris, and Zenon, who had his uniform stripped off, was left unconscious in a pitiful /genesisforsaken