Chapter 17

  Finally, the day has come… when everyone sees even gods can bleed.

  The words didn’t just pierce Rafinya’s pride.

  Even Nora, watching, was stunned.

  Mr. Fury?

  Finally, the day has come… when everyone sees “gods” can bleed.

  A biting taunt. Not only did it mockingly elevate Rafinya, dubbed the next Casca, to “godlike” status, but Dan boasted he could make such a figure bleed—and he did, in front of everyone. Most crucially, in front of the Pauli family head watching from above.

  Rafinya froze, hand slowly touching her chin, staring at her thick red blood in disbelief…

  Dan had pressed her forbidden button, stepping into an execution ground no scholarship senior dared to tread—not even Chiesa, who’d known her since she was small.

  Her hardened face twisted… from distortion to rage.

  Her chest burned with searing pain, breath shallow, jaw clenched until numb. Rafinya’s ragged breathing echoed loud enough for Nora to hear. Tension spiked to its peak, and in that split second—

  SNAP!

  !?

  Dan froze.

  Suddenly, scorching flames erupted from the arena floor… Red Velvet fire, the true source of Rafinya’s power, revealed itself.

  In a fraction of a second, before sound could travel—

  Rafinya shot forward, a straight line, silver blade aimed at Dan. He parried, shifting to his second sword stance… but Rafinya was already in her third.

  Her speed surged tenfold, too fast for Dan to track. Her eyes glowed red, and each blade clash sparked crimson flames.

  Not just fast—her strikes hit harder. Dan gripped his sword two-handed to keep it from flying. The game’s rhythm shifted. He wasn’t dodging Rafinya; she was forcing him left, right, until he met her knee.

  Thwack!

  “!”

  Dan took a knee to his right gut, his body reeling. Rafinya didn’t let up, following with a glowing red blade and—

  Swish!

  A sound like a knife through butter… blood sprayed from Dan like a burst hose.

  Her blade carved a clean line from his side to his shoulder, sending him flying backward.

  !!!

  The crowd’s eyes widened. That was no small wound… Before anyone could react, Rafinya didn’t let him fall. Her blade flicked thousands of times in a second—slashing, cutting, tearing—shredding Dan’s body and armor to tatters.

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  Rafinya attacked in a blood-fueled frenzy. Training swords couldn’t sever, but the deepest cuts were still lethal… like now.

  Dan’s blood sprayed like a sprinkler, splattering everywhere. Spectators covered their mouths, students exchanged glances, and instructors knew they had to intervene.

  “Student!!! That’s enough!!!”

  Trainer Soros, the referee, tried to stop her, but Rafinya was too fast. She relentlessly assaulted Dan mid-air, ignoring all calls.

  Die!

  Her attack reached its final combo. Rafinya grabbed his collar, flung him upward, and slashed diagonally from waist to opposite shoulder.

  Die!!!

  But… just when the fight seemed over—

  Rafinya felt it again.

  A terrifying, overwhelming force, the most dreadful she’d ever encountered.

  As Dan’s body fell toward her blade, she couldn’t see his face—shadows from the arena’s light obscured it. But in that split second, glowing red eyes stared back.

  The boy, face nearing her blade… suddenly opened his mouth and bit her sword, shattering it into pieces with both jaws.

  The sight shocked Rafinya beyond words.

  Maybe it was too fast to notice…

  But she saw what looked like hundreds of blades in his mouth.

  Those weren’t human teeth.

  Though only a glimpse, Rafinya’s sword broke like glass.

  !!!

  The crowd covered their mouths.

  In that instant, Rafinya’s peripheral vision caught it—a blood-red lightning bolt from her blind side, slamming into her full force.

  Dan’s fist, striking like a highway-speed car.

  The impact lasted a millionth of a second, but it sent Rafinya flying off the stage to the ground below. Her face mixed shock and disbelief, mouth agape, eyes bulging as her body crashed into the arena’s concrete edge with a BOOM!

  The wall cracked.

  Professor Foden didn’t see the lightning, but Rafinya’s state told her and the first-year scholarship students this was like what happened to Trainer Soros.

  Even Soros felt it, mouth agape.

  Princess Nora turned back to the stage.

  She knew instantly what happened.

  He’d transformed parts of his body again!

  At minimum, his teeth and fist were Fury’s, 100% certain.

  Nora would bet her life on it.

  He used Fury’s teeth—hidden in his mouth—and his fist, concealed by gloves.

  But not his legs.

  That’s why not only Rafinya but Dan, too, was flung to the opposite side by the immense reaction force.

  Action = Reaction.

  Basic rule of the universe.

  Without Fury’s legs to brace, it was like firing a sniper rifle without a stock.

  Dan crashed off the stage. Aside from cuts all over, it was like a singer falling offstage. Rafinya, though, was shot off, more than knocked.

  Amid swirling dust, the duel ended—both fighters were out of the ring.

  Spectator: “Look!”

  He pointed at a shadowy figure in the dust.

  Rafinya, sprawled on the ground, stirred, slowly rising, battered. Her limbs trembled, breathing rapid and shallow, mouth thick with her own blood.

  “Cough, cough!”

  She spat blood onto the ground before the entire arena.

  The impact’s severity was clear. Nora knew better than anyone—this was worse than breaking every bone. Fury’s punch, unbuffed by magic, was a death sentence.

  But Rafinya Saint-Pauli had something no ordinary student or instructor had.

  Her middle name: Saint.

  A mark of the Pope’s Blessing, like Senior Chiesa Saint-Germain’s.

  A personal protection spell that activated in mortal danger, signaled by a golden glow enveloping the body.

  As Rafinya choked on blood, her body shimmered gold.

  Chiesa, in the stands, knew Dan’s blow was lethal—severe enough to trigger the Pope’s Blessing.

  “…No way… This is a joke, right?”

  Senior Jenny Vardy paled, as did Helena and Aaron.

  Dan limped from the opposite dust cloud, less battered but still…

  Trainer Soros and medics rushed to both, administering urgent care.

  Dan was heavily wounded by blade cuts. Rafinya couldn’t stand straight, likely with internal fractures.

  Professor Foden watched, stunned, scanning the duel’s aftermath.

  Both were gravely injured.

  Rafinya scored higher, landing more hits and showcasing superior swordsmanship.

  But—

  Her weapon shattered, while Dan’s remained intact.

  On paper, Rafinya led. But letting it continue risked worse violence, which was unacceptable.

  The verdict: a draw.

  Rafinya’s eyes locked on Dan, teeth gritted in fury.

  Dan just looked at her, then limped out of the arena.

  But he did more.

  Now, scholarship seniors and Professor Foden alike realized Dan Burn was the real deal.