"Huh?"
In the midst of her fierce onslaught, Irene abruptly stopped her attack on Theo.
A strange energy was emanating from him.
Irene swiftly retreated.
"......"
Unexpectedly, Theo remained motionless.
He stood still, his head bowed.
"......What?"
Irene cocked her head in confusion.
She had felt a sudden, spine-chilling fear emanating from him.
-20 seconds left until the end of the match!
The announcer's voice echoed.
20 seconds.
Far too brief to turn the tide of the battle.
Irene was likely to win by default if she did nothing more, but that wasn't her style.
"Huh."
Irene, having taken a short breath, was about to charge at Theo again.
Then, a powerful energy burst forth from him.
"Uh, huh?"
It was simultaneously scorching and chilling.
Faced with this alien energy, Irene instinctively adopted a defensive stance.
But her defense was meaningless.
Theo, having swiftly closed in, thrust his sword at her.
"Get out......!"
Thud──!
A heavy blow struck her slender abdomen.
Irene's eyes widened in shock; she hadn't seen Theo's movement at all.
'First, I need to dodge. Something's off.'
Bearing the pain, Irene rolled back, escaping Theo's reach.
But it was in vain.
Swoosh──!
Theo, having swiftly closed in again, slashed her.
A single, massive strike ran from her left shoulder to her right hip.
Irene's light armor was shredded.
"Ah......!"
Yet again, she couldn't see his movements.
Was this what being bewitched by a ghost felt like?
"......Th, this!"
Still, Irene did not relinquish the sword in her right hand.
She immediately swung down at Theo, who was beneath her.
However, it missed.
After closing the gap, within breathing distance of Irene,
Crack──!
Theo struck her chin directly with his right elbow.
A powerful elbow strike, delivered with full force and acceleration.
Crack──!
With a loud snap, Irene's chin violently twists in the opposite direction.
Thud.
Her sword clatters to the ground.
Swoosh.
Her body crumples and collapses.
Her knees, expressing disbelief, touch the floor of the arena.
Boom.
Irene falls to the ground of the arena.
It's a down.
──Down. Irene is down! Beginning the countdown! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6......
The countdown ends, but Irene remains down.
She lies sprawled on the floor, just as she had fallen.
The announcer exclaims.
-A twist, a major twist! Theo, who was under pressure until 30 seconds before the end of the match, has won in an instant! A perfect upset!
-......The ultimate winner of the Great Elinia Academy Festival [Martial Arts Competition] is Theo Lyn Waldeurk from the Hero Department!
It was a reversal victory that no one had anticipated.
Just as the announcer described, Theo, who had been barely managing to defend against Irene's attacks throughout the match, had suddenly clinched victory.
The unexpected turn of events left the audience in stunned silence.
Claire's eyes remained wide open.
"......Unbelievable. Are those really the movements of a mere first-year student? Or, is he even a student in the first place?"
Theo's movements in the latter part of the match were extraordinarily fast.
Even she nearly missed them in the blink of an eye.
Such movements might be expected from [The Shadows], who handle the secretive tasks of the Order, but even the Order's high-ranking knights could not match them.
"Is this why the Saintess took an interest in him......"
Claire's eyes sparkled as she nodded to herself.
"This looks like it's going to be quite an interesting mission after a long time."
Raei Translations
There was no final interview.
To put it precisely, it wasn't possible.
Shortly after the match concluded, Theo collapsed on top of Irene.
Since Irene, who had fallen earlier, showed no signs of getting up, both were carried out on stretchers together.
They were moved to a hospital room in the building of the Healer's Guild [The Hilté].
Aisha, Siena, Seria, Jang Woohee, and others from Theo's group followed suit.
Lying on white hospital beds, neither Theo nor Irene showed any signs of waking up.
Aisha, looking back and forth between them, said,
"Ooh... What's going on here? I had reserved a fancy restaurant to celebrate regardless of who won, but then this happened."
"Indeed. I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad."
Seria responded calmly.
Eshild shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, we should be happy, right? Both the winner and runner-up are from our team. And as the healer said, Irene just fainted, and Theo is just exhausted. That's not really an injury."
"......But it's not common to faint from exhaustion."
Jang Woohee murmured quietly.
Aisha turned to Siena and asked,
"Siena, do you have any more of that stamina recovery potion you gave Theo earlier? It might be effective for exhaustion."
"Unfortunately, no. The last one I had was given to Theo. But it seems like Theo always ends up lying down whenever he exerts himself. This is quite......"
Siena gazed at Theo, who was lying on the bed, with a distant look in her eyes.
Then─
"A weak and vulnerable Theo is just too cute~ Like a sick little baby~!"
She hugged the defenseless Theo tightly.
He remained still, his eyes closed.
Siena puckered her pink lips, about to kiss his cheek.
"!"
Startled, Aisha grabbed Siena's arm and pulled her away from Theo.
"What, what, what are you doing, Siena! This is a hospital room!"
"Hehe, so it's okay if it's not a hospital room, right?"
Siena, with a spirit floating around her, lifted the leg of the bed where Theo was lying.
The bed suddenly floated up into the air.
Everyone's eyes widened at this inexplicable force.
Aisha raised her voice in alarm.
"Not like that, Siena! Put him down, Theo is a patient! You shameless woman!"
"Hehe, I know Theo best. He's not sick, just exhausted and asleep. What he needs most is active care! I'm much more confident in nursing him than any healer here!"
Siena adjusted the floating bed to her eye level.
Then she looked at Theo with a loving gaze.
"Theo agrees with me, right? ...Yes, yes. Just as I thought~ I'm so happy you agree~!"
"......Theo didn't say anything, Siena."
"Hehe, you don't understand. Theo and I communicate without words. Now, we'll cast off all the constraints of this world and set off in search of happiness!
Wish you all happiness~~!"
As Siena was about to leave the hospital room with Theo's bed.
"Ha ha ha, what an entertaining show. I enjoyed it."
Taylor entered the room, clapping his hands.
““!””
Jang Woohee and Eshild were startled and looked at Taylor.
Both Jang Woohee and Eshild, being assassins sensitive to presence, hadn't sensed Taylor's approach until he appeared.
Taylor looked at Siena and smiled slyly.
"What's crucial for a patient is first and foremost rest. The play ends here."
Taylor reached out towards the bed floating next to Siena.
The bed then gently settled back to its original position.
Siena looked at Taylor with an intrigued expression.
"You're quite fun, Mr. Sly-Eyes. Even managed to make Swish-swish retreat for a moment."
"Ha ha ha, the heart of a healer concerned for a patient is stronger than anything. Anyway, I'm about to begin treating young master Theo, so everyone except the guardians, please leave."
Taylor said this and then pulled a chair over to Theo's bedside and sat down.
How long has it been?
Since I've slept this deeply.
I'm even dreaming for a change.
I'm flying in the sky, so this must be a dream.
Whoosh──
The rough wind strikes my entire body forcefully, but it doesn't hurt.
Due to the consequences of Overrun, my body should have been completely shattered.
......Surely, this is a dream.
I look down below.
People appear like ants.
Countless colorful brick houses and various shops stretch out.
Several large and small circular carriages move along the streets.
Even the fountain in the center of a bustling square.
It's the scene of a quite developed city.
Amidst it all, a familiar large castle comes into view.
It's the castle where the direct descendants of the Waldeurk family reside, as seen in the game.
......Hmm.
I'm bored. Maybe I'll explore.
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