In front of me, at the center of the spectator-filled stands inside the combat arena made of white marble, standing on the bloodstained ground, was the great Golden Knight.
His shining golden armor seemed to be forged from pure light, and his massive sword, two meters long, resembled a solid block of iron stacked upon itself.
The Golden Knight, Alexander, looked at me coldly. Though I couldn't see his eyes beneath the golden helm, I could feel the battle intent radiating from him.
Without hesitation, Alexander lunged toward me with inhuman speed.
I was determined to end the battle quickly. I drew upon one of the eight stars in the core of my mana and combined it with my sword to unleash a searing laser beam at Alexander.
He dodged the attack with ease. But I took advantage of the time he spent evading my first strike to launch another attack.
Appearing right in front of him, I attempted to behead him with my sword, but he swung his massive blade in retaliation while stepping back.
However, the only thing he struck was a false image of me—an illusion of blue light.
This was one of the Lightstar techniques, allowing me to use the mana stars to distort the air and manifest a false clone of myself.
Realizing that what he had cut was merely an illusion, Alexander started scanning his surroundings for my real body.
But it was already too late. A beam of blue light pierced through his abdomen, shattering his gleaming golden armor and leaving a deep wound.
Yet, unlike any other student who would have surrendered upon suffering such an injury, Alexander charged toward the origin of the attack, finding Edward aiming his sword at him.
I dodged Alexander's assault and attempted to engage him in close combat, but it was a futile effort. The power gap between us was terrifying—just one swing of his sword sent me flying to the other side of the battlefield.
But I had no time to rest, as Alexander rushed toward me with overwhelming momentum, like an unstoppable train.
Seeing this, I clenched my teeth and tried to widen the distance between us.
Yet it was as if Alexander had anticipated this—he hurled his massive sword like a flying disc.
I hadn't expected this, so I failed to dodge the sword, which struck me and sent me crashing to the ground with a bloody wound on my side.
The excruciating pain made me grimace, struggling to hold back my tears.
As someone from the modern era, I wasn't used to pain.
Yet, I still managed to roll to the side, narrowly avoiding Alexander as he descended from the sky like a golden meteor.
Without giving me a moment to breathe, Alexander pulled his sword from the ground and charged at me with terrifying intent.
Unfortunately, I couldn't retreat in time. He reached me and swung his monstrous sword in an attack capable of cleaving stone in two.
But I didn't panic—I activated my ability, transforming my body and everything I carried into a stream of blue mana. However, unlike last time…
When Alexander saw my transformation, a wicked smile spread beneath his helmet as he infused his massive sword with mana.
Ever since witnessing Edward's ability, Alexander had been devising ways to counter it. After extensive research into different abilities, he found several similar to Edward's.
Abilities that allowed their users to transform parts of their bodies—or even their entire bodies—into inorganic substances like stone, water, and more.
This type of ability granted immense resistance to physical attacks. However, the simplest way to counter it was by using magic or mana-infused strikes.
This time, when Alexander's sword passed through my body, a searing pain ripped through me, as if I were being split in half. My form wavered, flickering like a hologram suffering from distortion.
Feeling this, I immediately canceled my mana state and retreated, realizing that Alexander had found a way to counter my ability—despite only seeing it once.
Seeing me retreat, Alexander chuckled lightly from beneath his golden helmet.
"As I expected, entering that strange state makes you immune to physical attacks—but not to mana-infused strikes."
Hearing this, I could only stare at Alexander's sword, now enveloped in a faint, transparent blue aura.
Regret filled me as I recalled our sparring match, where I had accidentally activated my ability.
I had wanted to keep it hidden for as long as possible. But even though I knew Cassandra would save me, I had still been afraid—and activated my ability out of instinct.
So I surrendered quickly, hoping Alexander wouldn't figure out how to counter my ability after seeing it just once.
But it seemed I had underestimated his intelligence.
I retreated further, preparing to fight with everything I had.
Seeing my retreat, Alexander smirked even more.
"Stop acting like a girl and fight like a man! You're a swordsman, not a damn sniper."
I ignored Alexander's words and gazed at him with an eerie, chilling coldness.
I had been calm this entire time. But the moment I realized there was a chance I might lose, everything changed—my heart filled with a maddening rage.
It wasn't losing in disgrace that enraged me. Even the original Edward wouldn't lose so miserably to Alexander—especially not in front of this enormous crowd.
The crowd whose jeers and mockery I could hear clearly.
"It seems the ruling families aren't that impressive after all."
"Look at him, running like a rat from a mere commoner."
"What a disgrace to the great Lightstar family."
Hearing this, my fury intensified, completely shattering my previous calm. My mind became consumed by a madness I had never felt before.
How could I even think about defeating the Demon King when I couldn't surpass the original Edward—despite possessing everything he had?
At this thought, a crazed expression surfaced in my eyes.
I couldn't let this continue.
I would use what set me apart—my knowledge of the novel.
Specifically, my knowledge of Edward's abilities.