Slave of the Demon King’s Castle 185

## Chapter 185 – Collusion (27)

Finally, the day of the finals arrived.

The stadium was packed with a crowd that was incomparable to anything before. The fervor of the people was contagious, reaching even the waiting room.

As Ryu sat on a chair, catching his breath, someone approached him. Saruk, with bandages wrapped around his chest, had come to cheer Ryu on. Having already been defeated by Claire once, Saruk knew her skills better than anyone.

“Ryu, be careful. That woman is no joke.”

“Thanks. But I’ll be fine. I haven’t been careless from the start.”

After a brief conversation with Saruk, Ryu left the waiting room and entered the massive stadium. Seeing the spectators from all walks of life gathered in every section, cheering for him, an unknown emotion washed over him like a tidal wave.

His heart began to race. The cheers grew louder and louder, eventually engulfing his heart like a surge. It felt as if all the training he had done was for this very moment.

Ryu gripped his spear tightly, displaying his visible passion to them.

Then, Ryu’s gaze fixed on Claire, who was already on the opposite side. Claire, who always wore a gentle smile, now had eyes as sharp as blades, displaying the aura of a seasoned warrior.

Claire looked at Ryu, who had raised his spear with a noticeably different look in his eyes, and gave a satisfied smile.

“Ryu, I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

It was as if she was confidently asserting that her judgment was correct.

Claire took out two small daggers from the sheaths located on her thighs and held them in both hands. It was definitely a different weapon than what he had seen before. Did she have no intention of hiding her true strength from the start?

Crude, but with blades that shone sharply even from a distance, indicating that they had not been neglected. While the two were sizing each other up, the announcer approached. He took a deep breath and shouted in a louder voice than ever before.

“At this very moment! The final chapter of the long tournament is about to unfold! Our proud finalists stand before the glory that only one can seize!”

“Now, who will be the true champion! Drenched in the light of achievement and fighting spirit, the two are now ready to engrave their names in the history of the academy! In this moment where the immense power of blades and magic collide, please cheer them on so that the cheers of the audience can echo in history! The grand finale of the match to determine the strongest student in the academy is upon us, so let’s begin right now!”

The announcer announced the grand start with veins popping out of his neck, but the two did not show much reaction. They simply moved with slightly expectant steps, circling each other as if drawing a circle.

It was Ryu who made the first decision and moved. Kicking off the ground, Ryu swung his spear through the air with force.

Claire dodged Ryu’s attack as if leaping like a bewitching butterfly. Ryu predicted her trajectory and continued to swing his spear, but the blade never touched Claire’s body.

Immediately after, Claire’s dagger, aiming for Ryu’s exposed flank, felt like a snake hunting its prey.

However, Ryu hadn’t been wasting his time just having sex.

The sound and vibration of metal colliding gave the illusion that the arena was ringing. Claire threw pure praise at Ryu, who had blocked her attack.

“To block that, amazing.”

The following movement was like a daring acrobatics. Leaping and showing her back in an instant, Claire quickly caught up to Ryu and extended her blade with nightmare-like speed.

If he didn’t block, he would die, Ryu judged, barely lowering his spear to block the initial attack, but there was nothing he could do to prevent his posture from collapsing due to the recoil.

In his collapsed posture and shaky vision, Claire’s next attack came flying.

He couldn’t avoid it.

The moment Claire was sure that her attack had landed, lightning suddenly bloomed from Ryu’s fingertips, catching her off guard. She barely rolled to avoid it, but there was a burning smell from her clothes.

“Right. There was that.”

Ryu caught his breath and replied.

“I can’t hold back against my senior.”

“Then shall I show you everything too?”

There was no more time to talk. Immediately after the words were finished, it was Claire who rushed in first.

The spear wrapped in black lightning flew in a deadly line, but Claire narrowly avoided it by a hair’s breadth. In response, Claire slashed through the air with her dagger and rushed into his arms. Ryu kicked Claire in the abdomen and stepped back, seeing the sharp dagger.

At the same time, their weapons sparked fiercely. The energy created by the collision of the two created a spectacular contrast of mana. Black lightning scattered in all directions, and the light that seemed to swallow it dyed the surroundings.

Every time Ryu swung his spear, it sounded like lightning was striking, and Claire’s dagger left a trail of light behind it.

The audience, who had been cheering at first, gradually became silent.

The series of skills and fighting spirit they showed was so breathtaking that they could only stare in awe.

As the battle intensified, the two predicted each other’s movements and faced each other on equal footing.

In the moment when the battle was prolonged, Claire’s dagger suddenly shone, and Claire did not miss the opportunity that Ryu created by frowning. With a speed that could not be compared to anything before, the dagger dug into his weakness.

With the sound of the wind splitting, Claire had already moved behind Ryu.

It was Ryu who bled first.

A slight cut opened on his side, and the blood that flowed began to soak the floor. Claire swung her dagger and scattered the blood on the floor.

Her heart began to beat faster.

She had never been so exhilarated.

Even if she said hollow words that everyone would like, and continued to help other students by rising to a high position, she could not completely erase the boredom that had permeated her body.

Ryu’s existence, which came in the midst of such a boring life, was a light for Claire. If it was this man, he could reach her, she thought, and came to this place.

It would be a problem if she couldn’t enjoy it more.

Seeing Claire’s smile begin to be stained with blood, Ryu realized that something was wrong. Without even having time to stop the wound, Claire leaped, and Ryu swung his spear greatly to block her attack.

The two weapons collided, and metal screamed. At a distance close enough to feel each other’s breath, Claire was smiling with an elated expression.

Was it the effect of the wound? It was Ryu, not anyone else, who was gradually being pushed back.

With the sound of the blade breaking, Ryu’s body staggered greatly. Claire did not miss the gap and kicked his abdomen with a straight kick, showing her back.

Ryu’s small body could not withstand the impact and was knocked out of the circular arena and crashed into one wall. The wall of the audience seats cracked, and debris poured over his body.

At the same time, cheers erupted from the audience, who had been silent until now. The cheers announcing their great duel shook the sky, but the voices did not reach the two. Ryu, buried in the darkness, was lost in thought.

Was he unable to win?

He had experienced this level of power before.

Similar to Orca….

Claire, who had already approached Ryu, said in a clear voice.

“Is this the size of the desperation you are drawing? Is this the best you have worked for a 불안한 future? Get up and fight. And prove to me the results of your salvation.”

Ryu got up from the pile of dirt. Exhausted and with a thick look of defeat, he looked as if he could not fight at all.

“…I’m sorry.”

Wouldn’t it be okay now?

Should he just let go of everything because the opponent is who she is?

Above all, it was impossible to suppress his power and win against this person.

Rahart, who had been quietly watching the game, gave urgent orders to the professor or demon king nearby in a urgent voice.

“Put up a barrier in the audience right now.”

No one questioned his words. They simply did as they were told and immediately unfolded the barrier, and a thin film spread out to cover the entire audience.

It was Claire, the opponent, who noticed the change first.

He had never been able to show his all to the opponents he had faced so far.

Claire could accept everything about him. Ryu judged that way and felt an emotion he had never felt before.

His eyes were still burning.

The atmosphere fluctuates. The calm flow of mana screamed as if it were rippling, and an aura that made the world tremble swirled around.

Even a simple gesture towards Claire made a sound as if something was burning in his body. Sensing the rise of an unknown power, Claire stepped back greatly.

With a roar, the blue sky turned black. The stadium, which was once bathed in sunlight, was now only covered in black shadows.

This was his essence, and Claire unknowingly held awe and looked straight ahead.

Untamed, immense magic began to engulf the battlefield. Eventually, the energies concentrated on Ryu. The magic that began to wrap around his body took on the form of an unknown, gigantic creature, and the black lightning that was blocked by the barrier and began to run around and scream began to fill the surroundings.

Eventually, all of Ryu’s movements were accompanied by thunder and the scream of mana that seemed to tear apart. Claire, who had stepped far back, showed vitality instead of despair on her face.

She could feel a new emotion passing through her entire body.

“Ryu, I acknowledge you. You are indeed my…!”

At the same time, Claire also exuded a murderous aura that was on a different level from what she had shown so far. Apart from that, the light that had begun to be swallowed by the darkness had long since faded.

The energy writhes.

The creature made of thunder was looking directly at Claire. Ryu was at the center of it, and he soared towards Claire as if he had become an arrow.

The conclusion was reached with the darkness swallowing the stadium and the fleeting flash of light that was glimpsed in between.

The light disappeared.

The battlefield, where darkness and light once flickered, now only echoed with the cheers of the past.