February 5, 2023, Early Evening
"The third duel of the second round of Zhan Dou tournament is about to begin. Participants number five and six, please introduce yourselves first."
In the underground arena, where Mei Mei fought a few minutes ago. A cold-faced bald man and a strange man wearing a black robe. His face was hidden behind a metallic purple mask with crying eyes and a terrifying smiling mouth.
"Wail Smith."
"Jason."
Both participants began to draw their respective weapons. Wail, the masked man, pulled a dagger from beneath his robe. Meanwhile, Jason, the cold-faced bald man, drew a small sword from his waist.
More precisely, a stiletto, about one forearm long. He did not assume a stance and stood upright like a statue.
Mei Mei still wanted to watch a few more underground fights before she moved elsewhere. The second duel earlier was one-sided. A soldier (it seemed, as he carried a gun) against an unarmed martial arts expert.
You might think the winner would surely be the soldier with the gun, but it turned out the unarmed martial arts expert won. He could use intermediate-level body hardening magic and deflect bullets with his technique. Once the opponent was in his attack range, the soldier was instantly defeated, with a bruised face and battered body ten seconds later.
What about this fight? A fight between two mysterious men.
"The third duel of the second round of the Zhan Dou tournament begins!" Yuze exclaimed.
"Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou!"
In that instant, the bald man named Jason vanished from the arena. Disappeared in the true sense of the word.
Making the cheering spectators fall silent in shock.
Two seconds later, a stiletto was plunged into the back of the masked man's neck, piercing through to the front of his mouth, the blood-soaked tip of the stiletto protruding from the terrifying smiling mask.
Three seconds later, the masked man fell to the floor. Fresh red blood pooled heavily on the arena floor. Creating a wide pool of blood.
"How?... He disappeared and suddenly appeared behind his opponent's back?"
"His movements are so fast! Even we, who watched without blinking, don't understand what just happened!"
"What kind of magic is that? Teleportation? Can he use teleportation magic?"
The spectators' faces showed emotions full of confusion and fear at seeing magic they did not recognize at all.
Various questions arose. Who is Jason? Why is he here? Why did he immediately kill his opponent on the spot? What magic did he just use?
Mei Mei shivered seeing what just happened. She recognized that magic. But no human magic user (magician) should dare to use magic that approaches such darkness.
Yuze Tao and Jie Lin gasped, they were wary of Jason because he might be the perpetrator of the massacre that happened in the forest mountains last night.
Jason calmly sheathed his stiletto. Then raised both hands.
"I won. I'm here to be a Hunter. If you suspect me of being a serial killer or an enemy, you'd better check that corpse."
Yuze Tao and Jie Lin entered the arena. While Yuze Tao stood two steps in front of Jason, Jie Lin examined the masked man's corpse.
Opening the sleeve of his robe, an inverted cross rune was visible on the back of the masked man's right hand.
Jie Lin then signaled to Yuze Tao that Jason was innocent.
"You know him?"
Jason neither shook nor nodded his head.
"The winner of the third preliminary duel, Jason." Yuze exclaimed, but no one cheered for his victory.
The duel was too mysterious. Too strange. Too terrifying.
Whoever Jason was. No one dared to approach him or deal with him.
The cold-blooded killer.
***
In a small town. Beneath the magic academy.
A vast arena in the middle of the city. During the day, it was usually bustling with people, pack animals, or flying vehicles. Now, hundreds of enthusiastic people watched the duel held there.
Some were local and foreign residents who came, attracted by the lantern festival in Qincheng. Others, of course, were academy students and Hunters tasked with ensuring the safety and continuity of the duel.
The five-star Hunters and Shengxiao guardians there were the Rat and Ox Shengxiaos.
The female swordswoman named Bing Ruyue and the burly military man named Jun Taipei.
The fourth duel had just ended with one opponent surrendering. Now, the participants of the fifth duel stood in the arena.
"Numbers nine and ten. Introduce yourselves."
"Lee Jong Woon. Two-star Hunter from Korea." The handsome man wore a white shirt and black pants. He carried his country's traditional sword in his hand.
"Elizabeth Cassandra Mary Winsor." Elizabeth carried nothing in her hands. She could create her own sword from water.
"Winsor? That renowned noble family?" Lee Jong Woon smirked upon hearing it. "A princess. My opponent is a princess. It's an honor for me to duel with you."
"A princess, he said? That beautiful blonde girl is a princess from a kingdom in the West?"
"If she loses here, it will be embarrassing for her. Besides, for what is a princess dueling in a foreign land, far from her castle?"
"She must have easily made it to this duel round. She must have been accompanied by her guards to get here."
Elizabeth remained silent, hearing all the whispers. She felt no need to deny it, because she would prove that she came here tonight with her own strength.
"It's an honor for me, Mr. Lee. Thank you for going the trouble of spreading my good name."
Elizabeth cast a low-level water spell. Two water swords appeared in her hands.
"Dew of the night, forge sword for me."
Lee grinned, thinking of humiliating the seemingly confident princess with his spirit sword.
*She's just a princess who trains every day in the castle. I'm a two-star Hunter who fights Witches with my life on the line. It's impossible for me to lose to a spoiled princess like her.*
Both took their fighting stances.
Jun Taipei raised his hand outside the arena before shouting.
"The sixth preliminary duel of Zhan Dou, second round. Begin!"
As soon as the loud voice finished. Lee immediately lunged forward at Elizabeth. Closing a fifteen-step distance in an instant. Swinging his sword very hard.
Clang!
Lee was surprised that Elizabeth was able to receive and parry it. The man thought that the water sword was not as solid as a real sword. Because most water magic users he knew never used water solidification techniques. The water should be liquid and soft, and easily cut by something harder than it.
But Elizabeth was different; her mastery of water solidification was far above that of typical water magic users.
For years she had studied water magic in her castle, skipping the basic lessons in water magic, which is the flowing liquid form, and directly learning the next level, which is solidification.
Her teacher deliberately taught her that way, seeing Elizabeth's talent in swordsmanship. She saw Elizabeth's potential lay in her sword skills, which is why she taught her water magic directly to solidification techniques without teaching her the basic flowing.
"Heh! That's absurd!"
Lee was pushed back after ten exchanges of blows. Elizabeth's movements were agile and flexible compared to his. Two swords made of water should be light and soft. But each swing was equivalent to a real iron sword that could weigh more than two kilograms.
Elizabeth stopped her steps, seeing her opponent jump back very far. Several scratches were visible on Lee's clothes.
"How strange. Normally, water magic users focus their techniques on flowing water and drowning enemies or stopping opponents' movements with water balls. You are not normal! No water magic user focuses their techniques on such solidification."
Lee pointed his sword forward, gesturing at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth ignored him, her eyes focused on the fight.
"Is that all you have to say? Show me everything you've got."
Wielding one sword forward while the other was beside her face. Elizabeth smiled slightly.
Lee gritted his teeth, he began to cast a spell.
"This sword of mine is a special sword that has been blessed by a special-grade spirit. I can use some of that spirit's power to defeat you."
"웃음. 눈물. 두려움. 분노.
살아 있는 존재의 네 가지 감정을 내가 쥔다.
나는 행복의 정령을 부른다.
내 부름에 응답하라, 내게 행복을 내리라!
"Useum. Nunmul. Duryeoume. Bunno.
Sara inneun jonjaeui ne gaji gamjeongeul naega jwinda.
Naneun haengbogui jeongnyeongeul bureunda.
Nae bureume eungdaphara, naege haengbogeul naerira!
"(Joy. Sadness. Fear. Rage. I hold the four main emotions of living beings. I summon the spirit of happiness. Answer my call, bestow happiness upon me!)"
A yellow, human-faced spirit that laughed and had a worm-like body emerged from the sword and possessed Lee's body.
His face was smiling broadly, his grip became stronger. His footing became increasingly firm, causing the ground he stood on to sink slightly.
Elizabeth raised her sword. Preparing to meet the opponent's attack.
Leaping forward, Lee closed the distance with Elizabeth in an instant.
Swinging his sword, although Elizabeth managed to block his sword swing, the force of his swing was many times greater than before.
Clang!
Elizabeth was pushed back and sent flying ten steps to the side. It felt like stopping a fast-moving car.
Before her feet could touch the ground, Lee chased Elizabeth and launched a follow-up attack.
"Ugh!" Elizabeth didn't fully manage to withstand the second attack and her right arm was grazed. She was pushed back again by her opponent, stumbling several steps.
Before her opponent could catch up and perform the same slashing technique, Elizabeth first dropped her body to the ground. She lay down and let the sword miss above her face. Then Elizabeth rolled and stood back up.
"Quite agile, princess." Lee caught up to Elizabeth faster before Elizabeth could fully assume her stance.
But this time she would parry it.
Clang!
Lee's heavy slash was parried by Elizabeth with one sword in her right hand. She immediately seized the open gap with her left hand.
Lee dodged first and jumped backward. His chest was slightly grazed by the recent attack.
"Haha! Interesting! You're adding density to your sword, princess? That should make it heavy for you to lift that water sword."
Elizabeth smiled elegantly. She pointed the sword in her right hand forward.
"Forgive me for doubting your abilities a few seconds ago. But this duel is over."
"What do you mean it's over?"
"The winner of this duel is me. Your abilities are far below mine. That's why I said this duel is over. You lose, Mr Lee."
Offended, Lee became even angrier and began to use his strongest spirit technique.
"나는 분노의 정령을 부른다.
나를 채워라, 내게 분노를 내리라!
"Naneun bunno-ui jeongnyeongeul bureunda.
Nareul chaewora, naege bunnoreul naerira!
"(I summon the spirit of anger. Fill me, bestow rage upon me!)"
A red, human-faced spirit full of anger with a worm-like body emerged from Lee's sword and possessed his body. His face was now crimson, like a raging bull.
"I won't give you a chance, princess!!"
Elizabeth calmly watched every attack from her opponent.
Lee's movements became more agile, he suddenly appeared behind Elizabeth's back and stabbed her from behind. However, Elizabeth had anticipated it earlier. She kept her hands behind her back, deflecting Lee's attacks to the side.
Not stopping there, Lee, like a fly, continuously harassed Elizabeth.
Elizabeth danced amidst dozens of heavy slashes. Although slowly cuts began to appear on her body, Elizabeth remained calm and deflected her opponent's slashes to the side while her body continued to move as if dancing among dozens of fast and heavy slashes directed at her.
"You are greatly mistaken about my magic technique."
Lee had been making dozens of slashes for almost five minutes, harassing Elizabeth, who hadn't moved more than ten steps from her spot, yet none of the slashes landed squarely.
He began to tire, his breath ragged, and his body was burning hot as if on fire.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth? Although many cuts were etched on her body, she still smiled faintly with stable breathing.
"I don't need to use complicated magic techniques to defeat you."
Lee made a final slash and jumped back. He was wary that Elizabeth had already done something.
"What have you done, princess?! It's impossible for you to parry every one of my heavy slashes that can cut down a large tree in one blow?! You're using a sneaky trick!"
"Sneaky trick?" Elizabeth glared angrily at Lee, who was accusing her carelessly. "In the battlefield, there's only skill and strategy. If you can't accept your incompetence and foolishness, you are completely unfit to be a Hunter. Lee Jong Woon." Elizabeth's gaze was cold on Lee, who was so angry that the veins in his head bulged hard.
"YOU! HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME LIKE THAT!"
"Compared to last night, fighting you is something I don't need to worry about. I didn't even use intermediate water magic techniques. You are weak, accept it and go back to your country."
Lee stomped his foot so hard that it created a dust explosion on the ground. Step forward with explosion in his feet. Jumping high, cutting the distance in an instant.
He made a very hard wide sideways slash, creating a sharp cutting sound from the air, and the remnants of his slash left a long scratch on the ground.
"Queen Alice, why did you only teach Elizabeth the water magic solidification technique? Wouldn't she have the potential to become a high-level water magic user if you taught her the basics?"
Alice, a teacher and queen in Elizabeth's home kingdom, was once asked by one of the castle servants where Elizabeth lived.
She then pointed to the window. There, Elizabeth had been swinging her sword from yesterday morning until this morning again.
"Yes, she will become a high-level water magic user. More precisely, a high-level water sword knight."
With just one movement, Elizabeth leaned forward and slashed at whatever was flying in front of her face.
Lee's slash missed. Blinded by anger, he aimed for Elizabeth's neck to finish her off with all his might.
Knowing the direction of her opponent's slash, Elizabeth merely ducked slightly and stepped one foot forward while swinging her right sword upwards.
Lee's slash only cut a few strands of Elizabeth's golden blonde hair. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's soft and elegant slash cut his stomach.
So soft that Lee didn't realize he had just been slashed. He only realized it right as he knelt on the ground with an incredulous look at what he saw.
Blood immediately gushed out like a leaking pipe. Lee's sword fell from his hand.
He turned to Elizabeth.
"A beautiful slash... Princess."
Before his body fell unconscious to the ground.
"Uwooh! The princess won!"
"I knew it! Where's my betting prize?"
"She only used her sword technique to defeat her opponent! The princess! The water sword knight princess!"
Jun Taipei and Bing Ruyue immediately stepped into the arena. Jun Taipei raised Elizabeth's hand while Bing Ruyue gave an instant healing charm to cover Lee's wound.
"The winner of the fifth round elimination duel of the second round Zhan Dou tournament! Elizabeth Cassandra Mary Winsor!"
"Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou!"
***