The elixir had a sweet taste.

It seemed to have a lot of sugar added for easier absorption.

At the same time I felt the blood flowing rapidly, hormones secreted by the brain poured down like a waterfall.

It was as if the narrow path in my neck couldn’t handle the hormones, and the back of my head ached on its own.

The sky I saw with my head tilted back was filled with dark clouds and streaked with static.

Rumble!

Of all places, why did that have to happen right above my head?

A bad feeling came over me.

What if this was the start of a string of misfortune, and the lightning struck me before the potion could even take effect?

This anxiety naturally turned my gaze toward Lilot.

It was when I was silently wishing that she would fall for me quickly.

Lilot, wearing a confused expression, clenched her teeth and gripped her staff tightly.

As I tried to dodge in a hurry, I ended up losing my balance.

At that moment, a familiar white light once again blocked my vision, and not long after, a deafening thunderclap struck my eardrums.

Feeling a tingling sensation brush past me, I slightly turned my head.

At the spot where I had just been standing, a black scorch mark was spreading.

Lightning had struck just behind me.

But the relief of surviving didn’t come first.

Because what I was feeling now was a pleasant sensation, a kind of euphoric intoxication.

Even relaxing my face just a little made my dimples ache as they popped up on their own.

Lilot must have thought I was smirking at her, because she aimed her staff at my face like a spear.

But strangely enough, my previous action had been to sweep my rain-soaked hair back.

Whoosh!

The staff lightly grazed my cheek.

While Lilot's eyes were filled with confusion, my heart thumped half a beat faster.

The rhythm wasn’t particularly fast, but it gave me a strange sense of calm.

And when I heard her voice, I came to one realization.

“...Did you dodge that on purpose?”

The affections I had felt for women until now had only amounted to mild interest.

“You're even more beautiful up close.”

“You damn bastard! What trick are you pulling this time?!”

Though she bit her lip in frustration and shouted in a way that was far from feminine, that very emotion added to her charm.

“Even that side of you, too.”

“Disgusting. Shut your damn mouth!”

Ah, my consciousness is fading.

Yet my mouth keeps moving on its own.

“If I want to hear that voice, I’ll have to keep talking.”

It felt as if something else was controlling my body.

**

“What the hell is going on?”

Athera asked.

The people around her had similar reactions.

When Hersel was on the defensive, they had cheered loudly, but ever since Lilot’s expression turned to confusion, the audience had gone silent.

“I don’t know either. Just a moment ago he was getting beaten up, but after dodging one lucky attack, the mood shifted.”

As Magdal said this, a snort of laughter rang out.

“As expected, you lot didn’t see it.”

It was Kerndel.

As all eyes turned to him, Kerndel shrugged and smirked.

“Well, that’s not surprising. It was a movement only visible to those who’ve reached a certain level.”

“...What are you talking about?”

“Hmph, your level is no different from Athera’s, Magdal. I suppose only one other person besides me noticed it.”

Kerndel pointed in a direction.

It was a reserved seat prepared specially for Valient.

Among the powerful figures seated there, one stood out with his white hair.

Ares, who no one had noticed arriving, was watching the match closely.

“Ares… Did he come because of Lilot?”

“Probably. Lilot is likely the most formidable rival Ares could have.”

But Kerndel thought otherwise.

“Not at all. Ares didn’t come because of Lilot. He came because of Hersel Ben Tenest.”

Athera looked at him as if he were pathetic.

“If he were participating as a knight, maybe. But he’s from the magic division—he can’t even use aura. You’re just blabbering nonsense again.”

“Hmph, how foolish, Athera. If you’d properly noticed what just happened, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

“What?”

“I saw it. Hersel Ben Tenest deflected lightning with his hand.”

This time Magdal shouted in disbelief.

“He can’t use aura, you blockhead! And you’re saying he did that? Stop pretending you know something and shut it!”

“Listen to this benevolent explanation, you worms. Even with rotten eyes, you must have seen him easily dodge Lilot’s attack. Do you really think that was just coincidence?”

He was clearly referring to the moment Hersel tilted his head to push back his hair and narrowly dodged.

Just as Magdal was about to yell as if it were obvious—

“That was clearly a fluke—”

Lilot’s staff swung toward Hersel’s legs, but Hersel instead stepped in closer, breaking her stance.

Thrown off balance, Lilot awkwardly fell and landed on her rear, as if she’d made a rare mistake.

Cold sweat ran down Magdal’s forehead.

“That’s not something you can do just by anticipating your opponent’s move. You need exceptional reflexes and a strong body.”

“But he can’t use aura?”

“Heh, you’re still thinking in such conventional ways. That mindset is exactly why you can’t progress.”

“Stop acting all high and mighty and just explain what’s going on.”

Kerndel opened his eyes, which he had briefly closed, and spoke in a serious tone.

“Divine Nerve Body Refinement.”

“Huh?”

“It’s the secret art of the Tenest family. A technique that rapidly awakens the body like a bolt of lightning.”

“...I think I’ve heard of it. But isn’t that done with aura?”

“Normally, yes. But Divine Nerve Body Refinement hides an even deeper secret.”

At the word “secret,” Athera and Magdal perked up their ears.

Seeing their attentive posture, Kerndel seemed satisfied and continued.

“When one reaches a certain level, they can activate it even without aura.”

“What?”

“Of course, the conditions are strict. First, the body must be trained to adapt to the speed normally achieved using aura. That process involves deep insight, endurance, and pain. But the reward is sweet. If you can activate Divine Nerve Body Refinement without aura, the body mistakenly believes the user is employing aura and draws out its latent potential to awaken itself. The principle is quite profound. Likely, only Hersel Ben Tenest and the Grand Duke can wield it this perfectly.”

Magdal and Athera nodded at what sounded like a rather plausible explanation.

Although they thought it was nonsense deep down, there was no solid basis to explain what was happening in the arena.

“As expected of the man who defeated me. So he’s already reached that level…”

Kerndel smiled wistfully with a sentimental expression.

Aol, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, glanced at Kerndel and thought to himself.

“That Divine Nerve Body thing really works like that?”

‘What the hell is that idiot babbling about?’

***

The opponent was full of openings.

Still, trying to mix things up, she feinted a punch but aimed to strike his abdomen with her foot.

However, the lightning that struck at that moment blinded her vision, and when the scene cleared again, Hersel was kneeling and picking something up.

Of course, her kick hit only empty air.

Hersel extended his open palm.

Lilot flinched in surprise and slipped on the rain-slicked floor with just a minor recoil.

Her attacks had been missing and clumsy mistakes kept happening since earlier.

Each time, sighs spilled from the audience.

In that moment of confusion and disconnect, Hersel looked at the button in his palm and spoke.

“Your button fell off. Here, take it. I thought it might be important to you, so I picked it up.”

Lilot slapped his hand away and quickly regained her stance.

“…What did you do to me? Did you curse me or something?”

“A curse? I’ve been cursing you internally, hoping your eyes would stay on me.”

His creepy nonsense made Lilot’s insides boil over.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seriously wanted to kill someone.”

Still, moments like these were when one had to stay calm.

Lilot measured the time it would take for her elemental charge to return and widened the distance from Hersel.

It was just the right time.

The sensation in her hand told her that the charged element was rock.

“The terrain is already set. Now I’ll focus everything into a single powerful attack.”

The area had been turned into rocky terrain since the start of the duel.

Lilot swung her staff, making the rocks shoot out spiked thorns.

The thorns spread in all directions to leave no escape route and shot toward Hersel, but they stopped just before touching his skin.

Rumble!

She hadn’t even finished swinging her staff when she was struck by lightning.

Only after hearing the sound did Lilot realize she had been hit.

“I’ve been making mistake after mistake… and now I got hit by my own lightning again? This is statistically impossible. Am I trapped in some kind of misfortune loop? If so…”

This time, the charged element was wind.

Lilot twirled her large staff in a circle.

Air started to gather around her, and the garments of the audience fluttered as if being sucked in.

“I weighed my pride against the irritation I’ve been feeling. It’s probably better just to knock you out of bounds.”

Even if she won, it wouldn’t feel like victory, but Lilot just wanted to end this situation quickly.

Because even the pebbles rolling on the ground seemed to radiate murderous intent, and the high-pressure wind condensed in her staff also cut sharply against her.

It was as if the whole world had turned hostile toward her.

“Don’t think about it. Just focus. If my mind slips even a little, the wind barrier will vanish.”

The wind barrier was a technique that required perfectly even airflow.

If any part became unstable, it would collapse into a vortex and disappear.

“Phew.”

Thankfully, she completed the technique perfectly, and the high-pressure wind spread out to form a thick wall.

It advanced slowly, as if pushing against the entire arena.

“Resistance is pointless. You’ll be pushed out by the wall.”

As she declared victory, Hersel widened his eyes and spoke.

“Ah, you wanted me to lose, didn’t you? Hmm, fine then. Judge? I—”

Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence.

A stream of blood trickled from his mouth—he must have accidentally bitten his tongue.

Lilot wasn’t particularly concerned by his strange behavior.

On the contrary, it was a satisfying development.

“Finally, that mouth will shut up.”

Her satisfaction was short-lived.

Unable to speak, Hersel suddenly opened his palm and began walking toward the edge of the arena.

Just one more step and he would be disqualified.

Even with a calm mind, it was impossible not to pay attention to such a sight.

“What? I’ve prepared all these spells, and now he’s just going to walk out?”

At that moment, a bird appeared out of nowhere and flew at Hersel.

He grimaced and waved his arms to fend it off.

Lilot tried to remain calm and observe, but a dark shadow from above made her look up.

Migratory birds—out of season.

“Huh?”

They flew over the arena, circling the area.

A few feathers broke off and gently floated down, landing right on Lilot’s face and tickling her nose.

“N-No, wait—Achoo!”

Startled by her own sneeze, Hersel began to stumble backward, and Lilot’s concentration broke for a moment.

“Damn it!”

A hole formed in the barrier, sucking in the surrounding air.

She tried desperately to restore it, but things only worsened, and the wind began to lift not only Hersel, but also the spiked rocks she had created earlier.

Lilot quickly charged a new element.

This time, it was her specialty—fire.

“Alright!”

Just as the thorns approached, she swung her staff and triggered an explosion that blew everything away.

“Go blow up along with those rocks!”

Unfortunately, Hersel’s relatively light body was simply pushed back by the blast and suffered less damage.

However, the powdered rocks rained down on Lilot, and she rubbed her eyes, coughing from the dust.

“Cough!”

But the agony didn’t stop there.

She felt another electric shock.

Even with resistance to the elements, the accumulated damage blurred her mind.

When her senses returned, her body had already gone limp.

Lilot realized she had been struck by lightning three times today.

It was all ridiculous.

The lightning, the rocks, the wind—she had created them all.

But they turned against her and attacked their creator.

She knew it was statistically absurd, likely the result of some curse, but she couldn’t think of a way to respond.

Eventually, even the strength in her tightly clenched fists gave out.

“Can I even win this? Everything gets worse with each move I make…”

It was as if a new law had been added to the world.

The unluckiest person alive is now Lilot—such a law.

This way of thinking naturally made her cautious in her actions.

As Hersel approached, she involuntarily stepped back, and with the experience that resisting only brought misfortune, she had no choice but to lower her hands.

At the moment she was being driven out of the arena—

Caught between her remaining pride and the man’s affectionate gaze, Lilot’s thoughts froze.

She felt a touch on her thigh and shoulder.

Hersel had wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up.

As his face drew closer, Lilot found herself thinking, “He really is handsome.”

He smelled nice.

His skin was clear and clean, and his nose was sharp.

Most of all, his blue eyes had a depth to them that captivated her gaze.

That appearance must have enchanted many women despite the bad rumors surrounding him.

What would happen next was obvious.

The love potion had made him fall for her.

The way he held her was perfect for a kiss.

Just as she went limp, surrendering to the moment—

Lilot felt a floating sensation.

“Huh?”

Her hair fluttered upward, and then a falling sensation made her heart drop.

“Aaaah!”

Lilot fell out of the arena.

Hersel looked down at her and smirked.

“Phew.”

A sigh escaped him.

‘Thank goodness the potion’s effect wore off.’

Otherwise, he might’ve kissed her in front of everyone.