CHAPTER 192: LEON VS EMILY

After giving a quick peck on Seraphine’s lips, he directly jumped down from the top floor into the arena.

So this is my stage. Let’s make it unforgettable.

It was the height of a five-story building, and Leon jumped from it as if it were nothing. The audience’s eyes were fixated on him instead of Emily, who had just made her proper entry through the side hall of the arena. The cheers she was supposed to receive in full force stopped midway. She didn’t like it one bit, but even she was surprised when she saw a man falling from the top of the arena.

Her thoughts echoed those of many others in the audience who held their breath.

The fool would either die or be crippled.

Especially the few in the crowd who were not lucky enough to be awakened. They thought the one jumping was stupid.

Leon’s feet slammed onto the solid black marble floor of the arena. He didn’t even try to decrease his speed using his wind element and just let himself fall—he didn’t need to.

BOOOOM!!

The vibration rattled the crowd’s chests, a deep thrum echoing like a drumbeat. There was no dust cloud or anything messy. Instead, the foolish man landed perfectly on both feet, forming a small crater in the ground.

For a moment, silence was the only thing that lasted inside the arena. Still, when reality sank in, loud cheers erupted across the stands. This was what they had paid exorbitant prices for—this was the spectacle they wanted.

"Wooooow!!!"

"Did you see thatttt!!!"

The announcer didn’t wait, and his mana-amplified voice resounded across the arena.

"THERE YOU HAVE YOUR ANSWER! THE FIRST FIGHT FOR THE QUEEN OF DECEIT WASN’T GOING TO BE JUST HER PERFORMANCE—IT SEEMS A NEW DARK HORSE HAS ENTERED THE ARENA!"

"ARE YOU EXCITED!!"

"YAAAYYY!!!"

People were ecstatic. A new contender had entered, a powerful man, and his opponent was the infamous Queen of Deceit. They didn’t have to wait until the later parts of the competition to see a real heart-thumping clash between genius Awakeners.

Emily looked at the white-haired young man at the other end of the arena. This was supposed to be her chance to gain even more popularity across the world. Still, this insufferable man had stolen her show just by jumping off the top floor of the arena in front of these clowns of an audience.

So what if he jumped off the top of the arena? I can do that too. He’s not any more special than I am.

Yet, despite her confidence in victory, she had to admit he did have some physical strength. This buffoon probably has a class related to the physical body and is showing off in front of me. Just wait—I’ll spin you around my finger when the fight starts.

She wasn’t going to entertain the fight for long. She planned to finish it quickly to shut the chants of those few muscleheads who had started cheering for him.

Leon arrived in the middle of the arena, much closer now to a woman who looked to be around twenty-four years old. She had sharp features, a slightly longer nose, a slim face, and her lips, reminiscent of purple, looked sharp and charming. Her eyes had a much lighter shade compared to Seraphine’s, her long black hair flowed down her back, and her slim body carried multiple daggers strapped around her figure. At five feet nine inches tall, she could be considered beautiful in normal people’s eyes.

From her posture, Leon could tell she was well-trained in close combat as well. Hearing the cheers of her nickname, Queen of Deceit, in his ears, he was curious to see what she had to show him. Depending on her performance, he would decide whether to finish it quickly or let her breathe a little.

The announcement voice broke the silence between them as they gauged each other.

"Are you both ready to fight?"

A curt nod was given by both him and her at the same time. Seeing this, the announcer quickly left the arena to the side. His speed was relatively fast, showing he was a strong Awakener himself.

Leon could feel he was much stronger than the girl in front of him, but still, too weak compared to him.

This won’t even be fun...

BANG!

The sound of a mana bullet echoed, indicating the fight had started.

Leon didn’t move. He just stood in place, his stance completely relaxed, his expression even more easygoing.

Emily felt pissed at being underestimated by his body language, but she didn’t waste words. She quickly unsheathed a dagger in each hand—shhhk! shhhk!. She was going to finish it quick. If the fight ended too fast, it would be his own foolishness. She had expected it to last at least a few minutes, considering his physical prowess, but not anymore—not when the man in front of her was this stupid.

The few who had cheered for him earlier because of his brazen jump now stopped their chants and returned to cheering Emily. To them, the man was arrogant, and he needed to be reminded of who he was standing against.

Instead of gaining cheers, Leon had gathered many haters, people shouting at the top of their lungs against him.

The swell of noise pressed against Leon’s back, a hot wall of scorn and laughter.

Heh. Took no effort at all to gather a mob. Well, let’s see who laughs later...

He ignored them. He knew that at the end their mouths would be shut and wide open when the real game began—when Malverick, the Duke’s eldest son, would be his opponent. That was when he planned to take his time thoroughly.

In a distance, Seraphine, sitting in her seat, was tempted to fire a thunderbolt into the crowd hating on her Leon, but she held back because she knew their chants would take a 180 soon enough.

Emily didn’t even bother to use her elemental affinity or class ability. She didn’t think this entitled buffoon would even match her in physical combat.

The crowd’s roar pressed down like a storm, every jeer and cheer crashing together until it felt like the air itself was trembling.

She quickly rushed forward—fwssh! fwssh!. To the crowd, it looked almost like she blurred, but to Leon, it was as if a snail was coming at him.

That’s cute... she thinks she’s fast.

The air split with a faint whistle as her daggers cut forward.

She was too slow. But still, he didn’t make his move. Her dagger came from the left, aimed at his ribs. He easily sidestepped while faking a yawn. She thought she had him when she followed with another strike aimed at the center of his stomach, predicting his dodge.

He intentionally walked into her trap only to dodge it at the last moment.

"Careful. If you swing too hard, you’ll trip."

The dagger’s edge kissed the emptiness, a whisshh of steel grazing air where his ribs had been a heartbeat before.

Emily was surprised when he dodged both her attacks—even the trap she had set. But she brushed it off, calling it a fluke. She didn’t even bother to entertain his comment.

"Careful with those toys. You might cut yourself."

She ignored it once again. I can’t fall for such a simple trick. I won’t let myself be overwhelmed by anger during the fight.I am not a idoit.

So she continued with even more intensity, aiming for vitals that would render him helpless without killing him outright.

But it didn’t last long. For two straight minutes, she wasn’t able to land a single hit.

Every time she tried to hit him, somehow in the last moment, he would dodge her.

In desperation, she struck at whatever openings she saw, throat, lung, or heart—it didn’t matter anymore.

And still, she noticed the leisurely look on his face. Not once had he tried to attack her.

"You’re consistent. I’ll give you that."

This is getting boring... maybe I should end it soon.

"You’ve got stamina. Shame it’s wasted swinging at the air. You’d have made a fine farmer."

Backing off quickly, glaring at him for the disrespect of not attacking once—and those words starting to irritate her a lot—she decided to go all out. This white-haired man in front of her was no easy foe—he might even be trouble.

Farmer!? Toys!? Mock me again and I’ll make you regret every word...

She had her elemental skills and class ability. She wondered if he could dodge those.

A dangerous glint appeared on her face, knowing the answer.

"Foolish man, the match would have ended in your favor if you had acted when you had the chance. Now, you won’t even discover how it concludes." For the first time, she spoke up, fully aware that this would be the last thing he heard from her before she walked out of this arena, leaving him in humiliation.

The mana inside her body stirred as mysterious energy enveloped her. The crowd watching the arena fell silent.

Her aura howled—WHOOOMMM!!—rattling the loose stones of the arena floor.

"Took you long enough. I was getting sleepy."