Battle Royale (2)
The wind brushed past. Leaves rustled, and through them, golden light seeped in. I lowered my stance, eyes fixed ahead. Up in the trees. The figure standing in the shadows took one step forward. Sunlight slanted down. Golden hair. A lean build. And—those unwavering eyes.
“…”
I didn’t need words to know. It was Aurelia. She stood lightly on a branch, looking down at me.
“We met sooner than I expected.”
Her voice was calm. Almost completely devoid of emotion. I let out a short breath.
“…Yeah.”
There was no point in denying it. Once we encountered each other in this space, it was always going to end up like this.
A brief silence. The wind passed between us—and she was the first to move.
The moment her toes pushed off the branch, her body floated lightly into the air. A descent. But she wasn’t simply falling. In that same motion—the spear came down. A straight line. Fast.
I twisted my body a half-beat late. The spear tip grazed past my face. The air tore apart.
“—”
Before I could even speak, the second strike followed. The instant she landed, she spun. Twisting at the waist, the spear came again. This time from below, sweeping upward. I stepped back. One foot. Then a half-step. Creating distance.
But—Aurelia’s foot slammed into the ground. Short strides. She closed the gap in an instant. The spear tip pierced into my vision once more. I raised my sword.
Ting—!
The clash of metal rang out. Vibration shot through my wrist.
‘…She’s strong.’
It wasn’t just speed. The precision of her technique, the timing—everything was flawless.
Aurelia’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
“So you can block this much.”
A short remark. And then—she grew even faster.
The spear rained down in a continuous barrage. Thrust, deflect, thrust again. No gaps. I parried with my sword and retreated. I didn’t try to block everything outright. Taking it all head-on would only push me back. I dispersed the force, redirected the trajectory.
That was when—the spear tip suddenly changed direction. Faster than I’d anticipated.
“—!”
It grazed my shoulder. Pain. Short, but sharp. I clenched my teeth.
‘There’s no pattern.’
No—she was hiding the pattern.
That was when Aurelia took a step back. Distance opened between us in the blink of an eye.
“…”
She lightly twirled her spear. A flick of the wrist. A short golden arc traced through the air. Then—tap. She pressed the bracelet on her wrist.
In that instant, a thin light spread out and a translucent screen floated into the air. Her score and rank. And—the overall leaderboard.
Aurelia’s gaze scanned the screen. Then—it stopped.
“…There you are.”
A quiet murmur. Her eyes turned toward me.
“…You.”
Her voice was soft.
“1400 points. 72nd place.”
“You’ve already gathered quite a lot of points.”
I lowered my gaze to the bracelet on my own wrist—the same one Aurelia wore. Then I looked up again.
“You too.”
I’d already checked the overall rankings. First place, Aurelia—3700 points. An overwhelming lead among the 476 freshmen.
‘As expected.’
Top of the class. She hadn’t earned that title for nothing. She had already taken out several others.
A brief silence. And then—we both moved at the same time.
……
We kicked off the ground. The distance closed in an instant. Spear and sword. A head-on collision.
Kwaaang—!
The impact exploded outward. My wrist screamed. The force pushed against me. I gritted my teeth and held my ground. Aurelia’s eyes were right in front of me. So close our breaths could mingle. She murmured softly.
“…Interesting.”
In that moment—the spear slipped free like a snake. And then—it vanished.
“—?”
The instant it left my sight. From the side. I reflexively twisted my body. The spear grazed my flank. The sensation of skin tearing. Pain followed a beat later. I immediately created distance. Two steps. Then I reset my stance. My breathing had grown slightly ragged.
“…As expected.”
I muttered under my breath.
“This isn’t easy.”
Aurelia said nothing. She simply raised her spear again. And this time—it was different.
Her stance. Her center of gravity lowered ever so slightly. The angle of her feet. The position of her wrist.
‘Here it comes.’
I tightened my grip on the sword. In that instant—Aurelia’s foot moved. And then—at a speed completely different from before, too fast for my eyes to follow—she vanished.
“—!”
I twisted my body on reflex. Whoosh. The air tore. A beat later, pain followed. My flank. It had grazed me. Not deep. But—
‘Too late.’
I clenched my teeth. By the time I saw it, it was already too late.
Then—she vanished again. This time from above. Before I could even lift my head, I dropped low. The spear sliced through the space where my head had been. The sensation of hair being cut brushed past me. I rolled across the ground to escape and widened the distance. Two steps. Three. My breathing grew rough.
“…Ha.”
I exhaled sharply.
‘She’s fast.’
She was on a completely different level from the opponents I’d faced so far. If I tried to take her head-on—I’d be overwhelmed.
I fixed my gaze on her. Aurelia stood in the same spot as before. The same stance. Not a single hair out of place. As if—the attacks just now had all been nothing more than warm-ups.
“…You’re still holding on.”
She spoke quietly. There was no emotion in her voice. Just a statement of fact. During the entrance exam spar, she must have gone easy on me. Back then I thought I could at least keep up with her, but now I saw how wrong I was.
I didn’t answer. Instead—I took a step forward. One step. And this time, I moved first.
I kicked off the ground. The distance closed in an instant. Head-on. In a straight line. I brought my sword down. Hard. Fast. Aurelia’s spear rose to meet it.
Ting—!
The moment they clashed—I released the force and redirected the trajectory. My sword slid along hers like it was slipping past. And then—right below. Her waist. A short thrust.
“…!”
Aurelia’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. The shaft of her spear came down. Blocking. But—I wasn’t completely too late. The tip grazed her. Clearly. The sensation lingered at my fingertips.
‘It connected.’
In that instant—I immediately pulled back. I didn’t press further. If I got greedy—it would come back at me even harder. Aurelia didn’t pursue either.
A short distance. Silence. The wind brushed past. And then—Aurelia slowly opened her mouth.
“…This is a first.”
A short statement. I said nothing. Her gaze briefly flicked to my flank. Then it moved down to her own side. A very shallow cut.
“…”
Her expression didn’t change. But—the atmosphere shifted slightly. Once again, her stance lowered. This time—deeper than before. I tightened my grip on the sword.
‘Here it comes.’
My instincts reacted first. The next moment—the distance between us completely vanished.
Kwaaang—!
The collision was far stronger than before. My wrist screamed. My feet slid back. I clenched my teeth and endured. Aurelia’s spear continued in a relentless flurry. Above. Below. The side. No breaks. I blocked. Parried. Twisted. But—
‘I’m being pushed back.’
I was already using the Authority of Pride to its limit, suppressing Aurelia’s movements and reinforcing my sword with power. Yet the result didn’t change. Once. Twice. On the third exchange, my stance finally broke.
She didn’t miss the opening. The spear tip drove in deep.
“—!”
My shoulder. This time it struck true. Pain exploded. My vision shook for a moment. In that instant—Aurelia’s eyes pierced straight through me. She must have judged it was over.
But—I didn’t retreat. Instead, I took another step. Closer. Into her range.
“…”
For the first time, Aurelia’s eyes widened noticeably. The distance—was too close. A spear became more disadvantaged the closer the range. I gritted my teeth and pulled my sword up. We were practically pressed together. There was no way to dodge. No way to block. In that state—I swung. Short. The fastest possible arc.
The moment the trajectory my sword traced nearly connected—
That was when. My fingertips—hesitated.
“…?”
No. It wasn’t that I stopped. My body simply couldn’t keep up. I had already pushed too far. The strike I swung with my balance broken—the edge blurred. Aurelia’s spear pressed down on it with perfect accuracy.
Ting—!
My sword was knocked away.
“End.”
A single short word. And then—the spear tip came straight down. I couldn’t dodge. I couldn’t block. Not at this distance, not in this posture—
In that moment. Strangely, my mind grew quiet.
‘…Shall I help a little?’
It sounded like someone else’s voice. But it clearly echoed from inside me. My heart—thudded once, powerfully. My vision shook ever so slightly. Blink. It happened too fast. Before I could even register it properly, something swept across my sight. A faint screen. It was definitely—the status window. But before it could fully appear, it warped and blurred, then vanished immediately.
And then—I moved.
Whoosh.
The spear tip grazed past. It should have hit dead on. But—it missed.
“…?”
Aurelia’s eyes shook more violently than ever before. I took another step—deeper into her range. This time it was different. There was no hesitation. The sword fell in a straight line. The fastest path. The most precise spot. Like a wedge—it drove in.
“…!”
Aurelia twisted her spear. Blocking. But—she couldn’t block it completely. The tip grazed her. Clearly. Deeper than before. Her body was pushed back ever so slightly. Truly, just a fraction. But—it was clear.
‘It worked.’
I exhaled.
“…This.”
I muttered quietly. Something was flowing inside my body. It felt foreign, yet perfectly natural. As if it had always been there.
“…”
Aurelia looked at me. Her eyes were different from before. And then—she moved again. This time I was first. My speed increased. Faster than before. No—even at the same speed, it felt shorter. There were no unnecessary movements. The sword connected instantly.
Ting—!
The clash. But this time I wasn’t pushed back. Instead—I pushed her. Aurelia’s eyes narrowed. Her spear continued. Faster. Sharper. But—I could see it. I could read it. I parried everything and pressed in. Once. Twice. On the third—my sword struck true.
In that moment—I didn’t stop. I pushed all the way through. Now was the time. I had to seize this momentum.
But. Then—tap. Something snapped.
“…?”
My body suddenly grew heavy. My breathing faltered. My vision shook once. Overload. I couldn’t maintain this state any longer. Aurelia didn’t miss the opening. Her spear came again. Faster and more precise than before.
“…This time it’s really over.”
Her voice carried a hint of exhaustion. And then—the moment the spear tip reached right before my eyes, aiming to pierce straight through my center—my body was flung backward. My vision flipped upside down. And then—once more—blink. My sight cut out for the tiniest fraction of a second before reconnecting.
In that instant, the air warped as if split by a thin crack. Transparent fractures spread outward—and faint light leaked from within. Crackle. Along with a noise mixed with static, the light layered upon itself and began to take form. Letters flickered into view, distorted once, then realigned. And finally—in the center of my vision, the now-familiar status window appeared.
Mark of the Seven Sins
The Authority of Pride fully reveals its form.
"Pride mocks the providence of the world."
"It twists some of the world's physical and magical laws according to its wielder's will."
⟨ Authority of Pride ⟩
1. Pride scoffs at the laws of the world. It can twist certain physical and magical laws of the world according to the wielder’s will. The range and precision of this power are proportional to the user’s stats and proficiency.
2. ???
Current user does not have permission to view this information.
The screen shook violently for a moment. The letters distorted as if breaking apart, and unknown symbols flickered in and out. Then the window changed.
「Even God cannot raise His head before me.」
Pride does not stem from self-belief, but from the denial of others’ existence and the absolute conviction that nothing can stand above oneself. As a being who has shed all shells, it possesses flawless supremacy and elevates the self to a divine state. All things kneel before the Absolute. The heavens follow its will, and the earth obeys its command. This power transmits an overwhelming sense of superiority over all existence to everyone around it. No one can defy that being.
『Lucifer』🔒 (LOCKED)
It breaks the mold and transcends into the form of a flawless god. The Authority of Pride is the process of transcending the self and deifying one’s very existence, setting oneself as an absolute and inviolable law that scoffs at the world’s providence.
Detailed Abilities (Available to Current User)
1. Can twist certain physical and magical laws of the world according to the wielder’s will. Physical force can be exerted regardless of distance and is not limited by species. The range and precision of this power are proportional to the user’s stats and proficiency.
2. Can reinforce the body’s overall capabilities up to the limit where the body does not collapse. (Output is restricted by the system.) Higher levels of reinforcement are possible in proportion to the user’s stats.
Had time stopped? No—was it flowing slowly?
In that moment, a voice rang inside my head once more.
“This time, I will help you.”
“Prove that you are our master.”
It was the same voice I had heard earlier. I thought it was a hallucination… but it seemed I was wrong.
Mark of the Seven Sins — (Rank: Ego). The fact that the trait’s rank was ‘Ego’ really did mean it possessed its own will.
The fact that the reinforcement ability was restricted must have been for my sake. Even with that level of buff earlier, I had already suffered overload. Even if it was only up to the point where my body wouldn’t collapse, if I tried to accept this power as it was… I wouldn’t be able to endure it.
If I closed the status window—would time start flowing normally again?
Haa. Originally I would have been eliminated after landing just a few hits—but now that things had come to this, I had no choice but to win.
……
Aurelia’s spear tip looked as if it had stopped right before my eyes. No. It hadn’t stopped.
‘Did I… get faster?’
The spear’s trajectory—shifted ever so slightly. It grazed me. A strike that should have hit dead on.
“…You dodged?”
Aurelia’s eyes trembled. I took one step forward. It felt light. My body was strangely, impossibly light. As if all unnecessary strength had been drained away. There was no hesitation in the hand gripping my sword. I brought it down. At the fastest possible timing.
Ting—!
Aurelia reflexively raised her spear. She blocked it. But—it was too late. My sword slid in like a serpent. And then—it connected solidly.
“…!”
For the first time, Aurelia was clearly pushed back. I didn’t stop. One more time—the sword continued. There were no gaps. My body moved even before my thoughts. All unnecessary movements vanished. Every motion aligned with perfect precision.
Aurelia’s spear moved again. Faster. Sharper. But—I could see it. I could read it. No. More than that—
“It’s above.”
I moved atop that flow. I parried the spear, slipped into the opening, and cut again. Aurelia’s stance began to crumble. The moment I prepared the finishing blow—
User's body has reached its limit.
The Authority will automatically deactivate in 5 seconds.
Of all times. I was so close.
No matter how broken her stance was, the top student was still the top student. Aurelia was Aurelia. I didn’t have the confidence to finish her in five seconds. In that case—right now, in this state, I would use the remaining five seconds to create as much distance as possible.
Aurelia had also consumed a great deal of stamina, and to maintain her ranking she would need to defeat other students. She probably wouldn’t chase me to the very end. I hadn’t completely broken her—but the evaluators would still see that I had suppressed Aurelia. For now… I would have to be satisfied with this.
The battle with Aurelia was over, but the exam was not.