Shattering the Crystal Throne
Crunch! Graaah, crunch!
The Magic Tool Crown.
The Crystal Throne expanded its domain as time passed, gradually encasing the colosseum in crystal.
On top of that, crystal soldiers kept being produced, fueled by Lucia's mana as their life force.
Hundreds of soldiers.
Thousands of weapons.
Every time Zien destroyed one, the crystal world spawned several more in its place.
This is just a war of attrition at this rate.
Zien looked up at Lucia.
As long as she sat upon the throne, the power of her Magic Tool was absolute.
Smashing the crystals is pointless.
To end a war, you had to capture the king.
Zien kicked off with a sharp crack, shattering five crystal soldiers into fragments where he'd stood moments before.
But.
The crystal space wouldn't allow Zien to approach Lucia.
Spears of crystal erupted from the ground, and arrows materialized in midair.
This was Lucia's domain.
By all rights, Zien should have been torn to shreds by now.
How is he holding out with just a single sword?
Yet Zien steadily closed the distance, dodging the onslaught like a storm of rain.
Without even an Artifact. Just pure swordsmanship...
To Lucia, Zien's sword dance piercing through the crystal barrage felt utterly beautiful.
He's strong.
This was Zien Russel.
Arcana's Sword God.
With resolute eyes, Lucia extended her hand.
"Pocket."
She pulled a flask from thin air—an Artifact, [Witch's Potion]. Absorbing it would make her mana surge wildly, like the witches of legend.
In exchange, her mana would more than double for the five-minute duration.
It was a double-edged sword, but Lucia gripped the flask without hesitation.
Shatter!
The flask broke, shards flying as the potion seeped into the wound on her hand.
Her red blood turned blue, and her entire body throbbed like a second heart.
Whoosh-crack!!
A massive crystal wall erupted between Lucia and Zien, piercing the ground. It demolished the colosseum's outer edges and stretched endlessly—an absolute defense.
But Lucia's power didn't end there.
"So you can't dodge it. So you can't deflect it. Right?"
Her voice echoed through the crystal world.
Thousands of crystal spears formed in the sky like icicles.
"Yeah."
Zien stared straight at Lucia.
If she had inherited the talents of Peil and Sina, then Zien carried the memories of Evan. All that experience and technique had melted into him.
"If it's possible."
Zien charged straight at the wall. Crystal soldiers surged like waves, but he refused to slow down.
"Swordsmanship is meaningless before Crown. This is probably your limit."
Now that she'd unleashed her Magic Tool Crown,
she was neither a swordsman nor a knight.
In this world blanketed by crystal, she reigned as empress.
"Bad matchup for you, Zien Russel."
In Lucia's eyes, Zien was just another swordsman. She pointed at him, and the sky-full of crystal spears rained down.
...Limit, huh.
Zien felt a bitter pang at her words. Peil, Lucia's ancestor, hadn't been gifted with innate talent.
People around him had drawn a line, saying his limit was 4th rank.
[But if the power Evan gave me is ordinary, that doesn't mean I have to live an ordinary life.]
That had been Peil's creed. His hidden talent. And so Peil had become a 7th-rank Saber, a hero etched in history.
"Limit" was the word Peil hated most.
"You're wrong."
Zien's sword sliced through the air, sparks flying as space itself tore open. The rift swallowed every crystal spear whole, leading to who-knew-where.
"...!!"
Lucia's face stiffened at the sudden Magic Art.
Zien accelerated further.
Lower left.
He twisted his body, and crystal stabbed where his foot had been.
Upper right.
He leaned back, and crystal ripped through empty air.
Dead ahead.
Zien's sword pulverized the crystal.
The closer he got, the more intense the bombardment, but Zien had awakened every cell with sensory amplification.
Air resistance.
Accelerated thoughts.
The whistle of slicing wind.
To Zien now, Lucia's attacks were as clear as an open-book test.
Thud!
He reached the stairs in no time.
Lucia clenched her left hand, where she'd injected the potion, her expression blank. Blue blood dripped, thickening the ice wall even further.
Can I break it?
Zien assumed his stance before the wall. His senses were amplified beyond measure now—one second splintered into a thousandth.
The frozen world was serene.
Zien gazed at Lucia beyond the thick barrier. A genius who'd never known defeat. But invincibility bred boredom.
It made talent feel precious, everything else trivial.
If he could shatter this wall,
he'd become Lucia's new wall, her goal to surpass.
[Moon Sword]
Black Fragrance absorbed Zien's everything, glowing with faint moonlight.
This was a virtual gate anyway. Zien didn't resist—he poured his full power into the blade.
"I can break it."
Black Fragrance traced a semicircle.
A single strike, senses heightened to the max. Slow to Zien, but a flash of light to Lucia.
Crack! Craaack!!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the seemingly eternal crystal wall. They raced to the end, and it shattered into nothingness.
Crash!!
Lucia stared in disbelief.
But she conceded quickly.
"I yield."
Lucia withdrew her mana.
Like sunlight melting ice, the crystal world seeped into the ground and vanished.
"Good work."
Lucia's lips quirked at Zien's unexpectedly warm tone.
He resembles him.
Zien was far stronger than that man, but in that moment, she felt a strange similarity.
Maybe the family head chose her brother as successor not because of strength.
Maybe strength never mattered from the start.
"I forfeit."
With Lucia's concession, the colosseum dissolved into particles from the edges inward.
Lucia felt hollow, but she'd gained much. She was a different person now than before the tournament.
...Zien Russel.
She savored the name of the man who'd broken her undefeated streak.
Zien slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the spotlight beaming down on him.
"Ah."
Next came the roar of the crowd shaking the arena.
-Waaaaah!!
Zien! Sword God! Arcana! Even cheers for Chris and Isabel—70,000 voices deafening him.
The sound made even Zien's heart race.
The audience wasn't just caught up in the broadcast spectacle.
They knew Sabers protected citizens from gates.
Zien's party had achieved this at just 17 years old.
Of course the crowd anticipated their future feats.
Millions of viewers worldwide welcomed the birth of a rookie powerhouse.
"Zien!!"
Chris came barreling over with pattering footsteps.
"Ehehe! Knew you'd win!"
Isabel eyed him coolly.
"Cut it out. He's probably still dizzy."
"Isabel, that hip toss was slick."
Isabel's eyes sparkled at Zien's praise.
"R-Really? Well, uh, I guess it was okay?"
Unlike her innate mana prowess, physical combat was Isabel's weak spot. That's why she always paid extra attention to her hand-to-hand skills.
As the cheers died down, Vernon grabbed the mic.
"Breaking news from G Channel just in: The sponsorship money the Arcana party's streamer received for winning Battle Survival..."
An unplanned prize.
Vernon, who'd been sweating bullets, shouted triumphantly—only one person would care, after all.
"...will not be reclaimed!"
Amy, who'd snuck out of the booth, screamed.
"Waaah!! Hic, for real? For real?! How much is this even?!"
"What kinda fuss over... 4,000?! 40 million coin?! In one day?!"
Chris froze like stone in shock. Even Isabel, daughter of the mage tower lord, found the sight baffling.
"Making a big deal over 4,000."
"Oh right! Participants, gather in the center!"
Amy wiped her mouth, snapping back to reality.
As she said, 96 participants and 32 streamers lined up in the arena's center.
"First place is over there!"
Celia Academy stood on the platform marked "2."
Zien's trio formed up around him protectively.
Bluma approached the center, handing over a plaque reading "500 million coin" with a smile.
"The first-ever Battle Survival champions! Arcana Party! Congratulations! Party leader Zien Russel receives the winner's prize of 500 million coin!"
Bluma switched off her mic and spoke to Zien.
"You won."
"Yeah."
"Knew you would. Congrats. Oh, Irel's getting docked pay thanks to you."
Hard to tell if Bluma was joking.
"She rated you like 3rd rank or something. Scout fail."
Her expression said she meant it.
Then Vernon butted in.
"Zien contestant! First time meeting? Thrilled!"
With ads on screen, he'd killed his mic too.
"You guys have faces made for TV, not just Saber work. Oh, shouldn't say that?"
Vernon chuckled, handing business cards to Zien and Isabel.
"Hit me up if you're into broadcasting. Broadcast Sabers are hot right now. Like me?"
Chris twitched an eyebrow at him.
"Me?"
"Whoa, Bluma, time for your lines."
Vernon kept the humor till the end and bounced. Arcana Party wrapped filming in high spirits over formality.
Not everyone celebrated Arcana's victory, though.
The VIP room overlooking the arena was rowdy.
"Het het het! No way! Who's this? The glamorous head of the prestigious Celia Academy! Raymond himself?"
Selphis laughed heartily at Raymond, his mustache nearly splitting his grin.
"...Ahem."
Raymond cleared his throat sourly, but Selphis kept teasing.
"Of course! Amazing school! Second only to our Arcana among the elites! How impressive!"
Selphis mocked with theatrical flair.
"Impressive! So impressive! How could there only be one number one, Raymond? If there's an Arcana first, there has to be a Celia second~ Right?"
Selphis bellowed "Wahaha!"
To him now, Zien was precious as the apple of his eye.
"Oh dear! What a blunder! Forgetting to boost funding for Zien's club! I'll triple it right now."
Selphis seriously planned to rob other clubs to fund Zien's party.
Since he became principal, Arcana had pursued a winner-takes-all system. Zien's party was the biggest success under his tenure.
"Getting old... forgetting stuff like this."
Selphis's favoritism was natural.
Even now, search trends buzzed with Arcana.
No other academy matched Arcana's fame anymore.
"What a lucky charm! A lucky charm joined us!"
Raymond had fled, but Selphis celebrated alone, laughing loudly.
"Keh het het!"
Someone timidly approached Selphis.
"Um~ Principal?"
"Hm?"
A familiar face, even to Selphis.
"You're from the newspaper club?"
"Y-Yes! Newspaper club president, Riel!"
Selphis and the newspaper club had an awkward history over Zien's interview.
"What is it?"
Riel knew society well.
Ask when they're in a good mood!
Selphis was at peak high from the Battle Survival win.
Riel flashed a winning smile.
"Hehe... Nothing much, but Arcana taking first among all regional academies! Isn't that huge?"
"Right! Spot on! Winning this makes Arcana top academy, basically!"
Selphis beamed; Riel nodded vigorously.
"Exactly! Shouldn't our newspaper club preserve this proud, historic moment?"
"Perfect pitch! That's the newspaper club's job!"
"Hehe, but our club budget's been kinda..."
Riel grinned, circling her finger for money. Selphis nodded.
"Can't do big things without funding! I'll boost it now! Het het het!"
"Yes!"
Riel beamed innocently at the approval.
Thanks, Zien junior!
Zien's win earned thanks from more than a few. Even outsiders tied to the school.
My Previous Life was the Strongest Sword God