Arc 2 Chapter 21 : Raul de Garcia Vs Vlad Mel Dracus

[Elena PoV]

It was his turn to fight now.

Would he actually win this time?

Still, after getting to know him this well, he always seemed to find a way through whatever problem he faced, even with limited abilities.

This time, his opponent was Prince Vlad, who possessed that unique blood-based Nature Mana. The Empire knew very little about that kind of magic, which was exactly why Valeria had lost to him yesterday.

—Tap... tap... tap...

Hearing footsteps to my right, I turned. A green-haired woman with braided hair was about to sit down beside me.

"Valeria? You actually showed up," I said to her.

"Of course. It's finally time for him to fight the man who beat me, isn't it?" she answered, crossing her arms. "I'm curious how he's going to deal with that spell that lets him control someone else's body."

That was true — Prince Vlad still had that mysterious spell up his sleeve. No student had figured out exactly what kind of magic he was using so far.

Even if I were the one fighting him instead of Raul right now, I genuinely had no answer beyond dodging his attacks or ending the match as quickly as possible, before whatever spell he carried could ever take hold of me.

How was he going to handle this magic?

"Still, I'm sure he'll find a way to deal with it," Valeria said, smiling. "He's never failed to leave his opponents baffled with his tactics and plans, always one step ahead of them."

What Valeria said was true. Raul might not have devastating, large-scale spells at his disposal. Yet somehow, he always managed to match us using his limited magic.

Before long, I saw Raul emerge from the tunnel leading to the field. Prince Vlad followed shortly after him. But why did the prince's expression suddenly look so furious after coming down from the stands?

Earlier, he'd looked absolutely thrilled, finally getting his turn to fight.

Had Raul said something to provoke him in the corridor?

"Defeat that rotten noble, Prince!"

"Make him pay for his dirty tricks against Leader Emilia!"

I heard jeers and insults being hurled at Raul from the Lancer Club's section of the stands. It seemed they were still angry about losing the bet we'd made earlier.

[Raul PoV]

The two of us now stood in the middle of the field, cheers wishing for my death in this match echoing around us.

"Kill him, Prince!"

"Torture him until his mind breaks!"

The shouts seemed to be coming from the Lancer Club's section of the stands. It seemed they still held a grudge over yesterday's match.

"Quite a few people want you dead in this match," Vlad said, smiling at me. "You know, I'd be more than happy to grant their wish."

"Can you, though?" I asked, deliberately belittling him to provoke a reaction.

His smiling expression twisted into irritation the moment I said that.

"Are both competitors ready!?" the announcer asked.

We both nodded. Vlad clenched his fists, clearly impatient to start pummeling me.

"Then, the third match of round two in the Grunbelt Academy Tournament, begin!"

The moment the announcer declared the match underway, I saw Vlad immediately activate Accel and Temper magic, charging toward me.

He threw a right hook, and I shifted slightly to the left to dodge. But Vlad didn't stop there, spinning his body counterclockwise to launch a Spinning Back Fist aimed at my head.

I blocked his strike with my left arm, activated Temper magic in my right hand, and threw a punch straight at Vlad's face.

—Bam!

Vlad's body flew backward and rolled across the ground.

"Damn it!" he cursed, getting back to his feet.

"Judging by how sloppy your technique is, you're clearly not a Brawler," I told him. "Why fight bare-handed when you don't even understand how they fight?"

"Shut up! I'm doing this because I want to torment my enemies with my own two hands!" he answered, readying his stance again.

Quite the stubborn kid. Alright then, let me teach you how to actually land a Spinning Back Fist.

Activating Accel magic, I charged toward Vlad. He looked ready to take on whatever attack I threw at him.

I then delivered a hard kick to his leg. Vlad tried to block it, but he couldn't fully absorb the force of my kick, his body trembling slightly from the impact.

Not stopping there, I unleashed a combo of punches against him. He struggled to dodge and parry my strikes.

—Bam!

I delivered another hard kick to his leg. He winced in pain and leapt backward to put some distance between us.

I pursued him again, refusing to let him catch his breath at all.

Raising my leg slightly, giving the impression I was about to kick again, I saw Vlad's gaze lock onto my right leg. But I had no intention of kicking at all — it was purely bait for my real attack.

In an instant, I shifted my attack pattern, spinning my body clockwise and unleashing a Spinning Back Fist.

—Bam!

My fist slammed into his face with full force, sending his body flying backward again.

Since his focus had been locked entirely on my leg, he had no time to react to my actual attack.

Ha! That's exactly how you land a proper Spinning Back Fist!

Vlad got back up, clutching his cheek, glaring at me with pure hatred.

"Let's stop playing around!" Vlad shouted, smiling once more. "The real fight is just getting started!"

The moment he said this, blood suddenly erupted from his body, floating and forming into six solid red shuriken.

"So, when exactly were you planning to torment me bare-handed?" I asked, gesturing toward the six floating shuriken.

"Shut up! After this, I'm going to beat your face into an ugly mess!" he answered, launching the shuriken toward me.

I drew my sword and parried the incoming shuriken. But Vlad had already formed a sword out of his own blood, charging in to unleash a powerful slash against me.

—Clang!

I blocked his slash, but the force of Vlad's swing still pushed my body back slightly.

Faintly, I sensed something approaching from behind and immediately ducked.

—Swosshh!

Several shuriken struck at my blind spot again. Fortunately, I noticed in time and dodged.

But this time, Vlad gave me no time to rest, charging at me again alongside the shuriken.

—Tang! Tang! Clang!

I parried and dodged the shuriken, but Vlad was already poised to slash at me again.

I barely managed to block it, but my body was pushed back once more, unable to fully absorb his strike.

"Who's talking now, huh!?" Vlad shouted, continuing his relentless assault. "You've suddenly gone quiet now that the fight's not going your way!"

I was struggling to mount a counterattack.

That's because, on top of having to dodge his ever-pursuing shuriken, Vlad kept attacking me the instant I found any opening to move.

But that was fine.

I'd let him think he was winning first, before finally taking him down and beating him senseless later.

[Valeria PoV]

The match had been going for five minutes. At first, Raul held the advantage while they fought bare-handed. But now, Raul had been cornered ever since Prince Vlad started using his magic.

"Prince Vlad's magic seems quite troublesome," Princess Elena said, her gaze still fixed on the field. "That blood blade keeps chasing Raul, even after he's neutralized it so many times, restricting his movement, which the prince keeps exploiting to attack him."

Princess Elena's words rang true. I'd struggled greatly to get rid of those blood blades myself, when I'd fought him.

Even when destroyed, the blood blades would simply reform and continue their pursuit, just like before. It seemed the only real solution was attacking Prince Vlad himself, the one controlling the blood-blade magic.

But I'd already tried that with my golems. Still, Prince Vlad managed to control his magic exceptionally well, even while cornered.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

He possessed truly remarkable mana control.

Back to the match. Raul was currently trying to dodge and parry the blood blades constantly aimed at him.

Prince Vlad unleashed a horizontal slash the moment he saw Raul struggling to evade. Fortunately, Raul managed to block that attack.

But the prince didn't stop his assault. He followed with a kick aimed at Raul's head, but Raul managed to dodge that in time as well.

Just as Raul tried to counterattack Vlad, the blood blades came chasing after him again, forcing him to abandon his counter and leap backward to dodge.

Still, a cut appeared on Raul's right cheek. Blood began trickling down his chin.

That's right — one of Prince Vlad's blood blades had managed to graze him while he dodged.

Prince Vlad then caught the blood blade that had cut Raul's cheek. He licked the blood clinging to it.

"Hahaha! Any last words before I destroy you in this match, Raul de Garcia!" Vlad shouted, laughing uncontrollably.

Why would he lick Raul's blood like that? Was this some strange habit of his?

"..."

But what I saw next left me utterly stunned.

Out on the field, Vlad began moving his fingers, exactly the same way he had when he'd controlled my own body during our match yesterday.

Raul dropped his sword and the Limiter ring he wore, the one meant to prevent participants from being killed during the tournament.

"That's it! Blood is the reason he can control someone's body!" I suddenly blurted out loudly.

The other participants watching the match all turned to look at me, clearly puzzled.

"What is it, Valeria? Did you figure something out?" Princess Elena asked, sounding curious.

"I figured out the reason Prince Vlad can control someone's body however he pleases!" I answered her. "But to activate this ability, he first has to lick blood from his enemy."

Hearing my explanation, Princess Elena touched her chin, deep in thought. "Is that so? Then does that mean Raul's going to lose, now that Prince Vlad's already taken control of his body?" Princess Elena asked, looking worried. "He also made Raul drop the Limiter ring he was wearing — does that mean he intends to actually kill Raul in this arena!?"

My heart felt heavy hearing this from Princess Elena.

I refocused my attention back on the field. Raul was walking slowly toward Prince Vlad, who was laughing loudly.

This was exactly like when I'd lost to him yesterday.

Would Raul lose too?

Raul now stood right in front of Prince Vlad. Honestly, I didn't want to watch this. I didn't want to see Raul suffer the same defeat I had.

If that happened, nothing would change, and there'd be nothing left to convince me to move forward from my own defeat.

"Time for the torture to begin! Hahahahaha!" Prince Vlad shouted, launching a punch straight at Raul's face.

"..."

"..."

But what happened next left me unable to believe my own eyes.

Every participant watching looked shocked, even Vlad's own face showed disbelief.

Raul de Garcia, whose body I'd assumed was already under Prince Vlad's control, suddenly dodged his punch.

"Radical Blow!"

After shouting the name of his technique, Raul immediately unleashed a barrage of punches at Prince Vlad's face, solar plexus, and ribs.

He then delivered one final, devastating punch straight to the prince's face, sending him flying and crashing to the ground.

"Valeria! What's happening!?" Princess Elena asked me. "You said Prince Vlad had already taken control of Raul's body? Why is he still able to dodge and attack the prince!?"

Ughhh... even though you're asking me, I honestly have no idea what's really going on either.

Prince Vlad coughed up blood after being pummeled repeatedly by Raul, his face full of confusion at what had just happened.

"It seems like Raul's body should have been under Prince Vlad's control," I answered Princess Elena. "That much is clear, seeing how confused Prince Vlad looks too. I have no idea how Raul managed to break free of the prince's spell at the last moment."

Why? How? And what?

Those were the questions filling my head right now. I couldn't understand how Raul always seemed to plan things one, two steps ahead of his enemies.

Just like during the survival exam, somehow he'd been able to craft a plan that let him single-handedly defeat hundreds of students from our alliance.

This time was no different. It seemed this wasn't a coincidence at all, but something he'd planned from the very start.

Raul de Garcia... even without powerful spells at his disposal, his tactics and the way he carried himself in battle made this man absolutely terrifying.

[Raul PoV]

My plan to catch him off guard had succeeded.

"Ho-how did you escape my Profound Codex — Assimilate!?" Vlad shouted, trying to stand back up despite his wounds.

Truth was, I'd never been under the influence of his spell at all. That's because I'd drunk the Randomize Blood potion Barney had brewed before the match.

That potion kept my blood continuously shifting for a full hour. Which meant that by the time Vlad used Assimilate to match his blood to mine, my blood had already changed again, no longer matching whatever he'd copied.

Leaving him completely unable to control my body at all.

I'd simply pretended to be under his influence so I could close the distance and beat him senseless the moment he let his guard down.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! This hurts so much!"

Vlad looked furious now, but then he smiled and started laughing again.

"Hahaha! I never imagined I'd end up using this Profound Codex against an academy student!" Vlad shouted, his black hair suddenly beginning to turn white.

Here it comes...

Vlad was about to use another one of his Profound Codexes...

"I'll show you true horror, Raul de Garcia!"

The wind began to stir as an immense pressure of mana emerged throughout the arena.

Before long, blood erupted from Vlad's back, forming four solid tentacles he could move however he pleased.

White hair, red tentacles, a face twisted with madness — for some reason, Vlad's current appearance reminded me of a one-eyed ghoul protagonist from a famous anime, someone who'd transformed from human into monster.

He then began walking slowly toward me.

—Crack!

Suddenly, he flashed a manic smile at me, cracking his knuckles one by one.

"Now, it's my turn to torment you completely, Raul de Garcia!" he screamed, like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Hoo~ Earlier you were talking about breaking Elena's mind or something like that," I said, trying to provoke him. "But with power this weak, I doubt you'll actually pull that off."

Vlad's smiling expression twisted into irritation at my taunt.

"Shut your mouth! In this mode, I could take down three instructors from the Kingdom of Draconia's academy all by myself!" he shot back, readying his stance to attack. "But right now, you're the one I'm going to finish off!"

The four red tentacles on Vlad's back began extending toward me at speed.

I quickly activated Acceleration magic to dodge, then swiftly retrieved the sword I'd thrown aside earlier.

I needed to avoid touching those tentacles with my bare hands as much as possible. That's because his blood tentacles carried a poison capable of weakening the body's nervous system with prolonged contact.

This was Vlad's other Profound Codex — Bloody Ghoul.

"Don't you run, lowlife!"

Grabbing my sword, I spun around and saw all four tentacles about to slam into me with brutal force.

—Clang!

I blocked with my sword, but the attack was so powerful it still sent me flying, slamming into the arena wall.

Ughhh... his strength was far greater than I'd anticipated.

In this mode, Vlad's power multiplied several times over. Blocking his attacks wasn't the answer, but dodging would prove difficult too, unless I used one of my own Profound Codexes — Prince of Darkness.

But Vlad wasn't about to give me time to analyze the situation, swinging his tentacles at me again.

Using Accel magic, I quickly moved to dodge, watching the arena walls begin to crumble under the force of Vlad's tentacle strikes.

Truly terrifying power.

I needed to close the distance if I wanted any chance to attack. Knowing this, I charged straight toward Vlad.

He smiled and extended his tentacles toward me again.

I dodged the first tentacle with a spinning sidestep, then continued my charge.

The next tentacle came at me — I slid beneath it. But I couldn't stop there, quickly leaping into the air using Axio magic to dodge another of Vlad's tentacles.

"You can't dodge in midair, die!" Vlad shouted, extending his fourth tentacle toward me.

Activating Repel to reinforce my body and Temper to strengthen my sword simultaneously, I braced myself to block Vlad's attack.

—Tang!

My sword clashed against the tentacle, sparks flying from the impact.

My hand trembled, struggling to hold back this overwhelming force. Before long, my sword slipped from my grip, unable to withstand the tentacle's pressure. Still, I'd managed to close the distance to Vlad.

Landing on the ground, I saw his face twist with shock that I'd managed to block his tentacle attack at all.

"Radical Blow!"

I unleashed another combo, striking his solar plexus, jaw, and ribs. After six hits, I delivered a devastating punch straight to his blood-soaked face, sending him flying far.

My breathing had grown ragged, my body already exhausted. Still, even after taking two of my strongest combo attacks, the Limiter attached to Vlad's body hadn't activated at all, meaning he hadn't been eliminated from the tournament yet.

"Aghhh... damn it! This hurts so much! You bastard, you damned human!"

Vlad got back up, struggling to even stand now. But I felt a powerful surge of mana pressure emerge once more.

Blood began erupting from Vlad's body again, clinging to the white-haired man's entire form, forming a kind of armor.

It seemed he'd already mastered stage two of his Profound Codex. This was the first time I'd ever faced an enemy capable of using stage two of their ability.

"This time, you won't be able to touch me, Raul de Garcia!" Vlad shouted, growing four additional tentacles from his back.

Stepping back, I retrieved my sword, which had fallen earlier.

Vlad extended his tentacles toward me again. Quickly activating Accel magic, I tried to dodge every one of his attacks.

A thunderous crash echoed as the tentacles slammed into the arena wall.

I then saw Vlad plant his foot into the ground.

That movement... could it be!?

I quickly leapt into the air using Axio magic, and suddenly, a dozen solid, branching tendrils of blood erupted from the ground like a tree.

Vlad had used his foot to send his blood underground, hoping I wouldn't notice, so he could unleash a surprise attack while I was distracted.

"Tch, you noticed that too!" Vlad cursed, clearly irritated. "But my attack isn't over yet!"

Six tentacles then lunged at me while I was still in midair.

I twisted my body, trying to dodge the incoming tentacles. But one of them managed to catch my leg.

"Got you!"

I tried cutting through it with my sword, already enhanced with Avilar sharpening magic. But not a single scratch appeared on the tentacles.

Such a troublesome ability!

The tentacle swung my body around and hurled me with tremendous force, slamming me into the arena wall.

Ughhh... it felt like every bone in my body had shattered. He'd thrown me with incredible force.

I needed to close the distance if I wanted to defeat him. But with the blood armor covering his body, wounding him seemed nearly impossible.

I needed to take him down in a single strike. Otherwise, those tentacles would be the ones to end my life.

I'd already discarded the Limiter I was wearing. Which meant I could actually die in this match. But this was part of my plan all along, to defeat Vlad and break through the armor he wore.

I needed to suffer, to draw closer to death, for my attack to reach its maximum strength.

"What's wrong, Raul de Garcia?" Vlad asked, smiling at me. "Are you already dead from an attack like that?"

I tried to get back up, using my sword to support myself.

"The fun's only just begun!" Vlad shouted, raising all eight of his tentacles again. "I won't kill you until I've had my fill tormenting you completely."

Tormenting me, huh? Well then, I'll gladly accept that!

Activating Accel magic again, I charged toward Vlad once more. Seeing this, he smiled and aimed his tentacles at me again.

I tried to dodge, shifting into a defensive stance for now. Several tentacles still managed to strike my body.

Overwhelming pain surged through me until I coughed up blood.

No... this still wasn't enough. I needed to suffer more, draw even closer to death, if I wanted to defeat him.

I got back up and charged toward Vlad again.

"Hahaha! Have you lost your mind? Attacking me head-on over and over!" Vlad said, extending his tentacles toward me again. "Have you given up? But I won't let you die that easily! I'll torment you here until you beg me to kill you!"

The tentacles slammed into my body with brutal force again. I could even feel my left shoulder dislocate from the impact.

My vision blurred, blood covering my head, leaving me with an overwhelming dizziness.

I think it's time to activate my other Profound Codex — Vengeance.

Rising back to my feet, I activated Accel magic, charged toward Vlad, and began chanting an incantation.

"Cast off my wrath..."

Four tentacles came at me. I sharpened my focus and began dodging with acrobatic precision.

"Clothe me with rage... destroy my enemy into nothingness..."

Vlad extended his remaining four tentacles to block my approach.

"Your fate is to die by my hand, Raul de Garcia!"

Running in a zigzag pattern, I managed to dodge his remaining four tentacles.

Vlad then aimed both his palms at me. It looked like he was about to fire Bloody Burst at me.

"Take this, Bloody Burst!"

A high-pressure stream of blood, like a laser beam, shot out from both of Vlad's palms. I used Axio magic to leap into the air, dodging it.

"Aggghhhh! Die already!"

Vlad raised both palms, trying to redirect his blood attack toward me. But his effort was in vain — I landed and used Charging to instantly appear right in front of him.

"Plus Ultra..."

Vlad looked shocked that I'd appeared before him so quickly.

My right hand began emitting a thick, black aura, signaling my spell had activated.

"Full Vengeance of... Smash!"

Striking his chest with everything I had, a cracking sound echoed the instant my fist connected with his body.

—Crack!

"Th-this can't be! My armor should have been impenetrable!" Vlad shouted, refusing to believe what had just happened.

"Arghhh! To infinity and beyond!"

The moment I shouted those words, Vlad's body was sent flying with tremendous force from the impact of my punch, now empowered by Vengeance.

—Boom!

His body slammed into the arena wall, producing a deafening crash, leaving a massive crack across the surface.

The blood armor covering Vlad shattered instantly, his blood tentacles vanishing along with it. Before long, the Limiter he wore activated, signaling Vlad had been eliminated from the tournament.

"The winner of the third match, Raul de Garcia!"

Silence fell as the announcer declared my victory to every spectator in the arena.

My vision began to blur...

My body collapsed, and my consciousness began slipping away.

"I... won..."