Chapter 226: Shocking Scene (2)

He had never expected her to attack him like this.

A Guide?

Was this woman really a Guide?!

"Get off me!"

Summoning whatever strength he had left, Jayden shoved Aisha away from him.

She was momentarily pushed back, and he seized the opportunity to roll onto his side and crawl away.

He needed to get up.

He needed to retrieve his weapon.

As long as he could activate his Enchanted Weapon, he could still turn the situation around!

Unfortunately, before he could crawl very far, a hand suddenly grabbed his hair.

Jayden’s entire body stiffened.

"Wait—!"

Aisha didn’t give him the chance to finish.

She tightened her grip on his hair and dragged him backward before slamming his head against the arena floor.

BANG!

The sound reverberated throughout the entire arena.

Everyone froze.

Before anyone could even process what had happened, Aisha raised his head again and smashed it against the floor a second time.

BANG!

Then a third.

BANG!

The sound was so loud that it seemed to travel straight through the audience’s chests, making their hearts tremble.

Nobody spoke.

The students who had been eagerly anticipating Jayden’s victory stared at the arena with their mouths hanging open. Even those who had previously mocked Aisha could only watch in disbelief.

Wasn’t she supposed to be the weakest Guide in the academy?

How could she be the one beating a Sentinel to the ground?!

In the arena, Jayden’s hand stretched forward weakly.

"Someone... Sa... save me..."

His voice was barely audible, and his fingers trembled as he tried to reach for anyone who could help him.

However, before he could move any farther, Aisha grabbed his hair again.

BANG!

His face struck the floor.

A sharp crack rang out, followed by a pained groan.

Blood spread across his face as his nose broke under the impact.

The entire arena fell into an even more dreadful silence.

At this point, even the students who had been cheering for Jayden couldn’t bring themselves to make a sound.

The announcer, a lean young man who was also a member of the student council, was the first to recover from his shock.

He stared at the scene before him, his mouth opening and closing several times before he finally remembered that he was supposed to be hosting the event.

"Th-this is...!"He swallowed hard and hurriedly brought the microphone closer to his mouth. "An unprecedented situation has occurred! Aisha Novalis has taken down Jayden!"

His voice rang through the arena speakers.

For a moment, nobody reacted.

Then—

"WHAT?!"

The crowd erupted.

"Did he just say Aisha took down Jayden?"

"How is that possible?! She’s a Guide!"

"Did you see what she just did to him?!"

"Is this some kind of joke? Jayden has an Enchanted Weapon! How could he lose to her?!"

The questions came one after another, and the commotion spread like wildfire.

Some students stood up from their seats to get a better view, while others leaned forward, desperately trying to understand what had just happened.

They had expected Aisha to struggle against Jayden. Some had even anticipated that she would be defeated within the first few seconds.

But nobody had imagined that the one lying on the ground would be Jayden.

And the person standing over him would be Aisha Novalis.

On the side reserved for the professors and royal family, however, the atmosphere remained strangely quiet.

Nobody had spoken.

Even as the crowd grew louder, the people seated in that section continued staring at the arena, seemingly unable to accept what they had witnessed.

"Th-this is..."

One of the princesses who had been ridiculing Aisha earlier stammered, her face turning pale.

Another prince leaned forward, staring at the stage as though he wanted to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

"Is this really happening right now?"

He had seen plenty of duels between Sentinels and Guides, but he had never witnessed a Guide beating a Sentinel in such a brutal manner. And judging from the way Jayden was lying on the ground, it didn’t seem as though Aisha had any intention of stopping.

A low chuckle suddenly broke the silence.

"Well, well."

The prince seated near Soren leaned back in his chair, looking thoroughly entertained.

He was a prince of equal standing to Soren, and unlike Soren’s mother, whose influence was largely tied to her position as a consort, his own mother had managed to establish considerable political influence and accumulate immense wealth within the empire.

As a result, he had always possessed an advantage in the struggle for power within the royal family.

He was the Third Imperial Prince, Gabriel Valerius.

He glanced at Soren with a teasing smile.

"Why didn’t you tell us your fiancée had such a talent for beating up Sentinels? Ah, my mistake. She’s your ex-fiancée now, isn’t she?" He laughed again before turning his attention back to the arena.

"Still, I’m surprised. Even I would have a hard time dodging a punch like that."

He wasn’t exaggerating.

Although Aisha’s rank was low, the speed and ruthlessness of her attacks were astonishing. There was no hesitation in her movements, and she seemed perfectly capable of exploiting every opening her opponent gave her.

It wasn’t the kind of fighting style one would expect from a Guide.

Yet Soren didn’t hear a single word his half-brother said.

He was too shocked.

His eyes remained fixed on Aisha, who was standing over Jayden with blood staining her hands.

For a moment, he couldn’t reconcile the woman before him with the Aisha he had known for years.

The former Aisha Novalis had always been concerned about her appearance, her reputation, and what other people thought of her. She would become upset over the slightest insult and could spend hours worrying about whether she had offended someone.

But the woman standing in the arena now...

She looked as though she couldn’t care less about any of those things.

She had just beaten a Sentinel to the ground in front of the entire academy, and there wasn’t even a hint of panic on her face.