Chapter 80 - Revenge Match! Vincent VS Quinton

Chapter 80: Chapter 80 - Revenge Match! Vincent VS Quinton

Eugene leaned forward and squinted his eyes at the sweat-drenched prince.

"Hey Bluey. Who’s this guy? He’s standing in the middle of the space with no shirt on, looking all brooding and dramatic. He’s giving off major main-character energy. Is he supposed to be cool or something?"

"That’s Prince Quinton Solara. He’s also the same guy who publicly broke off his and Maelle’s engagement in front of the entire Academy."

"WHAT?!" Eugene shrieked at the top of his lungs, pointing a tiny claw directly at Quinton’s face.

"YOU DUMPED MY PRINCESS?! ARE YOU BLIND, YOU SHIRTLESS BASTARD?! LOOK AT HER! SHE’S GORGEOUS! YOUR BRAIN MUST BE MADE OF MUD AND HORSE SHIT!"

Quinton ignored the screaming green blob and kept his pitiful eyes locked squarely onto Maelle.

Maelle stepped past Vincent and stopped at the edge of a blackened crater. Her expression was entirely devoid of warmth, her voice ringing clear and cold across the ruined courtyard.

"We had a deal, Your Highness. You lost the official duel to my Familiar. According to our wager, you were to see the expulsion of Lucianne Elsa."

"I know we had a deal, Maelle... but it just isn’t right! I cannot in good conscience stand aside and watch you descend down this dark path! Imprisoning Lucianne in a cold, dark cellar like a common criminal... it’s cruel!"

"Lucianne attempted to have me assassinated. She forged a letter with your seal, hired slave bandits, and tried to murder a royal Princess of Ebonspire. Imprisonment in a cellar is far more merciful than what she truly deserves under my kingdom’s law."

Quinton took an anxious step forward and outstretched his hands in an earnest plea. "Maelle, I beg you... please do not do this. You are letting vengeance corrupt your heart. I know Lucianne made a mistake, but banishing her won’t bring peace to your soul!"

"We’ve been over this already. I am not changing my mind."

"It doesn’t matter! Lucianne’s plan failed! Her foolish scheme didn’t work! You’re still standing here, alive and unharmed, aren’t you?!"

A heavy silence fell over the courtyard.

Vincent’s eyes narrowed into a lethal glare. Even Eugene stopped his background trash-talking as he sensed the sudden drop in pressure.

Maelle didn’t shout. She didn’t raise her voice. She simply looked at Quinton as if he were a naive, hopelessly misguided child.

"It matters, Your Highness. It matters a great deal. Tell me... what if your mother, the Queen of Solara, was targeted by slave bandits? What if she was dragged into the dark, tortured for a day, maybe weeks, and sold off in an illegal market like property? What would you do?"

Quinton flinched as his face flushed with moral outrage. "That’s not–!"

"What?" Maelle interrupted with a cold smirk. "That’s not the same? Why? Because she is your mother? Because she is the crowned Queen of a great empire, whereas I am merely the Fourth Princess of Ebonspire?"

Quinton swallowed his words.

"Suddenly got nothing to say? Well, let me clarify something for you. I may be the Fourth Princess of Ebonspire right now... but I will be its next Queen. And I do not easily forgive those who strike at my life."

Quinton recoiled back a step as his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and tragic concern.

"Don’t do this, Maelle... Please... don’t let the darkness take you..."

He looked into her violet eyes, searching for a single trace of the quiet noble girl he used to believe she was. He found nothing but an unshakable spirit.

"What fuck is wrong with this guy?!" Eugene sneered from Vincent’s shoulder. "Ugh, what a delusional goody-twoshoes! Hey, shirtless boy! If you’re just gonna stand there preaching your holy nonsense, move your fat ass out of the way! We’ve got a Duke to beat up!"

Quinton’s gaze finally snapped to the tiny green dragon perched on Vincent’s shoulder. His eyes dilated as he stared at the golden scales, leathery wings, and golden horns.

"A... a dragon...? That’s... A living dragon..."

He reached down and drew his sun-carved sword from the dirt and pointed it to Eugene.

"Dragons are the ancient symbol of evil and destruction! I truly believed I could save you, Maelle... but the mere fact that a beast of darkness stands proudly at your side proves how far you have strayed! I cannot allow a monster to continue her reign of terror and to take the throne of Ebonspire! I knew it... You’re not getting past me, Maelle Ebony!"

"Holy switchup..." Vincent was taken aback. "Does this guy have bipolar disorder or something?"

Maelle let out a quiet, dismissive sigh. "Just for your information, Your Highness... this dragon is not my Familiar."

She gestured toward the blue-haired young man standing behind her. "Vincent is."

"It makes no difference!" Quinton proclaimed.

He held his sun-sword high into the air and declared. "As Crown Prince of Solara and ally to the Imperial City, I will strike down whatever dark forces that threaten its peace!"

fwoosh—BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

A massive, wide magic circle of solar fire erupted across the sky! The heat was so intense it instantly melted the misshaped fountain into a pile of goo and turned the surrounding rubble into molten slag.

From the center of the magic circle, a colossal, magnificent beast of pure, roaring flame burst forth. Solaris the Phoenix – a SSS-rank Familiar. It spread its massive wingspan and unleashed a deafening, metallic screech that shook the foundation of the estate.

*SCREEEEEEEEECH!!*

Eugene’s mouth fell wide open and his eyes glittered in awe as he watched the giant firebird circle high above them. "WOAH! Okay, I hate the shirtless guy, but that flaming chicken is insanely awesome!"

"Heh. It’s a Phoenix." Vincent corrected with the same glitter in his eyes as he walked up next to Maelle.

The Phoenix swooped down and hovered directly behind Quinton. A tether of golden mana connected the giant bird to Quinton’s chest, causing his body to be covered with glowing red runes.

"Let me show you the true results of my training, Familiar!" Quinton declared as he pointed his sword at Vincent. "Classified as an Attack, Defense, and Support class, Solaris grants me limitless regeneration and strength!"

Vincent shifted his stance, his ethereal blue hair swaying as crackling blue and gold divine power wrapped around his body.

"A rematch? Show me what you’ve got then, Prince."

BOOM!

Quinton launched himself forward like a cannonball with his sword trailing a wave of singeing heat that sliced through the air. At the same time, Solaris flew high in the air and unleashed a rain of fire from its beak directly above Vincent’s head.

Vincent flared his wings, and leapt straight for Quinton to meet the strike head-on.

CLANG-BOOM!!!!!!

His fist met Quinton’s sword mid-swing. The kinetic shockwave cracked the surrounding stone columns and blasted every remaining window frame out of the second-story balconies.

The solar fire rained down around them, but Vincent’s divine aura held firm, converting the searing heat into harmless embers.

Quinton grit his teeth against the sheer force behind Vincent’s defense.

Redirecting his momentum with impressive fluidity, he pivoted around and used the recoil to swing his sword in a sweeping horizontal arc aimed at Vincent’s side. Simultaneously, Solaris swept overhead, diving low to rake its razor-sharp golden talons across Vincent’s upper back.

Vincent ducked smoothly under the blazing sword arc and caught the Phoenix’s incoming claw with his left hand. The friction tore a sharp hiss of heat from the air, but Vincent held his ground, yanking the massive firebird downward to disrupt its flight trajectory.

Before Solaris could slam into the ground, Quinton sprinted up the bird’s wing and leaped twenty feet into the air. He gripped his sword with both hands, channeling every bit of solar mana into a devastating falling slash.

"Raaah!! Take this!"

Vincent let go of Solaris and brought his right arm up to generate a dense disc of divine power, absorbing the falling blade.

CLANG-THOOM!

The force of the impact created a small crater beneath Vincent’s boots. He felt the genuine weight behind the strike – Quinton’s buffed form and the Phoenix’s tether was unlike anything he felt in their last fight.

With a strenuous grunt, Quinton pressed the weight of his blade down. From above, Solaris steadied its flight and opened its beak to release a barrage of high-density fireballs directly onto them.

’Dammit! Doesn’t it care that it’s attacking its master?! Or is this part of their strategy?!’

Vincent detonated the plasma disc beneath Quinton’s blade, resulting in a shockwave that pushed Quinton back into the air while he vaulted backward to evade the rain of fireballs.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosion after explosion tore up the floor, tossing chunks of molten rock into the air.

Through the thick smoke, Quinton landed beside Solaris, his hair completely covered in white-hot flames.

"We’re not done yet! Solaris! Dawn Domain!"

The Phoenix spread its massive wings, flapping them in a rhythmic pattern.

A sphere of solar radiation expanded from its body, enveloping the entire inner courtyard in a golden dome. Inside this domain, the ambient temperature skyrocketed, turning the stone floor red-hot and creating an oppressive pressure that weighed heavily on anyone without solar resistance.

Vincent felt his divine aura working double-time to neutralize the intense radiant heat.

"Vincent!" Maelle screamed from a safe distance outside of the domain.

"Don’t worry! I’ve got this!"

Inside Dawn Domain, Quinton’s prowess doubled. He blurred across the courtyard, his sword turning into a brilliant wheel of continuous fire. He attacked from the left, executing a sharp thrust, then instantly reformed on the right for an upward slash.

CLANG! CLANG! BANG!

With each strike Vincent blocked, he could feel the heat of the domain amplifying Quinton’s raw power even more. Every time he countered against the prince, the sound of bones cracking echoed clearly, only for the red ruin on his body and the glowing golden tether from Solaris to pulse.

Within half a second, Quinton’s battle damage knit back together, his bruised flesh smoothed over, and his stamina refreshed.

"As long as Solaris flies in this domain, my strength will never wane!" Quinton declared, leaping backward to align himself beside his Familiar once more. "I will fight for as long as it takes to free Maelle from this madness!"

Quinton crossed his arms and Solaris channeled their mana into a combined ultimate assault. The Phoenix folded its wings around Quinton, its fiery feathers merging with his body to form a massive armor of pure phoenix fire around the prince.

’Susano’o?!’

"It’s over for you now, Winged Familiar!"

"Oh yeah?! Let’s see if your domain can hold this!"

Vincent’s blue eyes burned with divine power, and he brought both hands together in a clap in front of his chest.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

Vincent released his divine power to its fullest extent. A blinding shockwave of blue and gold lightning erupted outward from his body, shattering the golden dome of Quinton’s Dawn Domain. The sheer pressure tore through the plaza, blowing away the lingering heat and restoring the atmospheric temperature.

"WHAT!? HOW DID YOU–?!"

Vincent exploded forward, meeting the armored prince head-on. With a sharp intake of breath, he channeled a surge of power onto his fist which converted into ice mana straight through his palms and into the heart of the solar avatar.

crack–FREEZE!!!

The giant avatar instantly crystallized into glowing blue ice. Vincent pulled his fist back and drove it straight into the frozen center again.

SHATTER!!!!!!

The giant avatar exploded into thousands of sparkling ice shards.

Quinton was blown backward out of the explosion, tumbling violently across the ruined floor. Solaris let out a shrill, pained screech as the sudden temperature drop shattered its wings, sending the massive bird crashing to the ground beside its master.

Even as he bled from multiple cuts, Quinton forced himself back onto his feet, using his sword as a cane to push his trembling body up.

"I... I can still fight... Solaris... give me... your strength..."

The Phoenix raised its head weakly, its body flickering as it attempted to send another surge of healing mana through the tether. But because of its cold body, the golden light was faint and thin.

Vincent walked forward through the clearing frost, his wings slowly folding behind his back as he stopped ten feet away from the gasping prince.

"Looks like your Familiar has reached its limit, Prince. Give up."

Quinton’s eyes widened as he looked at the weakened form of Solaris. He reached out a trembling hand, gently touching the Phoenix’s beak.

"No... I won’t let you destroy yourself for me, Solaris... Return..."

With a sorrowful cry, the Phoenix dissolved into a beautiful shower of floating golden mana particles, returning safely to the spirit realm.

As the Familiar vanished, the tether snapped completely. The red ruins on his body and white-fire hair faded as Quinton lost the last of his magical enhancement. His knees gave out and he collapsed onto the scorched floor with his sword slipping from his numb fingers.

Maelle walked up to them and Eugene crossed his tiny arms, letting out a loud snort.

"Gahaha! Look at you now, shirtless boy! Your giant chicken is gone, and you’re down! That’s what you get for dumping my Princess!"

Quinton raised his head slowly, looking past Vincent toward Maelle. The righteous zeal was gone, replaced by broken confusion.

"Maelle... Is there really no other way...?"

Maelle stood quietly beside Vincent as she looked down at her former fiancé with indifference.

"No. There never was, Your Highness."