Solène suddenly turned toward him, gave him a pat on the shoulder, and said excitedly,"Dante, look! Kaela's amazing—she's winning! The lightning is dancing—woo!"Her eyes sparkled like stars, and a bright smile lit up her face.
Dante with his annoyed face turned to say something to her, but the moment he saw that radiant smile, his anger melted away instantly.Though he felt a bit annoyed at his noisy friend, what could he do?'I guess I'll forgive you as long as you're happy. What choice do I have…'His face, which had been tight with irritation, quickly softened, returning to its usual calm expression.
"Yeah, I see it. She's doing great." he replied with quiet composure, before turning his gaze back toward the arena.
During the tournament, he'd realized that among the new students, only he and Kaela had entered this competition. That was because to even qualify, you had to be a gifted fighter—someone who had trained their abilities for dozens of years since childhood.Everyone he encountered was a powerful roomborn, and by this stage, some of them were clearly framework level. It showed in the way they could use their powers with greater complexity or handle larger amounts of essence.
He didn't know much about Kaela's background—she was probably a talented warrior who had honed her strength since she was little. Her powerful physique alone let her outmatch most, if not all, of the ordinary roomborn fighters.As for Kara, she must have reached framework level. Her physical abilities and strength managed to keep up with Kaela to some degree thanks to components that enhanced her body—but in truth, she was still far behind.And himself?
Dante knew he benefited immensely from his powerful abilities. His rare Akashic Architect talent let him read his opponents' intentions and emotions. Combined with the Mindstep component and the Eye of Divergence, he could observe movements with precision and predict or deduce his enemies' next attacks. This let him close the gap in skill and physical power, standing alongside the strongest fighters at his level.
Back to the match—
On the arena floor, Kaela kept pressing forward, overwhelming her opponent.Kara, though, wasn't so easy to defeat. Every so often, she unleashed a burst of lightning that stalled Kaela's strikes, breaking their rhythm. Yet Kaela continued to charge in relentlessly, refusing to give her opponent any breathing room.Still, Dante noticed something.'She's fast—faster and stronger than most—but not as fast as when she beat me yesterday. Not by a long shot. Maybe it's the lightning slowing her down…'
Kara's physical prowess was impressive. Even with Kaela unleashing hundreds of furious strikes, whenever Kaela's blade came close, Kara's lightning would flare, stunning Kaela just long enough to force her back.
Dante figured Kara must have used many storage space for increase her essence capacity. That would explain how she could keep discharging electricity without pause this whole time. Each surge packed enough force to disrupt Kaela's assault, even against someone as monstrous in endurance as Kaela.Though she'd been hit by those jolts countless times, Kaela recovered after each one as if nothing had happened.
That alone had to weigh heavily on anyone facing her.'Yeah… I know that better than anyone. I was the first victim, hmm…'
The battle continued like that until the clock ran down to zero.Kaela never managed to land a single hit. Every time she was about to connect, Kara unleashed a massive surge of lightning that stunned Kaela just enough for Kara to escape by a hair's breadth.But Kara couldn't do much more either. She seemed to have burned through her strength, relying entirely on defense as the fight dragged on for ten long minutes.
When it ended, the referee declared Kara the winner—because she'd landed a single hit.
Looking back, at the start Kaela hadn't yet adapted to Kara's lightning. When Kara first used it, Kaela lost the initiative and was driven into a corner. With no way to dodge the incoming thrust, she'd been forced to block with her shield component—but that wasn't enough. Kara's strike broke through and wounded her. After that, Kaela's fury surged, and she pushed Kara back, dominating the match. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't land a single clean blow, thanks to Kara's lightning power.
"Kaela couldn't fight at her best this time… Is lightning really that terrifying?" Dante muttered under his breath.
"Oh no… Kaela lost! I'm so sad! Kaela, I'll be sad for you—so you don't have to be, okay?"It was still Solène, loud as ever, her wide eyes filled with baffled disbelief, as though she hadn't quite caught up with what had just happened.Dante couldn't begin to understand what went through her head. How could she say things like that—things he himself struggled so much to express?
"It's alright. She's not upset, Solène. Don't worry," he said gently, trying to comfort her.
Meanwhile, Solène stood up abruptly, hands gripping the railing as she watched Kaela leave the arena. Her usually energetic voice had softened, touched with concern."She looked so tired near the end… Do you think her ponytail was too tight? That can totally mess with your balance, you know!"
She turned to Dante, her eyes a little watery but filled with determination."She's probably sad right now. But Kaela's like… a firecracker inside a storm cloud. She'll bounce back! Right?"
Then, as if struck by sudden inspiration, she furrowed her brow in serious thought—though her idea was, as usual, a little off the mark."Do you think I should buy her a giant muffin? Or maybe adopt a duck and name it after her to cheer her up?"
Dante could only stare at her, speechless. He didn't know what to say anymore."Sure."