"Kevin... where are you taking us? None of us have even eaten breakfast yet."
"Yeah, dumbass, you can just show up and tell us to follow you."
"Yo, Liam, you, of all people, are going to be happy, even you too, Lily."
As the group of 3 neared the coliseum, Kevin led them up countless stairs before finally entering the student section, which was half-full.
Looking at the somewhat crowded student section, Liam curiously asked.
"Isn't the festival over? Why are people still here?"
Lily, who recalled that the transfer students were all sore losers, thought for a moment before asking.
"Is there a duel going on?"
"mhm, not just any duel..."
"What are you on about, Kevin?"
"Liam, your one and only hater, besides me, is dueling today!"
Thinking for a second, Liam asked.
"That Ren, kid?"
"Yep, not only that but the person he's facing is ranked top 3 at his own school! It is SO OVER FOR HIM!"
Lily, who had already taken a seat, gazed out into the arena before asking.
"Why didn't he just take the week of detention?"
Taking a seat next to Lily, Kevin picked a basket of popcorn, which had just magically appeared, and said.
"Are you really complaining, though?"
Taking a seat on the other side of Lily, Liam replied.
"Yeah, Lily, let's just enjoy the fight, you know?"
Inwardly, Liam was much more excited.
Why wouldn't he be happy?
Finally, the person who had attacked him for no reason and ruined the reward that the principal gave him by sharing it with everyone was being punished!
"Justice really is real..."
"What was that, Liam?"
"...nothing, Lily."
Looking around the student section, Liam noticed almost all of the students here were praying for Ren's downfall.
Wasn't it weird that all the students here were wishing that their own team, Celestial Academy, would lose the duel?
Nope! That was just the effect Ren had on everyone!
Continuing to glance around the student section, Liam tried his best to suppress his laughter as a poster held by one of the students caught his sight.
[PLEASE BEAT REN!]
[HE'S NOT OURS; CELESTIAL ACADEMY DOES NOT CLAIM HIM!]
Kevin, however, failed as he burst out in laughter upon seeing the poster, taking a few seconds to regain his composure.
"t-that *PFFFT* i-i c-can't."
Nodding his head, Liam replied.
"I think this student section is going to be more entertaining than the fight."
As both Ren and Blaine emerged from their tunnels and headed up towards the arena, the student section only grew louder as some wild cheers could be heard.
"REN, YOU'RE A JOKE; ALREADY FUCKING BROKE!"
"REN, YOU'RE A JOKE; ALREADY FUCKING BROKE!"
Unable to hold in their laughter, both Kevin and Liam broke into laughter simultaneously while covering their face with their hands.
For the first time, the two seemed to be in sync... and actually getting along like friends...
" *PFFT* t-thank you so much, Kevin *PFFFT*"
"i- *PFFT* y-your welcome!"
Lily, who was stuck between two, let a slight grin slip onto her face while staring intently at the arena.
Ren, reaching the top of the stairs and arena first, stood awkwardly with a long, twisted dagger in each of his hands.
On the other hand, Blaine took his time walking up the stairs, waving at the crowd, who was actually cheering him on.
Noticing her sight of the fight was blocked, Lily looked up and saw a familiar face.
"Astrid?"
"Oh? Lily, you're here to see the duel, as well?"
Exchanging greetings with Lily, Astrid took her seat next to Liam, ignoring the cheering and keeping her attention solely focused on the duel below.
Lily, returning her sight to the arena, saw Blaine finally arrive at the arena before the referee raised a large white flag and announced with a sound magic artifact.
"Duelers, please take your positions."
"Do any of you need clarification on the rules of the duel."
"..."
"The duel will begin when my countdown hits 0."
"3..."
"...2..."
"1.....zer-"
Ren, who had already activated the usage period of dash before the countdown, immediately dashed forward as the words "zero" slipped out of the referee's mouth.
Tapping his right eye mid-dash, Ren slowed his perception of time.
Blaine, who had reacted to Ren's dash, held his sword horizontally, the perfect place to parry both Ren's daggers and give an immediate counterattack.
Embueing mana into his daggers, Ren, with time still slowed, swung his dagger countless times, creating six holographic daggers, all appearing next to his hands.
Speeding backup time, Ren used the last of his mana on his daggers, activating a movement he had not used for a very long time: Serpent Slash.
The slash that was able to temporarily paralyze your opponent upon contact.
Sending his holographic daggers ahead of him, Ren watched as Blaineswiftly raised his sword by an inch to parry the new holographic daggers.
However, that sword's raising was all Ren needed as he lunged forward with his right dagger, piecing forward and hitting the armor Blaine was using.
Frozen in time, Blaine stood there with his sword, watching as the daggers he had tried to parry simply flew through his sword before disappearing into nothingness.
Covering his hand with corruption, Ren used the force of the corruption to propel the frozen Blaine upwards and toward the edge of the arena.
Blaine, who had regained his senses mid-air, attempted to land by pushing his sword downwards into the ground of the arena, but it was too late.
Following up, Ren dashed forward once again, meeting Blaine mid-air... and palming him once again.
Flying backward at an even faster pace, Blaine flew right off the platform and into the wall of the coliseum
*THUD*
Slumped down on the ground, Blaine was dazed by both the impact of his head hitting the wall and his 15-second defeat.
Looking at Blaine's body, Ren whistled before muttering.
"What a combo! Guess, all that Super Smash Bros wasn't for nothing!"
With that, Ren simply bowed to the judge, who declared Ren's victory with a surprised face before heading back into the tunnel, disappearing from the public's sight.
"...R-ren of Celestial Academy emerges victorious!"
At the referee's words, the entire student section went quiet, even those who had been intently cheering a few moments earlier.
Some of the students, who had been eating and missed the short 15-second fight, were looking at the referee in confusion.
Astrid was the first to move in the silent student section. She simply nodded her head before heading to the exit and leaving the coliseum.
Kevin and Liam, who had previously been leaning back in their chairs and laughing uncontrollably, now held grim expressions on their face as they stared at the empty arena.
But it was neither of them that broke the silence first.
"W-what was that? H-hey, Kevin, you said he was third-ranked, right?"
"...y-yeah Lily... he w-was."
Silently standing up from the chair, Liam gazed at Blaine's dazed body.
"Whoever said justice is real is fucking liar."
This was the opposite of what he wanted!
Ren should have been the one lying motionless against the wall; not that random, Blaine.
Kevin, who had dropped his basket of popcorn out of surprise, stared sullenly at the floor covered with popcorn before following Liam's lead and getting up.
"Well... it was only a matter of time before that loser did something with his life. I guess better late than never. But, once a loser, always a loser still applies to him."
"i-i-ll t-take j-justice into my own hands!"
"What the hell are you on about, Liam..?"
Amidst the two's argument, Lily stayed rooted to her seat.
For any person, a development like this would be regular.
After being disowned by one's family, one would definitely train non-stop to become more powerful and gather new skills.
However, that wasn't Ren.
A stubborn, cocky, self-centered, and spoiled brat.
The word "training" wasn't even in Ren's dictionary.
Did the book wrongly characterize him..? Or was this the result of her changes to the story?
Behind Lily, the students in the section came back to their senses as their conversation transformed from insulting Ren to accusing him of cheating.
"Hey dude, you didn't see any of the fight; I didn't see any of it. I'm not gonna say anything, but that referee might have been bribed."
Of course, there were people who had logic in the student section who were able to recognize Ren's power, but they stayed silent, simply observing from a distance.