The Academy Arena was buzzing with noise.
Camilla had just walked in following Ludmila and several other students from the Magus Knight Department when she was surrounded by the deafening clamor.
The circular stands were packed with students. The Warrior Department and the Magus Knight Department sat on opposite sides, clearly divided. Cheers, boos, and heated discussions blended into a chaotic mess, a spectacle even larger than when Ophelia had fought nine people at once.
The central stage was shrouded by a Reinforced Barrier. At that moment, a figure was sent flying out from within the barrier, crashing miserably onto the edge of the stage. After struggling for a moment and failing to get back up, the student was hastily carried away by sideline healers with their mouth agape and eyes closed.
Salina stood proudly on the stage.
She was not wearing her Academy Uniform today. Instead, she wore a set of dark red leather hunting gear that made movement easy, outlining her slender yet powerful frame.
Her crimson hair was tied into a high ponytail that swayed slightly behind her head with every movement. In her hand, she held a Crimson Battle Axe that stood in stark contrast to her petite stature, the blade pointing diagonally toward the ground and reflecting the cold sunlight.
She lifted her chin, her blood-colored eyes sweeping across the stands of the Magus Knight Department. Her lips curled into an unabashedly mocking smirk.
“Next. Or are you saying there is no one left in the Magus Knight Department who dares to come up?”
Her crisp voice echoed through the entire venue via the Amplification Array, provoking a wave of angry boos from the Magus Knight stands and a chorus of laughter and cheers from the Warrior side.
“Damn it, is there really no one left to stop her?”
“As long as the Boss goes on the offensive, everything will be fine…”
“I’m Salina’s dog! Woof woof!”
a discordant voice shouted from the Magus Knight stands, only to be immediately jumped and beaten by the people around him.
“Ahem, Student Salina.”
The Referee Professor’s voice held a hint of warning.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
Salina tilted her head, speaking with a look of feigned innocence.
“This doesn’t even count as a warm-up. How boring.”
She stood with her hands on her hips, feeling incredibly refreshed. Even her buttocks, which had been stinging since she was spanked yesterday for provoking Ophelia, didn’t seem to hurt anymore.
Right then, Ludmila pushed through the crowd and stepped onto the stage.
Her deep purple hair, simple Academy Uniform, and the greatsword she cradled—which was taller than she was—created a sharp contrast between her gloomy, indifferent demeanor and Salina’s youthful brilliance.
The noisy arena fell silent for a split second before erupting into an even louder roar of sound.
“It’s Ludmila! We’re saved!”
“The Boss’s apprentice is here. Looks like the other side is about to crash and burn.”
“I’m Ludmila’s dog!”
The same person who had just been beaten black and blue raised his hands and cheered.
Seeing Ludmila, Salina ignored the noise from the audience. Her blood-red eyes narrowed slightly, and her casual arrogance faded, replaced by a touch of seriousness.
They had been teammates under Ophelia during the Combat Test, and they both acknowledged each other’s strength to some extent.
“It’s you,” Salina said, swinging her battle axe. “What, you’re finally willing to leave your precious one’s side?”
Ludmila ignored the teasing. She simply lowered the greatsword from her arms, the tip of the blade hitting the ground with a heavy, muffled thud. She lifted her pure black eyes to look at Salina.
“You’ve beaten seven people from our department.”
“It’s eight. Another one just went down,” Salina corrected, her arrogant smile returning. “Why? Do you want to be the ninth?”
Ludmila shook her head. “I will beat you.”
“Big words.”
Instead of getting angry, a flash of excitement lit up Salina’s eyes.
“Perfect. I’ve been wanting to see exactly how much weight the person personally instructed by that monster woman actually carries.”
She paused, her blood-red eyes suddenly shifting toward the base of the stage. She accurately locked onto Camilla, who had just sat down in the front row of the Magus Knight stands. A mischievous smile tugged at the corner of Salina’s mouth.
“Just fighting is boring. Why don’t we… add a little wager?”
Ludmila’s brow furrowed imperceptibly.
Salina pointed the blade of her axe toward Camilla below the stage, her voice carrying clearly through the air.
“If I win, for the next month, the job of guarding Camilla belongs to me. How about it?”
The entire crowd went into an uproar.
Countless gazes shifted simultaneously toward a completely bewildered Camilla.
Camilla: “???”
‘No, you two are the ones fighting. Why bring me into this? Since when did I become a prize? And Salina, what kind of strange competitive streak is this? Fighting over guard duty? What is there to even fight over?’
She felt the stares coming from all directions, making her wish she could find a hole to crawl into.
Ludmila’s expression turned completely cold, and a hint of frost flickered in her pure black eyes. She didn’t look at Camilla. Instead, she stared intently at Salina, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword.
“…Don’t even think about it.”
“Then let your strength do the talking.”
Salina smiled brilliantly, holding her battle axe across her chest.
“Come on! Let me see what Ophelia has taught you!”
Before her voice even faded, her figure suddenly blurred.
The explosive power unique to the Blood Clan made her move as fast as a teleportation. The Crimson Battle Axe let out a piercing howl as it tore through the air, turning into a streak of red light aimed directly at Ludmila’s face.
Ludmila moved almost simultaneously. She didn’t take the hit head-on. Her footsteps shifted in an eerie pattern, and the heavy two-handed greatsword rose as if it lacked all weight, accurately parrying the side of the axe.
*Clang — !*
An ear-piercing screech of metal against metal exploded, sending sparks flying.
The two separated the moment they touched, only to collide again at an even greater speed.
Salina’s offensive was like a violent storm. Blood-light flickered as she swung her axe. Her speed, power, and technique were all impeccable, carrying the strange and cunning nature of Blood Clan martial arts.
She was a rare individual with a mana-less constitution, unable to use magic. However, in exchange, her resistance to magic attacks was extremely high. Her combat relied entirely on her peak physical strength and battle techniques.
Ludmila’s swordsmanship was completely different. Her strikes were wide and powerful, every swing carrying the momentum to sever anything in its path. Magic Power enveloped her body, tangling with Salina’s blood-colored Battle Qi.
In the original work, she would have been far weaker than Salina at this point. However, after undergoing Ophelia’s Hellish Special Training, her strength had improved by leaps and bounds. Among the first-year students, she could already be considered invincible.
Axe shadows and sword light clashed violently on the stage. Muffled bangs and explosions rang out incessantly, and the light of the barrier rippled under the impact of the stray energy.
“Whoa, that’s intense!”
The audience watched in a trance, their cheers rising and falling.
The students from the Magus Knight Department were even more flushed with excitement, cheering wildly for Ludmila.
Camilla also temporarily forgot her embarrassment, focusing intently on the battle on the stage.
She could see that Ludmila had indeed made significant progress. In terms of pure swordsmanship, she had reached a level comparable to Camilla’s own Succubus Form.
However, Salina’s self-healing ability was a problem. Several times, Salina traded minor wounds to disrupt Ludmila’s rhythm, gradually pulling the situation back into a stalemate.
“Is your sword only at this level?”
After one exchange, Salina licked a wound on her arm that had been sliced by Sword Qi and was rapidly healing. She continued to taunt her opponent.
“It seems Ophelia didn’t teach you anything remarkable after all.”
Ludmila’s breathing was slightly labored, but the depths of her pure black eyes remained calm. She didn’t answer. She simply raised her sword again, and a faint, ice-blue light began to flow across the blade.
The battle escalated once more.
However, just as the two were about to clash again and the audience’s emotions reached their peak…
A warm hand gently patted Camilla’s shoulder.
Camilla was so focused on the stage that she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden touch, her heart skipping a beat.
She whipped her head around. Meeting her gaze was Ophelia’s expressionless yet flawless profile.
Her blonde hair was simply tied back, with a few stray strands hanging by her cheeks. Her ice-blue eyes were fixed on the two combatants on the stage, her gaze as calm as still water, as if she were merely watching a common practice session.
“S-Sister? Wh-What are you doing here? Is the business with the Principal finished?”
Ophelia didn’t answer her question.
She pulled her gaze back from the stage and looked at Camilla’s face, which was full of questions. She reached out and naturally straightened Camilla’s hair, which had become a bit messy from her excitement.
“Get ready. It is your turn to go up next.”
Leaving those words behind, while Camilla watched in a daze, Ophelia lightly pushed off the ground with her toes. In the next moment, her entire body floated up as if she were weightless. She traced a graceful arc through the air, landing lightly and accurately in the center of the stage, right between Ludmila and Salina.
The thunderous arena seemed to have its mute button pressed at that exact moment.
Salina’s battle axe froze in mid-air. Her blood-colored eyes widened slightly as she looked at the blonde figure that had suddenly appeared. Her fingers tightened involuntarily around the handle of her axe.
Ludmila also stopped her attack. Her greatsword lowered as she looked at Ophelia’s back. She bowed her head slightly and spoke.
“Teacher.”
Ophelia didn’t look at either of them.
She only turned her head slightly, glancing at Camilla, who still hadn’t fully recovered down below, with her ice-blue eyes. Then, she turned toward the referee’s stand, her voice carrying clearly through the silent venue.
“Referee Professor, my sister would like to participate in this battle as well. Do you think that is acceptable?”