章 42: Finals [1]

[3rd Person Pov]

Everyone's eyes were now glued to the arena, either in front of them or on the TVs, as the finals were about to begin. All the elimination matches had been concluded, with Adriana managing to claim 3rd place in the tournament.

Now, there was only one duel left, a duel where both of the combatants had shown immense prowess relative to their young ages.

A lot of guild executives were already planning on approaching both of them, trying to recruit them as soon as possible. It was against the law to recruit a student, but there were a lot of ways to communicate with them in very unnoticeable manners.

Even the gods in Theia's divine domain had stopped talking, just to see if the two individuals could potentially be worthy of becoming their apostle.

Though there was a ranking event for every year at Ainu, the freshmen tournament was by far the most interesting, as it often showed off raw, uncultivated talent. It was also the only one shown to the world, as the academy was insistent on keeping the older students' more developed power under wraps.

They could have done the same decision for the freshmen' tournament, but because of the pressure coming from the government, with the king of old being the main culprit, they had no choice but to make it public.

After a few hundred years, it had simply become tradition, as well as a good source of extra income which the academy could use to further improve its facilities.

However, there was one person, if he could be called such, who didn't watch it. Instead, the being was keeping his focus on another mortal, a mortal who was currently lying in his bed, watching the match on his computer.

****

[Sophie's Pov]

This was the first time during the entirety of the tournament that I felt nervous. Standing in the middle of the same arena, just like the three times before, this was the first time that I realized how far I had made it. With that realization came a sense of pressure, pressure to reach all the way and claim 1st place in the tournament, only getting further augmented by that weird sense of pride that had emerged several times today.

It was scary, feeling like I had another being inside of me that, to some extent, affect my reasoning and my actions. It wasn't too farfetched to imagine that as I had chosen the [Dragoon] Manual, there was some sort of artificial consciousness of a dragon implanted in me, but it made me feel a bit disgusted.

I didn't come to this world just to be controlled by others. I had already lived a life where my life was in the hands of others for a quarter of my years on Earth, and that was more than enough. In this world, I wanted to create my own destiny, and pave my own path! Winning this last duel was a part of that as well, even if it meant I had to endure that sense of pride surging through me again.

The decision to fight as a symbol of controlling my own future while knowing there was a large risk I would get affected by the inner being was foolish, the very definition of being a hypocrite. However, as I was now aware of this being the case, I justified my reasoning with the fact that I chose to take that risk. That was my choice, and it was my choice alone.

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by the loud voice of the host of the show, talking energetically as she presented me and Sebastian to the crowd. "Make some noise for Sophie Red! She is the woman who has crushed her opposition with power and only pure power, not hesitating to commit even the harshest of atrocities to win! Making use of her strange skills, she seems to take the form of a dragon, which is very much representative of her domineering aura and strong will!"

*WOOO!*

The audience went wild as she concluded her presentation of me, but it didn't take long for her to continue on with the next presentation that had to be made, "Next we have Sebastian Crawl! The man who skillfully used his dependable spear to render his opponents unable to fight back! Sebastian is also a person with an impossibly strong will! Even as his body was ripped and torn when fighting against her Highness Adriana, he remained standing, knowing his persistence would in time lead him to victory! Now it's time to see if his unwavering resolve can continue to last in front of a dragon!"

*WOOO!*

The cheers erupted with the same intensity as when she had presented me, showing that there was no underdog in this fight, no matter how much Ms. Rose tried to paint Sebastian as one. "Also, before we begin, let's welcome back Tom Stone who just returned from the urgent matters he had! How great is it to at least have the finals get commentated by a [A]-rank hunter?!"

Knowing that she was now just babbling on to create more excitement, I raised my level of focus, ignoring the upcoming applause and jubilations coming from the people around us. Now, there was only one person in my mind. The purple-haired man who would soon become my enemy, an entity I had to defeat in order to satisfy this inner desire of mine.

"Now, shake hands!"

We took a step forward and took each other's hands. Surprisingly, Sebastian was the one to open his mouth first, "Good luck." Then he just turned and started to walk to his starting position.

What was surprising about this was that he had supposedly not said another word to anyone so far during the tournament, so him suddenly talking could only mean one thing, something that instantly triggered the inner pride I was trying to keep in check.

'That bastard... He has been thinking he was above everyone all this time...!'

If I had been in a more normal state of mind, I might not have made this conclusion. However, right now that was the only thing that made sense in my mind, and although he had at least paid me the minimum amount of respect, a very weird thought surfaced in my mind.

'A lowly human thinks he is above others...'

Consciously, I could recognize that my way of thinking was incredibly bizarre, but somehow, it still felt so very natural. More importantly, this wasn't the time for soul searching anyway. This was the time to fight, no, it was the time to dominate!

Just as I was thinking this, the countdown started, feeling faster than ever, "5,4,3,2,1, Fight!"

'[Dragonize], [Wings], [Draconic Strength]!'

Instantly activating every Skill I had, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted nothing more than to show that man his place. Filling the muscles of my legs with power, making the veins of my calves present themselves to the world, I rushed forward.

After having leaped almost half of the way to the already prepared Sebastian, with his spear pointing towards my head, I let my wings make one powerful swing, letting me fly all the way to him.

Not ready for my sudden acceleration, as he assumed that my leap wouldn't reach him, he tried his best to change the position of his spear. Alas, it was too late. My body was already too close to him, having dived in while avoiding the sharp weapon.

*Bam!*

"Ku!", A huge punch landed in his chest, blowing him away, making him roll on the ground as he dropped his spear. I should have followed to finish him off, a course of action that should have been natural for a fighter. Yet, I didn't.

Instead, I chose to stand still, waiting for him to recover. Noticing what I was doing, he glared at me while his hands were still firmly planted on the ground. When he saw my expression, his hands clenched into first, collecting the dirt lying on the ground.

"You...!"

"Stop talking. Get your spear. We aren't done here."

My haughty thoughts had started to penetrate through my body, now appearing as words that I felt were my genuine feelings. Right at this moment, I was no longer the Sophie Red from Earth. I was now the Dragoon who wanted to show an insect his place.

*Spit!*

Emptying his mouth from the blood that had been collected, his face was now finally showing a real expression. An expression of anger and frustration as he knew that I could very well have ended the match right there and then. Slowly, he made it back to his feet, walking a few steps forward to take up his spear.

Then he opened his mouth again, as his expression changed back into one of neutrality, of aloofness, "Fine. Here I come." Suddenly, a dim glow emerged on his spear, imitating the color of the gray steel where it had its origin.

Putting up my hands, I made myself ready to face Sebastian who had finally decided to show what he was capable of. He dove right into the range that I thought he disliked the most, a range where he couldn't use the ranged advantage of his spear.

However, knowing that I wouldn't have time to think about his actions, I quickly sent my right knee upwards, wanting to strike him in his gut as he approached. However... *Splurt!* "Aah!"

A sharp pain went through my thigh and, before I could see what happened, my eyes focused on the man swinging some sort of dagger like it was a baseball bat.

Unable to put my hands up in time, as I realized what was happening, his spear grew longer, hitting me on the side of my head, and sending me to the ground. *Thud!* "Gah!"

As I instinctually made myself ready for the upcoming assault, I heard a voice that made my already rosy vision even redder, "Get up. We aren't done yet."

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