Chapter 156

【 Swordsman of Lava 】

The flames turned into molten lava, flowing around Eisen.

In the air surrounding him, the lava moved as if it were water.

Sara—and every spectator in the arena—was struck with shock at the sight.

“Is… is that lava?”

“Did the Isrinbloom Family have the power to control lava?”

“No way. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“Whoa. What in the world…”

A wave of murmurs—of doubt, awe, and disbelief—rippled through the crowd.

And those reactions weren’t limited to the spectators.

“Dilug, could your family use lava too?”

“…No, we can’t. There are spells that allow one to use lava, of course, but…”

“It’s an extremely difficult spell, hard to wield alongside a sword.”

It was His Majesty the Emperor, Nazar.

Seated near him were the three dukes, who shared the same puzzled reaction.

Andrew tilted his head at Dilug’s response.

“But Dilug, I’m not a magician, so I might be wrong, but… is that really magic? It doesn’t look like it at all.”

“That isn’t magic.”

Kafka, who had been silently watching Eisen, finally spoke.

“It’s not the power of a spirit, nor the inherited strength of another race like ours. That’s… a power I’ve never seen before.”

“…I’m confused as well. When did Eisen ever gain such a power?”

Dilug turned his head toward the arena, staring at his son.

Eisen stood there, expressionless, holding his rapier.

At a glance, it was the same son he knew.

But his eyes—Eisen’s eyes—were not the same.

Even when Eisen kept a blank face, his eyes always carried emotion.

Now, there was nothing. No warmth. No humanity.

‘What in the world is that power Eisen’s using? The last time I saw him act strange was… come to think of it, hasn’t Rage been spending a lot of time with him lately?’

Countless thoughts raced through Dilug’s mind.

And soon, he sensed it instinctively.

That his two sons… had been doing something behind his back.

At that moment, facing Eisen head-on, Sara was the most shaken and frightened of all.

“Oppa, what… what is this? How are you controlling lava?”

“……”

Eisen gave no reply.

His face and eyes were devoid of emotion, completely lifeless.

Sara could feel something terribly wrong.

“Oppa, are you okay? This isn’t right. The power you’re using—it feels weird… ah?!”

Sara couldn’t finish her words.

Because Eisen’s lava surged toward her.

Like flowing water, the molten stream swept through the air and shot at her.

Sara barely dodged the oncoming waves of lava, but soon realized—

The lava hadn’t been aimed directly at her.

“…Oppa, seriously?”

Lava began to flow around her, encircling her completely.

It cut off every escape route.

“Do you really have to go this far?”

Black smoke rose from the arena floor where the lava streamed like a river.

Sara quickly glanced around.

To her sides and behind her, massive currents of molten rock flowed.

If she moved, there was only one direction she could go—forward.

And in front of her stood Eisen.

An Eisen who looked utterly foreign, stripped of all emotion.

“You’ll be the sacrifice, Sara.”

“What?”

“The first offering… will be you.”

Eisen slowly approached her.

Blood trickled from his left shoulder—where Sara had stabbed him earlier.

But he showed no sign of pain.

To Sara’s eyes, it looked as if he couldn’t feel pain at all.

With his left arm hanging limply, Eisen advanced, gripping his rapier tightly in his right hand.

‘…No. This isn’t right. Something’s wrong. I have to stop here.’

Sara had been ready to fight to the bitter end, no matter how shameful it looked.

But her instincts screamed otherwise.

She had to run. If she kept fighting here—she would die.

“I, Sara Isrinbloom, representative of Lysquare Academy’s swordsmanship division, concede defeat!”

Sara shouted toward the distant referee.

“So I request an immediate—ugh?!”

Even after her declaration of surrender, Eisen lunged forward, slashing his rapier.

Sara barely blocked it with her own, but the force of his blow sent her staggering backward.

“Why is his strength… suddenly this strong?”

The moment their blades clashed, Sara understood—

Eisen’s physical strength had multiplied severalfold.

Clang! Clang!

Eisen swung wordlessly, again and again.

He no longer used the refined swordsmanship of the Isrinbloom Family.

He merely struck down on her with raw, brutal power.

There was no grace, no technique befitting a noble duelist.

“Oppa, I said stop! I-I already lost! Please, stop!”

Sara cried out, barely managing to block his relentless strikes.

Eisen didn’t answer.

Cursing under her breath, Sara glanced toward the referee.

The referee had intended to intervene the moment she surrendered.

But Eisen’s summoned lava had already surrounded them both completely.

The molten current was too wide—none of the officials could cross it easily.

“…Tch.”

Realizing there was nowhere to run, Sara clenched her jaw and prepared to fight.

She conjured flames with her fire magic, using them to draw Eisen’s attention.

‘He’s not in his right mind. He’ll definitely fall for it.’

Indeed, Eisen’s gaze followed the trail of fire.

Sara seized the moment, moving with the most basic step of the Isrinbloom Family’s swordsmanship.

It was a technique that deceived the opponent through the sword’s trajectory.

Sara feinted toward Eisen’s leg—only to aim for his right hand…

“…Huh?”

…but Eisen avoided it.

As if he could see through all her movements, he easily dodged her attack.

Then, he swung his rapier toward Sara’s upper body.

Sara quickly bent to the side, but—

“Kyahhh?!”

—the trajectory of Eisen’s sword suddenly shifted, slashing across her leg.

The Eisen who had been swinging his rapier brutally just moments ago was now using the swordsmanship of the Isrinbloom Family.

“Ugh…”

Sara’s left leg gave out completely.

Eisen didn’t stop there—he struck her rapier away into the distance.

“You’re weak.”

“…Is being weak a sin?”

“In our family, it is.”

Eisen kicked Sara as he spoke, his voice void of emotion.

She fell backward—her right arm plunging into the molten lava.

“Aaaghhh!”

Sara quickly pulled her arm out from the flowing lava.

Thanks to her body being reinforced with Aura, she narrowly avoided the worst.

But even so, her right arm was in critical condition.

Her forearm was blackened, scorched from the severe burn.

“Oppa… Did you… hate me that much…”

Tears streamed down Sara’s face as she looked up at Eisen in agony.

But there was still no emotion in his eyes.

“You’re not worthy to wield a sword.”

As Eisen said this, he raised his rapier high.

Its tip was aimed precisely at Sara’s right wrist—

—as though he intended to destroy her sword hand completely, so she could never fight again.

Watching this scene, Dilug rose from his seat.

“Your Majesty, no—Brother Nazar. I can’t sit still anymore. I’ve tried not to interfere in my children’s matters, but this… this has gone too far.”

“Took you long enough to realize that.”

Kafka also stood up, her face filled with concern as she looked toward Sara.

“We should’ve stopped the match the moment Eisen summoned lava. Hey, but that brat Eisen—he looks like he’s actually trying to cut off Sara’s arm.”

“I know. But it’s too late for you or me to reach the arena now, so Andrew, you go ahead and stop—”

“There’s no need, Dilug. Someone already moved.”

Andrew spoke while watching the arena.

“That guy always gives his all for his students.”

Before Andrew even finished speaking, someone leapt into the arena.

A man enveloped in a pure white Aura soared over the river of lava in a single bound.

He landed between Sara and Eisen, swinging his sword at Eisen in one swift motion.

Clang!

Eisen blocked the strike with his rapier, but—

“…Hm?”

His rapier shattered into two pieces with just that one blow.

Eisen, still expressionless, looked at the man who had intervened.

“…Instructor Luke.”

“I know it’s bad manners to interrupt a duel between swordsmen, but… this isn’t right, Eisen. Didn’t I teach you what it means to have the heart of a swordsman when you were little?”

“……”

“Eisen Isrinbloom. If you want to lay another finger on Sara—on my student—you’ll have to face me first.”

Eisen silently stared at Luke.

Then, he quietly sheathed the remains of his broken rapier.

The flames that had been blazing around him—and the flowing lava—vanished completely.

“I won, didn’t I?”

“…Yeah. It’s your victory by judgment, no doubt. But is that what matters right now? Your sister is—”

“As long as I won, that’s enough.”

Eisen dropped his shattered rapier to the ground and picked up Sara’s, which lay nearby.

He raised it high above his head and shouted loudly toward the crowd.

“This is the new power of the Isrinbloom Family! Watch it well—witness our strength!”

The audience erupted into noise at Eisen’s proclamation.

Andrew, standing beside the Emperor, let out a hollow laugh.

“Hey, Dilug. He says that’s the Isrinbloom Family’s new power. What do you think?”

“…Looks like I’ll need to have a long talk with my sons.”

“When you say sons, you mean Rage too?”

“Eisen’s not the kind of person to plan and act alone. If something was plotted and carried out… it’s my eldest.”

Dilug said this while glancing back toward the arena.

Luke was carrying the unconscious Sara out of the field with haste.

Dilug’s expression softened with worry for his daughter, silently vowing to visit her later.

But before that, he intended to confront his sons first.

“Your Majesty, might it be possible…”

“Speak comfortably, Dilug. And ask comfortably.”

“…to disqualify my son from this tournament?”

“Hmm… Andrew, you know the rules and laws better than I do. What are the grounds for disqualification?”

“If you’re asking whether Eisen can be disqualified, I’d say yes.”

Andrew replied immediately to Nazar’s question.

“There’s a rule allowing disqualification if a participant intentionally inflicts excessive injury on their opponent. The definition of ‘excessive’ is vague, but… we’re dukes, right? Dilug, if you give the word, your son can be removed from the tournament.”

“Good. Thanks for telling me.”

“Wait—you’re actually going to do it?”

“I’ll talk to him first.”

Dilug turned once more toward Eisen.

Eisen was still standing there, holding Sara’s rapier high, basking in the cheers of the crowd.

‘That look just now… That wasn’t Eisen. It was like he was possessed… or being controlled by someone.’

With that thought, Dilug rose from his seat, ready to find his two sons.

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