Chapter 228: Chapter 228 – Yukie’s Lie

As soon as I returned to the stands and settled into my usual seat, Instructor Violet turned toward me with a sharp gaze.

“Where have you been?” she asked, her voice flat but clearly carrying a note of disapproval. “You were gone a long time.”

I shrugged casually. “Constipated.”

Violet narrowed her eyes, clearly not believing me. But before she could argue further, she continued, “Did you see Arianna? She hasn’t come back either.”

“No,” I answered innocently. “I didn’t see her at all.”

Violet exhaled in frustration.

“You’re late. After Isabel’s loss, Yukie stepped up.”

Her gaze shifted to the arena, and I turned to look as well.

There, Yukie Iceblood stood calmly in the center of the arena. Her white hair gently swayed in the wind, her face expressionless as usual. Before her, Isaac Moonfall stood in a ready stance, both daggers gripped tightly, his body slightly crouched. But from his posture, it was clear he was uncomfortable.

The massive scoreboard overhead displayed:

NINE STARS ACADEMY: 9 WINS – 7 LOSSES

DRAKEFIELD ACADEMY: 7 WINS – 9 LOSSES

Drakefield’s remaining representative was Isaac alone. One-on-one with Yukie.

The decider.

I sat back in my seat, leaning against the chair, ready to enjoy the show.

The moment I sat down, Nerissa—seated a few places away—immediately averted her gaze. Her face flushed, her hands nervously twisting the edge of her uniform.

I smiled faintly, then stood and walked closer. I sat down right beside her.

Nerissa instantly tensed. “Don’t sit here. Go away.”

“I just want to watch the match,” I replied casually. “What’s wrong with sitting here?”

“Go away, Adam!” she hissed, louder this time. “I don’t want to sit anywhere near a cra—” She stopped herself, biting her tongue.

I put on a hurt expression. “Why are you so mean to me? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Nerissa turned away, not answering.

I leaned slightly closer, bringing my lips near her ear. My voice was barely a whisper, just loud enough for the two of us. “Did you see it just now?”

Nerissa froze.

Her already flushed face turned beet red. From her neck up to her cheeks, to her forehead, even to her earlobes. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her hands trembled in her lap.

“You—” she whispered, her voice breaking. “You know?”

I chuckled softly. “Did you record it this time? To threaten me again?”

Nerissa stared at me with a mixed expression—anger, fear, shame. For a moment, she looked like she wanted to argue. But finally, in a trembling voice, she said, “You’re… you’re insane!”

She rose from her seat roughly and walked quickly to the front row. She sat down right beside Instructor Violet, as if seeking protection.

I shook my head, smiling to myself.

In the arena, the fight reached its peak.

Isaac moved. His small body darted back and forth with speed that made it difficult for ordinary eyes to follow. Left, right, forward, back—like a shadow that never stayed still.

Yukie didn’t move.

She just stood there, hands at her sides, face expressionless. Her pale blue eyes followed Isaac’s movements calmly, as if she were watching a dance performance.

Isaac attempted a thrust from the side. Yukie shifted her feet a few inches—no more—and the dagger missed. Isaac tried again from behind. Yukie turned, her fingers brushing Isaac’s arm, and a thin layer of ice instantly formed there.

Isaac retreated quickly, shaking his arm to break the ice.

“ISAAC MOONFALL KEEPS TRYING TO PENETRATE YUKIE’S DEFENSES, BUT EVERY ATTACK FAILS! YUKIE ICEBLOOD IS SO CALM, SO PERFECT! THIS IS TOP-TIER COMBAT!”

Isaac ground his teeth. He knew he couldn’t win through conventional means. Not against a monster like Yukie.

He took a deep breath.

Then his body split.

One, two, three, four, five—five identical figures materialized around Yukie, surrounding her from all sides. Each with the same posture, the same daggers, the same aura. Not one appeared to be a decoy.

Isaac poured all his remaining energy into one final attack.

All five figures struck simultaneously. From the front, from behind, from left and right, and one from above—leaping high, stabbing downward with his full body weight.

Yukie raised her hand.

And the world froze.

Not the entire world, of course—just the arena.

The five Isaac figures froze in place, right as their daggers were about to touch Yukie’s body. The expressions on their faces were locked in place by thin ice that began enveloping their entire forms.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Crack.

The five ice statues shattered into pieces, leaving only one figure collapsed on the floor. The real Isaac, his body trembling violently, his breath coming in gasps, and over his entire form, a thin layer of ice beginning to form.

He had lost.

The Colosseum fell silent.

Then, like a breaking wave, cheers exploded. Three hundred thousand spectators rose to their feet, shouting, chanting Yukie Iceblood’s name. This was no longer a fight, it was an execution. A declaration that on this stage, there was only one queen.

“YUKIE ICEBLOOD! YUKIE ICEBLOOD! YUKIE ICEBLOOD!”

The Host shouted in a voice nearly breaking, “INCREDIBLE! INCREDIBLE! YUKIE ICEBLOOD HAS FROZEN THE ENTIRE ARENA AND DEFEATED ISAAC MOONFALL IN THE MOST SPECTACULAR FASHION! THIS IS POWER THAT NO ONE CAN MATCH!”

The scoreboard changed.

NINE STARS ACADEMY: 10 WINS – 7 LOSSES

DRAKEFIELD ACADEMY: 7 WINS – 10 LOSSES

“WITH THIS, DRAKEFIELD ACADEMY HAS EXHAUSTED ALL THEIR FIGHTERS! NINE STARS ACADEMY OFFICIALLY ADVANCES TO THE FINAL ROUND AND WILL COMPETE FOR FIRST AND SECOND PLACE!”

Yukie stood in the center of the destroyed arena, surrounded by ice fragments and Isaac’s helpless body. Her face remained the same—cold, expressionless, emotionless. As if she’d just finished a stroll through a park, not crushed Drakefield’s best fighter.

She turned and walked away from the arena. No celebration, no waving to the crowd. Just calm steps toward the Nine Stars bench.

I smiled faintly. She really was a monster.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, the match between Arclight and GOTE was still ongoing. The side display showed their scores:

ARCLIGHT ACADEMY: 8 WINS – 7 LOSSES

GOTE ACADEMY: 7 WINS – 8 LOSSES

Their fight wasn’t as interesting as ours. GOTE relied on brutal physical strength, while Arclight was more strategic and measured. From what I could see, Arclight would win—they still had Leonhardt on the bench, while GOTE had exhausted their main fighters.

I exhaled, preparing to wait.

A few minutes later, Arianna appeared.

She walked with unsteady steps, her body still visibly trembling, her face flushed. Her hair was disheveled, and there were marks on her neck that couldn’t be explained as battle wounds. When her eyes caught sight of me, she stuck out her tongue briefly—quickly, just for me to see—then immediately looked away.

I smiled with satisfaction. I think I’d successfully tamed her.

In the other arena, a siren sounded. The fight was over.

ARCLIGHT ACADEMY: 10 WINS – 7 LOSSES

GOTE ACADEMY: 7 WINS – 10 LOSSES

The Host immediately declared in a thunderous voice, “ARCLIGHT ACADEMY HAS WON THEIR MATCH! WITH THIS, THEY WILL FACE NINE STARS ACADEMY IN THE FINAL ROUND, WHICH WILL COMMENCE… IN ONE HOUR!”

The spectators’ cheers once again filled the Colosseum.

“DURING THAT TIME, THERE WILL BE SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCES FROM VARIOUS ART GROUPS FROM ACROSS GATEHAVEN CITY! DON’T GO ANYWHERE, BECAUSE THE FINAL MATCH OF THIS YEAR’S ACADEMY TOURNAMENT WILL BEGIN SHORTLY!”

One hour.

I closed my eyes, relaxing in my seat.

About ten minutes before the final match was set to begin, the Nine Stars stands began to fill again. Drake, Ace, Mason, Kelvin, Arianna, Maximus, Isabel—they’d all returned, their wounds healed by the medical team. But exhaustion was still clearly visible on their faces. Especially Maximus, whose expression remained grim after his humiliating defeat by Isaac.

Violet sat in the front row, her eyes sweeping over each of us one by one. Beside her, Yukie sat calmly as usual. Nerissa was on Violet’s other side, deliberately distancing herself from me. Isabel sat at the far end of the row, as far from my position as possible.

I sat in the middle row, relaxed, waiting.

In the arena, final preparations were underway. The destroyed floor was being repaired with magic, debris cleared away, arena boundaries renewed. Spectators were returning to their seats after the hour-long performances.

The Host appeared in the center of the arena on his hoverboard, spinning dramatically, then shouting with full enthusiasm.

“DISTINGUISHED ATTENDEES! THE MOMENT WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR HAS FINALLY ARRIVED! THE FINAL ROUND OF THIS YEAR’S ACADEMY TOURNAMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! ON ONE SIDE, WE HAVE ARCLIGHT ACADEMY—A DISCIPLINED, MEASURED TEAM THAT NEVER GIVES UP! ON THE OTHER SIDE, NINE STARS ACADEMY—A DOMINANT, UNSTOPPABLE TEAM THAT BOASTS A MONSTER NAMED YUKIE ICEBLOOD! WHO WILL TAKE HOME THE TROPHY THIS YEAR?!”

The spectators’ cheers peaked.

“AND NOW, WE WILL BEGIN BY CALLING THE FIRST REPRESENTATIVE FROM EACH ACADEMY! FROM ARCLIGHT ACADEMY…”

He paused, building tension.

“…ROWAN STEELHEIR!”

A young man with short brown hair, upright posture, and two swords at his waist stepped into the arena. His face was serious, his eyes sharp. From the cheers that greeted him, he was clearly no ordinary fighter.

“ROWAN STEELHEIR, DUAL SWORD SPECIALIST, S-RANK, AND THE SECOND STRONGEST FIGHTER AT ARCLIGHT ACADEMY! SENT OUT IN THE VERY FIRST ROUND—THIS SIGNALS THAT ARCLIGHT MEANS BUSINESS!”

The Host turned toward the Nine Stars stands. “AND NOW, FROM NINE STARS ACADEMY… WHO WILL BE THEIR OPPONENT?!”

Violet looked at each of us one by one.

Her gaze stopped on me.

I was fairly confident she’d choose me. The opponent was Arclight’s number two, and I was still fresh, having not fought at all. The others—Yukie, Maximus, Arianna, Isabel—had all fought, and even though their wounds were healed, exhaustion still lingered.

But Violet didn’t point at me immediately. Her gaze shifted to Yukie.

“Yukie,” she called. “Do you want to fight first?”

I raised an eyebrow.

Yukie slowly turned toward Violet. Her face was flat, expressionless. “I’m still a little tired.”

Huh? Everyone was surprised.

Tired?

I stared at her. She’d fought just an hour ago, and that fight had lasted no more than three minutes. She’d only unleashed one major attack at the end, and even that didn’t seem draining at all. Her face was pale, but that’s how her face always looked, and her breathing was normal—no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

But she said she was tired.

I looked at her, trying to read something in that ice-mask face. Nothing. Empty. As if she were discussing the weather, not telling such an obvious lie.

What was she planning? I wondered.

Violet also seemed surprised by the blatant falsehood, but she didn’t challenge it. She just nodded, then her gaze shifted—this time truly to me.

“Adam.”

I looked at her.

“You’re our first representative.”

I smiled faintly. “Of course, Instructor.”

I stood, straightened my uniform, and stepped toward the arena. Behind me, I could feel gazes from all directions.

In the arena, Rowan Steelheir was already waiting. His two swords were drawn, glinting under the lights. His eyes regarded me warily.

The Host shouted with enthusiasm, “ADAM SOCHERON FROM NINE STARS ACADEMY! SON OF THE STAR WITCH, WHO HAS ALSO DRAWN ATTENTION WITH HIS UNEXPECTED POWER! ROWAN STEELHEIR VS ADAM SOCHERON—WHO WILL CLAIM THE FIRST POINT FOR THEIR ACADEMY?!”

The spectators’ cheers flooded the arena.

I stopped at my position, looking at Rowan from across the arena. He stood in a perfect stance, his two swords ready in both offensive and defensive positions simultaneously.

“Adam Socheron,” he said, his voice deep and serious. “Don’t think you’ll win easily.”

I smiled. “We’ll see.”

The referee raised his hand.

“THE MATCH… BEGINS!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep