This time, he went in for a lightning-fast swing, and so I responded by hauling in my sword, his reflexes being so quick that it made me look like I was moving in slow motion.

Yet somehow, I was just barely able to block his swing, but instead of fully blocking it, I redirected it partially.

His blade slid off mine, opening a gap that allowed me to slip a kick right through his guard, sending him tumbling backward.

"*cough*... Huff… huff… we're equal," I smirked, gritting my teeth at the blood which dripped from the boy's fingernails.

Simultaneously, he held his seemingly dented stomach whilst I felt the very out layer of my neck moisten from my own warm blood.

"Kekekeke… alright, you're decent spoiled prince," I muttered, my smile widening by the second.

The prince's face, on the other hand, was stone cold as he lifted his shirt up to see the damage, and where his absolutely diced six-pack was, a large black bruise was already beginning to form.

"You should also cut the nails, pretty boy."

As I cupped the cut on the side of my neck, I realized just where he had been aiming, and though he missed by just a few centimeters, blood was already pouring out.

[Knightly Aura] [Knightly Body Enhancement]

The boy in front of me was soon coated in a steel gray aura while my body burst with a bright orange glow, its properties making it look like my entire body was on fire, but in reality, it was just my skills that were enhancing each and every ounce of stats.

My strength outclassed pretty much every other one of my stats, but now that it's been enhanced even further, I should be able to slice through that boy's blade like it's butter.

"Now, I should start off again with this…."

…

(Prince POV)

As her body was coated in a fiery orange glow, her mana acted as some kind of fuel that only lit the flames even brighter and hotter.

My enhancements and buffs that I layered over my body were more than enough to stop any of her swings from even landing a scratch on my skin, but now that she's used her own enhancements, I can only guess the fight has evened out once again.

"[First Blade: Unsheathe]."

As my teeth gritted against each other, I felt my mind almost give out, signaling a mental attack, but when my vision unblurred from the sudden distortion in my brain, I noticed nothing had happened.

The girl lightly frowned as if she was disappointed she had failed at doing something, practically giving it away that she didn't have complete control over her powers.

My left foot slid back, allowing me to do a makeshift sheathe with the belt on my waist, and even though this skill was made and honed by my father, who intended this to be used for a katana… I had tampered with it just a bit.

VWOOM

My sword sheathed into a buckle on my belt suddenly burst with a metal aura that made the entire arena smell like aluminum foil.

It spread through each and every molecule labeled as oxygen within the surrounding atmosphere, and as the girl took a stance clearly meant to defend my attack, I flexed every single muscle in my body.

From the bottom of my left calf, I felt the muscles cramp, but it was too late to withdraw as I was too deep in the form.

My right arm, practically bursting with veins, drew my sword out of the sheathe, causing an explosion to layer my blade.

A crescent-shaped slash just barely missed my servant, who had calculated my own attack to dodge it, while my opponent blocked my slash, her entire body folding inwards just from the swinging pressure.

CLANG

Soon, her blade had snapped in half, and her aura just about managed to save her from losing her entire arm as a massive laceration appeared across her right forearm and right shoulder.

If she was just a second later with that defensive move, maybe even her lungs would've been slashed.

"Hah… Hah… hah… hah…."

She was gasping for air as blood not only poured from her neck but also from her forearm and shoulder… signaling that this fight was close to an end.

"Disappointing. You couldn't even block the first blade…." I muttered, swinging my left leg back and sheathing my blade yet again.

The girl wasn't so stupid as to let me pull this off again, so she charged in, and it seems she also noticed how I tensed up last time, unable to move from the spot, so she went in, guard down and everything.

SLASH…

My blade cleanly cut through her arm, which held the broken blade, slicing it completely off but leaving her still intact. It was enough to send her back to her mom and completely crush her spirit.

"Servants, clean up the blood. This fight is ov-"

KSH

Blood poured from my torso as a blade as blunt as a rock tore through my innards, causing an explosion of blood to come from the wound as the intact sword was unsheathed from my flesh.

"You dirt bastard…" I muttered, seeing the flashing rainbow eyes of my opponent appear behind me.

The illusion created right below me smiled before poofing into a smoke screen, leaving me completely defenseless as I tensed my abdominal muscles to try and slow the bleeding.

But in tandem with my weakening grip and lack of vision… I knew who the real winner was.

"I surrender."

And as soon as I uttered those words, my servants dashed towards me to patch me up, narrowly saving my life as the girl stared down at me, her grin stretching from ear to ear.

"You smug bitch… Okay, I admit it. You win… but the next time you're going to lose," I smiled back at her.

And as the healers completely regenerated my flesh, the girl took me by surprise.

"You're strong as hell," She smirked, reaching out her hand, allowing me to grab it and pull me up onto my feet.

"Next time, you'll be the one admitting defeat."

"Yeah, right," She scoffed, but as we both smiled at each other, I felt a bond grow between us. A good bond of friendship or comradery.

Fuck this engagement. I'd rather be friends with her than anything else.

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