In the depths of the crystal hollows, a blueberry-haired young woman gasped at what she heard, peering from behind a massive crystal growth.

Iris hadn't expected Daru to be so…intense…

She inevitably shifted her attention to the Aetherborn, who was currently trembling, breathing so heavily it seemed as though he had already gone through a tough battle.

He technically did—a verbal one.

Taking one deep breath, Ra Mehn didn't respond immediately, regulating his emotions first.

"Fine, let's just say you're good with words, human. I won't take that away from you. As for whether you deserve to talk big, I'll show you that you don't."

The seething Aetherborn then burned.

His fire-orange hair turned a pale blazing silver, flickering like a true living flame.

His wrists and feet also ignited with the same holy color, and the runic veins on his body began pulsing, breathing as though alive.

Aetherborns were a mystical race for sure.

The excited grin on Daru's face grew a bit wider, his heart racing in anticipation.

He couldn't wait for his flaming enemy to attack.

Fortunately, he didn't have to, as, in the next moment, pale-silver flames burned to the high heavens for a moment, followed by a furious charge with a speed that rivaled or perhaps even surpassed that of Ae'shkar.

An explosive dash.

But this time, the Aetherborn made sure to focus, not blindly trust his attack.

Theirs was a prideful race, but they weren't dumb — far from it.

Ra Mehn began zigzagging when he got a bit closer, making it difficult for Daru to follow his movements.

Or so he thought.

Although with a lot of effort, Daru's eyes tracked even the two SS-ranker Veshari's movements just fine.

An Aetherborn, while talented in all areas, doesn't specialize in speed like the pale-gray-skinned race.

Ra Mehn was a bit perplexed that his S-ranker opponent was still able to look in his general direction despite going all out to confuse him.

Eventually, he arrived within striking distance, striking from the left.

Daru didn't only angle his sword.

He swung back, clashing with the flaming weapon of his opponent with a piercing clang.

The flames roared and extended towards him.

However, they were never able to reach, as their owner was already staggering backwards, forearms and hands numb from the collision.

"How is your sword this heavy!?" snarled Ra Mehn in bewilderment, almost complainingly.

He felt like he clashed with a greatsword instead.

But Daru didn't answer, following up with an attack of his own. He lunged at the Aetherborn, chopping down.

Ra Mehn angled his half-spear, flaming sword to defend himself.

*CLANG!*

Yet another metallic ring, this one a bit louder.

"K-Kuhh…" the Aetherborn groaned through gritted teeth, muscles screaming for relief.

In the end, his furious, flaming charge ended in a lame retreat.

He did not expect that the weight of his opponent's weapon was so heavy.

Perhaps this was why the bastard was so confident?

'There's no way this lower-ranker's physical attributes are better than mine… does he only feel half the weight while his opponent feels the entire thing?'

This was a plausible explanation.

Ra Mehn's stance eased, though the expression on his face remained a grim fury.

"I shall acknowledge that you have a few tricks up your sleeve, human. You're stronger than I expected," the Aetherborn declared coldly.

"And you're a bit weaker than what I anticipated." Daru suddenly responded, unintentionally cutting his opponent off. "Still, I'm having a lot of fun fighting someone of your caliber. Let's continue."

Ra Mehn froze, patience snapping and composure crumbling.

"BASTARD! You truly think you're so capable?! A mere, lowly human like you?! Know your damned place!!"

They've been taunting each other back and forth.

However, his opponent, Onimaru Kunitsuna's words affected him much more than they should've.

This was because they were backed up with results.

He had been talking tough since earlier, but he had lost both exchanges.

The Aetherborn desperately wanted to land a clean strike.

Exploding into a blazing charge again, Ra Mehn planned to go all out this time, waving his sword once and summoning three flaming swords.

They floated around his head, tip pointed towards the enemy.

"Hmph." Daru only snorted, fully focused as he adopted an L-leg stance, slashing forth two consecutive times.

A gray, spinning cross-slash shot forward, carefully aimed in the path the Aetherborn would take.

Ra Mehn sidestepped in advance.

To his disbelief and frustration, the projectile seemed to be following him.

"Bastard! You'll see…"

He waved his weapon two consecutive times, willing two of the flaming swords floating around his head to stab forward and clash with the sword projectile.

*BOOM!*

A violent explosion that created a blackish-gray smokescreen occurred.

A moment later, a flaming bladeborn emerged from it, dashing at Daru with a vengeance.

*CLANG!*

The two clashed once more.

Like earlier, Ra Mehn felt Onimaru Kunitsuna's weight, but while he was sent skidding back this time, his remaining flaming sword stabbed at his opponent.

Daru dodged by tilting his head to the side.

The moment his attention returned to his opponent, another flaming blade was stabbing at his heart, this time with a wielder.

The smile on Daru's face widened, and he somersaulted forward, turning mid-air and firing a fairly small red crescent at his opponent.

Ra Mehn sneered in disdain and swatted the sword projectile away like it was nothing but an annoying fly.

The exchange continued, this time more even, thanks to the floating flaming sword.

One side, fueled by fury and pride, was as aggressive and fierce as the element he wielded, while the other, flowing like water, yet at the same time fearless and stoic like a mountain.

A heated, high-intensity exchange unfolded before a hidden pair of blueberry eyes.

"What a great sequence of techniques…" Iris murmured to herself, mesmerized yet again as she watched the two top-ranker novices execute techniques almost flawlessly, despite the pressure from their opponent.

Unbeknownst to the human duo, there was another pair of eyes watching from behind a different crystal growth — one closer to the ongoing battle.

Paxton, a blue-haired D-ranker from the previous batch who had been tasked by the government with uncovering Onimaru Kunitsuna's identity, had his mouth agape from the moment the battle began.

He looked like a complete, dumbfounded idiot as he watched.

Initially, he was greatly disappointed after finding out that the celebrated and mysterious Lord Onimaru was a mere S-ranker.

A top-ranker was definitely out of reach for the likes of Paxton.

However, the S-rank was truly a bit underwhelming, especially since everyone thought Onimaru Kunitsuna was a hidden SSS-ranker.

If only he were allowed to spill everything, he would.

That the so-called Fallen Sword Prince, Daru Finnley, was actually Onimaru Kunitsuna and an S-ranker.

Unfortunately, he was under a terrifyingly strict contract with equally terrifying rewards if he pulled it off.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for someone like him.

He couldn't mess it up.

While he liked rumors and gossip, he was at least logical enough not to ruin his life because of them.

Onimaru Kunitsuna's identity was bound to remain a secret for now, including his monstrous dueling skills.

He was a rank lower than the Aetherborn.

Yet, he was more than just holding his own.

Paxton glanced at the recording crystal in his hands, ensuring that it was serving its purpose well before shifting his attention back to the battle, heart racing, mind utterly blown.

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