Part XII Tristan Vs Aaron

Tristan leaped onto the arena platform, surprised to face Aaron. They stared at each other, a tangle of emotions hanging between them. Tristan glared, fists clenched, while Aaron met his gaze with a relaxed, mocking smile.

"What a coincidence. Seems the Gods like toying with you, Tristan." Aaron drew his large sword.

"Toying with me, but I think the gods kind of love me for giving me the opportunity to beat you." Tristan said, hefting the Flamebreaker from his back.

"You shameless bastard. You don't even know what you're doing with a trashy mythbreaker."

Biting their fingers, Tristan and Aron activated their mythbreakers. Tendrils emerged, piercing their necks. Tristan's mythbreaker unexpectedly lengthened, astonishing the onlookers, who recognized its similarity to the central city and academy statue.

"Is what that kid said true?"

"No way, is that really Mr. Alaire's Mythbreaker?"

Tristan grinned and glared at Aaron as everyone began to question the authenticity of Tristan's Mythbreaker. An irritated Aaron lunged toward Tristan. The sight of Aaron's greatsword swinging toward him didn't faze Tristan. This was the moment Tristan had been waiting for. All the memories of Aaron's humiliations toward Tristan flashed like a kaleidoscope, filling Tristan with rage. Tristan swung his spear from below his side, meeting Aaron's horizontally swung sword.

"Aaron Smith!"

The two weapons clashed, creating a powerful wave of energy. Aaron used all his strength and managed to push Tristan back.

"Can you beat me by shouting? You think you're the protagonist of a novel?" Aaron taunted.

"Shut up!"

Tristan charged forward again, as if possessed, lashing his spear at Aaron.

"You've been staring at me like that all this time. Now what? I have the Mythbreaker. We're equals now, aren't we?"

Tristan struck Aaron, who was still in a defensive position, with the back of his sword.

"So what if you have a mythbreaker? You're just a lucky bastard born of a nobleman. Otherwise, you're just trash."

"Aaron Smith!"

Tristan leaped back, dancing his spear. Seeing an opening, Aaron pulled his sword aside but swiftly struck Tristan's left side with the back of his blade. The blow sent Tristan airborne, but he used his spear to keep from flying out of the arena.

"Aaron, what are you doing? Weren't you amazing against that masked statue?"

Lazuro's sudden shout caused everyone to avert their gazes. Lazuro, red-faced, stood up and apologized with a bow.

"Thanks, Lazu, I think I needed that."

Tristan took a breath, twirled his spear dramatically, and prepared himself. Aaron spat in annoyance, realizing his opponent had regained his composure. Tristan advanced again, this time executing a combination of stabbing and slashing moves. Aaron, with his larger and heavier sword, began to struggle to withstand Tristan's attacks.

"This bastard... steel dive!"

Aaron swung his sword upward, and an iron beam suddenly appeared directly beneath Tristan. The beam extended and nearly struck Tristan's chin. Luckily, Tristan, who was in the middle of a stabbing motion, changed his thrust downward and pushed himself back.

"That was very dangerous, bastard. Okay, now it's my turn." Tristan smiled.

Tristan took a breath and released energy around his body. Fire emerged from the ground like a snake, wrapping around Tristan's body and spear. The young man advanced again, but this time his movements were much faster. Tristan leaped forward, stabbing, occasionally slashing, then leaping back again and repeating the same movement. The flames on Tristan's spear radiated incredible heat, overwhelming Aaron.

"Earth Dive!"

Aaron conjured four beams to defend. Tristan retreated momentarily and began running, looking for an opening to attack.

"Trash like you, trying to match me? Don't joke around. Great sword dance, Earth Dive."

Dragging his greatsword, Aaron advanced on Tristan, waving his left hand. Iron blocks erupted from the ground as he moved. Tristan, attempting to dodge the blocks while tracking Aaron's hand, failed to notice Aaron's leap until it was too late. Aaron's greatsword crashed against Tristan's spear handle with a loud clang, forcing Tristan to kneel as he blocked the blow.

"Damn, I would have been cut apart if I had reacted any slower. But... what the hell is this kid? His strength is incredible."

"You really are a musclehead." Tristan grimaced under the weight of Aaron's sword.

"Musclehead, who's the loser who attacks blindly and ends up failing?" Aaron made a mocking expression.

Aaron gripped his spear even tighter in frustration.

"Help me, Flamebreaker! Show me your true power!"

As if in response to Tristan's words, the flames surrounding Flamebreaker intensified. Tristan, who had been kneeling and nearly falling, rose to his feet and pushed Aaron back.

"This loser, where does that strength come from?" Aaron seems angry.

Aaron refused to be defeated and tried to push his greatsword down with all his might. However, Tristan was stronger and managed to push Aaron back. Tristan, now standing, drew his spear back and prepared to attack.

"Spear style, Lotus Dragon Piercing Strike!"

The flames surrounding Tristan and his weapon gathered on the spear's blade. Tristan stomped on the ground, flying toward Aaron, leaving a crack in his wake. Seeing Tristan approaching, Aaron once again conjured a block of steel in front of him. Tristan shouted, roaring like a lion as he slammed his spear into the iron Aaron had forged. The blue flames on Tristan's spear's blade were so hot that it melted the iron Aaron had forged. Tristan's spear easily sailed downward.

"What the—"

Tristan's body went limp, his spear too heavy to lift, his attack unfinished. The fight ended anticlimactically as he collapsed. Though defeated and unconscious, his attack had left Aaron trembling.

"This bastard loser... I have to kill him!"

Aaron stood up, gripping his greatsword tightly, and advanced toward Tristan. At that moment, Djuana entered the arena and stood in front of Aaron.

"What do you think you're going to do?" Djuana held Aaron's chest with her hand.

Aaron finally gave up and stepped down from the arena. Meanwhile, Djuana once again drew a number from the box. This time, it was Lazuro's turn. Hesitantly and cautiously, Lazuro climbed into the arena. Everyone saw a sad sight as Lazuro struggled to climb up. Everyone began to talk about Lazuro and how a weakling like him could possibly be planning to enter the Academy. The comments stung, plunging Lazuro into despair. Then, Fiore approached and took his shoulder.

"Hey, if you can't do it, just give up. I don't want to see you get hurt like you did against that robber," Fiore suggested.

"That…"

Lazuro contemplated the arena floor. He saw little value in joining the academy, but the arduous path to the world tree, fraught with formidable beasts, compelled him to reconsider. He resolved to attempt it.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Fiore. I think I'll give it a try. I'm tired of running around and ignoring my feelings just because I'm afraid. So I'll try." Lazuro picked up the cursed staff from his back.

"A lame Staff, are you serious about using that?" Fiore asked curiously.

"Fiore, you've disrupted this match. Now get off the arena and let them fight!"

Fiore finally got off the arena after receiving a warning from Djuana. Meanwhile, Lazuro's opponent finally jumped into the arena. Lazuro's opponent was a brown-haired boy with an arrow-type mythbreaker.

"Are you ready? Where's your mythbreaker?" asked the brown-haired boy.

"This is my mythbreaker." Lazuro raised his cursed staff.

Everyone laughed, some hurling insults at Lazuro, except Djuana, who immediately stood.

"Do you want to play with me? The Dragoon Academy isn't a place for playing around."

Lazuro took a knife and slashed his index finger, then smeared the resulting blood on the cursed staff. Instantly, Lazuro's cursed staff transformed into a sword with a leaf blade, surprising everyone. Just then, Djuana jumped into the arena.

"This time, I'll be your opponent, kid."

Everyone's jaws nearly dropped upon hearing Djuana's statement.