He got back and I felt like…
I don't know him.
He was completely another person.
Then he sat and said,
"If you lose, I'm gonna grind you to death."
Then I said,
"Maybe later... in your dreams."
And I walked to the other side.
---
Rowan vs Ebisu Begins
Rowan himself…
He was already in attack mode,
saying it's not his fault if his opponents are weak.
He was getting even more annoyed when he saw my face.
His mana began to flow in the stadium,
making him look unbeatable.
People began to say,
"He might be able to at least land a hit."
But I don't think he can play it up
like he did with Dante.
The Werde Kingdom king said,
"Who do you think will win?"
Sakura Kingdom king: "Rowan."
Avaguard Kingdom king: "Of course Rowan."
Shuilin Kingdom king: "It's gonna be Ebisu."
Then the Werde Kingdom king — he already knows me —
he said,
"He'll really become even stronger.
He had gone in a war with me to the demon land.
His fighting style is absolutely amazing,
and I never expected him to be here…
but here he is.
And I'm not expecting him to win,
but he will break my expectations."
Then the fight was about to begin…
Then Alistair came and said,
"Who do you think is going to win?
This little fella or Rowan?"
Underestimating me.
But everyone said Rowan.
"He is the ultimate mage.
He will win."
Then Rowan said before we begin,
"I already wanna express my gratitude
to all people who enjoy my academy's Freewill Tournament."
Then he said,
"Let's shake hands first."
So we shook hands.
Then he said,
"Finally… you worthless shit,
you're gonna be dead."
And I said,
"We'll see about that.
Rowan, go easy on him?"
Then I replied,
"Well either way,
you will die.
So make sure not
to waste my time."
And Rowan said,
"You monster..."
And we both got back
to the starting point of the stage
and we deeply breathed in—Then it began to fire explosions everywhere.
And he said,
"Ethernal Magic: Star Stage – Falling Stars!"
And the attacks made it harder to move.
I moved backward.
"What the hell is wrong with this kid? Isn't he fighting me?
I mean… wasn't he following me a minute ago and now he wanna play almighty and high?"
"Well, I'm gonna pick him up on that."
Then I dashed to him.
When I was about to reach him, the Emberis rained over hundreds of light spears on me.
Then I ran faster.
I ran on the wall, then I got my daggers with the chain.
I held the first side and rolled the second one, and then I kicked a stone up in the sky and got swapped.
From the sky above the sun, I said,
"Twisted Fang!"
I passed through the Emberis itself, and it exploded.
And when I reached the ground, Rowan said,
"Light Manipulation – Excalibur Sword."
And he raised it up, and when he pointed it at me, it cut the ground and reached me.
Then I teleported behind him.
He stood and said,
"Useless… it's all useless against me."
He stood in the middle and the sword grew bigger and divided into so many big swords.
The swords began to attack me like a snake.
Then I said,
"How very admirable of you to stand and let your sword attack itself. Is that what they teach you in England?
Weren't you a honored noble?"
And he was still attacking me.
"No, I wasn't," he said.
"I was a shamed noble.
Whenever I got into noble stuff, I was told to become a girl rather than a man.
And I wasn't really that good at duels either… couldn't even ride a horse properly.
And so I was called the 'mistakenly born noble.'
When I went to class, I never got approached by anyone because of my family.
And when I tried to do what I wanted, I was told it doesn't fit nobles.
They called me 'mistake child' and laughed at me.
I felt regret—so much regret—that I wanted to throw my life away.
If I was athletic… and didn't have this kinda girl face, hair, and body… I would've been great."
Then Rowan said,
"Forget it. It's my fault, isn't it?
I was at fault in the first place.
I was never meant to be a noble. I was meant to be here.
I'm gonna end this tournament.
I'm gonna break limitations and show you all my powers.
Why I'm the strongest.
I'm never gonna bow my head to anyone."
Then I stood straight, leaned, and looked annoyed.
"There are people who die from lack of water.
There are those who die from lack of food.
There are those who don't have money but have knowledge, begging for jobs.
And there are those who are abandoned.
There are those who are tortured.
There are those who are being eaten by monsters, demon creatures.
There are those who never had a single happy event in their life.
There are so many people even worse than the one I told you.
Rowan began to run toward me as if I was going to just stand there and wait for him.
Well… yeah, actually, I did.
Just when he reached me, he detonated, and I dashed backwards.
"What the hell?! You can actually blow yourself when you scream?!"
And he kept coming at me.
Then he said,
"Light Magic Realm: Sun Stage – Emberis!"
Then a huge light-made astro formed and stood up in the sky, lighting up the stadium.