Aster had dropped his guard for a single moment, and the next thing he saw was a dagger flying towards his neck.
Time seemed to come to a halt and his smile froze.
His hair stood on end as he felt the incoming threat; it was too close to dodge and he doubted he could block it in time. It was clear that this strike was a well-thought-out one.
He couldn't afford to hesitate anymore, as the dagger was within mere inches of him.
In a hurried motion, he brought up his mana armour to block the strike.
The dagger struck the invisible armour in the next moment. And with a clattering sound, like the shattering of glass, the armour broke.
Aster's eyes widened, filled with something other than surprise: Fear.
There was no time to move; no time to react. The next thing he knew, the dagger was already slicing into his shoulder.
Vale had previously aimed for the neck, but the mana armour and Aster's movements had made it hit the shoulder. With a single motion, he twisted the dagger lodged into Aster's shoulder and removed it.
The star boy let out a blood-curdling scream, as blood streamed down his arm.
He desperately tried to stop the bleeding by covering the wound, but more blood just poured out.
"What have you done to me?" He screamed at Vale.
But his opponent had no interest in replying. He already knew that a mere shoulder wound wouldn't end the fight so Vale planned to attack again.
He swung at Aster who was sprawled on the floor, lying in his own blood. But this time the mana armour held.
The only reason it hadn't blocked the strike before was because of how hurriedly Aster had set it up.
But Aster had learned his lesson.
"I'm gonna kill you!" He screamed at Vale.
His voice was infused with a lot of mana, sending his opponent flying.
"Ice spears, tear through space and pierce through his flesh," Aster whispered.
Suddenly, an ice spear formed above Aster and fired at Vale. It moved with intense speed, cutting through the air.
Before Vale could react, it had pierced his leg, impaling him to the ground.
He let out a hoarse groan as he tried to remove the spear from his leg.
But Aster had no plans of letting him go. Numerous ice spears formed in the sky, numbering more than 30, each of them aimed at him.
They were more than enough to take his life.
Vale looked at the referee, but the official had no intention of interfering with the fight. Not wanting to become a human pincushion, Vale tried to get his attention.
But the official just ignored him.
And as Vale watched all the spears rush at him, he realised something.
This had never been a fight; it had always been an execution. And they all knew, all of them. That was why no one in the audience saw a need to say anything, and even the officials had chosen to sit back and watch.
A bitter smile formed on his face, ending up as an arrogant kid's scapegoat wasn't what he had wanted.
If only he had more time to grow stronger, then he would rip off that arrogant face.
In the end, the weak could only wish, while the strong acted.
He closed his eyes, anticipating the downpour of spears, but even after a second, he was still alive.
When he opened his eyes, there were two ladies in front of him.
He recognised the one to the left as Glenda. As for the one on the right, he had no idea who that was.
She wore military attire and was almost six feet tall. Her silver hair was let loose while the sword in her hand shimmered with a pale blue light.
The spears were gone and Aster seemed to be muttering something under his breath with an annoyed expression.
"Attempting to murder another participant? Now, now, I didn't think you could be so brazen," the military lady said.
Glenda ran towards Vale, "Are you okay?" She asked with a concerned expression.
"…I can't feel my leg anymore. But, it's fine."
She took out a bottle of transparent liquid and poured it on the wounded area.
"This might sting a little." Without giving Vale any time to prepare himself, she pulled out the ice spear. Vale let out a groan, bearing the pain.
After the spear was removed, she took out another bottle, a smaller one, and poured its contents on the wound.
Right before Vale's eyes the wound began to close.
The referee was clearly unhappy that these two ladies had interrupted the match. If he didn't send them off, he might attract the ire of Aster. He was just an E grade demon hunter, Aster had a way brighter future than him.
"It's against the rules to interrupt a match in progress. I'll have to ask the two of you to—"
"Stop."
It was the Lord's voice that interrupted the referee.
"The match is already over, let them do as they like."
The referee wanted to argue, but he knew better than to disobey the will of the Lord.
With a loud voice, he announced Aster as the winner of the match.
But the military lady wasn't satisfied.
"Druke, don't you think you ought to do more than that?"
Druke was the real name of the Lord of Druti.
Who does she think she is to call the Lord by His real name? This was the thought going through everyone's mind.
"And what may you be implying by that?"
The lady smiled. "Well you see, from the moment I saw participant 27 over here, I made a promise to myself to bring him with me to the Military College.
"From that point, I officially categorised him as a member of the Military College, making him one of my men.
"And your 'star boy' over here just tried to kill him—I'm sure everyone saw that. Surely you don't plan to leave us without some form of compensation."
At this point, Aster was already furious. "Who do you think you are asking for compensation from—"
"Silence," Druke interrupted. "I had no way of knowing he was one of your men, please do forgive my insolence.
"As for compensation, I'll make sure you are given whatever you want."
The smile on her face grew wider.
"It's good that you know your place."
Aster was growing more confused. Then a memory clicked in his mind.
There was only one person from the Military College that could make Druke so docile: The Legendary War Goddess, Athena Walrus.
[Author's note: Ten power stones and I'll post an extra chapter this week.]