Ironclaw roared with laughter.
"Hahaha! The Hero's face is the same color as her hair!"
Anita switched to a more serious tone — or as serious as she could manage.
"Sorry for breaking your nose! You're really strong, so I tried everything. I'm just glad I didn't manage to cut your throat even once. Hahaha!"
Eris sighed.
"What are you, an assassin? Huh… listen, Anita. I'm sorry I almost killed you. I couldn't hold back, but that's because you were a worthy opponent."
Anita waved it off.
"Don't feel bad about it. If fighting demons is even half as fun as fighting you, then becoming a knight was worth it."
Eris looked around.
"So… you're not angry at me?"
Anita thought for a moment.
"Now that you mention it… yeah. You could've waited another thirty seconds before cutting me down."
Noelle patted Eris on the shoulder.
"Don't mind her. Your timing was perfect."
Eris blinked in confusion.
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you're talking about."
Anita let out a dramatic sigh.
"Nothing to be done. I lost the semifinal. I deserve punishment. From now on, one hundred spankings every day for the rest of my life. Let's start today's batch. Eris, you can be the witness!"
Eris looked completely lost.
"What witness? I really don't understand any of this."
Noelle shook her head.
"Don't listen to her. She lives in a dream world."
Andras cut in:
"Andrea's match is about to start. Who are you rooting for in this duel, Eris?"
"Me?" Eris thought for a moment. "I don't know. I'd like to fight both Christina Silverwood and Andrea Wolf in the finals."
Andrea stepped forward confidently.
"Then I'm the lucky one. Because I'll get to fight both of you. You'll only get one of us."
Eris smiled.
"May the better one win."
Andras nodded.
"All right, let's head to the box. Andrea, I'm counting on you."
Andrea stopped in front of him.
"Can I ask for something if I defeat Christina?"
"If you defeat Eris, then you can ask," Andras replied.
Andrea nodded.
"Doesn't matter. I was planning to win the finals anyway."
Eris headed toward the exit but called back:
"Well then, I'll be waiting for you in the finals, Andrea Wolf."
Andrea simply answered:
"Hm."
Everyone in the Wolf Knights' changing room felt it:
the second semifinal would be legendary.
The spectators slowly drifted back to their seats, and the low rumble of conversations once again filled the Arena. In the royal box, everyone settled in: Young Wolf's group, the Wolfwoods, the nobles, the mages — and of course the Princess, who tapped impatiently on the armrest.
Eris arrived at that moment.
The Princess immediately jumped to her feet.
"Finally, Eris! Where have you been all this time?"
"In Young Wolf's changing room," the Hero replied calmly.
The Princess narrowed her eyes.
"And what were you doing there?"
"I just went to check on Anita's injury."
The Princess glanced around, then spotted Anita on the other side of the box, laughing with Ironclaw.
"But she's already here. Her injury couldn't have been that serious."
"It was," Eris said. "But Noelle healed her."
The Princess raised an eyebrow.
"Noelle? That half‑elf maid? You've become friends with them?"
Eris smiled.
"They're a fun group. I thought they'd be angry at me, but I was wrong."
The Princess sighed, then leaned closer.
"I see. And what about your injuries? How are you?"
"My nose was broken," Eris answered simply. "But it'll be healed by tomorrow. The cut on my face won't leave a scar either."
The Princess's eyes widened, then she clenched her fists in anger.
"Good! I wouldn't have forgiven that Wolf Knight if she had ruined your face!"
Eris laughed softly.
"I'm a Hero. Scars on a warrior's body are proof of their battles. But thanks to the light element, even scars disappear — no trace remains."
The Princess looked up toward the sky with reverence.
"Let us thank the Goddess."
At that moment, the bell rang in the center of the battlefield, signaling that the second semifinal was about to begin. The crowd roared again, and everyone in the royal box leaned forward to get a better view of the next two fighters.
The air vibrated with anticipation:
Andrea Wolf vs. Christina Silverwood.
Five minutes remained before the second semifinal. The two fighters were already waiting deep inside their respective gates:
Andrea Wolf on the eastern side,
Christina Silverwood on the western.
Confidence radiated from both of them — but Andrea's thoughts were far away.
Andrea's Inner Monologue
"Maybe fate wanted me to face Christina before I fight Eris."
Andrea slowly tightened her fingers around the hilt of her sword. Her heartbeat was steady, her breathing calm.
"It might sound arrogant, but the combat technique Young Wolf taught me… it grants unbelievable power. With this strength, I don't have to fear the Captain of the Silver Knights — or even the Hero."
The word fear brought a faint smile to her lips.
"Fear, huh? I know exactly what that feels like. That's why I can say with certainty: right now, I feel no fear. And I never will again… because I swore it."
Her thoughts drifted back to a day long ago — so clearly it felt like yesterday.
"I remember that day… when we faced that Magical Beast, the Earthstone Bear."
Andrea's fists tightened.
"I was so pathetic back then."
In the courtyard of the Wolf knightly family, everyone considered her the most talented swordswoman. Even as a child, they called her a prodigy.
"'The most gifted swordfighter of the Wolf family' — that's what they said. And I believed it."
At twelve years old, she was appointed as Young Wolf's personal knight.
He was only ten at the time — yet legends were already being told about him.
"My young lord… every knight talked about him. And whenever they did, they smiled. They adored him — not because he was the noble heir of Wolfwood, but because they loved him as a person."
Images flashed before Andrea's eyes:
Young Wolf training with the knights, eating with them, laughing with them.
No arrogance. No noble pride.
Just a boy with a heart big enough to inspire everyone around him.
"They said he would be the Wolfwood who would lead the Wolf Knights to victory against the Demon Army."
Andrea's chest swelled with pride.
"I was so proud that I could serve someone like him."
And when she first met him…
"I knew instantly. He was my destiny. I live to protect him."
He was exactly as the knights had described — no, even better.
Then she met Anita and Noelle as well.
"They accepted me immediately. They were kind. They never said a single bad word about me."
And yet… Andrea envied them.
"But behind their backs, I thought poorly of them. I was jealous. I envied them because they had served Young Wolf longer… and they got along with him so well."
Her pride back then was too big.
"I told myself: I am the daughter of the Wolf knightly family. They're just an orphaned maid and a blacksmith's daughter. I am the one worthy to stand beside Young Wolf. Not them."
And then came the day of the great hunt.
The day everything changed.
"It happened then… on the day of the great hunt. When we faced the Magical Beast."
The Earthstone Bear.
The monster that forever changed Andrea's life — and her relationship with fear.
"That was the moment I realized who is truly worthy… and who is not."