The Demon Queen's Royal Consort-Chapter 85 - Circle of Geniuses - II

**

"Before we begin," Glenn said, raising his hand to silence the murmurs around them, "remember the rules of the honor duel. The fight ends when one of the combatants admits defeat, is rendered unconscious, or when I, as the mediator, intervene to prevent irreparable harm. Killing or severely injuring your opponent is forbidden. The arena's runes will ensure no one crosses those boundaries. May the gods bear witness, and may the strongest prevail."

Balthazar and Tagilbor exchanged determined glances, each absorbing Glenn's words.

Balthazar adjusted his sword, staring fixedly at Tagilbor, his prana enveloping his body and shimmering along his blade. "Do you still believe in that nonsense about recognition being more important than strength? I agree with my father, a disciple must surpass their master, not settle for scraps of approval."

Tagilbor smiled, stroking the brush-shaped necklace glowing around his neck. Mana surged into the necklace, which expanded in size, detaching from his neck and forming a large staff.

"And my master taught me that true strength comes from recognition, not domination. You may be strong, Balthazar, but without the respect of those around you, that strength is hollow."

"Respect? What do you know about respect? You and your master are content to live in the shadows of others, never striving for greatness. No one respects weakness!"

"Weak?" Tagilbor remained calm, but his eyes burned with an intensity that hadn't been there before. "My master is a man who understands the value of humility and patience. While your father still chases power like a starving dog, we are building legacies that will last generations. You are just lost in a world of purposeless strength—pure violence."

For the first time in this world, I was able to see what the new generation was truly dedicating themselves to.

'The tension is real. This rivalry seems to have been built over a long time! Honestly, I still don't understand why something like this is so important. Maybe it's because of my Earth mentality.'

"Your words won't mean anything when I put you on your knees!" Balthazar roared, his energy exploding across his entire body as he prepared to strike.

"Of course, the only thing that can get through that thick skull of yours is a little punishment and humiliation. That's also a lesson we must pass on!" Tagilbor retorted, shifting into an offensive stance with his strange staff, which looked more like an oversized brush.

The ground exploded. Balthazar lunged forward at blinding speed, leaving afterimages in his wake. His sword flashed like lightning toward Tagilbor's neck.

'They're not playing around,' I thought, channeling my energy and preparing to intervene at any moment.

Balthazar swung his longsword with both hands, a devastating vertical slash that split the air with a hiss. Tagilbor, however, didn't move until the last possible second. With a fluid motion, he sidestepped, and Balthazar's strike hit the arena floor with a thunderous crash that made the runes flare brighter.

Before Balthazar could recover, Tagilbor pivoted and swept his giant brush through the air toward the demon. Balthazar raised his sword just in time to block, but the force of the impact forced him back two steps.

Balthazar roared, his anger fueling his speed. He charged again, this time with a rapid series of precise horizontal slashes, each meant to throw Tagilbor off balance. The elf, however, seemed to dance between the strikes, his movements almost supernatural in their grace. He dodged the first, blocked the second with his brush, and leaped over the third, spinning midair.

While Tagilbor was still airborne, Balthazar seized the opportunity for an upward slash, his sword glowing with a crimson aura.

Tagilbor, however, had anticipated the move. The bristles of his brush elongated, wrapping around Balthazar's blade and redirecting the strike to the side. Using the momentum, Tagilbor yanked himself closer and drove his right fist into Balthazar's armored chest. The demon was sent flying, sword and all, to the other side of the arena.

"Whoaaa...!" The spectators gasped at Tagilbor's swift counterattack. At this moment, the crowd's favor seemed to shift toward him.

Balthazar rose angrily, channeling energy through his body. His muscles bulged, his skin flushing red. His sword gleamed with an intense crimson light. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and swung his blade in a wide arc, releasing a crescent wave of energy straight at Tagilbor.

The prana-infused slash tore through part of the arena floor, which immediately began regenerating.

The elf, however, stood unfazed. Mana surged from his body, saturating his brush. With a movement as fluid as water, Tagilbor didn't block the attack head-on—he redirected it like a stone carried by a river's current.

'I sense traces of wind affinity in Balthazar and water in Tagilbor. Interesting.'

Balthazar, having fared worse in the first exchange, now had eyes burning with determination. A wind aura began swirling around his blade, hissing like a serpent as it sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.

Without hesitation, he lunged with a horizontal slash, but this time, the wind amplified the sword's reach. Invisible blades of air cut through the space between them, striking Tagilbor before he could react. Blood trickled from shallow cuts along his arms and torso.

The elf retreated, feeling the sting of the wounds as the turbulent wind disrupted his balance. He spun his brush, the bristles elongating. Upon closer inspection, one could see they were drenched in water.

With a fluid motion, he intercepted Balthazar's next strike, the bristles catching the wind blades.

Balthazar gave no quarter. He spun in place, unleashing a storm of wind slashes in all directions. The air blades multiplied, forming a net of attacks that pressed Tagilbor from every angle.

The elf moved with agility, his brush dancing as the bristles began shedding droplets of water into the arena, as if weeping with each intercepted strike. But the pressure was relentless.

Before the situation turned dire, he slammed his brush into the ground, and the spilled droplets floated behind Balthazar, forming floating needles. Pouring even more mana into his weapon, Tagilbor executed a circular motion, creating a thin film that deflected most of the attacks. But his legs and back weren't fully protected, deepening the gashes on his body.

Every time the bristles made contact with the demon's sword, a thin layer of water seeped into the blade, slowly draining Balthazar's energy.

'Water doesn't just defend,' Tagilbor thought, 'it also corrodes. Every strike he lands weakens him, while I conserve my strength.'

Balthazar felt the shift. His movements, once swift and precise, began losing fluidity. He glanced at his sword and saw tiny droplets of water sliding down the blade, carrying away his energy.

As the water dissipated his attacks, Tagilbor advanced, his brush now glowing with an intense blue light. At the same time, the floating needles behind Balthazar shot toward him.

Balthazar, however, was ready. He channeled more energy into his sword, and the wind around him became a whirlwind, deflecting the needles and pushing back Tagilbor's assault. The elf spun his brush as he was forced back, the bristles extending like whips, striking Balthazar from multiple angles.

The demon blocked some with his sword, but others hit home, deep wounds mixing with water as they dripped down his body.

Both fighters focused their energy, preparing for an even fiercer clash. The prana around Balthazar took on a transparent quality, his blade serrated like a chainsaw, while small wind currents swirled around his legs.

Tagilbor, drenched in water, formed a thin film that fused with his brush, staunching his bleeding wounds while reinforcing his defenses.

Balthazar attacked even faster. Some of the geniuses watching lost sight of him entirely. His speed reached its limit, his jaw clenched tight, veins bulging as afterimages trailed behind him.

In a relentless assault, he swung his sword in horizontal slashes, feints, and thrusts of pure speed. Tagilbor defended each strike masterfully, wielding his brush and using the elongated bristles as a last line of defense.

'Just defending won't be sustainable.'

Tagilbor seemed to hear Glenn's thoughts, deciding to go all-out on the offensive. Channeling mana into his legs, he leaped back, creating some distance. The thin water film covering him concentrated at the tip of his brush, soaking the bristles.

"Hah... you're not running away!!" Balthazar snarled.

'That's right, chase me like a mindless beast,' Tagilbor thought. 'I'll show you something I prepared just for you!'

Balthazar closed the gap in an instant. His attacks, now even faster and more fluid, began breaking through Tagilbor's defenses. A deep gash opened on the elf's chest, followed by slashes on his legs, shoulders, and arms.

'Yes, yes, just a little more!' Balthazar thought triumphantly, pushing his prana to its limits, accelerating his body further.

Lightning coursed through me. Prana and mana exploded through my energy pathways. A thin layer of gravity lightened my weight, my legs tensed, and the world slowed down.

'Now!' Tagilbor decided.

From the tip of his brush, a thread-thin beam formed. Before Balthazar could land a final critical strike, the beam shot out toward the demon. It was hyper-compressed and moved so fast that Balthazar had no chance to react at such close range.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

From below, all the spectators saw was the arena floor being split in two by a transparent thread. A massive cloud of steam and dust obscured the scene, leaving the duel's outcome uncertain.

"Damn, if that hit Balthazar, Tagilbor just split him in half," Thadeus exclaimed.

"I saw something move before it hit," Seraphine said.

"Interesting. He's not just some made-up story after all," murmured a voice belonging to a young man with white hair and blue eyes.

'When did this maniac get here?' Aeloria thought, glancing at Waan.

The dust cleared, revealing three figures standing in the center of the regenerating arena.

Tagilbor tried to move his brush, which had frozen mid-swing. Balthazar was on one knee, while someone's hand pressed down on him.

And in the middle of it all stood Glenn, one hand stopping Tagilbor from bisecting Balthazar, gripping the brush's shaft with gravitational force, while the other had shoved Balthazar back, the demon now missing an ear, blood dripping down the side of his face.

Both fighters stared in shock at his sudden intervention.

The brush retracted, and Balthazar rose, still gripping his sword, but Glenn's voice cut through the tension.

"As the mediator of this duel, tasked with preventing greater tragedies, I hereby declare Tagilbor the winner."

"What?! That's bullsh...!" Balthazar began to roar, but Glenn's cold, golden-eyed gaze silenced him. Before he could protest further, his body was flung out of the arena toward one of the floating chairs.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

Tagilbor didn't get a chance to argue either. He was ejected in the same manner, bringing the duel between honor and strength to an end.

As Balthazar and Tagilbor were removed from the arena, murmurs spread among the spectators.

"Tagilbor really showed what he's made of," someone in the crowd remarked. "But now comes the part I've been waiting for."

"Athena and Vex," another murmured, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "This is going to be a fight to remember."

A golden light flashed in the arena, and two women appeared, standing about thirty meters apart.

Glenn looked at the two now occupying the arena, their imposing presences creating a charged atmosphere.

Athena, now clad in multiple bracelets and a light white robe similar to what Glenn had worn in his duels, stood with regal poise, her cold eyes like marble statues awakening.

Vex, on the other hand, wore a light bronze-plated armor with a tight black bodysuit, her sharp smile promising chaos.

"With that, we shall commence the second duel. Athena Varen versus Vex Miraclaw."

"Finally!" a voice murmured.