All the important figures of the Papatine family were present to witness this battle that concerned the future of the clan. Among them was an elf named Oroi, who had completely erased his presence—more transparent than water, lighter than air.
His attention went one level deeper than the others:
(Anna-veil·Alpharius hasn’t truly resonated with the star sigils; the system has sealed the sigils into her left hand, and she uses spells by coordinating the system with her left hand. Without this, she’d only be able to release a few basic pulses.)
(No matter. Since the goal is to confirm the authenticity of the star sigils, that’s already enough. His Majesty should be satisfied, and I’ll receive more blessings.)
(But…)
At that thought, a slight frown crossed Oroi’s face.
Come to think of it, His Majesty’s orders this time were all kind of strange.
(Testing the system’s capabilities is understandable. Confirming the star sigils makes sense too. But sending us to find birds in the shopping district—what the hell is the point of that? And on top of that…)
As he mulled this over, he glanced at Morai on the podium.
(“Strip Morai·Deville’s underwear”—what’s the meaning of that command? Too weird… I’m not even into that sort of thing!)
Milora never thought she could win easily from the start. She knew this was a leapfrog challenge, the weak fighting the strong. But isn’t Feng Aotian’s passive trait exactly that—growing stronger and braver with every uphill battle?
So, compared to Anna-veil’s hostility, what she felt instead was the thrill of fighting a strong foe and the responsibility to help Torina.
In other words—
“I’m in great form right now!”
“Shut up!”
As Anna-veil recklessly fired off light cannons like she was throwing away King Cai’s wealth, Milora first corrected gravity’s direction back to normal, landing to dodge the beams aimed at the sky. Then, she pulled up tons of rubble from the ground as cover, weaving through the gaps to successfully avoid a large portion of the attacks.
She wasn’t panicking or rushing—keeping her footing solid, adjusting to the enemy’s attack rhythm, draining her stamina, finding weaknesses and opportunities to counter… Her strategy was sound.
The problem was: the opponent had the system as a brilliant strategist.
Suddenly, the frequency of light blasts changed. Just as Milora tried to circle closer, a starlight beam nearly turned her into Captain Flametop. Then, the entire bombardment pattern shifted. Anna-veil suddenly seemed to anticipate her every move, and the earlier wild firing had been just a feint.
The system had calculated Milora’s every movement down to each step. It would assess the battlefield and Milora’s instant reactions, then project the three most probable next positions to Anna-veil’s retinas—and she’d launch attacks at all three.
Moments ago Milora seemed like she could keep up with Anna-veil. Now, she looked like an ant whose nest was flooded by a mischievous child—scurrying all over the place.
“Captain, she’s not doing so great…” Patty said worriedly.
“She’s really not,” Torina replied calmly—or at least appeared calm. “But I still believe she can win.”
“You sure?”
“There are real and fake Feng Aotians. A fake will never beat the real one. And this real one has already grown.”
Saying that, Torina (having changed into a clean pair of stockings) sipped her tea and watched the match closely.
If the opponent were just Anna-veil alone, Milora might’ve been able to win even without a Protagonist halo. But with the system involved…
BOOM!!!!!
Milora used gravity to pull tons of rock up as a shield—but it could only take one blast. For the second, she had to run. She was now more like a cockroach than an ant—a cockroach scrambling on the ground. Embarrassing, but too slippery to hit.
(Why the hell is she so good at dodging!)
[Because she really has potential and drive, and her adaptability is excellent…]
Anna-veil grew irritated, and the system began to analyze.
Back when she fought Grelou, Milora hadn’t grown yet, so the power gap was too great—she was simply overwhelmed. But now, there was still a gap between her and Anna-veil, but it wasn’t insurmountable. With grit or luck, she might make up for it. In that case…
[Just widen the gap. Anna-veil, use a wide-area attack to cover the entire arena—end this in one blow!]
(Got it!)
With that, Anna-veil lifted off the ground, starlight trailing as she floated thirty meters into the air. She unfurled a star chart between herself and the ground that covered the entire arena, glowing with dazzling silver light.
“This is…!”
Milora froze, stunned. The crowd began to stir.
This scale of carpet bombing had already surpassed any notion of a “duel.” It left the opponent no way to survive.
(Is Wilt going for the kill?)
Not just Milora—even Anna-veil, midair, began to hesitate.
This move, Starflare Burst, was the strongest spell she could use with the star sigils—a massive AOE bombardment capable of vaporizing the entire arena. Milora would be dead for sure.
[Why are you hesitating? She’s your romantic rival. Get rid of her and you’ll win your love.]
(But… is this really necessary?)
[If you’re truly hesitant, I’ll suppress the power. After all, you’re only able to use advanced star spells because of me.]
(…Fine. Just tone it down to seriously injure her—but not fatally.)
Shaking off her doubts, Anna-veil activated the ultimate. Milora, in a panic, yanked up rocks from the ground to form the largest shield she could muster.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!
The silver light was blinding—searing the retinas through even tightly shut eyelids. And when the light faded—
The arena was gone.
The thick black stone platform was literally vaporized—only scorched, flattened earth remained.
No trace of Milora’s body.
Not even a speck.
The audience was stunned.
Everyone knew star sigil power was brutal—but not this brutal.
“Hey…”
Even Morai couldn’t help but stand up, covering his mouth (out of shock and also because of a toothache).
Anna-veil’s mother Rei was also stunned. While participants were responsible for their own lives, openly killing someone on Deville family turf?
(Eh? Eh? Ehhhhhh? Didn’t you say you’d suppress the power???)
Even Anna-veil herself was horrified. She just wanted to beat Milora up and humiliate her—not vaporize her.
[Sentimentality is useless. After this match, you’ll be Deville’s royal consort. Who cares about public murder?]
(That’s not the point! This—this is—)
“Milora!!!” Patty screamed, grabbing Torina’s hand in panic. But Torina—
“She’s still alive… Look!”
At that moment, the system noticed it too!
[Careful! It’s not over—]
Before Torina and the system could finish, Anna-veil suddenly dropped—yanked to the ground by a massive force!
“!?”
Her mind in chaos from thinking she’d killed someone, she never expected this. She slammed into the ground like a squashed mosquito.
Right next to her, the ground burst open—and a dirt-covered, burned but alive Milora leapt out, sword slashing down—
“You let your guard down, Wilt!”
