Oliver was stunned.
None of his attacks had worked, and the worst part was that I hadn't even been trying.
I hadn't moved my feet yet. Staying completely still, I wanted to thoroughly humiliate him once and for all.
Before he could even form his next plan, I finally attacked him.
[Shadow Manipulation]
In the blink of an eye, I reappeared behind Oliver, almost as if I had teleported.
However, that wasn't quite the truth.
[Shadow Manipulation] is a skill that allows the user to move in the shadows in a split second.
"Shadow Manipulation?! But that means he has at least a C-Rank Mastery in the Darkness Affinity!"
The crowd could barely believe it, but it didn't matter.
I pointed the shitty dagger I had received right at Oliver's throat.
If he tried to move, it would pierce his throat, and his chances of survival would be quite low. Though, since the Lix Bloodline was the most talented in Healing, he might live.
"You put up a decent fight, but it wasn't enough," I whispered in his right ear.
Within seconds, I could visibly see how scared he was.
A thought flashed through my mind as my fight with him came to an end.
'What would be his rank within the camp?' I wondered. 'Would he even be able to beat the last ranked?'
There was only one way to know, but it wasn't something that was feasible. The organization I was once a part of wasn't one to entertain such foolish duels. There was a reason no one apart from the most powerful beings knew of its existence.
'Still, I expected more. Was this really the best you two could come up with?' I wondered as I glanced into the crowd, searching for Edward.
And when I did, I noticed that even as he watched his brother getting completely dismantled, he had a smile on his lips as if this had all been part of his plan.
"W-Wait, what's happening to young master Oliver?" someone in the crowd pointed out.
I immediately glanced back toward Oliver and felt something was wrong... terribly wrong.
His mana, which was on the verge of running out, suddenly exploded with power.
It became thicker and stronger in the blink of an eye. So much so that for the first time since I looked at him, I felt like I was the one in danger.
'What was that? What did he just do?' I thought.
[??? is reacting to the strange energy...]
'My bloodline is reacting?!' My eyes widened.
That had never happened ever since I was born. I had never been able to figure out anything about it. But whatever Oliver had ingested seemed to be related to it.
Still, I couldn't figure it out now. I needed to survive.
Suddenly, my whole body was covered in shivers, screaming at me to move away from where I stood.
I let go of his body and took precautions, dashing fifty meters away from him.
His body, which had been on the verge of being depleted of mana, was currently surrounded by flames.
"HAHAHAHA! Did you really think you could beat me with those shitty spells!" The state of his mind was clearly deteriorating as he spoke. However, no one intervened, not even the Patriarch, which meant that the duel would continue.
Then, before I could even react, he found himself within arm's reach of me and tried punching my chest.
'I don't have time to dodge completely...'
I winced as his fist grazed my right arm, completely burning my skin in a split second, breaking my arm in the process.
'I can't win against him. I don't know what happened to him, but he can't stay in this form for long. As long as I can escape him for long enough, I should be fine.'
[Shadow Manipulation]
I tried to move into a shadow, but just as I was about to, he managed to grab me, canceling my Darkness Spell.
My skin was burning as he clenched both his fists. The fire slowly began spreading all over my body. If I didn't find a way out of his clutches, then I would die in the next five minutes, burnt alive.
Even then, I didn't show any pain as if nothing was affecting me.
'Calm down. He can't kill you. The Patriarch will—'
I looked toward the crowd and realized that the Lix Patriarch was smiling.
After all, wouldn't it be perfect for him if I were to die here?
We had already made the deal I wanted, and I had revealed to him all my cards. He knew I had information on him, and hiding my death would be very easy for him. As for the bluff I pulled back then, he probably asked his people to dig up information on me, and they figured out I lied.
'He wants me to die. That's why he didn't stop the fight.'
Amelia was the only person in the Lix Estate who cared about me.
I looked at her crying face and felt sorry. I had gotten hurt, I had broken our promise.
Still, I wouldn't be dying here.
I had faced much more dangerous situations in the past. This much was nothing.
'I didn't want to reveal my Unique Skill, but I don't have a choice.'
[Eyes of Despair]
My eyes were clouded in a deep darkness in a split second as I gazed into Oliver's eyes.
Oliver immediately let go of me and clutched his head, screaming and shouting.
I had already noticed that ever since he had gained this strange power, his mind had been greatly weakened, which meant that [Eyes of Despair] would be much more effective against him.
"W-What is this! ARGH!" He clutched his head, and began screaming louder and louder. His veins began bulging with condensed red energy within them. And then, just as I was about to approach him, I realized that I wasn't in a much better shape than him.
I couldn't even take a single step forward, adrenaline was the only thing keeping me awake.
My white skin had turned black, almost as if I was a block of charcoal, my arms could no longer move, and to top it all off, I could barely keep my eyes open. However, a distinct crying voice woke me up momentarily as I lay bareback against the ground.
"Y-Yike! Are you okay?"
Two weak punches hit my chest, followed by countless tears.
"Why would you do something like this?"
She hit me again.
"I told you I didn't need any help…" I smirked, not wanting to worry her.
She sniffled as a soft, warm energy was emitted from both her hands.
"Perfect Heal!"
Amelia's hands, covered in my blood, began chanting all kinds of spells over and over again.
"Regenerate!"
"…"
No matter what spell she cast, none of them healed my injuries.
"I-I'll do whatever you want, just don't die… please."
I patted her head before losing my consciousness. "I told you I'd win."