In the last few seconds of consciousness, Mary could clearly see the insides of her own neck as the ice that decapitated her prevented any blood from gushing out.
Actually, that wasn't the last thing she registered.
"...ind Blast."
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
The actual last thing was Rotsard chanting a spell that sounded suspiciously similar to one from the magic system he should be able to use, and blowing away the man charging him.
*WHAM*
The intruder was swatted by the blast like a common fly despite all the enchantments and spells he veiled himself in, and the impact of his body hitting the barrier caused its entire surface to fluctuate and turn opaque with rainbow colors of oil spillage on water.
Only then, it all went dark for Mary Treedor.
As for the audience witnessing it all, well..
Besides the Vallhall family representatives keeping their cool and remaining on their seats, basically everyone present jumped up to their feet, shouting theories about what they just witnessed and what should be done from then on.
The most prevalent sentiment was that Rotsard Vallhall must have made a pact with some powerful deofol and was surely on the verge of deofolization and lashing out.
How else would it be possible for the well-known trash of the Vallhall family to suddenly become strong enough to effortlessly kill a capable magic swordswoman and…
…interrupting the charge and pushing away the General of the kingdom's army…?
"HE MUST BE! HE MUST BE DEFOLKIZING RIGHT THIS MOMENT! WE NEED TO KILL HIM THE MOMENT WE SEE HIM!"
The patriarch of the Treedor family was screaming, crimson red from anger and even slightly frothing at the mouth.
His declaration was immediately followed by a unison cheer of agreement from most of the audience.
"Is there no one who would like to hear my opinion on the matter?"
"!!!"
But then, the voice of the Royal Magician amplified with a spell so much that his dissatisfied scoff thundered over the arena, silencing all screaming nobles swept up by the atmosphere.
"My lord! It is obvious what happened!"
The patriarch of the Treedor family rushed over to the Royal Magician and exclaimed, controlling his emotions just barely enough to show the minimum of courtesy to the representative of the Crown.
"It is? Tell me then… What did YOUR Mana Sense allow you to witness?"
"...augh…! I…! I…"
The Royal Magician gasped theatrically and then pointed towards his own eyes, with one simple gesture and sentence, choking up and scaring off all the aggression and confidence out of the man confronting him.
"On this matter, what did all of YOUR Mana Sense allow you to witness?"
"..."
And with the patriarch of the Treedor family lowering his head in shame to escape making eye contact with the Royal Magician, the man himself called out towards the rest of the audience, of whom all remained completely silent, not even daring to budge or breathe too loudly.
Royal Magician standing up coincided with the barrier settling and turning translucent…
…and the silence turned eerie as what was revealed was the sight of Rotsard Vallhall holding …the decapitated head of Mary Treedor while otherworldly, almost ephemeral, bluish-white flames were claiming what had to be her body… All while the supposed finest warrior from outside of the Vallhall family was still unconscious, sprawled on the ground at the base of the barrier, he slid down after the impact.
"Is it enough to conclude the result?"
"...!"
The bleached-blond-haired youth asked while respectfully propping up the severed head with both hands, causing a disturbed murmur to spread across the arena.
"It is, but I have a question before the announcement."
"It will be an honor to answer it, my lord."
The Royal Magician took over the patriarch of the Treedor family's leading role and spoke up, to which Rotsard bowed his head politely and assured.
"Was it necessary to get rid of the body?"
"..."
The Royal Magician inquired, his question causing the patriarch of the Treedor family to clench his fist and grit his teeth so hard his gums started to bleed.
"With all due respect, my Lord. The patriarch of the Treedor family was already willing to break the rules of the life and death duel despite being the one to preside over the event. Someone like that would surely attempt various methods of bringing his daughter back to life, and once all the conventional methods would fail, his heart might still not be at peace and hence open for deofol's seduction. A noble's duty is to foresee and prevent such cases, as their aftermath is always far more devastating than the initial sacrifice."
"!!!"
Rotsard explained calmly, yet regardless of that, the audience was stunned.
"You…! You DARE to claim that my will is THAT WEAK!?"
The patriarch of the Treedor family growled, his eyes bulging out and his face crimson red.
"I do. And to be completely certain…"
But the bleached-blond-haired youth remained unbothered by the outburst and nodded, focusing on the head atop his palms.
The next moment, it was already covered in frost until no features could be discerned anymore and…
"STOP!"
"..."
Despite the patriarch of the Treedor family's desperate shout, Rotsard put his hands aside, dropping the frozen head…
*SHIN* *SHING*
"!!!"
…that got pierced with two ice spikes that shot out of the ground beneath Rotsard's feet to everyone's shock.
Without giving the patriarch of the Treedor's family any time for reaction, a block of ice the size of a treasure chest appeared above and then dropped down on the frozen and pierced through head, and crushed it.
"..."
"In this life and death duel, the winner is clear. Rotsard Vallhall! With the death of the other, it marks the end of disagreement between the two houses!"
Rotsard stepped away from the block of ice and looked up at the Royal Magician, who didn't wait any longer to announce the result, even using the exact words that the patriarch of the Treedor family used, most likely as a reminder…
There was no ovation nor cheers, mere silence instead.
Even from the representatives of the Vallhall family, of whom most were baffled beyond belief, with only the patriarch remaining menacing and strict-faced as always.