Chapter 66 The Mad Gamble and the Purifying Kiss
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Bash the bear beast-kin swung his huge hammer at me. The steel head tore through the air with a loud shriek, strong enough to break the colosseum floor. I dodged by a hair’s breadth.
The floor exploded with a loud crack and a spray of dust.
Bash missed his swing, and then he did something I did not expect: he dropped the giant hammer. It hit the floor with a dull thud, and without hesitation he lunged into my guard, wide open, as I moved to hit him with my sword.
Beast-kin healed fast. Small wounds closed in moments. He did not care if I cut him. He wanted to grab me and use his body to lock down my movement. A savage grin spread across Bash’s face, like he had read my thoughts.
”The hell you starin’ at? Gonna crush you—right here, right now!”
His arms closed around me like a vice, so tight I felt my bones creak. I was completely trapped.
My sword had pierced his side, but he ignored it entirely. I could escape this hold with Teleportation Magic, but in front of this big crowd, I did not want to show my best trick.
Fine. I would find another way out.
I did not panic. I kept a cool head and pushed mana into the bear beast-kin’s body, pressed tight against me. The payload was the remote-detonation time bomb spell. Mana surged into Bash. Three seconds until detonation.
I timed it well, using a micro-range Teleportation. My target was two meters behind the blast center. The explosion shook the colosseum just as I rolled across the floor. I turned down the power just enough to stop him, not kill him, and since I teleported at the blast moment, I took almost no damage.
Now, how was that bear?
The smell of burnt flesh hit my nose. His body was black and charred, completely still. I could not tell if he was alive or dead, but he was not getting up.
’WHOOOOAAAAA! What an attack! The Black Swordsman, willingly taking massive damage himself, unleashed an explosive spell at point-blank range! But what a price! The Black Swordsman is still down on the ground—is he alright?!’
The announcer’s excited voice echoed through the arena.
Good. No one saw my Teleportation. Perfect timing.
I decided to play injured for a while, lying flat on the ring. The other fights went on. Elenor had pushed the wolf beast-kin Garou back with her fine swordsmanship, steel clashing with each exchange. Kuuko had also pinned the giant fox beast-kin to the ground, in a strong position.
Victory seemed certain.
But then the fox beast-kin, seeing they were losing, used their last strength and cast a forbidden spell.
”Let all of you go mad. Equally.”
A wave of dark red mana spread from the fox across the ring, the color of blood staining vision with a bad red. A wide suicide spell that forced all nearby living things to become berserkers.
Of course, with my Magic Seal, I was not affected. The red mana broke apart before it could touch my skin. Status effect magic did not work on me.
But Elenor, Kuuko, and Garou the wolf beast-kin all got caught in the red wave. Their eyes turned a muddy red, they lost their reason, and they attacked anything that moved—friend or foe alike. A last desperate gamble from the fox. If Garou was the last one standing, their team would win.
The wolf, now fully changed, fought Kuuko who had become a huge black panther. Fangs bared, roaring, tearing at each other, the heat of battle swirled through the ring.
And Elenor, now berserk, jumped straight at me, the closest target.
Crap. Still lying down, I rolled to dodge her attacks and met her blade with mine. Her swordwork was wild and fast. All her usual grace was gone—just raw instinct driving her strikes. For a moment, my chest hurt.
Behind me, Kuuko and Garou’s fight went on with harsh breaths and the dull thuds of fangs and claws hitting. It ended with Kuuko—stronger in raw power—tearing out Garou’s throat. A wet, sickening rip, and the wolf’s body fell lifeless.
That sealed our team’s win.
But Elenor and Kuuko were still berserk.
I tried ordering Kuuko first. “Kuuko. Calm down.”
With that one word, the berserk magic around Kuuko broke. The muddy red left her eyes. As my Dedicated Slave, my command let her push past the enemy’s influence. Her loyalty was stronger than magic itself.
That left Elenor. She was still swinging wildly, lost to reason. I waited for the smallest opening, then closed the distance in a moment. I held her tight, pressing her body against mine. Her warmth was intense. Her thrashing arms wrapped around my back, and I felt her strength fade bit by bit.
That was my signal. I spread my Magic Seal from my own body to cover hers fully. The red mana on Elenor faded into the air like mist. I could feel the Seal cancel the dark force inside her.
When she came back to herself, confused, still in my arms, I gave her a gentle kiss. Her soft lips, her faint sweet scent. This was for the audience. It was also my way, my act, to calm Elenor and help her understand what happened.
’WHOOOOOOA! What is this?! The Black Swordsman has broken the curse on Princess Elenor—with the power of love’s kiss!’
The announcer played to the crowd with dramatic words. He had read my plan well. The stands gave the loudest cheer of the day, a roar that shook the whole colosseum, and spotlights blazed down on us.
And so, through all that chaos, we won the second round in grand style.
—
Summary:
The battle reaches its climax as Xenos narrowly dodges Bash’s hammer and plants an explosive spell in the bear beast-kin’s body. The fox beast-kin unleashes a desperate berserk magic that affects everyone except Xenos, forcing Kuuko to tear out Garou’s throat and Elenor to attack Xenos. Xenos uses his Magic Seal to purify Elenor with a kiss, securing victory as the crowd erupts in celebration.
—
Trivia:
Xenos has the ability to channel mana directly into opponents’ bodies to plant explosive spells.
Teleportation Magic is Xenos’s trump card that he refuses to reveal to the crowd.
Kuuko’s loyalty as a Dedicated Slave allows her to override enemy magic through sheer devotion.
The Magic Seal not only protects Xenos but can be expanded to envelop others and purify them.
The announcer dramatically frames the kiss as “love’s kiss” despite Xenos’s internal framing of it as performance.
Beast-kin possess natural regeneration that makes minor wounds irrelevant in battle.
The fox beast-kin’s forbidden spell is a self-sacrifice move meant to turn the tide through chaos.
Xenos deliberately dialed back the explosion’s power to only incapacitate, not kill.
The colosseum crowd’s cheers reach their peak during the kiss scene, indicating the public spectacle aspect of the fight.
Xenos maintained his Teleportation secret by timing it perfectly with the explosion’s visual and auditory cover.
Notes:
• Bash – A bear beast-kin operative with a savage grin and huge build. He fights with a giant hammer and uses his natural healing to ignore wounds, sacrificing his body to grab opponents. He speaks with aggressive street slang. A bear beast-kin operative with massive frame, wields a giant hammer as the tank of the opposing team.
• de – A particle used in the aristocratic name of the Margrave Albion de Blanchefort.
• Elenor – Princess Elenor, the “Saint of Light,” is a haughty, blonde-haired princess and skilled swordswoman for Xenos’s Royal Phantom team. Piercing blue-eyed and elegant, she maintains a composed, analytical grace in battle but turns berserk when fighting. Bound by Xenos’s Magic Seal, she masks a stubborn, tsundere nature and secretly harbors twisted desires for his dominance despite her outward disdain.
• Garou – A wolf beast-kin operative on the opposing team. He fights Kuuko during the berserk state and is finally beaten when his throat is torn out. No spoken dialogue in this chapter. A wolf beast-kin with sharp claws, member of the [Fangs of Frenzy] team.
• Kuuko – A cat beastkin infiltration agent, she disguises herself as a tiny black kitten using a transformation ring. A dedicated, loyal slave to Xenos, she draws on his mana to shift into a massive black panther for combat. As a cherished member of Royal Phantom, she is doted on by Cecilia and Lizel, showing absolute devotion to Xenos and the ability to break enemy magic through her unwavering bond.
• Xenos – Xenos Grimlock, a reincarnated otome game villain and heir to his noble house, hides his genius as a “loser” to manipulate events from the shadows. Known as the jet-clad Black Magic Swordsman, he uses foreknowledge, mind control, and artifacts to orchestrate power shifts. Cold and calculating, he commands a loyal household, including Cecilia and Kuuko, while maneuvering between war and peace factions.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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