"Buzz!"
The dense sound pressure acted in the air, causing the atmosphere to hum.
Frey provided a surge of magic to Rabbi, allowing him to use his magic circuits to their maximum capacity, compressing sound waves into projectiles that were fired in succession, heading towards Sleipnir.
However, Rabbi's sound pressure projectiles failed to inflict any harm on Sleipnir. The armored automaton stood there, allowing the sound pressure projectiles to attack, but they all passed through Sleipnir as if they were hitting empty air.
"It's useless," August Veyron said emotionlessly. "Even if you continue to attack, you won't be able to harm Sleipnir. Why don't you give up your glove?"
Frey winced and bit her lip, showing signs of wavering. But instead of following Veyron's advice, she clutched the hand wearing the glove, as if protecting it.
Clearly, Frey was not willing to give up the match.
Seeing Frey's stubborn determination, Veyron finally focused his gaze on her.
"Why are you so attached to Night Party?" Veyron asked this question.
"Even if you defeat me here, you still have to go through a total of 98 intense battles, and they'll only get tougher and more dangerous as you progress. In the end, you'll have to face opponents on the level of the 'Thirteen' as well. Even if you somehow make it to the end, you'll still have to get pass the 'Marshal'. With your current strength, it's simply impossible. Why are you not willing to give up?"
Veyron finally got to the point.
Undoubtedly, Frey was quite talented. She ranked in the top hundred among the students at the academy, which gathered exceptional puppeteers from all over the world. This alone proved her abilities were not weak.
Furthermore, Frey was hardworking. When Rozen first saw her, she was training deep in the woods, pushing herself until nightfall. She seemed destined to graduate successfully and become an excellent puppeteer.
But that was Frey's limit.
Among the one hundred participants in the Night Party, Frey was undoubtedly the weakest.
At least, for now.
Therefore, for Frey, standing out in the Night Party, enduring 99 intense nights of battle, and ultimately defeating everyone to become the Wiseman, was an impossible task.
Anyone with keen insight could see that Frey's Night Party would not last long. Even though she had a higher ranking than Veyron, her strength was no match for his. She was undoubtedly at the bottom of the ranks.
Under such circumstances, other students would have given up or not persisted to this extent when they saw such a clear gap in their abilities. Frey, however, was still unwilling to give up, and there had to be a reason for it.
And that reason, in fact, Frey had mentioned from the very beginning.
"I can't lose."
Frey's voice rang out once again, weak yet resolute.
"If I lose, I'll lose something important."
That was Frey's reason.
Veyron fell silent.
Then he said, "Fine."
Veyron, appearing to have lost all patience, turned cold in expression.
"Since you're not willing to give up your glove, I'll just take it from you directly."
With those words,
"Sleipnir."
Following Veyron's command, Sleipnir stopped passively enduring the attacks and suddenly disappeared from the spot.
"Boom!"
In a heavy thud, Sleipnir appeared in front of Rabbi, delivering a swift punch toward him, sending him flying once more.
However, this time, Rabbi didn't tumble on the ground but instead crashed into a stone pillar, shattering it upon impact.
"Rabbi!"
Frey couldn't help but cry out but suddenly remembered that the same thing had happened a moment ago. She abruptly turned her head and looked ahead.
There, just as Frey had expected, Veyron had appeared silently.
"Hand it over."
As if declaring, Veyron reached out directly toward Frey.
That hand was gradually enlarging in Frey's eyes.
Even though the hand extended rather slowly, Frey knew she couldn't stop it.
Her glove would be taken in the next second.
Her participation in the Night Party would end in an instant.
And then everything would slip away from Frey.
"!"
Frey let out a silent scream.
Just in that moment,
"Boom!"
An incredible surge of magic erupted from Frey's entire body.
It was a substance so thick and turbid that even the naked eye could clearly see it, an intense, pitch-black magic.
"What...?"
Veyron's pupils suddenly contracted, and not only did he stop his action, but he and Sleipnir both instantly vanished, reappearing in the distance, putting some distance between them.
"What is that!?"
"What a terrifying magic!"
In the audience seats, one by one, students started exclaiming.
In this moment, Frey had unleashed a magic that astonished everyone in the arena.
This magic had already surpassed the level attainable by humans.
It was as if this magic had been forcibly squeezed out from the depths of her body, profound and terrifying.
"Ah!"
Releasing magic of this caliber, Frey collapsed to her knees, her skin breaking in several places, oozing blood.
All of this blood was transformed into magic, surging out from Frey's body.
Yes.
This astonishing magic came from her blood.
The phenomenon, the scene...
"Doesn't that look like what Magnus used?"
"Is this some kind of deception?"
"Could it be that she also knows that kind of secret art?"
"But she seems to be in so much pain!"
The students in the audience seats began to stir.
Even the Night Party executive members started to gather and discuss, seemingly unsure whether they should pause the match.
"Roar!"
On the other side, Rabbi, who had collided with the stone pillar, received the surging magic from Frey's body and let out a ferocious roar.
This roar was devoid of any trace of reason, gradually being replaced by power and madness.
"Tsk."
Veyron became alert, both tongue-tied and mobilizing his magic.
Facing the current Frey, even Veyron had to bring out his true strength.
Just as things were spiraling into uncontrollable territory,
"Swish!"
A faint sound of breaking air subtly echoed.
No one noticed this sound of breaking air.
Thus, no one also noticed that a figure, accompanied by fire sparks, had suddenly descended from the sky at an invisible speed, heading downwards.
The shadow seamlessly blended into the night and disappeared directly behind Frey, who was on the ground, murmuring softly.
"Ah!"
Frey seemed to lose consciousness abruptly and slowly fell.
"U....!"
Rabbi, who had been on the verge of frenzy, also closed his eyes and fell to the ground stiffly.
The astonishing magic that had affected the entire arena suddenly disappeared from Frey's body, bringing everything back to calm.
Watching this scene, everyone was left stunned.
Veyron stared in silence.
The Night Party's executive members had already sent for stretchers.
Meanwhile, in the audience seats, Rozen extended his arm, allowing the shadow to silently approach, coming to rest on his arm.
"Rozen."
Yaya's voice trembled with some unease.
"Let's go."
Rozen said this and promptly stood up.
Together, they left this place.
And thus, the first night of the Night Party came to an end in these circumstances.