Chapter 229 What’s Wrong with Being Ordinary
“Ugh!”
I was startled by the unexpected event, but Selpen, the Capital Knight, quickly regained her composure and stance.
“…Used a bit of cunning, didn’t you?”
While Maiev might have used some cunning, Selpen had no intention of letting the outcome change. She steeled herself and widened her eyes just at that moment.
Whooosh─!
Blue pigments surged from beneath the ground. They intertwined like whips and vines, binding Selpen’s limbs.
“What the…!”
The liquid, as expected, did not remain fixed anywhere. Though it appeared to have no solid form, it wrapped around Selpen’s body, binding and pressing down on her.
Swoosh─!Selpen swung her sword, severing the blue pigments and lines.
However, they clung back together.
No matter how many times she cut them, Maiev’s blue pigments persistently adhered. It was as if they were saying they would never give up.
“The initiative should be mine…!”
“That’s why I told you. This is a s*****e spell.”
Selpen’s eyes filled with suspicion. And with each passing second, the suspicion turned into astonishment.
Meanwhile, Maiev quietly thought.
‘…The power is lacking.’
Although the s*****e spell managed to bite into Selpen, Maiev was aware that this alone wouldn’t be enough to defeat her.
More power.
Currently, Maiev needed more power.
‘It doesn’t have to be an enormous amount of power.’
Pure blue mana. If it could be truly pure, even a modest amount would be sufficient….
After pondering for five seconds, a method came to mind.
No, to be precise, it was a method she had known from the beginning. She had just been hesitating to implement it until now.
‘Come to think of it, I always clung to superiority.’
Maiev was born a vampire.
She always fixated on being ‘exceptional’ and ‘superior.’ She wanted to be nobler than other races and aimed to be considered a genius in the realm of dark magic.
But now, living as a human, what about it?
The human magicians commonly referred to as geniuses.
They would continue to grow rapidly. No matter how hard Maiev tried, it would be impossible to catch up to them in the field of ‘blue mana.’
‘I can never be a genius for the rest of my life.’
In other words, from now on, she had to live as an ordinary human. She could only watch others’ success and growth in a daze.
However, Maiev felt no despair.
‘Is there no value in the life of an ordinary person?’
Most would answer yes. Being an ordinary human is extremely insignificant compared to a genius.
But Maiev no longer fixated on that.
‘It’s okay to be ordinary. Even ordinary power is enough.’
Maiev’s eyes briefly glowed red. She focused her mind and slowly closed her eyelids.
‘Perhaps, I still had lingering regrets.’
She didn’t want to abandon her vampire origins.
It seemed such thoughts lingered in a corner of her mind. She had kept one foot in both worlds.
However, it was now the moment to make a decision, and she realized what she had to give up.
Whooosh─!
Selpen swung her sword once more.
The incredibly sharp sword energy scattered Maiev’s mana in an instant. To be precise, it seemed closer to disintegration than scattering, such was its destructive power.
“…!”
Maiev’s body staggered. In the end, she had to kneel on one knee, but her expression remained remarkably composed.
If she needed ordinary power, if she had to become an ordinary human, there was only one way.
‘…I must abandon everything as a vampire.’
Having made her decision, she began to chant a spell.
“Le Erpeterra.”
She abandoned the time she had lived as a vampire. She destroyed all the knowledge she had accumulated as a vampire herself.
“Lyriish, Lypie…. Ugh!”
Maiev coughed up a lump of blood almost the size of her heart. What others took for granted as a human birthright was extremely difficult for the current Maiev.
She reversed all the life force circulating within her body. She voluntarily lost everything she once considered a source of pride.
“Ugh, ugh─! Argh….”
Her body couldn’t remain intact as she completely reversed the life force within her. Blood flowed from Maiev’s eyes.
Slice─! Slice─!
Even in the midst of this, Selpen’s attacks continued.
If Maiev’s blue pigment took the form of a dragon, Selpen sliced it piece by piece like a fish on a chopping board.
Selpen spoke.
“How long do you think you can hold out?”
But Maiev continued to increase the number of dragons. A horde, an army… words like these were appropriate to describe it.
‘Just a little more, just a little bit of blue power….’
And finally.
At a certain moment.
Maiev opened her eyes again.
Her tear-filled eyes, with blood flowing down, were distinctly blue.
She had finally shed her vampire origins completely.
She would no longer be able to wield life force, nor even approach dark magic. If she stepped into the void, her body would tear apart without resistance.
It was akin to giving up immortality, yet her mind felt oddly relieved.
‘Immerse in blue.’
The way paint spreads on a blank canvas. She had just washed away her vampire origins cleanly.
‘And extend, far and wide.’
Soar high and extend far, like a new future.
Maiev let out a shout.
“Haa!”
The color of the blue dragon was incomparably more vivid than before. It didn’t yield even against Selpen’s sword.
“…!”
Selpen felt a sharp pain in her wrist, and she was quite taken aback.
What was enveloping her was no longer pigment. It wasn’t a light ripple or even something that could be called a lake.
It was as if the ocean itself was embracing her….
“That can’t be!”
As Selpen activated her innate ability, a purple aura enveloped the surroundings. The purple hue slowly spread across Maiev’s blue dragon.
“S*****e spell? I’ll handle even that as my own!”
Stabbing and slashing. Seizing control.
“It’s mine! The power I’ve taken by force is mine! Ordinary people like you should just get taken over easily!”
She tried to force the purple in, but it was futile.
“Ah…!”
In a moment of desperate resistance, Selpen’s eyes widened. As she sliced through the tidal wave-like surge, she suddenly found Maiev, who had somehow gotten right up close to her.
At the moment their gazes met in midair.
Maiev murmured.
“…What’s so wrong with being ordinary?”
Crack!
A very weak attack.
A punch with no additional power, purely the weak strength of her physical body. It was an extremely ordinary and mundane blow.
“…!”
It wasn’t particularly powerful, but it slightly disrupted Selpen’s balance. And for Maiev, that was enough.
“Damn it…!”
The momentary opening caused by Selpen’s loss of balance. Maiev’s Fire and Ice Dragon’s Roar did not miss this chance.
Rumble─!
The dragons that had ascended began to plummet towards the arena one by one. The unguarded Selpen was in danger of being completely crushed.
Boom─! Bang─!
“Awesome!”
“Everyone, watch out!”
Explosions occurred one after another with tremendous force, and soon the arena was covered in a massive cloud of dust.
But even amid this chaos, no one closed their eyes. Instead, they opened their eyes wider, staring at the arena.
Everyone was eager to see the result of the match.
Currently, no movements were detected inside the arena. In other words, the match was decided.
After a while, the dust settled.
The spectators began to pat each other on the shoulders. Everyone was busy talking excitedly.
“What happened?”
“So, who won?”
And finally, the result was revealed.
“…!”
Everyone’s eyes filled with astonishment.
There was no one standing on two legs in the arena. Both Selpen and Maiev were lying on the ground, it was a draw.
“A draw… A draw? Wait, then…!”
As Becky urgently spoke, Trixie responded.
“Maiev can’t advance to the next match. But since she didn’t lose either….”
“The Magic Department won’t be disqualified by default!”
Becky’s face lit up with joy, but only for a moment. She quickly shook her head side to side.
“No, this isn’t the time for that! We need to get to the infirmary quickly!”
Finally, the medical team rushed towards the arena. And whispers began to spread from the audience.
These whispers soon grew into a loud murmur that engulfed the entire area.
And Flan quietly watched Maiev.
◈
“Maiev.”
In the hospital room of the infirmary, I quietly called her name.
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