The prince definitely wasn't expecting to see someone with a darkness attribute so as soon as he perceived the arrival of three arrows from different directions that were going to destroy his shield even while being weak (tier-1) personal spells, he used the winds that were still under his feet, took a half turn, and faced the arrows head on.
They were darkness attribute arrows, so technically, they should only be powerful against weaker light attribute spells. He thought he could easily face them with his Aura-covered sword, but he was wrong this time.
His Aura was indigo, a very bright shade from his light indigo hair. It was a unique Aura with the properties of light and it was also just like a ray of light swirling around his blue blade.
As soon as the three arrows passed through his shield and he tried cutting through the three spell arrows, to his surprise, he felt as great of pressure as facing a solid sword.
It was strange, and he was thrown back a few steps in shock by the arrows, but he was able to see the uniqueness of those darkness attribute arrows in that small moment.
Their spell structure was impeccable. Woven with as great of care as a grandma's sweater for her grandchildren.
He was able to discern just how magnificent those spells were and also accept that he couldn't take this opponent as anything but normal.
He was strong, his spells were unique, and his casting speed was abnormally as good as his own, maybe more than his considering the kind of spell he just used.
Spells so unique he wanted to call it a skill, but he knew the difference between a skill and a magic spell perfectly. Skill wasn't so elaborate and good-looking. But his magic carried a unique elegance and attractiveness that he had only seen in elder mages.
He was already using his own magic, something a prince like him was still some distance away from.
He didn't want to admit it, but he was definitely weaker than this person. He could tell it just from that brief confrontation. But that didn't mean he was going to win.
-Swiiiiiiiiish!
He used his winds to get away from him while facing the enchanted arrows that were fired at him in that short moment.
It was crazy how someone could fire that many arrows in just that small moment. He was distracted by the weight of his spell arrows, but he definitely sensed twelve arrows coming at him at that moment.
Defending against every single one of them was impossible, so with the use of his winds, he avoided most of the arrows and cut down the other ones.
Those arrows were also enchanted with powerful spells that impressed him even more.
Sure, they were deadly and powerful enough to kill a few people, but he utilized his [True magic] and [True sword] skills that pierced the core of magical and physical objects to cut down the strong enchanted arrows.
But using those skills at once took away a great lot of Mana and using the wind skill was already using up a great amount of stamina.
If not for all the accessory artifacts he was wearing, he could have already lost just from that much, but he was fine, and his stamina was slowly recovering from his sword.
-Schiiiiiiiiim!
He was done with his defense too, so as soon as the barrage of arrows was complete, he used his sword's charging skill and narrowed the distance between him and his opponent.
Eon was expecting this one too, so he used [Shadow curtain] as soon as his opponent was close enough and created a smokescreen of darkness.
This surprised Claud even more, but he didn't stop.
He used his senses, detection skill, and high eyesight, but after a brief moment when he could not perceive the opponent, he gave up on finding him and just placed his hand on the ground and used another one of his skills.
-Boooooooooooooom!
[Hand of destruction]. A destructive area of effect skill created a great explosion that devastated half of the garden and created the biggest craters of that night.
Of course, it was only the biggest at that point. The biggest of the night would be from Eon, but there was still time for that.
Eon was taking his sweet time with this good boy, after all.
He could finish things even now, and Rein was nagging him to finish it soon so that they can have their dance, but he was interested in this person.
He was an imperial prince, and his strength spoke for itself.
He sure was strong enough to give Carla a hard time. He had received proper training and his exceptional talent was clearly visible to him.
He was like Carla and Alf in terms of talent, definitely great enough to reach the top of his field if he cultivated it properly.
He was a nice person, but he was still not strong enough.
He was young and had a bright path ahead of him, but he didn't have a goal.
He was different from Carla, who wanted to be great enough to chase after my greatness and become a hero for others, or Alf, who always wanted to surpass me with his magic.
They had goals, a wish, and a deep desire that made them strive for more. It made them work harder and harder every single day to achieve what they wanted.
They had a goal they wanted to accomplish, and it made them better than many other geniuses in this world.
But his opponent, prince Claudius, was different.
He had immense talent, fortitude to work harder, and perseverance to achieve more and better, but… he didn't have any goal.
He was someone with a bright path, but his path was blank.
He was like a newborn spirit that can have any elemental powers it wanted but different from them, he didn't know what he wanted in his life or for what purpose he gained his strengths.
He didn't know, and Eon could see that in those eyes they just wanted to win, even while accepting the situation he was in.
He was struggling. Struggling to defend against his arrows, struggling to dodge the arrows that strangely changed their path and came at him again, struggling to cast more spells to attack and defend against an enemy that could easily neutralize them.
He was struggling, maybe not for the first time in his life, but he was stubbornly refusing to give up.
He continued, trying magic and different kinds of swordsmanship, which looked fancy but definitely wasn't something that belonged to him.
He had a unique way to cast spells, but he didn't have his own magic. He had a unique talent to wield his sword, but he didn't have his own sword style.
He was good enough to have them both, but the world already called him a genius without those things, so he must have thought it was enough.
He must have thought what he was doing was more than most people did. And it was definitely true.
He didn't lack the efforts; he lacked the path, a wish, a goal, a reason to achieve something…
And today, even with his strengths, skills, and powers, he was going to lose because of his carelessness.
He was going to lose because he didn't have a path, and it definitely wasn't his fault.
He was young, he had a long way ahead of him, and he had all the time in the world, but still… he wasn't going to win today.
He couldn't defeat this person before him, he couldn't defeat this simply superior magic archer, he couldn't have that dance with that one person he wanted to get close to, he was weak, for the first time in his life, he knew he was weak. He knew it… and still, he wasn't going to give up just because of that.
He would fight, he would fight until his last breath, he would fight and fight and keep fighting until one of them wasn't able to continue anymore.
He was exhausted. The fight had already gone on for more than a few minutes. The spectators who could see the things happening in that obliterated land knew from a while back what the outcome was going to be…
They were surprised by Eon's unique strength, his flawless archery, his unbelievable magic, and his amazing techniques with bow and arrow.
It had already far surpassed their expectations, but none of them knew about this 'ugly' stubbornness of their imperial prince.
It was unsightly how he was struggling in that one-sided fight, refusing to admit defeat to the challenge he himself had proposed.
Maybe there was a reason for this behavior, and maybe that reason was that calmly standing stoic lady from a powerful dukedom.
Whatever it may be but they knew one thing… that spar wasn't going to last much longer.
A winner will soon be decided. And even though it was clear who the winner would be, there was still a chance they could be wrong.
Their prince had still not shown all his cards and some of his famous things were still unrevealed.
Many knew the definite outcome, and some wanted to see something interesting. This was entertaining for most of them, but all of them were excited.
It had been fun, but the long fight was on the verge of ending now.
And this end started when prince Claudius spoke some funny words while defending himself against a few more enchanted arrows.
"I didn't think it would come to this. I apologize."
And as he said that, his eyes shone with a strange blue light and Eon felt the flow of the Mana inside his body flowing weirdly.
It was a small change that could have almost killed an attacking knight or given a Mana reflux to some mage casting a spell.
It was dangerous. Even more dangerous than your blood flow suddenly changing.
Someone could have died even with this intensity, but…
"I'm afraid that doesn't work on me."
