"I've always wanted to meet you, Theo."
To the casual listener, it might sound like a female student's confession to a man she admires.
This interpretation was evident in the mischievous look in the eyes of the male announcer who overheard the remark.
But Theo showed no change in expression.
He remained as indifferent as always.
Alice extended her hand to Theo with composed ease.
"I hope for a good match. Please teach me a thing or two, Theo."
"……."
Theo carefully scrutinized her body before finally grasping her hand.
'The secret to her strength... is it an artifact?'
He had suspected as much since her match with Jacob, but now up close, it seemed almost certain.
Her muscle movements, even during the handshake, were somewhat unnatural.
'Not like [Natural Power] which enhances the entire body's abilities, but perhaps it only boosts certain parts.'
With her current stats visible on the status screen, such physical strength was impossible.
It was as if the arm of a muscular orc had been transplanted onto an ordinary human body.
Yet, such unnatural movements would be hard to discern for an average person.
He could only guess this because of the system that allows viewing another's status screen and his deep understanding of peoples' traits and personalities in the game.
'It seems related to Maitri…'
Something not detectable by even an artifact scanner.
Unless one is knowledgeable in Elinia Academy's artifact inspection process, creating such an item would be challenging.
It's likely a creation of Maitri, the executive of [Turning White] in charge of Elinia Academy operations, and the owner of the northern magic city's [Ford Company].
Theo gazed at Alice with a serene look in his eyes.
'She's knowledgeable and brave, but lacking in strength.'
He smiled faintly.
He felt a sense of kinship with her.
...At the same time, he felt a deep sense of revulsion.
Even before his possession, Theo had loathed Maitri since playing the game.
In the original, Maitri was an 'evil' who, for his own glory, had slaughtered thousands of barely toddling children.
Alice exclaimed,
"Oh, so you do smile—"
"Where did you put it on?"
Theo interrupted her abruptly.
Alice's eyes widened in surprise.
"…What do you mean?"
There was no reply from him.
He quickly reverted to his usual, indifferent expression.
Bewildered, Alice thought,
'Is he making fun of me? No way that he knows.'
She quickly regained her composure.
But she couldn't easily dismiss his words.
Clearly, he knew something.
She needed a definite answer.
"Do you enjoy making bets, Theo?"
He remained silent, just gazing intently at her.
His demeanor was a mix of arrogance and dignified grace.
Managing her expression, Alice continued,
"Would you like to bet with me?"
Still no response.
"The winner of this match gets to ask one question that must be answered truthfully."
"…If it's conducted under the supervision of a member from the [Order of Light]."
Alice's eyes fluttered with uncertainty.
Theo's condition was not to be taken lightly.
It meant no lies could be told in the presence of the god Renimid.
Anyone who spoke falsely would incur divine wrath.
This was not merely an urban legend, but a true divine sanction.
'So, he's that confident…?'
She thought, swallowing hard.
"Alright, Theo. Let's do it that way."
Alice agreed, nodding.
Her artifact was a product of Over Technology*, something that couldn't be produced with the average technological capabilities of the continent.
She was confident in her victory.
And she was incredibly curious to know just how much this arrogant man before her really knew.
─The final match of the Elinia Academy Festival's Martial Arts Competition Top 32 starts now!
The announcer declared the start of the match.
However, Theo and Alice stood still, just looking at each other.
Alice smirked slyly.
'So he's choosing not to move first, just observing? He's certainly smart.'
But everyone has a seemingly good plan until they get hit.
She quickly moved within Theo's striking range.
Then, whoosh, swish─!
She extended her left arm, delivering a jab.
Her fist moved with a whip-like speed, a technique Alice had never used before.
Moreover, no one expects an archer to suddenly use punches.
“…!”
But Alice's plan was thwarted.
Theo dodged her swift jab leisurely, as if he had anticipated the attack.
He then swung his sword at the wide-eyed Alice.
Whooosh──!
The sound of the sword resonated through the air.
His wide swing seemed to constrain her movements.
"Ah!"
Alice hastily grabbed her practice bow from her back to block the sword strike.
Her blocked arm tingled.
But the strike wasn't fast.
'I could have just dodged it. It doesn't seem too fast.'
Quickly making a decision, Alice lunged back into Theo's reach, throwing another punch.
A jab and straight combination, a one-two punch.
Again, Theo evaded the punches.
But she had anticipated this.
Thwack─!
Alice kicked Theo's calf with her right foot.
Her real intent was this 'calf kick.'
‘Huh?’
However, the sensation on her foot was unexpected, like hitting a solid rock.
Theo had used his solid knee bone for defense.
Alice wanted to scream from the intense pain spreading from her foot but restrained herself.
Screaming wouldn't help her win.
Smirk-
Theo smiled at her, a twisted, arrogant smile filled with conceit.
Alice, with her lips tightly clenched, chose not to react to Theo's provocation.
Instead, she took a backstep to create distance.
One advantage of the artifact she wore was its significant boost to her self-healing ability.
Since the bones in her foot weren't broken, she would recover quickly.
'Close combat is not working. Time to switch to long-range.'
She had already assessed his speed.
She believed she had the upper hand in that regard, especially since she was still concealing her true speed.
But suddenly, whoosh──!
Theo closed the gap with explosive speed, far surpassing anything she had seen from him before.
In an instant, Theo had closed in deep within her guard.
Thud──!
Theo's right hand plunged deep into Alice's abdomen.
"Guh, guhh..."
A clean, direct hit.
Alice groaned in pain, her waist bending like a bow, as she clutched her stomach and crouched on the ground.
But Theo showed no mercy.
He immediately grabbed her hair with his left hand, pulling her upright.
Then came a relentless barrage of strikes.
Thump!
Thud─!
Thump-thump──!
Thump-thump-thump, thump───!
Theo's strong right hand struck Alice repeatedly.
It was brutal.
His fists pounded her entire body, including her face, without any restraint, like a boxer earnestly trying to burst a sandbag.
The audience in the stands looked on in horror.
"Insane, it's too brutal. Shouldn't they stop this?"
"According to the martial arts competition rules, the match doesn't end until one admits defeat. But this is really brutal... If they were using weapons, it would have been over by now."
"Before the match, they were whispering something. Was it because of that? Did Alice provoke him? He's beating her mercilessly."
"Maybe... Oh, but it's really scary. Look at Theo's expression. It's chilling."
True to the spectator's words, Theo's expression remained impassive.
He seemed devoid of all emotion, as if his feelings had been surgically removed.
His fists moved with precision, each blow aimed with the sole intention of defeating his opponent, like a killing robot programmed for destruction.
Alice was the one who felt this most intensely.
Overwhelmed with fear, she felt as though she might wet herself involuntarily, but she couldn't bring herself to admit defeat.
She looked up at Theo through her swollen, blurred vision.
Yet he, seemingly indifferent, mechanically continued to swing his fists.
Thump, thud─!
The merciless assault continued until just before the time ran out.
"Guh, guhh... I gi...give... up."
Blood mixed with saliva continuously dripped from Alice's mouth.
"I su...surrender... Please, st...stop."
She stuttered out her words.
"Cough, cough."
Blood spurted from her ruptured mouth.
Perhaps it was due to the flowing blood.
Her vision, once clear through her blue eyes, was now entirely blood-red, like the color of his eyes.
No more was the vivid world she used to see.
