The Forsaken Heir's Ascension
Chapter 81: Confession to the Princess

Chapter 81: Confession to the Princess

Author Note: Please read this Chapter after Chapter 89. Thanks

Alex’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

He spun around—his teammates were finally behind him, having crossed. Only the captains still stood face-to-face, neither making a move. A perfect stalemate.

Gritting his teeth, Alex focused his elemental energy again.

Dark aura surged around his legs, wrapping tightly as he pulled.

With a sharp jolt, he yanked himself free from the ground’s grip.

I have to be careful not to reveal too much of my power, Alex reminded himself.

The cheeky brat sighed dramatically and stood up, arms hanging lazily at his sides.

"Why’d you have to go and do that? We were having such a good conversation. You ruined the moment, man."

Alex raised an eyebrow, confused. The brat just winked and flashed a grin.

Suddenly, Selene landed behind them with a sharp gust of wind. Her voice cut through the nonsense like a blade:

"Why are you wasting time, Alex? I’ll hold him off. You move—take the far side to the next column. And stop chatting. They’re only trying to distract you."

Alex nodded and darted away without another word. The cheeky brat didn’t move a muscle—just kept his eyes on Selene.

"I really am in love with you, Princess," he whispered dreamily.

Selene froze..

Alex, mid-run, almost stumbled.

This guy is too much. He’s using his words like traps. That should be illegal.

He leapt to the next column.

No trap this time. Just a clean landing.

But what stood in front of him wasn’t comforting.

A girl with midnight black hair, tinged blue at the ends, stood waiting. Her eyes, a deep royal blue, blazed with intensity. Lightning crackled along her arms, arcing across her body in thin, dangerous threads.

Alex realized why this column was untouched.

She’s the trap.

But Alex wasn’t done. He closed in, merciless.

She flashed away, vanishing in a blur to the far end of the column.

Alex stepped across like he was strolling through a park.

Behind him, Selene, watching Alex’s success, attacked the cheeky brat with a storm of ice lances.

He yelped and fled the column in a panic.

Selene didn’t cross.

She chased after him with cold fury, raining punishment on him for every second he wasted of her time.

Poor guy’s gonna get beaten blue and black.

Alex smirked, wiping blood from his cheek as he turned forward—

A massive axe cut through the air, heading straight for his head.

Caught off guard, Alex instinctively raised his Shadow Daggers, crossing them above his head.

Boom!

The impact thundered like a mountain crashing down on his shoulders.

His knees buckled. He hit the ground.

The Defender yanked the axe back with ease.

Alex stood, breathing heavily, staring at the smirking giant already lifting his silver axe—

It was larger than the Defender himself.

Alex straightened, summoning his spear.

Whistle blew.

Five minutes remaining.

His grip tightened around the spear.

The axe came again—

Catching Alex off guard.

But this time, he moved.

In a blur of lightning, he dodged.

The axe slammed into the ground with a thunderous boom!

"You escaped..." the Defender sneered creepily. "Don’t run—taste my axe, please."

Alex’s face tensed.

The Defender began withdrawing his weapon again.

Without a word, Alex crossed the next column, briskly moving away.

As he reached the seventh column, Selene appeared—

Her frost magic freezing the axe-wielding Defender mid-swing.

She dashed past the column, followed closely by Rina and another Blaster.

They stopped beside Alex at the same column.

Whistle blew.

Three minutes remaining.

Lightning flickered around Alex’s body.

He bent his knees, spear aimed forward—

Poised like a mounted sentry ready to charge.

"Alex, stop!"

A calm, confident voice rang out.

He turned. Selene was approaching him.

"We’ll help you cross," she said firmly.

"That way, it’ll be faster."

Alex nodded.

As he relaxed, Selene moved.

Ice lances shot from her hands, crashing into the fire-type Defender.

Blaster fire followed—mid-range attacks keeping the Defender off-balance.

He couldn’t focus on Alex or Rina.

Seizing the opportunity, Alex dashed toward the eighth column.

This time, Rina lunged forward, her katana gleaming as she struck fiercely at the Defender with the massive shield—

The Anchor.

He raised the shield just in time, blocking her attack.

But from beneath the shield, a spear shot out—swift and silent, like a serpent.

Its target—

Rina, completely unaware.

Alex’s eyes widened.

He surged forward.

Clang!

His spear met the hidden one, deflecting it just inches from Rina.

The sneaky Defender grinned, then lunged with his shield.

Rina dodged, leaping into the air.

Twisting mid-spin, she came down like a comet, blade aimed at the shield-bearer’s head.

As she crossed above the column’s boundary—

The Defender’s eyes flared with fury.

Boom!

He slammed the shield sideways into her ribs with brutal force—

Like a predator waiting for its prey to enter the kill zone.

Whistle blew.

"Rina Roarhart—OUT!"

Only 60 seconds remaining.

The Defender grinned, eyes locked on Alex.

"You’ve lost," he said coldly.

Alex didn’t respond.

Crackling light surged around him—lightning dancing across his limbs, pressing into the ground beneath his feet.

This is it. My only chance.

Then he moved.

Like a thunder god descending, he sprinted—

A blur of lightning tearing across the battlefield.

He passed the eighth, then the ninth column in an instant.

Ahead—the tenth column.

So close.

Almost there. Just a little more and we win.

Whistle blew.

30 seconds remaining.

But Alex had already tuned out the world.

Everything faded—

Only the line before the final column remained in his mind.

He stepped forward—

Muscles coiled to leap—

BOOM!

Something hit him.

Faster than even him.

The impact crushed his momentum—

Alex flew through the air like a puppet with its strings cut.

He crashed outside the WW ground, slamming into the academy’s club wall—

BOOM!

The wall cracked under the force.

Pain exploded through his body.

His scream—

Caught in his throat.

Blood spilled from Alex’s mouth—

Then came the coughs, wet and ragged.

Figures gathered around him—

Blurry shapes swimming in his fading vision.

His ears rang like sirens. No voices. Just pressure and pain.

Then—

A voice broke through, loud and thunderous.

"Luther, did you kill him?"

It was Darian, the captain.

A nervous, stammering voice replied,

"N-No... Captain... I... just did my usual..."

Darian crouched beside Alex, grimacing.

"Damn... that’s a lot of broken bones."

Smack!

A hand slapped the back of Darian’s head.

Tina knelt beside him, leaning close to Alex’s face.

"Hey, kid... if you can hear me, blink once."

She paused, eyes searching his.

"...Are you okay?"

Alex blinked.

Relief washed over her face. But before she could speak again—

A low growl echoed from behind.

A wolf stepped forward, lips curled back in a snarl, positioning itself between Alex and the crowd.

Alex shut his eyes and focused inward.

He summoned his elemental power—

Wood elemental power.

It flowed through him like a healing tide.

He directed it to his ribs and lungs—

Bruised and battered, spilling blood like drunken fools at a long-overdue reunion.

The healing began. Bones knitted. The bleeding slowed.

Then he shifted focus—

To the punctured organs, delicate and torn.

He mended them carefully, steadily.

Finally, he sent the elemental power to his cracked skull,

Easing the pressure, calming the ringing in his ears and clearing the blur from his eyes.

Once he finished mending his internal injuries, Alex turned his focus to his broken limbs.

In just a short span of time, the wood element worked its magic—patching him up enough to move.

He stood, groaning as the pain still lingered like echoes in his bones.

When he looked around, he saw the crowd circling him—

Eyes wide with disbelief.

Darian stepped forward with a big grin and slammed a hand on Alex’s back.

"Luther, did you get weak or something?"

The hit knocked the air out of Alex’s lungs.

"I... I..." Luther scratched his head awkwardly, unable to respond.

Tina suddenly appeared, stepping between them.

She leaned in close—too close—and began checking Alex thoroughly, her eyes scanning him like a scanner locked on critical damage.

"You’ve healed," she muttered, still inspecting every inch.

Alex gave a tired nod and turned his gaze to Hati, his loyal wolf companion still standing guard.

With a groan, Alex crouched down, reaching out to gently caress Hati’s fur.

I’m okay, he silently reassured the growling beast.

Still sitting on the ground, he asked,

"So... who won?"

Darian scratched his head, clearly unsure what to say.

Before he could answer, a thin, sharp-voiced Umpire stepped in.

"Team Defender won," he declared in a serious tone.

"You were in the middle of your last leap when time ran out."

Darian waved it off with a sheepish grin.

"Come on, don’t be so serious. It was just a mock battle. You all gave it your best—try harder next time!"

But Tina’s crimson eyes flashed, her tone suddenly sharp and commanding.

"Tomorrow, we’re doing another mock battle. Same teams."

She turned her gaze toward the Attackers—huddled together, faces downcast.

Her voice dropped, fierce and cold:

"You’d better make up for today’s loss."

Tina turned sharply to Alex, still sitting on the ground. Her crimson eyes locked onto him, fierce and unrelenting.

"This isn’t a one-man game," she snapped.

"You have to work with your team. Don’t underestimate the defenders. Speed alone doesn’t make you a good attacker."

She stepped away, but her voice carried back like a slap.

"You better make up for it tomorrow—or I’ll personally slam you into the wall and break every bone like him."

She pointed at Alex himself.

A shiver ran down his spine.

The lingering pain in his bones flared like it remembered the threat too