The Useless Prince Is A Gangster
Chapter 148. Rin Vs Berend(2)

Chapter 148: 148. Rin Vs Berend(2)

Leaning back, Leo murmured softly. "She’s in serious trouble now if he’s using aura coating."

"Do you think she will lose?" Lucian asked in a low voice that was nearly drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

Leo clenched his jaw and shook his head. "You can’t call it until the game is over."

Below, with his warhammer wrapped in a pulsating golden aura, Berend stood in the middle of the arena like a giant. His body’s energy was channeled into the weapon through the rare skill of aura coating, which gave it the strength to break bones and steel.

He stared at Rin with a smile twisting his lips. His low, sour voice echoed through the silent arena as he growled, "This ends now, bronze girl."

His golden aura sliced the air like a comet as he swung the hammer in a fierce arc, leaving behind sparks that scowled against the dirt.

Before the weapon even struck, the ground began to crack from the force of the swing. Feeling the weight of the impending devastation, the crowd held its breath.

Despite the odds, Rin stood there with fierce pink eyes. She caught her breath, but she remained still. Her staff’s runes glowed brightly as she slammed it into the ground with a sharp cry.

Even though her hands were shaking, she chanted, "Glacia Murus!" with a steady voice. Mana swirled around her, a spinning vortex of blue light that formed a tall wall of ice, its surface shining like clear crystal.

The stands shook as the hammer struck with a loud CRASH. As they struck the barriers, ice fragments flew out, gleaming like lethal arrows. The barrier trembled and held for a second before breaking, but the aura-coated hammer continued to strike. It crashed through, breaking Rin’s ribs as it struck her chest with a sickening crack.

With a bone-jarring thud, she crashed into the stone wall of the arena after flying back and tumbling through the air.

She crumpled to the dirt, still, her uniform ripped and red-stained, blood splattering from her lips. Her staff stopped in the dust after skidding across the arena.

The harsh, mean voices of the gold-class stands erupted in cruel jeers.

"Not even half his strength!" a big student shouted, his laughter rough like stones.

"Bronze trash!" a gold-brooched girl sneered, waving her betting slip like a prize.

In the upper seats, Elara’s group lounged with smug grins.

Astrid leaned back, her smirk sharp. "Told you—guts don’t beat training," she murmured, voice full of scorn.

The lanky boy beside her snorted. "Spirit’s cute, but it breaks."

A glimmer of satisfaction flickered through Elara’s eyes as she continued to stare at Rin’s fallen form. Unnoticed by her friends, her lips formed a subtle, covert grin.

With his chest heaving and his warhammer still glowing dimly, Berend stood tall over the arena and spat into the dirt.

His icy gaze lingered on Rin before shifting to Professor Gidon at the edge of the arena. Gidon about to end the match with a half-raised hand and a gloomy face.

Then there was a shake. The staff trembled as it lay in the dirt. Berend’s eyes snapped to the movement as his snarl waned. Gidon hesitated, his hand motionless. Like an arrow, the staff sped forward and flew across the arena.

Rin’s bloodied hand snapped up and accurately catching the staff. As the jeers were swallowed by a collective gasp, the crowd fell silent. Ignoring her pain tearing through her body, she slowly stood up. Despite the blood dripping from her side and her ripped uniform, she maintained a strong stance.

Her face was faintly shadowed by the strange, powerful light that glowed in her once-bright, warm pink eyes.

Leo’s breath caught as his eyes narrowed. Something had changed. Rin’s presence felt... heavier, like a storm building in the distance.

Her pink eyes glowed with an odd, fierce light, and she smiled coldly, almost cruelly, losing all of her typical bubbly girl personality.

"You still haven’t apologized to Leonhardt," she muttered in a unique, icy, and sharp voice. Even Berend took a step back at the darkly toned words, his grip tightening on his warhammer.

To mask his unease, he narrowed his eyes and spoke in a rough, mocking tone. "What is this? Was there a hidden personality that my hit revealed?"

She tilted her head, a predator’s gleam in her eyes as her smile grew. "Perhaps it did."

Sharp stones spiked up to trap Berend’s legs in a tight grip of rock as the ground beneath him shook violently. He glanced down, then back at Rin, his snarl fading as she raised her staff.

"Aether Spiral," she muttered. She was surrounded by a whirling whirlpool of glowing mana that twisted upward like a storm of shattered starlight, its edges as sharp as swords. The spell’s high-pitched shriek tore the air as it screamed toward Berend.

His aura formed a desperate golden shield as he raised his arms, but the spiral tore through, severing his arms and chest. As he staggered back, his roar drowned out by the shocked gasps of the crowd, blood sprayed and stained the dirt.

"That’s... top-tier magic," a silver-class girl whispered from the stands, her voice trembling with awe.

Berend steadied himself, blood dripping from tears in his tunic, his snarl defiant despite the pain on his face. "You little, You’re pushing your luck," he growled, his warhammer glowing brighter.

With a yell, he shattered the stone trap, shards flying as he charged.

Rin remained still, her icy smile unchanging. Her voice was a chilling chant that seemed to vibrate with the stones of the arena as she raised her staff. "Luminos Cataclysm." Above her, a dazzling ball of glowing mana formed, its edges crackling with raw, destructive power as the air sparked.

She flicked her wrist, and the ball exploded into beams of burning light that shot like holy arrows toward Berend.

The beams burned through the skin and fabric, leaving charred, bleeding wounds on his side, thigh, and shoulder as he twisted and dodged with frantic speed.

He closed the gap, hammer up, roaring in agony, but Rin’s hand shot up.

Berend froze mid-step, muscles straining, eyes wide with shock. Slowly, his body lifted off the ground, his boots dangling as Rin’s outstretched hand shook with focus. With a sharp flick, she threw him backward. He crashed into the arena wall with a loud crack, stone dust rising as the impact echoed through the stands.

Berend staggered up, blood soaking his uniform, his pride battered but his anger fierce. "You... little..." he snarled, gripping his hammer with trembling hands, its aura flickering like a fading star.

Rin’s eyes gleamed, her voice dropping to an icy whisper. "Graviton Pulse."