Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 326: Chapter 326: Prince of Wind & Mad Runic Princess

Chapter 326 – Prince of Wind & Mad Runic Princess

As everything faded to blank, the sound of the spectators began seeping back through their ears, growing steadily into a full blast of noise.

Instantly, both Klaus and Love’s bodies twitched and jerked upright, Klaus scrambling to his feet, disoriented, swaying, nearly stumbling.

His movement sent the crowd into another wave of celebration, the ground itself trembling under their thunderous stomping and shouting.

Klaus barely registered any of it. He didn’t even notice Windy buzzing around him like an irritating fly in summer.

His mind felt blurred, his body impossibly heavy.

He looked down, spotting Love beneath him, a wide puddle of blood pooling underneath her.

Her hand was still severed at the wrist, her shoulder and stomach still bleeding from his earlier attacks.

Her eyes barely stayed open, her breathing labored, lungs badly damaged from the wind that had torn through her insides.

Combined with her now-aged appearance, looking closer to 23 than her true 18, Love looked one step, maybe one and a half, from Vorn’s Gate.

Klaus stood speechless, mind spinning. The Watcher and even Windy were speaking, but none of it registered, his eyes fixed entirely on Love.

She noticed his gaze, saw his Spirit Form still flickering, weakened, on the verge of collapse, and smiled weakly, teeth stained with blood, "I...I want a cute maid dress, you bloody coward."

That was all Love managed before her eyes slid shut, consciousness fading, body going limp.

Klaus didn’t last much longer either.

Barely a second later, his Spirit Form deactivated entirely, and the full toll of wielding that much power sent him crashing to his knees against the shattered earth, blood pouring from his mouth and torn muscles.

’...fuck this shit.’ Klaus cursed through the mind-numbing pain, consciousness dimming.

Finally, the crowd’s roar broke through his mental haze, loud enough to remind him where he stood.

He was in the arena. And he’d won.

"WINNER: Klaus Silicin Handoff, the Third Most Handsome Man of the Kingdom, and now..."

The spectators roared, the arena walls trembling beneath their combined voices:

"...PRINCE OF WIND! PRINCE OF WIND! PRINCE OF WIND!"

Over and over, they chanted his newly confirmed Name. And with that,

"Klaus Silicin Handoff now joins the ranks of the Named Men!" The Watcher declared.

"OUAAAAAHHH!!!"

’So damn loud.’ Klaus, meanwhile, couldn’t care less about any of it in that moment. His body felt like it was being severed limb from limb.

"But that’s not all!" The Watcher continued, and this time the spotlight shifted to Love, sprawled on the verge of death, already surrounded by Health Center staff, "It would be deeply unfair not to give this woman what she’s earned! This is Love de Bayard! Daughter of the Tower of Runes! The famous model taking the Net by storm with her stunning beauty! But today! But today, ladies and gentlemen, we’ll know her by another name! A name she’s earned for herself! So tell me, students of Elysia Academy! Tell me! TELL ME THE NAME!"

Every face in the crowd flushed with excitement, reaching a fever pitch as they roared, screamed, and cried out Love de Bayard’s new title,

"MAD RUNIC PRINCESS! MAD RUNIC PRINCESS! MAD RUNIC PRINCESS!"

Over and over, relentless. They welcomed her, too, into the ranks of the Named.

At that point, Klaus could no longer hold on, finally losing consciousness beneath Windy’s worried words, before she vanished from view.

Health Center staff arrived and carried him off as well, leaving behind a battlefield thoroughly demolished by two teenagers.

Once again, the first-years had left the upperclassmen speechless. And once again, everyone found themselves wondering how these 18-year-old children could be this powerful.

Their Palatine was a Desdemona with absurd Skills and a razor-sharp tactical mind. There was also a bizarrely talented student named Sky, capable of summoning storms at will, calling down endless lightning.

Now there was a man capable of achieving Spirit Form at merely Imbued rank, and a woman whose runes and their applications felt so far beyond normal they sent chills down every spine.

And that wasn’t even counting the other monsters who hadn’t yet had the chance to fully display their brilliance.

The whole Academy stood in awe of this generation. Watching them, no one could shake the feeling they were witnessing the birth of something legendary.

Cassius watched the entire scene with a small, twisted smile, proudly watching his friend, victorious and now bearing a Name of his own.

’You’re stronger now than you ever were, at this point in the Game. Far stronger.’ He thought, taking Keisha’s hand to dab away his fake tears, ’Sigh, I feel like a proud father. I think I finally understand what Julaibib must have felt.’

But there was still one thing Cassius couldn’t quite put his finger on,

"Hey, girls, tell me," Cassius said, over the crowd’s continued roaring, Keisha and Natalia turning to face him, "what exactly is the relationship between Klaus and Love?"

"What do you mean?" Keisha tilted her head cutely, eyes still glistening with the remnants of tears she’d over her childhood friend’s victory and new title. She was so bloody cute.

Natalia said nothing, though her expression mirrored the same confusion.

Cassius shook his head, disappointed, "Can neither of you see it? I’ve always sensed something off about those two. They act like they hate each other, but it doesn’t feel that way to me at all."

He narrowed his eyes, and that simple gesture alone nearly made every nearby woman still watching him faint.

"What if, actually, Klaus loves Love — heh, loves Love, this shit is so funny — but acts like he hates her?"

"Are you sure?" Keisha looked doubtful, "Why would Klaus do that?"

"Pride." Natalia said instantly, shrugging, "You know Klaus. He’d rather do anything than say or do something that might tarnish his image. And admitting he loves Love, someone who..."

Natalia paused, instinctively holding back.

"You can say it, Naty." Cassius grinned, egging her on, "Love cucked him, just say it. Don’t hold back."

Naty’s lips twitched, "...I’d say Love rejected him."

"Tsk, you disappoint me. Keisha, you say it! You’ve never disappointed me before, don’t start now!"

"Ahh!" Keisha’s eyes welled up with tears again, "I...I don’t want to say bad things about my friend!"

"What? Klaus bullies you all the time, though?"

"That’s just his way of showing love!"

"You innocent fool." Both Natalia and Cassius said in unison, looking at Keisha with pity.

Keisha’s tears nearly spilled over. Even more flustered now, she buried her face into Cassius’s chest, hiding herself in his embrace.

Natalia felt an instant flare of envy, wishing she could do the same so easily.

The onlookers around them reacted even worse.

Cassius simply smiled wryly and patted Keisha’s head, saying nothing more. He turned his gaze back toward the wrecked battlefield, then added:

"Guys, I’ll bet my beautiful goddess that Klaus and Love have something going on. Trust my nose for drama, I swear."

[...why are you betting me?]

’Trust me, I’m right.’

[But why me specifically?]

’Fate? I just said whatever came to mind first.’

[...Cassius, I’m keeping a record of everything you say to me. Don’t complain when payback day comes.]

’May that day never arrive.’

[It will.] she scoffed.

"But isn’t Love with Emrys?" Natalia said, her mirror-like eyes flashing, perfectly reflecting the scene around her.

That was when Cassius grinned wildly, "Then that means Klaus cucked Emrys in return. Queen’s beautiful lovely skirt, that’s my man!"

He cackled, laughing heartily, the sound falling on the ears of the surrounding women like some kind of heavenly ascension.

Some of them started drooling openly, while others suddenly glared at their own boyfriends with disgust.

"I could die for him."

"I could die for his eyes."

"I could die if he even looked at me."

"I could kill every other woman just to have him for myself!"

They whispered on and on, and Cassius heard every word. His laughter died out abruptly as he glanced around, taking in the hungry stares of the women and the hate-filled glares of the men.

He sighed heavily.

’This is going to be unbelievably annoying.’

[Heh.] Ananke mocked him.

...

Meanwhile, Emrys had been watching the entire duel livestreamed on his phone.

He lay outside, in the Gentle Park of the Outer Ring, stretched across soft green grass beneath the shade of a towering tree.

No one else was around, making the spot feel even more peaceful, quiet.

Emrys couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt this calm.

Wearing a blue sleeveless shirt and black pants, golden tattoos gleaming across his forearms, Emrys studied his phone screen with calm eyes,

"She came pretty close to winning, didn’t she?" He remarked, "Shame. Still, not bad at all. Klaus is impressively strong too. So he can achieve Spirit Form as well...his own looks more natural."

He paused, slowly arching an eyebrow, "I recall the Second Elder of Heaven mentioning the Handoffs’ First Ancestor wasn’t human, but a spirit...is that why only they can form contracts with them? Last time, I had to force my control over them."

He smiled faintly.

"Interesting. All my classmates really are exceptional, aren’t they? How did I never notice this before?"

He shook his head slightly, powered off his phone, resting it on his chest, then closed his eyes, letting the breeze wash over him.

Emrys stayed like that a long while, before his god’s divine patience, unusually thin for a deity, finally ran out.

[The Golden Beggar frowns deeply.]

[What are you doing, Emrys?] The Beggar rumbled inside his mind, [You have far more important things to do than lounging around out here. Have you forgotten your mother’s condition?]

"I’m not lounging around." Emrys said, "A girl just broke up with me, and I feel an intense urge to destroy something, but I’m not acting on it. See, Beggar, I’m trying to be more patient and thoughtful. So don’t push me."

[That’s not—!]

"Golden Beggar." He opened one eye, his blue eyes now a deep, chillingly black.

"Once again..."

His eye shifted to blazing golden, searing like the gaze of the divine.

"...Don’t push me."

—End of Chapter 326—