From the edge of the arena, I watched as Kathlyn straightened her posture.
A slow breath in.
Then another.
Her fingers flexed once at her sides, the faintest ripple of mana pulsing through her wrists. Her eyes didn't leave the stage. Her jaw set with a click.
Oh no.
I knew that look.
That was the "I'm about to throw hands with a living thunderstorm" look.
"Kathlyn…?" I asked cautiously.
She didn't respond.
She was already moving.
A slow, deliberate walk toward the arena, her braid swinging slightly with each step. Students turned to watch her, the crowd parting like she was Moses I could only watch, awe-struck.
"Holy crap. She's really going up."
I was sweating.
My waifu.
My actual, real, waifu.
In combat.
Against Rose.
In the novel, this moment had been a turning point. The moment that defined Kathlyn's future. The loss she suffered in this very match was what drove her to seek out the relic prisms to chase strength with a fury that turned her into one of the novel's most beloved characters.
But now?
Now she was different.
Now she had me.
More importantly, she had access to Class A facilities, two entries into Felis Hall, and the training of a god-tier combat maniac. The Kathlyn from the novel was strong. But this Kathlyn?
She was starting to hop.
Literally.
Tiny, almost imperceptible bounces as she rolled her shoulders and cracked her knuckles.
"H-holy crap, she's bouncing."
That was her thing. Her pre-fight hype-up.
It looked adorable.
And then
"Burning Heart," she muttered.
BOOM.
Mana ignited around her in a shockwave. Flames red and orange with streaks of deep gold coiled around her limbs like writhing serpents. Her eyes glowed faintly, her skin shimmered with raw heat, and the entire platform groaned under the sudden burst of pressure.
Even Rose raised an eyebrow.
YES! I screamed internally. SHE DID IT!
"Burning Heart" wasn't just any buff spell. It was a high-intensity combat enhancer. Short duration, monstrous output. It overloaded muscles with raw mana and raised physical capabilities to near-Class A thresholds but it came at a cost.
like a lightless crash with no conditions but shorter and extra consequence's
Overuse = muscle rupture.
Too long = blackouts.
Use it twice in a row? Congratulations, you are now legally disabled
But Kathlyn didn't care.
She marched into the arena.
Students around me began murmuring.
"Isn't that the girl that seduced her way into rewards?"
"what kind of spell is that?"
"She's going to fight Rose??"
One Class B student just whispered, "This is gonna be a short match
As she stepped onto the ring, the ambient flames died down slightly but the heat didn't. The air shimmered around her. Her boots sizzled faintly against the stone. The combat enchantments had to work overtime just to keep the floor from cracking.
Professor Eisen narrowed her eyes above.
Professor Mallet? He just sipped tea like this was a good Tuesday.
Rose, meanwhile, stared across the ring with genuine interest.
"A Burning Heart user?" she asked, casually adjusting her gloves. "Haven't seen that spell in a long time Kathlyn responded by stomping once.
The entire ring shook.
Rose blinked. "…Oh."
YESSSSSSS, I squealed internally.
Let's gooo, hot-blooded tsundere queen!!
Kathlyn raised her fists, not even drawing a weapon.
Oh, she's doing this brawler style?
"Rose!" she called out, I'm going to stomp you like a bug I'm not holding back
"Neither am I," Rose replied, and the lightning crackled at her heels.
This was it.
Tsundere flame fists vs elegant lightning legs.
My life was complete.
I didn't care if I got hit by a stray spell and vaporized on the spot. I was ready to die watching this match.
Now the question was…
Would Kathlyn win this time?
Or would history repeat itself?
Either way…
he actually got to see one of his faviroute fights live
The bell rang or more accurately, Professor Eisen gave a flick of her wrist, and the match officially began with a sharp, echoing tone.
And then it was on.
BOOM.
Kathlyn moved first.
She didn't test the waters. She didn't circle. She lunged, a straight-line dash powered by explosive legwork that cracked the arena floor beneath her. Flames curled behind her heels like jet trails.
Her fist rocketed forward a haymaker aimed straight for Rose's temple.
It would've worked on anyone else.
Rose dipped.
Barely.
Her form folded like water, the punch missing her cheek by a breath, and in that same fluid motion, she countered a lightning-infused palm strike right into Kathlyn's ribs.
CRACK.
The air popped.
Kathlyn grunted, her body flipping mid-air from the impact, but she landed on her feet, sliding backward, steam rising from the side of her jacket.
I winced.
Oof. That was a hit.
But Kathlyn didn't pause.
Her aura flared again.
She sprinted back in with a furious left hook. Rose ducked Kathlyn followed with a flaming elbow. Rose caught it with both forearms, sparks and fire clashing violently in a flash of light.
Then
"Lightning Net."
Rose whispered the words like a secret. The stone floor beneath Kathlyn surged with static—thin, glowing veins of mana snapped upward and wrapped around her ankle.
She couldn't dodge in time.
WHAM!
A roundhouse kick slammed into her chest, lightning bursting on contact. She flew backward like a missile, crashing into the far barrier wall hard enough to send a ripple through the arena shield.
Gasps filled the room.
"Get up," I whispered. "Come on…"
The smoke cleared
And Kathlyn stood.
Blood at the corner of her mouth.
Hair messy. Clothes scorched. One glove missing.
But her eyes?
Still burning.
She charged again.
Her fists were blurs jabs, hooks, knees. A mix of martial arts and wild street-brawler chaos. And this time, she connected.
A flaming uppercut caught Rose across the jaw. The taller girl staggered—just for a second—but it was real.
YES!
I stood up out of reflex.
Then Rose's expression changed.
Her aura snapped.
The air popped like a thunderclap.
She responded with a spinning sweep kick laced in lightning—Kathlyn blocked with her arm, gritting her teeth through the impact.
Then another hit.
Then a flurry.
Rose was calm. Mechanical. Her legs moved like weapons forged from thunder. Each strike crackled. Each movement built on the last.
And Kathlyn?
She was pushing through it.
Barely.
She took a glancing knee to the side. A jab to the shoulder. A crackling heel to the collarbone.
The room watched in silence, enraptured.
Me?
I was clenching my fists so tight my nails were digging into my palm.
She wasn't losing outright.
But she was getting outpaced.
Every exchange, Rose came out just a little cleaner. Just a little sharper.
I could see it so could everyone else.
Kathlyn was strong.
Stronger than the novel ever let her be this early.
But Rose?
Rose was a polished monster.
And right now?
She was turning it up
They clashed again.
A boom of compressed air and heat rippled through the arena as Kathlyn's flame-coated fists slammed into Rose's forearm guard then her thigh then another sharp swing toward her temple.
Rose moved like a blade of lightning, her footwork barely touching the ground. Sparks danced beneath her every step, and she redirected each blow with terrifying calm.
Kathlyn? She was pure heat. Every swing was slitghly telegraphed, yes but it came with such overwhelming power, it didn't matter.
The audience leaned in.
All around me, students stood still, jaws slack.
Even the instructors had gone quiet.
Rose dodged a right hook and tried to land a spinning knee Kathlyn caught it mid-rotation with both arms, grunted, and threw her across the ring with brute strength.
YESSS! I cheered internally, practically vibrating in place.
Rose tumbled but landed in a perfect crouch, sliding slightly before springing back like a thunderbolt. Her counterattack was devastating a downward chop coated in electricity, aimed right at Kathlyn's shoulder joint.
WHAM.
The floor cracked.
Kathlyn's body dipped, the impact hitting hard, but she rotated with it rolling through the force, her left foot trailing flame as she spun on her heel and delivered a low sweeping kick that nearly took Rose's legs out.
Close.
So close.
They broke apart again, both panting slightly, both holding their ground.
Then came the verbal exchange.
"Still standing?" Rose said coolly, brushing a scorch mark from her uniform. "I'm impressed."
"Shut up," Kathlyn panted, eyes glowing. "I'm not done until you're flat on the floor."
"Hmm."
Rose's aura crackled again.
Her mana signature spiked, so intense that the barrier enchantments began to flicker faintly.
"Oh no," I whispered, grabbing the edge of my seat. "This is the part where she does the chain-combo…"
Rose blurred forward.
Her Lightning Cascade Combo. The one that, in the novel, destroyed a Class A prodigy's entire career arc in six pages.
Strike one elbow to the gut.
Strike two knee to the ribs.
Strike three heel to the face, executed in mid-air like a ballet dancer hopped up on voltage.
Kathlyn took the first two.
Blocked the third.
But the fourth?
BOOM.
A pulse wave launched her back. Her back hit the arena barrier with enough force to send cracks splintering through it.
Her body dropped to one knee.
I held my breath.
People in the crowd were already murmuring whispering that it might be over.
But the
Then Kathlyn screamed.
Not in pain.
In rage.
Flames exploded around her again, even more violently than before. Her Burning Heart spell reignited, like a second wind ripped from the gut of pure stubbornness.
Even Rose blinked at the sudden resurgence.
Kathlyn charged.
No fancy footwork. No setup.
Just a mad dash, arms blazing, fire coiling around her like a living dragon.
"She's gonna burn herself out," I muttered, voice cracking. "You can't use it that long, dammit, you're gonna—!"
They collided.
This time, the entire arena shook. A shockwave erupted from the center, and dust clouded everything for a moment. The spectators gasped, shielding their eyes as mana pressure burst outward in every direction.
For three seconds, no one could see anything.
When the dust cleared
Kathlyn stood there, blood dripping down her lip.
Rose stood too but with a small, visible bruise blooming on her cheek.
She touched it, surprised.
"I see," she said.
"Don't get used to it," Kathlyn growled, swaying slightly. "There's more."
My soul left my body.
She bruised a real bruise
A clean hit.
Rose wasn't laughing anymore.
She wasn't even smiling.
She raised her arms again, adjusting her stance into something tighter. Lower. Serious.
Now she was treating Kathlyn like a real opponent.
My brain overloaded.
Rose moved again this time slower, more calculated. The barrage came in precise bursts. Jabs of lightning, low sweeping kicks meant to trip, feints followed by punishing mid-range strikes.
Kathlyn blocked most of them.
But not all.
She took a grazing blow to the collarbone.
Then a spinning heel that caught her temple.
Her feet skidded she caught herself on all fours.
But she stood again.
Flames flickering, fading now.
She was slowing.
I bit my fist.
"Please just give up if you lose... well only i really know what will happen
She didn't hear me.
Of course not.
She charged again.
Fist cocked back like a burning cannon.
Rose met her halfway.
Their fists collided.
BOOOOOM.
Flame vs. Lightning. Mana vs. Mana.
The arena trembled.
One of the light fixtures cracked and fell from the ceiling.
In the end?
Rose stood with 5 gaping wounds leaking mana
i could not let my beloved lose...could i?
Rose looked up with an annoyed expression...hmph a bug in the sky
above the stadium was Kai with two pure black wings sprouting from his back