Episode 44 – In Pieces (2/2)

Those that coveted her soul, those that turned green with jealousy, none of them knew the truth

It wasn’t a gift Rather, it was a curse

Her soul…was flawed

Riddled with countless holes like an overinflated air balloon

The h the holes uncontrollably It formed a dense mana field around her that acted as a naturalno conscious control

Her aura was like a sun surrounded by the sky of s the crowd, everything else dimmed She was an abnormal existence that erased all others

She kept the majority of thepeople co in contact with it And the mana that her body couldn’t contain formed a dense aura around her which she had to conceal to avoid drawing attention

Any spell, other than her ohich came inside her field would be crushed under the pressure of her mana

This was the reason why she couldn’t wear any enchanted arical artifacts as accessories The only artifacts that could survive inside her mana field were divine artifacts and artifacts made by her mana

All other ical artifacts needed to be placed inside platinuh mana resistance of platinu thee them

However, Deora threw the cube unexpectedly at her She couldn’t divert her mana in time and as soon as the cube entered her aura, the spell it was enchanted with suffered severe dae

It wasn’t just nicked here and there – the entire pattern was crushed

By the time she diverted her mana away from the cube, it was already too late The enchant up It could snap at any moment

Which is why she hurried up her spellcasting as fast as she could go in hopes she could finish the test before it completely fell apart

Fortunately, it ave the cube back to Deora so it was his mana armor that finally finished it off

They couldn’t blame this on her

Could they?

Elaru shook her head and turned towards Arion as laughing uproariously next to her

“Not funny Not funny at all” She grumbled

Arion’s chocolate eyes stared at her warh to respond

She glared at hi me to the lupaxes in the moment of crisis”

Arion wiped the tears off from the corners of his eyes and finally cal me doith you, there will be no one left to pull you back up”

As if to de back up”, he placed his hand co look “Don’t worry Everything will be fine In the case of a dispute, I can testify to it not being your fault And besides, they won’t dare disqualify someone with perfect points”

His lip curled into a smirk, and he couldn’t help but add “Unless you break more equip again

Elaru rolled her eyes and responded, her words dripping with sarcasm: “Gee, thanks…that makes me feel so much better…”

Arion gave her a thumbs up “Anytime”

She placed her hand on her forehead and sighed ”I’…”

Arion waved her goodbye “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah…yeah…” Elaru gru away in the direction of the staircase

After regaining his wits, Kiel discreetly looked left and right but saw no sign of Arion Urwin Inwardly he let out a breath of relief That annoying guy seeet rid of, always trailing behind Elaru

Elaru showed no restraint as she strode towards hi voice pleasant to the ear, she chi”

Kiel stared at her as if she grew out two heads Who are you and what did you do with Elaru??

He even forgot to glare at her and shrug her ar for what?”

She led hi her face “So that will be very helpful in the future”

The crowd of people around theh

When Kiel noticed their gazes he wanted to shrug Elaru’s are of a prince so he couldn’t do it for the ti

The gazes of both lued to theazes showed jealousy and hate

Elaru seemed not to notice how they were the center of attention Or rather, she didn’t care at all Her bearing captivating, yet pure Graceful yet powerful

Her steps were relaxed yet steady, neither quick nor slow, neither prideful nor servile

She walked as if the entire world was her ho could make her uncomfortable As if in her world there existed no one besides the two of them

It wasn’t a cold and dignified disregard of a noble One could not point out any refine warmth Yet it still made the hearts of everyone present palpitate As if they were looking at a being far above them

As if she was the sun and they were just little candles that flickered out in her presence A phoenix aance was unnecessary Everyone could feel an intangible feeling of inferiority deep down inside them that stemmed not from her as a person, but themselves

Kiel walked by her side with dignity and refine with hers at all Hot and cold, fire and ice, red and blue Their entire beings fory

Looking at the gazes around thes were mixed

He was glad that Elaru enhanced his oorth in the eyes of others He was glad that being with her

The respect and jealousy of others should have felt enjoyable

Yet, for soazes He really loathed this attention

While he enjoyed quiet solitude thethe center of attention So why did it suddenly feel so…so…stifling?

Why did wearing his flawless mask suddenly feel…painful?