The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　This is quite different from her strategy when dealing with cats.

　Dak held his breath, his feet staggered, preparing to use footwork to bypass him from the side and avoid a direct confrontation in order to gain an opportunity for victory.

　But halfway through his run, he suddenly froze, stopping abruptly.

　But then Diana stepped on her right foot with her left, and when she lifted her right foot again, she lost her balance and fell to the ground with a "thud".

　(:3”∠)_

　Dark: "..."

　Diana, who had fallen face down with unmistakable force, slowly got up and then gave Dark an innocent little expression: "Hehe!"

　Dark lost his will to fight in an instant.

　He rolled his eyes, sheathed his sword, and raised his hand, saying, "I concede."

　Diana looked bewildered: "Huh?"

　Claire on the stage shook her head slightly and announced directly, "The outcome is decided."

　Dark walked up to Diana, bent down, and extended his hand to her.

　Diana then placed her hand on his and obediently stood up.

　"Okay, don't do that again next time." Dak brushed the dust off her clothes one by one.

　“Oh,” Diana replied softly, her expression somewhat bewildered.

　Dak then led her back to her seat.

　Only after sitting down did Diana finally look up and say, "I..."

　“You’re fine,” Dark sighed. “It’s my problem.”

　……

　Aurora, watching the interaction between the two with wide eyes, suddenly felt an indescribable sense of alienation.

　It was as if Diana and Dark were surrounded by a membrane, making it difficult for others to intervene.

　Into.

　Even though they seem to have had a conflict, they somehow give the impression that their relationship has become even closer.

　It's just very, very difficult to describe.

　"How is this going?"

　Aurora racked her brains trying to figure it out.

　She suddenly realized that her previous understanding of emotions seemed to have been too presumptuous.

　Fantasy without practice is ultimately just fantasy.

　……

　Meanwhile, the two parents over there were exchanging glances.

　Alvitt hadn't initially considered this possibility. It wasn't until Camilla hinted that Dark might win that she thought Diana might throw the game. But she knew her darling wouldn't accept a victory obtained in this way.

　Therefore, the final result will remain unchanged.

　She never expected that Diana's way of releasing water would be so simple and honest, which truly caused her to fall hard.

　"This is so cute!"

　If someone else had done this, she might have had a negative impression.

　But when it's Diana, I find myself liking her more and more.

　Especially Diana's obedient and reflective demeanor... *slurp*

　……

　Unlike Arvit, Camilla was deep in thought.

　Because she suddenly realized that there seemed to be something wrong with the way Diana and Dark interacted.

　But when asked what the problem was, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

　This caused him even more distress.

　"What's going on?"

　……

　Amidst their own thoughts, the second match of the second round began immediately.

　Aurora, whose mind was still preoccupied with other things, did not concentrate as she stepped onto the field.

　And she

　The full text is available for free online. Their opponent, Gatomon, clearly values ​​this match more.

　Therefore, after entering the arena, Gatomon withdrew its peripheral vision from a certain spot and focused intently on its opponent.

　"Game start!"

　Claire gave the order from the stage.

　However, neither side made any move.

　After sighing, Gatomon suddenly called out softly, "Aurora, my sister."

　Aurora then turned to look at it.

　Tailmon then drew its sword and stepped forward, whispering, "I'm going!"

　Aurora was startled by his imposing manner and suddenly came to her senses.

　Tailmon immediately took a step and rushed forward.

　"Qiang!"

　The two swords clashed instantly, and then immediately separated.

　Then, with lightning speed...

　The two unleashed their swordplay, exchanging more than a dozen blows before each exerting their strength and retreating simultaneously.

　Both sides adopted the same stance, sword tips facing each other, their gazes solemn.

　Even without using her "power surge," Aurora was able to contend with Gatomon, whose stats were no lower than those of a five-star magical spirit, simply by relying on the "ki" that naturally flowed into her body.

　Once she unleashes her "power," she will instantly surpass Gatomon.

　With swordsmanship skills being roughly equal, the scales of victory were already tipping in her favor.

　But she did not do that.

　Since it's a competition of learning outcomes, we shouldn't rely on anything outside of those outcomes.

　The victory brought by "rage" was not the victory she wanted.

　……

　The battle unfolded suddenly, and both sides' swordsmanship improved rapidly and became increasingly refined in the evenly matched contest.

　It is clearly just basic swordsmanship, but it has evolved into a variety of moves that are pleasing to the eye.

　Dak, a spectator in the audience, had already recovered.

　Failure was expected, and there's nothing hard to accept about it.

　Next time, he will make Diana go all out.

　After calming down, he began to pay attention to the performance of his magical spirit.

　As a mage, magical spirits are the true embodiment of power.

　Tailmon's performance was even more impressive than he had expected.

　Doesn't that make him worthy of being called a "hero"?

　Both the mastery of the sword and the ability to continuously improve in combat are well embodied in it.

　"Gatomon will win."

　The instant this thought crossed his mind, Dark saw that Aurora had made a mistake—a genuine mistake, not a trap to lure people in.

　Seizing on her mistake, Gatomon attempted to shatter Aurora's defenses with a barrage of sword strikes!

　Aurora's face paled slightly, and a look of panic appeared on her face.

　She ultimately failed to maintain her composure, and her weaknesses became increasingly apparent.

　In the end, Gatomon defeated it thanks to its greater combat experience!

　……

　The competition has moved on to the next round.

　……

　【5000+】

　[Next update, before 6 PM counts as today, no slacking off.]

　[Next up is a long-awaited book recommendation (not counting word count), from a single-testicle warrior struggling to pay his bride price (damn it)!]

Chapter 479 Darkdemon Ultimate Substitution (3k)

　The contrast between Gatomon's exhilaration and Aurora's despondency is striking.

　A slight difference in swordsmanship and a lack of combat experience led to Aurora's ultimate defeat.

　But this does not mean that Aurora is weaker than Gatomon.

　According to the rules of this competition, she was originally allowed to "go berserk".

　All I can say is that she has a very strong sense of principle.

　After leaving the stage, Aurora simply sat back down on the bench.

　Since the vampire heiress had already run back to Phoenix's side, she was sitting to Dark's right.

　Seeing that she was disappointed but not particularly depressed, Dak didn't ask any further questions.

　After Gatomon returned, he took out Gatomon's magic card from his card pack, waved it, and said, "Let's rest for a bit."

　Gatomon nodded, unfastened the sword, and handed it to him.

　Dark took the sword, then flicked the magic card to return Gatomon to the card.

　Then he drew a magic circle and quickly replenished his mana.

　He summoned Tailmon again only after he had replenished its magic power.

　The Gatomon that appeared at this moment, apart from being slightly mentally exhausted, had recovered to its full potential.

　After raising its sword again, it looked at Diana and raised an eyebrow.

　Diana had just undergone deep self-reflection, and was still fidgeting and lost in thought. It wasn't until Gatomon's gaze fell on her face that she looked up alertly.

　At the same time, Claire's voice came through: "After unexpected twists and turns, this competition, held to test learning outcomes, has finally entered its final stage. Although I really want to pretend to shout a few excited words, being a referee is really boring... So now, please welcome our special guest Diana, who has successfully advanced to the finals, and the white cat who just defeated Miss Aurora—Gitomon!"

　There was thunderous applause.

　Diana and Gatomon looked at Dark almost simultaneously.

　Dark said, "Go up," and watched them enter with their swords.

　……

　Regardless of Diana and Gatomon's intentions, once they enter the fray, they become opponents.

　Gatomon stopped ten meters away from Diana, then pointed its sword and said, "Victory favors the prepared."

　Diana gripped the hilt of the sword, her brow furrowing slightly: "You have to be able to hold it firmly."

　Gatomon slightly brandished its sword and said, "Then let's give it a try."

　A tense atmosphere inexplicably arose between the two sides.

　Dark was completely focused, placing his hopes for victory on Gatomon, and that fervent expectation became Gatomon's motivation.