Chapter 524

[It seems that the Argentine player in Group B has skills. Yes, I would pick Giselle Fisher as the dark horse.]

Bang-!

As the sun disappears and the quiet moonlight begins to lull, a girl is still hitting the sandbag.

[But wouldn’t Giselle Fisher have a chance to beat Italy? I’m thinking.]

Thud-

Red nosebleed spills everywhere.

Wiping with her arm, her mouth quickly turns red.

[Since predictions hold little meaning, let’s go quickly. Starting from the left, the quarterfinals are Argentina, the U.S., Korea, the U.S., Kazakhstan, Korea, Japan, and Germany.]

“Hmph… Phew!”

The girl dipped her face into the mana pool to replenish the overflowing mana.

The pool was already murky, mixed with thick blood.

Tears of blood dripped from her eyes as she took a shabby stance in front of the sandbag again.

“Giselle Fisher.”

Instinctively, the girl turned her head toward the voice calling her name.

A big man standing in front of her crossed his arms and looked down at the small girl for a long time.

His bulging muscles and numerous scars seemed to represent the hardships he had endured in life.

Former member of the Argentine SWAT team “Alcon” with 20 years of experience, her dedicated coach for 7 years…

Slap-!

With a ruthless slap, Giselle’s head was knocked back.

Her frail body, without wrapping aura, floated and fell onto the mat.

“Cough…!”

“Stop if you’re going to do it this way.”

“I can still do it… I can…”

The girl struggled to finish her words and slowly closed her eyes.

Ssshh-

The regular breathing, mixed with phlegm, resonated in the blood-stained training hall.

* * *

First match of the national exchange tournament round of 16.

[Round of 16 Match 113]

[Giselle Fisher (Argentina)] [100% | 100%]

[Monica Rich (Italy)] [100% | 100%]

It had been raining all morning, drizzling intermittently.

But the gloomy weather could not dampen the enthusiasm of the Argentine fans.

Thousands of spectators appeared with sky-blue and white paint on their faces.

For Argentina, reaching the round of 16 for the first time in 18 years made every match feel even more precious.

This was understandable considering the country has suffered eight national defaults in the 21st century, falling into a complete developing nation.

However, elderly people who remembered past glories cheered for Giselle Fisher more passionately than anyone.

“My victory payout is not 1.1, not 1.2, but 1.25. Can you believe this? It’s a joke to be highly rated when I barely won against someone eating a snail.”

On the other hand, Monica Rich was not fond of Giselle’s meteoric rise.

In fact, without considering gender, it would be difficult to find common ground between the two.

The daughter of a noble house and a girl from a slum, an Italian real estate magnate and the trash of Rosario’s slums, sophisticated magical combat versus raw fighting based on aura.

“What’s so pretty about someone looking all dusky and shabby…”

This was a comment regarding the exponential increase in Giselle’s male fans recently.

<[Prêts?]>

Everyone held their breath and took their seats in the stadium.

Giselle, trembling, caught the eye of the golden lion.

“Are you scared of me?”

“…”

“Hmph, this will be boring. I’ll make it quick.”

It was an absurd behavior considering that aura users typically express narcissistic remarks just before a match.

<[Allez!]>

As everyone expected, Monica kept her distance from her.

In the group stage, Switzerland’s Lucas Schmid had already demonstrated the perfect counter to Giselle.

Lack of experience in responding to long-range bombardment magic.

There was no way to hide the signs that she had just memorized spells in a short time.

[Cast: Plasma Drive]

[Cast: Ignis Lichtenberg]

In the blink of an eye, double casting is completed.

Electric particles gather above Monica’s head,

Crackle-!

And immediately unleash an unforgiving bombardment.

Brilliant mana spreads out from around Monica like a wooden fractal, burning everything in sight.

The black tendrils of aura sprouting from Giselle’s back are ruthlessly severed.

Monica deftly navigated the magic circles in both hands, controlling the countless currents that spread out.

The situation does not allow even a retreat.

An aura heart output that seems to transcend the very category of being human.

“Huff huff…”

Giselle was desperately trying to fend off the attacking barrage tightening around her barrier.

The overwhelming difference in skill was likely felt most acutely by the person involved.

She felt like she was stumbling through a dream, severing the streams of mana in Monica’s territory.

Cutting, slicing, absorbing.

Every time the audience erupted into cheers, Giselle checked the match time.

5 minutes, 10 minutes, 14 minutes.

Disadvantaged but still holding on.

However, she was starting to hit her physical limits.

“Ugh…!”

[Cast: Glacius Asta]

The price of a moment’s distraction was the wall of her side completely crumbling.

[Round of 16 Match 113]

[Time: 15:00]

[Giselle Fisher (Argentina)] [95% | 39%]

[Monica Rich (Italy)] [81% | 100%]

Halftime had arrived already.

Dazed, Giselle stepped down from the training hall, collecting the shouts of her coach.

“■■$#&■ Don’t slack off■■#$■ Stay in shape■■#$■ Just die on me!”

The break time completely vanished from her memory.

Before she knew it, Giselle looked at herself tossed into the training hall.

There, only a frightened little girl remained.

Monica had begun to operate a powerful 4-circle magic circle that would decide the victory.

‘I can’t interpret this no matter how I look. I can’t understand.’

Grrraawww-

‘Then let’s just eliminate it.’

Tendrils of aura began to sprout from Giselle’s back.

Using the black tentacles as a shield, she recklessly charged towards Monica.

“Ha ha! Have you finally gone insane?”

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Giselle Fisher took every blast, small and large, with her body.

Kwahhh-!

Amid the roaring flames, she reached out.

The aura transformed into sharp thorns followed suit.

Kwahgahk- Ching- Clang-!

Monica’s carefully crafted magic circles shattered in a single blow.

“How can you do this without using a suppression spell…!”

Monica gasped in disbelief at the absurd behavior.

Giselle found and severed the thin strands of mana supply with her external manifestation.

Her eyes sparkled with madness.

“Die.”

“You crazy…!”

A black shadow enveloped Monica.

Her vision darkened, and her limbs were perfectly bound.

As Giselle swung her fist wrapped in aura, the tendrils floating in the air all descended toward Monica.

Kwahgagagagak-!

Giselle threw punches like an enraged beast.

The aura manifested in the present world carried out her will.

A heart that felt like it would explode and lungs that felt like they would tear apart were of no concern to Giselle.

“When, when, when! Please…!”

[Cast: Linear Momentum Adjustment]

Endlessly pouring attacks, now bolstered by magic.

At that moment, where she thought it was an absurd output.

Monica glanced at the scoreboard with disbelief.

‘How did it get to this?’

Even in a hurry, Monica attempted to cast barrier magic,

[Creation: Dirichlet-]

“Please! End this already! Why isn’t it ending!”

Along with Giselle’s screams, a bell rang from Monica’s head.

The combined tendrils of aura formed a gigantic pillar.

No matter how much it was with a barrier, it would feel like death was imminent.

[Giselle Fisher! Giselle Fisher will not stop this time! Is this happening? What an outrageous reversal…!]

Kwahh-!

In a moment that everyone thought was a dream.

[Giselle Fisher has done it with her own hands! Wow! Argentina! For the first time in history, Argentina makes it to the quarterfinals! Defeating the European champion Italy! Knocking down Monica Rich and successfully entering the quarterfinals of the national exchange tournament!]

The French commentary team was overjoyed.

Thud-

Both girls collapsed simultaneously on the spot.

[Round of 16 Match 113]

[Time: 26:19]

[Giselle Fisher (Argentina)] [74% | ⚠12% (Unrecoverable)]

[Monica Rich (Italy)] [☠6% (Complete Destruction) | 87%]

* * *

Living life, one realizes that there are times when the energy of the entire universe converges.

For Giselle, Monica Rich must have been an opponent that she could barely beat once in ten, no, a hundred encounters.

However, Giselle cut off the supply of mana solely with her aura, breaking through absurd odds.

Ironically, the mana of the 4-circle magic circle had surged back at the moment, giving Giselle a chance.

Multiply probabilities, multiply probabilities again with tiny odds.

Does the result change as you keep multiplying?

“Don’t be so delusional.”

No matter how improbable it was, at this moment, Giselle Fisher became the protagonist of a 42% reversal.

And that against the European champion.

The roar was so loud that the entire stadium shook.

I instinctively covered my ears with my pinky finger.

Seeing the girl who was relishing happiness while crying and blowing her nose made me smile without realizing it.

“What a friend who’s lived a hard life. I’m glad I came to watch the match.”

Being in the stadium allows for insights that cameras can’t capture.

For example, how she learned to awaken her external manifestation.

Giselle Fisher must have committed murder once before.