Chapter 525

[Argentina’s Miracle, European Champion Monica Rich Defeated… Argentina Reaches the Quarterfinals for the First Time]

[“Argentina Advances to the Quarterfinals by Defeating Italy,” Celebrations Erupt as La Albiceleste (White-Sky Legion) Hits the Streets]

The moment Giselle Fisher clinched victory, all of Argentina went numb.

As the match ended, people couldn’t contain their joy and poured into the streets.

After showing an unusual performance since the match against Germany, they ultimately triumphed over France and Italy in succession.

Even South American countries, which had traditionally been hostile to Argentina, raised their glasses in unison as if celebrating their own victory.

In a situation where even their own countrymen struggled to believe in Giselle’s victory, there was someone who steadfastly supported her…

“I want to share this glory with South Korean player Noname. I wish to win the quarterfinals and face off in the semifinals.”

Giselle expressed her boundless affection for Noname during an interview.

[NoName, Predicting a Storm in Argentina: “Fans, I’m Forever Grateful”]

[“Guard the South Korean Team’s Lodging,” Argentine Fans Drive Away Saudi Disruptors]

Just yesterday, the streets were noisy with vuvuzelas, but today they were as quiet as a mouse.

This was due to people wearing sunglasses brandishing clubs.

Those who had come to cheer had quietly left, intimidated by their presence.

Meanwhile, a group of South Korean tourists happened to pass by the hotel.

“Are those people in the mafia? Why are they dressed like that in this hot weather?”

“Let’s not walk by here. It looks too dangerous.”

“Hey! Hey, you there!”

The men with grim expressions blocked their path.

“Are you Korean?”

“Yes, yes… um, yes…?”

“Then accept this.”

“What?”

Thunk—

Some were having an invaluable experience receiving bows from these mysterious fans, unsure if they were genuine admirers or part of the mafia.

[Argentine People Bowing to Koreans Every Time They Pass By]

(In Front of the South Korean Embassy.gif)

To these people, Noname is simply a trusted figure, lol.

Noname prayed that they would win in the Round of 16, hoping to continue the momentum.

[Comments]

– Wow, lol.

– See, Noname’s pick has some weight.

– Seeing them so happy makes me happy too.

– What is she, some kind of charm? lol.

– Noname’s blessing in the Round of 19.

– Switzerland has been completely forsaken…

[Reddit Composite Poster & Prayer Document Released.jpg]

(Comment Stream Flooded with N’Amén.jpg)

Look at Noname praying so holy, wow.

[Comments]

– That’s been trending for a while, nice to see it again lol.

– Namén.

– Namén.

– “Yes, I will soon reach the semifinals.”

– She really looks like an angel, wow lol.

– Please, let’s just do well for one day tomorrow…

A new tag took glorious first place on social media.

[#with Messiah]

This meant that with the current Messiah, Noname, Argentina would never lose.

Religion played a significant role in uniting people and public opinion.

People predicted victory based on how closely their nation was related to Noname.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia, claiming to be forsaken by the Messiah, made somewhat radical statements that provoked Muslims.

[Those Who Let Their Own Terrorists Roam Free, May They Suffer the Punishment of Nonamesia.]

Statements insulting religion and equating it with terrorism caused the Saudi royal family to collectively lose their temper and respond.

[The Messiah is male, and Noname is merely a young girl. Watch how powerless these beings will be when faced with those chosen by Allah.]

***

As of now, the countries that have secured their spots in the quarterfinals are Argentina and the USA.

Once the Round of 16 began, the level of the competitors drastically increased.

‘There can be no room for carelessness.’

[Round of 16 Match 115]

[NoName (South Korea)] [100% | 100%]

[Soobyan Omar Hakim (Saudi Arabia)] [100% | 100%]

Hakim was a balanced-type warrior who freely wielded aura and magic.

The unique magic that particularly required vigilance were the offensive and defensive measures: ‘Ramal Hazur’ and the barrier magic ‘Kazm Baraka.’

Though they were 3-circle and 4-circle spells respectively, they required dozens of times the cost compared to regular magic.

Of course, worrying about money in front of a mana-rich individual would be comical.

Standing in the center of the training hall, I extended my hand to shake with my opponent.

“What are you doing?”

Hakim scowled at my hand with a face full of dissatisfaction.

It was easy to embarrass someone.

“I am a Muslim.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Learn from this. It is Allah’s solemn teaching.”

“Well, we’re going to fight anyway. Is that okay?”

I sent a glance of protest toward the referee, questioning if it wasn’t supposed to start with a handshake, but it appeared they didn’t grasp my intent.

I just let my arm drop.

I dashed past the religious zealot.

Thwack—

Pretending to miss, I swiftly grabbed his wrist tightly.

“What blasphemy is this!”

“Now that we’ve come to France, let’s follow France’s rules. Don’t act all high and mighty when everyone is shaking hands.”

The mental warfare commenced before the match even began.

Only then did the referee intervene and separate us.

I fiddled with my chogwa sword as I slowly waited for the countdown.

Meanwhile, Hakim was praying and repenting for his sins.

‘Are you seriously praying when you should be putting your life on the line in this match?’

<[Prêts?]>

Even someone as generous as I couldn’t condone this.

<[Allez!]>

[Casting: Horn of the Demon Lord]

[General Casting: Ramal Hazur]

Almost simultaneously, the magic circles were activated.

Through the Horn of the Demon Lord, my vision expanded to a new dimension.

The mana swirling around the training hall became visible and was inputted into my mind.

The mana surrounding Hakim had undergone a heavy transformation.

On the green grass, coarse sand began to accumulate.

As Hakim took a step, the sand moved with him.

‘At a glance, it seems harmless.’

Swoosh—

A hideous spike shot up from the sand and rushed toward me with fierce momentum.

Immediately, I placed my right hand on the ground and drew a large arc with my left foot.

Bam—

A clean spinning kick.

As I shattered the spike in mid-air, sand rained down.

Taking advantage of the moment, Hakim lunged towards me.

[Casting: Fera Catena]

Pop pop pop—

Hakim summoned iron bars from behind to block my escape.

With claws created from external manifestation, I twisted and broke the iron bars.

Quickly pressing a button on my wand, I drew out the scimitar.

Simultaneously, a beautifully curved scimitar that seemed to have absorbed the blue moonlight flew gracefully toward me.

Clang—

Aura clashed as if hungry to devour each other.

Creeeeeek—

Hakim applied his weight and came down hard from above.

I folded my body slightly and rolled aside.

[Casting: Ignis Res-]

Descending vision.

My feet sank into the sand swamp.

‘Are you trying to shrink my height?’

I canceled the spell, pulled away, and swung my sword.

Clang—

During the exchanges, neither Hakim nor I gained the upper hand.

Crack crack—

It seemed we were both focused at the beginning of the match.

Shaking off Hakim’s attempts to overpower me, I regained my stance.

Once again, the sand bubbled beneath Hakim’s feet.

This time, I concentrated, opening a random box to see what would pop out.

Three geometric clods of earth shaped like a dodecahedron flew above my head.

Leaving aside how suspicious they were, the amount of mana contained within was alarming.

Hakim swung the scimitar and detonated the mana bombs.

[Casting: Terra Platonium]

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions echoed thunderously in the training hall.

Not wanting to be too late, I quickly manifested wings through external manifestation to cover myself.

Puffs of black smoke billowed.

“Cough.”

While not forbidden biochemical magic in a duel, it certainly stung my eyes.

“Is it over?”

It seemed I had run out of prepared moves, so it was time for my counterattack.

[Casting: Adjustment of Linear Momentum]

[Combined Casting: Adjustment of Linear Momentum]

(…)

[Combined Casting: Adjustment of Linear Momentum]

The twelve acceleration disks installed in the training hall blinked on and off.

Whirr—

With giant wings flapping behind me, I extended the length of my chogwa sword to 3 meters.

Before the disks completely disappeared, I stomped hard on all the disks.

Whoosh—

In an instant, I soared to Hakim’s front.

Hakim’s waist was caught by the blade, bending him in half.

‘You can see how tenacious that barrier is.’

My subatomic barrier, which repeated restoration and destruction billions of times in a second.

Still, the law of inertia drove us to the edge of the training hall.

Boom—

Hakim’s body slammed against the wall like glue, and I wrapped my wings around myself to protect my body.

Even with a barrier, my body ached as if it were about to break.

I staggered and grabbed my sword, standing up.

“Ugh!”

“You’ve got some guts, I’ll give you that.”

Hakim swung his scimitar with incredible speed.

Swoosh—

I tried to block it by standing my sword vertically.

Clang—

“…!”

In a moment, I lost grip on my sword as my hand failed to apply strength.

Thankfully, it seemed Hakim was in the same situation.

Even though everything changed to a hands-free rule in an instant, he quickly assessed the situation.

Dodging Hakim’s kick, I drove a punch into his abdomen.

Thump—

I followed the young man, who was pushed back helplessly, and went for a pounding.

But was it greedy of me to try for a submission too?

Hakim choked me and spun half around.

“Grrr.”

“Huff, huff, heh, you’re dead meat!”

“Hah, ugh, woah…?”

Wings splitting into dozens of strands.

Just like Giselle showed yesterday, I slowly distanced Hakim’s body from me with my aura.

Since I was outclassed in terms of output in this showdown, Hakim quickly wriggled free and dashed toward the wand.

[Casting: Updraft]

Whoosh—

“Yeah, you can’t use it until the second half.”

“This guy!”

As I tossed my sword far away, Hakim spat insults.

Continuing to shift positions, the brawl escalated.

Kicking shins, dodging incoming attacks, landing body shots.

Crack—

The enhanced physical force from the black aura pierced even Hakim’s strong sand.

Neither of our barriers were too depleted, but it seemed we were pushing it.

As I waited for halftime, maintaining minimal movements…

Peeeeeep—

A loud beep rang out, and flags fluttered everywhere.

First, I threw off the annoying barrier…

Whoosh—

“…!”

Instinctively, I crossed my arms in an X to block the approaching punch.

But the hasty stance quickly crumbled.

Bang—

Hakim grabbed me by the collar and slammed me into the ground.

“Damn it you worthless bitch.”

As opponents rushed from all directions, Hakim turned without looking back to retreat to his side.

Thankfully, my back was cushioned by the subatomic barrier.

I was so taken aback that I sprang up and protested to the referees.

“Isn’t that disqualification?!”

To determine whether it was a disqualification, we had to remain in the training hall.

“I think we should consider it as an inevitable progression due to the continuous movement of aura martial arts.”

“Ha…! But it feels like three seconds have passed since the whistle blew, how is that continuous movement?”

In simple terms, it would be a yellow card.

The second half resumed after halftime.