That was a pressure Louise had never witnessed—and could never withstand.

Beyond imperial authority. Beyond the Abyssal Demon Realm itself. Beyond… anything she could comprehend.

If her imperial blood was a golden flame burning in the darkness, then Luyi before her was darkness incarnate.

An endless abyss woven from pitch black and blood crimson, radiating an aura of chilling despair.

And Louise? Merely a spark flickering within that abyss.

Before such depths, her fate could only be devoured… or erased.

Terror. Insignificance. Dread.

Emotions she’d never known seized her body, drowning her mind in chaos. Her limbs turned weak, buckling beneath her.

She was about to collapse backward—

When Luyi’s Stellar Dragon Scales thrust toward her!

Gathering her last shred of courage, Louise raised her shortsword to block.

At least this blade was superior to Luluie’s—

*Crack—*

Metal shattered on contact.

Her soul felt cleaved apart, agony lancing through her chest.

Shards tore through the air.

The "Fracture Steel" effect had triggered.

Her shortsword—second only to imperial armaments, her very soul-bound weapon—shattered like paper.

*Thud—*

Louise crashed to the ground.

But she felt no pain.

Drowned in Luyi’s suffocating terror, her body trembled, her eyes losing focus.

Above her, Luyi advanced slowly, shortsword raised. Death’s shadow loomed.

The golden-haired girl stood silhouetted against the light. Rivers of Source of Magic swirled around her, dark elemental energy coating her skin—a void of absolute depth and blackness.

She carried the weight of annihilation. A fallen angel decreeing doom. A sovereign dragging all existence toward eternal night.

The true Demon Emperor before whom false emperors trembled, awaiting death.

"Wahh…"

Beneath that crushing pressure, Louise—the confident reincarnator—burst into tears.

*I’m going to die!*

*This is real death!*

*My second life… hasn’t even truly begun!*

Fear consumed her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she writhed and squirmed before Luyi, a pitiful sight.

Yet the arena fell utterly silent.

No laughter. No whispers.

Even through the barrier, the crowd felt Luyi’s aura seeping through. Their souls quivered.

Salros’ face drained of all color.

But the moment shattered—

Luyi snapped back to herself.

*Damn it.*

She’d unconsciously unsealed more of the Demon Sovereign’s power.

To her, the Abyssal Demon Realm was beneath notice.

When insects dared challenge her? She crushed them without thought.

Like Louise just had.

Only the girl’s sobs jolted her awake: *This is the rookie tournament. Not a battlefield.*

She sought only quiet days at the academy, gathering data before vanishing.

Slaughtering Louise publicly? The repercussions would be catastrophic.

"…"

She retracted her power.

The Demon Sovereign’s pressure vanished instantly. Chaotic dark energy swirled like a thick curtain, shrouding the battlefield.

Outside, no one could see within.

Luyi’s body faltered as the power receded, movements growing uncoordinated again.

"Eh?!"

Tears still wet on her lashes, Louise felt the pressure lift. Strength seeped back into her limbs.

Instinctively, she tried to scramble backward—

*Thud—*

Luyi’s foot slammed down between her legs.

Louise froze in fresh terror.

"Mew?!"

Luyi’s leg—positioned right over Louise—wobbled, then bent. Her whole body lurched forward.

*This uncoordinated body!* Luyi cursed inwardly.

Her sword hand aimed for Louise’s face.

All she could do was adjust slightly—

*Crack—*

The blade plunged into the earth, missing Louise’s ear by less than a centimeter.

Her other hand pinned Louise’s shoulder, trapping strands of silver hair.

Luyi loomed over her, half-collapsed.

Louise stared up, tears forgotten.

Luyi’s grip tugged painfully at her scalp.

The embedded sword felt like a threat—she dared not twitch.

Cold dread made her shiver like a startled fawn.

*What… what is this position?!*

*A defeated princess CG?*

Her mind reeled.

The one who’d nearly killed her was inches away.

That breathtaking face hovered close. Pale gold hair brushed Louise’s cheek, tickling softly.

She caught Luyi’s faint, sweet perfume.

*So beautiful…*

*So fragrant…*

A strange daze washed over her.

And Luyi’s thigh…

If it shifted higher, it would touch… *there*.

But Luyi didn’t stop.

"N-no… please…"

Louise’s face burned crimson. In a voice thick with shame, she whispered: "I beg you… not here…"

"It’s… messy down there…"

Luyi straightened slowly, withdrawing both hand and leg.

*Huh?*

Louise blinked in confusion.

Then she understood: Luyi had only been trying to stand up.

But she’d mistaken it for…

"Sorry."

Luyi met Louise’s flustered gaze with calm eyes.

"Clean yourself up."

She sheathed her sword, smoothed her skirt, and walked away without looking back, vanishing through the dissipating dark curtain.

Leaving Louise alone in dazed silence.

When the darkness finally cleared, the crowd saw Louise lying defeated on the platform.

"Hah! The shrimp’s finally been crushed!"

"Pop the champagne!"

"Louise-sama! You did great! So great!!!"

Cheers erupted. Louise knew they belonged to the pale-gold-haired girl.

She’d lost.

Crushed in the thirty-two-finals.

All her pride ground to dust beneath Luyi’s heel. A crushing humiliation.

Especially at the end…

Luyi had merely glanced at her—cold, detached—before leaving with two words.

That was the final straw.

Louise curled on the platform, hugging herself as sobs wracked her body.

A shame she’d never known as princess or reincarnator.

Yet…

Beneath the humiliation, something else stirred in her chest.

She’d lost. Her power shattered. Her pride broken as Luyi pinned her down.

But in that ruin… she’d found strange comfort. Even joy.

Everything about it felt… good.

And Luyi’s final, calm, icy gaze?

She almost… longed for it.

"I…"

Her cheeks burned hotter.

*What’s wrong with me?*

"...Her aura… wrong…"

Amidst the roaring crowd, Salros sat rigid in the stands, knuckles white on the armrests.

"During that final strike—her aura was definitely off…"

Barrier or not, as imperial blood, he couldn’t misread that resonance.

In the clash of powers, a flicker of imperial majesty had surfaced.

Familiar. Like his father’s. The Abyssal Demon Emperor’s.

"Could it be… Miss Luluie?"