“Don’t go down too easily!!”

Brandishing twin swords, Rail Braysicle kicked off the ground.

────Fast…!!

I had weapons on hand────but chose not to use them. Instead, as always, I manifested my Blood Sword from my own blood to meet his attack.

In the blink of an eye, the sharp blades in both his hands came crashing down from overhead. I easily caught them with my blood sword.

The duel had begun abruptly. As our weapons clashed and locked, the talisman hanging around my neck finally recognized the fight and emitted a faint glow. When a duel begins between individuals of equal or superior rank, this magical artifact automatically activates to determine the outcome.

There was no possibility of malfunction. Cheating was impossible with this artifact, making the steady and honest accumulation of victories the most reliable path to climbing the ranks.

────Just as I thought.

Seeing the talisman glow properly for the first time, I felt a slight surge of excitement. As expected, he was at least on my level, if not higher. If I won, I could finally break free from my long period of stagnation. The frustration that had been gnawing at me eased just a little.

“Stop harassing Levia any further!!”

“…Huh???”

Yet, despite that, this senior of mine uttered something that instantly dampened my mood. The sword lock transitioned into a rapid exchange of alternating strikes. Against the relentless barrage of his twin blades, an average student would be overwhelmed by the sheer pressure alone and be swiftly defeated—but that wasn’t going to happen.

No matter how many times I heard it or thought about it, it made no sense. It was completely absurd.

Who in their right mind would willingly chase after that woman?

This was slander at its finest. If anything, I was the one being followed around by her.

────And to think she’s been sending all these disposable pawns my way.

Memories of the countless irrational students I had encountered resurfaced in my mind, fueling my growing irritation. …This was bad. If I kept listening to their nonsense, I’d go insane. Was this some new form of psychological warfare?

“Enough of this bullshit…”

Perhaps I should abandon all sympathy and thoroughly beat some sense into this pawn of hers. My pent-up anger toward that wretched woman was about to reach its breaking point.

In my first life, the Hero faced my foolish past self, yet he never lost his temper. How did he manage that? I had only experienced the same circumstances once, and already, I felt the uncontrollable urge to lash out and vent my frustration────

“…Tch, calm down.”

I took a deep breath to suppress the fury threatening to boil over. The opponent before me was a highly skilled fighter in this academy—one who wielded bloodline magic. I couldn’t afford to fight recklessly.

“…Alright, I’m calm now.”

As I methodically parried every one of Braysicle-senpai’s unrelenting attacks, my mind cooled. The circulation and acceleration rate of my Blood Flow Manipulation were excellent—I was reaching my peak condition.

“I’ll add another blade.”

Slashing my wrist, I let the blood spurt forth to manifest a second sword. Against him, a single sword wouldn’t be enough. To compensate for the difference in attack volume, I matched his dual-wielding stance.

“Copying me, huh? My swordsmanship isn’t something you can imitate just by watching!”

He wasn’t wrong. The twin-blade style he wielded had been passed down and refined within the Braysicle family for generations. The depth of his techniques was far beyond my reach. However, I never intended to imitate him in the first place. I simply needed an additional blade for defense.

“Don’t mess with me…! I won’t lose to you! I’ll definitely use my swordsmanship to save Levia!!”

“……”

The calmer I became, the more Braysicle-senpai seemed to get fired up. He loudly declared my supposed misdeeds with conviction, his rage palpable.

“You pursued Levia, got brutally rejected, and then resorted to violence in a pathetic act of revenge! That kind of behavior is unthinkable for someone aspiring to knighthood! Reflect on your actions!!”

“…Hah?”

This was delusion on another level. What the hell had that wretched woman been telling him? I was beyond anger—honestly, I had to admire her audacity. Even so, I couldn’t afford to drop my guard. Braysicle-senpai may have been manipulated into her pawn, but his skills remained formidable.

“This is my full power────”

His bloodline magic was the real problem.

“────Fly!!”

With a swing of his right blade over his shoulder, an invisible slash suddenly flew toward me.

It came out of nowhere—I couldn’t react in time. Worse, despite a single swing, four separate slashes hurtled toward me. If it were just one or two, I might have been able to react upon impact, but this many made it nearly impossible.

“Tch…!!”

Left with no choice, I took one of the slashes head-on.

────A magic that lets him unleash countless invisible slashes at will!!

This was the Braysicle family’s bloodline magic────Sword Strike Magic – Blade Arts.

With its immense lethality, the Braysicle family had maintained a position among the for decades. Whether Rail Braysicle had eventually earned that title in my first life, I didn’t know—I had been executed before I could find out. But at the very least, he had the potential for it while in the academy.

“Feel the pain Levia suffered!!”

His twin blades sliced through the air. Though they weren’t aimed at me directly, a few seconds later, an unnatural distortion in the air formed around me.

“This magic is seriously annoying!!”

Twisting my body, I attempted to evade, but dodging everything was impossible. More wounds opened on my right side and left shoulder.

“Tch…Damn, that hurts!!”

As blood spurted out, my Blood Flow Manipulation accelerated to compensate. The ultra-regenerative ability sealed my wounds instantly, but the cost was high. This magic didn’t restore lost blood; instead, it consumed mana to stave off anemia, which had its own drawbacks.

Still, I was starting to get a feel for it. Replaying the past exchanges in my mind, I analyzed his magic’s mechanism.

────Speed chanting, combined with localized distortions around him…

The transmission rate wasn’t high enough to completely conceal the surrounding dust and sand.

Which meant there were ways to read his attacks.

“Ugh…Thinking back on his words is pissing me off again.”

Just when I had calmed down, my rage flared anew. I had tried to let it go, but it just wouldn’t settle.

────This is a bad habit…

I was aware of it. Every time I fought, every time my blood was consumed, and my Blood Flow Manipulation ramped up, this happened. But the seething impulse welling up from deep within my body couldn’t be denied.

In short────

“Alright, time to knock some sense into you!!”

My blood boiled.

“W-What the hell!?”

If words wouldn’t work, I’d resort to brute force. My apologies, senpai, but I was going to pummel you senseless.

“Yes, this is the best plan! A brilliant idea!!”

My speed surged several notches higher. I no longer held back. Whether he was my senior or had been deceived by that wretched woman didn’t matter anymore.

Everyone would be treated equally. By getting knocked the hell out.

“H-Holy—!!?”

Ignoring the incoming slashes, I closed the distance in an instant. Braysicle-senpai couldn’t react.

The Seven Peerless Swords────that shameless knight barely kept up with me. There was no way Rail Braysicle in his current state could.

“Ready yourself!!”

My Blood Flow Manipulation was at its peak, and my wounds had fueled it to excess.

“Fly────”

“No thanks, I’d rather not get slashed anymore!!”

────Pain is a no-go.

Before he could swing his sword, I slammed my fist into his jaw.

“Ghhff!!?”

Dodging was impossible. He was sent flying, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

One punch was enough to take him down—but not enough to fix his brain. His mind had been twisted into a severe state of delusion. A single hit wouldn’t cure that.

“Alright, let’s keep up the punching therapy, shall we?!!”

“W-Wait, hold on────!!”

Two, three, four, five... Without hesitation, I strung up my helpless senior mid-air with a blood rope and pummeled him mercilessly. He writhed in agony, but I needed him to endure it. Honestly, I didn’t want to do this. I really didn’t. But I had no choice. Because this was────

“It’s treatment, so suck it up! You’re a man, aren’t you?!!”

“Hiii!! A-A demon!?”

Some noisy shrieks echoed from the sidelines, but I ignored them. I was doing my best for the patient here. Just a little more, just a little more, and that broken head of his will be all fixed up~.

And so, after delivering a total of thirty blows, the battle was decided────or rather, the necessary number of punches for the treatment was complete.

“……”

My patient, Rail Braysicle, had lost consciousness... or rather, was peacefully sleeping. His face was in an absolutely disastrous state due to the aftereffects of the treatment, but a skilled healing mage should be able to fix it up just fine.

“Tch... At least she’s quick on her feet────”

That damn woman had disappeared somewhere before I even realized it. I had really wanted to treat her head as well, but there was nothing I could do about it now. Honestly, I felt rather refreshed that her infuriating face had vanished on its own.

And with that, all the problems were resolved (?). Finally, I returned to my senses.

“Oh crap...”

Maybe I went a bit overboard. The place was covered in bloodstains, and Rail Braysicle was lying there, completely battered. Meanwhile, my fists were drenched in blood. That scene alone was enough to suggest a serious crime. From an outsider’s perspective, I might as well have beaten my senior to death.

But by the time I realized it, it was already too late.

“I-I should get out of here...”

Before anyone could witness this gruesome scene, I quickly left the area.

Later, rumors spread throughout the academy.

“The infamous, ruthless Beheader has now taken to smashing people’s faces in for fun.”