Reincarnated As The Villainess's Best Friend
Chapter 27: Brain vs Brawn: Part Two

Chapter 27: Brain vs Brawn: Part Two

I wiped the blood away from my face and rose to my feet. As I did so, I gently touched various parts of my body to ensure that nothing else was broken or damaged.

Once again, I stood face to face with Baron. Every muscle twitched and every vein bulged out beneath his skin.

"That was an impressive tactic," I said, brushing the dust off my clothes with my right hand. "But I don’t think forbidden techniques are allowed in a school tournament."

His eyebrows shot up.

"How did you...?"

He suddenly broke off, letting out a brief laugh instead.

"You’ve realised my trick, Stormborn. Perhaps you’re more intelligent than I thought."

Of course, I’d recognized his trick – I had used it before.

Body Affinity: Blood Manipulation.

In its D-Tier form, Blood Manipulation was used to rupture blood vessels in another person’s body.

Once physical contact was established, the Spellcaster could damage the blood vessels in any part of the human’s body. This would lead to bleeding inside the body, and eventually death.

I had no idea if such a dangerous technique was allowed in a school contest, but Baron seemed determined to take me out regardless.

"Ugh..." I slapped my forehead. "I don’t know why I expected a fair fight. I must be getting naive as well."

Baron let out a cruel laugh.

"Fair?... This fight was never fair. A fight between a man and a bear is not fair. The man is weaker than the bear, and he is always destined to lose to the bear.

"Your fate was already sealed when this fight started. With my bloodline magic, I have hardened my body to resist any spell you throw at me. I have built up my stamina to last as long as I need. It doesn’t matter what you throw at me, my body can take it."

The more he spoke, the more I felt my instincts warning me to run.

"That is sufficient to guarantee my victory, but just to make sure you never fight again, I’m going to rip every blood vessel in your body with my blood manipulation."

Damn. What did I do to deserve this much anger?

"I’m sure you realize you’ve already lost this match," he concluded with a low menacing tone. "Just lie down and let me end you, once and for all."

His words sent cold shivers down my spine. But magic or not, no one threatened the Grand Mage and walked away easily. I had to see this to the end.

Baron cracked his knuckles once again as he readied himself to deliver his final blow.

"Give up Stormborn," he said, "and I will make the next blow an easy one."

Yeah, I wasn’t buying it.

"Shut... up!" I screamed and threw a right hook at him with all my strength.

It was a clean hit to his jaw, hard enough to knock out one of his teeth.

However, the punch barely fazed him, and he turned back to me with a cold grin on his face.

"My turn," he said, then he struck me with the most powerful blow I’d ever felt in my life.

It hit me right across the face and I crashed back into the arena wall.

I had barely recovered when I saw Baron already beside me, launching a strong kick to my left. I was able to block it in time, but the force sent me staggering to the right.

In no time, Baron caught up to me again and hit my face with another left hook. As I flew back, he caught up to me again and sent another jab to my stomach.

"And Baron delivers a flurry of successful punches to Rin!" Sasha screamed excitedly. "I think he’s going to bear those scars for a while."

Baron’s attacks kept coming, one after another. I felt my body grow numb with each successful hit, and soon enough, I was no longer able to block any of his punches.

Finally, he launched an uppercut that shot me straight into the air. Then, he immediately jumped right after me, and sent me back to the ground with one, final kick to my abdomen.

Like a falling cannonball, I crashed into the earth, forming a small crater with the impact of my landing.

"And Rin is struck down once again. Could this be it? Has Baron won this fight?"

I lay motionless on my back, the warm rays of the sun shining on me. My face was completely numb and my broken ribs jabbed painfully against the side of my chest.

I let out a slight groan as I turned to my side, then I coughed up blood and spat it on the ground.

Baron stood in the distance, like a proud hunter who had just struck down his deer.

"Now we shall begin the five count," Sasha announced, throwing her right hand in the air. Slowly, she placed each finger down as she counted.

"Five..."

I tried to raise my legs, but they failed to respond. Baron had severed my vessels with his Blood Manipulation technique.

"Four..."

My body had given up, but my mind hadn’t. Determined to move, I rolled over face down. Pain exploded across my ribs, and I groaned out loud, but I wasn’t done yet. Something in me, wouldn’t let me stay down.

"Three..."

Then, I heard Lucy’s voice, whisper in the back of my head...

"Good luck, Rin"

She was out there watching me, hoping that I’d win. She believed in me, and that was enough reason to keep fighting.

I raised my hands above my head and placed my palms on the ground.

"Two..."

Mustering all the strength I had left, I pushed against the ground, lifting myself up to my knees once again.

"One... Oh... Rin is moving!... He’s back up!... This match isn’t over yet!"

The crowd roared once again. Nothing gave them more joy than the knowledge that an interesting fight was far from over.

Despite the lack of feeling in both of my legs, I forced myself back on my feet, fighting every urge to fall back down.

Once again, I turned to Baron. His cocky smile returned, but soon after, he began to clap.

"You have my respect, Stormborn. I never imagined you to be strong enough to withstand my enhanced blows."

I gave a bloody smile.

"No, you got it all wrong," I coughed. "I’m not strong... Not at all."

I raised my chin and stood up straight.

"You’re just too weak to take me out."

Baron gave a slight laugh.

"Real mages fight with spells," he said. "But it seems your tongue does all your fighting for you."

"You’re right. I don’t need spells to fight a weakling," I bluffed.

"Weakling? I’m not the one bleeding."

"And I’m not the one making threats I can’t fulfill."

Baron’s expression hardened.

"Very well, Stormborn," he said. "I will end this now."

He drew one foot back and locked his palms together.

"Oh no..." Sasha announced. "Baron is about to use a new spell. If Rin plans on using any magic, now’s the best time to do so."

I stood my ground, ready to face whatever happened next.

Then, with a loud roar, Baron released another spell.

"Body Affinity: Power Surge!"