Location: Duel Grounds – West Arena
Date: 6 Week before the Final Exam
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I wasn't planning to write today.
But Hugo the second year opened his mouth.
He walked into the training field, all swagger and smirks, as if the last festival hadn't exposed just how deep the gap between our teams was.
Then he walked up to me.
> "Let's make it interesting, 'Commander'... If I beat you, you hand over Lily."
He meant it.
Every arrogant word.
Before I could answer, Alice stepped forward—calm, cold, beautiful in the way a drawn blade is.
> "Step aside, Commander," she said.
"This is beneath you."
And then something happened I didn't expect.
One of Hugo's own teammates—a sensible girl with sharp eyes—rushed over and tried to pull him back.
> "Stop it. You've heard the stories."
But Hugo wasn't listening.
His voice rose, loud enough for the crowd forming around us to hear.
> "What, afraid of a man who hides behind girls?
Afraid of a woman who isn't even a full vampire?"
Anna's hands clenched.
Gideon's brows furrowed.
Leander froze, hand twitching near his blade.
Even Lily—usually composed—tensed beside me, lips pressed tight.
But I raised a hand.
No words. Just a look.
They all stepped back.
Alice didn't blink.
She turned to Hugo, voice soft like snow right before an avalanche.
> "I'll give you one chance."
> "Kneel."
> "Beg. Apologize. I'll leave you with your dignity."
He laughed.
> "If I win, you guide me all night. Like a proper lady should."
He smiled.
That was his last mistake.
---
Duel commenced.
[Personal notes from the match]:
Alice didn't just fight. She dismantled him.
She opened with a feint dagger flick, not to hit—just to expose his stance.
Then came blood magic—her own. Elegant, dangerous.
She carved runes in the air mid-dash, each stroke a prison.
By the time he realized what she was doing, he couldn't move.
The blood beneath his boots turned to thorns.
---
At second 42, she whispered:
> "A proper lady never guides a fool."
And then she struck.
Not to kill.
Not to maim.
But just enough.
Just enough that when he hit the ground, he stayed there—whimpering.
The judge called the match.
The field went silent.
The duel ended in silence.
Hugo didn't scream - he couldn't.
He lay collapsed, limbs twitching from the blood-lock spell Alice used at the end. His pride had bled out long before his body gave up.
Alice stood over him. Unshaken. Elegant. Cold.
> "I gave you a chance to beg," she said, wiping her lips.
"Now beg someone else to carry you."
The crowd had no words.
Then…
One snicker.
Then laughter.
Then chaos.
> "One-Night Hugo!"
"Fang Food!"
"Someone pick up his bones!"
"Our Commander's fang strikes again!"
Elric looked away with a sigh.
Leander grinned. "I'd say 'may he rest in peace,' but the man's pride is the only thing dead."
Anna clapped slow. "Ten out of ten. Form, cruelty, finish. Gold medal."
Even Gideon smirked.
Hugo's classmates were already dragging him away by the ankles.
Alice turned, eyes flicking to me — then to Lily.
She didn't say anything. Just returned to her seat.
Lily whispered, "That was brutal…"
I replied, "He was warned."
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Tonight's entry ends here.
But I'll leave a note for the archive:
> Never insult someone who drinks blood and reads books about spine removal.
Some lessons are learned the hard way.
Some leave marks.
And some echo… in laughter.
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