[Gray's POV]

The first part of the plan, though not entirely successful, had gone well when Rain agreed to take off the protective bracelets. Now all that was left for Gray was the fun part.

Give him hope of winning, put on a good show for the audience, and then mercilessly trample him, crippling him and savoring the despair in his eyes.

It was the right of the strong, Gray's right.

Thinking back to the first time he'd seen Rain, he remembered that instant feeling of inner disgust for him, the feeling you get from someone lower than you.

Gray wanted to crush him, proving his superiority.

Especially... there were too many girls around Rain.

Not to mention his fiancée Alice, even his sisters were top tier beauties. How could Gray call himself a man if he didn't try to take them all for himself?

Things were going well. One of his sisters was already feeling admiration towards him.

And Alice... was Alice. She wouldn't let him touch her and he didn't fully understand her himself, not that he wanted to. As long as she was willing to leave Rain for him, he was content.

He would find his way to her soon anyway.

Everything was going perfectly, exactly according to his plans, and today Gray was to drive the final nail in the lid of Rain's coffin.

How many of his cards does he need to reveal to do this?

Before the fight, he had a clear answer to that question.

Not a single one.

He was confident that he could handle everything without resorting to anything special, using only his strength and basic swordsmanship.

After all, after his first fight at the age of 11, he continuously received praise from other people.

At first he was surprised and delighted by this, but soon those emotions passed as he took it for granted.

I'm just a genius. I'm special.

He had never doubted that fact, nor had he ever had any reason to do it in his life.

Even a sword master with a pretty good reputation in the capital, who once visited their academy, declared that he was not qualified enough to train him, citing his exceptional and frankly intimidating natural talent.

The Sword Empress, the Desolate Blade, and other prominent figures of his era were legends admired by millions of people and whose skills were worshipped by masters across the continent.

But there was no admiration or reverence in Gray's eyes toward them.

All because he believed that with his talent, time was the only thing he needed to achieve and then surpass them, forever etching his name in history.

In the end, he will conquer them all, one by one.

Wallace was behind him today, and tomorrow the whole world is behind him.

After all, he was special. He was born to be superior to others. He was Gray.

But then… why?

Why couldn't my sword reach him?

How many strikes? How many attacks did I make?

Gray's sword was definitely fast. Fast enough to leave no gaps between attacks.

His movements were devoid of all the flaws that people of his years usually had.

There wasn't a single reason he could lose to him.

Then why?

Every time his attack should have reached its target, it slid in vain along the edges of his dark clothes or hair, unable to hit him. Moving as easily as air, Rain dodged all his attacks.

There were many times Gray wanted to shout "Coward, fight with dignity!" but he had no desire to knock his breath away any further.

His opponent made minimal movements to dodge his attacks, which meant he was less tired. Even though Gray didn't believe he was losing, he didn't want to give up his advantage.

His mood was getting worse.

'That rat keeps dodging.'

The veins in his neck swelled.

Not holding back at all, Gray unleashed a storm of strikes at Rain, each with the desire to kill him on the spot.

But... they were all repelled.

A primal rage bubbled within him.

That bastard… stronger than Me?

Gray clenched his teeth hard, gritting them.

And then he secretly activated his Noble Incubus bloodline. Although he didn't want to use it on men, he had no choice now.

'Behold the overwhelming difference between us.'

It was a special aspect of his bloodline, an advanced ability that allowed him to put his target to sleep, plunging them into pleasant sweet dreams.

"..."

However, even after a minute, nothing happened.

At that moment Gray noticed a faint smile on Rain's lips, as if he knew what he was trying to do now and was mocking him for it.

Under the influence of his inner anger, Gray made a powerful lunge, but miscalculated the force of the recoil, stumbling and breaking his stance.

He instinctively protected his head, the most obvious target for attack.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Crack!

The next moment he felt an overwhelming pain in his balls.

***

[Rain's POV]

From the pain that pierced his entire being, his opponent naturally bent over. It was Gray's desire to take off the useless injury prevention bracelets and fight without them.

Normally Rain would have finished it by now... but after all these preparations on Gray's part, wouldn't it be rude to let him go with just this?

Rain leaned toward Gray as he bent over and shuddered, holding onto his balls with both hands.

"Don't you think those useless things should be taken off too? Don't worry, when you become an eunuch, I'll take care of all your women and won't let them be sad for a day."

His tone was sincere, as if he was trying to comfort his friend.

"ARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!"

In a burst of rage, Gray threw a flurry of blows at him. His silver sword was a blur.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

But Rain anticipated each strike and executed each parry with precise, economical movements. Each blow was reflected not only by physical strength, but also by strategy. Rain didn't just defend – he analyzed and predicted.

Now that Gray was emotionally unstable, anticipating his attacks became even easier. His attacks had become even more primitive and their targets even more obvious.

Now all his attacks were targeted... at his balls. Gray had forgotten the noble image he had built for himself, no longer thinking about honor and dignity, only trying his best to avenge this humiliation in the most brutal way possible.

Needless to say, Rain would never let that happen.

Gray's blows, while fierce, followed a predictable pattern, and it was a fatal flaw that Rain exploited with ruthless efficiency.

Gray threw away the remnants of his nobility by screaming wildly and lunging at him.

Like a beast trapped in its own rage, Gray fluttered helplessly in his palm.

Before he was finally defeated, however, Gray remembered something and a cruel smile played on his lips again.

'That's right, I still have the Ring of Return! I'm going to use it! Master said I wasn't ready for it yet, but it doesn't matter now! She'll understand me!'

With a force of thought, he activated his mystic Name Artifact, instantly plunging the space into silence.