[Clara's Perspective]

  I want them to burn.

  This is the dark secret I hide beneath my cloak, deeper than my face, deeper than my fear. I want to see the Five Great Families collapse, I want to see their palaces turned to ash, and their pride melt like snow under a scorching sun. Even Deo, I want him to burn, for in the end, he is one of them.

  When I saw Deo hit Mateo, I felt a kind of savage joy. For a moment, I felt there was someone else in this world who carried this burden with me—the burden of burning these people, even though he is one of them. But Mateo was right. I am a servant. This is the tattoo etched on my soul, even if it’s not visible on my skin.

  I remember when we were ten. I was dusting the artifacts in the main Eisingard mansion under my mother's supervision. Little Mateo ran in, screaming, his face flushed with feigned anger. Mother! The maid's daughter scratched the 'Golden Dusk' painting!

  I was meters away from that painting. I hadn't touched it. But I saw the look of terror in my mother’s eyes. I watched her bow before Lady Eisingard, her head almost touching the ground. I apologize, My Lady! I am so sorry! I will punish her myself! This will not happen again!

  There was no trial. No one asked me. His word was law, and our word was air. That day, I learned the truth. Even if I fled to the farthest corners of the earth, I would remain a servant in their eyes. No more, no less. And that's why, when the Headmistress looked at me, I couldn't speak. The words froze in my throat, under the weight of ten years of fear.

  [Deo's Perspective]

  He walked out of the Headmistress's office, with Clara walking beside him like his shadow. He didn't look at her. He felt a faint disappointment, not anger, but sadness. Yet, he understood. He saw the fear in her eyes, and he knew that kind of fear well.

  I... I'm sorry, Deo, she whispered, her eyes fixed on the ground. I put you in this situation.

  He stopped, gently taking her chin between his fingers, and lifted her head until she was forced to look into his eyes.

  , he said quietly, but with an unmistakable sharpness ,Never apologize to me again. Whatever you do, even if you stab me in the back, do not apologize. And never look at the ground. Because you must know this, even if you are not my woman now, anyone who insults Clara insults Deo.

  He gave a cynical smile. And without 'Van der Wood.' Just insults Deo. So, the next time someone dares to touch you, hit them. Burn them. Don't worry about what happens next, because I will protect you.

  Tears began to well up in her eyes. His hand stretched out and wiped a tear before it could fall.

  she said in a broken voice ,But... even if I burn him, I am still a servant. I will remain a servant.

  Then be a servant, Deo said with utter indifference. I don't care one bit. And let anyone dare to utter the word 'servant' in front of you with insult, and I will cut off their head, even if they were the stars themselves. He laughed again, pulling her cloak cover to shield her more. The woman who raised me was a servant, and she was the strongest person I knew in the world.

  He turned to leave. 'm leaving now, Clara. I'll be back with his hand.

  The world has exploded!

  Kairo was running beside Deo, his eyes wide with excitement. The duel is the talk of the entire continent! The arena will be packed!

  Deo asked coolly ,Who will you be rooting for?

  I'll definitely be rooting for the mute idiot! Who else would I root for but the Magic Swordsman?

  Deo laughed. Someone is going to die by accident in tomorrow's duel, and I'll be ecstatic.

  Kairo said ,Eva is coming, and Leonardo. And my mother and father too. And... your father is coming.

  Deo froze for a moment. The last person I want to see. But I think his mind will explode with rage tomorrow.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Why?

  Tomorrow, you'll find out.

  That night, Deo stood alone in his training hall. The white Sword of Life rested in his hand, cool and calm.

  he whispered , Blade of Life. Tomorrow, help me change. I desperately need you. He looked up at the ceiling. And you, Mia, help me from above. And you too, Mother... Tomorrow, I will make you proud of the son you were never proud of. I will make you regret leaving early.

  The roar of the crowd was deafening. The Elysian Academy arena, which had never hosted an official duel before, was teeming with tens of thousands of spectators. The flash of magic cameras illuminated the venue, broadcasting the event to every corner of the world.

  In the VIP box, the atmosphere was glacial. Layla Knoxville watched with feigned boredom. Beside her sat Ulrich Eisingard, an 8th Circle Sorcerer, the head of the Eisingard family, his face as grim as stone. On the other side sat Corvus Van der Wood, the strongest man in the world and Deo's father, with his cold golden eyes and a calmness that seemed more menacing than any anger.

  Deo walked out into the arena. At the same moment, Mateo walked out from the opposite side, his face still bearing the faint marks of bruises.

  Gabriel stood in the middle. Ladies and gentlemen! We are about to witness a historic duel! Deo Van der Wood... versus Mateo Eisingard! The winner... will take the loser's hand!

  The crowd screamed. Kill each other!

  One... Two.. Gabriel began the countdown.

  Deo said , Stop for a moment.

  Gabriel looked at him in surprise. Deo raised his white sword towards the grey sky.

  My sky... rain. Rain for your servant.

  And the sky began to rain. Raindrops fell only over the arena area, wetting the ground and making a soft rumbling sound.

  Gabriel chuckled. Very romantic.

  Mateo shouted ,You will regret insulting me and my family today! .

  One... Two... Three! Start!

  Deo attacked immediately. Mateo backed away, faster than before. He summoned walls of earth, but the rain made them muddy and brittle. Deo was toying with him, using the water to nullify all his earth attacks.

  Mateo shouted as he fought from a distance ,Looks like you learned water magic, huh? .

  I, unlike some, change quickly, Deo countered, firing sharp water bullets at Mateo.

  But Mateo was not easy. He began to use fire magic, evaporating Deo's water attacks. He then used bursts of wind magic to increase his speed, trying to confuse Deo. But Deo was adapting. He was changing his style, anticipating Mateo's moves based on their previous fights. He was reading him like an open book; Deo was superior, cornering him.

  Mateo felt the pressure. He screamed: Damn it! I didn't want to do this here! He raised his hand and cried out his family motto: "Follow the path of nobility and live by it!" He was burning his life force, one of the special types of magic of the Five Great Families.

  Suddenly, his magical aura changed. His flames became more focused, sharper, and more destructive. They began to overwhelm Deo's water, evaporating it before it could reach him. Mateo started to pressure Deo, pushing him towards a corner of the arena.

  Deo felt the intense heat. The sounds disappeared. The crowd's noise, the sound of the rain, everything faded. All that remained was him, Mateo, and the fire.

  The Cutting.

  He remembered the dream. The darkness. The sword. The endless cutting. It wasn't just magic. It was something deeper.

  Mateo cornered Deo, and began to form a massive fireball, glowing like a miniature sun.

  Deo stood like a statue. He closed his eyes. And he remembered. He wasn't cutting with his magic, but with his will. He wasn't asking reality to bend; he was ordering it to tear.

  Mateo launched his destructive fireball.

  Deo moved his sword. A single, simple, and calm movement.

  There was no explosion. There was no sound. The audience only saw a thin, empty black line appear in the air for a moment. This line passed through the fireball, splitting it in half without exploding. And it continued its path.

  The line reached Mateo. Mateo fell to his knees, a muffled scream of pain escaping his mouth, and a deep, clean wound appeared, stretching from his shoulder to his waist.

  An absolute silence fell over the arena.

  The fight was over. But one thing remained.

  Deo calmly walked towards Mateo, who was kneeling. Mateo looked at his father in the stands, as if he understood something. Then, in a final gesture of twisted nobility, he sat up straight and offered his left hand.

  It was dirty, but it was truly noble.

  But he insulted my woman.

  Deo raised the Sword of Life, and with one clean movement, severed Mateo's hand at the wrist.

  Mateo fainted from the shock and pain.

  Gabriel shouted ,The winner... Deo Van der Wood! .

  Deo raised his head, not to look at the audience, but at the cameras, at the world.

  To all who dare to insult me, or those close to my heart! he shouted, his voice echoing in the arena. I will defeat them, I will burn them, and I will return my anger to them not with one tooth, but with a thousand! I am Deo! Just Deo! Today, I declare my abandonment of my family name, Van der Wood!

  The audience was stunned. In the VIP box, Deo saw his father's face freeze for the first time.

  By my name alone, I will reach the peak of the world! And on my way there, I will never run from a fight! I swear this to you, in my name! Deo!

  After a moment of shock, the arena erupted. They weren't cheering for a noble, or a family heir. They were cheering for a person who had made himself before their very eyes.

  Deo! Deo! Deo!

  But he wasn't listening. His eyes searched the crowds for a single woman. He found her. Clara was standing there, tears streaming down her face. He looked directly at her, and in words only he heard in his heart, he said:

  Do you see? Now... we are both servants.

  Do you see? Now... we are both servants.

  Don't forget guys the end of deo