Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!

Chapter 37: Chapter: 36 Julius Vs Cillian!

”The winner of this duel is... Miss Rosalina Valentina!”

The professor’s voice rang out clearly across the arena.

The stands exploded into cheers, some loud and excited, others a little hesitant, but the noise rolled in like a wave anyway.

”It’s already decided,” one student muttered to his friend.

”Right? It’s Rosalina Valentina, after all. No one can take her down.”

The whispers and chatter spread fast through the crowd.

Alia stood frozen for a second, teeth clenched so hard her jaw hurt.

Her face burned with humiliation.

Without saying a word, without looking at anyone, not even Rosalina, she turned sharply and marched out of the arena.

Rosalina calmly sheathed her sword with a smooth motion. Then she snapped her fingers once.

The beautiful blade shimmered and vanished into thin air, like it had never been there.

She started to turn away, ready to leave the arena like the fight had been nothing more than a boring chore.

But her gaze caught on Julius.

He was still standing in the stands, hands cupped around his mouth, cheering like an idiot at full volume.

”Rose! Rose! That’s my girl! WOOOO! You’re the best!!”

Even now, after the match was over, he hadn’t stopped.

Rosalina’s cold, arrogant mask cracked again, just for half a second.

A tiny, fond huff escaped her lips. Almost a laugh. Her eyes softened the tiniest bit as she looked at him.

Then she quickly schooled her expression back into bored perfection, like nothing had happened.

”Idiot,” she muttered under her breath, so quietly that no one else could hear.

But the corner of her mouth twitched upward anyway.

She turned fully this time and walked out of the arena with her usual graceful, untouchable stride.

The professor cleared his throat. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

”Next and final duel, Julius Augustus Hayes versus...Cillian Reeve!”

The crowd’s energy surged again.

Julius heard his name called and grinned wide.

”Finally!” he muttered under his breath.

He hopped down from the stands and jogged toward the arena floor, looking more excited than nervous.

From the opposite side, Cillian walked out calmly.

His face stayed blank, no smirk, no frown, just focused. He stopped a few steps away from Julius and stood ready.

”Are you two prepared?” the professor asked.

”Yes,” Julius said with a cheerful nod.

Cillian gave a short, sharp nod in reply.

”Then begin!”

The professor hurried out of the arena.

The second he was clear—

”Infinite Cast: Giant Fist!”

Cillian didn’t waste a single heartbeat. A massive green circle exploded under his feet.

From the dirt rose a huge, headless green monster, muscular, brutal, and towering.

It had no eyes, no face, just thick arms ending in giant fists.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The monster lumbered forward, each step shaking the ground as it headed straight for Julius with clear intent to smash him flat.

”Infinite Cast: Needle Strike!”

Another spell right after. A bright white circle appeared in front of Cillian.

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of thin, gleaming needles shot out and hovered in the air like a deadly swarm.

The crowd gasped.

”Double casting?!”

”He just double-cast!”

”Insane! Right at the start?!”

Astonishment rippled through the stands.

Julius just smiled, completely relaxed.

”Quite the hasty one, aren’t you?”

He raised both hands casually.

The green monster was almost on him now, fist raised high. The needles zipped forward in a silver storm.

”Magic Arsenal: First Form—Shield!”

A round, silver shield snapped into place right in front of Julius.

”Second Form—Weaponry!”

All around him, circles of different colors popped open like fireworks.

From them poured weapons, swords, axes, hammers, spears, maces, hundreds of them floating in the air.

Julius dropped his hands with a grin.

The weapons surged forward like a metal tide, rushing straight at the charging green giant.

At the same time, Cillian’s needles hit Julius’s shield.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound was deafening, thousands of needles slamming into the barrier, sparks flying everywhere. Not a single one broke through.

”Infinite Cast: Blink!”

Cillian whispered the words. A blue circle wrapped around his whole body.

In an instant—he vanished.

The crowd held its breath.

Julius didn’t even blink.

He reached out mid-air, grabbed one of the floating weapons, a massive war hammer, and spun around smoothly.

He gripped it with both hands and swung it down hard at the empty space right behind him.

BAM!!

The hammer smashed into the ground with explosive force. Dirt and shockwaves exploded outward in a perfect circle.

A split second later, Cillian reappeared exactly where the hammer had struck, blue circle flickering out.

The impact sent him flying backward, skidding across the arena floor on his back.

He rolled once, twice, then slid to a stop, coughing as he pushed himself up on one elbow.

The crowd went wild.

”Did you see that?!”

”He predicted the blink!”

”Julius just—no warning at all!”

Julius twirled the hammer once like it weighed nothing, then rested it on his shoulder.

He looked down at Cillian with the same easy smile.

”Come on, man. That all you got? I was hoping for something flashier!”

Cillian coughed a few more times, wiping the dirt from his mouth with the back of his hand.

His giant green monster had already crumbled into fading green sparks, shattered by the storm of weapons Julius had thrown at it.

”Hah...” He let out a heavy breath and slowly straightened up. Raising both hands in the air, he spoke clearly.

”I give up.”

The arena went quiet for a split second.

”Huh? He gave up?”

”Why? He was doing so well!”

”Yeah, right? He should have kept going!”

The crowd burst into confused chatter, whispers turning into louder discussions all around the stands.

Julius blinked once, then broke into a gentle, warm smile.

He let all his spells fade away, the colorful weapon circles vanished, and the heavy hammer on his shoulder shimmered out of existence.

”It was a good match,” he said cheerfully as he walked over to Cillian.

Cillian was busy dusting off his uniform, not looking up. He didn’t say anything.

Julius chuckled softly.

”I really enjoyed it.” He reached out his hand for a handshake, palm open, expression bright and innocent, like a kid who just had the best time playing. ”Thanks for the duel!”

Cillian finally lifted his head.

His face stayed completely blank, no anger, no smile, just calm and unreadable.

He looked at Julius’s outstretched hand for a long moment.

Then he reached out...

...but not to shake it.

Instead, he lightly pushed Julius’s hand away with the back of his own, brushing it aside like it was nothing.

”Eh?”

________

A/N

Hello my dear treas— ahem... readers.

Quick question. Would you like some non-canon mini Chapters about the mini Rosalinas? Things like what they do when the main story isn’t looking, how they spend their free time, and what they secretly think about each other.

If that sounds fun, just comment ”yes.” If enough people want it and we hit some goals (Power Stones, Golden Tickets, etc.), I’ll release them....and also they won’t cost you any coins.

These Chapters will be purely for fun and not canon.

Thanks for reading.