The Heavenly Hero Returns

Chapter 8: Five Seconds of Absolute Disrespect

Arena – The Duel Begins

Jessica dragged the sword behind her, the steel scraping across the ground.

It wasn't an act of defiance. It wasn't a display of arrogance.

She was just too damn tired to hold it properly.

Her arms were shaking, her legs stiff, and her entire body felt like stone.

Across from her, Sir Aldric Faust was already moving into a stance, prepared to end this fight quickly.

The crowd whispered, unimpressed.

"She can barely stand."

"Why even bother?"

"She's going to get obliterated."

Jessica barely acknowledged them.

She just exhaled slowly.

The second the match began—

She tilted the sword upright.

The Dodge – Using the Sword's Weight Against Itself

Aldric lunged immediately, his blade flashing downward.

Jessica couldn't lift her sword in time.

So she didn't.

Instead, her fingers loosened—just enough to tilt the hilt upward while keeping the tip of the blade grounded.

The motion sent the weight of the sword shifting upright, almost standing straight on its tip, balancing for just a fraction of a second.

That was all she needed.

Her legs coiled.

Her body rolled to the side in a sudden, tight pivot—

A perfect Dempsey roll.

Aldric's blade carved through the air where she had just been.

And in that brief second—as he reset his stance—

The sword, no longer propped up, tilted back down.

Jessica's hand was already waiting for it.

Her fingers snatched the hilt mid-motion.

And she drove the pommel directly into Aldric's thumb joint.

The Thumb Strike

CRACK.

Aldric's grip buckled.

His fingers flinched against the hilt, his stance breaking for just a second.

And in that second, he realized something.

That hurt.

It shouldn't have.

His gauntlets were reinforced with magic.

Even a full-strength blow from a lesser opponent wouldn't have registered.

And yet—he felt it.

A sharp, raw impact that lingered.

His brows furrowed.

Jessica, still half in her dodging stance, let out a long, slow breath.

She barely looked at him.

As if the fight was already over in her head.

The Brute Force Finish

Aldric recovered instantly.

His grip on his sword tightened.

And before Jessica could reset her own stance—

He drove forward.

Jessica's body had already overextended.

Her legs screamed from the forced dodge.

She knew she couldn't move again.

So she didn't.

Aldric's shoulder slammed into her, sending her flying backwards.

She hit the ground hard, the air ripping from her lungs.

The match was over.

The Arena's Stunned Silence

Jessica didn't move immediately.

Not because she couldn't.

But because she didn't care to.

She let out a slow exhale, her body aching from the sheer effort it took to function.

Aldric took a step back, still gripping his sword.

But his hand still tingled.

He flexed his thumb experimentally.

It wasn't broken.

But it should have never buckled like that.

Lady Isabeau sighed.

"That was disgusting."

Another instructor snorted.

"She fights like a gutter rat."

The nobles laughed.

And just like that—the reputation stuck.