Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!-Chapter 40 -: 39 Julius Vs Rosalina.[1]

The crowd buzzed with excitement.

"Finally, it’s time!" one student shouted.

"Right? I thought they’d only fight in the finals, but here they are, in the semi-finals!"

"Right? This is insane!"

Whispers and cheers filled the air. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the arena.

Standing there were the two brightest stars in the history of the Royal Arcane Academy:

Rosalina Velentina and Julius Augustus Hayes.

Julius stretched his arms high, rolling his shoulders. A big, confident grin spread across his face.

"Don’t forget the bet," he called out, voice light and teasing.

Rosalina stood opposite him, arms crossed, trying her hardest to look annoyed.

But every few seconds her lips twitched, like she was fighting a smile and losing badly.

"You don’t need to remind me, hmph!"

She let out a small, cute snort and quickly looked away, cheeks just a tiny bit pink.

Poof!

Poof!

Poof!

Three tiny versions of Rosalina appeared at once, floating around her shoulders and head.

The red-skinned devil Rosalina (with horns and trident).

The heart-eyed obsessive Rosalina (clutching an imaginary Julius plushie).

And the soft, glowing angel Rosalina (with small white wings and a gentle halo).

The devil and obsessive ones immediately glared at each other and snorted angrily.

"Hey, you wench!" the obsessive one snapped, frowning hard at the real Rosalina.

"I don’t care about you, but don’t you dare get a single scratch! If my hubby cuts off even one finger, I’ll make you pay!"

The devil Rosalina rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Dumb bitch."

Then louder: "I’m warning you, use every trick you have, but don’t let a single mark touch that perfect skin."

Rosalina frowned deeply. "You don’t need to remind me," she grumbled.

She tried to swat them away like annoying flies. They dodged easily, giggling and floating higher.

"And what’s with this ’your hubby’ stuff?" Rosalina hissed at them.

"Since when? Are you two just going to ignore that I exist?"

"Shut up!" the devil Rosalina barked, tail flicking in anger.

"You think someone like you can compete with me?" the obsessive one shot back, folding her tiny arms and puffing out her chest.

The two mini versions turned on each other again, ready to start arguing.

"Um... guys..."

The angel Rosalina finally spoke up in a soft, sweet voice.

Her wings fluttered nervously.

"We’re all one person, right? So... he’s ours. All of ours."

The devil and obsessive froze mid-glare.

They slowly looked at the angel one.

Just as the devil Rosalina and obsessive Rosalina opened their mouths to snap at the innocent angel one—

"Rose?"

Julius’s soft voice cut through the noise.

Rosalina blinked.

The mini versions froze mid-argument.

"Go now," Rosalina said quickly, swatting at the air like they were annoying bugs.

"We’ll talk later."

Poof!

Poof!

Poof!

This time they couldn’t fight back.

All three tiny Rosalinas turned into colorful smoke, red, pink, and white, and vanished with little puffs.

Julius tilted his head, worry creasing his forehead.

"Are you alright?"

"Since earlier you’ve been zoning out. Going into dazes. Is something bothering you?"

Rosalina’s heart skipped. Inside, a flood of words rushed up,

’Yes, honey. These tiny versions of me keep saying you belong to them. But you’re mine. My belonging.’

’How can I share you, even with parts of myself? I feel so jealous... Please make them stop...’

—but the words stuck in her throat like always.

She crossed her arms tighter, huffed, and looked away.

"Hmph. You don’t need to know. Just shut up and fight."

Julius stared at her for a second... then burst into a warm, happy chuckle.

"Hahaha. That’s more like you."

His laugh was light, but his eyes stayed soft, still watching her like she was the only thing in the world worth protecting.

The professor standing at the edge of the arena cleared his throat.

"Are you two ready?"

Julius straightened up, grin returning full force. "Yes."

Rosalina shot him one last glare (that didn’t look angry at all).

"Yes."

They answered in perfect unison, eyes locked on each other.

The professor nodded once.

"Then... begin!"

The professor stepped off the arena floor.

The moment his foot left the stone, both Julius and Rosalina spoke at the same time.

"Infinite Cast: Mary."

"Infinite Cast: Field."

A beautiful sword appeared in Rosalina’s hand the instant she said "Mary."

At the same moment Julius spoke, a huge glowing circle formed high in the air above them.

It spread wider and wider, growing until it covered the entire arena like a giant dome.

Julius and Rosalina stood right in the center, now trapped inside his spell.

"What the hell is that?" someone in the crowd gasped.

"Is it some kind of prison spell?" another student whispered.

Murmurs of shock rolled through the stands like waves.

Up in the glass viewing cabin, the professors and Dean Orin Belebright stared in stunned silence.

Dean Orin stroked his messy white beard, eyes wide. "What kind of spell covers such a huge area?"

Jaya Balan, sitting to his right, leaned forward with bright curiosity. "Is this a brand-new spell?"

Lucian, sitting on the other side, smirked without taking his eyes off the circle.

"What do you think?"

He pointed at the glowing formulas carved into the edges of the circle.

"Look at those runes. They’re messy. Sloppy. Like someone threw them together in seconds."

The other professors turned to him, shocked.

"Yes," Lucian continued, voice full of confidence. "He created this spell right now. On the spot."

Gasps filled the cabin.

"Unbelievable..."

"How is that even possible?"

"That’s why he’s an unrivaled genius."

The murmurs grew louder. Lucian turned to Dean Orin with a teasing grin.

"So? What do you think? Can your so-called ’bloody-minded’ Cryptian Thorne even compete with him?"

Dean Orin stayed quiet. But his eyes burned with calm, unshakable faith in his student.

Lucian clicked his tongue.

"Tsk. You’re no fun."

He leaned closer to the glass, excitement sparkling in his eyes.

"Let’s see what this spell really does."

Down in the arena, the giant circle slowly descended.

It touched the ground, and swallowed everything.

A blinding white light exploded across the field. Every eye in the stadium locked onto it.

"Come on," Lucian muttered under his breath, grinning like a kid. "Show me."

BOOM!

A soft burst of white smoke rolled out.

Then... fluffy white cotton started floating everywhere.

The light faded.

Everyone blinked.

The whole arena had changed. Gone were the stone tiles, the dirt, the hard edges.

Now it was an endless field of soft, white cotton plants swaying gently in a nonexistent breeze.

Cotton bolls drifted lazily through the air like slow snowflakes.

Julius lowered his hands. A warm, proud smile spread across his face as he looked at Rosalina.

"Now we can fight without worrying about any debris hurting you," he said softly.

Rosalina stared at the fluffy scene around them.

Her sword still glowed in her grip, but her usual annoyed expression cracked, just a little.

The entire crowd went dead silent for one heartbeat.

Then, in every single mind in the stadium, the exact same thought echoed at once:

*That simp!!!*