In just fifteen seconds, a hail of arrows began to descend on Atlas.
Atlas couldn’t stop smiling. Irene seemed to be using a multiplication spell. The arrows were constantly forming within half a metre of each other and coming at him at the same speed as the main arrow.
It looked like the poison was already affecting Atlas. Despite the purity and incredible resistance Sword of Tranquillity gave him, the poison was still able to affect him quite well.
The poison Irene used was no ordinary poison. The formula of the poison contained poisonous substances such as Wyvern Tear, Ihram Grass, and Purple Dolc Extract.
Irene had to spend almost thirty thousand gold coins to fill this bottle. This was indeed a huge material loss.
Nevertheless, this material loss was very useful to the young girl at the moment.
After all, Atlas was being slowed down by this poison.
Of course, he had methods to speed himself up. That’s why he immediately put his ’Night’s Step’ ability into use, and with each step of the twelve-step technique, he managed to accelerate to a level even superior to his old speed.
One by one, he met the arrows of different elements coming towards him, and with that, he began to get as close to Irene as possible.
When he saw Irene’s silhouette where he realised that the poison cloud was more dense, he immediately threw the holy sword in his hand at the silhouette as if it were a spear.
A cry of "Aghk!!!" rose from within the poisonous cloud, but the sound soon disappeared.
Everything was happening in seconds. When the twenty-second threshold was passed, Atlas continued to search for Irene, whom he had officially lost sight of and could not even feel her presence.
At that very moment, Atlas’s legs were locked. It was as if something had glued him to the floor by his feet.
When Atlas looked at the floor of the arena, he saw that his legs were covered with earth magic. Atlas was frankly surprised to realise how fast Irene was casting spells and in a big way.
Still, it wasn’t enough to stop Atlas in the slightest, it could only slow him down.
Using the aura in his body, he instantly removed his legs from the ground, which had been immobilised with earth magic, and then turned directly behind him, looking across the arena as if he had already located Irene.
The Superview ability was not to be underestimated and now, unlike with the potions, it allowed him to see the flow of mana more easily.
Atlas lunged straight ahead. In just four seconds he had closed the distance of almost three hundred metres and finally placed the holy sword in his hand against Irene’s neck.
Irene slowly dropped the potions she was holding in her hand and then said, "I give up." She knew she couldn’t escape from someone so fast with a sword at her throat.
Some time passed after Irene gave up, and after this short time, the poison cloud in the arena disappeared and the duel ended.
Irene managed to last exactly 53 seconds against Atlas. This was an excellent thing. Atlas had chosen not to use everything he had, even in slight defiance of Cordelia’s orders, but Irene had still managed to last exactly 53 seconds.
It was really an excellent achievement.
Still, 53 seconds was not enough time for the deal Bellatrix offered to Irene to pass.
Atlas and Irene did not teleport from the arena to the waiting room, but rather the barriers around the arena disappeared and the two stared at each other.
Neither of them honestly knew how much time had passed.
Irene was secretly praying that it had been at least a split second over a minute, while Atlas continued to hope that his dear friend hadn’t ruined his life.
As soon as the barriers of the arena disappeared, Bellatrix stepped down from the main dais in front of the duo and then shook her head from side to side and said "53 seconds."
Irene fell to her knees as if all the balance of power in her body had collapsed. It seemed that more pressure had been put on her body in just a few minutes than she could have ever imagined.
The young girl was really disappointed with herself. She kept thinking that in just 7 seconds her life could have been saved and now she believed that she had lost everything.
Atlas quickly got down on his knees next to Irene and asked, "Are you okay?"
"My nervous systems seem to have let themselves go..." Irene muttered, forcing herself to smile.
"Sorry...I took orders, forgive me," Atlas said in a calm voice.
Irene stroked Atlas’s cheek and said, "Everyone in this coliseum knows you did not go too hard on me, my dear friend." and then turned to Bellatrix and said, "I’m sorry, my lady." and bowed her head.
Atlas turned to Bellatrix as soon as he heard Irene’s words and said, "Come on, my lady, we both know what Irene can turn into. Give her another chance. I swear on my name that she will not disappoint you."
He continued to support his dearest friend.
"I didn’t say I wouldn’t accept Irene, Atlas, shut up," Bellatrix approached Irene with one eyebrow raised after all she had heard.
The two looked at each other a few times after these words, and Atlas directly moved a little away from Irene and started to wait.
Bellatrix smiled and then asked, "Do you wish to be my personal student, young lady?"
Irene nodded her head directly and then said, "That has been my wish since the first day I conversed with you, my lady, thanks to Lady Cordelia. Forgive me, I could not fulfil the task you gave me."
Bellatrix smiled for a few seconds when she heard those words and then giggled and patted Irene on the head.
Neither Atlas nor Irene could understand what was going on.