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“We’ll coordinate as a team—three units in sync!”
“You got it! Leave the rear support to me!”

Estea and Melua’s voices rang out across the arena through the loudspeakers. Estea clearly prioritized teamwork above all. But—

“I don’t need help takin’ out trash like this! I’m more than enough on my own!”
“Wait!”

Ignoring her, Ignis drove Duos forward.

“Watch this!”
“OHHHHHHH! Ignis Dulan!! Duos’ Red Saw now wreathed in FIIIIIRE MAAAAAGIC!!!”

The circular blade at the end of his halberd-like weapon—known as the Red Saw—began to spin furiously, its countless edges a blur of motion.

“That’s…”
“It’s basically the same as a thermal cutting weapon. The blade’s heated using a simplified formula.”

If he was now layering fire magic atop a blade already red-hot from magical heating, then even Duke—renowned for its heavy armor and defensive capabilities—wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Ignis charges to the front lines! His REEED SAAAW is BURNING BRIGHT REEEEED!!!!!!!”
“Another chantless spell… But something’s off…”
“Ignis! Ignis!”

Alfe’s murmured observation was drowned out by the explosive cheers from Ignis’ supporters. Having started using chantless magic herself, the oddity she sensed seemed to trouble her even more now.

“Crap—brace for impact!”

The Iceman faction scrambled as Ignis’ preemptive strike tore through their formation.

“Think you can stop me? My flames are on a whole other level!”
“GYAAAAAAAHHH!!”

One unit, realizing it couldn’t escape in time, raised its massive shield to block the incoming Red Saw.

“A shield like that’s useless!”
“Aaaaand there it is! Ignis’ Red Saw cleaves Duke’s massive shield in TWWWOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Duke’s signature shield stood no chance; the spinning blade carved through it, melting metal with brutal efficiency.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!”

As the ruined shield was torn open, Ignis’ fire magic surged forward and swallowed Duke whole.

“Fall back! Retreat!!”
“Okay, that’s it for you~! Recovery team, move in~♪”

As the Duke faction screamed in panic, Ms. Matilda summoned a wall of ice magic to shield them.

“We—we’ve determined it’s too dangerous to continue! The call has been made—CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE!!”
“Hmph! Lucky you got out alive! Now who’s next!?”

Ignis and Duos rampaged through the colosseum, the weapon’s spinning, fire-wreathed red saw showcasing overwhelming firepower that went beyond just superheated metal.

“…What terrifying power.”
“Control yourself, Ignis!”

Hom’s quiet concern overlapped with Estea’s sharp reprimand. Flames billowed wildly from Ignis, reflecting the euphoria he felt, intoxicated by his own strength.

“Ha! Anyone dumb enough to get caught in my flames deserves it!”
“We’re a student council team representing the academy. We’re supposed to set an examp—”
“Shut it and stay outta my way!”

Ignis barked back, rudely cutting her off as he deliberately swung his red saw in a wide, threatening arc.

“First Blade—Gale!!”

But Estea had anticipated him. She coated the blade of Selem Salkh with wind magic and struck with two rapid slashes, neutralizing the flames. In the next instant, a wall of ice formed in front of Selem Sakh.

“Whew! That was close! You’re gonna get him riled up if you push too hard!”

Apparently sensing danger from Ignis’ reckless behavior, Melua had cast the defensive barrier.

“He’s not gonna listen to anything you say. Just back off, Estea.”
“…You’re right.”

Estea’s sigh of resignation could be faintly heard as she withdrew toward the entrance gate, clearly with no intention of engaging further in the match.

“I’m leaving the rest to you, Melua.”
“Sure thing! That’s my job anyway.”

Cheerful as always, Melua stepped forward to stand between Selem Salkh and Duos, who was now swinging its flaming red saw indiscriminately, threatening friend and foe alike.

“Do we have intra-team conflict developing hereee!? Estea’s Selem Salkh has withdrawn all the way to the gate—what on earth is going on out there?!”
“This match is mine! I’ll handle it myself! Just watch!!”

Ignis shouted over Johnny’s frenzied commentary, locking onto one of the two remaining enemy units.

“Ignis is closing in on another unit!! What unbelievable power!! The heat from those searing flames—it’s like even the announcer’s booth is about to go up in FLAAAMES!!!”

It was getting hard to bear even from here. A glance around the colosseum showed many spectators unsure whether they should continue watching the match at all.

“Oh my, oh my! Looks like we need to upgrade the protective barrier again!”

Ms. Matilda cut into the broadcast with an amplified voice and deployed an additional set of barriers for safety. Thin, shimmering membranes layered one atop another, restoring calm to the viewing area as the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“Master!!”
“TAKEDOWWWWWN!!!”

While attention was on the audience, Ignis had already dealt another devastating blow—Duke’s left side was completely scorched off by his brutal assault.

“Alright, just one more left—”
“Like hell I’m gonna just sit here and take it!”

The last remaining unit, which had been avoiding direct combat, now made its move—surging forward on full-throttle propulsion with a defiant scream.

“What!?”
“Geez! I told you not to let your guard down!!”

Just as Melua shouted, the ground beneath the attacking mech’s feet gave way, crumbling into a sandy pit.

“WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS?! A MASSIVE PIT has opened in the colosseum!? Duke is caught in the sand and can’t moooove!?”

Melua’s Alchemia employed materials enhanced through alchemy—specifically minerals harvested from Henbel—that channeled aether efficiently and reacted quickly. Her unit was essentially optimized for assisting in chantless spellcasting.

“Not moving? Oh, it’s not just the pit holding it still!”

Melua added to Johnny’s commentary via her own loudspeaker spell.

“WHAAAAAAAT!? What is happening here?! Iron stakes have erupted from the ground and run Duke THROUGH!!!”

Right on cue with the roaring crowd and frenzied commentary, iron spikes surged upward from the earth, spearing Duke and lifting it off the ground like a gruesome trophy.

“Iron Pillars… That power is unreal…”
“It sure is.”

Iron Pillar was a mid-tier earth spell. Melua had cast multiple instances of it in the split second after the pit opened—layering her magic in rapid, chantless succession.

“She created the pit first—Sand Pit… then Iron Pillars. And both without a single chant.”
“No wonder she taught you how to use Multi Vision.”
“They happened almost at the same time…”

Melua was likely highly attuned to earth magic. In alchemy, minerals were a common material, so it was a natural fit. Her earth-based combat style was, in a way, very emblematic of an alchemist.

“That’s probably because her elemental affinity lines up perfectly.”
“What about the power behind it? Is it because both her eyes are Pure Eyes?”
“No, it’s more likely something inside the Alchemia’s armor frame.”

Most likely, a Blood Grail was built into the internal structure of Alchemia. While not as overpowered as the one I’d crafted myself, it was still more than enough to amplify Melua’s magical output.

“Though Alfe’s Lemures staff has several times more firepower.”
“You can tell all that just from watching, Leafa?”

Alfe looked at me with wide, sparkling eyes.

“Not everything, but enough.”

Even so, seeing a real battle unfold like this helped clarify the direction our fighting style needed to take. We’d be up against tough odds, no doubt—but not without a path to victory.

“Duke is deemed unable to continue! By major damage ruling, the winner iiiiiiis—THE CANALFORD STUDENT COUNCIIIIIIIIIIIL TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAM!!!”

With Johnny’s announcement, the entire audience burst into cheers.

“Melua! Melua!”
“Estea! Estea!”

Melua’s performance completely drowned out any cheers for Ignis. The support now clearly leaned toward her and Estea, which seemed to visibly annoy Ignis.

“Didn’t need your help, dammit. I had it under contro—”
“Ohhh? Were you hoping to get scrapped early even though you’re a seeded contestant?”

Melua’s biting remark shut him up instantly.

“…She really is impressive.”
“She was thinking purely of the team’s interests. A commendable decision,” Hom added.
“If that attack had connected, Ignis’ unit wouldn’t have come out unscathed,” I said, nodding in agreement.
“Right. And it’s not just about taking damage. His unit’s a cutting-edge model—probably no spare parts. Meaning any damage could become a serious liability.”
“Since damage carries over to the next round…”
“Exactly.”

Given Ignis’ personality, overconfidence and carelessness were predictable flaws. But Melua couldn’t cover for that indefinitely. Her intervention wasn’t for Ignis’ sake, but to avoid putting the team at a disadvantage. Despite his strength, this battle had exposed that there was no real trust between the three of them.

Ignis would fight for his own victories—but not for Estea or Melua. That, right there, was the opening we needed.

***

#Duos#

A sixth-generation mecha officially deployed by the Arcadia Empire in Holy Flower Era 822.

A cutting-edge, all-purpose unit redesigned as a lighter and more versatile version of the heavy mecha Duke—effectively serving as its successor.

While Duke was a high-performance sixth-generation unit in its own right, it belonged to the heavy mecha class, and thus had drawbacks such as peaky output characteristics and frame balance that required a certain level of skill from its pilot.

To address this, the Arcadia Empire undertook a full redesign of Duke’s output profile and overall frame balance with the goal of achieving ease of operation, even for new recruits.

As a result, the new unit boasts improved mobility thanks to overall weight reduction. However, this came at the cost of raw strength and armor, both of which are inferior to Duke’s—a predictable outcome given the focus on reducing mass.

That said, when compared directly: mobility is up by roughly 30%, while strength and armor are each only down by about 10%. In terms of overall balance, it’s fair to say that the new unit is, in fact, a net improvement.

#Alchemia#

A one-of-a-kind magic unit built using alchemy by the grandmother of Melua Garnel—who also served as her mentor.

While the unit incorporates a specially modified frame, it is based on the Fraternity Frame and is categorized as a sixth-generation mecha.

The armor is constructed from mineral resources mined in the industrial city of Henbel, alchemically enhanced to improve aether conductivity. This enhancement grants Alchemia faster reaction speeds compared to standard units.

Additionally, key points within the internal frame are embedded with Blood Grail components, increasing the potency of magical attacks.

Two additional hardpoints have been installed on its back, allowing for equipment tailored to various environments—making the unit highly versatile and expandable.