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**—Leafa’s POV—**

Smashing apart the head armor of Ignis’ Duos sent ripples of astonishment through the audience.

Considering that countless spectators, both from inside and outside the academy, had gathered to cheer on the eldest son of the Dulan family, such a reaction was only natural.

“The one to take the initiative—Reinforce!! Now thennnnnn!! Can Ignis turn this around from hereeeeeee!!!!???”

Johnny, acting purely as a commentator, was doing his best to hype up the Zersteller match. That said, it wasn’t as though anyone would start cheering for me, whose expectations had been low from the start—yet nor were voices of encouragement raised for Ignis either.

The reason was simple: after having his head destroyed, Ignis’ Duos had completely stopped moving.

“The head’s main camera won’t be of any use anymore, will it? Can you still fight like that?”

My target had been the main camera inside the head from the very beginning. With her Pure Eyes, Melua could have continued attacking by relying on my aether, but my opponent was Ignis.

Most likely, stripped of his mecha soldier’s visual information, Ignis found himself in a highly unfavorable position. I had divided the colosseum into four with ice magic, narrowing the battlefield down to a quarter of its size, but even then—I was not weak enough that one could fight me by groping around blindly.

“…I don’t think you’ll surrender, but if that’s your intention, I’ll wait.”

I called out to Ignis, who was no doubt mulling over how to proceed. One more effective hit to a vital part and victory would be mine, but there was no need to rush.

“…Kuhuhu, and you think landing a single blow makes you the winner!?”

Ignis answered my words with a grating laugh, jabbing his Red Saw into the ground as though in irritation.

The arena floor cracked, a great fissure running across it. But that was all.

“…Wh—what is going on here…? Ignis Dulan… has let go of his own Red Saw…?”

Johnny’s bewilderment was unmistakable in his voice, genuine confusion seeping through. Though I braced myself defensively, Ignis raised both arms of his mecha soldier, crossing them at chest height, and drove its fingers straight into his own armor.

“Eh…?”

Black blood oil dripped heavily as he tore away the armor plating of his chest.

“Th-this is—Whaaaaaaat!!?? Unbelievable!! What reckless courage!! A madness that can only be called reckless is driving Ignis forwarrrrrrd!!! In place of the destroyed main camera!! With his very own eyesssssss!! He intends to watch the battle himselfhhhhhh!!!!”

While Johnny shouted in dawning realization of what Ignis was doing, Ignis tore away the armor that had protected his own cockpit with his bare hands.

“Hahahahahahaha!!! Well!? You see now!!”

With the armor gone, the cockpit was, of course, exposed. Driving his blade straight through the glass panel himself, Ignis let out a mad, deranged laugh.

“Now that’s better! A little more air in here!”

It was sheer insanity. Even if direct attacks on the cockpit were forbidden, my Arkecius was still a Subordinate Unit, and we were fighting in a match against a Mecha Soldier. To enter that kind of battle with the cockpit completely bare—it was madness, no matter how one looked at it.

“Th-the cockpit is exposed!! Exposed!! I—Is this… allowed!? Is it reallyyyyy!!?? No one can predict what magic or stray fragments might fly around in a mecha battleeeee!!!??”
“I wouldn’t be doing it if it weren’t allowed!! Quit yapping and get back to hosting the damn match!!”

Ignis raised his Red Saw high, roaring like a beast as he glared at me through his Duos, his killing intent tangible.

“…Th-the referee’s decision is…—Match continues! The fight continues!! However!! Any attack that directly strikes the cockpit will immediately result in disqualification!! Now, what will happen next in this match!!??”
“I’ve toyed around with this subhuman long enough. It’s time to crush this filthy insect with all my strength.”

The massive jet propulsion system on the back of Duos spread open, unleashing torrents of fire.

“What is this…?”

Behind the Duos, flames rose and twisted into a baleful vortex. Merely deploying the propulsion system should never have created something like this. The thrusters’ purpose was to push the machine with wind force, normally venting downward.

“Wind magic and fire magic…? Since when…?”

Muttering to myself, I bit my lip. That was impossible. After all, in this academy there were only a handful of people capable of multi-vision spellcasting without incantation. Ignis was not one of them.

*—But… something’s off…*

Alfe’s voice suddenly echoed in my mind—her murmurs, every time she saw Ignis’ flames.

“If you space out now, you’ll be torn to pieces in an instant! Looks like you’re just begging to be fed to my Red Saw!!”

Now the flames weren’t simply blasting from the propulsion system. They spewed from the entirety of Duos’ back, scattering sparks and swelling larger and larger. The malignant blaze and its black smoke gave off the impression of a fire demon incarnate.

“Brace yourself, brat!! Ignition!!”

The inferno on Duos’ back bared its fangs, and with terrifying momentum it charged, as though to swallow Arkecius whole. That acceleration rivaled Vannabelle’s vorpal pierce. Arkecius had no chance of dodging it.

I pulled back at full speed, thrusting my hand toward Ars Manga.

“O earth, by my command, rise up—Clay Wall!”

I conjured an earthen wall to halt Duos’ advance—but it was pointless.

“Duos, wreathed in overwhelming flames, lunges in for the finishing blow against Arkeciussss!!”

The earthen wall was split in two in the blink of an eye by the Red Saw. I managed to dodge right at the last second, but the flames that scattered from the impact bared their fangs at Arkecius.

I hastily cloaked Arkecius in ice magic, countering the aftershock. Yet my instincts screamed: a direct hit from those flames would mean certain death.

I didn’t yet understand the trick behind it, but Ignis’ propulsion system was far from ordinary.

“C’mon, c’mon! What’s wrong!? Try landing one more hit, huh!?”

Ignis swung his Red Saw wildly as he chased after me. If I tried to block, Arkecius’ arm would be cleaved clean off. The only option was to read his wind-ups and keep dodging.

“Winds that surge, grant me the blessing of speed—Wind Flow!”

By combining wind magic with a lateral blast from my thrusters, I dodged to the left, narrowly evading him.

In the next instant, the sound of ice shattering rang out.

His Red Saw had overextended, burying itself into an ice wall.

“Damn little rat, scurrying around like thaaat!!”

He hacked at the wall in rage, gouging out huge chunks with each furious swing. I had to hold him here—if he broke through, he’d reach Alfe and Hom.

“…And just who is it that can’t even catch a single little rat?”

Ignis’ behavior was relatively easy to read. His pride was enormous, and once it was wounded, he lost himself in blind aggression. All the more so in a battle like the Zersteller, with a stage to show off on.

“You bastaaaaaaaaaard!!!!”

Wrenching his Red Saw free from the ice, Ignis ignited his propulsion system and whipped his machine around. The flames spreading malevolently across Duos’ back burned fiercer still, as though voicing his fury for him.

And yet there he sat, inside that bared cockpit, enduring the inferno itself. It was nothing short of monstrous.

“Duos unleashes flames of terrifying powerrrrr!! Flames so greatttt!! Even Melua herself would be enviousssss!!!”

I couldn’t see what was happening beyond the ice wall, but Johnny’s commentary carried over to me. And at his words, something clicked.

Why could Duos, which wasn’t even a Magic Soldier, wield flames of such magnitude in the first place?

*—No. Those flames… they aren’t using aether.*

Alfe’s voice resurfaced again—her reaction the very first time she had seen Ignis’ fire magic. Back then, I hadn’t thought much of it. But what exactly had she meant? With her Pure Eye, what had she seen—or rather, what had she failed to see?

“You’ll regret those words. This time I’ll hit you with something special—something you won’t be able to run from.”

Now it wasn’t only his propulsion system—Ignis’ entire Duos was wreathed in fire. And there, in the very heart of that inferno, sat Ignis himself, unflinching. He carried himself like a king ruling over a demon of flame, looking down on me with a mocking sneer.

“Unbelievable flames at play hereeeee!!! Even with three layers of protective barriers raised, the ice dividing the colosseum is already melting awayyyyy!!!”

Johnny’s voice carried the despair of the situation. Was there any way to counter these flames? How much time could I buy against this inferno?

I… Just what was I supposed to do here—