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**—Alfe’s POV—**

I heard Leafa’s chanting voice.

In the next moment, the ground trembled and golden aether began constructing walls of ice. Frost Divide—in the hands of Leafa, who suffered from Aether Overproduction Syndrome, became an overwhelmingly powerful ice spell. Powerful enough to split the vast colosseum into four.

“Heeey, so that’s it! She used ice magic to carve up the arena into smaller rings and force one-on-one fights! As expected of my master♪”

Thanks to this, we were now each locked into one-on-one battles. Which meant—Leafa had created this situation because she believed I could win against Senior Melua.

“…I won’t lose. Not ever.”

I wanted to answer Leafa’s expectations. I wanted her to see how strong I had become. That was why, no matter who I faced, losing wasn’t an option.

“Senior Melua, here I come!”

As soon as the construction of the ice walls stopped, I raised my voice.

“Good grief, Alfe, you really are earnest. All right then, I won’t hold back either!”

Without chanting, she unleashed earth magic, a rain of stones falling toward me. The damage from each individual hit was minor—this was probably just a distraction.

I released wind magic without chanting, diverting the trajectory of the stones. Immediately after, I sensed the telltale sign of Stone Lances forming overhead.

I fired off Water Lances to intercept them without a moment’s delay.

“An incredible exchangeeee!! The clash of chantless magic means that not for even a single instant can they let down their guaaaaaarddddd!!!!”

Even as Johnny’s voice thundered through his commentary, we kept hurling spells at each other. A magical duel between wielders of the Pure Eyes was nearly even. Against Senior Melua, who had two Pure Eyes, my single Pure Eye was balanced by the magic power amplified by my half-flowing elven blood.

“By the way, is that robe meant to hide what spell you’re casting?”

I didn’t answer her question. That robe was my trump card.

“Well, I guess you can’t tell me. But really, it doesn’t matter—you know I can see through any spell the instant it comes out of your staff, right?”

As she spoke, she shifted her stones into large boulders and combined them with stone spears. Against those floating in the air, I chose lightning magic.

“Thunder of the heavens, become a spear of violet lightning and pierce my foe—Lightning Phalanx!”

I spread arcs of lightning from my staff in concentric rings to intercept the stone spears. But of course, Senior Melua’s assault didn’t end there.

“Stand tall, for I am the fortress that shatters my enemies—the champion of steel! Ironclad!”

Before her Alchemia, four massive iron plates appeared. The lightning I unleashed was drawn into them, crackling as if swallowed whole.

“Whoa, that’s some serious power! I’ve never seen a Lightning Phalanx like that. Now I’m kinda jealous—I want a staff from my master too~!”

Even as she acknowledged the sheer force of my spell, Senior Melua’s tone remained relaxed. Because those iron plates, planted firmly on the ground, gave the lightning an easy escape route—completely nullifying it.

“Well, you know, no matter how strong, magic always comes down to compatibility. Sooo, here’s my return gift!”

From behind the blind spot of the iron plates, she launched a Wind Cutter. I immediately flared Lemures’ thrusters, narrowly dodging its trajectory.

“And hey, I never waste the materials I create. Magnetron!”

She invoked magnetism, and the four iron plates floated into the air.

“Now then—steel body, reveal your might! Armament Transmutation!”

It was the very same Armament Transmutation spell that Hom was so skilled at. I didn’t believe for a moment that Senior Melua was turning purely to defense, so I braced myself, watching the transformation.

The floating iron plates warped and twisted, rounding into shapes—until they became four armored knights, each bearing a spear and shield. They were only upper bodies, but they moved independently.

“Compound Spell: Magnetic Knights♪”

I couldn’t help but think it was brilliant. From the moment she cast that first spell, she had already been planning this outcome. By weaving multiple spells together, Senior Melua had created an entirely new magical phenomenon.

“That’s incredible, Senior!”
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere~! My Honor Guard, charge!”

At her command, the Magnetic Knights advanced. I knew they were originally steel plates, so if I melted them again, they should disappear.

I cast a flame spell wordlessly, hurling it to melt the steel—but Senior Melua had anticipated that. She fired a voiceless Water Shooter, perfectly canceling mine out.

“So, what’s your next move, Alfe?”

The Magnetic Knights leveled their spears as they closed in. Letting them get any closer would be dangerous.

“Wind, layer upon layer, bind together, and become a hammer of destruction—Aero Blast!”

Aero Blast threw the Magnetic Knights back, and before they could recover, I unleashed a barrage of ice magic. With their movements halted, I immediately began chanting another spell.

“O spirit of the lake, master of the silver spear, strike down my foe with your piercing edge—Fimbulknight!”

Knights should be matched against knights—that thought came to me in the heat of battle. Thus, I summoned a towering knight astride an ice-forged steed.

“Charge!”

The Ice Knight lowered its lance and thundered toward the Magnetic Knights.

“Hm, guess that alone still won’t cut it~.”

Unruffled, Senior Melua casually pulled out a pouch from the backpack at her mech’s waist and scattered plant seeds across the colosseum

“Life, awaken! Take root and grow! I call upon the blessings of the earth—Progresio!”

The plants rapidly sprouted and grew into massive trees, entwining the lance of the Ice Knight clashing with the Magnetic Knights. Roots surged up from the ground, binding the legs of both the Ice Knight and its steed to the massive trunks.

“No…!”
“Hehe~. Amazing, right? Earth magic can do stuff like this too. But, you know, you need seeds grown by a witch, so I can’t exactly waste them all willy-nilly.”

As she spoke, Senior Melua used fire magic to melt the ice magic I had cast, which had been slowing down the Magnetic Knights. Freed from their restraint, the Magnetic Knights surged at the Ice Knight, attacking in unison and shattering it into pieces without hesitation.