---

---

Seiya and Bagil concluded their business and went out of the conference room where the others were waiting for them.

「Seiya……」

Yua anxiously looked at Seiya. Towards such a Yua, Seiya told her the plan of action.

「We are to form the advance party for Moka Fenix rescue operation and venture ahead of everyone else. The apostle’s troops will reunite with us later and our task is to hold out until then」

Hearing Seiya’s report, everyone’s expressions hardened.

「All right…..」
「All right!」
「Got it」
「I understand」
「Roger」

Meanwhile, a single girl assumed an anxious expression.

「Em, senpai…..」

Nari anxiously gazed at Seiya. Apparently, she became worried after hearing about the dark territory. Seiya said towards such Nari while patting her head.

「Don’t worry, Nari. We will definitely bring her back」

To tell you the truth, I want you to take me together with you. Nevertheless, she was aware that she would only become a burden.

That’s why Nari decided to reply in a spirited voice. She thought that it was the best he could do at the moment.

「Yes! I will leave it to you」
「No problem」

After that, the group followed Bagil in the depths of the church. There was a certain something prepared in that room.

「This is…..」
「I thought it would be difficult to fight in your current clothing, so I took a liberty to prepare the appropriate clothes」

Everyone looked at the contents of the room. It resembled the uniform of Arsenia Magic Academy, but at the same time, it didn’t. Unlike the white uniform of Arsenia Magic Academy, it was based on black.

In reality, this uniform was much more functional that your usual academy uniform.

It is resistant to physical damage, heat and has a lot of assisting functions. Originally, it wasn’t supposed to be given to someone outside of the apostle’s troops, but due to the state of emergency, Bagil brought them out.

The six changed their uniforms in the dressing room. It matched their size and was very comfortable.

When Seiya wore the uniform, he suddenly seemed more mature and radiated a certain kind sex appeal. [¹]

When Yua wore her uniform, the contrast with her white hair made her even more dazzling.

Lily looked like a kid, who tried to dress like an adult but still failed to become one.

In Selena’s case, her black knee socks attracted the most attention.

Mona was the only one who wore the tights under the skirt, it was strangely erotic.

For better or for worse, Aishi looked normal.

Once he wore the uniform, Bagil called out to Seiya.

「It seems you are ready. I prepared the horses for you. I am counting on you, Kiritsuna Seiya」
「Yeah」

Seiya’s group moved to the front of the church.

When they were passing through the hall, the adult from before stared at them with bewildered eyes. [²]

After all, the student, whom they secretly sneered at, came back in the back uniforms, which could only be used by the people directly under an apostle, and that apostle seemed to be Bagil.

Seiya ignored the adults and approached the six horses.

When the six mounted on their respective horses, Seiya loudly proclaimed.

「Let’s go」
「Un……」
「Un!」
「Yeah」
「Understood」
「Yes」[³]

The five responded to Seiya’s words and rushed out of the church. Their target was the Great Dakuria Empire in the dark territory.

After watching them for a while, Bagil returned to his room and used a visual type telepathy stone to connect to the sages of the Holy Church. The seven sages were conveniently having a meeting, so it immediately connected.

「What’s wrong, Bagil Eight?」

One of the men asked Bagil. It was a man in his fifties with a sharp look in his eyes.

Bagil immediately cut to the chase.

「Did the kidnapping of Moka Fenix reached your ears?」
「Yes, the troops are already on their way. Settle this matter properly. We can’t afford a failure」

Said the man while glaring at Bagil. Bagil proceeded with his report.

「It is about the incident, I concluded that there is a high possibility of the culprit being from the Dakuria」
「Is that true?」

Unlike the previous man, it was a man in his sixties who asked that. The eyes of this man weren’t that sharp compared to the previous man.

「It is true. Due to that, I request another two apostles to join the operation」
「Another two? Are you telling us to dispatch another two, while we already have one on this case? 」

The man raised his voice. That wasn’t unexplainable. It was unprecedented to dispatch three of the apostles on one case.

In addition, it was rare for one apostle to directly request for another one. Bagil was that serious about this incident.

「Bagil Eight. Is this case really as important as you describe it? 」

A seventy-year-old man asked Bagil.

「Yes. Considering the value of『Fenix’s Flames』I think, it would be an appropriate reaction. Depending on the circumstances, it might even escalate into a war」
「All right. We will dispatch two more of the thirteen apostles」
「This is! 」

A man objected to the old man, but he didn’t care.

「Thank you」
「Bagil Eight. As soon as your unit gathers, immediately depart for the Dakuria Empire. The reinforcements will quickly catch up later. Depending on the circumstances, I do not mind a war. Be sure to take back『Fenix’s Flames』at all costs. In the worst case kill her」
「As you will」

The conversation had ended soon after. Even considering the importance of『Fenix’s Flames』, he didn’t plan to kill Moka.

He also didn’t report about dispatching the eldest daughter of the Fenix family. In other words, he only considered rescuing her.

After that, Bagil headed for the Aquamarine before his troops gathered.

Of course, he didn’t intend to enjoy the festival. It was to find Raiga. Perhaps, Raiga will fly into a rage after hearing about everything.

But still, it was Bagil’s job to inform him. After all, the fact that he involved the students was an undeniable truth.

Originally, he wanted to entrust Raiga with this mission. However, there was a lot of paperwork involved in dispatching a special magician in the dark territory. It wasn’t a good idea due to the time constraints.

While getting depressed, he searched for Raiga.

---

---

　

---

---

Once they were left alone, Bagil decided to tell him about the circumstances around this case.

「All right then, what are the details?」

At Seiya’s inquiry, he hesitated ever so slightly.

The reason is, the content touched upon a lot of the church’s secrets, which aren’t accessible for most of the advanced and even special magicians

But he couldn’t just dismiss it, so he opened his mouth and explained the circumstances.

「Do you know about the people living in the dark territory?」
「Yeah, a little」

Seiya answered that he knew about the people of the dark territory.

If there was a person who wasn’t familiar with the circumstances, he would have laughed in a loud voice.

It is a common sense in this country that no people could possibly live in the dark territory. Even if there were such people, they would be soon devoured by the monsters, which is common sense.

Then, why does Seiya know about people in the dark territory? The answer lies in the first time he switched into the demon king mode.

Demon King mode refers to his appearance in the Great Dalis Canyon. Lily, who witnessed the whole process, said that it was demon king-like.

When he turned into the demon king, a part of his memories was awoken. The memories about a father-like figure and his lessons.

The father-like person told him about the inner workings of the Great Dakuria Empire and its location.

「I see, then I will omit that part. Those people created a country and named it as Dakuria Empire. This information I got just recently, of course, it is irrelevant to us right now」

Bagil’s information was treated as classified by the top figures of the church. If someone knew that he told it to Seiya, he would be in for some trouble. However, Seiya corrected his statement.

「That is wrong. The Dakuria Empire is only the core region, like the central kingdom. The country itself is called the Great Dakuria Empire」
「What? Why do you know it? 」
「Professional secret」

Towards Seiya’s correction, Bagil asked for the detail, but, of course, Seiya didn’t say a thing.

Bagil was suspicious why he knew the information that was inaccessible even for the Holy Church. However, it wasn’t the right time to pry.

The rescue operation took priority over Dakuria.

「Whatever. There is a high possibility that the culprit behind the kidnapping came from that Great Dakuria Empire」

Bagil speculated as such from the facts he knew.

「I see. And what is your basis? 」
「His methods. A criminal from the kingdom would have acted more carefully. In the first place, aiming for『Fenix’s Flames』isn’t very likely. But the criminal destroyed everything and took her away, that is the conduct of someone who doesn’t know the position of the Fenix family in this kingdom」

Hearing his reasons, Seiya nodded.

「True enough. There are no idiots in this country who wish to turn the whole Holy Church against them」

『Fenix’s Flames』is a very special magic.

This flame is known for its miraculous ability to heal any kinds of wounds. However, due to its effects and large compensation, it is also known as『Flames of Life』and its usage is managed by the Holy Church.

Flames of life cured the wounds by spending the user’s lifespan. 『Fenix’s Flames』was classified as a forbidden spell and its usage as strictly monitored.

「Then where does he keep her?」
「You probably understood by now, right? On the contrary, I want you to tell me」

To the truth, Bagil’s side still wasn’t aware of the exact location.

He only knows that she was kidnapped by a person from the Dakuria and was brought into the dark territory. However, when Seiya heard about the Dakuria, he already had a certain place in mind.

「Oh, I have a guess. But I have no confirmation and the information is slightly outdated」
「That is fine too. Tell me the location」

Bagil said so and brought out a huge map.

The Leiria Kingdom was situated on the left side of the map. However, the Leiria Kingdom was depicted too small, so the details of its inner territories weren’t included.

But this map was created to display the dark territory, there was no problem.

「Ho, such a nice article you have here」
「Don’t tell anyone about it. Normally, this map is only accessible to the apostles and the special magicians」
「No wonder. This is too much for the public」

The fact that he showed Seiya this map was a proof of his trust. That’s why Seiya too didn’t think of betraying his trust. Besides, Seiya owed him one.

The matter of the dark attribute was a matter of course, but he also helped out in the battle with the student council.

Actually, Lily’s adult transformation became a hot topic yesterday.

As expected, no one guessed about her being a fairy, but the adults made a fuss speculating whether she disguised herself as a trainee at her age or the fact that her ability didn’t match a young girl. As a result, someone doubted the fairness of the match.

Against that, Bagil commented that she was using the water magic to change her appearance and confuse the opponent.

With the apostle saying as such, everyone was convinced and the voices of discontent quickly quieted down.

Bagil himself didn’t think of that explanation as convincing, but he couldn’t just say that she was a fairy, thus he decided to go with it. One way or another, Seiya’s group managed to conceal the truth with Bagil’s support.

「All right, regarding the location. I think it is here」
「Here? 」
「Yeah」

There was nothing written on that section of the map, but Bagil’s eyes were serious.

「Then, let’s send a squad right away」
「Stop it. Even if it is a church’s squad, they won’t be able to achieve anything」

Hearing Seiya’s opinion, Bagil thought it through once again. True enough, it wasn’t very likely for the church’s squad to bring any results.

「Understood. Then I will gather all of the dispatched teams and have them guard the surroundings of that area. Kiritsuna Seiya, how much power does one need to deal with the monsters there? 」

Seiya thought for a while and voiced his estimation.

「At the very least, you need about 10 advanced magicians. If things go awry, maybe even more」
「Would that be enough? 」
「However, it also included my wishful thinking, the reality might be harsher」

There was no lie in Seiya’s words.

「Understood. In other words, the church’s squad stands no chance」
「That’s how it is」

Seiya asked Bagil, who was thinking about the plan.

「What will you do?」
「I wanted to request Arsenia Magic Academy to stay on high alert, but it would be difficult to accomplish during the festival」
「Besides, you aren’t willing to involve any outsiders, aren’t you?」
「Kind of. It would make matters easier for me, but I can’t just tell them that you are the part of the expedition」

Hearing Bagil’s words, Seiya contemplated.

「Hey, Bagil, how long will it take for your unit to return?」
「My unit? It should take them about 2 days to return, then there is a matter of preparation for the deployment. Altogether, more than three days」

Once he heard that piece of information, he immediately decided on his actions.

「The it should be all right. We will venture out first」
「But」

Most likely, Seiya’s plan will spare a lot of other’s lives. But at the same time, it will greatly raise the risks for Seiya’s own group. He couldn’t approve of such a plan.

「Relax. We still have some power hidden. If the situation calls for it, I don’t mind saving them at the expense of my secret. Everyone’s safety if a top priority, so there is no problem」
「But even like that」

From his position’s standpoint, he couldn’t accept it. However, Seiya reminded him of something important.

「I think you know it, but the rescue operation is a race against time. The more time we spend, the less likely it is to succeed」

Seiya thought of the time when he himself was captured.

He thought he would be okay for at least three days, but he was almost turned into organs right away.

From that memory, he learned that he couldn’t be completely confident. That’s precisely why Seiya was in a hurry.

Bagil too was aware of this fact.

「Can’t help it. I’m sorry, but I will send you as an advance party. On my end, I will try to ask the other apostles for help」
「Roger」
「Also, bring this with you」
「This is……」

Bagil handed his one shining blue stone.

「This is the telepathy stone. That being said, it could only be used to contact me. If something happens, use it immediately」
「I will gratefully accept it」
「Then, by the name of the Holy Church’s apostle Bagil Eight, I officially designate you, Kiritsuna Seiya, and the team of six under your lead as the advance party. Head for the dark territory and hold your ground until the Holy Church arrives」
「Order accepted」

With this, they officially joined the operation.

「I leave it to you, Kiritsuna Seiya」
「Yeah, I will end this before you even arrive」
「Yeah, sure」

With the conversation closed, the two left the conference room.

---

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---

Everyone was surprised at Selena’s sudden declaration.

Usually, when it comes to the dark territory you leave everything for the church to handle. Besides, with the Holy Church on the move, obediently staying home is the best choice.

However, the girl before Bagil said that she wanted to search herself.

As a matter of course, Bagil tried to stop her. He couldn’t just casually send people to their death.

「I cannot allow it. I witnessed your power in the finals, and it won’t be enough. Please, think it through」

Bagil’s words were theoretically true. It was impossible for Selena to venture into the dark territory and come back alive with her strength.

It would have been fine with to venture into the dark territory close to the Leiria Kingdom, but deep inside it, you could easily find even stronger monsters.

Selena of now wasn’t capable of surviving in the depth of the dark territory. And unfortunately, Moka was brought quite deep. [¹]

Selena was aware that she was pushing her limits. However, she was a daughter who wanted to save her mother herself.

Selena desperately came up with a reason.

「But every person counts……」
「That is true. But including a magician unfamiliar with our tactics is only adding another victim」

It was cruel but it was true.

By including an amateur in the already formed team, you can endanger everyone’s lives. If a newcomer performs poorly, the whole team might be wiped out.

「But……」
「It is regretful, but leave it to us and give up」

Selena gave up persuading Bagil. She may indeed become a nuisance. However, she had her trusted comrades.

「Then I’m going too」
「Me too」

Mona and Aishi proposed to accompany her. In their eyes, Selena saw the color of determination. [²]

However, even with the two of them, Bagil’s answer was unchanged. Even if they are excellent, they are still the students, it is too early for them to venture out into the dark territory.

「Ha, I won’t allow it even with the two of you. In the first place, you know nothing about the dark territory. I can’t allow such people to venture out」

An ignorant person venturing into the dark territory. Such person is either an idiot or wants to commit suicide.

When the church’s army goes into the dark territory for the first time, it happens only after a lot of hard training and only on the outskirts.

A squad consisting of people, who already experienced the dark territory for themselves, also accompanies them. And only after they get used to the dark territory, they are allowed to go deeper.

Nevertheless, Selena’s group, although capable, was completely ignorant of the dangers inside. In these circumstances, they couldn’t be anything but a burden to the team.

Bagil didn’t let go and released his killing intent in their direction. It was for the sake of letting them experience the difference and make them give up.

Once they felt his killing intent, they become unable to move or speak. He intended to remind them of the gap between them.

But when the three were about to give up, someone disrupted his killing intent.

「What would you say if I go with them?」

It was, of course, Seiya’s voice. He had a relaxed expression, almost as if he didn’t feel anything.

「What are your thoughts, Kiritsuna Seiya?」
「I said, I will lend them a hand」
「Do you understand what you are saying?」

Asked Bagil with a blaming tone.

The addition of Seiya to the team won’t make it any weaker.

Bagil understood his strength and considered him an individual of great ability. However, at the same time, the risk of revealing his dark powers to the church was great.

If his power was ever revealed, the Holy Church would become his enemy. And if that ever happens, the special magician, Raiga Arunia will become an enemy of the church too.

No one wanted to witness such an outcome.

Bagil didn’t want that to happen, so he tried to stop him.

「With you in our team, our strength will soar, but you should be aware of the underlying problems. Do you know what I mean? 」
「Yeah, I know. More than that, tell me the number of people in your squad」
「Numbers? I planned to send six teams of six people…..」

Hearing his words, Seiya grinned.

「Understood. I and the student council makes four」
「I will also go with Seiya……」
「Five」

When Yua agreed, a young voice appeared in his head.

(Lily too!)
「Apparently Lily too. Now we have six」

Yua wants to save Moka. She was kidnapped before and emphasized with her.

If she didn’t meet Seiya back them, no one knows where she would have been right now. I was saved by Seiya before, so I will save someone myself.

Besides, she couldn’t let Seiya go alone.

The same was true for Lily. From the moment they entered the conference room, Seiya transmitted her the gist of the conversation.

Lily too wanted to save Moka. Because she was her friend’s mother and was always kind and gentle to her.

Nari helped me when I was in peril on my first day. That’s why it’s time for me to help her.

I want Nari to smile. Besides, no one could foretell what would happen if she separates from Seiya too far.

The two were determined. Seiya’s determination was there too. Seiya didn’t do it for Selena or Moka, he did it for Nari.

She was nice to Seiya’s group, who just transferred.

Nari took care of Lily when she was worried. On top of that, she let them see the information on their opponents.

That’s why it is my turn to help. Besides, he knew that Lily and Yua wanted to save her too.

「You don’t mean the six of you, right?」
「I do. Three amongst us have experienced the dark territory, it should be enough」

The student council members doubted their hearing when they heard Seiya.

Experiencing the dark territory at his age was clearly abnormal. Moreover, there were three of them.

Selena’s trio watched him weird eyes, you could see 「Who the hell is this guy? 」 written inside.

On the other hand, Bagil contemplated. Certainly, with Seiya’s trio, he could relax. The six of them might be even stronger than the church’s teams.

However, the other problem was still present.

The problem regarding Moka’s location. In reality, he had certain speculations. But it wasn’t a place where he could casually dispatch his troops. That’s why the response was delayed.

Bagil steeled himself and made the decision.

「All right. I will allow the six of you to venture out. I will handle the formalities, so please wait outside」
「Thanks」

Everyone tried to leave the room, just as he told them too. But then, Bagil stopped only Seiya from going outside.

「Wait, Kiritsuna Seiya. Let’s talk with just the two of us」

From Bagil’s expression, Seiya understood the content to a certain extent. Bagil still hid something.

Seiya took his seat again and the rest of them left the room. Then, he asked.

「So, what is it?」
「I will tell you the details about this incident」
「I see」

Hearing his words, Seiya grinned. Apparently, this case wasn’t so simple.

---

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---

Towards his demand, the receptionist showed an expression that seemed to be saying「Is this guy’s head all right? 」. The student council was no better. He didn’t just ask for an apostle, he called him by his name.

「Hey, lolicon. Calling Bagil-sama over is clearly impossible」
「That’s right. Calling an apostle is a little overboard」
「You even called him by his name」

Seiya was showered in the student council’s criticism. However, Yua and Lily weren’t surprised in the slightest.

The two were already informed about Bagil. At the same time, they understood that this case was big enough to require his assistance.

As for Nari, she was scared of the adult’s stares and hid behind Selena, thus missing the conversation.

「Etto, what is your business with him?」
「As I said, I want you to call him here」
「I was asking, what kind of matter you wish to discuss with him?」
「This is……」
「Stop right there」

When Seiya was talking with the receptionist, a brown-haired man in his twenties intruded into the conversation. The man faced Seiya, but without looking at him, he started ogling Yua and Lily on Seiya’s left and right.

Feeling his gaze, full of hidden intentions, the two hid behind Seiya’s back.

「Hee, flowers in both hands, huh? You live rather nicely. You, what’s your name? 」
「Kiritsuna Seiya」
「What? You are the rumored special…..」

When Seiya introduced himself, the hall got noisy. In reality, Seiya became quite famous with local magicians. A mysterious elementary magician, who came out of nowhere and suddenly became a fiancé.

No one was able to find anything about the Kiritsuna family, his identity caused a lot of questions to arise.

The man immediately said, while still surprised.

「I have no idea how you entered the eyes of a special magician, but what is your business with an apostle?」
「I have no duty to tell you」
「You」

Faced with his thorny attitude, the man instantly became incensed and started to chant.

It was stupidity itself to use magic in the church’s hall. However, the man, angered by his attitude, initiated a chant.

「Even if you became a special fiancé, a nameless elementary magician shouldn’t be this arrogant. I will show you the real power. My soul of fire, manifest on behalf of the fire maiden, dance…….」

The man proceeded with the chant and constructed a red magic circle. Apparently, his spell was based on the fire attribute.

Seiya looked and the brown-haired man with cold eyes.

On the other side, the spectating magicians, seeing him deploying a spell, activated their own defensive magic.

In other words, they didn’t choose to stop the man but to protect themselves.

「Haa」
「Seiya……」
「Right」

While being disappointed in this bunch of adults, he breathed a sigh, intending to stop him.

Against Seiya, maybe because he tried to cast an advanced spell, he constructed multiple magic circles. These magic circles gathered vast amounts of mana in them, telling everyone about this spell’s firepower.

However, when everyone was about to see a spell being released.

Pachin.

With a sound of something cracking, the magic circles, which he was about to deploy, disappeared without a trace.

The brown-haired man couldn’t comprehend what happened, and the other magicians were still busy with their defensive spells.

There was only a sound of Seiya sighing.

「Haa」

Seiya used the dark attribute elementary spell『Dark Wave』.

He activated the spell stealthily and quietly. But if you were to ask whether it was fine to use the dark attribute magic in the church, the answer would have been yes.

The reason is, Seiya was aware of the level of the magicians present in this building. Only three people could sense the dark attribute in this building, Yua, Lily, and Bagil.

Apparently, the main forces of the church were deployed to bolster the security of the Aquamarine after Moka’s incident.

The magicians present weren’t that high in level, so unless he said the name of a spell, he would be fine.

Seiya’s dark magic could be perceived.

In other words, he could inform Bagil about his appearance through its usage.

And just as he predicted, Bagil emerged from behind with demonic expression.

「Ba-Bagil-sama!?」

The receptionist was started at his sudden appearance. The same was true for all magicians present, including the student council.

Looking around the hall, he discovered Seiya and glared at him like a demon.

「What the hell are you doing, Kiritsuna Seiya?」

Why did you come here? Why did you use the dark attribute? He was filled with such questions, but Seiya cut straight to the chase.

「I want to talk about the kidnapping case」
「How did you…..?」

Hearing Seiya, Bagil instantly cooled down. However, he very soon discovered two red-haired girls behind him.

「Let these children pass」
「Is that all right?」
「No problem」

Although the receptionist was quietly complaining to herself, she lost to Bagil’s aura and let them pass.

「Understood. Then, please」
「Thanks」

Seiya’s group followed after Bagil and disappeared in the depth of the church.

They arrived at the small conference room. Apparently, they could hear the circumstances here.

Before entering the conference room, Seiya told Lily and Nari to stay outside. He simply didn’t want to worry Nari for no good reason. In addition, to make it easier for her, he had Lily accompany her.

Lily seemed to understand his intentions and gladly agreed.

「Thank you, lolicon」
「For what?」
「For Nari」
「Don’t dwell on it」

Just before entering the conference room, he received Selena’s gratitude, but he simply treated it as a matter of course.

When everyone took their seats, Bagil started talking. Different from their encounter in the hall, it was a gentle voice.

「Nice to meet you. I’m one of the thirteen apostles, Bagil Eight. I usually stay in the central kingdom, but right now, I came here because of a certain matter. Am I not wrong to assume you to be the eldest daughter of the Fenix family? 」
「Yes. My name is Selena Fenix」

Bagil suddenly started introducing himself without touching upon the main subject.

Bagil, who was commentating during the final match, was familiar with them to a certain extent, but he used this method to reduce Selena’s tension. With introductions finished, Bagil talked about the real purpose.

「A while ago, Selena-san’s mother, Moka Fenix-san was kidnapped. I don’t know about the criminal, but there is a high possibility that he already brought her out to the dark territory」
「It can’t be……」

Hearing him mention the dark territory, she lost her words. For a student of a magic academy, this word was just too heavy.

Seiya’s team and the academy that holds lessons in the dark territory are exceptions. Normally, it is impossible for a student to be familiar with the dark territory.

For the students, the words “dark territory” hold a certain sense of despair.

Meanwhile, hearing about the dark territory, Yua and Seiya furrowed their brows. It reminded them of their previous experiences.

Substituting for Selena, who was in no condition to talk, Seiya asked a question.

「Does the fact that the culprit is unknown means that it isn’t the same advanced magician clan as before?」
「Right. That clan is already disbanded」

When Seiya asked about the advanced magician clan, he meant the culprit behind the previous kidnappings.

Because Moka was of the fire attribute, it reminded him of the previous incident, but according to Bagil, that clan was already crushed. Therefore, they weren’t involved.

Everyone was surprised that Seiya was talking with Bagil on equal footing, but Seiya didn’t care and proceeded forward.

「Any information?」
「I don’t know who it was, but I know his purpose. His purpose…….」
「『Fenix’s Flame』」
「Correct」

Selena answered before Bagil did so.

『Fenix’s Flame』is a unique spell passed down in the Fenix family. It is an exceptional spell among its class.

Seiya knew about it from the books but wasn’t aware of the details. However, Bagil and the church’s executives were convinced that it was the culprit’s true purpose.

「Currently, even the Holy Church is on the move because of this case. All you need to do is wait. We will definitely find her」

Bagil’s decision was an obvious one. Seiya expected such outcome and Mona was of the same opinion.

However, Mona looked at Selena’s face and understood. Understood about what she was planning to do.

Mona hurriedly tried to stop Selena, but she was too late.

「I’m going to her rescue」

Selena’s voice reverberated in the room.

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「Eh, what’s wrong?」

Selena started at his sudden grab.

It wasn’t only Selena. Yua, Mona, and Aishi were the same. Yua glared at him as if saying「What are you doing? 」.

However, she immediately perceived his serious mood. And right after, following after Seiya’s statement, the shock hit them once again.

「It seems Moka Fenix-san was just kidnapped by someone.」
「Hah?」

Selena couldn’t understand the situation. That’s how it should be. After all, her hand was suddenly grabbed and she heard that her mother was kidnapped.

It is difficult to believe it in the first place and it is more so impossible to calmly accept it.

That’s why, Seiya just relayed the facts, which he heard from Lily.

Some time after Nari and Lily left the house for Aquamarine, they heard an explosion. When the two looked back in a hurry, they found that it was in the same direction as the house, from which they left just a while ago.

The two hurried home and saw the smoke rising above the Fenix family.

The church and police-like organization were already on the scene.

They looked for Moka everywhere but failed to discover her. When they heard from the church’s official that there was a big possibility of kidnapping, Lily immediately contacted Seiya.

「Are you speaking the truth?」

Faced with Seiya’s statement, Mona decided to confirm. Selena looked somewhat absent-minded and Aishi was holding her hand.

「Yeah」
「Just how did you hear that? I didn’t see you using a telepathy stone」

Mona’s question was a normal reaction. Normally, in case you need to transmit something over a long distance, you need to use a telepathy stone. However, he didn’t see the signs of him using it.

Adding to that, he suddenly proclaimed that Selena’s mother was kidnapped. It was hard to believe even if you wanted to. Selena and Aishi were of the same opinion.

From Selena’s expression, you could guess that she still hoped that it was just a bad joke. However, Yua showed her the reality.

「Seiya and Lily can talk even without a telepathy stone……..」
「Is that true?」
「Kind of」

Mona made an unbelieving expression.

Using telepathy without a telepathy stone is the same as calling people without a telephone. Even if it called a telepathy stone, you still need to speak to transmit your voice.

However, forget about a stone, he did it in silence. You can’t help but be surprised.

「Let’s assume it to be true, what should we do, Selena?」
「Eh?」

Being suddenly called, Selena released an idiotic voice. She seemed to still have a hard time to believe. Towards such Selena, Mona said.

「Put yourself together, Selena. This is your problem. We will cooperate with your decision」
「That’s right. We will follow Selena-senpai」
「You two」

Selena decided to face the reality for the first time.

「That’s right, bird woman. Now you need to decide what to do next」

Hearing Seiya’s words, Selena slapped her cheek and switched the gears.

「I got it. I have no choice since even lolicon said so. Let’s head for the church first, tell Lily and Nari to meet us there」
「Understood. Let’s go then」
「Yeah」

For now, they decided to visit the church. However, Seiya didn’t tell them everything at the moment.

That is, there was a high possibility of Moka being brought in the dark territory. He still wanted to keep it to himself. [¹]

Nothing has been decided yet. Saying so inside his heart, he moved towards the church.

The church was relatively close, so the five arrived in no time. The church was larger than any building in the vicinity, its grandeur was obvious even to the children.

In front of the church, they saw Lily and Nari, when Nari discovered Selena, she cried.

「Sister!」
「Nari!」
「Mother, it’s mother. If only I had left later, I would have been able to prevent it. I’m……」

That was Nari’s regret. If only I went out later than I did…..Nari’s heart was about to be crushed under the pressure.

Towards such Nari, Selena gently said.

「Wrong. It’s not Nari’s fault, relax」
「But…..」

Selena gently caressed the head of Nari, who was crushed under her regret.

It was for the sake of calming down Nari, as well as calming herself.

After a while, Nari calmed down and the seven opened the big door and entered inside.

Inside of the church, there was a receptionist girl behind the counter and a lot of magician-like people.

The magicians inside looked at their group all at once.

That gaze was an unfriendly one. That wasn’t something that was hard to understand. The reason is, the church wasn’t a good place for students of the magic academy.

There was a big notice board with lots of request hanging on it. The requests ranged from subjugation to collection.

According to the system, the requests from the clients arrive at the board and every magician clan picks one of them to complete.

Each request has a corresponding difficulty level. Some of them, even above the senior magician class. There are times when the church directly assigns a mission.

For example, monster subjugation. They need a swift response, so there is often no time to stick them on the board. That’s why they ask influential magician clans to immediately deal with a threat.

In other words, the area was filled with magicians searching for work. In their eyes, the students only come here to play.

As a result, they weren’t looking at Seiya’s group with good intentions.

After entering the church and receiving the glares of a bunch of adults, Yua gripped Seiya’s sleeve and Lily shrank behind him. Nari was holding Selena’s hand while scared.

This was unavoidable. A student was after all different from a full-fledged magician.

A creature that lives, eats and supports his family relying on magic.

They experienced a lot and their aura unknowingly changed.

It wasn’t surprising for Nari to become scared of them.

On the side note, Yua and Lily, who experienced the Great Dalis Canyon, weren’t scared in the least. They just wanted to stick to Seiya.

Seiya ignored the adults and approached the counter. His actions were not timid or awkward, but completely natural.

Seeing the calmly approaching Seiya, a part of adults sent him an interested gaze.

There was a beauty in her twenties behind the counter.

She wasn’t on the level of Yua and Lily, but she was still a beauty from the world’s point of view. Such beauty faced Seiya with a smile and was ready to listen to his request.

At that time, while he still didn’t manage to speak, Yua pinched his wrist for some reason.

「Greetings. What bring you here? 」

As expected of the church’s receptionist. Even towards a student, she responded by the book. However, her perfect smile cramped soon after.

「An apostle, Bagil Eight, is supposed to stay here. I want you to call him」
「Ha? 」 [²]

---

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On the next morning after the fierce battle with the student council, Seiya woke up in his bed. But today he wasn’t alone.

On top of the bed, he could see a figure of another person. It was Yua. Last night, she fell asleep in his room instead of her own. If it was the usual, Lily would have come with her, but last night, Yua came alone.

The reason is, Lily wasn’t at home. At this time, she probably just woke up in Nari’s house.

Yesterday, after the battle with the student council and the award ceremony, they joined with Nari and held a celebration party. There, Nari suggested Lily to spend a night in her house, and she ended up agreeing.

Therefore, Seiya and Yua spent a night with just the two of them for the first time in a while.

Seiya woke up Yua who was sleeping next to him. She was still a little sleepy, but today they couldn’t afford to oversleep.

「Wake up, Yua」
「Mn, Seiya. Good morning….」
「O, good morning」

Yua greeted Seiya and lightly kissed him. Without any intention to evade, he accepted her kiss.

After the morning kiss, they went to the dining room for breakfast.

Raiga and Kana were already present there.

「So you woke up」
「Good morning. Both of you」
「Yeah」
「Good morning……」

When the two took their seats, breakfast was brought out. And when everyone started eating breakfast, Raiga opened a conversation.

「I didn’t have a chance to tell you yesterday, but you officially became the representatives of Arsenia Magic Academy. In other words, you will compete in Leiria Magic Tournament. I think you are aware, but be careful about your power. The Holy Church hosts the Leiria Magic Tournament after all」[¹]

In reality, Leiria Magic Tournament exists to gather the outstanding magicians in one place. A festival aimed to find the talents to join the Holy Church. That’s why they often scout excellent students during the tournament.

「It is all right」
「All right…..」
「I see」

Then, Kana changed the topic. Kana wanted to replace the heavy conversation with a light one. Such is a special magician’s wife.

「By the way, are you two going to the Aquamarine today?」

Aquamarine is an annual festival to honor the water maiden held at the end of June. It is famous across the whole Leiria Kingdom. It starts in the city of Moru and lasts three days starting from today.

「Yeah」
「I’ll go…..」
「Just the two of you?」
「That’s how it seems to be」
「After all, Lily isn’t here」

Seiya and Yua were in a mood to enjoy the Aquamarine.

Lily will go around with Nari and join them on the second day. Because of that, today, there were only two of them today.

「Yes, excessive flirting in public is prohibited」

Kana teased the two with a grin.

「It’s fine, I will choose the right place first」
「Un……」
「Ara」
「Haa」

Kana let their remarks slide while Raiga breathed a sigh. Breakfast concluded on that note.

Aquamarine became increasingly active after its opening, even more than Christmas Eve. There was twice the number of stalls, but more than that, the number of people was overwhelming.

It spanned across the 2-kilometer-long street and was filled to the brim with people, to the extent that you needed to make an effort to proceed further. To make matters worse, the procession will pass here on the final day.

So the streets were filled to the brim on the first day and the third day. Seiya and Yua dived into this sea of people.

Both weren’t in their uniforms but in their casual clothes. Seiya was wearing black pants and a short-sleeved shirt, while Yua was wearing a white one-piece dress and a gig straw hat.

Yua’s white skin and white one-piece dress were complementing each other, to the extent that people turned around to look again. However, when they saw Seiya and Yua linking arms, the male population glared at Seiya.

However, Seiya didn’t pay any attention and enjoyed the festival.

「Even so, it’s amazing」
「Every year is amazing……」
「Are you coming every year?」
「Un…..because of my father’s work…..」
「I see. Did you get tired of it? 」
「No…..I’m together with Seiya, so it’s fun…….」
「Thanks」

Towards the sweet space that the two created, people around them felt as if they ate too much cotton candy, it was that sweet.

The two immediate forgot Kana’s warning. That wasn’t surprising. They weren’t able to do it leisurely since a while ago.

With the fan club, the royal guard, the student council, they weren’t able to spare too much time for themselves, they intended to fully enjoy their time together. At that time, Yua found a certain someone.

「Seiya….that…..」
「Nn? This is……fate, I guess」

Seiya looked at “someone” with a bitter smile. The other side seemed to notice them too and asked.

「So lolicon also came here?」
「I’m not a lolicon, bird woman」
「What? Bird woman?!」
「Was I wrong?  Fenix is an immortal bird, right? 」
「That doesn’t mean that I’m the bird woman」

Yua ended up discovering the members of the student council, who they fought yesterday. By the way, you probably understood, but the bird woman was referring to Selena.

「You came to sightsee the Aquamarine too?」
「Yes, that’s right. Also, although late, congratulations on the first place 」
「Yeah, thanks」

After they defeated the student council yesterday, they didn’t meet each other.

The three lost their consciousness and simply weren’t able to. This was their first meeting since the finals. The three were in their casual clothes instead of their uniform.

Selena was wearing black knee socks and a mini skirt, paired with a somewhat childish t-shirt.

Mona was wearing a one-piece dress like Yua, but unlike her, she had bulges where there should have been bulges, it was slightly erotic.

Aishi had a white t-shirt, hot pants, and sandals. Easy-to-move outfit.

The three’s appearance was pleasing to the eye and gathered the attention of the surrounding males since a while ago. Of course, the jealous stares for Seiya were included. [²]

「I must say, your last plan was impressive. The last freezing spell was exceptionally dangerous」
「Un…..dangerous……」

The conversation inevitably touched upon the topic of the fight.

「Thank you very much. I never thought you would be able to overcome that」
「That’s right. I thought it was our absolute victory」
「Well, let’s forget about yesterday and enjoy ourselves」
「Agreed」

The six rode on Mona’s proposal and decided to enjoy the festival. But Seiya suddenly remembered something.

「Hey, bird woman」
「What?」
「Thanks」
「Haa? For what? Do you want to thank me for wasting all of my mana yesterday? 」

Hearing her words, Seiya spontaneously laughed. The same was true for the rest of the crew. Everyone knew what he meant, except for Selena. [³]

「Wrong. It’s Lily. You took care of Lily yesterday. It is about that」
「So it is about that. You don’t really need to worry. She is Nari’s friend. Besides, Lily-chan is cute」

Nari’s house, where Lily is staying, is also Selena’s house since she is Nari’s older sister.

「I see」
「Yeah」
「See you then」
「Yes, see you later」

The group split up here. However, at this time, a voice reverberated in his head.

(……ya!……ya! Disaster!)
(What’s wrong, Lily?)
(Seiya! Disaster! Nari’s mother was kidnapped)
(What?)

Hearing the telepathy, he immediately grabbed Selena by the arm and dashed.

---

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「That was dangerous」
「Un……」
「Amazing firepower」

The three walked out of the dome and looked at the duo soaring in the sky. From the looks of it, they already had no mana left.

Once they confirmed it, the three took out their weapons to end the long finals. [¹]

「Regretfully, your last attack wasn’t able to finish us. This is the end」

Hearing his words, Selena flashed a small smile.

「This wasn’t our last attack. Aishi! 」

Selena screamed the name of the fallen Aishi. She had no idea whether she was conscious or not, whether she was able to cast or not. But it didn’t matter.

Believing in your friend is a matter of course. Mona was of the same opinion. Mona too believed in her. [²]

「Yes」

Aishi stood up and quietly activated a spell. There was a firm will in her answer.

「Roar.『Snow Empire』」

Right after she cast the spell, an abnormality happened to Seiya’s team.

「This is…..」

Unexpectedly, their hands, starting from the fingers, begun to freeze. The same was true for Aishi, her fingers were gradually covered in ice.

Seiya decided to cast『Mantle of Light』 but found himself unable to manipulate his mana as easily as before. When he tried to do, he was unable to move his sluggish mana well.

Seiya’s whole body was quickly covered in ice. Not only he, but also Yua and Lily met the same fate.

The three didn’t move, just like a mannequin.

「It has finally ended」

Looking at their frozen appearance, Aishi breathed out a sigh, Mona and Selena, who were floating in the sky, joined her on that.

「I’m so tired, Aishi」
「Good work everyone」
「Yes」

Aishi usual expressionless face changed ever so slightly. [³]

That could be attributed to the change of her attitude during the fight. The three didn’t have any mana left, so they waited for their hearts to stop beating and them retiring.

Operation Delta progressed as planned and was completed successfully.

Aishi’s『Snow Empire』caused a myriad of tiny indiscernible snowflakes to appear in the air thus freezing the opponents.

Unknown to the opponents, the tiny snowflakes were able to enter their bodies to calm down their inner mana and stop the function of their body.

Because of that, the blood flow gradually slowed down leading to the decrease in body temperature.

Together with the inner decrease in temperature, the snowflakes also gathered outside the body and added to the calming effect.

A body, after being calmed from inside and outside, gradually cease to function. That’s why Seiya had problems with moving his mana around.

Operation Delta was the last plan that the student council came up with against Seiya’s team.

First, Selena cast『Guardian Dragon of the Shrine Maiden of the Fire Dragon Kagutsuchi』 with all her power. It would have been great if it worked with just that, but she wasn’t so optimistic about that.

Predicting that it wouldn’t bring the desired results, she used it to buy some time.

『Snow Empire』classified as a top-class advanced spell and requires a considerable amount of mana to cast. Even Aishi was only able to cast it on one target and wasn’t able to completely stop its body functions.

However, this time, she was able to completely freeze three targets at the same time.

Of course, there was a reason. Aishi simply didn’t have enough mana to freeze three people. That’s why she used the support.

『Snow Empire』’s activation process always starts with producing enough water. This is a basic procedure for ice magic. You can’t produce ice without any water.

Next step was about spreading the water around and crystallizing it in the small snowflakes and wait for the target to calm down.

In this process, producing water and spreading it around required the most mana.

Without this step, she would have been able to freeze five people.

That’s why the student council decided to skip those two processes. They used Lily’s water instead. Lily uses water as it is, unlike normal magicians, her water didn’t contain any mana within it.

And such water was spread around the whole stadium. The ground was damp and had puddles in some places.

In other words, because of the excess of water in the stadium, the process of its creation was no longer necessary.

Then what about the target designation? Aishi didn’t specify the target in the first place. Because the air was moist, there was no need to specify the target.

The water was in the air due to『Guardian Dragon of the Shrine Maiden of the Fire Dragon Kagutsuchi』.

Selena incorporated the explosion in the final stage of her spell and Seiya’s team immediately retreated under the dome of light, which was covered in water.

After the explosion, there was no water on the ground or the dome. Where did that water go? The answer is air. Due to the explosion, the water was swiftly vaporized and the vapors filled the air.

Those vapors were used in Aishi’s spell. The vaporized water rose in the air. In other words, it was randomly scattered around the stadium.

After crystallizing it, it was no different from normal『Snow Empire』. That was the reason.

「Long…..」

Mona muttered as such.

The barrier set up around the stadium is supposed to retire the participants upon receiving fatal injuries or death.

At this point, they were frozen for one minute. It was about time for their heart to stop. However, there were no signs of them retiring at all.

Selena and Aishi also noticed this abnormality, an impatient expression surfaced if their faces.

「It can’t be, their hearts are still beating!」
「No way」

Selena and Aishi became increasingly worried. Soon after, the ice around them cracked. The cracks spread around the whole surface and then it crumbled.

Their figures could be seen emerging from the inside.

「How did you……」

Aishi lost her words at this unexpected development. That’s only natural. After all, they, whose cells were supposed to halt their functions, were standing right before her.

「Full mana release」
「Eh?」
「I see…..」
「That’s right. Once you perform full mana release, your whole body will become active for a moment. That’s why you can wrest control of your body and break out. That being said, you need to wait until your body was almost completely frozen」

As Lily said, they did full mana release right before their hearts stopped.

In other words, right before their deaths. When you release your mana at that timing, the brain uses the opening to take control of the body again.

Without being able to control your mana, full mana release is risky, but they didn’t have much choice.

「Ridiculous…..」
「For you to be able of such a thing……..」
「Just how much mana do you have……」

The three became speechless at their ridiculous methods.

On the other side, Seiya’s team took out their weapons. Lily with the Hollins, Yua with the Yuriel and Seiya with the other Hollins.

In the next moment, victory and defeat were decided. The student council turned into dust and retired. [⁴]

Nevertheless, the whole stadium was enveloped in silence.

「Judge, it is over」
「Eh, ah. The winner is team 86! 」

After Seiya’s reminder, the judge announced the result in a fluster. Hearing his voice, the audience came to their senses and loudly cheered.

Uooooooooooooooooooooooo!

「Wow, that student council loooooost! The winners of Arsenia Magic Academy preliminaries for the Leiria Magic Tournament are Seiya Kiritsuna, Yua Arunia, and Lily Aruniaaaaaaaa. The three are the representatives of our Arsenia Magic Academyyyyyyy」

Uooooooooooooooooooooooo!

The competition in Arsenia Magic Academy was over under the loud cheers of the audience.

There were two men in the VIP room up high. One was a red-haired man overlooking the stadium, Leonardo. Another one was a blue-haired man in glasses, Zadman.

「We weren’t able to use『Possession』. Regretful」

Said Zadman to Leonardo.

But Leonardo didn’t look bothered by it at all. Leonardo planned to unearth Seiya’s true nature in this final fight.

Leonardo aimed for Selena. When her strongest spell, 『Atos』was broken, she fell into despair. That was her weakest moment.

Leonardo tried to cast the spell on such Selena. However, it ended in failure. The reason is, Selena was able to overcome her weakness.

Aishi fought to protect Selena. Her action pulled Selena out from her despair. In the end, Leonardo wasn’t able to do what he wanted.

However, Leonardo didn’t mind, he had another purpose.

「Zadman, what is happening over there?」
「Yes, everything went as planned」
「I see」

After receiving Zadman’s report, Leonardo grinned. But in the next moment, he felt a shock in his chest.

「Uh……」

Leonardo suddenly coughed up blood. When he looked down, he saw an arm in the middle of his chest. To be precise, someone stabbed him from behind.

「Guh, you *******……..」
「Good work up until now. You are of no use anymore」

The culprit behind an arm in his chest was Zadman.

「What is……happening…..」
「Just as I said. You overdid things a bit. Even if you want the dark attribute so much, you attracted attention from an apostle」
「This is different…..from the deal……」

Somehow spoke Leonardo. However, his body was already at its limit.

「You are right. Well, you could say that you suffered because of your own greed」
「The hell…..」
「I was in your care all this time. Please rest in peace」
「Guha……」

Zadman crushed his heart and Leonardo died.

In that way, one fight has ended and a new one has begun.

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Meanwhile, Yua and Seiya engaged Selena.

Yua was fully concentrated on Selena, but Seiya was wary of his surroundings. By tying down Mona and Aishi, they successfully isolated Selena.

「This is dangerous」

Faced with this situation, Selena muttered while sweating profusely. After Aishi’s defeat, Mona was at a considerable disadvantage.

Mona performs as a support most of the time, she isn’t suited for close combat. That’s why her current circumstances weren’t favorable in the slightest.

Selena tried to cast a spell to change the current situation, but Yua didn’t give her any time. In a normal fight, Selena should have been able to chant while fighting. However, she didn’t have such a leeway against Yua.

She was that quick.

「Mona!」
「Yeah, I agree」

The two confirmed with an eye contact. That was their last plan, in case they were forced into a corner. However, that plan required Aishi’s participation. Fortunately, Aishi didn’t retire yet.

In other words, there was a possibility of Aishi’s revival. The two gambled on that possibility.

「Operation Delta」
「Operation Delta」
「……………」

Toward Mona’s and Selena’s words, everyone expressed their vigilance. Seiya cast『Mantle of Light』, just in case of emergency. Yua readied the Yuriel and Lily joined Seiya and Yua.

「What will happen?」
「No idea……」
「Seems dangerous」

The three further increased their vigilance upon witnessing Selena gathering her mana.

Mana gathered in the center of her body and she leaped in the air with full force. That being said, she only leaped three meters high.

However, it was enough.

After she leaped in the air, Mona hugged her from behind. Mona gathered all of the wind she could and flew into the sky. That being said, her flying capability was limited. [¹]

However, even like that, it was enough for the Operation Delta. Selena left her body to Mona and started chanting.

「Yurial」
「Water Laser」

Against Mona and Selena floating in the air, Yua, with the Yurial, and Lily, with water laser, launched a powerful assault. However, the two’s attacks were dodged by Mona.

「Fire of will, light of heart, maiden’s sentiments, dragonfly’s proof, shrine maiden of the flame dragon『Guardian Dragon of the Shrine Maiden of the Fire Dragon Kagutsuchi』」[²]

Selena put all of her mana into the magic guns and pulled the triggers. The magic stones shined brightly and fired the red mana.

And the mana swiftly changed its appearance.

The two fire dragons were revealed. The dragons descended from the sky while eyeing Seiya’s group.

「Lily and I will take one each, Yua is a support」
「Understood……」
「Roger」

The three immediately acted.

Using『Mantle of Light』and Limit Break Seiya faced one of the dragons. However, it didn’t seem to receive any damage no matter how he cut it.

「Damn, it does look like I lack the power」

Just as he thought, the Hollins was just too small to inflict serious damage. He was able to scratch it but didn’t even come close to the finishing blow.

With the dark magic, he would have been able to easily annihilate it, but, once again, he couldn’t use it.

「Then let’s use that approach. Yua! 」

Seiya thought of an idea and called out to Yua.

「Wha…..?」
「Yua, rise my next spell as much as you can」
「Rise….? All right…」

Yua had no idea what he was about to do, but she had a firm belief in her fiancé.

「With this, I will put an end to this」

Following those words, Seiya switched the mana around the Hollins. The Hollins was wrapped in the water-attributed mana.

Seiya swung the water mana-wrapped Hollins and released a strike towards the fire dragon. Then, he shouted towards Yua.

「Now, Yua」
「All right…..」

As she was told, she launched her own light-attributed mana with Seiya’s spell as its target.

The change happened abruptly. Yua’s light-attributed mana wrapped around Seiya’s water-attributed mana. Then, enhanced calming effect assaulted the fire dragon.

And at almost the same time, Lily’s Gedo-chan attacked another dragon.

The dragons were defeated almost simultaneously. However, the flames from the dragons gathered together on the ground without being extinguished.

「This is……Yua, Lily, come here」

Seeing the fire’s behavior, he immediately summoned Yua and Lily. Feeling the unusual impatience in his voice, they quickly rushed to his side.

Once he confirmed their arrival, he immediately cast triple『Wall of Light』in the shape of a dome.

「Seiya…..?」
「Seiya-kun!?」

The two were surprised at an unexpected usage of defensive magic.

「Yua, two more『Wall of Light』, Lily, coat the walls with water. The dragons are planning to suicide」

Seiya briefly ordered and the two moved into action.

「All right…….『Wall of Light』」
「Roger that. Oh, water」

By coating the five-layered light wall with water, its resistance to fire was increased.

The three were convinced that it was enough to deal with the shockwave.

However, Mona and Selena in the sky smiled at their behavior. Everything was going as planned. The rest depended on the last piece of the Operation Delta, Aishi.

They had no choice other than to leave the rest to Aishi. For Mona and Selena, who didn’t have any mana left, that was their only hope.

Aishi, who had her body affected and lost consciousness, woke up upon flames gathering on the ground. However, her body still refused to listen to her.

Seeing the clumps of fire and Mona flying in the sky, she immediately understood. They truly initiated the final stage of the final plan, Operation Delta.

「Who would have thought」

Who would usually believe into an unconscious person, thought Aishi. But more than that, she was happy that the two relied on her to such extent.

That’s why, even though she wasn’t able to move, she started chanting. At that time, for the first time in her life, Aishi desired to win from the bottom of her heart. [³]

Aishi Absona was a genius from birth. Since she was birthed in an advanced magician family, she was educated regarding magic from early days.

With her talent, she obtained enough strength to not put anyone of the same generation in her eyes. However, her enthusiasm and desire for victory slowly wore down.

When she entered the academy, she very soon tasted defeat at the hands of a person of the same generation. Her opponent was Selena Fenix, who was one year older that her. [⁴]

Even though she lost by a small margin, she wasn’t frustrated. That didn’t change even when she decided to attend the Leiria Magic Tournament.

She participated in the last Leiria Magic Tournament with Mona and Selena.

They thought that they had a chance to win, but were immediately eliminated. Their opponents at that time were from Senabia Magic Academy.

Mona and Selena cried in frustration, but Aishi was thinking that the representatives of Senabia Magic Academy were just too strong, so she didn’t cry.

However, now was different. Right now, I want to win for the sake of my friend who believed in me. That feeling was never present in Aishi until now.

That’s precisely why I will absolutely complete this spell. Aishi swore in her heart.

「………de……snow…………cover……」

Right when she started to chant, the flames exploded.

Zudoooooooon.

The explosion fueled by Selena’s full power turned the arena into a burning hell.

The soil, that was damp after Lily’s attacks, immediately dried up. The air violently fluctuated under the high heat.

It was able to destroy three layers of walls that protected Seiya and the others.

Moreover, one of the remaining two was in tatters, so it wasn’t wrong to disregard it.

If they didn’t fortify the wall beforehand, they would have already become the ashes.

The unprecedented battle in the history of Arsenia Magic Academy reached its climax.

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Mona felt a certain something upon colliding with the wall.

That is, they are too strong. It’s not the difference in power or the teamwork. It is the difference in the attitude towards the fight. She felt they were different from herself.

Certainly, Yua is powerful and able to cast chantless, but before that, Mona felt her resolve to die in case she lost.

The same goes for Lily. Until now, she was just using her power in simple ways, but once she changed her form, her skill greatly increased and her attitude changed. Almost like she was resolved to protect something.

What Mona felt was right.

Before meeting Seiya, or, to be precise, before being involved in a plan of an advanced magician clan, Yua didn’t have such a resolve. However, after their journey through the Great Dalis Canyon, her attitude underwent a change.

Yua fought her best and experienced death. That’s why she unconsciously thought that she would die if she lost.

The same was true for adult Lily too. In the past, she lived in the Great Dalis Canyon and fought to protect her home.

But since losing to Seiya, the desire to protect another Lily was born inside of her.

That resolve was reflected in the fight. The Lily of the past would have played with Mona inside of the water cylinder for a while. However, now, Lily was too focused on victory and immediately attacked.

In that way, the two were resolved to fight to the death. In truth, Selena and Aishi also noticed that.

The fact that those three fought completely differently from them.

Their own fight looked like a game in comparison. Their attitude was further fueled by the「Strongest three」title.

「Selena, Aishi」
「I know」
「I know」 [¹] 「Then let’s go」
「Yeah」
「Yes」
「「「It’s our battle!」」」[²]

The three decided to fight seriously for the first time.

「Then I will start, I count on your assistance」

Selena dashed with the magic guns in her hands. The red magic stone shone and the fire-attributed bullets were shot.

She aimed for Seiya and Yua, those two. When they blocked the mana bullets, they always did so with their weapons. Selena aimed for that opening.

The bullets were going straight for Seiya and Yua.

「I have already seen through your mana bullets」
「Simple…..」

The two tried to deflect the bullets with their respective weapons. At this point, Yua switched to Yuriel again.

However, right before they were able to do it, the bullets curved as if a baseball player threw it.

And the mana bullets attacked them from the sides.

「Chi」
「This is…….」

The two soon figured out. The perpetrator behind the sudden curve was Mona.

Towards the bullet, she cast『Wind Way』to change its trajectory. But for Mona, it was a gamble.

After all, 『Wind Way』required her to set the size and weight of an object in advance. In other words, she wasn’t able to manipulate objects with the different size or weight at this moment.

「Lily」
「Yes~ Leave it to me」[³]

Against the mana bullet, Seiya exercised『Single Light』to strengthen his legs and dodged it. Yua followed suit and successfully dodged it too.

Lily, who received Seiya’s orders, was ready to attack.

「Water Snake」

The spell turned her right arm into multiple water snakes. The water snakes approached Mona.

The water snakes closed in on Mona, following Lily’s will. That’s how it should be. After all, they were created with Lily’s fingers as a base. It almost felt like she simply stretched her hand.

Mona was watching the water snakes with a grin.

「Naive.『Tempest』」

Right after, Lily’s water serpents were repelled by something. Lily searched for this something that repelled her fingers and found it rolling on the ground.

There, were several bullets reflecting the sunlight.

Their size was visibly the same as the mana bullets from before. Most likely, the weight was the same too.

「This is ice, right?」

Lily immediately understood. The bullets rolling on the ground were created by Aishi.

By creating the bullets of the same size and weight, she made it possible for Mona to manipulate them.

Normally, it is impossible to create a complete copy of an object made from mana using ice.

After all, the size and the mass of an object made from mana changes depending on the motivation and condition of a caster.

It’s impossible to produce it continuously without concentrating on it on purpose. However, there are no magicians who are able to be conscious of it every single moment.

Instead of concentrating on it, it is better to put your efforts in the casting and firing speed.

However, this time is different. Each one of Selena’s bullet is completely identical to the previous one.

After all, they can’t pass through『Wind Way』otherwise. Selena’s magic bullets were made with that in mind. That means that the size and the mass were already predetermined before. [⁴]

Knowing the size and mass, it was possible for Aishi to reproduce it.

「You reproduced them from ice」
「Correct」

That voice came from behind. Lily quickly turned around and found Aishi with a one-handed sword in her hand.

Against approaching Aishi, Lily directed her right arm, which returned to original form, Aishi’s way and cast a spell.

「Water Cannon」
「Tempest」

In that timing, Mona cast『Tempest』. However, Lily didn’t care in the slightest. At that time, Lily was sure that she had nothing to control with it. [⁵]

Lily’s confidence was justified. But Mona didn’t aim for it in the first place. Immediately after, Lily, who tried to attack Aishi disregarding Mona, sense an abnormality. Lily frowned and lost her balance.

That was Mona’s true intention. With her head and right hand turned behind her, her center of gravity shifted. Mona, who was able to perceive that, broke her balance with just wind alone.

With her balance crumbled, the water cannon, of course, didn’t hit Aishi. Aishi took advantage of it and slashed with her sword.

「I won」

Aishi was convinced of her victory and Lily agreed with her.

Seeing the ice sword approaching her, she was sure of her defeat. In those circumstances, it was too late to cast a spell and dodging was impossible too. [⁶]

(It’s my loss…….)

She was prepared to lose.

(It’s not the end yet)
(Eh?)

At that time, she heard a voice in her head. Right after, the light wall appeared above her and repelled Aishi.

The yellow wall that appeared above her was, of course, Seiya’s『Wall of Light』.

(Finish it, Lily!)
(Thank you, Seiya-kun)

Lily, who was saved by Seiya, immediately recovered. At the same time, the light wall disappeared and Aishi lost her momentum and fell down.

She tried to correct her posture, but due to rebound of the light wall, she continued to fall down.

Aishi was falling down. Against such Aishi, Lily unleashed the finishing move.

「Sword of a water fairy『Nymph』」

She turned her body and lifted her palm towards Aishi. However, nothing came out from her hand. Aishi looked completely fine.

You can think that it was some kind of failure. However, soon enough, an abnormality occurred.

When Aishi landed on the ground and pointed her sword towards Lily, she suddenly collapsed.

「Aishi?」

Mona called Aishi, but the silence was her answer. Forget about an answer, she didn’t even move.

「What did you do to Aishi?」

Mona asked Lily.

She didn’t have any external wounds or other traces of receiving an attack. Lily’s last attack was supposed to be a failure. That being said, Aishi suddenly fell down and lost her consciousness.

Mona wasn’t able to comprehend this.

「Who knows」

However, Lily had no intention to answer, she had no such duty.

Actually, her previous attack was successful. It didn’t misfire and properly reached Aishi.

Certainly, there were no external injuries, but the same wasn’t true for the insides. That spell agitated the water that naturally existed inside the human body.

More than half of the human body is made from water. In other words, agitating the water inside of her was the same as shocking more than half of her body. [⁷]

Because of that, Aishi’s body malfunctioned and was in no condition to move.

「Instead of worrying about other people, you should worry about yourself more. You don’t have your little bullet-maker now」
「Keh…」

Lily initiated a new spell by gathering vast amounts of water behind her and forming a sphere. The water sphere rapidly expanded and revealed a giant dragon’s figure.

「Gedo-chan. This is the end」

Together with the water dragon, Gedo-chan, she attacked Mona.

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Mona was convinced that Yua came up with a plan, but an intense fight will only increase the mana consumption, so she thought of buying some time.

On the other hand, Yua cast a new spell.

「『Channel Light』」

When she finished, her appearance changed. Of her two pretty eyes, only the right one was enveloped in light-attributed mana.

Looking closely, both of her legs and her right arm were like that too.

Her figure resembled Seiya’s when he was wearing『Mantle of light』.

「Time to end this」

Yua said so and dashed while accelerating. That acceleration was in a different league compared to the last time.

「Useless」

Mona released the knives behind her back one after another. The knives were approaching the speed of sound.

In response to Yua’s acceleration, the knives accelerated too.

Yua closed her left eye and concentrated on the right one.

The color disappeared and the world became monochrome. The knives flew at her as if in slow motion. One after another, she split the knives with the tip of the Yuriel.

The knives were split apart and fell on the ground, while Yua approached Mona and struck. However, the moment her strike was about to land, it was prevented by something.

「I never expected of you to find the weakness of my knives so soon」

Mona showed a surprised expression.

「Your knives’ movements are based on『Wind Way』…..You need to create『Wind Way』according to the size of an object you want to guide……That’s why you have so many knives of the same design……And if the size is predetermined, you just need to change it…..」

That was the base of Yua’s confidence.

「Correct. You guessed the principle correctly. However, it seems you missed something. The fact that『Hurricane』is deployed around my body too」

That was Mona’s insurance.

She concentrated『Hurricane』around herself since a while ago to form a wind shield. Moreover, that shield, depending on the speed of the wind, can be as hard as steel.

And seeing her weapons, Yuriel and Yurial, Mona was convinced that she wouldn’t be able to pierce the shield.

Furthermore, since Lily was always staying behind, she didn’t expect another attack. But that thinking was the cause of her defeat.

「Don’t relax……」
「Eh?」

With her attention completely on Yua, she neglected Lily in the back. In the next moment, thick water cylinders attacked Mona from various directions.

The water cylinders enveloped the area around Mona before she noticed. The audience wasn’t able to see inside.

Just before drowning in the water, Mona changed the shape of『Hurricane』around her and formed a sphere to protect herself.

「Ara~? I wonder if you will be able to protect yourself with just this」

A bewitching voice reverberated in the world of water.

That voice wasn’t Lily’s voice that Mona knew. Looking around, she found a woman.

That woman had a similar face to Lily, but she failed to associate them with the same person.

「Who are you?」
「Me? I’m Lily Arunia」
「You are telling me to believe it? 」

Instinctively, she understood that the woman before her was Lily.

The mana of each and every magician is unique, just like the fingerprints. The mana of that woman closely resembled that of Lily’s. But even if she understood it instinctively, it was hard to accept from the standpoint of common sense.

「Who on earth are you?」
「Let’s see, how about Seiya-kun’s mistress?」
「Is that so」

Having the woman with two forms as a mistress, Seiya has it hard, thought Mona. At the same time, she was also astonished by him being able to make this woman his own.

However, deep inside of Mona, a different feeling was born.

「A woman with split personalities is a source of trouble」

Yes, she felt an instinctive rejection to adult Lily.

I don’t know the reason, but I’m somehow irritated, or something like that. On the other hand, Lily had the same feeling regarding Mona.

What happened after was just the woman’s quarrel.

「I’m still better than a shady woman who always hides behind the wind」
「Who is shady here? Aren’t you, who hides inside the little girl, the shady one? 」

There was no magic involved, only words.

「Now you said it. Aren’t you always pretending to be a good girl to look cool? 」
「Huh? There is no way I would do such a thing」
「See? Where is you polite speech now? Your true nature finally came into the light. Even though your looks are decent, who knows what are you thinking inside? 」
「I don’t want to hear it from an aged woman who hides inside the little girl」
「Aged woman?」
「Yes, that’s right. You aren’t a student however you look at it」
「You should call me a big sister. That’s why I don’t like brats like you」
「By calling me a brat, you already admitted that you are an aged woman」
「Haa? 」
「Haa?」

At that time, the two understood why they hated each other.

In simple words, they were too similar, meaning, they were both wearing masks. That’s why they instinctively hated each other. [¹]

In truth, the two entered inside the water cylinder before they noticed. And the water was moving inside of this cylinder as if in a pipe.

The fact that water was flowing indicated the existence of an entrance and an exit. [²]

The water cylinder was just like that. Even while arguing with Mona, Lily controlled the water, while waiting for the right timing.

Meanwhile, seeing the cylinder, Yua distanced herself from the scene and decided to rest her body for a little. The spell, 『Channel Light』, which she used before, was an inferior version of『Mantle of Light』.

Seiya’s『Mantle of Light』is able to raise the ability of the whole body, including the brain, by covering the body in the light-attributed mana. However, it has a certain risk associated with it.

It is a dangerous spell that could only be used in conjunction with his dark element.

On the other hand, 『Channel Light』enhances the ability of only selected parts of the body. Comparatively, it is not that risky.

By selecting the right part, even without the full coverage, it could be compared to『Mantle of Light』in some aspects.

That being said, it’s not like it doesn’t place any burden on the caster. Yua’s legs were on the verge of giving up. She enhanced her legs before, but that time, she enhanced the eye and the brain too. The resulting acceleration was much bigger than before, her legs couldn’t withstand the burden. [³]

Without any other choice, she used the holy magic, although a little. She used『Holy Song』 a spell with regenerative effect. With that, her legs reverted to the state before acceleration.

With her body fixed, she needed to give birth to a weapon that would be able to defeat Mona.

Mona’s barrier was hard to breach. If you can’t cut or pierce it, it is okay to just smash it. With her thoughts going in that direction, she created another weapon.

「Yuriul」

The weapon created by Yua was a giant white hammer with a golden line on it.

However, it was too heavy for her to carry. For that purpose, she used『Channel Light』again, this time, on her arms.

With her increased strength, she was finally able to lift it.

Being able to wield the hammer, she stood in the designated place. The place where Lily will eject Mona from the water tube.

That’s why Yua quietly waited.

Meanwhile, inside the water cylinder.

「Old lady should stop trying to demonstrate her seductiveness」
「You don’t need to be so upset because of your lacking sex appeal」
「There is no way I’m upset」
「Are you sure?」

The quarrel was still ongoing. But Lily’s words were missing the previous sharpness since a while ago. Lily sneakily glanced outside.

（Yua-chan seems to be ready）

Lily made a small smile. However, Mona, who lost her cool, didn’t notice.

「Well, it is time for kids to sleep」
「Huh?」

Mona furrowed her brows at Lily’s statement.

「Eh?」

However, in the next moment, she finally noticed that she was falling.

Up until now, she felt like she was in a space without any gravity. But now, she was able to feel the gravity again.

In normal circumstances, she should have been able to react, but the sense of security from『Hurricane』made her relax her guard.

「This is the end……」
「Eh?」
「If you can’t pierce, smash………」

Facing the water sphere with Mona inside of it, she took a stance with the Yuriul as if she was a home run batter. [⁴]

Mona tried to use a spell, but she was too late.

Yua already initiated the take-back and was ready to hit. [⁵]

「Go…..」

Yua made a very artistic swing. The hammer flew parallel to the ground and hit the sphere, launching it like a bullet liner.

「Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaa」

And Mona collided with the stadium’s wall.

「Mona?」
「Mona-senpai」

Selena and Aishi, who were supposed to deal with Seiya, immediately run up to her.

「I’m fine. I was too negligent」

The wind sphere was able to prevent the damage to a certain extent. Her polite speech surfaced again, but the adult Lily had no intentions to hide.

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A while back, when Selena thought of using『Atos』against Seiya.

Yua and Lily were engaged in the fierce fight. Mona was manipulating the wind to launch her knives and Yua was striking them down.

Aishi aimed at the opening when she struck down another knife and released an arrow from her ice bow, but Lily blocked it with her water.

「Big sister!」
「Leave it to me」

Yua let go of the Yuriel and, at the same time, created Yurial and released a light arrow at Aishi.

Since Aishi just released an arrow, she still didn’t create another.

Yua released a single arrow. The light arrow flew at Aishi in a straight line.

Convinced that a single arrow won’t hit her, Aishi jumped sideways. However, in the next moment, she lost her words.

The reason is, it was supposed to be only one arrow, but there was an uncountable number of arrows in her line of sight.

And all those arrows were flying at Aishi.

「Why」

Thought Aishi, while still in mid-air. There was supposed to be only one arrow. That arrow didn’t show any signs of splitting or multiplying upon its release.

That was Aishi’s miscalculation.

The arrow was indeed one, it didn’t split or multiply. However, when the arrow flew through the air, it dropped off mana particles due to air resistance.

Yua used those particles to create more arrows, but since they were just particles, she couldn’t make them change their direction and attack her from all sides.

There, Yua took advantage of the wind.

To manipulate her knives, Mona constantly generated chaotic streams of wind.

She used the wind to move those particles into the various parts of the stadium. In that way, she was able to make it look like the arrows were shot from all sides of the stadium.

However, Aishi, who wasn’t aware of that, lost her calm demeanor. Even is they are the strongest student council, they didn’t have that many chances to fight truly strong opponents.

And right now, an uncountable number of light arrows flew her way.

「This is the end…….」

Yua was convinced of her victory. The chaotic flows of wind suddenly stopped and Yua and Lily felt as if the gravity became stronger. And the light arrows hit the ground right before reaching Aishi.

The cause was, of course, Mona.

「『Heavy Winds』. I won’t let you take out Aishi so easily」
「Thank you very much, Mona-senpai.」
「It’s fine, don’t worry」

That being said, Mona had no way to affect the gravity. She forced the wind to blow perpendicularly towards the ground, thus creating the pseudo-gravity pressure

「More than that, Aishi, please help Selena. She seems to be struggling quite a bit」
「All right」

Mora witnessed Selena’s strongest spell being broken. Considering her possible mental state, she sent Aishi to reinforce her. [¹]

However, that wasn’t her only reason. She was personally anxious.

Mona remembered her baseless wariness towards him when she met him for the first time. She didn’t feel any ill intent, but her intuition told her to stay cautious.

As if there was something mysterious inside of him.

That’s why she thought of Seiya as a target of highest priority in this final match. I can stop Lily and Yua for a while by myself. In that time, I want you to defeat Seiya, or so she hoped.

「Is it fine…..letting her go?…..」
「It will work out. If it is for a little while, I can fight with you by myself. Besides, I’m an older sister here」
「I was underestimated…….」
「Horrible! 」
「Ufufu」

At that time, Mona made two mistakes.

First, putting too much attention to Seiya and underestimating Lily and Yua. Second, the fact that she told them about it.

She unintentionally motivated them with her remarks.

「Lily…Let’s go….」
「Un! 」

Yua created the Yuriel again and enveloped it in the light-attributed mana. Lily created even more water, agglomerating it in a sphere twice the size of the previous one.

Looking at the two, Mona changed her expression. Compared to before, they were dead serious.

「『Hurricane』」

Mona moved first. She channeled her mana into the cane and activated a spell. However, it wasn’t different from before, it created the same chaotic wind again.

Just as before, the knives were spinning behind her.

「I will push, so I will count on your assistance……..」
「All right!」

While on her guard, she buffed her legs and increased her speed. And just like that, she aimed to pierce through Mona. [²]

「I won’t let you」

However, Mona wasn’t about to ignore it. She launched the knives rotating behind her at Yua.

But Yua had already seen through her knife attack. While easily avoiding the knives, she approached Mona. However, when there was a meter between them, she suddenly felt the pain.

「??」

Yua stopped accelerating and fell on the spot. Not willing to let go of this opening, she used all of her knives to attempt to stab her.

But the knives collided with a water wall and never reached Yua.

After deflecting the knives, the water wall enveloped Yua and carried her to Lily, who was behind.

「Big sister?」
「I’m fine….Thanks, Lily….」

Flustered Lily pulled her out of the water and called her. Fortunately, the wounds weren’t fatal, so she won’t retire prematurely.

However, the fact that she didn’t retire hadn’t solved the problem.

The knives that only attacked her from the front before, somehow, ended up behind her back. Without knowing the reason, she won’t be able to engage in the close combat.

「Just how did she….」

Unexpectedly, Mona answered her mutterings.

「I will let you hear about『Hurricane』’s power. What I used before was『Tempest』, basically, storm. It is stronger than an ordinary wind, but it could only move straight. It was enough before this match, but it won’t work with you. That’s why, I took a liberty to use『Hurricane』, or tornado. Do you know the difference between a storm and a tornado? 」

Listening up to this point, Yua already understood.

「Direction of the wind…….」
「Correct. A storm only blows in one direction in a large area. However, although a tornado is smaller, it rotates. In short, you can make wind blow from all directions simultaneously. Until now, I wasn’t able to immediately use the deflected knives again, but with this, I do not need to bother with it anymore」

Mona declared that she had no openings, and it was true from a certain standpoint.

When you try to approach her, the knives will fly your way. Even if you avoid them, they would attack from behind.

In other words, the closer you are to Mona, the more knives would be behind your back.

(With this, I should hold for a while. My friends, please defeat that man swiftly)

Mona showed a relaxed expression, but inwardly, she was very nervous.

『Hurricane』is more advanced than『Tempest』and consumes much more mana. That’s why the longer the battle will last, the harder it will be for her to maintain it.

Mona tried to maintain a stalemate as long as she could. Plus, she also had a trump card.

「Lily」

Yua whispered to Lily.

「All right!」
「I wonder what it is? Do you have a plan? 」
「If it is a plan, we have one……We will defeat you….」
「I see」

You could see the confidence on Yua’s face.

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The chant, that she didn’t dare to finish before, came out smoothly.

Selena activated the spell.

She channeled the mana in the magic guns, pointed at Seiya and pulled the trigger. This time, it wasn’t a single bullet. A red laser came out.

Immediately after, it split apart and spread in a zigzag pattern.

All of those lasers suddenly twisted and flew towards Seiya. They numbered roughly twenty thousand.

Twenty thousand lasers further split and poured on Seiya like rain. Each and every laser carried the incredible heat with it.

「Really?……..」

Once he saw this spell, even Seiya became speechless. At this time, there were multiple ways to deal with those lasers, but most of them included the dark element and were rejected.

That’s why he chose the best possible solution from the options that were left.

「I didn’t want to rely on it too much, but it can’t be helped.『Mantle of Light』」

His whole body was permeated by the light mana, but it wasn’t the end.

「Limit Break」

In the next moment, the color vanished from his eyes. In the monochrome world, Seiya gazed at the lasers.

He faced the multitude of lasers. Seiya enveloped the Hollins in the water mana and touched a laser.

Once he calmed a laser that was about to hit him, he breathed out a sigh of relief. With this, he can successfully deflect『Atos』, at least he thought so.

However, once that laser touched the ground, it bent at a weird angle and came straight at Seiya.

「Oioi, is this the tracking type?……」

As he said, the laser was of the tracking type.

He was tempted to cast『Dark Wave』 but didn’t do it in the end. Seiya kept hitting the lasers and calming them down.

Three seconds didn’t pass, but Seiya felt as if he did it for 10 minutes.

Once he completely calmed all of the lasers, he dispelled『Mantle of Light』and the world returned to its original speed. There was no one in the audience who was able to perceive what had happened.

「Wha…..what just happened?….」

Nils was petrified, the same was true for the audience.

That wasn’t surprising, first, they saw the lasers closing in on Seiya and, in the next moment, they vanished together with Seiya.

Seiya appeared several meters away from his previous position with the scorched lines all around him.

「What on earth did you do?」

Selena asked in a stunned voice. The spell that she just cast was moving at incredible speed, there should have been no way for him to dodge it.

However, she couldn’t comprehend how he was able to remain unscathed.

「Don’t you think that twenty thousand was a bit too much?」

On the other hand, Seiya complained about the number of the lasers.

「Waha, awawawawawaawawa」

Hearing his words, Selena laughed as if she broke.

He didn’t just destroy her strongest spell, he even complained about the number of the lasers. Even Selena herself only approximately knew the number.

She could only laugh in the face of Seiya’s abnormal actions.

「It seems it’s my win」

Seiya tried to finish Selena off but at this time,

「It’s not over yet」

Suddenly, a girl with the short blue hair appeared in front of him, it was Aishi. She had the twin swords in her hands.

「Is it all right to leave Yua?」
「No problem. Mona-senpai will take care of her」

When he looked in Mona’s direction, he saw Lily and Yua fighting together against her.

「I understand. So that’s what happened」
「Yes. That’s why your opponent is me」
「I see」

Seiya decided to disregard Selena for a moment and engaged Aishi.

Aishi pierced at Seiya’s face with the sword in her right hand, but he strongly deflected in with the Hollins.

While taking a step back, she changed the sword in her left hand into a scythe and tried to hit Seiya’s neck.

「I’m aware」

As if he knew about the scythe beforehand, he easily evaded it by falling back. At the same time, he threw the Hollins in his right hand at her face.

However, an ice wall blocked the Hollins.

Once it happened, he created another one in his right hand. At this point, the audience believed that it was the summoning magic. But Bagil wasn’t sure.

After blocking the Hollins, she made the twin swords once again and pierced at his abdomen.

「『Wall of Light』」

However, Seiya prevented her attack by『Wall of Light』. And once the ice twin swords hit『Wall of Light』, they broke.

「You are wide open」
「Damn….」

While falling, he put his left hand on the ground and used it as a leverage point to kick at Aishi’s left side.

Aishi, who received the kick, was blown away and fell on the ground.

「Nice technique, but naive」
「You are wrong」
「What?」

Aishi laughed as if convinced of something.

「Don’t move」

He heard a dignified voice from behind. Behind him, Selena, who was spacing out just a moment ago, pointed the magic gun at his head.

「Were you acting before?」

Seiya knew that it wasn’t an act, but decided to confirm.

「Wrong」
「Ho, then how did you recover?」
「I remembered」
「Remembered?」

Seiya had no clue.

「Yes, we are the strongest when together. Even if I can’t win alone, there are others. Aishi reminded me of that」
「I see」

She was certainly spacing out, but once she saw her junior coming to her rescue, she remembered.

They are a team, they are the strongest.

And she sought to take advantage of the situation where he completely forgot about her.

「All right, then why am I still alive?」

Seiya was perplexed. The people aren’t able to die inside of the barrier, there was no need to hesitate.

「Because I want to hear something from you」
「Something you want to hear?」

Selena wanted to learn the secret on his strength.

「Who on earth are you? What was that power? 」
「That power?」
「Yes. That technique that was akin to instantaneous movement.  I didn’t see or hear about such magic」
「It’s not like you know everything」
「That’s not the problem. That thing was closer to a technique than to a magic. It was close to the body arts. With your ability, you should have been an apostle long ago. However, you are a student. Why the hell someone like you is a student? Who on earth are you? 」

Selena gave in to curiosity and asked. Because if she knew his secret, there was a chance for her to become stronger.

「I’m also interested」

Before he knew, Aishi pointed the ice blade at him. Aishi too wanted to know his secrets.

From the side, it looked like they were in a position to finish Seiya off, but were hesitating.

Normally, the audience would have booed already.

However, the audience was long ago rendered speechless by the high-level fight, they couldn’t utter a word. That’s why everyone held their breath and watched the match.

Some were able to voice their thought, but there were no jeers and hate. On the other hand, Bagil was just quietly watching.

「Who knows, I have no idea what you are talking about.」
「Stop playing dumb! If you won’t answer, I will shoot! 」

Selena rushed him for an answer and pressed the magic gun on his head. Aishi too was ready to pierce with her blade when the moment arises.

「This is the final warning. Answer」
「Did you think that I will be defeated that easily? 」
「Eh………」

Seiya glared at Selena. His eyes contained an incredible killing intent and Selena faltered for a moment. She didn’t falter only because of the killing intent, but also because of his pressure.

The atmosphere around him changed to that of the violence. The two were frightened by his sudden change.

And Seiya wasn’t in a mood to let go of this opportunity.

Seiya used his right elbow to knock away the magic gun and the Hollins in his left hand to shatter the ice blade.

The two, who lost their weapons, glared at Seiya. However, the two’s attention was quickly attracted to something else.

「Kiyaaaaaaaaaaa」

The appearance of Mona being blown away reflected in their sights. Selena and Aishi immediately rushed to catch her, but before they were able to, she crashed into the stadium wall.

「Mona?」
「Mona-senpai」

The two approached her.

「It’s all right. I was just too complacent」

On another side, there was Yua with a big white hammer and the adult version of Lily wearing a bewitching smile.

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Selena moved first. Selena took out two guns from the holsters on her legs and pulled the triggers. A bullet flew out, it was a mana bullet, not a material one.

Unlike ordinary handguns, hers had a rectangular red barrel and a red magic stone embedded in the muzzle. The magic stone was the source of the bullets.

This gun is called『Magic-powered Handgun』or『Magic Gun』, a weapon that shoots mana bullets. Thinking about it, everyone should use this convenient weapon, but, regretfully, it has a drawback. Mana efficiency.

To use it, you need to channel your mana into the magic stone, where it will transform the mana into the mana bullet and shoot it out. The consumption of mana during this process is big and almost no one uses it.

Seeing her with two guns from the start, you could speculate about her enormous mana pool.

In response, Seiya summoned the Hollins and struck the bullets down.

「O, such high-level moves right from the start! This is the final battle. Bagil-san, what do you think about this match? 」
「Let’s see. The weapon of participant Selena is quite a rare article. Moreover, she seems to have a talent in dual wielding them. There is an apostle that wields two guns too, but she is not much inferior」
「Who knew! Participant Selena’s skill isn’t inferior to an apostle. How are the opponents going to deal with it? 」

Without paying attention to the commentators, Selena continued to fire rapidly without any mercy. However, Seiya struck them down as if they were nothing at all.

「You aren’t bad」
「Well, thanks. But you aren’t done with just this, right? 」
「Right. Aishi! 」
「Roger」

When Selena called the expressionless girl in the back, she lifted her left hand forward.

「『Iced Archer』」

In the next moment, in Aishi’s left hand, an ice bow appeared. She loaded an ice arrow and shot it at Seiya.

Once Selena confirmed the launch of an arrow, she resumed the rapid-fire. But even with an arrow closing in on him, Seiya was repelling the bullets just as he was before.

Disregarding the arrow, he concentrated on the mana bullets.

Seiya grinned and the light arrow that came from behind shot down the ice arrow.

Of course, it was an arrow shot by Yua. There was the Yurial in her hand.

「Such a development! Participant Yua shot down the ice arrow by an arrow of her own! 」

The commentator Nils and the audience were surprised by her display of skills, but the six in the arena weren’t surprised in the slightest.

After shooting down the ice arrow, Yua created Yuriel and tried to attack Aishi, but her path was barred by Mona.

With her swaying green hair and a cane in her hand, she said.

「『Tempest』」

Right after that, strong winds assaulted Yua. The winds broke her balance for a moment, but she quickly recovered and tried to attack Aishi, who was behind Mona, again.

However, she instinctively felt danger and dodged backwards. Following that, she found multiple knives struck in the spot she was before.

「This is……」

When she looked at Mona, Mona directed a smile at her. However, instead of Mona’s smile, a myriad of knives spinning in the air clockwise was reflected in her eyes.

They were just quietly spinning in the air but were incredibly intimidating.

Yua faced Mona with the Yuriel and the wind blew again, but this time, it was a gentle wind.

The wind picked up the knives stuck in the ground and brought them behind Mona, where they mixed with the rest.

「I won’t let you reach Aishi」

Mona gazed at Yua with a smile, and Yua frustratingly glared back.

「Big sis, leave it to me!」

The voice came from behind. It was Lily. Lily created a multitude of water spheres around her, jumped, molded them into a myriad of water bullets and released them towards Mona.

「Mizuchi!」
「Arara」

Mona lifted her big cane above her head and activated a spell.

「Tempest」

The moment she said that the multitude of knives behind her flew in the air, collided with the water bullets and fell on the ground.

While she was at it, Lily cast another spell.

「Water Cannon!」

The water closed in on her from above. However, Mona, without getting flustered, pointed her cane at the water cannon and muttered again.

「Tempest」

Once she muttered that the water cannon weirdly turned and fell right beside Mona.

「I won’t go down so easily. I remembered this attack from the first round. That being said, attacking from above and adding the force of gravity to your attack is quite impressive」

As Mona said, although she revealed an opening by jumping that high, she used the gravity to add the power to her attack.

That was Seiya’s proposal, even if she blocked it, she won’t be able to remain unscathed. Mona noticed it and chose to avert the attack instead of blocking it.

「But big sister slipped through!」
「You are right. However, those are things that couldn’t be helped. We decided since the beginning that I would be your opponent」

As she said, they preemptively decided who would be responsible for who. And Mona’s opponent was Lily.

While Mona was facing Lily, Yua arrived at Aishi with the Yuriel in hand. Aishi tried to release an ice arrow at Yua, but she dodged and successfully closed in on her.

And the moment Yua arrived up close and tried to strike her, Aishi grinned.

「『Iced Hunter』」

In the next moment, her bow transformed into a scythe. She swung that scythe at Yua’s neck.

「『Single Light』」

Confirming that the bow changed into the scythe, she channeled the light-attributed mana into her legs, accelerated and evaded the blow.

「『Iced Night』」
「……….」

When she said it, this time, it changed into an ice blade. Aishi held the ice blade and attacked Yua.

Yua blocked with the Yuriel, but in the next moment, she received a big surprise.

The moment they touched each other, the Yuriel froze.

「Yuriel」

She released the frozen Yuriel and created another one. This time, she enveloped the Yuriel in the light-attributed mana, so it won’t freeze upon contact.

They collided once again, and this time, the ice blade broke.

She discarded the broken blade and activated the spell in her hand.

「『Iced Night』」

Immediately after, an ice blade of the same size appeared in her right hand.

「What is happening…….In this match, no one is chanting yet………..」

The always-energetic Nils became quiet since a while ago. The audience was like that too. Currently, no one was able to comprehend this match.

In this world, where chantless is rare, you can’t see such a fight easily. It was even more unexpected to witness it in the student’s tournament.

「Being surprised is understandable. But if you look at them one by one, you won’t find it that weird. Participant Selena’s guns are based on『Transformation』spell, participant Mona has a green magic stone with『Wind Way』stored inside of it, embedded in her cane. Participant Aishi’s blue necklace is made from magic stones. Most likely it stores something like『Ice Make 』inside of it. Those are common spells, and depending on the usage, they can greatly influence the fight」[¹]

The audience didn’t seem convinced by Bagil’s explanation.

What Bagil said was possible, but the magic guns required a tremendous quantity of mana to be used repeatedly. Mona’s『Wind Way』creates a wind way, as you can guess from the name, but the number of ways is abnormal.

Aishi’s『Ice Make 』is able to create ice, but the magic stone should have been already used up. However, Aishi used it thrice.

This situation was clearly abnormal. Last year, the student council didn’t use any of it and the students were able to comprehend what they saw.

The problem was with the trio who opposed them. They were able to chantlessy compete against the student council.

They were able to hold their ground against the student council, which is rumored to have the power to compete against a special magician. The audience wasn’t able to piece things together.

This wasn’t anything but an abnormality. If they knew that it wasn’t their full power, they would have fainted already.

「Thank you for your explanation. Then, can you please provide an explanation about the other team? 」

At Nils comment, Bagil broke in a sweat. Bagil didn’t know all of their secrets, but he knew a part of them. It was enough to make him hesitate with a response.

「Eh, participant Seiya most likely uses the『Summon』type magic to summon his twin swords. I think his swordsmanship deserves the attention too. I’m speculating that participant Yua has multiple 『Summon』magic stones hidden on her. Participant Lily’s water spheres are quite noteworthy, they might be created through the use of something like participant Mona’s『Wind Way』」
「The meaning is, the three are hiding the magic stones somewhere on their body? 」
「That is what it appears to be」

OF course, that was a lie. He didn’t know about Yua, but he could guess about Seiya and Lily to a certain extent. However, saying this will bring the panic.

The student council team though that Bagil was lying. They didn’t know Seiya’s secret, but their observation and intuition told them as such.

There was no presence of magic stones in Seiya’s magic. They felt that Yua’s magic wasn’t of the『Summon』type in the first place. And they felt only the water attribute from Lily’s spells, no『Wind Way』was present.

An apostle should be aware of all those things even without fighting directly. Yet Bagil said a wrong thing.

Selena thought of that as strange, and at the same time, her interest in Seiya increased.

She wanted to become stronger, yet, there was no one in the academy who could compete with her. With that as a reason, she wasn’t able to improve any further.

That’s why Selena was delighted to meet the opponent she could fight seriously.

Selena thought. Thought about her strongest magic. Thought that her opponent’s level was different from the ones before.

She also thought that she wouldn’t be able to best Seiya with her usual way of fighting. With that as it is, she needs a new strategy, a new kind of attack.

「If it is now…..」

Theoretically, this spell was completed. She was almost able to cast it hundreds, no, thousands of times. However, she didn’t succeed even once. She was afraid.

The spell she was about to activate was difficult to control, even for her. In a case of this spell going out of control, there might be victims.

Even if they were inside of the barrier, there was a chance that the barrier won’t be able to persist. [²]

She was uneasy even thinking about activating it. Selena didn’t have the courage to use it up until now.

She tried it once before and wasn’t able to finish it. The fear stopped her. At that time, she swore.

If there is the next opportunity, I won’t have any regrets.

「Abyss of the fire maiden, appear before me『Atos』」 [³]

Selena chanted in a powerful voice.

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「At last, it is time for the final round!」

The lively girl’s voice resounded across the stadium.

After the unforgettable match against the Aruna’s team, they successfully reached the final round.

「The live commentary is provided by me, Nils. Also, today, an unexpected person will join me! The Holy Church’s apostle, number eight, Bagil Eight-san! 」
「Best regards」

Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

The students in the stadium cheered. That was understandable. After all, an apostle came to provide a commentary.

The thirteen apostles are famous existences that you can’t easily see. Besides, Bagil himself was quite handsome, he was popular like an idol.

「Bagil-sama, I heard from the principal that you graduated from this academy」
「It is indeed so. Can you please drop this 「-sama」 of yours? I just can’t get used to it」
「Bu-but」

Nils was confused by his words.

「Rather than an apostle, I’m here as an OB from this academy」 [¹] 「S-so it was like that. Then, Bagil-san」
「Yes」

Feeling rather nervous, she called him with「-san」. Hearing her, Bagil nodded with a smile.

Facing this smile, not just Nils, but the whole audience cheered. [²]

Bagil was here today not just because he was an OB. He is here to prevent the principal from messing with the tournament like in the first match.

Originally, Bagil wanted to become a commentator starting from the second match, but Leonardo didn’t let him.

Bagil was convinced that Leonardo was investigating Seiya. He didn’t have any evidence, but he could see that Leonardo was interested in Seiya.

Besides, Seiya is accompanied by some kind of spirit. Leonardo was probably interested in that too.

Even Bagil was surprised when he saw Lily for the first time. After all, you can’t see fairies and spirits around the city, even more, she was participating in a tournament.

If Bagil wasn’t aware of his secret, he would have already reported to the Holy Church. However, Bagil knew about their complete contract. That being said, he never expected to see her attending the school.

But Leonardo didn’t know about his secret. Because of that, there was a high possibility that Leonardo would come up with something to reveal this secret.

「The teams are appearing on the stage! First, the team that appeared like a comet and defeated their opponents one after another! Team 86! 」

Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

The audience cheered once again.

It was true that they appeared like a comet and defeated their opponents one after another, but the cheers were mostly directed at Yua and Lily. That’s how it should be. There were two absolutely beautiful girls present. It wasn’t surprising to see the male part of the audience scream.

But they weren’t everyone, the girls also cheered. They cheered for Seiya.

The figure of Seiya in the qualifiers, who didn’t let the girls fight and took on every opponent himself. The figure of Seiya in the finals, who despite facing the strong opponents was always in the front. The notion of「I want to be protected by Seiya-sama too」 begun to quietly spread across the academy.

「Their opponent is, of course, that team! The academy’s strongest team! Team student council! 」

Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooo. [³]

Seiya thought, that once they appeared, the audience will become silent, but he was wrong. Even if the student council was usually avoided, they still seemed to be popular.

「All right, both teams have appeared. Bagil-san, what do you think of the student council? It is said that the three’s teamwork could even give a special magician a headache」
「Eh, you are right. But the other team is also worthy of attention. That boy’s swordsmanship is quite a marvel to look at」
「I see」

Such words resounded from the commentator’s seats. There was only one boy in the two teams. Of course, it was Seiya. Seiya looked at Bagil and remembered the previous day.

Yesterday, after he won the second match, Raiga called him into his room.

When he arrived, he saw Raiga and Bagil discussing something with serious expressions.

Seiya sat down next to Raiga and Bagil started talking.

The talk was about the sudden change of Aruna in the first round. According to Raiga and Bagil, it was Leonardo’s own spell『Possession』.

A spell that utilizes his contracted spirit to take control of someone’s body. It seems to be Leonardo’s field of expertise.

When Seiya was still in the Senabia Magic Academy, he also read about such spells. But it was his first time seeing it.

According to Bagil, Leonardo, most likely, wanted to uncover his real identity, there was also a possibility of him trying to attempt it again.

That being said, the target needs to have a strong body and he wasn’t able to use it in the second match. The only possibilities left for him were the members of the student council.

In Bagil’s opinion, if he uses this spell on them, the result would be several times stronger that in Aruna’s case. If that happens, the existence of the dark element would be the key. In the worst case, Bagil asked to give priority to their safety, even if it requires him to use the dark attribute.

Seiya will create a barrier from the inside and Bagil from the outside, in that way, he would be able to use the dark attribute. Bagil and Raiga agreed on that, and the meeting came to an end.

When Seiya recalled that, he looked at the student council. He didn’t tell Yua and Lily about it.

Like that, they will be able to fight without any worries. As long as nothing happened, Seiya planned to do so too.

From the other side, Selena walked towards Seiya. For a greeting before a fight, her eyes were a bit too hostile.

Sure enough, nothing friendly came out of her mouth.

「I didn’t expect that you would reach the final round. Not bad for a lolicon. However, this is the end. We will defeat you」 [⁴] 「Feel free」

After this short conversation, both teams were ready for the match.

「Final match of the final block. Start」

With the judge’s announcement, the curtains of the final fight had opened.

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Fire violently burned, but Aruna didn’t seem to notice.

Aruna enveloped her katana in fire, but this fire was different from the one before. It was disturbingly red.

Aruna noticed Seiya and laughed.

（Here she comes…..）

In the next moment after he thought that, Aruna was already before him.

She swung her katana with her right hand and Seiya attempted to accept the blow with the Hollins, but upon collision, the Hollins broke.

The katana continued on its way to Seiya’s neck. At that time, Seiya looked at the fire, dwelling in her left eye.

（Gedo-chan!）

Lily created a Gedo-chan (a dragon that was strengthened to the limit) and blew away Aruna, who almost cut through Seiya’s neck.

However, at the same time, Gedo-chan evaporated and disappeared.

（I was saved, Lily. Thanks）
（Un! But this is…..）
（Yeah, this is not Aruna）
（Then? ）
（She is possessed）

Seiya was convinced, once he looked in her eye.

Aruna, who was blown away, stood up and glared at Seiya. At that moment, a sound of a big explosion reverberated across the stadium.

When the two looked towards the direction of the explosion, they saw Yua in a stance that suggested that she released something from the Yurial. And Connie became a cloud of dust and retired.

Apparently, she pierced through Connie’s barrier by shooting the Yuriel from the Yurial.

Indeed, this technique was able to defeat even the strengthened lightning beast, it wasn’t surprising that it was able to deal with Connie.

「As expected of you, Yua」

Seiya was surprised at her decisiveness.

He never thought that she would use it inside the academy. By the way, once Connie retired, 『Silent World』was forcibly dispelled and the sound returned.

「Finished….only one left….」

Said Yua once she arrived at Seiya’s side. However, once she saw Aruna’s appearance, she immediately changed her expression.

「Seiya…..this is? 」
「Don’t know. But it is strong」
「No doubt……」

Yua nodded and created the Yuriel in her hand. Seiya created the Hollins too and enveloped it in the light-attributed mana.

Since this had happened, there was no need to conceal his power anymore.

As if she was waiting for them to create their weapons, Aruna attacked right after they did that.

Seiya accepted the blow with the light-clad Hollins.

「Who the hell are you?」

Asked Seiya, while blocking her blow. He never expected to hear the answer, but that “something” did answer.

「Well, who knows. By the way, aren’t you going to use your power of darkness? 」
「You, how do you……」

Seiya had no idea why it knew about the dark attribute. At present, only Yua, Lily, certain people in the Arunia family and an apostle, Bagil, knew about it.

No one should have known besides them. However, the “something” inside Aruna said.

「Heh, you can’t defeat me without your dark attribute」
「I see. So if I use it, I will be able to defeat you」
「However, once you use it, everything will be over, you know? 」
「Who cares」

Seiya separated from Aruna and cast『Flash』, but its target wasn’t Aruna, but the audience.

The audience wasn’t able to react to the sudden『Flash』and lost their sight. Utilizing this opportunity, Seiya switched the mana around the Hollins from light to dark.

The audience won’t be able to see for at most 30 seconds. Seiya used『Mantle of Light』and was prepared to resolve the situation as soon as possible.

「Apparently, you dislike towards the dark attribute wasn’t a lie」
「*******……」
「Yua, Lily, please restrain it. I will deal the final strike」
「Understood….」
「Un! 」

Yua poured the light-attributed mana into the Yuriel and closed in on Aruna. However, Aruna swung her katana to meet it.

「『Flame God Break』」

In the next moment, a mass of fire falls towards Yua. Yua avoided this mass and tried to cast『Holy Hammer』. However, right after, the ground below Yua ruptured.

Yua lost her balance and fell on her knee. Not willing to let go of this opening, Aruna cast『Flame God Break』again.

However, just before reaching Yua, 『Flame God Break』vanished without a trace. Of course, it was due to Seiya’s『Dark Wave』.

「You finally used it」
「Of course, it is your weakness after all」

While the audience wasn’t able to see, he could use the dark attribute to his heart’s content.

That being said, if he used some large-scale spells, there would be a risk of audience detecting it. Because of that, he could only use some simple spells. By even like that, the dark attribute wasn’t to be underestimated.

Seiya cast the『Dark Wave』at Aruna. Aruna chose to defend.

「『Dance of the Flame God』」

In the next moment. A dazzling flame vortex appeared around Aruna. It was able to defend against『Dark Wave』.

「Not strong enough, huh」
「It is fine…….」

At that time, he heard a voice from behind. There, was a figure of Yua loading the Yuriel into the Yurial. A white light was agglomerating at the Yuriel’s tip.

「Holy Law」

Yua released the bowstring. Clad in the sacred light, the spinning Yuriel flew at Aruna.

When Aruna looked at the Yuriel, she quietly murmured.

「Useless struggle.『Breath of the Fire Dragon』」

Suddenly, a wind blew in Yua’s direction. That wind was considerably hot and melted the flying Yuriel.

Next, this hot wind tried to melt Yua’s soft skin.

However, the fiancé, of course, won’t allow it.

「『Dark Wave』」

The hot air was completely disintegrated on the molecular level.

The matter disappeared from that place, and, due to the difference in pressure, the wind blew again. But this time, it was just normal wind, that being said, it was still quite strong.

Up to this point, it was about 18 seconds. Someone amongst the audience might regain his vision very soon.

Aruna didn’t react to the wind and closed her eyes. Seiya looked at such Aruna and smiled.

「Lily, now!」
「All right!『Water Barrier』! 」

Together with her scream, water gathered around Aruna and bind her.

「Useless. I can easily evaporate your water. Once it all evaporates……」

True, her previous attack didn’t stand a chance and evaporated. But Lily was perfectly aware of it herself.

「I know! But, will you be able to evaporate all of this water before being cut down by Seiya!?」
「What!?」

At this point, Aruna noticed. The surrounding ground was damp, there were water puddles all around her.

All this water was left over from her previous spells during this match.

The deflected water soaked the ground. The was also plenty of vapor in the air. Currently, the atmosphere in the stadium was quite humid.

And as Long as it is water, Lily can easily manipulate it.

Even if Aruna vaporized it, Lily could gather it again.

「Seiya!」
「Yeah, this is the end」

Seiya maximized『Mantle of Light』and the mana wrapped around the Hollins, then, he closed in on Aruna.

Like that, the Hollins penetrated her chest and erased the mysterious being inside of her.

The mysterious flame said「We will meet again」and disappeared. After she was released from the mysterious flame, Aruna collapsed on the ground, turned into dust and retired.

After Aruna’s retirement, they won the first round, but there was no announcement. Well, that was understandable.

After all, the audience had just regained the vision after『Flash』.

Just as they regained their vision, they saw that the match has ended. They couldn’t understand what happened.

「Etto….The winner of the first round of the final block is the team 86.」
「「「「「「「Uoooooooooooo」」」」」」」

The audience cheered after the late announcement.

Although they didn’t know what happened in the end, they were excited seeing this rare high-level match.

On the other hand, in the VIP section.

「Excuse me」

A silver-haired man entered the room where a man in glasses and a man with scarlet hair were.

「Isn’t it Bagil-dono. Thank you for coming」

Zadman greeted Bagil, but he ignored him and approached Leonardo.

「Leonardo-dono, what was that?」
「Are you referring to?」
「Playing dumb? It is about the possession of that girl」
「I wonder what you are talking about」
「Leonardo-dono! 」

Bagil knew. The flame that was inside of Aruna was Leonardo’s contracted spirit. However, Leonardo was pretending not to know.

There was a tense atmosphere in the VIP room.

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