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The interclass mock battle had finally begun. Hom and I, wanting to avoid becoming burdens, entered the forest on the edge of the training field. From there, we focused on observing the situation from a bird’s-eye view.

Thanks to Alfe’s thoughtful use of amplification and sound-collection magic, as well as her magic to share her vision, we could clearly grasp the state of the frontlines even from afar.

“Everyone, follow me!”
“Let’s goooo~”

With Vannabelle and Numelin at the forefront, Class F launched a planned deep-penetration attack.

“Don’t panic, stay calm!”

From the rearmost position, Rizel issued commands through amplification magic, and the orderly formation of Class A split into three groups.

The two flanks pulled back to the left and right, forming a defensive stance, while defensive magic began to take shape.

“Lili-Lulu!”
“ “Lightning, strike forth—Spark Shot!” ”

As Vannabelle shouted sharply, Lili-Lulu, floating in midair, unleashed a lightning spell aimed at the left and right formations.

“Deploy the defensive barrier!”

With Rizel’s prompt command, thin, semicircular defensive barriers appeared, created by the students on the divided flanks. The countless bolts of lightning released by Lili-Lulu were all neutralized.

“Hahaha! Even the top magic talent of our grade can’t overcome sheer numbers.”
“Hah! Like I didn’t already know that!”

Unfazed by Rizel’s taunt, Vannabelle charged into the center of Class A’s formation, wielding her crimson magic sword.

“Nume, goooo!”
“Ayee!”

At Vannabelle’s signal, Numelin swung her massive battle axe. The force of the blow gouged out the ground, sending debris flying and forcing Rizel and the rest of Class A’s students to retreat even further.

“You think you can get away?!”

Vannabelle deflected the sword of a lagging student and knocked them to the ground with a sharp knee strike.

“Take thiiiis!”

Swinging her massive battle axe, Numelin created a whirlwind that cleared the swirling dust in the area, revealing injured Class A students lying on the ground.

“First strike goes to Class F~♪ Collect, collect~♪”

The cheerful voice of Ms. Matilda, seemingly out of place, echoed from somewhere, as two injured Class A students were enveloped in a transparent bubble-like membrane and floated up into the air.

“Alright! Eighteen more to go! Let’s keep this momentum going!”
“Yeah!”

With two down in the initial assault, the Class F students on the frontlines became even more energized. However, as Rizel and the others continued their deliberate retreat, a sense of unease began to gnaw at me.

“…Master.”

Hom, likely sensing the same thing, called out to me with a hint of anxiety in her voice. I nodded in response and scrutinized Class A’s formation again.

Since Lili-Lulu’s opening attack, the students on the flanks had spread out, forming a fan shape that now seemed to encircle Class F.

“This is… almost as if—” As if they were using the students in the center as bait to lure us into a trap. “Vannabelle, it’s a trap¹! Fall back!” The realization hit me like lightning, and I shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Hah!?” Vannabelle’s ears twitched, indicating she was on high alert, likely trying to pick up sounds from her surroundings. But— “Shut up! Stop chickening out²!”

My warning was dismissed outright with an angry yell.

“Belle!!”

Ignoring Numelin’s attempt to stop her, Vannabelle dashed forward, aiming straight for Rizel in the rearmost position. While the situation appeared favorable for us, my shouted warning had sown doubt. Some of the more cautious members of Class F began to withdraw, sensing that the supposed advantage might be a ruse.

“Why the hell are you all running away?!” Vannabelle shouted, swinging her magic sword to break through the central formation of Class A.

“Fall back, Vannabelle!” Frustrated by Vannabelle’s refusal to listen, Hom shouted at her just as—

“Fool, you’ve taken the bait!” At Rizel’s signal, the students who had spread out to the left and right raised their magic wands in unison.

“Scorching flames—”
“This is bad, it’s Explosion magic!”

Farah, likely using her magic eyes, called out a warning in a loud voice. Explosion Magic, a high-level attack spell, generates massive blasts from thrown fireballs. With the fireballs nearly two meters in diameter, the blast radius would extend to 40 meters. At this range, it was impossible for Class F to escape unscathed.

“Rage and burn all who oppose me, turning them to ash—”
“Everyone, get down!”

Reacting quickly, Alfe used earth magic to create a protective wall, but it wasn’t enough to shield everyone in time.

“Reduce everything to cinders—Explosion!”
“ “Roaring winds, swirling storm, become a barrier and shield us! Storm Veil!” ”

Lili-Lulu cast a wind spell to counteract the attack, but even so, the fireballs launched by Class A ignited a series of massive explosions. The fiery shockwave reached all the way to the forest where I was hiding.

“What the hell!? What’s going on!?” Vannabelle’s voice rang out, filled with confusion, but the surroundings were blanketed in a cloud of dust and smoke.

“Master, this is…” Hom’s voice was faint, her gaze fixed sharply on the billowing smoke as if trying to see through it.

“It’s a trap. Vannabelle’s strategy was leaked to Class A…³” I muttered bitterly, glancing at Hom.

“Yes…” Hom bit her lip in frustration, waiting patiently for the dust to settle. She likely knew from Master Tao Ran’s teachings that moving recklessly now would be a fatal mistake.

“Hahaha! Like moths to a flame!” Rizel’s triumphant voice echoed as the dust began to clear. Bracing myself for the worst, I focused on understanding the situation and preparing for what came next.

“Sir Gide!” Before I could fully grasp the situation, Isaac’s cry of despair rang out.

“Oh dear~ little Gide has become a noble sacrifice~♪” Ms. Matilda’s sing-song voice echoed unexpectedly. The next moment, Gide’s battered body floated up, encased in a large shimmering bubble.

“Gide…”

A pained murmur escaped from Alfe, who was using sound amplification magic. Gide, severely injured and barely conscious, was swiftly enveloped in Ms. Matilda’s healing magic and carried away from the battlefield. Alongside him, seven other classmates, retrieved by her rescue team, floated away in similar translucent orbs.

“…What the hell have they done…” Vannabelle’s voice trembled with rage.

Rizel, unfazed, simply smirked, pointing the tip of his sword directly at her.

“Well, now you’re just rats in a trap.”
“Hah!? Who are you calling a rat!?”
“It’s just a figure of speech~”

Even in this dire situation, Numelin’s carefree tone hadn’t changed. In a way, it seemed to be the only thing keeping Vannabelle’s composure intact.

“It is a trap! Everyone, retreat!” Meanwhile, Isaac and the other students at the rear had succumbed to panic, scattering in disarray as they began to retreat.

“Calm down, Isaac! Watch your surroundings! Gah!” Romeo tried to warn him, but both he and Isaac were struck down by magical arrows launched by Class A students, collapsing to the ground.

“Good, keep it up. Take them down one by one!”

At Rizel’s signal, Class F students were picked off in quick succession. Vannabelle and Numelin, still holding their weapons, found themselves surrounded by sword-wielding Class A students.

“…No way, this can’t be happening…”
“Big trouble, Belle~”
“I know! I’ll handle this!”

Vannabelle growled in frustration, lowering her stance as she aimed to break through the encirclement. She swung her sword at several students in her path, but they skillfully dodged her strikes.

“Don’t rush. Wear her down slowly,” Rizel commanded calmly.
“Damn it! Where did they go!?”

Vannabelle swung her sword wildly, trying to drive back the encroaching Class A students. Rizel, having retreated beyond her reach, looked on with a smug expression.

“…Reflective water, capture shadows—Mirage.” Alfe cast a projection spell, creating illusions of her classmates. Like shimmering reflections in a water mirror, phantasms of Farah, Vannabelle, and Numelin appeared, darting across the battlefield in all directions⁴. The illusions threw Class A into confusion, disrupting their coordination.

“Escape while you can!” Alfe’s voice carried an urgent intensity, likely due to the immense concentration her spell required. Even if Class F managed to retreat and regroup, the damage was already devastating. This was undoubtedly the worst-case scenario we had feared, and it was becoming clear that I needed to steel myself for what was to come.

“…I don’t know what’s happening, but thanks for the save!” Vannabelle and Numelin broke free from Class A’s encirclement and began a swift retreat.

“ “As expected of Alfe!” ” Lili-Lulu, who had taken to the air to avoid the fray, raised their staff in admiration toward Alfe. But Alfe, focused to her limit, couldn’t respond. Worse yet, Lili-Lulu’s praise unintentionally revealed to Class A that Alfe was the caster of the Mirage.

“Target that elf! Make her stop this incomprehensible magic!” At Rizel’s command, the students from the magic division on Class A’s flanks began chanting in unison.

“Alfe—” I reached for Ars Magna to deploy a protective barrier, but my hands trembled with urgency, and I couldn’t act in time.

At that very moment—

“ “The Elf Alliance stands not on vanity. Lili-Lulu never abandons their kin!” ” Lili-Lulu leaped in front of Alfe, putting themselves in harm’s way, and immediately cast a defensive barrier.

“ “Protect us! Storm Veil!” ”

The barrier shimmered to life as Lili-Lulu began chanting their next spell without hesitation.

“Fierce winds of the skies, tear down the rulers of the heavens… blow fiercely towards the earth and strike down—Fall Gale!”

With a sharp sweep of their staves, Lili-Lulu summoned a violent gust from above, a forceful whirlwind that tore through the battlefield.

“W-What nonsense!”
“Are they monsters!?”

The wind was so powerful that it knocked back Class A’s frontline, their startled cries drowned in the storm. They could barely stand against the gale, and several students were blown off their feet.

“Don’t falter! The enemy is almost out of magic!”

Four students from Class A had already retreated from the front lines, but under Rizel’s orders, they concentrated their attack on Lili-Lulu, launching Explosion magic in unison.

“Lili-Lulu, no—”

Alfe’s desperate scream was lost in the explosion’s deafening roar. Lili-Lulu, battered by the barrage of magic, wobbled in the air, their bodies swaying uncontrollably. Despite the overwhelming assault, they continued their incantation with the last of their strength.

“Something’s coming again! Get ready to defend!”

Rizel’s voice, filled with urgency, echoed through the chaos as Lili-Lulu slowly descended to the ground, their hair still wild from the explosive winds. A shimmering circle of light, resembling ripples in water, expanded outward with a high-pitched sound, causing Class A’s students to recoil and retreat, inching away from the growing wave of energy.

“ “Lili-Lulu shall die here… But you must live, Alfe.” ” Lili-Lulu’s voice echoed repeatedly, resonating through the trees, carrying a weight of finality.

“ “…And do not forget. Speak of Lili-Lulu’s achievements to the generations to come!” ” With those final words, Lili-Lulu raised their staves high into the sky, their last act before collapsing, drained of all their magic power.

“Oh dear, oh my! Lili and Lulu ran out of magic it seems. Alright, time to collect them!”

As the students of Class A stood frozen in disbelief, a large soap bubble floated overhead, carrying away Lili-Lulu’s unconscious forms. In the midst of this, Hom moved quickly, approaching Alfe and guiding her toward the forest at the edge of the training ground.

Farah, Vanabelle, and Numelin, reacting to our movement, followed Hom and Alfe. Other students seemed to attempt a retreat as well, but by the time they reached the forest, only Alfe, Farah, Vanabelle, and Numelin had made it.

“…Everyone… everyone’s been taken down…”

Vanabelle muttered with a pained grunt, her fist hitting the tree trunk. Her back trembled, and it almost seemed as if she was crying.

“Hahaha! Now’s your chance to surrender. We have fourteen left, and you only have six!” Rizel’s mocking voice echoed through the forest, the weight of his words pressing down on us.

Even with Hom and me included, Class F was down to just six remaining members⁵.

1. Robinxen: It’s a trap! Also isn’t it common sense to not push the frontline too far in… actually wait probably not… I doubt these kids are reading military light novels…
2. Robinxen: Wow…
3. Robinxen: I can hardly call it a strategy worth leaking honestly… but I wonder how it leaked more than anything if it did. I doubt anyone in the class is on good terms with any of the upper echelons?
4. Robinxen: Damn that’s an intense spell…
5. Robinxen: There’s only one way to be sure, nuke them from orbit.

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