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The duel between Hom and Ignis was set to take place at a section of the courtyard fountain.

“Listen up, if you step even a single foot outside this tile, you lose.”

Surrounding the fountain, blue tiles were arranged in a circular pattern. If one ignored the fountain in the center, the area could almost be mistaken for a small coliseum. The fact that there was no water in the fountain suggested that it had been used for such purposes before.

“Weapons are prohibited, but magic is allowed. Well, I highly doubt a humanoid imitation like you could wield magic on par with me.”
“I never intended to settle this with magic in the first place.”

Saying this, Hom positioned herself with her right hand and right foot forward. The prohibition on weapons meant that she wouldn’t be able to use the Hiraishin she carried as a charm of sorts. That also meant that settling the fight in an instant with Blitzraid would be difficult.

Well, considering the limited space of the circular area, even if she did use it, she likely wouldn’t be able to achieve sufficient power. She must have already ruled it out as an option.

“Lord Ignis, teach her a lesson!”

The noble dormitory students, led by Rizel, formed a distant ring around the designated dueling area on the blue tiles. As if they had known in advance that the duel would take place, a significant number of students had gathered, forming multiple concentric circles.

“Come at me from anywhere you like!”

The moment the signal to begin was given, Ignis launched a fireball from his palm. Hom leapt to evade it and swung a sharp kick down toward his head.

“Hah! Not bad at all!”

Ignis dodged it with ease and fired another fireball. As the barrage of fireballs shot forth in rapid succession without incantations, Hom evaded them while taking cover behind the statue in the center of the fountain.

“What’s wrong? I told you to come at me, didn’t I?”

Spreading his arms wide, Ignis sneered, crimson flames flickering in both hands. The flames grew ominously larger, then took on the form of a ferocious beast, lunging at Hom behind the statue with a vicious bite.

“Hom!”
“Haahhh!”

Ducking down to escape the flames, Hom placed her hands on the fountain’s base and spun her legs in a sweeping motion. The movement created a sharp gust of wind, dispersing Ignis’ fire.

“Not bad. Then how about this?” Ignis leapt into the air and came down with a punch, engulfed in flames.

“Armament Transmutation!” Reacting instantly, Hom adapted her transmutation technique to form a shield, blocking the attack. Then, she abandoned the shield and leaped onto the statue.

“…!? She’s gone!?”

Almost simultaneously, Ignis shattered the shield, only to lose sight of Hom. Seizing the opening, Hom dropped down from the top of the statue and drove her elbow into his back.

“…Guh.”

Ignis let out a low groan, yet his face was twisted into something resembling a grin.

“Hom, get away from him!” A bad feeling surged through me, and I shouted instinctively. But before I could even finish, Hom had already distanced herself from Ignis, putting space between them.

“So, you’re better at running away, huh?”

Regaining his stance, Ignis wrapped his fists in flames and slowly closed in on Hom.

“…That fire…”
“Yeah, to think he can wield such powerful flame magic without incantations.”

The heat from Ignis’ flames reached even us. When I responded to Alfe’s murmur, she shook her head to say that wasn’t it.

“That fire… it’s not using aether.”
“What…?”

I couldn’t believe my ears at her remark. Magic required aether as a medium to function—that was a fundamental principle. The idea of using magic without channeling aether was simply impossible. But Alfe possessed Pure Eye, which allowed her to see the flow of aether. There was no way she could be mistaken.

“Enough playing around. Time to finish this.” Ignis smirked and raised both hands, his flames flaring up. “Think you can dodge this with a shield like before?”

Above his head, the flames writhed ominously, forming a massive vortex that sent embers scattering in all directions.

“This is bad… Lord Ignis is serious now.” The noble dormitory students who had been watching like spectators began to retreat, sensing the danger.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but this looks bad.”
“We should put up a barrier.”

At Vannabelle’s murmur, Alfe nodded and cast a water spell, forming a transparent barrier. Yet, even that wasn’t enough—the sheer heat of Ignis’ flames caused the surface of the water barrier to bubble and ripple violently. Perhaps taking a cue from Alfe, Hom also coated herself in a thin layer of water magic, forming a protective shield around her body.

“It’s useless. No matter what you do, my flames will incinerate you.”

Ignis advanced, controlling the massive sphere of fire, steadily closing the distance between himself and Hom. Perhaps to avoid drawing the battle any closer to us or the surrounding students, Hom stopped retreating and faced him head-on.

“Take this!” Ignis swung his blazing sphere down toward Hom.

“Armament Transmutation!” Just as she assumed a defensive stance, Hom activated her ability. In an instant, she forged a staircase of earth, dashing up its steps like a gust of wind, narrowly slipping past the path of the descending flames.

“What!?”
“Haaaah!”

Skimming past the roaring fire, Hom closed in on Ignis, striking with a rapid flurry of punches and kicks, forcing him backward. Though her desperate assault had him on the defensive—

“Whoa! It’s coming this way!”
“Run!”

The unleashed fireball, still spinning wildly, now hurtled straight toward us. The noble dormitory students, who had already distanced themselves, screamed in panic. Just as it seemed like disaster was inevitable, one figure stepped forward fearlessly—Alfe.

“Leave it to me!”

Alfe manipulated her water magic, enveloping Ignis’ fireball as if trapping it inside a giant soap bubble. However, even contained within the water, the fire raged wildly, writhing like living tendrils, attempting to break free.

““We shall help you, O Alfe!””
“Lili-Lulu!”

From seemingly nowhere, voices rang out, and in the next instant, a layer of frost encased Alfe’s watery barrier. The moment Lili-Lulu’s ice magic struck, the raging flames turned into an eerie black mist, and a massive chunk of ice crashed onto the tiled ground.

“What happened!?”

With the immediate crisis averted, Vannabelle strained her ears to track the battle’s conclusion.

“Nya-ha! Hom won! Though it looks like she’s not too happy about it.”

Farah, who had been observing the fight with her Magic Eyes, pointed toward Ignis—who was now kneeling outside the boundary of the blue tiles.

Judging by Hom’s dazed expression, it seemed Farah was telling the truth. She had won, yet something about it didn’t sit right with her.

“I launched a surprise attack and kept up the pressure, but… it looked like he just stepped out of the tiles without even using his flames,” Hom muttered, her expression unreadable.

Ignis, still looking downward, had a faint smile on his lips.

“Did he… lose on purpose?”

With so many of his followers watching, what would be the point of that? As I furrowed my brows in suspicion, a sudden commotion spread from the direction of the noble dormitory.

“What is the meaning of this!?”

The sharp voice belonged to none other than Estea, the student council president. At her side stood her roommate, Melua.

“They were causing a disturbance without knowing their place, so Lord Ignis personally stepped in to—”
“I was not asking you.”

Estea curtly cut off the flustered Rizel and strode straight toward Ignis, addressing him with a firm voice.

“Ignis Dulan. Explain this situation.”
“It was just a minor dispute,” Ignis replied, lifting his face and wiping the blood from his split lip with the back of his hand. “We decided to settle it with a duel, as per tradition.”
“Didn’t you… lose?”

Estea’s sharp gaze narrowed.

“This brat only won because of a cowardly trick. Otherwise, I would’ve won for sure,” Ignis grumbled, scowling at the remnants of Hom’s transmuted stairway.
“You say that while still kneeling? Not very convincing,” Estea remarked dismissively.

Then, with a fluid motion, she delivered a graceful kick, shattering the transmuted stairs into dust.

“…Very well.” She adjusted her posture and casually brushed her ponytail back, as if nothing had happened. “We will abide by the results of the duel and accept your claim. However, on one condition—A duel with me.”

Estea’s words made Hom frown in confusion.

“…What do you mean? I have no reason to duel you.”
“But I have a reason.”

Estea’s voice remained calm yet unwavering.

“If the student council vice president is defeated, the reputation of the council itself is tarnished. A humiliation suffered in a duel must be rectified through another duel.”

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