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On top of the crumbling hill, the magician Kairos, wearing a full set of armor stood glaring death at the summoner Mira, who carelessly brushed off his stance.

「From what I recall, that examination was executed fair and square. And in the first place, you dug your own grave so you have no reason to hold a grudge against me.」

In the end, his match against Mira in which she utterly defeated him had been the cause of his scorn, even though she had not used any underhanded methods. In Mira’s eyes, the way he boasted of his skills even though they were non-existent made him a lower existence than stray dogs, since those at least could bite after barking.

「So you’re saying I should allow you to insult me so much! I had to take the first place, but then a measly summoner like you appeared!」

Every time he had a dream of that time, he was tormented by the Dark Knight’s red eyes. But Mira, the one who caused that, had completely forgotten the event. Realizing that much, a vein popped up like a worm inside his forehead as his anger reached a new high.

In other words, Kairos was unable to accept a summoner, the class he had been looking down at the most for his entire life, beating him, and then leaving such a mental trauma in him.

(Hmm, he’s quite the tiresome person.)

「And so you want payback? There’s a limit to just how clueless about reality you can be, that examination should have taught you as much. What a pitiful sight.」
「Don’t talk crap like that! You just appeared out of nowhere and messed everything up, and then even claimed to be a wiseman’s pupil. Because of you I was branded a failure that lacks even basic perception. It’s all your fault!」

His shouts began cracking as he struck his sword into the rubble besides him driven by his emotions. As soon as he did that, his blade gave off a crimson flash, after which a shrill noise shook their eardrums and bodies as the rubble shattered into small fragments.

There was not even a scratch on the armor from the blast, instead Kairos merely lowered his face guard to avoid the flying rubble. His hatred seemed to manifest in his posture from inside the armor as he chuckled seeing the shattered stones.

「What do you think of my power? It’s quite the splendid addition wouldn’t you say? I’ve cast a barrier on this area so no spells can be used inside it. It doesn’t matter how much you excel at your craft, you’re merely a child without spells.」

Reassured by the flames of the explosion of his own overwhelming power, Kairos’ raging emotions from Mira’s demeanor calmed down.

(Oh? A barrier to seal skills. I saw something similar in the traps of dungeons, but I guess magic has developed enough to recreate it.)

Admiring the barrier spread around the small hill like a bubble, Mira was made aware of how much the last thirty years had changed this world.

She decided to put it to the test and attempted a summoning, but there was no sign of it, showing her spells were sealed indeed.

「You’re a spell caster, yes? So isn’t it a bit backwards to seal spells since you yourself will need them?」

There was no way it was so convenient as to only seal one’s opponent’s spells. Since it was a barrier, the effect was applied throughout all its interior. In that case, Kairos’ spells should be sealed as well. Mira guessed the rough conditions of the barrier as she tried asking him for details, even though his armor made it really hard to assume he was a spell caster.

「Isn’t it obvious seeing me? This sword, shield and armor are all spirit arms. And you just witnessed the might of my sword, I don’t need my spells. The spirit arms’ power is at full swing inside the barrier. So as long as I have these, anything you try will be completely futile.」

The sword he had was a fire spirit sword. His armor and even the knight’s shield he had were infused with spirit magic. But Mira had noticed that from the start, so it was nothing surprising to her. What amazed her was that Kairos, a spellcaster from Arkite Kingdom, also known as the land of magic, had decided to cast aside his skills and rely on weapons. Though it did not matter how high the attributes were, he was still using a sword. As a spellcaster he was not used to physical combat, so how useful the sword would be was still in the air.

「What’s with that look? It seems you still don’t fully understand the situation you’re… in!」

At the end of his sentence, he swung the spirit sword. The air resistance manifested as a crimson glow around the blade, before being flung off as a flame that collided with the rubble beside Mira. A roaring noise came from the collision followed by a heatwave that passed through Mira. The air around her felt scorching hot while the crimson remains of the fire burned for a while, once everything burnt out, only Kairos’ laughter reverberated from inside the armor.

(So it’s like I thought… was that a voice I heard right now?)

At the same time as the fire was released, Mira heard a bitter voice full of hatred and resentment. She had heard a similar voice when he struck the rubble with his sword earlier as well. Because of the explosion she had been unable to ascertain if she heard correctly, but this time she was sure she heard a spine chilling low groan this time.

「Did you see the power of my spirit sword now? Just a gentle graze from it will send your frail body flying away. This is the true difference between our strength. Luckily for you, I know of a thing called compassion.」

Kairos was surprised himself by the power of the spirit sword, but the sense of power soon consumed him as he let out a low chuckle. His gaze then began crawling like a worm along Mira’s petite limbs, swallowing saliva as he imagined what her cries would sound like.

「If you bow down and apologize to me now, I might let you be my servant.」

Driven by his lust, he acted arrogantly as he looked down at Mira, taking a golden ring out of a leather bag fastened to his hip and threw it to her feet. It was a collar. There was a seal carved on it, the same design used by the Fifty Bells Union in their clothing.

「Put that on your neck. I’ll spare your life if you do that.」

Kairos was convinced that if the situation was so against Mira, she would obey in a heartbeat. But Mira merely glanced at it, stepped with her left foot closer to it and kicked it away with her right foot. After flying for a moment, the ring hit straight into Kairos’ greave with a slight metallic noise.

「I refuse. Let me offer you something too though, I’ll let you off if you admit this is only a childish prank.」

Mira looked straight at Kairos as she said that, without squinting or glaring, just looking straight at him. When he heard her, his lust was morphed into pitch black hatred as he raised his sword, driven by his emotions, and swung it without regards to posture, swordsmanship or any target.

「You littleeeEEE!!」

Kairos’ voice could barely be called speech anymore, it was like a fire had been set deep in his lungs which expelled all the air in them, rushing out of his throat as a scream.

As he screamed, Kairos swung his sword down striking into the ground. The arc drawn by his swing gave birth to flames, which condensed into a hellish fireball that seemed like the manifestation of his anger that flew towards Mira.

Its aim was off, but the raging fireball spread out to cover a large area in front of it. The destructive power of the fire was such that if a spellcaster with sealed spells got caught in it, they would be unable to survive safely. The violent shockwave that resulted from it hit against Kairos, pushing him back and making him fall on his rear.

「Hahah, AHAHAHAHAH! I told you! This is what happens when you go against me. Ahah, ahahahahah!」