Chapter 524

Episode 524. The Beginning of the War (3)

Delgard Kadenmeyer’s mood was currently one of absolute satisfaction. The reason, of course, was that he could finally publicly humiliate Alon Palatio.

‘Heh, how lucky that the miserable wretch is a Circle (위계) 2.’

Delgard thought this as he watched Alon step into the arena. If Alon had been Circle 1, Delgard wouldn’t have been able to challenge him; in a place like this, challenging a mage of a lower rank than one’s own would only bring disgrace.

But Alon? Although he didn’t excel at anything, he was Circle 2. That is, there was no legal problem for Delgard Kadenmeyer, also Circle 2, to call him to the stand. Of course, someone might mock him by asking how he was so sure of victory if they were technically at the same level, but Delgard wasn’t relying on blind faith: he had reached Circle 3 just a few days ago.

“Huhu…”

Although he was technically only capable of formulating and manifesting third-level spells precariously—he was still in diapers, so to speak—the difference between being able to use Circle 3 magic and not being able to was an abyss. In short: there was now a real power gap between Delgard and Alon.

Anyone seeing Delgard trying to crush Alon like that might not understand it. Alon had never done anything to him, and even ignored his provocations. However, the more Alon ignored him, the more Delgard’s fury grew.

—Fuu…

Ironically, Delgard was aware of the irrationality of his anger. Even so, his resentment and hostility did not disappear, so, with a mocking smile at the thought of embarrassing Alon, he looked around. As he directed his gaze toward the upper area, Delgard was momentarily bewildered.

‘… Why are the princes and princesses looking at me with such furious faces?’

Strangely, the members of the royal family were staring intently at him. All of them had expressions ranging from rage to horror and deep lamentation, with faces that seemed to say, “I’m going to kill you right now.”

‘… Are they talking about me?’

Delgard thought about it for a second but shook his head. He had never had direct contact with royalty. Thinking there was no reason for people of such high rank to look at him like that, he averted his gaze toward the Academy Director, who was beside him. The Director usually had a serene expression, but…

—…

His face was also strange. He looked at Delgard with a peculiar expression… yes, as if he were looking at someone absolutely incompetent and despicable. As Delgard’s doubts grew thicker:

Alon, who had been called by Delgard, found himself in a major predicament.

‘What should I do?’

Beating Delgard? It was a piece of cake. No matter how much his powers were limited, Alon was not so weak as to lose to a rookie mage. Even without using Phrases (어구) or Seals (수인), which limited the raw power of his magic, his victory was guaranteed. He was not so fragile as to fall before a mage who had just peeked into Circle 3.

The problem was that, currently, Alon’s magic had to be that of a Circle 2 “student.” If he showed too good a performance, the Religion of War, which was surely watching from somewhere, might become suspicious. Alon made a quick decision.

‘I’ll have to let him win.’

He would lose. In reality, winning or losing a duel like this didn’t matter to him at all. His goal was to capture the Religion of War, not to show off on a school stage. After letting out a low sigh, Alon took a combat stance. Somewhat clumsily, as if he were an amateur who had only had a few magic duels.

And then.

—Begin.

When the magic instructor in the center lowered his hand and stepped back, the first thing Alon did was…

Wuuuu—

He simply mobilized his mana. Since he was acting as a Circle 2 mage, an instant magic manifestation would be forced. Therefore:

‘I’ll take a couple of hits, fly out of the arena, and retire…’

While Alon planned his defeat looking at Delgard, the latter flashed a triumphant smile and began to create magic in his hand. Then…

Boom!

—Ugh…?!

The magic exploded. It was instantaneous. The students stood stunned. They saw Delgard, dazed and injured by his own spell. And then:

—Ah, damn it…!

Delgard’s face, previously full of confidence, turned red with shame in a second. It was obvious: everyone present knew what had happened. A failure of Manifestation (구현). That’s right. It wasn’t magic interference, nor an intrusion, nor erosion. It was simply an error in manifesting the spell.

… He had committed a mistake that even mages who know how to use Circle 1 would never commit.

—You bastard!

Humiliated to the core, Delgard glared at Alon with a murderous look, as if everything were his fault. “But I haven’t done anything…” Alon thought, while Delgard tried to manifest magic again to make up for the previous error.

K-boom!

It exploded again. Fshhhh! Delgard went flying and landed face-first in front of Alon. The silence of the crowd turned frigid.

—Alon… you son of a b…

Delgard tried to get up while openly insulting him, but…

—Gah?!

As he tried to steady himself, he slipped on the arena floor and…

—Ugh!

He fell out of the arena in the most pathetic way possible.

—… Winner: Alon Taylor.

He had lost by ring-out. And then:

‘I was supposed to lose…’

Alon looked bewildered at Delgard, who seemed to have fainted upon falling headfirst.

After that strange duel, and despite Delgard leaving the students between laughter and contempt, the following matches were decent enough to heat up the festival atmosphere. The opening ceremony ended successfully, unlike its start, and the festival formally began.

So it was: the start of the festival. The students passing by Alon looked excited and ready to enjoy the moment, but Alon couldn’t relax. He knew that the Religion of War would appear during these days.

‘… Although they will probably act on the second day.’

Not all the nobles had gathered yet. The day when the majority of the imperial aristocracy would converge would be tomorrow, the second day. Knowing that for the Religion of War—which sought to eliminate the greatest number of nobles and increase its faithful—the second day was the ideal moment…

—Hum, shall we start with something? —asked Evan, who seemed very calm next to Penia.

—Why don’t you have a bit more of a sense of alertness? —retorted Alon before asking—: What about the others?

—They are moving according to the plan.

They had decided to split into shifts to guard the Social Circle building. Alon nodded, but suddenly noticed the sky turning red even though not much time had passed since the start.

—… Is the sun setting already?

—It seems the festival started a bit late, but it certainly gets dark faster than usual —remarked Evan.

—I feel that way too —added Penia.

The moment they both nodded:

Boom!

The fireworks began. The gazes of the students, who were moving to enjoy the festival, turned to one side.

—Fireworks?

—So soon?

—Didn’t they say they were for the third day?

The murmurs of the students could be heard. Thinking that perhaps they had launched the rockets by mistake was useless.

Pum! Bang!

The fireworks, emitting vibrant colored lights, kept exploding. While everyone wondered about the sudden start of the show:

—!

Alon had a revelation. What was exploding up there were fireworks, yes, but at the same time they weren’t…

—Penia!

Alon called Penia by instinct as he removed his limitation ring.

Irene Polanticia kept letting out sighs, trying to calm the nausea she felt. The reason was the anxiety she had experienced a moment ago during the initial duel, fearing that that ignorant brat would offend the “being” in front of her.

—Fuu…

She let out a sigh. She possessed the “Eye,” and after the creation of the Consecration Matrix, the ability granted by the Seeker of the Path had strengthened, allowing her to see more. Her eyes could see Alon‘s true form. A colossal eye that could cover even the sun in the sky, a giant eye that was simply staring at her.

Irene erased the thought with a deep sigh. Just remembering that entity made her body freeze in terror.

‘… I heard from Contanias, but I didn’t expect it to be this much…’

She knew that Alon was no ordinary man, but his true nature had left her speechless despite the previous warnings.

‘What is he really?’

Just as Irene was losing herself in her thoughts:

Pum! Bang!

The fireworks exploded.

—Mmm?

Serdea Polanticia, who a moment ago was tense but was now relaxing in her seat, let out a sound of doubt. Irene also looked toward where the rockets were exploding, surprised that it was happening before the sun had completely set.

And then. In that instant.

Irene’s eyes widened. For two reasons: one, because she realized that what was exploding in the distance were not simple fireworks. And two, because something that had exploded in the sky was heading toward them at full speed.

—Ah…

A small exclamation escaped Irene’s lips. Although it was an infinitesimal, almost nonexistent lapse of time, Irene’s “Eye” perceived and perfectly analyzed that which was flying toward her.

‘I’m going to die.’

She reached that conclusion in an extremely cold manner.

Thump!

But, contrary to the cold conclusion, her heart began to beat frantically. To survive. In that instant, her gaze moved and her thoughts accelerated.

Do I use the language of command? Impossible. She didn’t know if she could repel that with words and, above all, that object would arrive before she could utter two syllables.

Do I wait for the guards to protect me? Also impossible. The numerous personnel deployed after Contanias’s information also noticed the anomaly, but their movements were slower than Irene’s.

What if I jump from my seat right now? I would die anyway.

What if I throw myself off the chair? I would die anyway.

Die. Die. Die. Die. The end point of all her accelerated thoughts pointed to a single place: death.

Irene looked back at the object. The gigantic blade, already analyzed by her mind, was millimeters away from her, tracing the final point to gift her death. Faced with the sudden end, she felt a sense of emptiness. She always thought she could die at any moment, but she never imagined such a vain death.

I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. While that thought crossed her mind, she closed her eyes by instinct. And then:

Crunch!

A sound was heard. It wasn’t the sound of tearing flesh, but of something breaking violently. Opening her eyes, she witnessed the ice that seemed to have frozen everything, catching even the light of the sunset.

And in front of her, dressed in the academy uniform…

—Are you okay?

She saw a man speaking with total indifference.