Shadows in the Arena
"Is everyone ready?"
The crowd wasn't particularly large.
Claire's awakening as a Dark Priestess had drawn some fleeting curiosity, but even that had its limits.
At this very moment, preliminary rounds for the team tournament were underway across countless other arenas. Naturally, the spectators had drifted away to watch the matches of more famous and prestigious contenders.
"Ugh... I still don't get this."
Instead of the bright smile she had worn when we first met, Lilian was glaring with deep dissatisfaction at the enemy—or rather, at Kellin, who stood between her and the opposing team.
"She used to serve Katarin, didn't she? I mean, sure, she might be decent... but still, bringing someone like her..."
"If we want to climb high, we have to make do," I replied.
For now, I had already commanded Kellin not to achieve her true objective.
But to maintain that control, I needed to keep her close to me.
"...I will not disappoint you," Kellin murmured.
Besides, Kellin's skills were guaranteed.
While her abilities didn't perfectly synergize with our party, raw stats could overcome most shortcomings.
Across the arena, a group of young cadets glared at us.
"We can do this! Let's go!"
They were young. One look was enough to tell they were pampered darlings raised in noble households.
"A knight, an elementalist, a priest, and a mage... Cadets from decent families, indeed."
Their very composition exuded class and status.
Dark magic was a path usually chosen by illegitimate children of noble houses desperate for power, or by the impoverished who were routinely exposed to the dark arts.
The same went for Dark Priests, and archery was hardly a hobby fit for proper knights.
It was a skill typically reserved for hunters and mercenaries, and those who practiced it held little social standing within the Academy.
Elementalist, too, was a class that couldn't wield power without a catalyst.
Unless one spent decades immersed in nature or possessed unrealistically outstanding talent, it was a power far out of reach for the poor.
"Well, who cares? We're stronger anyway! It's not like we're fighting with our family trees!"
Claire flashed a confident smile. Perhaps due to the flurry of duel requests she had received lately, she seemed to have finally realized just how powerful she had become.
"True," I agreed.
She was right. Mediocre opponents stood no chance of victory against us, no matter how hard they tried.
"Let's go."
The battle began. The moment the referee gave the signal, a horde of spirits materialized in the enemy camp.
"Whoa, what the! There's a ridiculous number of them!"
"That's what elementalists do," I noted.
Dark mages who manipulated corpses and elementalists who commanded spirits shared a similar advantage.
They could swell their numbers with ease. Without a proper countermeasure, facing such overwhelming numbers was a daunting task.
Fortunately, we had a countermeasure.
"Let's stick to the plan. Start us off, Claire."
"Got it!"
A massive surge of dark mana erupted from Claire's hands.
Rising like a thick fog, the dark energy flooded the arena. A deep shadow fell over the brightly lit ground.
"Kellin, advance. Go wild."
"Understood."
Though a trace of hesitation lingered in her blade, it wasn't enough to dull its lethal edge.
Kellin...
A Dark Knight. Making a pact with a demon made them little different from dark mages, but instead of sitting back and casting spells, they fought on the front lines with swords in hand.
They sacrificed much, and while they rarely fit into conventional parties, they possessed combat prowess formidable enough to compensate for it.
"Here I go!"
Yet, if that were all she had, Kellin wouldn't have lasted long.
She was a bodyguard, but she wasn't the type to stand alone in the vanguard, sweeping away enemies or serving as an immovable shield for her allies.
Before she was a warrior, she was a maid. Before she was a knight, she was a loyal servant to Katarin, a woman renowned for her schemes.
She was far more suited to open combat than assassination, and to intrigue rather than defense.
And the murky shadows cast by Claire's dark mana provided her with the perfect cover to conceal herself.
"C-Counter them! Get a spell ready, somehow—"
However, the situation was actually flowing more in the enemy's favor than it appeared.
Although Kellin's sword was cutting down the spirits one by one, the enemy elementalist was summoning them faster than she could slice through them.
It's overkill.
I could see the ominous dark mana clinging to her blade. If a human were struck by that sword, they would turn into a corpse in an instant, even if they were protected by a decent mana barrier.
But the enemy's spirits were of low quality.
It was a classic strategy for mediocre elementalists: overcoming quality with sheer quantity.
Yet, for an elementalist, it was a highly effective tactic.
Not every elementalist needed to be the strongest, capable of proving their worth anywhere and everywhere.
Simply multiplying trivial spirits like this was enough to overwhelm anyone who lacked mana.
Against minor bandits or goblin hordes, it was more than sufficient, provided the elementalist themselves wasn't caught in a surprise attack.
...My turn.
I silently cast a spell.
Thick dark mana surged from my hand and wrapped around Kellin's body.
It was a shield spell—a trivial thing that could block nothing but dark mana.
There weren't many protective spells a dark mage could cast on others, and this one was particularly useless.
A dark mage would inevitably succumb to stronger dark mana anyway. Simply blocking or dodging one more spell made no meaningful difference.
But if the attack to be blocked came from an ally, the story changed.
"Here I go!"
Claire cried out, unleashing her dark mana without restraint.
It wasn't enough to strain her body, but it was more than sufficient to suppress the enemies before us.
The dark mana rained down like bombs, staining the ground black.
"W-What is that?!"
"Block it! Just block it!"
The enemy priest and cleric desperately tried to ward off the impact, but it was futile.
It's a bit lacking... but no matter.
Had I cast that spell, I could have pressured them with far greater firepower and a faster casting speed.
But it didn't matter. At least, not for now.
Our party's firepower was already enough to overwhelm the enemy, and we had no need for excessive force.
This spell was the same. Fundamentally, it wasn't designed to decisively neutralize a small group of enemies, but rather to slaughter large numbers on a battlefield.
It applied equal pressure to a vast crowd, making it relatively low in lethality compared to other dark magic spells.
But that also meant it was safer.
"I-I can't hold on any longer!"
The elementalist, who seemed to have the lowest stamina, was the first to fall to her knees.
Spirits were linked to their summoner. Even if she could somehow endure Kellin's chilling strikes, she couldn't withstand the backlash of so many spirits being forcibly unsummoned in such a short span of time.
A barrier expanded around her—a shield that allowed neither dark mana to enter nor the elementalist's will to escape.
It was an artifact distributed beforehand by the Academy. Designed to prevent casualties in the tournament, it activated only when a cadet's life was in critical danger.
She was now out of the fight.
"We can't hold!"
"In that case... Haaah!"
Gritting his teeth, the enemy knight charged straight toward us.
A wise choice.
Focusing their attacks on Kellin was foolish. Quite a few spells and holy incantations had already been hurled at her, yet she was somehow holding her ground.
Even if they managed to bring her down, they were running out of time. With their elementalist out of commission, it was only a matter of time before the priest and mage fell.
"Take this!"
Furthermore, Kellin had penetrated deep into the enemy lines.
Once the remaining spirits were cleared, her blade would turn toward the priest and mage, but that was a foregone conclusion. They were going to fall anyway.
Even if the enemy knight clashed head-on with Kellin's devastating blade, he could only delay the inevitable. It wouldn't change the outcome of their defeat.
Therefore, he had to gamble.
Kellin couldn't protect us. The backline was exposed for both sides.
"Lilian?"
"I know, I'm ready!"
She hadn't been idling while the magic was flying.
She had been clearing the swarms of spirits with her arrows, keeping the enemy mage from casting spells in peace.
But her true value shone in urgent situations like this.
"Here it comes!"
She was an archer who had entered the Academy purely on merit, not bloodline.
For someone of her caliber, hitting a target like the charging knight at this distance was child's play.
"Ha!"
With a sharp cry, an arrow flew from her bow.
Most of the rapid-fire arrows deflected off his armor, but one managed to pierce a gap in the plates.
Providing a reliable level of stopping power at any given moment was the fundamental role of an archer.
"This is as far as you go," I muttered.
And when it came to casting speed, I was second to none.
A Dark Arrow shot from my hand, striking the charging knight squarely in the face.
"Match over!"
No one else was left standing. Our first match had ended in a clean victory.