Domination (4)
Crackle—!
Fierce sparks surge forward. Light flashes. The high-voltage current bleaches the entire field of vision white, then the bolts twist around each other and detonate. An intense flash hurtles straight toward him. It looked exactly like lightning striking the earth.
“My, my.”
Yuda barely ducks his head in time. The missed strike slams into the innocent floor, and a deafening roar follows right behind it.
Kwaaaaaang—!
The terrifying force shakes the entire arena. He had nearly been caught in the electrocution. Even though it looked like a casual grazing blow, the voltage was strong enough to knock out most students instantly.
Yuda calmly reset his stance.
“As expected, you truly aren’t an easy opponent.”
He muttered as if the situation were mildly troublesome. Ten minutes had already passed since the battle began. The duel had turned into a fierce, back-and-forth affair.
While brushing the soot from his fingertips, a figure suddenly emerged from the thick smoke. It was a boy wearing a relaxed expression.
“You’ve done nothing but run this entire time. Writhing around like a little snake—quite the spectacle.”
The provocation drifted over leisurely. Ian was smiling. Sparks crackled across both his hands. As he reloaded his magic, he pointed a finger at Yuda and spoke. The mockery was crystal clear.
“Didn’t expect to be pushed back this badly, did you?”
“Huhu… Well, I’m not so sure.”
Yuda gave a light shrug.
“I don’t believe I’ve been pushed back at all.”
“Isn’t it obvious from the way you keep avoiding a head-on fight? If you’re so confident, why not stop dodging and actually clash with me?”
“Please consider it part of my strategy.”
“Strategy? All you’ve done is scramble desperately to avoid me.”
Perhaps it was the resentment that had built up over time. Ian pressed his opponent harder than necessary. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this moment of dominance.
The boy deliberately put on an air of leisure.
“They may call you a genius among the freshmen, but in the end you’re nothing more than a novice.”
When he had first received the duel request, he couldn’t believe how ridiculous it was. A mere first-year brat daring to look down on him. He had wanted to crush him on the spot.
But.
“I am a man of exceptional patience.”
He had held back for the sake of perfect revenge. If one truly wished to trample another, the proper method was to break them so thoroughly they could never stand again.
Over the past several days, Ian had analyzed Yuda meticulously.
“Yuda Snakers.”
He was undoubtedly a boy blessed with outstanding talent. Whether it was magic, swordsmanship, or academics, he maintained the top position in every category. Yet there was one field where he shone most brilliantly.
Illusion magic.
“However.”
Ian had discovered the critical weakness.
“No matter how superb your illusions may be, they’re useless if I simply refuse to fall for them.”
All one had to do was avoid the spell. Of course, evading mental magic was easier said than done. It was only possible because it was Ian.
He was among the fastest in the entire academy. Especially when he wrapped his body in electric current, he could momentarily reach speeds comparable to the professors.
In short, it was an overwhelming compatibility.
“I wonder if you can even keep up with my speed?”
An opponent possessing both extreme speed and lethal explosive power. At least for Yuda, this matchup was nothing short of the worst possible nightmare.
“……”
The golden snake remained silent. He stood perfectly still, as though lost in thought, without the slightest twitch. Ian took it as a sign of fear. Lips dripping with arrogance curled into a sneer.
“Looks like you’ve finally grasped the situation.”
Crackle—! Ian leaped forward while releasing sparks. A streak of lightning shot forth.
“……!”
The snake, who had been standing in a daze, belatedly swung his sword. A blade forged from shadow collided with the flashing light and barely managed to deflect the attack’s trajectory. Even that simple action left the sword badly chipped.
Clang—!
Leaving the shattered black blade behind, Yuda drew a new sword. Ian charged without giving him any breathing room. The two collided at full strength.
For a while, sharp clashing sounds rang throughout the arena.
Clang! Zap! Crack…!
It was a close-quarters brawl. Light and darkness, refusing to yield even an inch, tore ferociously at each other. Their exchange of blows was so fast it was difficult to follow with the naked eye.
“Kuh…!”
Yet the snake was clearly growing exhausted. Although he was managing to hold his ground against Ian’s speed, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was slowly being dragged along. Simply defending against the relentless current already seemed to be taking everything he had.
“Haa… haa…!”
And so.
The scales of victory had completely tipped. Now it was time to drive in the final nail.
Ian created some distance, then began chanting for his finishing move. Dark clouds gathered above the arena.
“O sky of pouring rain.”
Ian-Style Lightning Magic Secret Art — Falling Thunder
“Strike without mercy.”
The moment the chant left his lips, thousands of lightning bolts rained down from the dark clouds.
Crackle—!
The beams of light poured down like rain. Between the forming cracks, pure white flashes erupted and blinded the spectators. Everyone in the stands had no choice but to cover their eyes.
Beeeeeeee—!
After the ringing in their ears faded, the students opened their eyes again and saw the snake kneeling on the floor. The fierce duel had reached its conclusion.
“……”
The boy, having taken a direct hit, couldn’t even utter a single word. Ian circled around his opponent. The thrill of finally trampling him brought mocking words spilling from his lips.
“You should have known better than to act up.”
“……”
“It’s too late for regrets. As the price for this duel, I intend to force your withdrawal from the academy. If you don’t like that idea, get on your knees and beg me all day long.”
“Pfft.”
“……?”
A sudden burst of laughter. The snake was smiling.
“What’s so funny?”
Had the pain driven him mad? Ian stood there frowning when the next sentence reached his ears, spoken clearly and without the slightest tremor.
“It really is quite amusing. To think you never noticed anything until the very end.”
He had just been fried by lightning, yet he spoke with perfect composure. The completely unexpected reaction left Ian frozen.
“I-it was definitely a direct hit! How are you still—!”
“Honestly, I’m rather disappointed.”
“What the hell have you been babbling about this whole time!”
“I expected you to show at least some sign of suspicion.”
Yuda leisurely dusted off his knees and stood up. Their eyes met. Ian unconsciously held his breath.
“You said that no matter how excellent illusion magic may be, it’s useless if the target doesn’t fall for it, correct?”
“……”
“Then allow me to ask you this.”
The eyelids that usually remained closed were now open. Bleached-white pupils. The boy, eyes gleaming with vivid light, asked.
“Exactly when did you start believing I had stopped using illusion magic?”
Crack. Craaaack—!
At the same time, fissures spread across the perfectly normal air. Like a mirror shattering. The scenery surrounding the two of them broke into countless pieces. An unbelievable sight. As the boy stared in utter shock, the snake murmured.
“Break.”
Snap—!
The inverted world flipped back into place.
Snap—!
When Ian regained his senses, he was standing in the circular arena—exactly where they had first faced each other. He had not taken a single step.
“……?”
The scene before his eyes felt perfectly natural. It was like waking from a dream. His confused mind tried to process what had happened, but he couldn’t make sense of it. His consciousness kept growing hazy.
“What… is this…?”
It had all been illusion magic. The close-quarters fight after the duel began, the way he had driven his opponent back with lightning, even the moment he claimed victory—everything had taken place inside an illusion.
In short, he had been toyed with.
“That’s impossible.”
In reality, nothing had happened. It was a fact he couldn’t accept. He tried to look around, but his body, which had frozen on its own, refused to obey. It felt as though he had lost all control.
“Why… won’t my body move?”
While he could barely move his lips, a voice suddenly spoke from beside him. Of course, it was the golden snake.
“Oh my~ Have you finally regained your senses?”
A bright, cheerful smile. He draped an arm around the shoulder of the statue-stiff Ian and continued with an ominous smile, kindly answering the question that must have been burning in his mind.
“Senior, you are already under hypnosis.”
“Hypnosis…?”
“It’s another application of illusion magic. Until I release you, you won’t be able to do anything.”
“Damn it… from the very beginning… you were just playing with me!”
“I simply went along with you at an appropriate level.”
“Shut the hell up!”
Ian exploded with rage, unable to accept what had happened. The shock of being trampled so effortlessly must have shattered his mentality. Of course, it was still too early for him to completely lose his mind.
“Please refrain from raising your voice like that, Ian Ternado.”
While the boy had been wandering lost inside the illusion, the snake had been deep in thought as well. How best to trample the opponent before him. How to most cruelly destroy that heart swollen with arrogance.
Fortunately, Yuda had just come up with the perfect method.
“A stage has been prepared especially for you.”
“Wait. What the hell are you planning to—!”
The snake lightly flicked his finger. Following the gesture, Ian’s frozen body began to move, walking step by step toward the center of the training ground. Before long he struck a pose while facing the spectator seats.
“Show them all.”
The students’ gazes poured down on Ian. Yuda wore a meaningful smile, as though he couldn’t be more pleased.
“Show them your passion.”
It didn’t take long for everyone to understand exactly what those words meant.
“……”
The students seated in the stands remained completely silent. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say they had simply lost the ability to speak. Every last one of them wore a rigid, frozen expression.
With cold eyes they stared at a single point—the center of the training ground.
There, a boy was screaming. His voice rang with utter despair. It was Ian Ternado, the very participant of this duel.
The arena that should have been filled with fierce combat had instead become a stage where the boy was…
Enthusiastically enjoying a dance party.
A truly tasteless dance routine unfolded. The boy shook his hips in an ugly manner, essentially giving every student watching a giant middle finger. He had been wriggling nonstop for a full hour.
Whenever he tried to signal surrender, his lips sealed shut on their own. The students could only stare.
Ian Ternado.
An elite exemplar who commanded countless followers and was praised as an obvious genius. A single hawk who reigned supreme over the entire second-year class.
“……”
His honor shattered in an instant. Even as he suffered social death, Ian continued his passionate twerking without pause. A single tear rolled down his cheek.
“Huhu.”
Only the mastermind who had orchestrated the entire board was smiling amid the chaos. It looked as though his dopamine levels were exploding.