Chapter 80
Celine Euse had been feeling deeply troubled lately. As the representative of the Martial Festival, she was under immense pressure from everyone's expectations, and on top of that, that rascal Mars was off gallivanting with other women without a care in the world.
She was terribly anxious and afraid that if she got knocked out before the quarterfinals in this duel, the way he looked at her would change.
'Come to think of it, his eyes looked a bit strange when he saw that woman Prazia earlier... or was it just my imagination?'
Of course, it wasn't the vibe of falling in love or anything, but he seemed to know who she was, and compared to the other duels, he'd paid a little more attention to Prazia's match. That was enough to nag at Celine.
And it made sense—Prazia was an incredibly attractive woman, even in Celine's eyes. She appeared aloof and indifferent at first glance, but that only added to her allure. And those breasts! They were so enormous that Celine, as a fellow woman, felt an acute sense of defeat, like a cow had busted out of the farm.
"Next up: Celine Euse, the magical prodigy of Amor Academy! Versus Trié Evolina, vice-head of the magic department at Bellum Academy!"
At the announcer's crisp call, Celine headed to the stage, scanning the crowd for her club members amid the familiar cheers with practiced ease.
'Pfft! What the hell is that?!'
Amid the familiar cheers from her club members, one person stood out ridiculously. Mars was waving a glowing stick and shaking his hips energetically in support. Twisting his head side to side and spinning his body in circles, his form had a strange dignity to it while being utterly comical.
She caught glimpses of people around him staring oddly or snickering, but Mars didn't care—he even got Polo to join in on the bizarre cheering.
Celine felt her somewhat deflated spirits lift from his steady words of encouragement, now fully relaxed by Mars's outrageous cheer dance.
"You're that genius lady I've only heard about, right?"
"?"
As she smiled to herself, lost in thoughts of Mars, her opponent spoke up. The problem was the tone—it wasn't friendly.
"Heh, looks like all that pampering's given you too much confidence. Forfeit before you get humiliated. I don't wanna see an imperial lady rolling around pathetically."
It was a novel experience for Celine to have a total stranger spew hostility at her like this. She recalled that Trié was from Bellum Academy, and with the fierce rivalry between the two schools, students probably hated losing to each other.
Still, did it warrant this level of animosity? Celine thought, then let out a smirk.
"You laughing? Laughing at me?!"
Of course she was. The childish spite from this peer was laughably cute and insignificant compared to the seething madness and killing intent of true monsters.
"You know what? I'll talk casual since you started it."
"Wh-what-!?"
"I've noticed this in life: weak dogs always bark the loudest."
"You-!?"
Trié surged forward in fury but barely stopped herself, reason holding her back from rash action in this public venue.
Celine wondered why this stranger hated her so openly. Had she said something rude to Trié before? As she pondered, Trié glanced where Celine had been looking.
"Oh, what's that? Ha. Guess Amor isn't all that either, if idiots like him attend."
Trié's gaze was clearly on Mars, and Celine felt a vein throb on her forehead.
"What?"
"I said it already. Look at that retard cheering like a moron. What's he doing, flailing like a squid in a net? Calling that support? He's gotta be a special kind of dumbass."
"...Ha."
Piiiik-!
As Trié gloated at Celine's reaction and opened her mouth for more abuse, the referee's whistle blew, starting the duel.
"Haha! Die!"
Trié unleashed a fierce stream of flames right away.
'I know her specialty is ice magic!! Ice can't beat fire!!'
According to her intel, Celine's forte was ice shaping magic—perfectly countered by Trié's high-output flames.
'Haha!! Melt away!!'
Trié smirked smugly, staring ahead, envisioning her perfect victory—
"...Huh?"
Only to see Celine's ice shield standing firm, solidly blocking the flames.
"What? Why isn't it melting...? How...?"
"You know what?"
Celine dispelled the shield, exhaling frosty breath as she glared at Trié. Frost clung to her red hair, making her look like an ice fairy descended to earth.
"Magic using natural elements like ours depends purely on the caster's ability for its power. With superior mana and control, ice—or even grass—can block fire."
Magical phenomena differ from natural ones. More mana extends duration; precise control lets you freeze or burn only what you want.
'What? You mean I'm—'
"It means I'm a better mage than you."
"!!"
Crack—crackle—
Celine's breath spread across the arena.
"Ngh!!"
Trié warded off the frost with flames, but that wasn't Celine's plan.
Crunch—crunch—
Frost settled on the arena floor, sprouting ice shards that grew into statues resembling Celine. Filling the field, their expressionless faces added an eerie vibe, each pulsing with mana, making it impossible to spot the real one.
Trié panicked, eyes darting where Celine had been—but nothing remained.
Whoosh-!
"Ngh!!"
Fwoosh!
Mana surged; an ice chunk flew from behind. Trié melted it desperately with fire.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
The barrage accelerated, overwhelming her magic with sheer volume.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
"Kyaa!!! It hurts!! Stop... stop itttttt-!!!!!!"
Not lethal but irritatingly painful, it enraged Trié. She poured most of her mana into a massive flame burst across the arena, melting incoming ice and statues alike.
But
"...Gone?"
No sign of Celine anywhere.
Swoosh—
"En...d?"
Dazed, Trié noticed a massive shadow beneath her and looked up slowly.
"Hi~"
There stood Celine atop an ice platform, conjuring a colossal ice block midair.
Swoosh-!
"No-!!"
As the giant ice plummeted, Trié instinctively raised her arms, blasting flames skyward.
"It's melting!! Melti—"
BAM!!
Another ice chunk sideswiped her, sending her head flying out of the arena.
"Falling for such a simple feint. Try widening your view next time."
Her advice fell on deaf ears as Celine claimed victory triumphantly.
Without thinking, Celine turned to Mars, flashing her brightest smile ever at his cocky thumbs-up and grin, all tension melting away.
* * *
As the lady's duel ended, Saintess Hertia arrived at the location scribbled on a secretly passed note.
'How did they even... and why summon me here?'
During the viewing, she'd felt a odd sensation near her pocket and found an unfamiliar note. Written on fine paper, it specified only a place and time within the academy.
If even Aura Lord Mars hadn't noticed, it meant they'd approached when she was apart from him. Guessing who, she came alone to meet them.
Normally she'd consult Mars for safety, but feeling indebted to him already—and believing they wouldn't harm her—she'd slipped away using the bathroom as an excuse.
"It's been a while, Saintess."
"You all."
As expected, they were from the Goddess Church. She'd heard they'd attend the festival, but not that they'd approach her on day one.
She knew they weren't tied to her betrayers, but the deep scar lingered, making her wary despite herself.
Sensing her caution, the priests hesitated, looking troubled.
"Please leave. I haven't forgiven you yet."
As Hertia turned to walk away proudly—
"We came here to bring you and that man together."
"!!"
"Won't you hear us out, just once?"