Chapter 255
Chapter 255
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 255
Chapter Title: A Different Sky (5)
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With Ataraxia, the reputation of Alpheas Magic Academy would skyrocket in an instant. Furthermore, with Olina's power, it would even be possible to topple the stronghold of the Royal Magic Academy.
Having thought that far, Alpheas spoke in a low voice.
“Thadd.”
Thadd approached and bowed his head.
“Yes, Master.”
“Go and retrieve the black box from Number 2000 immediately. It must not be given to anyone. And destroy it in front of Shirone. Make absolutely sure he witnesses its destruction.”
“Understood.”
Thadd replied without a word of complaint and lowered his head.
The crystal sphere on his bracelet was also destroyed.
Since this was something that had never happened while managing Number 2000, he sensed the situation could become more serious than expected.
Of course, the more the incident grew, the more famous the academy would become, but if it was Alpheas's order, there was no need for personal thoughts.
Olina's fierce gaze turned to one of bewilderment.
She had long known he was uncompromising, but she hadn't expected him to make such a rigid decision.
“Are you sure? The black box contains all the data from this duel. Dante's Pascal, and of course, Shirone's magic circles. Just making a copy would be a great help. Even if the kingdom classifies it, they would pay a fortune to acquire it.”
Olina subtly tested the waters, but Alpheas didn't even hesitate.
“It belongs to Shirone. No one should be allowed to access the data without his permission.”
“But Shirone might give his permission. Think about it. He might make the decision for the prosperity of his alma mater, and above all, it's a contribution to the magical community. Shirone himself has benefited from the achievements of countless genius mages.”
Olina’s point was, in a way, correct. Without the noble sacrifices, challenges, efforts, and talents passed down from previous generations, human magic would not have developed this far.
That was why Alpheas himself had submitted his thesis on quantum theory, which had revolutionized photon magic, to the nation as if it were an offering.
But Alpheas's mind was unchanged.
“As long as Shirone is alive, he can make that choice anytime. But not now. He can decide for himself when he feels it's truly necessary. Presenting him with the option like this is no different from forcing his hand.”
Olina clicked her tongue with a ‘tch.’ He was as stubbornly principled now as he had always been.
*Then again... that's why I liked him.*
Although the duel was over, not a single student left their seat.
They were waiting for the highlight of this duel: to see the sight of Dante kneeling before Shirone.
However, Dante, the loser, was not easily regaining consciousness despite the teachers’ healing magic.
Savina shook her head, her voice choked with tears.
“Dante... lost. No, this can't be happening. He's defeated so many strong opponents. His undefeated record can't be broken at a countryside school like this.”
“Savina, calm down. Right now, let's just hope Dante is okay.”
Closer grabbed Savina's shoulder to calm her down. But Savina, already overwhelmed with emotion, could not accept reality.
Isn't there a day like that in life? A day where unexpected variables that defy common sense keep popping up, messing everything up.
For Dante, today was that day.
“Dante is invincible! His sync rate was only 50 percent. At the Royal Magic Academy, he's even fought with it set to 100 percent! There's no way he'd lose to a country bumpkin like that!”
“Hmph, even so, it's just a simulation.”
At Canis's words, Savina whipped her head around.
“What?”
“Dante's never fought a giant. Or an archangel.”
“What are you talking about? I won't tolerate you mocking Dante!”
“I'm asking if he's ever risked his life fighting an enemy he could never hope to beat. It doesn't matter if it's Number 2000 or a 100 percent sync rate. A real battle isn't like that.”
Savina ground her teeth.
Amy continued.
“Dante doesn't know real combat. Of course, his skills are more than enough to work in a real fight. But Shirone has risked his life every step of the way to get here.”
Canis nodded.
“Number 2000. It's similar to a real battle. But it's not a real battle, is it? Things like that aren't very interesting. Do you know what it means to put your life on the line? When you're standing on the boundary between life and death, your thoughts freeze, and the only thing you can think about is wanting to live. Maintaining your reason and fighting in that kind of situation—that's a real battle.”
Savina fumed like a child. Having been beaten by Nade, she could understand the situation Canis was describing.
But they didn't know the resolve with which Dante had fought.
Even if they dismissed it as a simulation, even if they mocked him for only fighting opponents he could beat, one fact remained unchanged.
To Dante, the duels in Number 2000 were his entire life.
Tears welled up in Savina's eyes.
“No. That's not true. Dante... Dante really did fight with his life on the line.”
A silence hung in the air for a while. Even Shirone's friends no longer wanted to mock Dante's group.
No, to be honest, the annoyance that had built up over the semester as they ran rampant couldn't be resolved by this alone.
But Dante was strong. Strong enough that it was a pleasure to have him as a rival competing on the same level. Although he had lost to Shirone, in the end, he had saved his friends' faces before collapsing.
After an awkward silence, Dante finally regained consciousness.
The students, who had been chattering excitedly, all fell silent and turned their heads toward Number 2000.
Savina and Closer felt a pang of regret. They had hoped he would remain unconscious for the rest of the day, but the problem was that the student with the strongest defense also had a fast recovery.
As Shirone approached, the students held their breath. Dante struggled to look up at Shirone, but finding it too difficult, he lowered his head again. Then he began to mutter something to himself.
Shirone waited in silence.
Finally, Dante stopped muttering and raised his head again.
There would be no more exchange of information. The winner and loser had been decided, and all that was left was to collect the spoils.
“Kill me.”
Dante made a shocking declaration.
Shirone's lips tightened as he glared at Dante.
Murmurs spread through the crowd. No one had expected him to choose death over kneeling.
Comments about him being childish or unmanly and stubborn began to flow.
But Savina knew. Dante's words were neither stubborn nor a childish outburst.
-I'm going to become the greatest mage. To do that, I have to train in Number 2000 as if it were a real battle.
-But Dante, no matter what, Number 2000 is a simulation. There are judgments, and it's bound to be different from a real battle.
Savina could never forget what Dante had said back then.
-I suppose so. But I can't become a great mage by training the same way as other students. So I've made a decision. If I ever lose in Number 2000, it will mean my death.
Of course, they were young.
Savina had also thought it was merely a resolution to steel his determination before a match.
But as time passed, she came to understand Dante's sincerity.
Over the course of 150, then 200 matches, there had been many situations where he could have lost.
But in the end, Dante had always emerged victorious.
As he surpassed 400 matches, Dante must have felt those words becoming a blade, pushing him to the edge.
As a result, Dante grew rapidly, achieving the phenomenal record of 472 wins and 0 losses.
Alpheas sensed that things were taking a serious turn.
“To think he was harboring such thoughts.”
He glanced at Olina, but she too shook her head as if she had no idea. She had never imagined Dante was truly staking his life on the duels. The will to become the greatest mage was admirable, but for an 18-year-old boy, this resolve had gone too far.
Then it suddenly dawned on him.
Because he was an 18-year-old boy, the pressure to defend his top position would have been all the greater.
Being featured in magazines, revered by all students, and defeating rivals—how could it have all been pleasant?
There was no doubt that his own responsibility played a part in Dante's extreme choice.
As if to prove he was not lying, Dante spoke once more.
“Kill me. I have never once imagined losing to anyone. This is my defeat. If you don't want to dirty your hands, I'll do it myself. But I will never kneel to you.”
Shirone lowered his head and let out a sigh.
Dante was making a grave mistake. How he treated his own life was his business, but once spoken aloud, it could become a wound to some and a source of anger for others.
“Because you lost... you're going to die?”
“Yes. That was my resolve coming into this duel.”
“Why? Who the hell do you think you are?”
The students' eyes widened in surprise. Dante trembled with humiliation. But at this moment, the person with the most intense emotions was Shirone.
“You so easily demand others to kneel, but you can't even do that yourself?”
“Don't be absurd. I truly staked my life. I'm telling you that I, who could have been your lifelong rival, will disappear of my own accord.”
“Are you that great?”
Dante's expression twisted again. He had fought a good fight, despite his loss. He thought Shirone, of all people, would understand his feelings.
“I believe I lived up to the name of the kingdom's greatest talent. Of course, I'm not making excuses. But it's not like you beat me easily, right?”
“The kingdom's greatest? So what can you do? Can you stop a war?”
“What?”
“If you're so great, then try changing even one little thing. You can't do anything. So what gives you the right to stake your life on a defeat?”
Dante's expression contorted, but Shirone continued his barrage, indifferent.
“You can't stop war, or famine, or civil unrest, nothing. And yet, what? The kingdom's greatest? You think you're so great?”
Dante's breath grew ragged. Every word Shirone spoke stabbed into his mind, his chest, his heart like a dagger. He was falling. Something that constituted his very being was plummeting into an abyss.
“Even if you die, the world won't change. No one will think twice about your death.”
Dante couldn't take it anymore. At this rate, he felt he would hit rock bottom.
“Shut up! You're getting arrogant just because you won once! You want to go for real this time?”
“Dante.”
Shirone looked at him with pity in his eyes.
“You're just a human.”
Dante's face turned pale. He felt as if the shell that had enveloped him was shattering into pieces.
Suddenly, Canis's words came to mind.
-You're going to feel what it's like to be trampled to the very depths of the abyss you can't even imagine.
He shouldn't have picked a fight in the first place. Canis's words had not been an exaggeration in the slightest.
“Not even a great mage, no, no person can change the world alone. Because we're human. That's why you have no right to die.”
The students fell into a solemn silence. Even those who had mocked Shirone as a coward for refusing to fight Dante were the same.
The title of the kingdom's greatest talent.
It was certainly a dream-like name for an aspiring mage. But from a distance, it was nothing more than a sub-human concept created by the hands of other humans.
“That boy...?”
Olina asked Alpheas. Shirone's identity would be detailed in his student records, but that wasn't what she wanted to know.
Alpheas finally revealed the truth.
“Shirone... met Miro. And in heaven, he met the archangel Ikael.”
Olina turned her head, a look of shock on her face.
Alpheas nodded with a bitter smile.
“Yes. He's one of the few humans who knows the truth.”
Olina was lost in deep thought.
Even now, this world was being sustained by a single mage.
Because he knew that fact, all the affairs of human society must have seemed even more trivial in Shirone's eyes.
“He's a strong kid. Most would have been terrified or resigned.”
“He wasn't always like this. He used to be a shy, quiet boy.”
Alpheas recalled the day he met Shirone. The twelve-year-old boy who had pressed his ear against the wall to audit his class had now grown into a promising talent who could hold his own anywhere in the kingdom.