The Persistent Inferno
The volcanic zone, with its high average temperatures, further amplified the power of Aaron Dice's flame magic. However, this characteristic of the volcanic terrain did not work entirely in his favor.
It's a bit dizzying.
Aaron Dice's countermeasure for the team capture match was to detect opponents by sensing heat through magic. But this place was a volcanic zone where every terrain's temperature exceeded the average. Naturally, distinguishing people required far more concentration.
If I'd known this terrain would appear, I should have prepared another method.
He had thought this would suffice and handled it too complacently. Aaron smiled bitterly at his own negligence, thinking he still had a long way to go.
Whoosh.
In contrast to his leisurely thoughts, the area in front of Aaron was utterly devastated. Explosions raged. The crimson flames that struck the ground collided a second time with the boiling lava, rapidly spreading their heat in all directions. Waves of fire surged violently, leaving the enemies no chance to escape. Togun frowned as he watched that merciless force, which permitted not even a scream.
"He's still incredible, that senior."
"Yeah."
Jeon nodded in agreement beside Togun. Honestly, Jeon could not see Aaron at all. The distance between Aaron and them was completely beyond Jeon's detection range. Yet he could clearly sense that Aaron Dice was right in front of them. The already sweltering temperature of the volcanic zone was surging exponentially right ahead.
"I think I can manage to close the distance, at least."
Togun calculated the gap in a low voice. No matter how intense the crimson flames were, the Anti-Magic Sword should be able to cut through them. With explosive leg strength, he could charge forward, and even the great Aaron Dice would have no choice but to allow him that opening. But that would be the end of it. If Togun entered within a certain range, Aaron Dice would notice his presence, and all the effort of closing the distance would be wasted as he would immediately be forced onto the defensive. There was no benefit to be gained from breaking through the flames at such cost.
Where are the other seniors?
More than anything, the fact that the student council president was alone there bothered him. Where were Senior Sylvia and Senior Baraki? Just as Togun turned his head this way and that to find their whereabouts—
Twitch!
Was it a coincidence? For some reason, he felt as if he had met Aaron's eyes from afar. The moment he saw Aaron extend his hand toward their location, Togun realized it had not been an illusion.
He detected us from this far away?
Is he insane?!
Startled, Togun grabbed Jeon by the scruff of the neck before the latter could even grasp the situation and leaped down behind a rock.
Boom!
The instant Togun jumped down, a fireball Aaron had launched struck the rock they had been sitting on. The explosion shattered the stone. Togun, who had protected Jeon by embracing him as they rolled across the ground, lifted his head—covered in scratches—and looked ahead.
"It was hard to find you because everything around here is so hot. In a normal terrain, I would have spotted you much earlier. This volcanic zone really makes it difficult to detect opponents if they aren't moving. At least it's fortunate that this is a virtual world with no monsters or other lifeforms besides the participants."
"From the way you moved, you're the junior, right? There aren't many mages who can move that nimbly."
Watching Aaron approach leisurely, Togun drew the sword at his waist. The blade was so sharp it seemed it would cut anything it brushed against. The mere act of drawing it created the illusion that the surrounding temperature had dropped slightly.
"You're not taking out the hidden sword?"
Yet Aaron tilted his head in puzzlement at the sight. The Masao family's heirloom, the Anti-Magic Sword that could sever all mana—if Togun did not draw that, he could never defeat him.
"Or are you saving it because you can't use it for long?"
Had he already analyzed Togun thoroughly through the long mock matches? Togun gripped the sword hilt tightly as he looked at Aaron, who stood relaxed while pointing out the Anti-Magic Sword's drawbacks.
Huff.
He exhaled. In an instant, the air inside his body escaped outward. Then, holding his breath and widening his eyes, Togun—
Whoosh!
Took the iron sand Jeon had scattered beforehand as a signal. The grains rose like snakes and rushed violently toward Aaron, and Togun dashed forward at high speed.
A surprise attack?
It was certainly difficult for his detection ability to sense something that was not a living being. It was not as if he could see mana directly like Chris. Thinking it was quite an efficient ambush, Aaron rolled his right foot once.
Whoosh!
Crimson flames bloomed around him. Before the iron sand, vibrating strongly from Jeon's mana, could even touch Aaron's body, it melted into molten metal and dripped to the ground. Flames of extreme heat that erased even magnetism. Aaron kicked off the molten metal flowing across the ground like lava and leaped sideways, dodging Togun's attack.
He drew it.
In his right hand was a sword that had not been there moments ago. A blade that rejected all surrounding mana and created a void where nothing existed. The Masao family's heirloom, the Anti-Magic Sword. Holding that in his right hand and the sword Jealousy had given him in his left—two swords in total—Togun glared at Aaron. From the very start, he seemed intent on going all out as he lunged sideways toward Aaron and thrust his left hand forward rapidly.
Slash!
Aaron tilted his head. A blue sword strike passed by, severing a few strands of his red hair. Even with his eyes closed, that chilling sensation made Aaron's spine tingle.
That's a fine sword.
Was it a magical tool imbued with cutting magic? No, if that were the case, he would not have been able to perform the feat of using it alongside the Anti-Magic Sword. It might have been one of the artifacts created in the ancient fallen Tyrfing.
Whoosh!
Aaron radiated flames from his palm. Using the flames for propulsion, he spun in midair. After completing one rotation, he swung the flames gathered in his other hand straight at Togun.
"……"
Though he had launched a surprise attack, Aaron soon had no choice but to retract it quickly. The sword strike Togun had just thrust was now swinging back at him from an unexpected angle. Assassination swordsmanship. The basic sword art of Cheonsal, designed to take an opponent's life from any posture or situation. Normally, swordsmen would avoid twisting their wrists grotesquely out of fear of joint damage, but Togun, who had learned the sword from Jealousy, paid no heed to such things.
Slash!
Just as he had when spinning his body, Aaron radiated flames and quickly vacated the spot. A sword strike immediately cleaved through the space where Aaron had been. Afterward, Aaron launched a massive fireball at Togun from range, but the attack was effortlessly neutralized by the Anti-Magic Sword.
As expected, this won't be easy.
A bitter smile formed on Aaron's lips. He turned his head to the right. An afterimage of flames scattered around him. He leisurely dodged a lightning bullet piercing through them.
One in front, and another in the rear?
It was like a coordinated assault between a martial artist and a mage. The balance was far too perfect. It was hard to believe this was an Academy Tournament participated in solely by mages.
Is Junior Arina not here?
Was she hiding? Or had she left the team due to circumstances? It did not matter either way. He had briefly held back, wondering if she might be present, but he had already clearly detected that she was not in the vicinity.
Now I should start moving more aggressively.
With that thought, Aaron's mana surged dramatically in an instant. Even Togun, who had been charging fiercely with the Tiger step of the Beast Imitation Footwork, trembled at the vast amount of mana. Simultaneously, an explosive heat burst outward from Aaron, instantly enveloping the entire surrounding area.
The Masao sword art "Vertical Cleave"—Togun's right hand, swung downward vertically, sliced through the wall of flames blocking the front. But the endless waves of fire instantly filled the empty space once more. The flames, which had gone beyond orange and were now speckled with white. These flames, which carried none of the virtual world's artificiality and had clearly manifested in reality, were hot enough to burn Togun's skin.
The Masao sword art "Horizontal Cleave"—martial arts was the study of learning the world through the body. Therefore, every single movement contained countless subtleties. In that sense, the Masao family's swordsmanship could not truly be called martial arts. It was a sword art forged by endlessly repeating fundamentals to the extreme with a body incapable of handling mana. If Vertical Cleave was the movement that perfected vertical slashing, Horizontal Cleave was the result of perfecting horizontal slashing.
Whoosh!
A gap opened in the densely packed flames surrounding Togun's attack. Before the opponent could fill that gap again, Togun swiftly swung his left hand. Assassination sword "Throw"—the sword left Togun's hand and shot toward Aaron like an arrow. Aaron jerked his head back greatly to avoid the blade flying toward his forehead. As a result, his center of balance collapsed. Beast Imitation Footwork "Tiger"—Togun seized the moment Aaron's balance broke and dashed forward at high speed. The rough footsteps of a beast that had spotted its prey. With both hands gripping the Anti-Magic Sword tightly, Togun thrust it forward.
The Masao sword art "Piercing Thrust"—vertical slash, horizontal slash, and then a thrust. Feeling the attack flying sharply like a beast's fang, Aaron extended his left hand forward.
Whoosh!
Flames condensed into a single point. The flames, compressed to instantly raise their temperature by one stage and burning white, erupted toward Togun. But Togun did not panic upon seeing the attack. No matter how powerful it was, it was ultimately magic. He was confident that this sword, which could sever even the concepts of an 8-star transcendent, would not fail to cut it.
"……!"
But that confidence shattered into pieces shortly after. The flames that maintained their form even after colliding with the Anti-Magic Sword. Togun's eyes widened at the sight.
How is this possible?
The magic did not disappear. Had the student council president ultimately overcome even the Masao family's curse? No, that could not be. No matter how much of a genius he was, if a curse could be broken by a mere 4-star mage, the renowned mages of the Magic Tower would not have been troubled by it for centuries.
The curse is still intact.
The fact that the aftereffects of the white flames, which looked as if they would incinerate his entire body just by looking at them, did not greatly affect him proved it. The opponent's magic had certainly been erased. Yet the reason the opponent's magic did not disappear was simple. The magic was being reconstructed faster than the speed at which it was being erased.
Boom!
An unexpected contest of strength. And no matter how much Togun had trained his body to rival a martial artist, he could not withstand the power of magic. Togun was sent flying backward pathetically and rolled across the ground. As the distance between them widened once more, Togun spat the blood pooled in his mouth onto the ground and spoke.
"I always thought you fought wisely, but you're fighting in a more brutish way than I expected."
Reconstructing magic faster than it could be destroyed. It was easy to say, but the amount of mana required for that would be beyond imagination. It was a mad act possible only because he possessed mana affinity similar to Arina's.
"Honestly, I couldn't think of any other way to block it. I'm glad it's working as well as I thought."
Aaron Dice's specialty was powerful attacks that swept across a wide area all at once. In other words, the range Togun could cut was wider than that of other mages. The target was unnecessarily large. There were two main ways to solve that problem. Either artificially shape the magic to reduce its size like Chris, or continuously regenerate it by pouring in mana so it would not be erased, like now. Aaron had chosen the latter.
Now what do I do?
Togun licked his lips, which were drying out from the intense heat. Aaron's magic could no longer be cut away by the Anti-Magic Sword. The only remaining option was to cling on as tenaciously as possible until Aaron's mana ran out.
This is the worst.
And that was the worst possible choice in this situation, where they needed to quickly defeat Aaron in a blitz while Arina bought time against Chris. A dead-end cliff they had been driven to in an instant. In the midst of the blazing flames, Togun merely gripped the Anti-Magic Sword pointed at Aaron even tighter.