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“Dara surpassing her limits and achieving the impossible…”
Leo spoke while looking straight at Chelsea, who was staring firmly at him.
“You know it’s not as easy as it sounds, right? Chelsea.”
Leo burst into laughter.
It was different from his usual gentle smile.
A sharp-edged laugh.
An overwhelmingly authoritative atmosphere that could raise the hairs on anyone’s arms just by facing it.
But.
‘I can’t keep acting like a spoiled brat!’
She resolved not to give up in order to gain recognition as a peer.
As if trying to detach herself from that role entirely.
She decided to chase after Leo, who was already far ahead.
Woooooosh-!
A strong wind blew around Chelsea.
Leo, who was observing Chelsea armed with the wind, tightened the reins.
Zzzzap-!
Arti unleashed a colossal lightning bolt while snorting and charged towards Chelsea.
Painting the sky with a streak of white light, Leo closed the distance to Chelsea in an instant.
Chelsea pointed her staff at Leo.
“Wind Scythe!”
As Chelsea’s spell was released, countless scythes of wind attacked Leo.
Kuwagagak-!
With ease, Leo maneuvered Arti to dodge hundreds of wind scythes.
Leo’s evasive maneuver, honed to perfection through Pegasi handling, approached a miraculous level.
Seeing that, Chelsea gripped her staff tightly.
‘I had already anticipated this well enough.’
No matter how many spells Chelsea cast, it would be difficult to overwhelm Leo.
The opponent was Leo Flove.
The possessor of overwhelming power.
Chelsea began her incantation.
Hwak-Hwak-Hwak-!
Chelsea’s body multiplied into several forms.
‘Wind Doppleganger.’
A spell that creates dopplegangers using her main attribute magic.
Among the second year students, Chloe was the best at doppleganger magic, and Chelsea came right after her.
Ten Chelseas simultaneously charged towards Leo.
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
‘Her doppleganger magic has improved even further.’
Leo was already familiar with Chelsea’s trump card.
It was Chelsea’s specialty to shake up opponents using dopplegangers in close combat.
‘There’s no way to distinguish between the real and fake based on the flow of magical power.’
The magic had become more refined.
Leo quickly glanced at the Chelseas.
“Wind Boom!”
As Chelsea’s spell completed, ten spells flew towards Leo.
For an instant, Leo’s red eyes glowed brightly.
Hwaaak-!
Just before reaching Leo, Chelsea’s spells transformed into a gentle breeze.
He neither defended nor dodged.
He outright nullified the spells themselves.
Chelsea’s specialty was high-speed incantation.
Naturally, the advantage of this was the ability to rapidly complete spells.
However, this method also had a notable disadvantage.
The incantation patterns were relatively simple.
Of course, even so, they weren’t that easily analyzed and nullified instantly.
For a magician at Chelsea’s level, the incantations used in high-speed incantations were complex.
‘But the opponent is Brother Leo.’
Chelsea gritted her teeth.
As a magician, there was a difference in ‘potential’ in battle.
And she was aware of that fact.
Flash-! Kuwagagagang-!
Leo emitted a white flash and charged at Chelsea.
Taking a deep breath, Chelsea’s eyes widened as she dispersed the dopplegangers.
“Wind Chain.”
Kigigigigik-!
Chains of wind extended from Chelsea’s staff and wrapped around Leo’s body.
Leo looked at Chelsea while being restrained.
Chelsea’s role wasn’t to defeat Leo.
It was simply to keep him tied up until Warden readied his attack.
She just had to delay Leo a little.
And so, this choice to prolong the time wasn’t bad at all.
“In most cases, you know.”
Kigigigig-! Kuwach-!
Leo used brute force to break the Wind Chain that was binding his left arm.
Then, grabbing onto the Wind Chain, he pulled one of Chelsea’s dopplegangers towards him.
Hwaaak-!
The doppleganger dangled in the air, helplessly flailing against Leo’s brutish strength.
Pueng-!
As Leo swung his hand, the doppleganger exploded like a bursting balloon and disappeared without a trace.
Leo’s unchanging, dry gaze landed precisely on one of the nine Chelseas.
‘Caught!’
Chelsea’s complexion changed.
“Even with a perfect doppleganger, finding the real one isn’t difficult.”
Guuk! Hwak-!
Leo grabbed the Wind Chain and pulled, bringing Chelsea towards him in an instant.
Dubbsek-!
“Gk!”
Leo grabbed Chelsea by the neck.
“Your movements give it away.”
Ddangh-!
“Guh!”
Leo tightened his grip on Chelsea’s neck, causing her to make an expression of pain.
“It’s over.”
At Leo’s calm words, Chelsea smirked.
“Hmph, you think… I’ll give up so easily?”
Uuung-!
Chelsea’s body glowed with arcane spell patterns.
Leo’s eyes flickered upon seeing that.
A powerful surge of magical energy erupted.
‘Self-destruction?’
“You’ll be the only one to face a d*ath penalty and that’s the end.”
“Of course, against Brother Leo, I need to take such risks.”
Chelsea grinned wickedly.
Her smile somehow reminded Leo of himself.
Looking at this Chelsea, Leo said,
“Excellent.”
Flash-! Kwang-!
Leo was engulfed by the explosion emanating from Chelsea’s body.
A momentary blaze of magical power.
The powerful explosion from close range made Leo feel dizzy.
The bracelet indicating his life force glowed an orange color.
As Leo looked towards Chelsea falling towards the ground,
‘She barely avoided a d*ath penalty.’
The magic that consumed all her magical energy to trigger an explosion was a gamble.
But it was also the most certain way for Chelsea to land a blow on Leo.
Leo looked up.
Kugugugung-!
The massive earth summoned by Warden crashed down on Leo momentarily.
Hwaaak-!
Abad, who had dispelled his wind magic, quickly descended to save Chelsea.
Chya-aaaak-!
Eliza’s Delphinus erected a wall of water to block Leo’s escape route.
In some way or another, they had prepared their ace, which struck Leo.
“Why do these kids grow up so fast?”
Leo laughed.
Just a year ago, they were inexperienced rookies.
‘Of course, they are still rookies… but.’
In merely a year, they had grown enough to confront trials with confidence.
For them, today must have been the worst day.
Leo’s classmates were different from him.
After countless trials and infinite despair, after losing everything, they had barely managed to subdue Erebus.
And these were still young teenagers in their mid-teens who hadn’t fully bloomed yet.
‘Their starting lines were different to begin with.’
To Leo’s classmates, Leo was an absolute wall they couldn’t surpass.
That’s why he had shown them consideration until now.
However…
‘There are some things you can only learn by stumbling and bowing.’
People call that a trial.
‘The way to stand up and raise your head is… something you can only learn by falling and bowing first.’
Leo thought it would take them more time to stand back up.
The difference he had shown them was of a desperate level.
But they overcame it in the blink of an eye.
Whether it was the fearless boldness of teenagers or merely childish rebellion—it was unclear.
But they were more capable than Leo had thought.
The classmates were strong and knew well how to face trials.
As Leo looked at the approaching mass of earth, he muttered,
“…I don’t intend to fall gracefully.”
Kuwagagak-!
The earth crashed down on Leo.
“B, Class Leader…”
Ilina collapsed onto the ground.
The same was true for other Gloria students.
On the other hand, Harmony and Noble students, who had been swept away by the tidal wave and placed in a position to be attacked, clenched their fists and cheered.
“K, it’s over!”
“This means Gloria is finished, right? Right?”
“Uooohhh!”
Selia and Duran also ceased their battle.
Chloe sighed while Chen Sia smiled faintly.
Chchchchaa-!
The water of Lake Lumeria, which Leo had controlled, gradually receded.
It wasn’t even at the scale of a landslide.
It was akin to a mountain being piled on top of them.
“Not a Mountain Attack but what in the…”
Kal looked irritated at the strategy crafted.
“It was a good strategy.”
Abad approached Kal with his characteristic smile while supporting the unconscious Chelsea.
“Cough! If we judge this opportunity to let Chelsea be declared dead, does our dorm win?”
“That’s true, but Duran or Eliza won’t forgive you.”
“Joke. Chelsea and Selia would also try to k*ll me, right? What’s the point of winning if I d*e even after succeeding?”
Kal collapsed onto the ground.
“My legs have gone limp.”
Warden and Eliza also approached Kal.
“Really… We almost won this half by luck. Leo insisted on frontal combat to crush us with force, which is why we barely survived.”
At Kal’s words, Warden looked towards where Leo had been buried.
“…There won’t be anything like this next time. Whether I win or lose, I’ll face him alone.”
“Hmph, agreed.”
“Ei, it was a great teamwork effort, don’t ruin it with too much negativity!”
Kal grinned in his usual carefree way.
However, Warden used a wind spirit to snatch Chelsea from Abad.
Abad and Eliza defended Kal instead.
“Since we’ve taken Leo Flove down, next are you guys.”
“Hmph. Since we’ve defeated Leo Flove, there’s no reason for us to cooperate with you anymore.”
Simultaneously, Warden and Eliza spoke.
At their words, Kal muttered.
“…I was deliberately avoiding saying that.”
“What?”
Abad asked with a puzzled look, to which Kal responded,
“Well, don’t you know? You often see it in novels. When they announce that they’ve defeated someone, the opponent hasn’t fallen yet…”
Kugugugugu-
“…and reappears…”
Kugugugung! Kwaaaaang-!
The earth that had buried Leo erupted.
Then Leo appeared on top of it.
A cold smile on his face as he emerged from the pile of rocks, Kal’s face turned deathly pale.
Warden, Abad, and Eliza instinctively took battle stances.
But seeing Leo appear with a menacing presence, they couldn’t help but show expressions of irritation.
“Good, so… Is there anything else?”
Leo laughed while raising his hand.
Hwarrrrrr-!
He unleashed an enormous surge of flames.
But this was his limit.
Warden, Abad, and Eliza— all had exhausted every ounce of their strength in the previous attack.
Leo’s bracelet indicating life force also glowed red.
However, the three of them couldn’t find the strength to protect the unconscious Chelsea and battle-weak Kal from Leo’s flames.
Shhh— Looking towards his friends, Leo spoke coldly.
“If there’s nothing else, let’s end this?”
At that terrifying sight, Kal murmured in despair.
“…At this level… he’s practically a Great Demon King.”
Kuwagagagagang-!
Leo’s flames engulfed the surroundings.
Chelsea opened her eyes.
‘Ward…?’
As Chelsea blinked, she suddenly sat up with a start.
“Counter Competition! Aargh?!”
She screamed urgently, only to let out a cry of pain as immense pain enveloped her body.
“Are you awake now?”
Celia, whose eyes were slightly red, asked.
To which Chelsea immediately asked,
“How did the counter competition go?”
“…”
Celia let out a small sigh and turned on the magical communication device installed in the ward.
Uuung-!
-The results, we will now award the MVP of this dormitory counter competition. This presentation, conducted by Professor Sedgen overseeing the second years, presents the plaque and trophy. MVP, Leo Flove, step forward.
Together with Runba’s voice, Leo’s ascent to the podium could be seen.
“The competition victory, congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“…We lost.”
Chelsea let out a bitter smile.
Seeing that, Celia stood up.
“Now that I know you’re awake, I’ll head back.”
“Yeah.”
While Chelsea replied without looking away from the screen,
Celia exited the room, and Chelsea tightly clenched her fists.
She had always been happy seeing Leo’s performances like they were her own.
But today…
She couldn’t win, despite her best efforts.
She knew there was a gap between herself and Leo.
Yet, even so…
‘It’s frustrating.’
Lowering her head and biting her teeth, Chelsea tried to hold back her tears.
In the hallway, Celia slapped her cheeks.
‘Don’t cry; crying won’t change anything.’
Taking deep breaths, Celia straightened her back.
Now was the time for her, as a direct descendant of Zerdinger, to congratulate her cousin Leo.
At the Noble Dormitory.
“Doo, Duran. Didn’t I tell you not to overdo it? Why are you doing this?”
“Shut up.”
In the training room, Duran was developing his strength even as a fellow dormitory member tried to dissuade him with a cold response.
“Abad~ we have a party today. Aren’t you getting ready? You’ve been reading your magic books since this morning. Although losing was frustrating… exams are over now, so let’s have fun.”
The Noble girls complained as they watched Abad reading magic books in the library of the Noble Dormitory, but Abad merely smiled in his usual way.
Eliza was upstairs in the Noble Dormitory, eyes closed, cultivating her spiritual energies.
Warden was resonating with the spirits inside the Harmony dormitory.
At the center of Lumeran, on the rooftop of the Hero’s Tower, Mel gazed down at the scenery of Lumeran, which had transformed into twilight as the sun set.
“You wanted… a hero of unyielding spirit who rises despite defeat and falls again only to rise…”
The great hero who berated himself for not being able to stand up.
The students should walk a different path than his own.
Hence, he left “Transcend your limits” for future generations.
“You’re ideals are still well conveyed to the next generations. So, please hold on just a little.”
Mel clenched her fist tightly, gazing at the twilight-lit Lumeran.
“Because the person you admired… will rescue you.”
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
