“Upon Amy’s declaration of victory, Benar wore a dumbfounded expression.”
“Even if it were Carlos, he couldn’t say such a thing to me.”
“Gazing at her unwavering face, Benar soon gripped his glaive tightly and smirked.”
“That’s some confidence. How about we see what you’re made of?”
With that, Benar kicked off, shaking off the heavy atmosphere.
Amy calmly summoned mana.
“Not bad. You’re fast despite looking so weighed down.”
“Would a knight let himself be unable to wield his own weapon?!”
Benar twisted his whole body and brought the glaive crashing down on Amy’s head with the force to cleave through a mountain.
But Amy activated magic with an unshaken gaze.
[Fire Magic: Mirage Overture]
Sssshh-
The moment the glaive struck, Amy distorted into a blue flame.
The attack Benar was sure had landed merely split the flames in vain. It was the Mirage Overture—a fire magic fused with Earl’s signature illusion magic.
“Hmph. Is this a clone magic? Though it feels… different.”
At that moment, the blue flames split into two and clung to him.
“This much… Haaah!”
With a yell, Benar shook off the clinging flames and turned toward the direction where a presence was felt. He saw countless fiery arrows raining down on him.
“…Damn it.”
Biting his lip, Benar swung his glaive with all his might like a spinning windmill, but having been outmaneuvered, he couldn’t block everything. In the end, he had no choice but to allow a few hits.
“Pretty good, but you don’t seem stronger than Carlos…”
“Hohoho…”
Benar, with flaming arrows piercing his limbs, emitted a strange laugh. Despite clearly being all bluff, Amy furrowed her brow when she noticed not a single wound remained after the flames faded.
“How could this be…”
No matter how much she held back, her magic wasn’t weak enough to leave not even a minor burn. Benar grinned and said,
“Surprised? Makes sense. Everyone who sees it for the first time is astonished. Talking about my steel-like physique here.”
“You used the magic from the preliminaries. Otherwise, there’s no way you can harm me.”
Amy said nothing. She only furiously analyzed the phenomenon, her mind racing.
‘Not divine power. If it were, the Mirage Overture would’ve worked. Could it be a hidden magical device?’
She briefly considered it but shook her head. A royal mage wasn’t someone to underestimate. Moreover, under the watchful eye of Archmage Balkan, father of the girl competing, it was unlikely he’d tolerate any foul play.
‘Then what explains this unnatural recovery ability…’
As if reading her complex thoughts, Benar spoke up.
“No amount of brainstorming will help. Lady, it’s not some cheat you’re thinking of. This is my innate ability.”
“Innate ability?”
Benar didn’t answer because he couldn’t. He didn’t know much himself.
Born with superhuman strength and healing since childhood, Benar Lafont, current heir of the Lafont baron family, saw his father investigate every possible reason, but no one could uncover the cause. Thus, Benar knew nothing about his own abilities.
“Hmph.”
Suppressing it with a laugh, Benar swung his glaive.
Whoosh—
A swing so heavy it made Amy’s bangs flutter slightly from afar, sheer brute force alone creating devastating power. Even one-handed, Benar pointed the glaive at Amy and shouted,
“Give it your all! I won’t fall unless you use more than just the magic you showed in the preliminaries!”
“…Arrogant.”
Amy narrowed her eyes and muttered. Unconcerned, Benar charged at her again.
“Of course, I won’t just sit around and let you cast spells!”
Though crude, the sheer brute force behind each swing was overwhelmingly powerful, perhaps even surpassing Ariana’s Moonlight Swordplay in raw destructive power.
“If you want to see, I’ll show you.”
Amy’s eyes blazed crimson as she calmed her mind.
[Bloodline Liberation: Helios’ Fire Eye]
“I won’t take responsibility if you die.”
Contrasting the roaring mana, a chilling smile appeared on her face.
***
“Hmm, how does my son-in-law view this situation?”
“Since you put it that way, people might misunderstand… Eh, never mind, fine.”
No matter how much I argued, Balkan’s shamelessness was unmatched. Arguing would only make my mouth sore. Ignoring the word ‘son-in-law,’ I responded to Balkan’s question.
“Amy fell for the provocation. She didn’t need to reveal the Fire Eye so hastily.”
Now that I had removed the large window obstructing the stadium, eavesdropping on their conversation wasn’t difficult. The reason for removing the window? Simply because Balkan wanted to immerse himself more deeply in Amy’s match.
Whatever the reason, Black Wolf, Balkan, and I had heard their entire exchange.
“That’s right. Amy takes after me and has a bit of a fiery temper. Adorable, but she doesn’t have to resemble me in that aspect.”
“The Fire Eye has a time limit, right?”
“Yes. Even I, as an Archmage, struggle to maintain it for over a day. Ah, consider this insider information. Special treatment for being my son-in-law.”
“…Ah, yes.”
When Balkan unleashed the Fire Eye, enduring for a day might be questionable, but I nodded nonetheless.
“At Amy’s current level, probably… ten minutes, right? Correct?”
“Yes. Precisely ten minutes and thirteen seconds. She recently broke her record.”
“Haha, impressive. Looks like my son-in-law’s teaching skills deserve recognition. Even I couldn’t last more than ten minutes at her age.”
While not particularly curious, this served as a benchmark showcasing Amy’s extraordinary talent. Quite informative indeed.
“This aura-blocking barrier is impressive too. Never heard or seen anything like it. Better than soundproofing magic.”
Balkan looked around curiously. I shrugged and replied,
“If we used soundproofing magic, the purpose of removing the window would be lost.”
“To be honest, this is a technique I just tried for the first time.”
The reason was simple. With the window gone, the noise from the audience seats was deafening. While focusing on listening to the stadium sounds wasn’t hard, holding a conversation simultaneously was unbearably annoying. So, recalling noise-canceling concepts, I activated my divine power, surprisingly achieving success easily.
Despite countless types of magic existing, such a spell was surprisingly rare.
“Anyway, back to the topic… Since our daughter made a slight mistake, how do you predict the situation will unfold?”
His tone suggested less genuine curiosity and more testing me for some unknown reason. Regardless, I answered calmly.
“Amy will win anyway.”
“Ho? Even though three minutes have passed already? Do you think she can defeat that weirdly resilient guy within seven minutes?”
“Ah, forgot to mention. That 10-minute 13-second record applies when going all-out.”
“…What?”
This unexpected statement widened Balkan’s eyes. Delighted to catch him off-guard, I smiled and continued.
“When conserving mana, Amy’s longest recorded duration is slightly under one hour…”
I deliberately paused. Opportunities to tease Balkan were rare, so I milked it. Observing the stadium casually, I noticed small flame birds flying around, evidence of Amy’s refined mana control.
“58 minutes and 48 seconds.”
Hearing this, Balkan’s jaw dropped. Stammering awkwardly, he murmured.
“My daughter, but… what terrifying talent. She might truly become an Archmage before graduation.”
“In that case, it’s a good thing.”
That was my goal from the start, after all.
***
‘When will this damn thing disappear…!’
Though unsure of the exact time, at least thirty minutes had passed by perception. Yet, the accursed flames in those eyes showed no signs of fading.
“Why so glum? You look exhausted.”
An emotionless voice pierced his ear, followed inevitably by hellish flames.
“Damn it!”
Rather than a decisive blow, the incoming attacks were rapid, small-scale magics. Having endured them thus far, Benar’s face contorted painfully, for while his recovery was excellent, pain sensation wasn’t absent.
“Haa… Haa…”
For the first time, he cursed his indestructible body. This prolonged battle was unprecedented. Short of pure physical training, actual combat usually ended within a few minutes.
Fatigue saturated his flawless muscles. Eventually, constant hits would knock anyone down. Amy’s magic couldn’t be absorbed endlessly.
‘And rushing blindly isn’t an option…’
Some attacks, seemingly identical, carried devastating power. Learning the hard way once, Benar avoided recklessly charging. Though recognizing dangerous ones through concentration prevented repeat mistakes… his focus was nearing its limits.
“Never thought I’d lose to a mage due to stamina.”
Benar wore a defeated expression upon noticing Amy still seemed unfazed. Evidence of this was the small ball of fire floating behind her, ready to strike at any moment.
Amy’s blank expression chilled his spine like a soulless golem. Dropping his arms, Benar sighed.
“…Damn it. I lost. The world is wide indeed.”
Tossing his glaive aside and raising both hands, Benar conceded, triggering a thunderous roar across the stadium.
Wooaaaah!!!
“Winner! Amy Helios of Minerva Academy!!!”
After the late announcement, Benar slowly approached Amy and extended his hand.
“That was a great experience. Next time, I won’t lose, Lady.”
Amy reciprocated the handshake with a gentle smile, her Fire Eye now deactivated.
“Yeah. That was fun.”
Unprecedented in Olympia history, both contestants remained standing unscathed at the match’s conclusion. Descending peacefully from the arena, Amy exhaled in relief.
“Phew… If he hadn’t surrendered earlier, it could’ve been trouble.”
Focusing on mana control, she nearly depleted her magic before the match concluded. Nevertheless, she won…
Feeling light-hearted, Amy strolled down the corridor with a relieved smile.
[Olympia Quarterfinals: Amy Helios vs. Benar Lafont]
Winner: Amy Helios
Match Duration: 47 minutes 12 seconds
