Chapter 21

“Are both of you ready?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m fine.”

As always, Kai’s attitude was poor, but Mr. Orgus didn’t seem to mind at all. He raised his hand and—

“Then—begin!!”

The signal to start was given.

At the same time, I summoned Fulminis, a lightning spirit that appeared like a ball of lightning. Naturally, it was a mid-level lightning spirit, but for this match, it would be more than enough.

『Is he… perhaps a reincarnator? His soul is split in two. Unlike you or that boy, he’s quite different…』

If I remember correctly, Arthur’s soul remained intact, while my two souls fused, influencing each other’s personalities. So, that guy’s current self must be entirely his reincarnated personality.

『Why am I different from him?』

『That’s because the original owner of your body is already dead. Your soul entered the void left by the missing part and fused with it.』

I was shocked by this revelation.

…Why did he die…? He should be alive… Even if you’re not a god or transcendent-level contractor, you shouldn’t be able to be killed that easily.

『I don’t know either… the souls have already fused, and even I can’t see those memories.』

The revelation was quite startling, but I put that aside for now and focused on the matter at hand.

Kai, who had been observing my spirit, grinned defiantly.

“Hmph… You dare challenge me with just a mid-level spirit?”

“This spirit is more than enough.”

“Hah! Can you still say that after seeing this!?”

As Kai spoke, he released an intense wave of magic power, so strong that the wind pressure reached me. The other students, overwhelmed by the massive magic, screamed as they desperately tried to brace themselves.

As expected, though, Mr. Orgus, Hera, and Arthur didn’t seem too affected.

Suddenly, Kai’s magic opened dimensional rifts, from which three spirits emerged.

…Two high-level and one royal-class spirit.

『Hmm… quite impressive. He’s likely attracted to the beautiful soul within.』

It’s clear that for someone only using a single mid-level spirit, like me, Kai’s force is overwhelming.

He must know this too, but it seems like he’s not just showing off.

“How about it? Now do you see the difference in our power?”

“No, no matter how strong the spirits are, if the contractor isn’t strong, they’re not much of a threat.”

I applied body reinforcement across myself. If I covered myself in lightning, it would reveal my true strength, so I opted for a more discreet and easily concealable form of reinforcement. At the same time, I commanded my spirit to summon storm clouds and create lightning.

“Hmm… not bad, you’re quite experienced,” I heard Mr. Orgus comment, though I wasn’t really paying attention.

I dashed forward while holding back much of my strength. Thunder roared, and my spirit attacked Kai with bolts of lightning. At the same time, I drew the sword at my waist and swung, controlling my power.

However—

“—Is that all you’ve got…? Begone.”

The moment Kai said that, the lightning dispersed in front of him. At the same time, fiery, watery, and windy slashes flew towards me and my spirit.

“Tch… Fulminis!”

I immediately hit the brakes, leapt backward, twisting my body to avoid the wind slash that arrived first, and called for help from my lightning spirit. In an instant, its full-force lightning strike descended in front of me, barely dispelling the fire and water.

“Hmph, for a mere underdog, you dodged that well… How about this?”

At that moment—when I instinctively ducked, an invisible blade of wind, faster and stronger than before, passed just above me.

“Move! Get out of the way!!”

“Kyaaah!!”

“Uwaaaah!!”

The spell, unfortunately, flew toward the students who had yet to form contracts with spirits.

“—Barrier.”

The wind blade was blocked by Alice’s barrier before it could hit the students, but Alice reprimanded Kai. However, Kai’s response was—

“Kai! Please be more considerate of those around you when fighting! What if someone gets hurt?”

“Then just put up a barrier. Can’t you even manage that?”

Instead of showing remorse, Kai mocked Alice for her warning.

To shut him up, I shot a light bolt of lightning.

“Lightning.”

“Flame Wall.”

The lightning raced through the air toward Kai, but his summoned flame wall snuffed it out.

“A sneak attack? As expected, weaklings can only resort to cowardly tricks.”

“…”

“Hah! I should’ve challenged Hera instead.”

Not only I, but the other students—especially the nobles—were wide-eyed in shock at Kai’s words.

He just called Hera by her name without any formality. Even though he’s strong, he’s just a commoner, and yet he dares to call the daughter of a duke—someone not even nobles recklessly address—by her name.

The training hall buzzed with murmurs. Amidst this, only Kai laughed mockingly at the students.

“In this world, the strong stand above, right? So I can call Hera whatever I want. Hey… Hera, why don’t we fight? If I win, you’ll be mine. If you win… well, you can command me to do anything. I’ll follow through, no questions asked.”

Hera’s eyes widened in shock, and the room buzzed with even more intensity.

…Calm down. There’s no way Hera’s family would ever allow such a thing. And above all, Hera herself would never accept it.

I unconsciously bit my lip and clenched my fists.

I know. Hera has no reason whatsoever to listen to a commoner like Kai.

But—I couldn’t suppress the storm of emotions swirling within me.

“…Kai, can I take that to mean you’re too afraid to fight me?”

“Huh? What the hell are you saying?”

…If Kai wins, he’ll make Hera his…?

A dark smile crept across my face.

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re stalling this match because you’re afraid to fight me.”

“Don’t get cocky. Fine then… I’ll show you just how insignificant you are. Do it—Ignis.”

Kai’s face turned cold as he gave the command, and the humanoid flame spirit raised its hand. A massive fireball, roughly 50 meters in diameter, appeared above us, the same size as the training platform itself. Slowly, it began descending, aiming to swallow me whole.

“—!? Kai, stop this right now! This has clearly gone too far! —Multi-barrier!!”

“I’ll help! Multi-barrier!!”

As expected, Mr. Orgus and Alice set up multiple layers of barriers, summoning water spirits to form a protective wall of water. Thanks to them, the outside world couldn’t see us, and there was no risk of magic leaking beyond the barriers.

In other words—for a brief moment, I could do anything without being noticed.

『Are you going to do it?』

“Of course. I can’t let this slide any longer.”

『…If I intervene, it’ll be obvious, so you’ll have to handle this yourself, alright?』

“Of course. I alone am more than enough for this.”

I dismissed Fulminis back to the shared spirit realm and simply looked up at the fireball above.

Kai, seeing me do nothing, smirked as if he believed I had given up.

“After all that provocation, this is the best you can do? Pathetic—”

“You made one crucial mistake.”

As magic surged from my body, lightning crackled and swirled around me.

“But… in respect for the other soul within you, I’ll let this end with just a warning.”

“Hah! A warning? You, a weakling, dare to warn me?”

As I cloaked myself in lightning, I punched the massive fireball hurtling toward me. In an instant—an enormous explosion erupted, engulfing the area in a thick cloud of smoke.

“Wha—!? That’s impossible—guh!?”

Within the smoke, I moved instantly, grabbed Kai by the throat, and lifted him. I spoke with cold fury, unleashing my killing intent.

“Listen carefully, Kai. This is your warning. If you try anything with Hera again—I’ll kill you.”

With that, I threw him to the ground and dispelled all my magic.

When the smoke cleared and the barriers disappeared, I addressed Mr. Orgus.

“I surrender. It seems I made the fireball explode before it could hit me, but… I can’t continue any further.”

“I… I see. Well done. —This concludes the exhibition match! The winner is—Kai!!”

And so, pretending to stagger, I left the stage, leaving behind Kai, who was sitting in stunned silence.

I warned you, Kai.

If you try anything with Hera again—

—Be prepared for the consequences.