A few seconds after the match begins.
A heavy, stagnant atmosphere lingers.
As has been clear from previous matches, the genius noblewoman generally takes a defensive stance.
In other words, she adapts her fighting style to counter her opponent’s attacks.
Well, that doesn’t really matter to me.
“Haha!”
I relax my body to the limit as usual.
Letting gravity take over, I collapse my body and forcefully kick the ground.
First, I charge straight at the genius noblewoman.
Naturally, she does something to stop my advance.
Fire, wind, rock, water, lightning… I sharpen all my senses to react to whatever comes my way.
A slight twitch.
I feel the ground pulse beneath my feet.
“Rock, huh?”
The type of magic is unclear… the range and scale are also unknown… but I know it’s earth magic.
I kick off the ground with my left foot and make a sharp right turn.
In the next instant, a thick rock pillar shoots up from the ground, piercing the space I occupied just a moment ago.
After casting her spell, there’s a slight opening.
I take advantage of that gap and close in rapidly.
However, the genius noblewoman is no pushover.
Without looking at me, she launches a swirling flame.
“—That was close!”
I instinctively shift my body diagonally to evade.
The swirling flames rush past just above me with tremendous speed.
Even with my enhanced fighting spirit, this match hinges on whether my barrier can withstand her magical tools.
If I took that hit, my barrier would definitely have shattered.
“Well, it’s not like that changes anything!”
Kicking off the ground in my unstable stance, I circle behind the genius noblewoman.
Wide open.
Or so one would think, but I swing my sword rapidly to the left and right.
I feel two impacts, and pieces of rock scatter on the ground.
“Do you have eyes on the back of your head or something?”
From the ground on either side of me, rock pillars thrust upward.
Their tips are significantly chipped.
I had sliced them off with my sword.
“Hahaha, this is just the best!”
I glance at the genius noblewoman, who has distanced herself using her earlier spell.
She stands there calmly, embodying the very definition of genius.
I am challenging that formidable and powerful opponent.
It’s an incredibly wonderful and sweet time.
No restraint, no hesitation… none at all.
Only unleashing my full power.
I kick the ground hard again.
Without any strategy or hesitation, I just run fast, straight ahead.
The rock wall summoned by the genius noblewoman stands in my way.
It was too much trouble to dodge, so I just smashed right through it.
“Let’s turn it up!”
I twist my body to avoid the rock spears attacking from all sides, slicing through them with my sword and weaving between them.
Unlike before, this time I’m on the defensive.
However—
“Too easy.”
I approach directly in front of the genius noblewoman, aiming my sword at her face, wondering what she’s thinking.
Unfortunately, just before contact, she deflects my attack, causing my sword to merely graze her.
Yet, my attack still leaves a mark on her barrier.
Immediately after, I leap back, retreating.
Rock pillars shoot up from the ground.
“Hey, genius noblewoman. Is this really all you’ve got?”
I kick off the ground to close the distance.
“Your attacks are too predictable.”
Rock walls, rock pillars, rock spears… occasionally flames.
I dodge them effortlessly.
“More than anything… you lack spirit!”
I smash through the barrier she has set up.
“Don’t you want to win? Is that question settled now?”
I turn sideways to avoid a rock pillar, deflect a thrusting spear, leap back, and narrowly evade flames shooting up from the ground.
With the foot I dodged with, I kick off the ground and slip into her range.
Swinging my sword, I clash with her barrier.
“Hey, genius noblewoman.”
“…!?”
I grab her chin and force her to look me in the eye.
I don’t care about the spectators now.
“I know your strength comes not just from talent, but from effort. Why did you put in that effort, even with those empty eyes?”
The genius noblewoman is undeniably a genius.
However, there’s no way she could have achieved this level of skill solely through talent.
No matter how much of a genius you are, you can’t reach the level of the genius noblewoman without corresponding effort.
“Effort…?”
“Exactly. You must have put in effort. Remember. Why did you make that effort? Recall the reason, the foundation.”
“I…”
A hint of confusion appears in the genius noblewoman’s eyes.
It seems like something might change, but in a flash, I leap back.
A rock pillar thrusts out.
And that’s not all; a huge tremor shakes the ground beneath me.
“What the hell is this?”
I leap high and look down.
A field of rock flowers spreads across the entire battlefield.
Pillars of all sizes are thrusting up.
“Alright.”
I land on the tip of one of the pillars.
The genius noblewoman who activated this… is looking down, murmuring something.
Now, what should I do?
Waiting around is tedious, so I’ll attack.
“Hu—”
I jump down from the pillar and kick off its side.
Moving quickly across the spiky terrain, I reach a spot diagonally above the genius noblewoman.
She’s still looking down.
“Hey, it’s time to—”
“Shut up.”
“Oh?”
“I’m in the middle of something important.”
“Really?”
I don’t quite understand, but it seems to be an important moment.
Then I’ll wait.
In a match like this, stopping the flow is usually not good.
But I couldn’t care less.
It’s not like it’s written in the rules.
There’s no reason for me to be scolded.
My goal is to fight this opponent with everything I’ve got and win.
And then… to drag whatever lies dormant within her to the surface.
Everything else is irrelevant.
A few seconds… no, dozens of seconds later.
Finally, the genius noblewoman lifts her face.
The moment I think something has changed—
“—Ahahahaha!”
She suddenly bursts into laughter.
The host and audience fall silent at the sight.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“—Hahaha… No, that’s not it. I just remembered my origin.”
“Oh?”
“I owe you a debt of gratitude. If I hadn’t remembered here… I would have been a slave to that pig for life. Ugh, it’s disgusting.”
Her porcelain-like face twists in bitterness.
Those previously empty eyes are now regaining various emotions, indicating that something has truly changed.
“Ha, you’ve got quite an amusing personality, genius noblewoman.”
“Are you complimenting me?”
“Of course. It’s a compliment, you know?”
“Then I’m glad to hear it.”
I wonder what she’s talking about.
An amusing personality is a wonderful thing.
“Well then… let’s resume.”
“I’ve been waiting a long time. Give it your all, okay?”
“Of course. I’ll show you the genius that I am.”
“Haha, sounds great. This is going to be the best.”
Show me your genius, huh.
That might sound arrogant to some, but she has the ability to back it up.
Until now, it was the prologue.
From here on out, it’s the real battle against the genius noblewoman.
“Let’s return to the starting positions and begin the fight.”
“Got it.”
The genius noblewoman eliminates the rock flowers spread across the battlefield.
Then we face each other at the center.
“Are you ready?”
“I’m not holding back.”
“Hehe, that’s true.”
The person before me is no longer the genius noblewoman I knew.
She is the true genius noblewoman.
“The signal to start is—”
“I’ll let you take the first move.”
“Oh, how kind of you. Or are you underestimating me?”
“Of course it’s my kindness.”
“Then I’ll gratefully take the first move.”
The previously noisy host and audience quiet down.
The genius noblewoman slowly raises her right arm, palm facing me.
“This is my origin. I’ll show it to you… specially.”
Her beautifully shaped lips move, weaving words.
“Flame—Ignite! Hellfire World.”
Just simple fire.
Just plain flames.
Clear and straightforward.
And thus powerful.
My surroundings transform into a realm of hellfire.
