——— ”The next match will be between Shin, who courageously faced Kai, the top performer of this term’s practical exam and who just displayed an overwhelming fight, and Arthur Windstorm, ranked seventh in the practical exam and also the younger brother of the current student council’s vice president!!”
As the female announcer introduced us, Arthur and I stepped onto the stage.
Immediately, the crowd erupted in cheers, but naturally, most of it was for Arthur… Actually, it felt like it was only for Arthur.
By the way, Hera will be in the next match, so she’s probably in the waiting room getting ready right now.
Not long ago, I received a divine message from her saying, “Do your best too, Shin,” but this time, I have to lose here to make it in time, so I won’t be able to meet her expectations.
It was such a difficult decision that I even seriously considered reworking my entire plan.
“Now then——— Let the match begin!!”
With the referee’s signal, both Arthur and I simultaneously launched our attacks.
Our swords clashed, sending sparks flying.
“Arthur, stick to the plan.”
“Are you really okay with losing? If you lose here, your ranking will drop pretty low…”
Arthur asked with a concerned expression, like he was making a final confirmation.
But as long as I can protect Hera, I don’t care if I end up at the bottom of the rankings.
“No problem. People will just think it was inevitable for me to lose to you, so as long as we make it look like a good fight, I shouldn’t end up with a rank low enough to get expelled.”
“I see… Alright then. So, I should just aim for the opening you’ll purposely create and attack with my spirit, right?”
“Yeah. After that, I’ll make it look like I’m getting taken down.”
I swung my sword with force, knocking Arthur back.
But Arthur quickly regained his stance, landed smoothly, and charged back at me without hesitation.
“Tch…!”
“We’re just getting started…!”
I lowered my stance, preparing to guard against Arthur’s sword as it came down from above, but his strikes were heavier than expected, and I couldn’t help but let out a groan.
In that moment, Arthur swiftly landed on the ground and aimed a diagonal slash at me.
I barely managed to wedge my sword between his just in time to block.
But since it was a rushed defense, I couldn’t block properly and got blown back.
“You’re pretty good… The referee definitely won’t notice we’re holding back like this.”
Right now, I was lightly using body enhancement magic to make it look like I wasn’t holding back, but Arthur turned out to be stronger than I expected, so it ended up being a pretty close match.
This was a completely pleasant surprise.
I put on an expression as if I was in a dire situation and summoned my spirit.
“Come forth——— Fulminis!!”
A small orb of light appeared in front of me, and the stage became engulfed in thunderbolts.
But Arthur didn’t look surprised at all, still smiling confidently.
“If you’re summoning, then I guess I will too. ——Sylphid.”
Arthur summoned Sylphid, a high-level spirit, and since our attributes were compatible, the wind fused with the lightning, and thunder crackled along with the intense gusts of wind.
In the midst of this stormy battlefield, Arthur and I exchanged glances, and at the same time, we unleashed our magic.
“———Lightning Strike!!”
“———Wind Dragon!!”
Our magic clashed, and multiple bolts of lightning and wind dragons engulfed the stage.
…
『———Enough with the sleeping!!』
“———Huh!? W-where am I…?”
I woke up to my grandfather’s angry voice and glanced around.
『This is the recovery room. You’ve really put your body through the wringer this time, haven’t you?』
“Ow… Well, there was no other way. I had to knock myself out somehow.”
Just as Arthur’s magic was about to hit me, I intentionally used my own magic on myself to knock myself out.
And it worked perfectly.
My body already felt normal, and I had more mana left than I expected.
With this condition, I won’t lose the real fight that’s about to start.
As I checked my body’s condition, my grandfather said something outrageous in a teasing tone.
『By the way… You’ve really progressed with that girl, haven’t you? I was shocked, even at my age.』
“Huh!? Wh-what are you talking about!?”
『I’m talking about you and that girl, Hera. When she rushed into this room, she was holding your hand with such worry, you know?』
“H-Hera held my hand…!? That can’t be…”
But my grandfather had no reason to lie about something like this.
Could Hera have really…?
“…I feel incredibly motivated now.”
Fully awake from excitement, I jumped out of bed, changed from my hospital gown into my uniform, and leaped out the window.
Landing smoothly from the fourth floor, I ran full speed toward the school without stopping.
…
“———This is Team A. We’ve successfully infiltrated.”
『This is Team B. We’ve also successfully infiltrated.』
『This is Team C———』
Aaron, the leader of Team A, the first group of the Cult of the Evil God to infiltrate the academy, furrowed his brows, suspicious of the sudden radio silence from Team C.
Noticing Aaron’s sudden stiffness during the scheduled check-in, his teammate, Few, asked curiously.
“What’s wrong, leader? Is there a problem?”
“…We’ve lost contact with Team C.”
“!?!”
Everyone in Team A widened their eyes in surprise at Aaron’s words.
For them, who had infiltrated places with far tighter security than here, losing contact was unheard of.
And just as confusion was spreading, another disturbance arose.
It started with an incoming transmission.
Aaron immediately answered the call, given the previous situation———but what he heard was the screams of his comrades.
『This is Team B! We need immediate assistance! There’s something———gahh!?』
The transmission abruptly cut off, leaving only silence in what had once been a noisy radio.
Aaron decided there was no point in continuing and turned off the radio.
But———even after doing so, Aaron’s instincts, honed over years of experience, warned him that something was off.
Following his instincts, Aaron gave immediate orders to his team.
“Everyone, stay where you are and keep your surroundings under watch! Don’t spread out too far! Maintain a safe distance!”
“Understood!”
After issuing orders to his team, Aaron used his magic to search the area.
Within seconds, he sensed someone approaching.
The footsteps were light—too light to be a teacher, but clearly a male student.
Deciding not to kill immediately but to capture and erase the student’s memory, Aaron gestured for his team to surround the student before stepping out in the form of Rouge, one of the academy’s teachers.
“———What are you doing here at this hour?”
“Oh, it’s been a while, Rouge-sensei.”
The boy who appeared in front of Aaron had black hair and black eyes—fairly good-looking but otherwise unremarkable.
Recognizing him from his impeccable memory, Aaron quickly deduced that this was a student ranked outside the top 100 in practical exams, and therefore not a threat. He let his guard down for just a moment———when the boy’s demeanor suddenly changed.
“———Or should I call you Aaron instead?”
“!?”
Shin’s tone and aura shifted drastically as he called out Aaron’s real name—something no one should have known.
Aaron froze in shock, but quickly ordered his team to stay hidden before launching an attack.
“———Sorry, but you’ll need to sleep for a while.”
“———Sorry, but it’s you who will sleep. Permanently, that is.”
Moments later, Aaron found himself staring at his own headless body, blood spraying from his neck.
Only then did he realize he’d been cut.
(What… just happened…? I was sure I had gotten behind him…)
As Aaron struggled to comprehend, Shin’s words reached his ears.
“———I won’t let any of you from the Cult of the Evil God lay a single finger on Hera.”
Shin, now enveloped in lightning, his hair and eyes turned stark white, looked around with icy determination.
Behind him stood a spirit, its presence so overwhelming that even the Evil God himself would fear it.
Finally, Aaron understood.
(So… we had picked a fight with someone we never should have…)
By the time Aaron’s head hit the ground, his consciousness had already faded.
