One week left until the tournament date, the grand stage materializes overnight, standing proudly in the wide courtyard, surrounded by numerous elevated spectator seats. A single glance reveals that the central section, raised even higher and with fewer seats, is undoubtedly reserved for the professors.
"What should we do now?" Anya sits on the lawn, twirling her wand, while I lie sprawled out, happily chewing on a pink dog ball bought from the large convenience store. My sharp fangs leave dented marks and it's soaked with slobber. My sparkling eyes reflect the warm morning light of the weekend. Many students choose to laze in their rooms, while the rest engage in activities as they please, with no professors present except for the groundskeepers.
Baron, with his ever-watchful hamster, stares at us from the moment we come into view.
"Should we practice one more time?" Anya asks, her beautiful eyes gazing up at the cerulean sky dotted with slow-moving white clouds.
"I don't think so. We shouldn't practice such a powerful spell too often, or we'll lose too much magic and won't be able to get back to the dorm," I argue reasonably.
Yes... we've devised a last-resort finishing move. Anya, in a white knee-length dress over black track pants with white stripes, her black hair with pink highlights tied in a ponytail, reveals the graceful neck of a budding young woman. She expertly twirls her wand in her hand.
A cool breeze carries the sweet scent of blooming flowers from the field near the castle, a spot where young couples often come to canoodle. Of course, my mistress has no shortage of admirers, their pitiful love letters piled high, only to be incinerated by her fire magic. Burning these letters from male students has become a favorite pastime after practice.
"Cinder," the girl murmurs a simple incantation, igniting the tip of her wand like a lighter, coolly burning the letters one by one. This is another side of her she rarely shows. It's a consequence of the trauma inflicted by her father, a wound that runs deep. "And then... Fermale..."
Anya recounts that her father was once a great wizard. Handsome and charming, he was constantly pursued by women, disregarding his wife. Anya was only five at the time, too young to understand the complexities of adult affairs, but she understood her mother's suffering, who lost her husband's heart one night. Anya vowed to herself never to let anyone into her heart. Sola never told Anya where her father disappeared to. No one in Corania has seen him since.
"How many have you burned today?" I ask, chewing on the rubber ball with determination, understanding the canine urge to gnaw.
"Probably over twenty, Cinder," she replies, her voice flat and cold, her eyes icy. It seems she's completely closed off her heart. When the letters are gone, she lies down, resting her head on my body like a pillow. Believe me, I choose not to tell Anya about my human form because of her unwavering resolve to never open up to any man.
But it seems she can read my mind.
"Hey, Nappo, do you know I've opened up to someone?" she says out of the blue.
"Who?"
"You, Nappo!" She rolls over and hugs me tightly, like a doll.
The bright and cheerful Anya is back.
"Having fun, aren't you? The competition is just a few days away, and you're lazing around like this. The self-defense club will lose face!" A deep voice comes from behind. A tall, muscular young man appears.
It's Raymond and his panda cub, Cole King.
"It's the weekend, can't I have one chill day?" Anya retorts, but when she sees him standing with his arms crossed, a blade of grass in his mouth, his face scratched and his clothes torn as if he's been in a fierce battle, she can't help but worry about her classmate. "What happened to you? You're covered in cuts."
"These scars are the marks of glorious battles!" he declares proudly. "I've been training by challenging every member of the club, and I've already defeated ten of them!"
"Isn't it supposed to be that any impromptu school duels need a professor to supervise?" I point out. "Otherwise, you might get punished with a ten-page essay on history."
"Don't talk big, let's fight! You're the only girl, one of the few people in the club I want to beat the most!" Raymond draws his wand, pointing it at the girl who now stands to face him, with the panda cub ready to fight.
Over time, Anya has learned to transform herself from an innocent young girl into a formidable sorceress. Her eyes have changed, reflecting the growth she's experienced in the school environment and the self-defense club, which has nurtured her inner strength. At first, she was afraid to even cast a curse on anyone, but now she hesitates hardly at all.
"I'll be the referee," a male voice calls from above. Senior Carlos appears, flying effortlessly like a bird using levitation magic. Believe me, he was disqualified from the tournament because he's a five-time champion. The school is looking for a new champion besides the giant-like strong student. "I'm not competing anyway, and I'm a sixth-year student about to graduate, so I might be qualified. But well... if Junior Raymond is stubborn, this might have to go to Professor Egg."
"I have no intention of breaking the rules. If Senior Carlos referees, it's my honor," the muscular man says calmly, his fiery eyes blazing with an almost contradictory intensity. "But after I defeat Anya, Senior Carlos is next!"
"Alright," Senior Carlos smirks before descending. The height difference between the two is striking, like boxers from different weight classes. "It's time for a senior to teach a cute junior what real fighting is like."
"Is all a reflection spell user like you can do is reflect?" Raymond taunts, stepping closer to Senior Carlos, who is only chest-high to the muscular man, without a hint of humility. "I'll be the one teaching the senior about the strength of close-range magic."
"Um... should you two just fight? I can be the referee instead," the girl interjects, with me lying face down on her head like a hat. "Nappo and I practiced so much today, I barely have any magic left. I'm not really ready to fight Raymond right now."
"Hmph! Fine by me. Then I challenge the reflection spell user, Senior Carlos, to a duel!" Raymond declares before taking his place. Meanwhile, Senior Carlos winks at her before also taking his position. Having been in the dueling club, he's seen Professor Egg referee many times and has absorbed almost all of his pronouncements.
"Begin!" the girl announces the start of the duel. Instantly, Raymond casts a smoke bomb spell, obscuring the enemy's vision.
"So, I can't attack, huh!?" Carlos anticipates the next attack and quickly devises a countermeasure. "Versato Corpo!"
Senior Carlos's body multiplies into ten figures, greatly exciting me.
"He can use a clone spell too!" My eyes widen.
"It's not that surprising, he's a sixth-year," she says, lifting me from her head and holding me level with her chest, which is developing nicely. "Unlike Raymond, who isn't very eager to learn new spells. Maybe it's because of his reputation as the school's number one?"
Suddenly, numerous small and large rocks shoot through the smoke screen towards Senior Carlos with incredible speed.
"Protection!" all ten figures of the young man chant, raising their wands to create a large and thick shield of light, strong enough to withstand the attack for a moment. "For a cute junior like you, I won't use a reflection spell."
As the shield dissipates, the muscular man follows up with a fist-enlarging spell, aiming for a decisive blow. The clones leap onto each other, reaching high into the air, then the real Carlos fires a stilling spell at his opponent. Raymond quickly creates a shield spell, then uses an enlargement spell on a clump of pulled-out hair, turning it into sharp spears, which he then levitates and hurls like a rain of arrows.
"Saicinla Maximum!!" A massive fireball radiates heat intense enough to melt gold, incinerating the hair spears into dust.
Having been reborn only a few months ago, this is the first time I've witnessed such a fierce magical duel. Compared to me and Anya... we're out of our league.
"Get serious, Brother! I feel like I'm the only one having fun here!" Raymond roars with exhilaration. Blood starts to seep from his wounds, but adrenaline surges through him, masking the pain. "Attack me back!"
"You want me to get serious, do you? Very well." Senior Carlos raises his wand to his face, closing his eyes and chanting a long incantation. "By the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, may purest power be delivered to banish evil."
Golden light emanates from the young man's eyes, a golden aura swirling around him, accompanied by a raging wind. Anya hugs me tightly.
"Solas Naota!" The tip of his wand shines with a dazzling golden light, like the sun. The ground trembles, shaking our bodies. The young man flicks his wand at his target. Raymond, now grinning broadly, delighted that his opponent is attacking with full force, enlarges his right hand and coats it with a red magical aura.
"Let's see whose technique is invincible!" Raymond smirks, his lips stretched almost to his ears.
Crap... is the school going to collapse!?
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To Be Continue Ep.16