Episode 130
The arena engulfed by the old tree’s roots.
The sudden appearance of plants filling the vast space left the audience looking on from above equally baffled.
Liam, who had received no prior warnings, was just as shocked.
“Of course… there’s no way this would start normally.”
The caster of the spell was undoubtedly Diphelia, but there was no way she had planned this.
Suddenly, a loud, raucous laugh echoed from behind.
“Just like the captain! You really kicked things off with a bang!”
Kaiman laughed so hard his uvula was practically showing.
After his laughter, the stunned silence of the arena slowly began to return.
“Ah, ahh… This is a large-scale magic from candidate Diphelia! Saint Diphelia! Right from the start, she’s turned the arena into a hellish chaos!”
Paula, overseeing the event, expressed her excitement as if she were just another spectator enjoying the game.
“This could cause a lot of candidates some trouble before the match even starts… Ah, just as I’m saying this. One team is already soaring high above the roots!”
With her crimson hair whipping in the wind, she effortlessly sliced through the thick roots.
Striding confidently on her wyvern, she surveyed her electoral committee.
“Clemens! Candidate Clemens has successfully emerged from the roots first!”
Clemens wasn’t riding any flying object; she moved independently. As a brave knight, she paved the way for her electoral committee to advance confidently.
Her committee had great coordination, following her lead steadily.
Their defense wasn’t something that could be pierced by mere plant roots.
They were the first to take to the skies, soaring towards their destination at the edge of the heavens.
“Now, if candidate Diphelia doesn’t reveal herself soon, she might lose the chance to win. Oh, and here comes another new candidate!”
A red aura slithered and twitched like a snake.
Ziiing!
The red snake devoured all the roots, creating an opening for them to ascend.
Ready for this, Arterion’s group boldly took to the skies. Arterion’s gaze was more serious than ever.
“…So that’s why I was told to draw my sword.”
As the starting signal fell, Vargan overwhelmed the arena using Diphelia’s magic.
He seemed to have removed any competitors who would be hindered by this, delaying the start as a tactic.
There were only a few individuals in the Academia other than Diphelia who could grow this rapidly and massively.
It was intended to use her for their own benefit.
—What is this!
—Hurry up and cut this! We can’t even start!
Voices of frustration emerged from those trapped below.
The frustration of those trapped can be heard.
From what I gather, it seems like two or three teams will take quite a while to even get started.
The Arterion team chased after the Clemens team, which was leading the pack at a rapid pace.
So far, the only teams in the sky are Arterion and Clemens.
Liam, sitting in the audience, turned his gaze towards where the Diphelia team had started.
He wasn’t sure what they were preparing, but they really needed to take off soon…
“Ah.”
Liam inadvertently let out a sound.
At that moment, he blamed himself for not noticing such a change, even if his attention was wandering.
‘It’s there.’
Two types of mana were merging, gathering energy in a completely new form.
A massive aura of mana that was definitely there, even if it wasn’t visible.
When it completed its gathering and slowly spread its wings…
⎯⎯⎯!
A tremendous force burst forth, forcibly drawing the attention of every magician, no, every being with mana present.
Liam shivered at that power.
Not as a metaphor; it was truly a sensation spreading through his arms and legs.
And then, a fierce wind hit him a moment later.
In the center of the arena.
The whirlwind rising from the root.
It began to chase faster than any team.
*
“Bar… no. Diphelia candidate! What astonishing speed! Have they been stationary to prepare for a leap? This flying object is so terrifyingly powerful that I’m doubting it’s meant for selection!”
As the match progressed at high speed.
Other teams were slowly breaking free from the root, following suit.
About three teams were still completely trapped and hadn’t fully broken free from the root yet, but it was good news for the others.
A total of six teams would pass the initial selection.
In other words, as long as one team overtook them and crossed the finish line, they could safely get through.
⎯Current situation summary.
Three teams are still tied to the ground.
The four teams in the air are fiercely battling it out with attacks against each other.
Next is the speed contest without combat between the Arterion team and the Diphelia team.
The Clemens team was leading ahead of them all.
“Diphelia candidate! She surpasses the Arterion candidate! It seems that, in terms of speed, she’s slightly quicker than the Clemens candidate. Will she absolutely change the rankings from here…!”
Paula, who always emitted a peculiar laugh, was now completely focused on the match.
As she said, the Diphelia team was surpassing the Arterion team based on their excellent engine.
Arterion could have sufficiently interfered to stop them, but they didn’t touch them at all.
Seeing where Vargan’s gaze was fixed, they let them go ahead.
It was like a temporary alliance formed without words.
“Ah, the leading candidates! From now on, you need to be on edge. You must never forget that the enemy isn’t just the other candidates!”
⎯Kreeeek!
The sound of a monster echoed from the gargoyle statue.
The gargoyle-shaped statue, protected by multiple spells, charged at the candidates as if it were a living creature.
Though it was a race-like competition, as Paula said, the threat wasn’t just other candidates.
From above, traps and statues prepared by the Academia would directly attack them to try and bring them down.
As the leading Clemens faced a small monster rushing towards her group, she imbued her lance with aura.
The color of the long piece of iron she held changed.
It was a deep red aura, as intense as her hair, that only a very small number of weapon wielders could achieve—a more stable form than Arterion’s.
This was a stable form of red aura, more stable than Arterion’s.
Just like Arterion, she was a powerful being who had reached the realm of red aura.
Although she acquired the red aura a bit later in comparison to Arterion, known as the sword saint of the future, she currently handled it more skillfully and excellently.
Clemens easily sliced through gargoyles while wielding her large, heavy lance.
Pew⎯!
Even though she was doused in various elemental magic spells from hidden traps here and there, it didn’t faze her at all.
Whether a pack of flames charged at her like wild dogs or a flock of icy eagles spread their wings and flew towards her.
She thoroughly protected the voter group with her lance, and where she passed, fragments of broken stone statues fell like hail.
No matter how many layers of magic were cast to protect them, a gargoyle made of stone and those pathetic traps couldn’t stop Clemens’ solo venture.
Thus, Clemens’ team finally managed to pass through the area bombarded by attacks safely.
Clemens glanced back for a moment to check the situation.
Diphelia and Arterion were also pursuing without any major issues.
…That speed.
The speed at which Vargan and the two women were moving was unusual.
Despite moving smoothly without any obstacles, the distance wasn’t increasing and was, in fact, getting closer.
The remaining distance to the finishing point was about half.
…It seemed she couldn’t just sit back and watch anymore.
“Uh? Clemens is suddenly changing direction! Is she concerned about the pursuing chasers?”
Clemens, riding a wyvern and clearing the path at the forefront.
She changed the order so that her voter group would move ahead while she guarded them from behind.
If they flew nearby, her lance would surely be waiting to strike.
However, Vargan and Arterion showed no signs of worry and rather increased their speed.
Clemens smiled at their boldness and confidence. The aura surrounding her lance glowed even stronger.
Vargan looked at her without lowering his head. Clemens’ wyvern’s wings folded.
Clemens clearly intended to dive in for a direct attack.
Currently, the flying object that Vargan and his companions were riding on looked different from the others.
Diphelia’s wooden wheelchair was covering the body of the flying object.
Thanks to this, all of them, including herself, could safely fulfill their duties without worrying about falling off the flying object.
However, if Clemens’ strike landed, any safety devices would shatter, and they would inevitably fall.
As the crisis approached, Vargan let out a long laugh, gathering mana, and shouted.
“Saint! Activate ‘Second Magic Constructs’!”
“Ah, got it!”
Due to the strong wind pressure, Diphelia found it hard to nod, so she responded with the same amount of mana in her voice.
Then, the ends of the wooden branches extending from the flying object swelled, producing a series of fruits.
The fruits that shot into the sky transformed into quite sizeable shields, obscuring Clemens’ view. Clemens easily split them in two without slowing down.
Her lance still charged fiercely, and the shields shattered mercilessly.
And then.
With the last fruit still clinging to the branch, the sharp tip of Clemens’ lance reached them.
Before the spear could touch them, the fruit at the end of the branch swelled up like a pufferfish getting into a defensive stance.
At last, when the red aura surrounding the spear made contact.
Boom⎯!
Unlike the other fruits, it burst with a loud noise without breaking.
A branch burst loudly and without breaking.
The burst magic didn’t just stop at absorbing the shock.
“…!”
Clemens, always composed, showed a hint of distortion on her face.
Vargan saw it and scoffed.
The second spell conceived by Vargan and crafted by Diphelia.
The first was the deluge of the colossal old tree used at the very start.
And the second was….
“There’s nothing like this for hunting, right, Clemens!”
The ‘net’ meant to trap Clemens.
A net as dense as a spider’s web.
Made with the utmost strength and mass that Diphelia could conjure, it was definitely a tool to restrict movement and capture.
From the exploded branch, the net sprang out, aiming to ensnare Clemens and the wyvern.
Clemens hastily racked her brains for a solution.
This net was different in quality from the roots shown at first.
A tough net that wouldn’t easily get cut. It even had a hint of divine energy as if holy water had been sprinkled on it.
With her red aura, she could tear that net apart.
But that was only if she directly disrupted it with her lance.
The net already covered most of her and the wyvern.
If it suddenly yanked tighter, not only would swinging the lance become difficult, but her movements would be sealed, leading to a fall.
…Though escaping wouldn’t be impossible, it would take too much time. Therefore, she couldn’t use it here.
Then, using the red aura in finely divided form… wouldn’t work. She hadn’t reached that stage yet.
Even if she could enhance the regular aura for use, transforming the red aura was still lacking in output.
With the red aura already surrounding her, it would take too long to cancel it and wrap herself in regular aura.
‘…I’m in a tight spot.’
Vargan probably didn’t know all these details and concoct such a scheme, but with her current state, escaping unharmed was impossible.
So, she had to choose.
One of the ways to escape with minimal damage….
Just before the net fully enveloped her, in that final moment.
Clemens lifted her head to meet Vargan’s gaze.
And smiled.
“You’re a man I could easily grow infatuated with.”
Just when it seemed that the urgency had washed away her composure, a smile bloomed back on her lips.
Vargan realized that her smile signaled her determination. Her will had not been extinguished.
She wouldn’t give up the match,
Nor did she have any thoughts of retreating.
⎯Hwaruk!
Suddenly, a hot energy slammed into Vargan’s face.
And not just him. Everyone here had to face the pressure of furious flames.
Clemens’s body ignited.
To be precise, a fierce red flame erupted from beneath her feet, boiling with anger.
This stood in stark contrast to the steady gaze locked onto Vargan.
All of it happened in less than a second.
“Vargan, one day, I will definitely take you away.”
The sound of a rocket launching—a massive tremor.
In the midst of the chaos.
The wyvern she rode was scorched black all over and collapsed dead, and when she regained her senses, she had vanished.
She was heading far away, gripping something like a wire, aiming for her flying vessel with her electoral team.
…She had succeeded in catching her wyvern.
She had taken its wings.
But.
Ocel Julio Clemens.
She was a woman who could never be caught by such a net.
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