A moment of carelessness in a duel leads directly to defeat.
In the tense atmosphere, three gazes clashed in the air.
A female student from Sephiron was being taken out of the Stadium by the judges.
“Did you really need to kick a senior who doesn’t have any strength to move anymore?”
“It’s because of your Unique Magic that we don’t know where it came from! You shouldn’t be doing anything reckless!”
Lee Min-young glared fiercely, her eyes shining brightly.
“Why is there no reaction? Did you perhaps go soft?”
With a calm expression, she smirked.
But despite her frivolous mouth, the predator’s eyes continued to focus on Na-me.
“Hey Lee Min-young, look at that horn.”
“I know, I have eyes too.”
A thin thread of light flowed out from Na-me’s Magic Circle, stacking up like a solid cone from the bottom, just like a 3D printer.
A small horn had sprouted on her head, one that was hard to notice unless looked at closely.
“It’s not like it’s Halloween or anything…”
Na-me nonchalantly brushed her hair aside, completely ignoring Lee Min-young’s comments.
“Are you scared because you don’t know what might pop out? It’s just the natural order of things. You’ve bullied the weak while pretending to be strong. It’s absurd to see rabbits acting like kings in a tiger’s den.”
Confirming the hard sensation with her hand, she provocatively laughed.
“This guy dares to even look down on seniors just because he’s from another academy! Park Jun-yong, start right now!”
There was no need for further pretenses.
Lee Min-young summoned her Aura and directed Park Jun-yong to cast a support spell.
[Creating: Setting Barrier]
[Casting: Spin Mirror]
The MVP of last year’s Academy Competition, 2nd-grade Park Jun-yong.
“Na-me, are you a genius? Fine, we all admit it. But do you think we’ve just been sitting around? With different amounts of effort, you can never beat us.”
With a year passed, the now 3rd-grade boy crafted the spell for the Barrier.
“The academy isn’t a stage for just you.”
Na-me could glimpse the sticky jealousy in his eyes.
Excessive spotlight poured onto the figure known as NoName even before the competition started.
This scratched at the egos of many geniuses participating in the Academy Competition.
But for Na-me, who had endured in the face of numerous public hate and envy, their gazes didn’t mean much.
“Enough talk, come at me, newbie.”
“You keep calling me a kid… newbie! You’re the one acting like a kid!”
Lee Min-young, who already had a complex about her height, lunged at Na-me.
With detailed Aura manipulation, every time her foot touched the ground, she bounced like a trampoline, quickly closing the distance.
“Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I won’t hold back!”
She used the Barrier as a springboard and jumped high into the air.
Whooosh—
Thick Aura bubbles gathered around her clasped hands, freezing into a massive hammer shape that promptly descended onto Na-me’s head.
“If I’m going to be blamed anyway, I might as well end it in one attack.”
BOOM—!
A colossal bang erupted, accompanied by a hazy mist, unleashing a shockwave in concentric circles.
The audience rustled in excitement.
It was as if she was declaring openly that only with such force could one speak of being the strongest in the academy.
Lee Min-young showcased the external manifestation of Aura that could only be used by those chosen by the sky.
Amidst it all, Park Jun-yong focused the flow of mana, creating the Barrier and amplifying Lee Min-young’s power.
It seemed that there was no one left in Sephiron Academy to stand against the two.
“Ha! That was nothing!”
“Lee Min-young! Behind you!”
“Huh?”
Until a giant hand popped out from the mist.
CRASH—!
The hand that snatched Lee Min-young by the neck slammed her head down into the Training Arena floor.
“GUAAAH!”
She groaned in agony as if her skull might crack.
The impact from the floor penetrated even the Barrier that surrounded her head.
As her body trembled, Na-me pressed her knee down on Lee Min-young’s throat and said sweetly.
“That’s definitely a Barrier hard for kids to deal with. If you reverse the Magi’s Spin, it could really confuse you when creating a Magic Circle.”
“What the hell… how…!”
“Your sister’s talent in handling Aura is undoubtedly excellent. But this Particle Barrier doesn’t seem to protect your insides… I’m curious what would happen if I keep pressing like this.”
“Ugh… I can’t… breathe… Park Jun-yong…! Please help!”
The once fierce Lee Min-young flailed desperately.
“Monster…”
Park Jun-yong froze in place.
And no wonder, a foot-long horn on Na-me’s head shimmered ominously with dark red mana.
Then, a giant demonic hand wrapped around Lee Min-young’s body without mercy.
“Ugh… Ngh… Ugh…”
“Hey, I’m just kidding. It’s bad manners to do things like this during a match. I just tried it because my sister wanted to.”
“ACK! Cough…! Cough!”
Na-me released her Aura, freeing her body.
Lee Min-young, now crawling on the ground in a pitiful state, clutched her throat, panting.
When she turned to see what had happened just moments before, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
An asymmetrically grown horn, a grotesque hand that had risen to the size of the girl’s body, and a pair of massive wings fluttering from her back were unreal, like something from a fairy tale.
“You see, this is how you can use external manifestation of Aura.”
*
Aura is an extension of one’s body.
But to operate it like a third independent organ, the Demon King’s Horn is essential.
The only difference between demons and humans was the horn, yet a few demons having tails and wings were all due to their control over the Aura that came from their horns.
I was able to wrap myself in Aura with the wings I created from Lee Min-young’s prior attack.
By raising the output of the horn, it accelerated the conversion of mana into Aura with the Aura Heart.
I decided to embark on combat with the Demon King’s Horn throughout the battle rather than using raw magic, only utilizing actual spells when absolutely necessary.
“Focus, Lee Min-young! She won’t hold for long anyway!”
“Ha… So the genius is real… If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never have believed it.”
She shot me a pain-filled glare.
The seniors that fought before had worn out their strength significantly.
It wouldn’t be a good time to switch out now that the Barrier was nearly broken.
Thus, their next action would naturally involve giving up defense and relentlessly pushing forward against me.
“I’ll join in.”
“You should have done so sooner.”
A boy who had remained in the back maintaining the Barrier declared his participation.
SWISH—!
A small whirlwind stirred at the students’ feet, and they vanished like smoke.
’The Barrier is gone for now.’
As I lifted my eyelids, they had already arrived at my front.
“Now, Lee Min-young!”
“I know, dumbass!”
[Casting: Type 1 Lever – Slash]
[Casting: Helium-3 – Cooling]
One side maximized the electromagnetic repulsion magic, while the other cooled towards absolute zero.
Their intentions were obvious.
They aimed to freeze the wings and then tear them apart.
“None of you thought about what happens next, did you?”
“…?”
“…!”
I raised the output of the left horn and gathered mana this time.
[Casting: Circuit Restructuring]
[Casting: Diffusion Coefficient Adjustment]
Now is the moment to demonstrate the power of double casting.
By interfering with the circuit supporting the Type 1 Lever to weaken the cutting force and mix the isotopic composition of helium atoms to nullify the freezing magic.
FWOOSH—!
The children charging recklessly, believing my wings would shatter, couldn’t overcome inertia and instead got caught up, collapsing against my wings.
CRUNCH—!
“GAAAH! My leg!”
Unlike Lee Min-young, who swiftly evacuated, I managed to grab Park Jun-yong’s leg.
As I arced a large semi-circle in the air, I mercilessly hurled the fleeing female student away.
“GYAAAH!”
The children tumbled, their bodies entangled together.
CRACKLE—!
The sound of both students’ Barriers breaking grew louder.
It meant the end of the match was near.
Since it was a serious duel, I wasn’t planning on going easy on them.
I withdrew all my wings and transferred the surplus Aura onto my left arm.
With two Aura hands, I grabbed each child by the head and lifted them up.
Both their bodies dangled in the air.
“Let me give you a piece of advice: don’t try to understand with your head. I also don’t know much about this world.”
In their defenseless state, the children strained to draw Aura around their bodies.
All of it was meaningless resistance.
I set up two members to adjust the inherent resonant frequency in standby.
While inscribing the Magic Circle, Park Jun-yong shot a pure mana pellet at my abdomen with trembling fingers.
CRACKLE—!
Some parts of my Particle Barrier chipped away, but it was minimal.
“What… What are you?”
“Damn… Damn it! This is a nightmare! A nightmare!”
Park Jun-yong gritted his teeth, asking, while the other remained completely out of their mind.
“El, Mabeon, Gerunum, Nellymelo. Oh? I’ve told you several times. It’s NoName.”
“There’s no way someone your age can handle Aura! It’s thanks to that Unique Magic, isn’t it? This is cheating! I will file a formal complaint after the match!”
His final desperate attempt was rather underwhelming, deflating my ego.
Without a moment of thought, I filled the Magic Circle with Rune, flashing them a slight smile.
[Casting: Adjusting Resonant Frequency]
“Perhaps you should think about that while you sleep.”
“What?”
Park Jun-yong’s head jerked stiffly to the side.
A massive 2nd circle Magic Circle was cast between the two students.
As I stretched my arms out to the sides like I was warming up, the hands made of Aura followed suit and began pulling the children apart.
“Are you really trying to make us collide? Wait! Stop! Ah… no—”
“I can’t hear you! Not at all!”
“Hey, you crazy—!”
SMACK—!
My little palms clapped together.
SWOOSH—!
A massive chunk of Aura sliced through the heavy air, propelling the kids toward the central Magic Circle.
“AAAAAAH!”
Their screams didn’t last long.
DING—!
DANG—!
The fierce collision of their bodies became the trigger for activating the Magic Circle, and I poured mana until their Barriers were undoubtedly shattered.
A bell-like sound echoed throughout the Training Arena.
A clear and pure tone ushered in a tranquil silence, where even the sound of insects could be heard.
SWOOSH—!
The secondary shockwave from the dispersing Magic Circle gently caressed my face and passed by.
I glanced down at the ground.
A stream of blood trickled from the ears of the limp boy and girl.
Once I withdrew my Aura, the glaring sunlight stung my eyes painfully.
I realized that my hands and wings had been blocking the sun the whole time.
For a moment, I sat cross-legged on the bare ground, catching my breath.
Only then did the audience begin to murmur their bewildering thoughts.
I observed them closely, and then pointed to the shutter over the Altair side, which had yet to open during this match, speaking in a low voice.
“Next.”
