‘…Magic Book?’
Elisa was casting a spell while rolling her eyes to inspect the book attached to Bella’s waist. It seemed like an ordinary book, but Elisa felt an ominous presence from it.
‘Could it really be a Magic Book?’
Acquiring a Magic Book is never an easy task.
The number of Magic Books spread throughout the world isn’t that high, and only outstanding wizards who have reached the position of Archmage can use them.
Considering that such wizards are so rare they can be counted on one hand in a generation, the number of Magic Books never exceeded three digits.
Especially since most of the renowned Magic Books are often passed down through families, obtaining a new Magic Book is something that rarely happens without saving a country in a past life.
‘First, I need to check what kind of Magic Book it is…’
Elisa remembered what Johan had said while exploring the dungeon with him.
Continuously contemplate how to efficiently deal with the enemy. Never let your guard down just because the enemy seems weak.
You must scrape out every bit of information about the enemy and apply it to the fight.
As Elisa recalled Johan’s words, she conjured a fireball the size of a human head in the air. If it were against a monster, she would fire it without hesitation, but this time the opponent was human.
Using magic recklessly could leave her open to a counterattack, something she understood from her previous battles in the dungeon.
“Is that all you can do?”
Shivers!
A chilling voice echoed. At the hostile tone, Elisa felt the hairs on her body stand on end.
Elisa threw the fireball to negate the incoming magic and activated her Defense Magic. Simultaneously, a series of booms resounded. Staggered by the shaking barrier, Elisa braced herself on her right foot.
‘This is strange! There’s no way she can cast this many spells…’
From incantation to casting, it was alarmingly fast. Elisa narrowed her eyes, shrinking back as she felt her barrier being chipped away.
Although it was hard to focus on anything through the vibrant explosions blocking her vision, glimpses of Bella furiously chanting spells revealed themselves amidst the fading flames.
Bella’s lips were constantly moving.
Even if she couldn’t hear the words, it was obvious she was casting a spell. Elisa racked her brain to find a way to turn the situation around.
‘Using magic while maintaining the barrier…’
She had never tried anything like that before. But it was the only way to overcome this situation.
She understood that she had to comprehend with her mind and execute with her body.
Thus, Elisa reduced the barrier just enough to barely withstand the incoming assault.
She began to chant slowly.
“Light!”
Lighting Magic. The position was in front of the barrier. The sudden burst of light stopped the barrage of spells for a moment.
‘This is my chance!’
Elisa shot the floating light spell directly at Bella’s eyes and simultaneously created a crackling sphere.
Lightning Ball.
A level 4 magic.
The swift lightning sphere formed quickly and charged towards Bella. However, it dispersed against the red barrier before it could touch her.
‘To break through that barrier, I need strong magic…’
She had seized control, but thinking about Bella’s fearsome spell barrages made it difficult to predict when she might lose it.
Elisa kept firing level 4 magic at the barrier in frustration, racking her brain for a solution.
Her attacks barely scratched the barrier. To inflict meaningful damage on Bella, she would need potent magic.
A powerful spell strong enough to shatter that thick barrier in one blow.
‘Can I use multi-casting…?’
Though she wasn’t incapable of multi-casting, the situation made it a different story. Casting two spells simultaneously while worrying about the opponent was an entirely different level of difficulty.
But she had to do it.
Because to land a hit on the unnaturally strengthened Bella, powerful magic was a necessity. Elisa opened her eyes wide and began to chant.
“Flame!”
Naturally, the incoming magic began to dwindle. With a level 4 spell in hand, she began her lengthy incantation.
‘Multi-casting…?’
I can’t accept this.
There’s no way I’m going to lose to someone from a lowly background.
Bella’s feelings of inferiority flared up.
Bella gathered all her magical power to prepare her spell. With the Magic Book aiding her incantation, a malevolent fireball quickly materialized.
If it were to hit directly, she would burn to the bones. Even from a distance, the audience began to murmur fearfully at the deadly intent packed into the fireball.
“Shouldn’t someone stop this?”
“It really seems like she’s trying to kill her…”
“Bella! You shouldn’t use magic that could cause harm…”
“Shut up!”
The startled expression on Professor Willy’s face appeared as he attempted to intervene.
Shut up?
As a noble, she must’ve been thoroughly educated in manners. Even if her relationships with peers weren’t great, Bella had always used respectful language with the professors. How could she say such harsh words?
Professor Willy gazed at Bella in shock, raising his hand to stop the duel.
“The duel is—!”
A deafening explosion covered Willy’s voice. Willy broke into a cold sweat as he was horrified by the magic that had scorched his surroundings.
‘Is she really going to use magic…against me?!’
Willy gulped as he looked at the damaged barrier. If it had been even a moment late, he would have been burned to death. He sensed something was off and raised his hand to stop the duel again.
But, of course, it was inevitable that another fireball was coming his way.
Displaying a terrifying power that could restrain both Elisa and Professor Willy, Bella glared at Elisa with an even paler face.
A murderous glare.
Elisa felt a shiver run down her spine, raising the hairs all over her body.
Yet, she didn’t halt her incantation.
Soon—
“A filthy witch’s descendant…!”
“How…how did you know that…!”
“…Someone told me there’s a filthy witch’s descendant in front of me!”
Elisa’s incantation faltered. The sudden revelation was too much to bear. Few heard Bella’s shout because of the constant booms, but they weren’t entirely deaf to it.
“A witch…?”
“Is it really Elisa?”
“Bella must be just talking nonsense.”
Some dismissed Bella’s claim as mere nonsense, while others cast suspicious glances at Elisa.
“That’s why she was acting so suspiciously…”
Elisa lowered her head, trembling as she felt the weight of every gaze directed toward her.
‘What should I do?’
I’m scared.
I’m terrified.
The shadow of her past crawled up her body, whispering in her ear.
‘An abandoned child. There’s no one who would love you.’
Her legs trembled.
If it continued like this, she’d be turned to ashes by Bella’s magic. Yet, Elisa couldn’t even think about reciting her incantation again as she stared at the floor.
“…Bow.”
From afar, she heard Principal Merlin’s voice. A powerful defense magic enveloped her. It was strong enough to block even 1st-level magic… at least for one hit.
“…Bow.”
With those words that weren’t even a spell, a dark spear shot forth, instantly shattering Merlin’s barrier, grazing Elisa’s cheek. Thanks to the barrier, the impact was mostly mitigated, leaving only a superficial wound…
But there would be no next time.
Bella, seemingly annoyed, extended a magical barrier around the duel grounds.
Despite the unexpected intervention, with the aid of !@*&!(#, she easily shrugged off that minor disturbance.
Her ominous gaze returned to the girl with the purple hair.
But Elisa was still in a panic.
In a life-or-death moment.
Elisa’s eyes widened at the sensation of a hand striking her cheek.
Rue.
Her tendrils struck her cheek, pointing directionally. Elisa’s gaze instinctively followed where the tendril pointed.
Johan.
He was wielding a shovel, smashing through a bizarre barrier that enveloped the duel grounds. The magic that shook the barrier, juxtaposed against his humble shovel, seemed meager. Yet he pressed on.
Their eyes met in the air.
Elisa read concern in Johan’s eyes.
Just that was enough for her to find a reason to begin her incantation again.
“Flame!”
Channeling the power of a witch.
The purple flames began to fill the air.
This was significantly different from her usual flames. The Magic Book at Bella’s waist fluttered, sending a warning to Bella.
Of course, Bella wouldn’t just sit back and watch; she unleashed her magic in response.
“This can’t be!”
Now, her words, filled with curses, hatred, and resentment, transformed into magic aimed at Elisa’s heart. Elisa conjured a shimmering sphere the size of a baseball and hurled it at Bella.
Compared to the shadowy spear that could rip her apart, her magic seemed pathetic. But if it could only delay or divert her attack for just a moment, that would be enough.
“My eyes…!”
The shadow spear grazed past her. Elisa narrowed her eyes and continued her incantation. She formed a small fireball in her hand.
“To vanquish evil with the spear of judgment—”
The fireball was launched.
Its target… was the ground beneath Bella’s feet.
No matter how strong one might be, a human living on solid ground would lose balance if the ground beneath them crumbled. Elisa delivered her last judgment to the staggering Bella who hadn’t expected this attack.
The spear of judgment to annihilate the enemy.
“Flame…Spear!”
“That’s absurd…!”
The spear infused with purple flames crashed against Bella’s barrier.
The witch-infused fire devoured Bella’s barrier hungrily as it advanced.
One layer. Two layers. Three layers.
Shocked by the heat that threatened to burn her alive, Bella poured her magic into the barrier.
But ironically, her efforts were in vain, as the purple flames pierced through the barrier and struck her body.
Accompanied by a terrifying scream, the grotesque magic engulfing the dueling arena subsided.
“Elisa!”
A voice called out to her. Elisa suddenly slumped down, overwhelmed by dizziness crashing upon her.
“Hehe… Johan, I did it.”
“…Yeah. Good job.”
“You have to grant my wish now, okay?”
Elisa’s eyes began to close. Johan picked her up and entrusted her to a waiting priest.
“…You’re tougher than a cockroach.”
“!@&(#$!&(*$”
A reply came back in an incomprehensible language.
Or, perhaps it wasn’t even a response at all.
His gaze shifted toward Bella, who would have been burned to ashes.
Amidst the smoke created by the explosion, a silhouette moved.
With a head that was disproportionately swollen, Johan quickly infused magical energy into the jewel hanging from his neck.
He couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of calamity would unfold if an ordinary person saw that.
“…I see you think a big head equates to magical prowess.”
The dueling arena was consumed by mist.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.