BEM: Chapter 36 – Tournament Finals #4

Tournament Finals #4

‘I want to win against this person! I want to be friends with this person!’

For the first time in her life, feelings of enthusiasm, interest, and appreciation filled her .  How long had it been since she felt such intense feelings?

The moment her emotions exploded, Sylvia’s stagnant circles started to rotate .  The door of the cage which had been locked until now started to open slowly .

Wuooooong!

A wave of magic power shook the entire stadium! Sylvia’s magic power sprang up as the ‘wall’ was destroyed, creating a rough wind .  It was still too early to call it the 5th Circle, but it was beyond the standards of the 4th Circle .

“I want to win!” The words she was thinking popped out unconsciously from her mouth . Whether it was due to the boiling magic power or her red cheeks, Sylvia seemed quite different from usual .

Theodore paused at her bold declaration before laughing . “Yes, I also want to win . ”

He had always been chasing someone’s back .

Back when he was a child, it had been the magicians he read about in the storybooks .  After entering the academy, it had been his seniors .  After repeating a year, it had been the classmates who graduated first .  When he had gotten tired of chasing countless backs, the wings hanging on his back filled with new strength .

So, from now on…

“This is the last one . ”

Theo’s constant chasing of someone else’s back would end here .  At the same time, Theo used Gluttony’s abilities of [Magic Power Amplification] and [Attributes Affinity] .  The circles started to revolve slowly, and the magic power in his blood vessels rose . He still had one trump card remaining .

Both Theo and Sylvia were convinced of their victory as the two magicians raised all their remaining strength .

Woong, woong, woong, woong!

The flow of strong magic power emerged from the two people, colliding and spreading in every direction .

The magnitude of the magic power shaking the stadium was already beyond the level of a student’s magic . Some magicians became nervous and forgot about the presence of the barrier protecting the audience .

First, Sylvia was surrounded by blue magic power and floated in the air .  

‘Levitation . Is she concerned about a surprise attack from underground? It isn’t a bad decision . ’

2nd Circle magic, Levitation… There was nothing special about it; it was just magic that allowed someone to float in the air . However, it was useful when enemies attacked from underground or when facing ranged attacks .

Against a magician like Theodore who was good with earth magic, it was a decent countermeasure .  However, as Theo possessed the mysterious Magic Bullet, Levitation was just an ordinary magic which gave him a still target in the air .

Sylvia, who had encountered Magic Bullet directly, couldn’t not know this fact . So, it was natural to think that she had set up a countermeasure . Theo looked up at her with a strong determination .  As expected from the genius, Sylvia pulled out a magic spell .

“…Ice Shield?” Theo murmured .

It was a bit large to call it a shield, and it wasn’t transparent enough to see inside the ice . Maybe it was the shield she’d used to block the Double Blaze Shells in the first attack .  Six shields surrounded Sylvia, causing the space she was floating in to be blocked from Theo’s view . It was a carefully thought out countermeasure .

‘There is no way to penetrate that shield with a clumsy Magic Bullet, and I can’t see her, so I can’t aim precisely . If the hit misses and I receive the counterattack, that will be the end . ’

Should he bet on Magic Bullet and gamble, or do a frontal confrontation? Sylvia was likely asking such questions as well . She also had magic which she could use in a frontal confrontation . The one who could reverse the other person’s card would win .

Could she break the magic that Theodore envisioned? It wasn’t an exaggeration to say the results would depend on this move .

“Okay, I’ll do it . ” Theo accepted her challenge .

He would use the strongest magic possible and the affinity he was best it . Both of them had great strengths in attack and defense . The power of the the two hidden cards was something which wasn’t inferior to ice magic .

There were two Blaze Shells remaining in the Memorize slots, plus he could store additional spells .

“Giant of the earth, I command you to throw the stones…”

It was the chant for the 4th Circle magic, Catapult .  After finishing the chant which lasted almost five measures, he gathered the magic power and pushed it into a Memorize slot .  Catapult was stored in Slot 3, and another Catapult was stored in Slot 4 .

With this, his preparations were finished .

‘Sorry to trouble you . ’

[Hoooung…]

Theo communicated with the exhausted Mitra and waited for the ice shield around his head to clear up .

It was ridiculous to consume attack power when the barrier would disappear anyway . Based on the magic power coming from the barrier, he could tell that his opponent’s preparations were almost over .

“Amazing . ”

Ice started to form on the floor of the stadium, which was a mess due to all the attacks .  This was a phenomenon which could be seen in ice magic above the 5th Circle .

Humans caught in the chill would freeze in an instant and die .  Even though the destructive power of water magic was lower than fire magic, there was a reason why nobody had said that it wasn’t destructive .

However, Theo didn’t back down and faced the cold .  As the edges of his robe started to freeze, the ice shield melted . Beyond that was Sylvia who emerged belatedly .  Theo felt a terrible chill the moment she appeared .

“Master of the cold, Ymir . Show your strength to those who dare to ask for it…!”

It was originally the chant for the 7th Circle magic which turned the ground into a lump of ice .  However, Sylvia simplified the magic formula and improved it so that she could use it now . Of course, it didn’t have the strength of the original, but it was far beyond a normal 4th Circle magic!

‘Minor Force .  Blizzard…’

A murderous blizzard started swirling on the ground .

‘Let’s go, Mitra!’

Theodore also fired the spells he had prepared .

‘Memorize .  All Slots Open .  Double Blaze Shell .  Double Catapult . ’

Four 4th Circle magic spells were triggered, but it was still lacking to go against the Blizzard . Two fireballs and two stones couldn’t resist that .

As Sylvia called the fearsome Blizzard, the skin exposed by his robe started freezing .  He needed to act before the damage absorbed would cause the crystal to break .

“Fusion Magic . ” It was a spell which overlapped the two images of fireballs and stones .

Then Theo imagined the greatest disaster on Earth .  The entire human race was fearful every time it burst out, and they believed it was the wrath of God .  As magma started emerging from deep below the ground, a volcano emerged . In the process, lumps of stones covered in lava fell like meteorites .

Then the so-called volcanic ash, in other words…

“Volcanic Shell-!”

It was persistent and rough . The power of the spell which combined the strongest attack with the strongest defense wasn’t comparable to when they were separate .

This wasn’t simply a stone covered in fire . The firepower of Blaze Shell was nestled in the massive rock . It didn’t reach the pressure of an actual volcanic eruption, but the destructive power was similar .

Kuooooh!

Indeed, the two Volcanic Shells rushed from in front of Theo to the center of the Blizzard .

The blizzard was just a breeze before that overwhelming destruction . In the end, Blizzard’s magic power greeted the Volcanic Shells .  Immediately afterwards, the two magic nuclei clashed together .

――――――――――!

The mouths of the spectators dropped open . “Kuah…!”

Black smoke, water vapour, and all types of natural phenomenon appeared .  Theo was barely able to withstand the shock wave by triggering a blessing .  All his magic power was consumed, and his body wobbled as he held onto the last remaining crystal .

‘My limit… This fight… isn’t over…’

If Sylvia walked out okay, then it was over . Theo was physically and mentally tired, but the anxiety of the situation caused his mind to shake .  Theodore couldn’t use Hawkeye anymore, so he had to wait until the dust sank down gradually .

‘Damn . ’

Beyond his blurry vision, Sylvia was walking over .

“…You, what is your name?”

Sylvia admitted she didn’t know his name, but Theo couldn’t help smiling .  He was able to reply somehow through dry lips, “Theodore Miller . ”

“Can I call you Theo?”

‘Do whatever you want . ’ It sounded like nonsense right now .

“Then Theo, next time, let’s play again…”

The sound of someone falling over and a crystal breaking entered his ears . It was a very light sound and seemed like it was coming from a distance away…

“…Huh?”

Theo looked down at the crystal in his palm with a bewildered expression .  The crystal didn’t have a single crack in it, let alone for it to be broken . Then what was the sound he’d heard just now? The sound was so vivid that he almost dismissed it as a hallucination .

Theo couldn’t help lifting his gaze and looked at the girl with silver hair on the ground .  Sylvia had collapsed . Then who was standing?

–Right now! The winner of the Pupil Tournament has been decided!

The yells of the host echoed through the stadium and into Theo’s ears .

–The winner of this tournament is Participant Number 132, the disciple of the Red Magic Tower’s Superior ranked Vince Haidel! Theodore Miller!

“Wahhhhh!” The audience cheered and clapped .

It wasn’t just magicians but normal people who clapped their hands together, unable to control their excitement .

This was because both the boy and the girl were so impressive .  A battle between fire and ice… The two dynamically moving battle forces were fiercely reminiscent of being on a battlefield .

What about that last clash? It was unclear if even Average ranked magicians could do such things .

As the two mentors looked at each other with satisfied expressions, the two disciples collapsed on the ground in a similar manner .  Unlike the spectacular match, it was a comical finish .

 

*     *     *

“She was a formidable opponent,” Vince said as he wrapped a bandage around Theo’s swollen forearm .

A healing potion was applied to the wound, but it would still throb for three or four more days .  Theo nodded as he touched the bandages . “Yes, she was tremendous . Perhaps that is a genius . ”

In fact, Theo couldn’t imitate his opponent even if he could grasp what they were doing . It was different from magic he already knew . Rational understanding was different from understanding with his senses .

However, Sylvia had displayed both of these in the match . Furthermore, her rational learning ability wasn’t inferior to Theo’s . He’d gone through an intensive training course in the last two or three months and had barely won the match .

Above all, it was because Theo’s body was too soft to display all of Alfred’s experience .

‘I still have a long way to go…’

No matter how fraudulent the grimoire was, Theo needed to focus on his growth .  Theo’s eyes sunk as he became aware of this fact . Memorize was a useful feature, but it shouldn’t be relied upon . He needed to accelerate the training of Magic Bullet even further .

Vince interpreted Theodore’s sunken expression and tapped on his shoulder . “Well, how about you admire your victory instead of her genius today?”

“Even if you say so… I still can’t believe it . ”

“It is all about winning . Now, can you get up?”

Theo wanted to fall asleep, but he raised his body forcefully . The awards ceremony would be held shortly after the Pupil Tournament ended .  It was a meaningful event he couldn’t miss, even if he had a severe injury .

His right forearm was a bit sore, but fortunately, it didn’t stop him from moving .  Vince handed him a robe and asked, “You haven’t worn a robe before, right? I will help you . ”

“Ah, thank you . ”

“First of all, put your arm here…”

Vince guided Theo on how to wear the robe, transforming Theo into a wealthy nobleman .  The robe was made of a luxurious black fabric, and Theo looked impressive in it, like both a magician and a noble .

“Hrmm, now you look like a gentleman . ”

“Something feels a bit awkward…”

“It can’t be helped since the robe isn’t tailored to you . Just wear it until the end of the awards ceremony . You are allowed to participate wearing your original clothes . ”

“Eh? Then why did you borrow this robe?”

Vince tapped his red robe several times and explained, “I heard that His Majesty is appearing at the awards ceremony . So, isn’t this the basics?”