Chapter 36

The sudden rampage of Rusika turned the lecture hall into a complete mess.

“F-First, all outsiders please exit the Academy! A student with a surge in their magical circuits has been confirmed. The disciplinary committee has concluded, and we will manage the situation from now on!”

At the shout of the senior professor grabbing the microphone, the audience members and reporters at the front of the stage hurriedly began to clear out.

“Students, keep your distance from them! Once all outsiders have left, retreat to your seats!”

Even before the senior professor shouted that, the students were already backing away in fear, forming a circle around Tirisia and Rusika.

As if parting the Red Sea, the beings blocking their path disappeared, and Rusika began to slowly approach Tirisia.

Thunder rumbled with every step she took, and red lightning surged from her entire body.

In her once desolate pink eyes, rage was burning fiercely.

“What are you doing? Get down here and accept my duel.”

So far, the ones still standing between the two were me, Haidiera, and the senior Perjena.

I stood in front of Rusika, trying to convince her.

“Rusika! You’re in danger right now! Calm down and later…”

“Erto…”

Her fierce gaze softened a bit as it met my face.

But that was just a brief moment of hesitation.

“Don’t stop me.”

She gritted her teeth and coldly spat out those words.

I yelled back, refusing to back down.

“You’re in no shape—”

“Get lost!”

Ka-pow—!

“Ugh?!”

A red wave exploded from her, sending my body flying through the air.

“Erto!”

Bam!

Haidiera jumped in, creating a wall of shadow to block the shockwave.

“Hey!”

In an instant, the senior Perjena swooped in mid-air, grabbing the back of my neck and shouted.

“Show some respect, kid! You know why that little girl is acting like this!”

“B-but!”

Thud!

Landing on the far-off railing, both of us looked on at the bizarre events unfolding at the center of the stage.

“A-are you hurt? Erto!”

Haidiera had also slipped through the shadows to my side.

“No, I just got shoved back. Rusika wasn’t really trying to attack.”

“That’s a relief…!”

“But is it really okay to leave those two alone like this…”

Following my worried gaze, the senior Perjena crossed her arms and observed Rusika’s condition.

“That’s not an ordinary surge in magical circuits. She’s clearly in control of her magic. That means she hasn’t lost her reason.”

“Wait, that kind of surge is possible…?”

As I questioned in disbelief, the senior nodded, opening one eye wide.

“In a way, this isn’t a surge at all; it’s a display of her emotional potential. She must really be serious about taking on that Bruerd kid.”

Haidiera also nodded, affirming the senior’s words.

“Exactly, it’s like how humans can unleash extraordinary strength in moments of crisis… Rusika’s instinct has judged that she needs this level of magic right now!”

“Anyway, she really intends to fight… damn.”

The senior Perjena clicked her tongue, admitting that there was no helping it.

“Dueling is one of the traditions of the Academy. As long as the other side accepts, this will proceed as a formal duel according to law and rules. Regardless of the situation, if it gets off the ground, we have no right to stop it.”

“If it were an ordinary fight, I’d stop it, but Bruerd hasn’t answered yet.”

“Tirisia…”

We found ourselves watching the center of the stage, unable to intervene.

There stood Rusika with red lightning flashing in front of her, and on the platform, the silver-haired girl was looking down at her.

The girl drenched in gooey eggs and flour looked down at her approaching friend with sad emerald eyes.

“So you’re going to fight Rusika too…?”

*

As the outsiders exited the audience, the students hurriedly took cover in the empty seats.

In the now-chaotic lecture hall, Tirisia Bruerd stood on the podium, lost in thought.

“Hey, I’m done with my business, so I’m heading back. You all figure out the aftermath, alright?”

Kerg Durakal, standing next to her, waved his hand with an annoyed expression and stepped down from the podium.

“Yes, understood. Senior.”

Tirisia replied to him while keeping her gaze fixated on her friend approaching from the front.

In her emerald eyes, the red lightning flashing in front of her was reflected, yet her mind was filled with entirely different thoughts.

It was exactly about the conversation she had with Kerg last night.

―

“Listen up, Tirisia. We’re both in a crap situation right now. This can’t just be brushed over. There are hundreds of eyes that have seen the truth. It’s beyond what we can handle within the Academy.”

Last night, when Kerg met Tirisia at her hideout, he bluntly said that.

“That’s true…”

Tirisia was indeed foreseeing just how dire the future would be.

Both of them would receive an unavoidable and severe punishment.

Kerg scratched his head in irritation.

“If this keeps going, we’ll definitely get expelled, and of course, our families will suffer damage in society outside the Academy as well. It’s painfully obvious.”

As Tirisia slumped her shoulders, Kerg grabbed her arms.

“Senior?”

His black eyes held a strange glint, and what came out of his mouth was an unexpected escape route for Tirisia.

“But if someone takes the fall, we could reduce the damage by nearly half.”

“What do you mean by that…”

“You’ll have to make a little sacrifice, Tirisia.”

“Me…?”

Tirisia looked at Kerg, feeling a chill running down her spine, wondering if he really meant to throw her under the bus.

Kerg had a sinister smile on his face.

“Let’s say this whole thing was your scheme. You force me into the role of the unwilling victim, and at least I’d end up with a lighter punishment. My mother wouldn’t touch me as it is, and the directors or professors can’t just mess with me inside the Academy. It’s a perfect condition to minimize punishment.”

His words did make sense.

But that only held true under one condition.

“So for that… you mean I’d have to offer myself up? Senior?”

Tirisia looked at Kerg with doubts, yet there was a hint of wanting to trust him in her gaze.

Kerg’s expression briefly tightened, then he grinned fiercely as he patted her arm.

“Hey… think about it. If the other way around, I had set things up, what then? If you end up as an innocent victim, your family would hire an assassin to target me. Our side doesn’t hold much influence outside the Academy, so we can’t do such a thing, but the Bruerds certainly have enough power to pull off something like that in secret. Am I wrong?”

“That’s…”

Tirisia wanted to argue that the Bruerds weren’t the type of family to resort to assassination, but given the unprecedented situation and how uncertain the aftermath was, she bit her tongue.

If Kerg framed it as his doing and her parents found out?

What if word got out that the daughter of the Bruerd family had been assaulted by an outsider?

What parent wouldn’t want to tear that person apart? And if they had the power to do it quietly, even more so.

Imagining that scenario, Tirisia simply couldn’t put that responsibility onto him.

…

Feeling her hesitation, Kerg leaned closer, urging her to decide.

“Do you want to see me die…? Huh? Tirisia.”

“B-but Senior… if I did that, I’d receive a really huge punishment from home.”

Tirisia was not just worried about her status at the Academy; she looked at him with eyes asking for a solution.

Hearing this, Kerg gripped his forehead and burst into laughter.

“Hey… hey! Hahaha! Are you kidding? Who do you think you are? You’re Tirisia Bruerd, the most powerful magician in Bruerd history! That aristocratic family with talent and power, do you really think they’d so easily throw you away? Not a chance! They’d put on a show of punishing you, but then they’d keep you hidden, and when the incident blows over, they’ll sneak you back in. I guarantee it.”

“Is that… true?”

Tirisia, who had never been scolded by her parents in her life, found herself intrigued by Kerg’s words.

For some reason, it seemed that if she just followed his lead, she could navigate through the worst-case scenario toward the best outcome.

“You can take all the blame for me, right? Tirisia.”

Tirisia nodded in response to Kerg’s sweet words as he embraced her.

“Yes, understood. I’ll protect you, Senior.”

Completely unaware of the tainted smile that had risen on his lips.

――

That’s why there was no hesitation.

In front of the whole world, she’d made this all her scheme, forcing Kerg into despicable acts.

She had played the innocent common girl all this time just for the thrill of betrayal.

Deceiving everyone, tricking them, and willingly becoming the protagonist of a horrible love drama.

Even with thousands upon thousands of people pointing fingers and hurling accusations at her, she wouldn’t care less.

Because this was a matter of life and death for the person she loved.

The sense of duty to protect him and the satisfaction knowing that he depended on her filled Tirisia from head to toe.

“…”

But,

No matter how blinded by love she was,

She could not entirely overlook everything.

The hateful glares of the people gathered in the lecture hall, as if they were looking at some vile creature.

The sharp criticisms whispered among the remaining students in this place.

The ex-boyfriend and oldest friend gazing at her with a resigned face from afar.

The friends and seniors with whom she had always laughed and chatted.

Every warm memory seemed to be smeared to filth like her body, causing Tirisia immense stress.

And above all,

Crackle―Krrrrrum―

This feeling was not just through looks or words; it resonated deep in her skin.

The old friend unleashing her rage right in front of her.

The red current pouring out of her felt like it was striking at her heart.

No matter how much she tried to cover her ears or shut her eyes, rationalizing it was all for Kerg’s sake, this was the hardest to endure.

She had no regrets, but the burden of resentment was towering like a mountain.

Ah—

Annoyance.

She felt annoyed since the moment she stepped into the lecture hall,

Even when she was hit with eggs and flour,

Even when thousands of people called her a rag,

Tirisia clearly recognized that she was filled with genuine annoyance.

Now, she was harboring immense anger, far beyond her meeting with Rusika on the back mountain peak.

No matter if the one attacking her was a friend or not, she could no longer think about keeping her cool—

[Answer me, will you accept the duel!]

The roaring challenge of Rusika Rafisle imbued with magic echoed.

With a deep sigh, Tirisia finally released it.

“Hah…”

She then leaped down from the podium, standing on the grass opposite Rusika Rafisle.

“Fine, if it’s a fight that must be had.”

Screeech—!

Ice blades emitting cold energy exploded from Tirisia’s right hand.

Bang!

The atmosphere grew heavy.

A dense silver magical power began to emanate from her body.

“I will accept the duel. Rusika Rafisle.”

In her emerald eyes resided the spirit of the strongest Bruerd.

The innocence and gentleness she usually had were nowhere to be found as she pointed her sword at her friend, murmuring,

“I’ll take you on until your anger subsides. Come at me with everything you’ve got.”

Thus, the duel of two childhood friends was set to take place.

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