Chapter 284

A moment of negligence in a duel immediately leads to defeat.

Amidst the taut tension, three gazes collided in the air.

A female student from Seviron was being sent outside the stadium by the referees.

“Was it really necessary to kick a senior who no longer has the strength to move?”

“It’s because of your Unique Magic, which who knows where you got it from. You shouldn’t be acting like you’re above others.”

Lee Min-young rolled her eyes fiercely and smiled slyly.

“Why is there no reaction? Are you scared?”

Then, with a calm expression, she twitched the corners of her mouth.

However, contrary to her flippant words, the predator’s two eyes were fixed on Name.

“Lee Min-young, look at those horns.”

“I know, I have eyes too.”

A thin thread of light flowing from Name’s magic circle started to build a solid conical tower from the bottom up, like a 3D printer.

If one did not pay close attention, it would be difficult to notice the small horns sprouting from her head.

“It’s not Halloween…”

Ignoring Lee Min-young’s words completely, Name swept her hand over her head.

“Are you afraid of what might pop out? That’s just the way it is. You’ve bullied only the weak while pretending to be strong all this time. It’s laughable that rabbits are acting like kings in a tiger’s den.”

Confirming the hard texture with her hand, she provocatively mocked.

“That guy over there, looking down on other academies, has the gall to disrespect a senior! Park Jun-young, start right now!”

There was no need for further pretense.

Lee Min-young drew up her aura and instructed Park Jun-young to cast a support spell.

[Creation: Barrier Setup]

[Casting: Spin Mirror]

The hero of last year’s Academy Championship.

Second-year MVP Park Jun-young.

“Is it true that you, Noname, are a genius? Sure, we all recognize that. But do you think we’ve just been sitting idle? With the amount of absolute effort we’ve put in, there’s no way you can defeat us.”

And with a year gone by, the now third-year male student created a barrier formation.

“The academy is not a stage just for you.”

Name could see the sticky jealousy in his eyes.

Excessive spotlight subjected to the figure of Noname long before the tournament.

It scratched the pride of the many geniuses participating in the Academy Championship.

However, Noname had spent time amidst the hatred and envy of the many and found their gazes laughable.

“Enough talk, just come at me, kid.”

“You keep calling me a kid! You’re the one who’s the real kid!”

Lee Min-young, who already had a complex about her height, dashed towards Name like an arrow.

With precise aura manipulation, she bounded like a trampoline every time her feet touched the ground, rapidly closing the distance.

“Just because I’m younger doesn’t mean I’ll hold back!”

Lee Min-young propelled herself high into the sky using the barrier as thrust.

Swoosh—

The sticky aura bubbles that gathered around her clasped hands froze up.

The aura transformed into a massive hammer that fell directly above Name’s head.

‘If I’m going to be criticized anyway, I might as well finish it with a single attack.’

Boom—!

A loud explosion erupted, accompanied by a misty fog creating a shockwave.

The audience stirred in surprise.

It was as if she was declaring openly.

This level of strength is required to speak of being the strongest in the academy.

Lee Min-young was boldly showcasing the external manifestation of aura that is said to be used only by those chosen by the heavens.

Meanwhile, Park Jun-young constructed the barrier, twisting the flow of mana and amplifying Lee Min-young’s power.

It seemed no one at Seviron Academy could stop these two.

“Ha! That was nothing!”

“Lee Min-young! Behind you!”

“Huh?”

Until a massive hand shot out from the mist.

Boom—!

The hand that grabbed Lee Min-young by the nape of her neck slammed her head into the training hall floor.

“Grrrrh!”

She groaned in agony as if her skull might shatter.

The impact against the ground penetrated even the barrier surrounding her head.

As her body trembled, Name pressed her knee against Lee Min-young’s neck and calmly spoke.

“It’s definitely a barrier that children would find difficult to handle. When Maribja Spin is reversed, it’d be easy to confuse forming the magic circle.”

“What are you… how…!”

“Your sister’s talent in handling aura is undoubtedly impressive. But this particle barrier doesn’t seem to protect against what’s inside your body… I wonder what will happen if I keep applying pressure like this.”

“Ugh… Cough… Why is my body so heavy… I… can’t… breathe… Park Jun-young…! Please help!”

The once combative Lee Min-young now struggled desperately.

“Monster…”

Park Jun-young froze in place.

And rightly so; from Noname’s right horn, crimson mana ominously flickered, longer than before.

Then, a gigantic demonic hand enveloped Lee Min-young’s body mercilessly.

“Ugh… Grrh…”

“Hey, I was just kidding! It’s bad manners to do this during a match. My sister did it, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

“Cough! Gugh…!”

Noname released the aura and loosened her grip.

Lee Min-young, crawling on the ground, gasped for breath while clutching her neck.

When she turned back to see what had just happened, an unbelievable sight unfolded before her.

Asymmetrical horns grew on her head, a grotesque hand that had bubbled up now the size of a girl’s body, and a massive pair of wings fluttering from her back; it was an unreal sight that seemed like it belonged in a fairy tale.

“The external manifestation of aura you speak of. It can actually be used this way.”

* * *

Aura is an extension of the body.

However, to operate it like a third independent organ, the Demon Lord’s horn was essential.

The only difference between Mazzaks and humans was the horn, but it was precisely because a small number of Mazzaks could use the aura derived from their horns freely due to it.

Just moments ago, I was able to protect myself by wrapping my body with wings created from aura in response to Lee Min-young’s attack.

By enhancing the horn’s output, I stimulated the Aura Heart to convert mana into aura and applied an opaque liquid over my arm to shape a giant hand.

Aura is generally more efficient than raw mana.

So instead of using raw magic, I decided to engage in combat with the Demon Lord’s horn throughout the fight, only resorting to magic when it was truly necessary.

“Focus, Lee Min-young! She won’t be able to maintain that form for long!”

“Ha… I guess you really are a genius… If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it at all.”

Her eyes, twisted in pain, glared at me.

The seniors who had fought before had already drained a lot of their strength.

At this point, declaring a swap was impossible since the barrier was nearly broken.

Thus, their next course of action was naturally to abandon defense and unrelentingly swarm me.

“I’ll join in too.”

“You should have done that earlier.”

The male student who had maintained the barrier from behind declared his entry into the match.

Swish—!

A small whirlwind arose at the students’ feet, and their forms faded like smoke.

‘For now, the barrier is gone.’

When I opened my eyelids, they had already approached me.

“Lee Min-young, now!”

“I know, idiot!”

[Casting: Type 1 Lever – Cutting]

[Casting: Diluted Cooling – Helium-3]

One side maximized electromagnetic repulsion magic, the other cooled towards absolute zero magic.

Their intentions were obvious.

They intended to freeze the wings and then tear them apart.

“Are you guys not thinking about what happens behind you?”

“…?”

“…!”

As I increased the output of the left horn and began to gather mana.

[Casting: Circuit Restructure]

[Casting: Diffusion Coefficient Adjustment]

This was the moment when the power of double-casting would manifest brilliantly.

By interfering with the circuit forming the support for the Type 1 lever, I weakened the cutting power, and by adjusting the diffusion coefficient, I mixed the isotopic composition of helium atoms to neutralize the glacier magic.

Whoosh—!

The children who rushed in, believing the wings would break, could not overcome inertia and ended up getting caught against my wings, falling.

I swung my heavy arm at the children, grabbing whoever I could reach.

Crack—!

“My leg!”

I could seize Park Jun-young’s leg while Lee Min-young quickly escaped.

With a large semicircle in the air, I mercilessly threw her towards the fleeing female student.

“Gah!”

The children became tangled up on the floor.

Crash—!

The sound of the two barriers breaking grew noticeably louder.

That also meant the conclusion was near.

Since this duel was all or nothing for me, I wasn’t going to hold back.

I retracted all the wings and transferred the excess aura to my left arm.

Using two aura hands, I grabbed each of their heads and lifted them up.

Two bodies dangled in mid-air.

“If I may give you a piece of advice, don’t try to understand this with your head. There’s a lot I don’t know about this world either.”

The defenseless children desperately gathered all the aura they could and wrapped it around their bodies.

All of it was futile resistance.

I set up two delegates and adjusted the ambient fundamental frequency.

While drawing the magic circle, Park Yong-jun shot a pure mana sphere into my abdomen with trembling fingers.

Crack—

Some of my particle barrier was shaved off, but it was at a truly minimal level.

“What are you… who are you?”

“Jesus… this is a nightmare… a nightmare! Ugh…”

Park Yong-jun gritted his teeth while asking, and the other one seemed to have completely lost it.

“Eld, Maben, Gernum, Nellymelo. Oh me? I’ve told you several times; it’s Noname.”

“It’s impossible for someone your age to handle aura like this! So it’s thanks to that Unique Magic? This is cheating! I’m going to officially protest after the match!”

His wild attempt to regain sanity was rather underwhelming, and the air went out of the sails.

Without hesitation, I began to fill slogans into the magic circle and gave them a faint smile.

[Casting: Fundamental Frequency Adjustment]

“That’s something best contemplated while you sleep.”

“What?”

Park Jun-young’s head jerked to the side.

A gigantic 2-circle magic circle was cast between the two students.

As I stretched my arms wide as if stretching, the hands created from aura followed suit and widened while holding the children.

“Are you trying to make us collide with each other? Wait! Stop! Hah—”

“No, I didn’t hear you! Not one bit!”

“Hey, you crazy!”

Smack—

My small palms collided with one another.

Swish—

Following suit, a massive chunk of aura sliced through the heavy air and led the children towards the central magic circle.

“Aaaah!”

Their screams didn’t last long.

Boom—!

Bang—

The intense collision of bodies served as the trigger to activate the magic circle, and I injected mana until their barriers were surely broken.

A bell-like reverberation echoed throughout the training hall.

Amidst the clear and serene sound, the silence was punctuated by the chirping of crickets in the background.

Swish—

As the magic circle dissipated, a secondary shockwave lightly caressed my face.

I lowered my gaze.

A trickle of blood oozed from the ears of the limp boy and girl.

As I withdrew all aura, the harsh sunlight painfully stung my eyes.

I realized that my hands and wings had been blocking the sun all this time.

For a moment, I sat cross-legged on the bare floor to catch my breath.

At that moment, the audience began to murmur in confusion among themselves.

I observed them intently, then turned to indicate the Altair side of the shutter that hadn’t opened even once during this match and spoke in a low voice.

“Next.”