Shirone and Canis kept track of each other's movements, even in the dense, difficult terrain of the forest. Their approach was cautious rather than aggressive, and the battle had turned into a psychological game rather than a direct confrontation. The contrast between light and darkness created a fragile balance, and one wrong move could tip the scales instantly. The question now was: who would strike first?
Canis, feeling the pressure more, knew that dark magic worked best when responding with counterattacks. But Shirone never left an opening, maintaining tension with calculated, tactical moves. Through a mental connection, Harvest's voice came through.
– "It's fine. There's no way anyone can stay this calm in battle." – "Should we pretend to fall for it and close in? We need to create some unpredictability. I can't keep up like this." – "Hmm, it's like a mirrored chess match." The strategy was simple: mirror the opponent's moves to keep the power gap close. In the middle of the fight, the difference in strength wouldn't be noticeable, but one mistake could easily create an opening. However, if the fight continued without mistakes, the one who struck first would likely suffer in the end.
'He's not even showing the slightest sign of weakness. If we keep this up, we could be in serious trouble.'
Canis believed it was better to make the first move. He communicated his decision through the mental link.
– "Harvest, what do you think?" – "Hmm? Oh, right. If this drags on, we'll be at a disadvantage. Let's take the initiative." Canis sensed that the thoughts from Harvest were slower than usual, so he widened the distance with the Dark Fort and asked.
– "What's going on?" – "I felt seismic waves a little while ago. They're coming from about two kilometers away." Harvest, with his highly developed sense of vibration, could perceive and interpret the waves of energy in great detail.
– "Seismic waves?" – "They're still coming. Only Arcane's power could cause a disturbance like this. He must have used Dark Fellowship." – "Master? But the Dark Fellowship is a secret weapon. What does this mean?" – "It could mean either one of two things. The good news is that it could be a sign of Arcane being in a highly energized state. The bad news is, we're probably up against someone strong enough to trigger the Dark Fellowship." – "If it's a strong opponent... Could it be Alpheas?" – "For now, that seems the most likely. Either way, we have to move quickly. If Arcane found Alpheas, we need to finish up here too." – "Got it. Let's go."
Canis closed the gap and moved in. To his surprise, Shirone met him head-on, maintaining the initiative through instinctive feedback and swift adjustments.
Canis cast a dark magic attack, shaping a shadow into a double-edged saw blade designed for offense. Shirone responded by firing Photon Cannons continuously, cutting through the darkness like a rock being battered by wind and waves. Despite light being the natural counter to darkness, Canis was fully committed to dark magic. Though capable of using all basic spells from his series, his magic was not suited for small, quick attacks.
'Stay steady. I can't keep up this level of magic forever. If I can just hold on, the tide will turn.'
As Canis had predicted, Shirone's mental strain grew with every passing moment. Even though Shirone had the advantage in attributes, the defensive power of dark magic was not easily overcome.
'I need more power.'
To keep up the assault, Shirone compressed the photons faster than they were being lost, creating a more powerful and condensed sphere of light. Though this drained his mental energy, the strength of the photons grew, and the light orb grew larger.
Canis immediately sensed the change.
– "What's happening?" – "His power has increased. I'll take care of it."
Harvest, blocking Canis's path, braced himself as the photon cannon slammed into him, striking both of his hands and shattering the photons. However, the impact didn't crush the photon—it sent Harvest flying through the forest with a hollow sound.
Canis, shocked, called out.
– "Harvest, are you okay?" – "So-so. That was... incredibly heavy. It's a deadly weapon."
Shirone raised the photon cannon above his head. More photons appeared on both shoulders, and as the three photon cannons swayed, Harvest stretched out his arms, determined not to be overpowered.
"Kiki Kiki! This tickles! Is that your final move?"
"No, this is just practice for now."
"..."
Harvest fell silent as Shirone fired the photon cannon again. This blast, twice as powerful as the previous one, tore through the trees in its path. Canis's thoughts raced as he struggled to keep up with the intensity of the battle.
– "Canis, we need to dodge this!" – "If we start dodging, we'll lose the initiative. We can't back down now." – "I don't think I can stop it!" – "I can stop it. Absorb my power."
Reluctantly, Canis absorbed Harvest's energy. As a result, Harvest's body swelled dramatically, and the shadow around him turned into a massive beast's jaws, roaring at the three beams of light.
"Quaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Light collided with darkness.
Creas, a warm southern city, was currently experiencing summer, but at the top of an impassable bridge, a fierce snowstorm was raging.
Iruki and Neid tightened their collars as the blizzard reduced visibility, making it hard to see Siana and Lucas.
"Brr, it's so cold. What's going on? Why would Siana-sensei cast magic?"
"Maybe she's regained her senses? She could have awakened after falling off the cliff."
"Don't you think so? What kind of magic is this? It's nothing like a teacher's spell! At this rate, everyone will freeze to death." Neid was just as confused. There were hundreds of students here, and he didn't think they could survive long in this cold—minus 20 degrees. But the pressure on Lucas was clearly working. When body cells cool down, the effectiveness of mitochondria is reduced.
"Damn it! This is driving me crazy!" Lucas was especially affected by the strong wind where he stood, making the temperature feel even colder. Necrosis was spreading from his peripheral nerves. This was one of the reasons why high-level freezing mages often used Blizzard magic. While not the most powerful, its wide range and constant cold made it a reliable method, especially for taking down swordsmen.
"Anyway, I'm so annoyed by these mages." Lucas was frustrated. Mages always harassed swordsmen with strange magic. But it wasn't time to give up. More importantly, she wasn't acting normally.
An ice spear shot through the blizzard, and Lucas quickly tried to dodge. However, his weakened condition made it difficult, and the spear grazed his side.
"Damn it!" At low temperatures, most organisms become sluggish. As he fought through the cold, Lucas was already showing signs of frostbite on his fingertips.
'I think the temperature dropped even more. Are they really trying to kill everyone?' If the other schema users were suffering from frostbite, the students should have already frozen to death. But in reality, only Lucas was trapped in the Blizzard. Then, he noticed that a more concentrated Blizzard was following him.
Completely unaware of this, Lucas gritted his teeth as Siana appeared through the storm. "Are you crazy? How long are you going to keep this miserable blizzard up…?"
Lucas stopped mid-sentence. There was no emotion in Siana's eyes—nothing but emptiness.
"No way..." Lucas' shoulders trembled. He remembered the magic with his body, not his mind—literally, his brain. Just like how prosecutors hone their skills through repetition, Siana had reached a level where she could replicate specific brainwave patterns even in situations where memories or poetry were lost. She must have pushed herself relentlessly from birth.
'How long has she been training?' The hair on Lucas' neck stood on end. Regardless of her abilities, he could sense the darkness in her—her mind was determined.
'Shit! This is no simple opponent.' He had to get out of there. No matter how much the gold coins were worth, they were nothing compared to his life.
He gathered all his strength and tried to run, knowing that if he escaped the Blizzard, she wouldn't catch him. But that was just a desperate thought, and he soon paid the price for turning his back on a certified 6th-class mage.
Siana raised a finger and pointed at Lucas. Moments later, Lucas screamed, buried in snow.
"Quaaaaaa!" There was no pain, but his legs were gone—cut off as if by scissors. He twisted his back to look at his frozen legs, but he couldn't feel anything.
'No, that's impossible.'
This was absolute zero—something he had only heard of in rumors. Freezing magic, when pushed to the limits, can restrict the activity of particles to such an extent that it becomes almost impossible to move. By mastering this technique, Siana became a certified 6th-class mage at just 20 years old. But even she could only produce localized effects due to the mental strain it required.
'Damn it! This crappy school… everyone here is a monster!'
Siana calmly cast her next spell: Glacier Bombing, an advanced magic derived from the freezing technique. As dozens of massive ice blocks formed in the sky, Lucas could only watch in horror. With his legs frozen and no way to escape, he resigned himself to death.
Meanwhile, Neid and Iruki rushed toward the students. While the magic wasn't wide-area, the size of the glaciers made it impossible to be completely at ease. Massive chunks of ice began to fall toward the students, slowly pushing each other with their heavy mass.
Neid grabbed Arin by the shoulder and knocked her to the ground.
"Kyaaak! What are you doing?"
"Evacuate the students! Otherwise, everyone will die!"
"No! We don't have time!" Iruki interrupted, shouting.
"I'll handle it!"
"What are you going to do?"
Iruki gritted his teeth, knowing they were up against a glacier weighing tons. Even if it was hit with an atomic bomb, breaking it into manageable pieces was impossible. It wasn't just a matter of splitting the glacier once; it would take extreme precision and power to shatter it before it fell.
'I have no choice but to try…'
He calculated the forces involved and used his powers to break the glacier apart. The Breakaway Spirit Zone focused its energy at the center, and with a massive explosion, the glacier shattered into seven pieces. Iruki activated Double Spirit Zone, firing even more energy, causing the chunks to explode.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The glacier was destroyed, scattering ice like fireworks.
Neid and Arin watched in awe as the chain of explosions unfolded. The ice fragments fell like hail, but luckily, no one was hurt.
Arin couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Arcane always looked down on magic school students, calling them weak for accepting whatever magic was given to them. But the magic school students she had just seen surpassed her expectations.
'This is a magic school?' she thought in disbelief.
As Neid helped Arin, she screamed, pushing him away. "Go away! What are you doing?"
Neid flushed red as he stumbled. "What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm just trying to help!"
"Why are you helping me? We're enemies!"
"Who says we are? You need to release the mind control! Are you really going to kill all these people? Are you still sane?"