Chapter 518
Among the three great necromancer schools, the arena with the largest audience this time was Moyran’s “Waterway Arena”.
Real flowing waterways had been constructed, with countless bridges arching across them.
At the center of the arena, Kamibarez and Moyran’s contestant, Alizarin, were warming up.
‘First match is Kami, huh? She must be really nervous.’
Simon stretched his stiff shoulders as he watched ahead.
Kamibarez’s awkward stretching made it clear she was trembling with nerves. Her arm was supposed to circle sideways, but instead her body spun with it, making her stumble and fall flat with a soft plop.
From all around the audience, small chuckles could be heard.
“Kkh! So cuteee!”
Maelyn muttered excitedly beside him.
“Do your best, Keyzen!”
“Go for it!”
At least Moyran’s audience wasn’t like Aland and Sierra’s earlier—there were no one-sided cheers or vicious jeering at the other side’s students.
The atmosphere was more like: It’d be nice if our team won, but let’s cheer for both sides.
It probably helped that ordinary citizens were mixed into the audience here, and the school’s overall climate was more gentle.
“Simon, have you seen Kami fight recently?”
Maelyn suddenly asked. Simon scratched his temple.
“Not really, no.”
“Geez, you never pay attention.”
She narrowed her eyes, then looked ahead again.
“Kami’s battle style basically comes in two forms. First, she inflicts a valid wound on the enemy, then follows up with the Bleeding Overflow spell.”
“Bleeding Overflow. Yeah, I remember.”
That vicious black magic unique to Ursula, where the enemy’s wounds endlessly gushed blood. The memory was still vivid.
“But! In this transfer evaluation match, inflicting a valid wound will be difficult. The protective suits are the same old type we used in the first year. You know, the kind that protects the whole body with a single barrier.”
“Right. To wound someone, you’d have to break the barrier gauge to zero first.”
“Which means the second option is key.”
Maelyn raised a slender finger with a grin.
“Remember Kami’s black magic? The one where blood rises up like a whirlwind?”
“Yeah. Blood Storm, wasn’t it?”
“Exactly! If Kami can just hold out long enough to unleash that big ‘one shot’, her chances shoot up to ninety percent. She’s a classic slow-starter type.”
After finishing her analysis, Maelyn glanced at Alizarin, Kami’s opponent. His sharply chiseled jaw and nose gave a striking impression, and he wore long, single-piece sunglasses.
“But I can’t quite picture how he’ll fight. He’ll definitely use the home advantage with all that water. And he’s a fellow haematologist like Kami? Hard to imagine what kind of style he’ll bring.”
Indeed, both contestants specialized in Haematology. Since Alizarin was a Moyran transfer student, he had surely prepared techniques that thrived in this arena.
“Contestants, shake hands.”
Warm-up time ended, and at the referee’s call, the two students met and shook hands.
Click—
Alizarin lifted his sunglasses.
Turns out, the lenses slid upward. Beneath them were glaring sanpaku eyes, almost all sclera, giving a chilling glare.
“...Ursula.”
Just one look, and it was the kind of face that could haunt a dream.
Kamibarez involuntarily shrank her shoulders during the handshake, but quickly bowed her head and smiled.
“P-please take care of meee.”
Alizarin didn’t even acknowledge her, turning away coldly.
Kami was left standing awkwardly with her hand raised. Flustered, she clasped her own hand tightly to her chest, head down as she scurried away.
“How dare he!”
Maelyn slammed against the safety fence, shouting furiously.
“How can you treat our Kami so rudely! Just wait till you’re back in Keyzen!”
...Is she her mom? Simon gave a wry smile.
Soon, Kamibarez and Alizarin took their distance from each other. Professors from each side came over for final coaching.
Moyran’s professor offered technical advice, while Jane gave Kami mental support.
“You’ll do fine in the actual fight, but your nerves are showing too much right now.”
Jane gently stroked Kami’s head.
“Let go of the burden, Kamibarez Ursula.”
“I-I’m trying, but… I’m sorry, professor.”
“You may clear the outcome of this match from your mind.”
She smiled softly.
“The next matches will be handled by the student president and vice president.”
Kami’s eyes widened. She looked at Simon and Maelyn, who were waving enthusiastically at her.
“But if you fight with no regrets now, you’ll feel free later when standing with your friends, won’t you?”
Jane’s words steadied her trembling gaze.
“Yes! Thank you!”
Jane nodded and returned to the spectator seats.
“Then, for Moyran’s transfer evaluation match! Moyran’s Alizarin Jaq versus Kamibarez Ursula—begin!”
The referee raised his arm.
“Match start!”
The roar of the crowd erupted as both Kami and Alizarin began casting black magic. With the waterways and obstacles around, neither engaged immediately with direct Magical Combat.
Kiiing!
Kami squeezed her blood to draw a crimson magic circle across her body.
Maelyn’s eyes shone.
“As expected! She’s going for Blood Storm.”
“Yeah.”
Simon nodded.
“Then what about her opponent…?”
Alizarin, meanwhile, was preparing with dazzling hand movements.
Though pre-drawn circles were banned before the match, permanent magic circles imprinted on the body without Darkness were allowed.
He activated his permanent circles one after another, then drew a central circle, gathering all black magic into a single focus.
Finally, preparations complete, he turned and strode toward the nearest waterway.
Rushhh—
Clear water gushed along the channel.
Alizarin stretched his finger above it. With a small cut from his nail, a single drop of blood fell into the stream.
Fwoooosh!
Like dye spreading in water, the entire channel turned scarlet. With conductor-like motions, he raised his arms, and the crimson waters slowly rose into the air.
“...!”
Kami, in the middle of preparing Blood Storm, stumbled back in shock.
“My blood commands the surrounding waters.”
Crimson waves surged and churned under Alizarin’s control.
“This power I’ve honed in Moyran—watch closely with those eyes, Ursula!”
<Blood Wave>
Whoooosh!
The scarlet torrent surged forward. The volume alone left Maelyn’s jaw dropping.
“What the—! That’s Blood Wave?!”
Normally a staple haematology black magic. But with the arena’s waters behind it, the scale was overwhelming.
Kami quickly formed and crossed magic circles in her palms, thrusting them forward.
<Blood Wave>
Her Ursula-blood-forged Blood Wave clashed and smashed through Alizarin’s initial attack—but countless waves followed, colliding in succession until Kami’s spell finally shattered.
“Dodge, Kami!”
Simon shouted urgently.
Kami stepped onto Darkness and sprinted away. Behind her, the crimson waves crashed like an ocean of blood, spilling and colliding chaotically.
Sweat dripped down her forehead.
Whooooosh!
Whooosh!
From a side waterway, more scarlet streams surged upward, rushing toward her. Kami veered hard in the opposite direction, curling her hand like a pistol, index finger extended.
<Bloodshot>
The crimson bullet she fired smashed through the wave’s front with raw power, but the second and third surges immediately closed in to restore it.
Kamibarez had no choice but to turn and run again.
“Uuugh! Just as I thought!”
Maelyn clasped her hands tightly, hopping anxiously on her toes.
“No matter if it’s Keyzen, they’re both second-years! The home advantage here is just too much! Infinite water supply? That’s not fair!”
Simon only nodded silently, eyes fixed on Alizarin’s next move.
Alizarin kept dripping his blood into the waterways, steadily gaining control over more and more of the water.
“Kami!”
At Maelyn’s cry, Simon’s gaze snapped back to Kamibarez—she was charging headlong, leading the crimson tide back toward Alizarin.
‘No way she’s going for close combat? No!’
Darkness shimmered in her hands. As Alizarin swept his arm, another crimson wave rushed from the front.
“Haaah!”
She hurled her small frame forward with reckless bravery, slipping through before the wave could fully crash. Landing on one knee, she thrust up her arm.
<Bleeding>
Her curse of haematology burst forth—but Alizarin was ready, countering with a flawless <Cancellation>.
“Ahhh!”
Maelyn stomped and shuddered with frustration.
“That bastard! Even his curse defense is perfect!”
He was a formidable opponent. No obvious opening to exploit.
Simon thought to himself that even he would’ve struggled badly against him.
<Blood Silk>
Kami wove blood from her fingertips into a crimson carpet and leapt onto it. The blood-carpet floated just above the ground, propelling her forward at high speed.
Now that she was in second year, her application of fundamentals was on an entirely different level.
Behind her, the crimson sea swallowed every obstacle in its path, chasing relentlessly.
Kami barely escaped the edges of the wave, slipping out at the last moment. The crowd rose to their feet, sweating in their palms as they shouted.
Kami really is giving it her all.
Simon stroked his chin in thought.
But…
From directly ahead, a crimson wave suddenly surged up like a wall from the waterway.
“Ah!”
“I’ve been waiting!”
This was his home field. Moyran students not only manipulated water freely, they had perfect knowledge of the arena’s geography.
The wave engulfed her body and slammed her down against the floor with a crash, scattering violently into spray.
Drenched, she coughed harshly, spitting water from her mouth.
[Kamibarez Ursula: 78%]
[Alizarin Jaq: 100%]
“Kami!”
Maelyn cried with a tearful voice.
Luckily, she’d been washed onto flat ground, so she could scramble up immediately without being pinned.
But crimson waves were surging in endlessly from all around.
Soaked like a drowned mouse, Kamibarez dashed across the Darkness. Her hair and uniform clung heavily, weighing her down.
Tap!
“Haah!”
She kicked off the railing of a bridge and leapt high into the air. The waves followed close behind.
From above, she curled her hand into the shape of a pistol, aiming at Alizarin far across the arena.
‘Bloodshot again?’
Alizarin, spotting it, raised another wave like a wall before himself.
But then—her left hand slipped free from her right, like an archer drawing back an arrow. With each pull of her left hand, the magic circle stretched, enlarged, and transformed its formula.
Simon’s eyes went wide.
‘A three-dimensional magic circle!’
<Kamibarez Original – Blood Chaser>
No loud firing sound. Just a streak of crimson, a straight line that pierced through the wall of water and slammed into Alizarin’s abdomen.
“Gahk!”
With a violent impact of red energy, Alizarin gagged and staggered backward.
[Kamibarez Ursula: 78%]
[Alizarin Jacques: 66%]
Waaaaaaah!
The crowd, now fully engrossed in Kami’s performance, roared in cheers. The waves chasing her dulled as Alizarin’s focus wavered.
She landed safely, hitting the ground running, while Alizarin clutched his stomach and struggled to maintain control of the water.
“Yaaah!”
A brilliant stroke of wit had turned the tide. Maelyn jumped up and down, screaming with joy.
“A sniper shot! She nailed him! Go Kami!”
Simon too clenched his fist, cheering under his breath.
This was the first time he had seen his fellow student council members fight since they became second-years and their level was truly on another plane.
‘As I thought… everyone’s been steadily growing stronger!’
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters