Chapter 703
Simon thought his fist had landed squarely on Aizel’s jaw.
But then.
‘What, what is this darkness?’
Slowly, strength returned to his eyelids, and his vision brightened.
The first thing he saw was the sky.
The sky was narrow, as if seen through a telescope. That was because the towering sea around him was wrapping the heavens.
‘Huh?’
And right next to him, he saw his own arm.
A tightly clenched fist.
The very fist he had aimed at Aizel’s jaw.
But he was lying flat on the ground, arm thrust up alone.
“Are you okay?”
As Simon’s thoughts drifted along the stream of consciousness, a flustered, hurried voice reached him.
“Sorry! That must have hurt, right?”
Turning his head, he saw Aizel.
Simon was taken aback.
Could it be that he had—
‘I, lost?’
“Uh, well, originally, I was going to study and analyze how to recreate a neck-and-neck situation in real combat….”
Aizel rambled on, his timid personality showing through in full.
“But when you suddenly used such an amazing technique, I got so startled that I ended it without thinking. Sorry!”
Simon looked at Aizel’s face.
There wasn’t so much as a speck of a scratch on it.
‘So, I didn’t land it?’
Simon raised his fist and touched under his own jaw with that same hand. There was a dull, aching pain.
Before he could land his strike with Magical Combat, Aizel’s attack had already struck him.
An attack so strong that it knocked him unconscious in a single blow.
“Haha.”
Simon let out a weak laugh. Seeing his junior like that, Aizel grew even more flustered, worrying if Simon had hurt his head.
“Aizel-senior!”
Simon suddenly leapt to his feet, perfectly fine.
“May I ask you for another round?”
His voice was brimming with excitement.
And Simon’s eyes sparkled brighter than ever.
“Uh, well…”
Aizel pointed upward, sweat trickling down his face.
Splash!
Whooosh—!
The sea was about to collapse.
“When I got hit by your Sleep just now, the spell formation got a little shaken… I’m pretty drained right now. If we keep fighting, this whole thing might collapse.”
“Ah.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
It wasn’t “might collapse”. It really was collapsing from the edges.
Simon and Aizel both screamed at once and dashed into action.
* * *
A little later.
‘I, I’m going to die.’
Simon and Aizel trudged out onto the beach, their uniforms dripping water.
The sea had caved in, and the two of them, who had been at the bottom, were swept away in the raging currents. If not for Simon’s prepared Deimos, both of them would have drowned together.
Simon cast a long look at Aizel.
‘As expected, this guy’s not normal either.’
“S-sorry. This has never happened before. Let me dry you off.”
Aizel waved his hands. Their uniforms flapped noisily, and a refreshing wind coursed over their bodies.
Maybe thinking Simon would be angry, Aizel kept glancing nervously. With a personality like that, Simon could somewhat understand why he was desperate to avoid becoming Student Council President.
Simon smiled gently.
“Thank you for sparring with me.”
He had lost, but he didn’t feel regret.
His chest was burning, and his blood boiled.
He had felt listless upon returning to the North, but now, with a new goal, energy was surging through him.
“I also enjoyed sparring with you.”
Aizel said.
“I thought it was too much, facing a second-year who didn’t even know the concept of Fulgor. But if I didn’t use Fulgor against you, people might think I was holding back.”
He lifted his head and looked at Simon.
“But you properly countered my offense and broke through! That made me so happy. Especially at the end—you surprised me. ‘I might lose.’ It’s been so long since I had to think like that.”
“In that sense, senior.”
Simon said with a grin.
“Let’s drop the idea of staging our duel for practice.”
“…Huh?”
“A duel for the student council presidency requires observers, right? Unless the observers are fools, they’ll notice if we’re pretending to fight.”
Simon clenched his fist with a determined smile.
“I’ll challenge you fair and square, and win the student council presidency.”
Aizel gave an awkward chuckle.
“Still, you won’t manage it.”
As expected, this man.
Pure evil.
He worried about Simon, and glanced nervously, yet carried absolute confidence in his own strength.
“If the result is defeat, I’ll accept it cleanly.”
“N-no! At least take this more seriously!”
Aizel jumped.
“You can always quit now and just become president again in your third year, but for me, this is my life! If people find out I’m a nerdy loser, it’ll ruin everything!”
Simon scratched his head.
“Why not just show your true self? I think the real Aizel-senior is plenty cool as he is.”
“…Thanks for saying that, but it’s far too late for me.”
Aizel spoke with a voice tinged with despair.
“My whole life at Keyzen has been lived as the ‘Aizel others imagine’. Now, even my friends, my clan elders, my parents, and even the person I lik— no! Forget you heard that. Anyway, everyone thinks of me as the perfect Aizel. And now you want me to show them my pathetic side?”
His expression twisted.
“For me, my honor is dozens of times more important than my life.”
Simon didn’t fully understand, but unless one lives another’s life, one can’t judge them.
Since Aizel himself said so, Simon felt it wasn’t his place to argue.
“Understood. I’ll take this more seriously too.”
“Thanks.”
It was about time to head back, so Aizel transformed again.
Wind lifted him higher, his hair swept up to reveal his forehead, and he put on glasses that changed his impression.
Once again, he returned to his majestic, elite appearance befitting Keyzen’s strongest.
“Since I missed nearly a whole semester, it’s not easy for me to make time due to supplementary classes.”
He spoke in his refined “elite” voice.
“But before finals, I’ll make time to duel you once or twice. That way, I can point out your weak spots and also evaluate your techniques.”
“Yes, understood.”
Aizel stretched out his arm.
“It’s about curfew time for the dorms, I’ll take you back.”
“Huh?”
Whoooosh—!
Before he knew it, a magic circle appeared beneath Simon’s feet.
Aizel added several more circles onto Simon’s body with wind, and even suspended a few in the air.
“In front of the Summonology dorm should be fine, right?”
“W-wait a second! What are you—”
Aizel smiled.
“It’s something like teleport.”
Fwoooom!
Suddenly, the ground beneath him floated up, and Simon’s body shot into the sky.
“Uwaaaah!”
The scenery around him whizzed by as he soared. From time to time, the wind hanging in the air transformed into the shape of magic circles, and whenever he passed through one, his direction and speed were adjusted.
‘Wow.’
His whole body felt free.
Even while flying at such speed, there was barely any headwind. It was exhilarating, refreshing.
Before long, he had passed the entirety of the Forbidden Forest, and in the distance, the Summonology building came into view.
* * *
“I f***ing told you I roasted that bastard real good.”
“So? So what happened then?”
“What else? He shut his mouth right away.”
“Hahahahaha!”
Several Summonology students were laughing as they walked into the dorm. Maybe they’d had a few glasses of wine in Rochest, their excitement was unusually high.
“Ah, already back at the dorm. Want me to show you something cool?”
“What now? Don’t. What if you get caught by a third-year again?”
“Hey, it’s nothing weird. Just a new Magical Combat technique.”
He bent his body, then stepped on Darkness and leapt up.
Buuuuum!
His body shot into the sky, spun five full rotations, then spewed Darkness while zigzagging down in a diagonal line.
In an instant, he landed perfectly in front of the dorm. Whoooosh! Wind rippled outward around him. Of course, he ended with a stylish pose—knees bent, both arms spread wide.
“Badass, right?”
Ooooh—
His friends gave small cheers and clapped at his flashy display.
He raised his chin high, smug and triumphant, but then suddenly his friends flinched in shock.
“What, what’s with you guys?”
His eyes followed theirs upward.
Fwoooong—!
Someone wrapped in a gale streaked down from the sky like a bolt of light.
Kwaaaaaaaang—!
They landed flawlessly in front of the dorm. Blue hair and a black school jacket fluttered magnificently, while the wind spread out in perfect concentric circles from their feet.
It was Simon.
‘Perfect deceleration, perfect landing.’
If one didn’t know Aizel’s real personality, they might think this was an attempt to crush the boy’s pride. That’s how flawless this Darkness-wind-type magic was.
Simon lifted his head, wore a delighted smile, and walked into the dorm.
“……”
His friends, sprawled in shock, blinked blankly.
The student who had just done somersaults muttered with a flushed face.
“…That’s f***ing badass.”
* * *
The next day.
It was the weekend, but supplementary classes began as usual.
“Please, one more time, Professor Jane!”
The Darkness Dynamics assistant watching from the side spoke in a slightly alarmed voice.
“S-Simon? Maybe you should rest a little before—!”
“I’m fine!”
Simon’s demeanor in the grueling supplementary lesson was completely different. He was fiercer, more desperate than ever before.
Jane, seated in her chair, smirked and lifted a finger.
“Looks like you found yourself a motive. A strong motive helps a student grow.”
Her black magic activated, and once again butterflies swarmed from every corner. Simon threw himself forward, sparks leaping between his hands.
After the Darkness Dynamics supplementary class ended, there was no rest. Next was Magical Combat.
“Thank you for inviting us, Professor Hongpeng!”
Hongpeng had invited the student council members to her cabin.
It was a fine little cabin overlooking the sea.
Hongpeng sat down and laughed with a hearty “O-ho-ho-ho.”
“I used to invite you often in first year, but since you became second years, I haven’t called you over once. So, I thought I’d do it now.”
“Ahh! Professor Hongpeng’s monster cuisine! I really missed this!”
Dick raised both thumbs as he set the firewood ablaze. Kamibarez went to fetch seasonings.
Maelyn, who had set down the plates and sat politely, glanced quickly around.
“But where’s Simon?”
“He’ll be here soon.”
“Professor Hongpeng! The fire’s ready! Where’s the meat for today—”
“It’ll be here soon.”
“?”
No sooner had Hongpeng spoken.
Swoooosh!
Out of nowhere, the sea erupted upward, and someone burst out from the spray.
Thud!
A man landed lightly on the ground, dropping a massive, fishlike monster from his shoulder.
Everyone jumped up in shock.
“S-Simon?”
“Haah, haah! I caught it!”
What Simon had brought was a colossal monster fish.
Hongpeng smiled in satisfaction.
“A grade-4 hazard monster, the Goldscale Fish is quick to notice danger. Unless you execute ‘Wind Surge’ perfectly, it’s hard to catch. Did you finish it off properly?”
“Yes!”
Simon replied with a bright grin.
Dick burst out laughing.
“What the hell, are you two planning something crazy again?”
Maelyn covered her reddened face with her hands and shouted.
“Put some clothes on, idiot!”
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