Chapter 515: Episode 515
Thousands of meters above sea level, Sierra’s famous Sky Arena was a marvel built upon the clouds. There was no ground, only a forest of jagged rock pillars jutting into the sky, each just wide enough for a single person to stand on. Simon and Jetz occupied two of them, facing each other across the abyss.
Clad in a barrier suit, Simon moved his arms lightly, warming up his muscles. Jetz, ever the showman, was leisurely waving and winking at the roaring crowd.
"Simoooon! Don’t you dare lose!"
The unexpected cheers from the opponent’s home crowd came from Benz and the other transfer students from Aland, who had secured front-row seats. Benz was screaming with such fervor that the veins in his neck bulged.
"You beat me, so you’d better take down that Sierra bastard even faster! You hear me? No holding back! Just crush him with pure power!"
The glares from the Sierra students were sharp enough to cut, but Benz bellowed on, undeterred. Simon just chuckled and gave him a small wave.
Just then, a single purple butterfly fluttered to his side.
’Professor Jane’s black magic,’ he realized.
A magic circle was inscribed upon its delicate wings, and from it, Jane’s calm voice emerged.
[Listen closely, Student Council President. Your opponent will try to use this arena to his advantage at all costs.]
"Yes, Professor," Simon acknowledged.
[His attacks will quickly eliminate your footholds. You must prepare a flight technique before that happens. The most effective strategy will be to turn the terrain he’s relying on against him and strike when he’s least expecting it.]
’Turn his advantage against him.’ Simon understood immediately.
"I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for the advice."
Having delivered its message, Jane’s butterfly dissolved into the air. Simon turned his gaze back to Jetz.
"[We will now begin the match between Sierra’s representative, Jetz Schiemalad, and Kizen’s Student Council President, Simon Polentia!]" the referee announced, raising a whistle to his lips. "[Begin!]"
The moment the whistle shrieked, Simon and Jetz simultaneously dropped into a low stance, preparing their black magic. The arena’s unique layout made a direct martial arts assault impossible. This gave both combatants a brief window to secure a means of flight—a necessity in this terrain.
’The Royal Guard it is.’
As he prepared the magic circle, Simon watched Jetz. As expected, he was already casting a flight spell. A large magic circle materialized in the air before him, flanked by three smaller auxiliary circles, all working in concert to assemble the complex formula at an astonishing speed.
"Whoa!"
"So fast!" the Sierra students shouted, their excitement palpable.
"He must have practiced nothing but that spell for weeks," an Aland transfer student grumbled.
"Cheap," another muttered.
In an instant, Jetz completed the magic circle and slapped it onto his back. Wings of pure jet-black energy unfurled behind him, beating the air with powerful strokes.
"[And Jetz is the first in the air!]" the student commentator roared, propping his feet on the chair in front of him. "[That’s our Jetz! Only a necromancer who has mastered the sky can rule the Sky Arena! I’d say he’s already seventy percent of the way to victory!]"
"Shut up with your biased commentary!" Benz protested, but his voice was swallowed by the deafening cheers of the Sierra students.
’Hmm.’
Undaunted, Simon raised his head, his focus still locked on preparing his ‘Royal Guard’. Jetz hovered in the sky, triumphantly holding out his palms.
’FWOOSH! FWOOSH!’
Green flames erupted from his hands. This was no common ‘Dark Flare’. Judging by the color and the way the fire roiled, it was a Remake or even an Original jet-black flame spell.
"Simon, I don’t know what you’re preparing," Jetz called down, raising his arm high. "But it would be easier for you to just give up!"
’FWOOOOOSH!’
A projectile of raw, fiery power shot toward him. Simon tore his focus from the Royal Guard magic circle, planted his feet, and launched himself into the air with a burst of jet-black energy.
The fiery projectile slammed into the rock pillar he had just vacated, shattering its midsection. The top of the pillar tilted precariously before plummeting into the clouds below. Simon landed safely on the next pillar and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as the commentator’s excited voice echoed around him.
"[Our Jetz is on the offensive right from the start! Just what you’d expect from Sierra’s top second-year powerhouse!]"
A volley of fire projectiles rained down, destroying the pillars Simon used as footholds. He pushed off again, leaping through the air.
’It’s too far!’
The distance between the pillars was random. A simple burst of jet-black wouldn’t cover the distance. Simon extended his index finger.
’Cloud’
A turquoise line of energy shot out, latching onto the side of a distant rock pillar. Simon grabbed the line with both hands and swung forward, his legs extended.
’FWOOSH! FWOOSH!’
While gliding along the line, he easily dodged the fire projectiles nipping at his heels. Gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd.
Simon landed lightly on the opposite pillar.
"Not bad!" Jetz sneered. "Let’s see how long you can keep that up!"
He conjured more flames, intensifying his assault. The battle fell into a rhythm: Simon evading, Jetz attacking relentlessly. Jetz’s firepower was truly impressive, as expected of a student who had beaten odds of several hundred to one to become his school’s representative.
"[Ah—Kizen’s Student Council President looks too busy dodging to even think about preparing an advanced black magic spell!]"
Jetz didn’t just target Simon; he systematically destroyed the rock pillars, erasing his footholds one by one.
’WHOAAA!’
But Simon’s evasion was just as incredible. He swung from pillar to pillar, manipulating the Cloud rope with masterful ease, even scaling slanted surfaces with nothing but the strength of his legs.
’Monstrous stamina,’ Jetz thought, his expression hardening. He had been applying constant pressure, yet Simon wasn’t even breathing heavily. He was calmly buying time, his solid martial arts foundation serving him well.
"Jetz! Watch out!" a student screamed from the stands.
Jetz’s gaze snapped behind him. Simon, who had been using his Cloud to flee, had suddenly appeared behind him.
’He used the rope’s centrifugal force to swing back...!’
Simon grinned and swung his arm. A Bone Spear, forged from skeletal remains, shot forward, forcing Jetz to hastily defend himself.
’THWANG!’
A wall of green fire materialized, blocking the spear. The projectile shattered into countless bone fragments, which then shot back and reformed over Simon’s right arm.
’Bone Armor - Handgun Mode’
A volley of bone bullets erupted from the newly formed launcher. Jetz twisted agilely into the air, the projectiles narrowly grazing his body.
’He’s thinking about counterattacking even in a situation like this!’ Jetz’s lips curled into a grin. "Now that’s more like it, Kizen’s Student Council President!"
Having adapted to the terrain, Simon was no longer just evading. He darted between pillars using his Cloud and martial arts, strategically placing his undead on each one. Jetz, soaring across the battlefield, now had to fend off zombies clinging to the rock faces and dodge arrows from Skeleton Archers perched on distant pillars. He could no longer attack with impunity. Wary of Simon’s counters, his movements grew more cautious.
’There he is!’
Just as Jetz spotted Simon’s back and began to conjure a fire projectile, an arrow whistled in from the side.
’Tch!’
He tilted his neck, dodging it by a hair’s breadth. In that same instant, Simon vanished behind a pillar.
’Damn it, how is he not making a single mistake?’
One wrong step, one waver of the Cloud, one misplaced skeleton, and victory would be his. But Simon navigated the precarious tightrope with flawless precision. It was a display of monstrous concentration, backed by unshakable stamina—a feat impossible without a wealth of experience. The match, once expected to be a landslide, had taken a fascinating turn.
"Ho ho! Professor Jane, your words were no exaggeration," the Headmaster of Sierra remarked from the VIP box, where he stood beside Jane watching the match. He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I expected you to bring a third-year to be safe, but I see now why you put your faith in a second-year Student Council President."
Jane turned to him, her expression unreadable. "You haven’t forgotten our bet, have you?"
"Of course not!" The Headmaster’s face still held a trace of confidence. "You may believe time is on your side, but Jetz’s staying power is not to be underestimated!"
---
’Damn it, where did he disappear to now?’
Jetz flapped his jet-black wings, scanning the area. Simon was nowhere to be seen, likely concealed in a blind spot behind a pillar. He would have to gain more altitude to find him.
The moment Jetz made that decision and began to ascend, an emerald flash curved toward him like a comet.
’Fast!’
He hurriedly threw up a shield of fire, but a turquoise sword light sliced cleanly through it. A skeleton in a fluttering cape burst through the gap.
’ZZZZAP!’
The skeleton’s sword struck Jetz as it flew past. His barrier gauge, once green, flickered orange as it dropped by nearly half in an instant.
’A flying skeleton?’
As Jetz shot upward, six more emerald comets gave chase, as if they had been waiting for that exact moment. They were all skeletons.
"Dammit!" Jetz cursed, unleashing the black magic he had been saving. A circular wave of fire erupted from his body, repelling the assault.
"Jetz! Watch out!"
"Jeeeeeetz!"
Even without the crowd’s shouts, he could feel an immense presence closing in from behind.
’Simon Original – Royal Guard Flight Mode’
Simon was soaring through the sky, clad in Bone Armor forged from those shimmering turquoise skeletons. He was a living projectile, accelerating to his absolute limit. A mere flame shield wouldn’t be enough to stop him. Jetz hastily drew the sword from his waist.
’CLAAAAAAAANG!’
Turquoise and white light collided, unleashing a ferocious shockwave that sent students in the stands screaming and ducking for cover.
’SCREEEECH!’
The two blades ground against each other in a tense stalemate. He could see Simon grinning from behind the Royal Guard’s sword.
"Ugh!’ You can fly with that technique, too?!" Jetz grunted.
"Of course," Simon replied coolly.
Jetz cast another overload spell on himself, then rapidly drew three fire projectile magic circles around him. Seeing them, Simon pushed Jetz’s sword away and retreated. The three completed fire projectiles immediately shot toward him.
’SHWIIING!’
Simon swung the Royal Guard’s sword in an elegant arc. The turquoise blade left three shimmering afterimages as it sliced the fire projectiles to pieces, scattering them into the air.
’He’s a swordsman, too!’
A chill ran down Jetz’s spine. He fell back as Simon smiled calmly.
"Got you."
A sharp pain flared in his back. One of the Royal Guard had flown in from behind and severed his right wing.
’This is bad!’
He couldn’t fly with only one wing. His body lost its balance and began to tilt.
’Ugh, calm down! Stay calm! I’ll land to buy time and repair the wing...!’
But Simon wasn’t about to give him that time.
"Corpse Explosion."
The instant Simon clenched his fist, a series of deafening explosions erupted from all sides. The surrounding rock pillars began to collapse like dominoes.
’That bastard... don’t tell me!’
Jetz’s face went pale as he watched his footholds vanish in real time.
’He was planning this from the very beginning when he placed those undead!’
He belatedly remembered the zombies Simon had attached to the pillars. He’d been completely outplayed.
’To think I’d lose like this... in my own Sky Arena...!’
With only one wing left, Jetz plummeted into the abyss along with the crumbling pillars.