Chapter 523: Episode 523
The surrounding ice began to gather around Meirin. At the thrust of her hand, the shards coalesced into a massive awl and shot forward.
The projectile, the size of a large carriage, tore through the air with a great rush of wind.
In response, White did only one thing. He held out his palm, on which no magic circle was drawn.
Just before reaching White’s hand, Meirin’s spell was unraveled, dissolving into nothing. Only a fine mist of ice crystals remained, dusting his clothes.
"He blocked it!" Kamibarez exclaimed, hopping in frustration.
’What was that?’
Simon’s gaze sharpened. For an attack of that magnitude, strangely few fragments had scattered upon impact.
"Then how about this!" Meirin shouted.
She activated the magic circle on her left hand.
’Dark Flare’
The same black magic that had taken her considerable time to prepare in her first year now flowed from her with ease. A jet-black flame, belching noxious smoke, streaked toward White. Once again, he simply held out his palm.
The Dark Flare was extinguished, as if it were a mere candle flame.
"Hmm." A thoughtful expression crossed Meirin’s face as she lowered her stance. Ice formed beneath her heels, supporting her weight. "I’m not sure what your trick is yet, but I’ll just have to keep hammering away!"
Ice Road
Meirin’s signature technique appeared with a sharp scraping sound. She began to glide across the arena at high speed on a path of ice that formed beneath her feet. Simultaneously, she thrust a palm forward, a new magic circle glowing upon it.
’Ice Bolt-Meirin Remake’
A relentless barrage of small, sharp ice shards poured from her hand.
Watching from the sidelines, Simon nodded vigorously. ’She’s doing great. Her situational judgment is sharp!’
When her heavy-hitting spells failed, she immediately switched her style to a combination of high-speed movement and rapid-fire magic. She circled White, unleashing a storm of ice shards.
Finally, White moved. He created a transparent, glass-like shield centered on his palm. As he slowly rotated his arm, the shield moved with it, deflecting the barrage.
Kamibarez’s expression hardened. "Meirin’s Jet-Black Ice Boundary... it’s not being destroyed, it’s just disappearing."
"Yeah," Simon agreed. "I think it’s an extension of the same technique he used on the Dark Flare."
At the end of his first year, White had defeated Moiran’s third-year Student Council President. While the presidents of the other great schools might be considered second-tier compared to Kizen’s, they were still formidable necromancers who had honed their skills for three years. It was almost impossible for a newly transferred first-year to defeat one.
Almost. There was one way it was possible.
’An innate ability.’
With black magic alone, he would stand no chance against a third-year. Therefore, White must have won by combining his jet-black with a powerful innate ability. If he was a user on the level of Lorraine or Serne, victory wouldn’t have been out of the question.
The key to this match, Simon realized, was whether Meirin could figure out what that ability was.
"Haaaaah!"
Meirin, still circling and firing, changed her tactics. While keeping White’s attention fixed on her, she erected a massive ice wall behind him. The wall then began to topple forward.
’A physical attack using the weight of the ice!’
White simply reached his right hand behind his back. The moment the collapsing wall touched his palm, its center vanished as if it had never been there.
’Paralyze’
Not missing the opening, Meirin launched a curse. It struck White squarely in the back, but he merely brushed the spot as if dusting off his uniform.
Simon’s expression grew serious. ’He countered that entire sequence so easily.’
Jet-Black ice, jet-black fire, high-speed volleys, physical attacks, curses—Meirin had tried every trick in her arsenal, but nothing had worked.
With no other option, she resumed circling him, firing a continuous stream of ice. The match fell into a stalemate. Spectators began to turn away, sighing.
"She doesn’t stand a chance."
"I guess even Kizen’s Vice President is no match for him."
It was the same pattern that had played out with every necromancer White had defeated. Believing the match was over, people began to leave their seats. Kamibarez watched them, her hands clenched in frustration.
"Meirin...!"
Just then, a single ice shard struck White’s body with a dull ’thud’.
White glanced down. The transparent shield was still intact.
A second and third shard got through. Then...
More and more attacks began to penetrate the shield. White was being hit.
A murmur rippled through the crowd. The spectators who had been leaving excitedly returned to their seats. Simon quickly checked the barrier gauge on the mana screen.
[Meirin Villenne: 100%]
[White: 95%]
There was no doubt. Her attacks were landing.
"White got hit!"
"YAYYYYY!"
A tremendous roar erupted from the crowd. Meirin brought her Ice Road to a halt.
"I’ve never heard of anything like it, but that power you’re using..." Her finger pointed directly at White. "It’s an innate ability that absorbs jet-black, isn’t it?"
White gave no reaction. As if she hadn’t expected one, Meirin stood tall, hands on her hips. "Hit the nail on the head, did I? What I just mixed in with my jet-black elemental spells was..."
The magic circle on her hand flared to life. It was a clear, brilliant blue, without a single trace of black energy.
"Pure elemental magic, created using only mana."
Simon grabbed the fence, his expression ecstatic. ’That’s it, Meirin!’
Mana and mages were considered inferior versions of jet-black and necromancers. Even the Ivory Tower—the hallowed cradle of all mages, which once boasted a prestige that surpassed even modern-day Kizen—had acknowledged this truth and converted its system to necromancy.
But during the club season, Meirin had joined the Pure Magic Research Society. She had done so believing that learning the formulas of pure magic would help her understand jet-black elemental magic later on. Many had scoffed, telling her she’d be better off reading her textbook than wasting time in such a club. But here and now, that unique repertoire she had cultivated was finally paying off.
"Here I go!" Meirin shouted, stomping on the magic circle she’d drawn on the ground.
A deep rumble shook the arena.
The ice in the canals shot into the sky. She meticulously carved intricate magic circles of pure mana onto each shard. Then, activating her prepared Jet-Black Ice Barrier, she launched the pure ice shards first, followed immediately by a wave of jet-black ice magic in a thunderous barrage.
Pure ice alone was a weak projectile; the standard tactic was to reinforce it with Jet-Black. But knowing White’s true nature, Meirin abandoned the standard. Weaving between her attacks, White moved deftly. She had him trapped. If he used his unique ability, her pure magic would pierce it; if he deployed a Jet-Black shield, her own Jet-Black ice would tear it apart.
His barrier flickered under the relentless assault.
[Meirin Villenne: 100%]
[White: 87%]
"Not yet!" Meirin declared, forming Jet-Black flame magic in her right hand. "Not even close!"
In her left, she conjured pure elemental magic—her specialty, multi-casting. She began to bombard him, unleashing different types of black magic from both hands. White’s barrier was gradually being chipped away.
Her gaze hardened. ’I will win, no matter what!’
---
Three days ago.
"I was wondering why a Kizen junior would come all the way out to my post in Shahed for a mission evaluation," the woman remarked, pushing up her glasses. She let out a dry laugh as she looked down at Meirin, who was bowing deeply.’
"You want me to teach you the duties and tips of being the Kizen Vice President?"
"Please, senior!" Meirin bowed even lower, her voice earnest. "I heard you were the true force behind the golden age of last year’s Phantastus Student Council! I came here because I want to learn your methods!"
"That’s your problem," the senior replied coolly. "Why should I sacrifice my time off for that? I’m new at this job, too, and I’m exhausted."
"I’ll wake up early and handle your morning schedule for you tomorrow!"
"Don’t be ridiculous!"
In truth, Meirin had come to Shahed from the very beginning with the sole purpose of meeting last year’s Kizen Vice President. Kamibarez had gladly accompanied her.
"Senior! I’ve finished all the cleaning!"
"I told you not to."
"You must be hungry. I left some fruit on your desk!"
While completing her own mission evaluation, Meirin had shadowed the former vice president relentlessly. Her persistence was such that the woman finally spoke out of sheer disbelief.
"Why are you going this far?"
"Um..."
Meirin clenched her fists.
"I want to be of use to the one person who acknowledged me."
Simon had appointed her vice president. She was well aware of the rumors swirling among the students. ’She got lucky with her friends. She’s just riding Simon’s coattails. How fortunate that her first group project partner was Kizen’s top student.’ Of course, it was standard practice in Kizen for an elected student council president to fill the council with their most trusted associates, and she knew the criticism was just childish jealousy.
But Meirin couldn’t be satisfied with that. After all, Kizen was a meritocracy.
"I only thought of you from the start."
"You’re more qualified to be the vice president than anyone else in this school."
Her face still burned at the memory, but that’s what Simon had told her. It was one thing for people to insult her, but she refused to let them discredit the person who had chosen her. If she was going to be the vice president, she had to prove she possessed the skills to match the title.
"Professor Jane! Could I ask you to look over this report?"
Day after day since entering Kizen, she worked relentlessly, sacrificing sleep. It didn’t matter that it was a temporary student council until Aizel, a third-year, returned. It didn’t matter that it was a fleeting midsummer night’s dream. It was fine if everyone only paid attention to Simon.
She just wanted to prove—purely with her skills—why he had chosen her. In addition to striving to defeat Serne, Meirin studied tirelessly to fulfill her duties as vice president.
"Senior! Where should I clean next?"
This mission evaluation was part of that same effort. In the end, Meirin’s sincerity won over the former vice president.
"This is a notebook I used when I was vice president... ’Sigh’, what am I even doing?"
"Thank you, senior!"
She had to work harder. Even harder. The four-day mission was far too short to learn everything, but the moment she heard from Jane that Simon was fighting as the student council president in the transfer evaluations, she had come straight to Moiran.
"I—!" Meirin extended both arms, activating her black magic. "—absolutely cannot lose!"
A low rumble echoed as pillars of glossy black ice shot up from the floor, engulfing White. He tried to use his ability to melt the ice, but Meirin had used more than just Jet-Black ice magic.
His arms were frozen solid, trapped by ice made of pure magic. With a flick of her feet, she vaulted off the ice, launching herself above him. With Jet-Black, she created a handle, and with pure magic, she formed the head of a hammer.
’Meirin Remake -Frozen Hammer’
With a deep, grinding groan, the handle activated, and the ice hammer plunged downward. White’s body buckled and collapsed as a shower of frost and ice crystals scattered in all directions. An explosive roar erupted from the crowd.