Chapter 524: Episode 524
A roar swept through the crowd.
Her attack had landed. While the spectators were completely captivated by Meirin’s performance, chanting her name, a profound silence permeated the VIP box. The President of Moiran and Kizen’s Vice-Headmaster, Jane, stood with their hands clasped behind their backs, silently observing the duel.
"Impressive. To see through White and push him that far." The President of Moiran flipped open the document in his hand. "So that child is Kizen’s vice president this year."
Jane nodded, her gaze falling on the president. The crisp, proper man from the photo at the school entrance was gone. His wrinkles had deepened, and his hair had turned as white as frost from the long, hard years of his presidency.
"She is an excellent student," Jane affirmed, then added, "And a hardworking one."
"Professor! Professor! About this...!"
After becoming vice president, she had pestered Jane, the student council’s faculty advisor, to no end. In front of her peers, she might puff out her chest and boast, ’I’m the vice president!’ but that was merely an unconscious act to satisfy her ego. In private, her passion for her duties was unmatched, and she put in excruciating effort to be worthy of her position.
"Oh, dear." The president’s tone was laced with pity as he scanned Meirin’s profile. "She has quite a story. The runner-up in a succession battle is bound to carry many burdens."
Jane neither confirmed nor denied it, simply staring ahead.
The president continued, "Children like her need their desire for recognition fulfilled. No matter how much adults insist that rank isn’t everything, they will never understand." His gaze shifted, taking in the sight of Meirin, hands on her knees, panting as if her life depended on it. "She’s very brave. It seems Miss Villenne has found something else she wants to achieve, beyond her own ambition."
Meirin certainly harbored a severe inferiority complex toward Serne. From the moment she entered Kizen, her entire life had been a means to defeat her rival. However, from Jane’s observation as the professor of Class A, much of that edge had been worn away by her time with Group 7. She had even shown signs of overcoming that complex during her duel with Serne at the end of their first year.
Now, through her student council activities, it seemed Meirin was discovering a new path for herself, one that went beyond reclaiming the title of heir.
"It is the students who are lacking in some way who have the greatest potential for growth," the President of Moiran remarked, setting down the document. "Children who have grown up perfectly, without a single flaw, will remain steady, but they can never become irreplaceable. It is the rough gemstone, buried in the earth, that reveals an astonishing value when it is finally cut, refined, and polished."
Without comment, Jane changed the subject. "About White’s transfer."
"Yes."
"I heard the students’ opposition was severe. You, who have successfully led Moiran for five years with their absolute support, why would you take such a risk?"
The president briefly looked away from the arena and gazed out at Moiran’s vast lake. "No matter how one strives, a lake can never become the sea." He turned back to Jane with a strange smile. "It seems that the moment one confronts an overwhelming wall, one is bound to take a risk."
Jane thought the wrinkles etched by the president’s smile seemed deeper than usual today. He then pointed to the document lying in front of her.
"I prepared a profile on White, as Kizen seemed concerned. Have you read it?"
"I have."
White had already been thoroughly vetted by Moiran. Kizen, too, exercised extreme caution every year regarding the nine transfer students from the three great necromancer schools. At the urging of the elders, Kizen headquarters had even sent its own investigator, but as expected, they found nothing amiss.
’Is it really possible for a first-year to defeat a third-year student council president?’ As he was now, White was practically a living weapon. Jane shifted only her eyes to look at the president. ’You and the Kingdom of Shahed... what are you planning?’
Just then, a brilliant, pure white light erupted from within Meirin’s ice with a blinding flash. The crowd began to murmur, and even the exhausted Meirin took a startled step back.
"Just as I’d heard," Jane muttered, crossing her arms as she recalled the contents of White’s file. "A truly wicked power."
---
From the stands, Simon and Kamibarez shot to their feet in surprise. A brilliant white light was pouring out from within Meirin’s ice, like a chick breaking free from its shell.
"This is..." Kamibarez’s pupils trembled. "D-Divinity?"
"No, it’s different," Simon, who could actually wield divine power, corrected her at once. "That is unmistakably Jet-Black."
Pure white Jet-Black. Gasps of horror echoed from the stands.
"An ill omen!"
"White Jet-Black!"
"Priests! Get lost and go back to the Holy Federation!"
"BOOOOOOOO!"
Jeers and insults rained down, but White simply stared at Meirin, unfazed. In the arena, she wiped her forehead, a strained smile on her face. ’So that’s what he was using my absorbed Jet-Black for.’
Until now, White had only defended. But now, the real attacks would begin. As he swung his arm, a white sphere flew toward her.
’‘Ice Road’’
Ice bloomed from the soles of her feet, forming a slick path that carried her backward just as the white sphere slammed into the spot where she had been standing with a heavy thud. Meirin’s physical abilities and reflexes were weak, but she had always compensated with magic.
The sphere’s appearance was alien, and the sound it made was peculiar. Instead of exploding, it ground into the earth, carving a massive crater before its power was spent and it winked out like a snuffed light. That was all.
’If I get hit by that even once...’ A blazing red flame erupted in Meirin’s right hand. ’It’ll be over!’
With a whoosh, White deflected the pure mana flame with a swing of another white sphere, then hurled it back at her.
"Ack!"
It was fast. She dodged with ‘Ice Road’, but the speed made her heart plummet. If he had anticipated her path, she would have been hit.
’I have to end this now!’ Meirin spread her palms. A blue magic circle materialized on one, a black one on the other. Symbols and diagrams rapidly filled them in with a high-pitched whine.
White conjured another white sphere and began to charge, leading with the destructive orb. It tore a vicious scar across the arena floor with a deafening roar, but Meirin’s concentration didn’t waver.
’I am the vice president of Kizen!’ She thrust her right arm forward first. ’I absolutely, absolutely cannot lose to another school!’ The pure magic circle on her arm created a blazing flame, which was then sealed by a pitch-black layer of Jet-Black flame magic. The two fires burned as one, creating a colossal fireball.
’Meirin Original- Blaze Egg’
Leading with the completed fireball, Meirin charged head-on toward the approaching White and his swirling sphere. The match was reaching its climax. Every spectator was on their feet. Kamibarez trembled, whispering, "You can do it," while Simon bit his lip hard.
’A head-on clash with White is reckless!’
Just as the distance between them vanished, Meirin gestured.
’‘Wall of Ice’’
An ice wall instantly erupted between them with a sharp crack. White charged on without a change in expression. The moment he shattered the wall with a deafening crash, Meirin used ‘Ice Road’ to whip around to his flank.
"Haaaaaaah!" she screamed, swinging the fireball with all her might.
As if expecting it, White twisted at the waist and swung his own sphere to meet her.
The two orbs collided in a massive explosion. Her fireball dissipated, but White’s, though smaller, remained intact. Just as he swung his arm to cut through the smoke, Meirin lunged through the haze and seized his right arm.
Her barrier gauge plummeted from the contact, but she didn’t care. She threw her weight backward, pulling him down into an awkward position on top of her.
White glanced behind him. Her original magic, the true ‘Blaze Egg’, was descending toward his back. The first attack had just been a feint.
"This is my victory!" Meirin grinned.
The fireball floating in the air slammed into White’s back and exploded with a deafening roar.
The flames engulfed them both.
"Meirin!!" Kamibarez cried out her name in distress.
A dazed laugh escaped Simon. ’...Terrifying.’
Whether it was studying, work, or dueling, she was always so precise, but her obsession with victory was on another level entirely. As the black smoke cleared, all eyes shot to the screen displaying the barrier gauges.
"Match over!" the referee yelled, blowing his whistle and raising his arm. "The winner is!"
The flames subsided, revealing Meirin lying on the ground, her expression pained. Standing over her was White, his left hand behind his back, his right hand clamped around her neck.
[Meirin Villenne: 0%]
[White: 60%]
"Student White of Moiran!"
---
The outcome was decided in an instant: the moment Meirin’s ‘Blaze Egg’ struck White’s back, he had extended his free left hand and activated Jet-Black absorption. He was only damaged by the pure mana flame within the attack. Meanwhile, with the right hand she had captured, he had drained her barrier. The suits the students wore were powered by Jet-Black.
Merely by touching her, White had reduced her barrier to zero. For Meirin, who had already been planning her next move, it was a devastating blow.
’Still, she was amazing,’ Simon thought. She had given more than her best. Her defeat came down to not knowing he could absorb Jet-Black with his left hand, or that he could drain barriers. Even so, against a completely unknown opponent, the way she had strategized and pushed him to the brink was truly incredible.
"Well done, Kizen!"
"That was a great match!"
The audience rose to their feet and applauded. The first standing ovation of the day erupted from all sides, but Simon couldn’t help but worry about Meirin. ’Knowing her, she’s probably furious.’
Just then, Meirin, having removed her protective suit, was trudging toward them. She smiled awkwardly and waved. "Sorry, I lost."
"That was your best performance, Meirin! You were amazing!" Kamibarez grabbed her arm, trying to lift her spirits.
Simon watched her carefully and offered his own words of encouragement, but she just laughed. "Hey! You don’t have to force it, you know?" She slapped his back and walked on.
Rubbing his stinging back, Simon asked gently, "...You’re not too disappointed, are you?"
"Not at all." She picked up the bag she had left in the waiting area, her tone matter-of-fact. "After fighting him, I realized he was an opponent I could never beat. So there’s no disappointment, no anger, nothing. Let’s just go back to Kizen."
"Okay, Meirin!"
Meirin announced she was heading to the restroom and walked away. She said that, but the fist clenched at her side, knuckles white, told a different story.
"Meirin."
She stopped dead in her tracks. When she turned, Simon was smiling warmly.
"I’m genuinely glad that you’re my vice president."
Her cool expression shattered, and ripples spread across her lake-blue eyes.
"...Sh-Shut up! You dummy!" she sniffled, before quickly running away.
Simon and Kamibarez met each other’s eyes and shared a quiet smile.
---
Jane turned around. "Is everyone ready?"
"Yes!"
The transfer evaluations at Moiran were over, and all nine students had gathered. Beside Jane stood Simon, Meirin, and Kamibarez, wearing their student council armbands.
"Well then, let’s depart for Kizen." She walked toward the teleportation circle, the student council members following close behind. With the exception of White, who was staring blankly into space, the eyes of the other eight were sparkling.
All of them had beaten odds of several hundred to one. They had fought for over a year for this very moment.
Benz grinned and shouted, "Let’s go! To Kizen!"