Chapter 60: The Duel
The crowd outside The Mcronald had grown to a size more fitting for a coliseum spectacle than a restaurant dispute. Students from the Royal Magic Academy filled the street, shoulder to shoulder in embroidered cloaks and enchanted robes. Murmurs and gasps passed like wind across wheat fields as the duel was announced.
Inigo stepped onto the cobbled path, the midday sun casting his shadow long behind him. He stretched his neck casually, eyes scanning the gathered nobles with a tired kind of amusement. He wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t angry. He was simply annoyed.
Cernan Vellmont stood at the far end of the clearing, arms crossed, his entourage keeping a respectful distance. The noble student’s cloak fluttered with mana-imbued silk, and his gloves pulsed with a soft cerulean light. Enchanted, of course.
"I will state the rules," Cernan declared, voice laced with arrogance. "As tradition dictates: a single-round duel. Magic is allowed. Weapons permitted. The duel ends only when one participant is incapacitated or yields."
Inigo nodded. "Fine by me."
Cernan raised an eyebrow. "You accept without hesitation?"
Inigo grinned. "I’ve watched enough anime to know how this goes."
Cernan blinked. "Anime...?"
But before he could press further, Inigo held out his right hand. In a flash of blue system light, a sleek, matte black Desert Eagle appeared in his grip. The gun materialized with a weighty clunk—magazine loaded, safety off, chamber primed. The metallic glint of the barrel caught the sunlight, drawing a gasp from the students.
"What is that?" someone whispered.
"A wand?" another speculated.