Editor : Amethyst00



Fwoooosh–

Fiora flapped her wings and lifted her body into the air.

Rhys, who had been shocked by the sudden appearance of the Phoenix, came to his senses at that sight.

Then he focused his mind and raised his aura.

Fwoooosh–!

The same flame that Fiora was exhaling appeared on Rhys’s sword.

“Fiora.”

chirp–

“Do as you wish and rampage as much as you want.”

chirp-chirp–!

At those words, Fiora joyfully flapped her wings rapidly, then soared high into the sky.

fwoosh–!

The power of the flames exhaled by Fiora grew even stronger.

Leo was continuously drawing out Fiora’s latent ability using his spiritual power.

stop–!

The movement of Fiora, who had been flying high in the air, suddenly stopped.

flare–!

And she descended toward Rhys at tremendous speed.

whoooooo–!

The flame exhaled by Fiora made the surrounding space appear distorted.

‘Stay calm.’

Rhys took his stance as he looked at Fiora.

‘No matter how great a summoned beast the Phoenix is, judging from its earlier form, it’s still a young summoned beast. This appearance right now must be Leo drawing out its latent ability.’

Because of Ulta, with whom he had competed for the position of grade representative for five years, Rhys knew too well how much spiritual power it took to draw out and maintain the latent ability of a high-level summoned beast.

Flare–!

Chirp!

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-gang–!

When Fiora flapped her wings wide, a gigantic wave of flame swept through the entire dueling ground.

Rhys, who had blocked the attack by swinging his sword, looked up at Fiora soaring again into the sky and muttered,

“This isn’t something you can just endure moderately anymore.”

Rhys looked at his cousin with slightly weary eyes.

Meanwhile, all the spectators were in shock.

“Impossible!”

“Phoenix?! A Phoenix! That kid’s only a first-year!”

“No, first-year or not, that’s not the issue! Can you contract with one of the Three Great Mythical Beast just because you’re upperclass?!”

Even the upper-year students screamed in disbelief.

Especially the summoning department’s reaction was the most intense.

Even the professors, seeing this with their own eyes, couldn’t easily believe it.

Of course, there was only one professor among them who was letting out a cheer of joy.

“That’s it! At last, you summon the Phoenix!”

Yura, who had been sitting in the spectator stands where the professors gathered, suddenly stood up and shouted.

It was the moment Yura had longed for.

Leo summoning the Phoenix before everyone’s eyes!

‘Now no one can deny that Leo belongs in the summoning department!’

At that moment—

“Sit down. You’re being a distraction.”

Ain, who had barely managed to regain composure, frowned as he spoke.

Yura looked down at Ain with a proud expression.

“You saw, right? Ain-sunbae. This is why Leo fits in the summoning department!”

“The Phoenix is amazing, yes. But do you think it’s easy to overwhelm Rhys in martial combat?”

“The Phoenix isn’t inferior.”

“Oh dear, oh dear. You’re both saying strange things again.”

Len, approaching while shaking his head as if he couldn’t help it, said,

“Leo student belongs to the magic department. Leo student’s Bible, that’s a miraculous magic, an ideal even for mages. It’s an unprecedented spell. Yes, it’s a great magic rivaling the Star Sorcery created by the Poet of the Stars. And you’re trying to snatch such a talent just because he does a bit of martial arts and summoned a Phoenix? How shameless.”

As the three of them gathered, their associate professors, Claria, Carlo, and Anna began to wear uneasy expressions.

“Knight department.”

“Summoning department, I said!”

“Magic!”

As the three shouted, Harrid, who was in a corner observing the sparring evaluation and scoring, said to Sena who next to him.

“Sena. Bring those three idiots before me right now.”

At those words, Sena quickly ran over and called the three.

And they had to kneel before Harrid and raise their hands.

Harrid didn’t even glance at his former students, now junior colleagues and kept his eyes fixed on Leo standing in the arena.

Even Harrid, who rarely showed emotional agitation, was now looking at his student with a weary expression.

‘Where does that brat’s limit even lie?’

bl

Rhys looked at Fiora flapping her wings before him and let out a hollow laugh.

“To think you actually formed a contract with a Phoenix.”

Even seeing it directly, it was hard to believe.

Was there anyone in Lumene’s history who formed a contract with one of the Great Three Mythical Beast as a first-year?

As far as Rhys knew, Leo was the only one.

Rhys gazed at the Phoenix with eyes of awe.

The Phoenix was the source of power for the Zerdinger family.

From Rhys’s position, his gaze at Fiora was bound to be special.

Under that gaze, Fiora lifted her chin proudly.

Chirp–!

And cried out as regally as she could.

Of course, to Rhys, it still only sounded like a chick chirping.

“I heard the Phoenix’s cry was supposed to be very beautiful…”

“It is beautiful. It’s just that this one’s still young. Its cry sounds like a chick’s.”

At the word chick, Fiora pecked Leo’s head in displeasure.

Ignoring Fiora, Leo spoke.

“Then shall we start the real fight?”

“You mean that previous attack wasn’t the real one?”

“Rhys-hyungnim, you’re exaggerating.”

“Heh.”

It was just as Leo said.

Even after the tremendous attack earlier, Rhys’s clothes hadn’t even burned at the edges.

He had neutralized the Phoenix’s flame.

‘Even if Fiora is summoned, I can’t win against Rhys.’

At this moment, Leo had only obtained offensive power equal to Rhys’s.

As Rhys predicted, Leo had a limit to how much of Fiora’s power he could draw and maintain.

‘And if Rhys targets me in this state, I’ll be in trouble.’

Fiora could only be used for offense.

Of course, Leo also had other contracts — with the other two great summoned beings, the Fairy and the Pegasus.

But right now, even just summoning Fiora and enhancing her power was already overwhelming.

He couldn’t summon Kiran or Alty.

Even if he could, they weren’t cards to reveal carelessly.

‘I must not show any more cards.’

Within Lumene, all Tartaros spies had already been exposed.

Even so, there were still external eyes.

Leo was already being monitored as a target by Tartaros.

Even within the school, only a few knew that Leo was the Phoenix’s contractor.

Perhaps even Tartaros knew that much.

But no one knew that he was also the contractor of the Fairy and the Pegasus.

‘I can’t draw any more attention from them.’

The only cards he could reveal now were Fiora, whose existence was already known and Elsie, whose identity in this world was known only to the Lich King besides Leo himself.

Meanwhile, Rhys carefully watched Leo.

‘I can’t take this lightly.’s

He could tell the Phoenix before him was still young.

That meant that even if it was called the mightiest summoned beast, being young limited its power.

But Leo showed no openings.

If there was a time limit, one would usually get impatient.

Yet Leo showed no such sign.

This duel was meant merely to prove his worth as student council president. In that sense, summoning the Phoenix alone might have already proved it.

‘But if that were all, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of dueling me in front of everyone like this.’

He would have simply announced that he was the Phoenix’s contractor before the crowd.

‘Leo’s truly trying to defeat me.’

He could feel that determination.

And Leo’s power was indeed threatening him.

‘Haha. What a terrifying cousin.’

Rhys let out a short laugh.

Of course, he had no intention of yielding easily.

‘The key to this match is how much of the Phoenix’s power Leo can draw out.’

If it became a long fight, Rhys would surely win.

Step–!

But Rhys gripped his sword and pointed it toward Leo.

A first-year was putting everything on the line to try to defeat him.

‘If a fifth-year avoids a head-on fight, we would look pathetic.’

Rhys curved his lips upward.

fwooooosh–!

Crimson flames began to swirl around his body.

The Zerdinger family’s secret technique—

‘Prominence.’

fwoosh–

Flames began to coil around his sword.

Rhys raised his sword.

whoooooo–!

It was different from Celia’s Prominence.

‘If Celia’s is a thrust, this one’s a slash.’

Seeing that, Leo spoke.

“Fiora, get ready.”

Chirp–!

At those words, crimson flame began to gather on Fiora’s body.

Seeing that, Rhys’s eyes widened.

‘Prominence?’

The same crimson aura as his own.

But Leo was wrapping that crimson aura around Fiora.

And with the flames that Fiora exhaled, the fire grew even fiercer.

“This will be fun.”

Step–!

Kwa-ga-gak–!

As Leo gripped his sword with both hands, flames raged even more violently.

Fiora crouched her body.

Fwooosh–!

From above to below—

Leo swung his sword down.

A gigantic crimson blade of flame flew toward Leo and Fiora.

Screeeech–!

Fiora spread her wings wide.

From her two wings, crimson wings of flame extended and collided with the flying blade.

kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-gang–!

A world of red flame unfolded.

“Urgh!”

“T-the aftershock is this intense?”

Flames pierced through the dueling arena and swept over the spectator seats.

Of course, the Lumene professors and students blocked the fire with little difficulty.

But the fact that the flames pierced the dueling arena’s shield spell and reached the stands at all was shocking.

The flames all subsided.

Pop–!

With a small puff of smoke, Fiora returned to her original form and fell to the ground.

Thud–! roll! roll!

Chirp! chirp!

Having fallen and rolled several times, unable to keep balance, Fiora cried out in frustration.

Rhys looked at Leo and twitched his eyes.

“You still… have more?”

Around Leo, a spherical black barrier was spread out.

Though its shape wasn’t visible.

Pitch-black darkness showed nothing of Leo’s form.

‘…An elemental?’

Rhys narrowed his eyes.

Then—

Sssssshhh–

The darkness wriggled and was soon absorbed into Leo’s shadow.

‘To endure that explosion head-on… He really is a monster.’

Even for a user of flame aura, to withstand such heat bare-bodied was astounding.

If Leo hadn’t squeezed out the his remaining spiritual power to summon Elsie, he wouldn’t even be standing.

‘My aura and magic power are already depleted. Only spiritual power remains. But not enough to draw out Fiora’s latent ability.’

Fiora looked up at Leo and spread her wings as if she still wanted to fight, but it was her limit.

Elsie, bound to Leo, could only use power equal to Leo’s spiritual power.

‘What elemental is that… It’s definitely a dark-attribute spirit.’

Meanwhile, Rhys didn’t let down his guard as he looked at Leo’s shadow.

Leo had always gone far beyond expectations.

Just in this duel evaluation, how many times had he done so already?

‘I have to fight assuming he has no limits.’

Rhys gripped his sword.

At that moment—

Flare–!

“……!”

Leo’s shadow stretched toward Rhys at tremendous speed.

kwa-ga-ga-gak–!

Rhys swung his sword, diverting the trajectory of the shadow blade.

‘Elemental Armor?’

An elemental art.

A high-level summoner’s technique that arms the body with an elemental like armor.

But Leo was using it.

‘Even his elemental arts are at this level?’

He began to think there might truly be nothing Leo couldn’t do.

Truly deserving of being called “All-Class.”

Leo raised his hand.

whoooo–!

Darkness gathered around him.

As Rhys tried to readjust his sword grip—

crack–!

A crack appeared on Rhys’s sword.

Leo and Rhys both paused.

snap–!

Rhys’s sword soon broke apart.

“Hm.”

Rhys let out a light sigh.

“I still have a long way to go.”

The sword he used today was a practice sword.

Of course, as the successor of the Zerdinger family, it was quite a fine sword, but it wasn’t the one used in actual combat.

So it wasn’t strange that it couldn’t withstand Rhys’s powerful aura.

Of course, a knight of Rhys’s caliber could still fight even without a sword.

But this wasn’t a real battle — it was a sparring evaluation.

For a student using a weapon, losing the weapon was considered defeat.

Rhys clicked his tongue and gave a bitter smile.

“I lost. Leo.”

All around, voices of disbelief erupted.

Leo dismissed Elsie and picked up Fiora, setting her on his shoulder.

“This result… I can’t quite accept it.”

“Still, a win is a win.”

Rhys approached Leo and patted his shoulder.

“You have enough qualification to be student council president. You’ve proven that yourself.”

Rhys smiled at Leo.

“I leave Lumene to you after me, Leo.”