Episode 9. Magic Duel
Professor Pierre Blanchot submitted the document bearing his signature to the academic affairs office.
He utterly despised paperwork, but the document he had received from one of his assigned students today was quite interesting.
It was that fellow—Gillian, or something like that. Not a very noticeable sort, so he couldn't quite remember.
Professor Blanchot asked the disciple who had brought the dueling permit for his reasons.
"He sullied my honor."
Professor Blanchot barely restrained himself from asking whether a fledgling who hadn't even shed his student label had any honor worth sullying.
It was because Gillian's expression was so earnest.
A magic duel. Whatever the reason, it was quite an amusing affair.
Before Elfenbein had turned into such a philistine place as it was now—back in Blanchot's generation, at least—magic duels had been common events.
Senior to junior, disciple to professor. Any student would issue a challenge, and no one would refuse.
Old Elfenbein had truly been a place like a military barracks that raised warriors.
When a few children of the upper crust got injured, providing an excuse for protest letters to fly in from various countries, the high-and-mighty ones of the Magic Tower threw a fit and suppressed magic duels.
And now it had become an institution nearly forgotten.
So Professor Blanchot was almost pleased to see the brat who had brought the application.
"Hm, a magic duel! A nostalgic ring to it! For a cheeky brat, you've brought interesting paperwork!"
"Thank you, Professor. Then you'll stamp it?"
"Yes, rejected!"
"Thank... what, Professor??"
But quite apart from Pierre's personal opinion on magic duels, if he let the paperwork pass, the Board of Elders would undoubtedly throw a tantrum.
Did a professor have no sense? What if the students got hurt? Elfenbein's sponsorship funds this and that...
Pierre Blanchot wanted to cling to the school like a tick for a long, long time, receiving gold coins. He had no desire to take unnecessary risks.
He too had grown old now.
"Don't do pointless things and pay attention in class instead!"
"But... Professor!"
"Why are you still here instead of leaving?"
But while he was retelling this amusing tale in the professors' lounge, an unexpected figure showed interest.
"Who challenged whom to a duel?"
"Ah, Dean? It was a student named Gillian Bames and a student named Binaeril Dalheim."
"Can't you let that pass?"
"Pardon? But the students' safety..."
"Can't you?"
"But the Board of Elders will—"
"I'll handle that myself."
It was hard to refuse when someone who never interfered in private matters with subordinates spoke in such a manner.
'The Dean must have grown old and found life boring.'
Professor Blanchot could only guess as much.
For a magic duel to be established, the advisors of both the applicant and the challenged had to sign. (The challenged student had no right to decide.)
The professor in charge of the fellow called Binaeril was Freud Yeong.
That professor was quite stubborn and also inclined to avoid risks, so Pierre thought it would be rejected at Freud's end.
But surprisingly, Professor Freud accepted the application. Had Dean Julio gone and goaded him too?
Anyway, that was how a small event came to be held in the midst of their tedious daily lives.
"It's really been a long time since a magic duel was approved besides the Scala exam."
As the advisor, Pierre Blanchot had a duty to attend as a witness.
The duel was the day after tomorrow, and Professor Blanchot, excited at the rare spectacle, began to hum.
Binaeril traced the gracefully curved olive branch emblem.
Though it was a picture stamped on flat paper, it felt three-dimensional. Elfenbein's administrative prowess had a strange tendency to pour effort into odd places.
The letter his advisor—whom he preferred to avoid—tossed his way before leaving was, of course, nothing like a love letter.
It was an attendance summons, informing him that the confrontation had been scheduled and ordering him to attend.
Wondering if there had been some event lately, he read the contents carefully—indeed there was an event.
Though he hadn't known that he himself was the protagonist.
Binaeril had a vague idea about the institution called a magic duel. But it was the first he'd learned that it did not seek the consent of the party in question.
"What is this absurd system?"
The letter, stiffly worded and rhetorically ornate, simply contained the message: 'Come out and fight. Failure to appear will result in penalties.'
Binaeril was nearly at the point of wanting to applaud Gillian's persistence in doggedly picking another fight.
—Guess he didn't get beaten up enough.
Of course, he agreed with Veritas's opinion.
The magic duel had been scheduled as abruptly as its bewildering contents.
As if someone had deliberately moved the time up.
"Nah, no way."
Binaeril had no such connections. He was a fledgling who had quietly attended school during his junior years and had just barely become a senior.
There hadn't been any incidents where he'd offended someone or drawn attention, either.
—But rather, this is a good thing.
"Why?"
—It will be an opportunity to train your control.
Since the day he'd had that nightmare, Binaeril had been avoiding using magic.
"What if I go on another rampage like back then?"
—Then are you just going to get hit and lose?
"It's not that, but..."
—They say there are witnesses, so what are you worried about?
"Hmm."
Veritas might have been right.
It wasn't a problem that would be solved by avoiding it.
Binaeril made his way to the training hall.
Feeling the need to prepare at least a little before the full-fledged confrontation.
A few days later, the day of the magic duel approached.
Binaeril Dalheim entered the appointed place.
Gillian Bames and himself, their two advisors, and one sturdily-built old man appeared as observers.
For Binaeril, who disliked noisy crowds, the small number of spectators was fortunate.
'Who is that old man?'
—Let's see. It's Professor Angelo.
'You mean Professor Angelo Julio, Dean of the Elemental Department?'
Elfenbein's curriculum was divided according to several characteristics.
The Elemental Department, the Spirit Department, the Divinity Department, and so on...
The deans of each department were truly world-class magicians.
Binaeril had only heard of them by word of mouth; this was his first time seeing one in person.
As an emeritus professor on the verge of retirement, he was someone who didn't show himself much in classes or official events.
'Why would someone like that come here?'
—Looks like he attended as a witness.
If only their respective advisors observed, there would be room for bias, so a neutral witness had been necessary.
Though it was unexpected for a professor of dean rank to take on such a role.
"I went easy on you last time. You're dead by my hand today."
Gillian was boldly threatening him again.
Please. Who went easy on whom.
Seeing him cling to the hem so tenaciously, he was more persistent than expected.
"If you'd studied that hard with such persistence, it would have been better. Then we wouldn't be fighting in the first place."
Gillian passed by, and Professor Freud Yeong, Binaeril's advisor, also passed him.
Binaeril had wondered whether he should say something, but Professor Freud shot him a glare and walked to his seat.
"Why are there so many people glaring at me like that?"
—Guess you're just hateable.
"You're the most hateable, you know?"
"Both students, onto the platform."
At Dean Julio's command, Binaeril and Gillian ascended the arena, maintaining an appropriate distance.
"Leaving the arena means disqualification. If one side surrenders, or a witness declares a stop, the match ends immediately. Safety is the most important thing in a magic duel."
There were a few other rules, but nothing of great importance.
Gillian didn't listen to the Dean's words and mouthed something to Binaeril.
Jieut, bieup, siot... Binaeril read that much and then averted his gaze entirely.
"Then let the match begin!"
"Rise, Spear of the Earth!"
Gillian Bames took the first move.
He was a mage at the threshold of the 2nd Tier.
Hearing the opponent's chant, Binaeril leaped away from his spot.
Earth rose in the shape of a stone spike and pierced where he had been.
It wouldn't be so in real combat, but in a magic duel, the basics required chanting loudly so the opponent could clearly perceive the attack.
Using trickery or making the incantation inaudible was also grounds for forfeiture.
Gillian immediately prepared his next spell.
"Pierce, Arrow of the Wind!"
Gillian focused on his magic, breaking out in a cold sweat.
His face was visibly flushed red even from afar.
Creating three wind arrows with a single chant was a bit much for him at his current level.
Thanks to Gillian struggling, Binaeril also bought time to prepare a counter-spell.
Binaeril applied the magic Gillian had used earlier.
This time it was for defense, not offense.
A stone wall shot up between Gillian and Binaeril.
"Hm, not a bad sense for magic."
Dean Julio and Professor Pierre let out brief exclamations of admiration.
For a transfer student, he seemed quite skilled.
Only Freud, Binaeril's advisor, watched the situation silently with a dry expression.
There was a certain degree of elemental affinity and opposition between elemental magics.
The wind arrows Gillian cast struck Binaeril's stone wall without inflicting any damage.
Gillian grew impatient.
He was the one attacking, yet he felt like he was the one being pushed back.
He took advantage of the stone wall blocking his view and secretly dashed forward.
By the time Binaeril noticed his approach, the distance between them was barely five meters.
It was a dangerous distance for a student duel.
Because the shorter the distance, the less time there was to defend.
Professor Pierre frowned and gauged Dean Julio's reaction.
The Dean showed no particular reaction yet.
Pierre turned his gaze back and watched Gillian's movements.
Gillian decided to use the spell he had prepared.
In truth, the previous spells had merely been groundwork.
His hidden trump card was still concealed.
However, for this attack, he needed to close the distance with Binaeril.
Having approached to a distance where they could clearly read each other's expressions, Gillian began to recite a chant with confidence.
He didn't forget to tilt his head at an awkward angle to make it difficult for Binaeril to read his lips.
"Salamander of flames that burns my body, bring forth flames that devour the surroundings."
Pierre, focusing his hearing, understood the chant and sprang to his feet.
That was the magic of Self-Immolation.
A spell that caused a massive explosion centered on the caster.
It was not a spell that should appear in a student duel.
Moreover, if the caster lacked sufficient skill, there was a high chance of injuring oneself as well.
An arm blocked Professor Pierre as he tried to rush out.
"Dean?"
It was Dean Angelo Julio.
The Dean could not be unaware of the situation.
If he didn't stop it immediately, at least one person would be seriously injured.
"I'll intervene. Just a moment."
Binaeril panicked upon understanding Gillian's chant.
Because the bastard had rushed in while shouting, there hadn't been enough time to prepare a defense.
He hurriedly stepped back, but Gillian, having built up speed, was faster in closing in.
"Damn...!"
Gillian's entire body began to glow red.
What should he do now?
As Gillian's chant was completed, scorching heat pressed against Binaeril's face.
It was a dangerous moment, but Binaeril felt an inexplicable déjà vu.
Gillian's flames began to envelop Binaeril's entire body.
Binaeril realized the identity of the déjà vu.
It was a recurrence of the nightmare he always had.
"No!"
Binaeril's imagination swelled violently.
He instinctively envisioned an imaginary explosion to repel the flames.
He instinctively swung both arms to repel them.
It was the maximum magical power he could release.
Boom!
A frigid explosion burst from him, colliding with Gillian's heat and causing a thunderous roar.
That force surged past the wall of flames, rushing even toward Gillian.
Gillian felt himself being pushed back, but there was nothing he could do.
He had exhausted all his strength with the attack just now.
It was at that exact moment that Dean Julio threw himself in.
"Stop!"
The Dean cast a barrier, blocking between the two.
Binaeril's magic couldn't cross that barrier and dissipated.
"Enough. That is sufficient! I declare this match won by Binaeril Dalheim."
Professor Angelo Julio rose from his seat.
The other two advisors looked quite bewildered.
Binaeril couldn't understand the situation quickly.
'Did I do something wrong?'
"Binaeril Dalheim!"
"Yes? Ah... yes!"
"Follow me."
Dean Julio's face was deeply furrowed with seriousness.
Binaeril somehow felt like he was going to be scolded.