Carlo held his throbbing head. A deep breath was enough to ease the pain a little.
It wasn’t anything serious.
Illusion and deceptive magic were filled with tricks meant to confuse the opponent. Of course, the magical circles, formulas, circuits, and calculations were complex.
That’s why, for Carlo—who had only been exploring this field for a few months—it was still impossible to cast illusion magic smoothly.
It required a lot of preparation and time, and by trying to shorten that process forcefully, he had overloaded his brain.
The headache was a result of that.
“I’ll do it again this time.”
He had defeated Liana Horton. Last year’s champion. A rival he previously could hardly compete with.
Ludger Schwaben had always been below him from the beginning.
Although Fernan had abruptly barged in and changed things in a strange way, in terms of magical ability, Carlo had always held the upper hand.
“I’m sorry, Ludger.”
From the moment he entered the academy, Carlo had shown goodwill to Ludger, and Ludger had returned it with equal kindness.
Carlo had clung to that bond, and Ludger had rewarded him with full support.
That’s why defeating him felt, in a way, like betrayal.
But Ludger was a prince. His value as a mage was less compared to his value as a prince.
On the other hand, Carlo—without the label of mage—was nothing. The Deneb family was just another count’s house among many.
That’s why.
“…Victory is mine.”
Because to him, it meant far more.
His hand trembled. Not from fear, but from excitement, anticipation, and joy.
Now that the title of Magic Tournament Champion was so close, his heart raced uncontrollably.
【Salon Ravidus destroyed during the festival…?】
【The Saintbird appeared during the festival…!】
【Is Aint Armian the owner of the Saintbird…?】
Suddenly, his eyes landed on the newspaper next to him.
His face twisted.
At a moment that should have been his stage, someone else was causing a stir. But it didn’t matter.
They said he was being punished. A hero? How could he be called a hero? All he had was good blood, nothing more.
‘The first emperor wasn’t a hero from the start either.’
At the beginning, he was merely the king of the Kingdom of Armian. He became great by slaying demons, gaining fame, and founding an empire.
Carlo didn’t aspire to something so outlandish. Not to become an emperor, nor to chase an impossible dream for someone who wasn’t a prince-elector.
He just wanted one thing.
“To be the greatest mage.”
The best in the empire, the continent, the world.
It was his dream from the moment he began studying magic until now—a dream he had never forgotten.
And winning the Magic Tournament was the first step toward achieving it.
“It’s time.”
At the assistant’s call, Carlo stood up.
He stepped onto the stage. Thousands of spectators watched. Ludger appeared at the opposite end.
“……”
“……”
No words were needed.
“Begin!”
Both mages unleashed their magic at the same time.
────!
⸻
***
Professor Ladina finished inscribing the last rune onto the container used to store Aint’s aura.
“I suppose by now the Magic Tournament has already started. Don’t you feel bad about missing it?”
“And you, Professor? Aren’t you going?”
“Personally, I’m not too interested in competitions. I’d rather focus on any clue that might help the research.”
She poured a reagent into the mixture.
“Sorry. With all the help you’ve given me, I should at least let you watch the final of the jousting tournament, but I can’t make decisions for a punished student.”
“It’s fine.”
But the magical circles inscribed on the container weren’t reacting at all.
Ladina sighed.
“Is it a failure?”
“It’s not working?”
“Exactly. The stored energy dissipates too quickly. Even with demonic energy, there’s no reaction. For now, one minute is the limit. It’s hard—really hard.”
Just as Gardner had said, even the legendary first Pontiff of the Dragon God had barely achieved this feat, so it was no surprise that Ladina hadn’t found a solution yet.
“If you move forward step by step, you’ll succeed eventually.”
“But you won’t always be here, right?”
“I won’t be able to come often, but I’ll drop by now and then to inject aura.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I also want a weapon that can kill demons to be developed.”
After all, demons were the enemy of humanity; any effort to defeat them was worth it.
“Really? You shouldn’t underestimate a mage’s memory.”
“I’m serious.”
“Thanks. Then why don’t you go watch the finals? Take a break.”
“Didn’t you just say I shouldn’t…”
“What I said is not to get caught. If no one notices, then there’s no problem, right? Go on, watch the Magic Tournament and the jousting final too.”
“You won’t need more aura?”
“I’m good. You said you’d come back from time to time. Now go on, don’t make me feel guiltier.”
Ladina signaled to her assistant, who forced a hooded cloak over Aint’s head, covering his face, and pushed him out of the lab.
“It’s the cloak I wear when I go out without doing my makeup. It has a recognition-inhibition spell. It’s fairly basic though, so if you do anything flashy, you’ll get noticed right away.”
“Get some rest! Have fun!”
Bang!
The door closed.
Aint was left standing there, confused.
“…What just happened?”
— I guess she saw how exhausted you were and wanted to give you a break. Take it as a good thing. Go watch the tournament; watching matches of those who’ve already reached a high level, whether mages or knights, is always useful.
“But hasn’t it already started? And I don’t have a ticket…”
— Did you forget what Fernan said? That if you wanted to see it, all you had to do was give your name at the VIP area.
“Oh, right.”
After washing up in the communal bathroom, Aint fixed his clothes.
— You’re even getting used to using communal bathrooms now.
“It’s… habit, I guess…”
Just as he was about to leave the dormitory, he saw Aria collapsed like a corpse on the terrace.
“Aria?”
“Mm… Aint?”
With great effort, she opened her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes… No, actually no, but let’s say yes.”
“What do you mean?”
“That I’m on the verge of going insane. There’s just too much work… It’s too much!”
Combining illusion magic with spirit magic wasn’t easy at all. Getting the spirits to accept the illusions and become part of them was even more difficult.
“And the worst part is, the day of the festival is just a few days away!”
There was too little time. And because of that, the only option was to sacrifice sleep. Aria couldn’t even remember the last time she’d slept well.
“But didn’t you sleep the entire day yesterday?”
“That’s what’s strange. I’m tired, sure, but it’s not the first time I’ve stayed up all night. I’ve never slept so deeply—like I was dead.”
— That means they’ve been wringing her dry.
Aint was tired too, but compared to Aria, what he felt was nothing.
“Seriously, my mind is still foggy…”
“You can tell.”
“Why did I agree to this? I must’ve been crazy… It was because of Nania’s favor, and I said yes without thinking! I don’t want to do this!”
“Want to rest with me for a while? I’m going to watch the final of the magic tournament.”
“Sounds tempting but…”
Aria hesitated a moment, then shook her head.
“No, I have to do it.”
“Even if you don’t want to? You’re going to kill yourself at this rate.”
“I must. No matter what.”
She downed her coffee in one gulp, staggered to her feet, and left.
“…I hope she’s okay.”
— It’s a little strange.
— That an elf who slept for an entire day still hasn’t recovered at all is odd.
Elves typically need fewer hours of sleep on average, since their physical capacities surpass those of humans.
And yet, even after sleeping like the dead for an entire day, Aria didn’t seem the least bit recovered.
— Maybe it’s a side effect from the magical research. She might’ve been saturated by some residual energy, which is why she’s so exhausted.
“When I see her again, I’ll have to ask.”
Aint headed directly to the Magic Tournament stadium.
“This way, please.”
“So you knew I was coming…?”
“Of course. We’ll keep it confidential.”
Upon mentioning Fernan’s name, the administrator in charge of the stands personally guided him to the VIP box.
Thanks to that, he didn’t have to show his face to too many people, which was a relief.
— Money really works. I’m starting to understand the Pellenberg love for it.
Aint silently agreed.
But he didn’t get to enjoy the benefits of money for long.
As soon as he sat down, a gigantic magic circle covered the entire sky.
“…What is this?”
“Carlo Deneb has reached this level of skill?”
Some were horrified at what they saw.
“This is what a final match of the Magic Tournament should look like!”
“A lightning bolt’s going to fall!”
“How are you supposed to dodge that?”
Others, however, could only marvel.
Then, from the colossal magic circle Carlo had finished drawing mid-combat, hundreds of lightning bolts fell over the entire stadium.
─────!
The entire world turned blue. A screeching noise filled the air, like the cries of thousands of insects at once.
— They’re illusions! More than half of them are fake!
There were real and fake bolts mixed together, but distinguishing them all was nearly impossible.
That decided the fight.
Ludger’s flames spread out but struck only empty air, leaving a fatal opening.
Dozens of bolts struck him directly.
“The winner is Carlo Deneb!”
The match was decided.
And at that very moment.
“……!”
“……!”
Aint and Carlo’s eyes met. Aint stood up abruptly.
Maybe Carlo was looking elsewhere, but Aint was certain they had recognized each other.
Because at that instant, he felt it clearly.
“…Gardner.”
— Exactly.
Very faint, very brief, but unmistakable.
— It was demonic magic.
He was a demon.
And precisely because he was a demon, Aint had been able to sense it clearly.
And since Carlo also possessed it, he must have recognized Aint too.
— A Magic Tournament winner turned corrupt? Wow, incredible.
“But that senior wasn’t a corrupt. I’m sure of it.”
He’d never confirmed it directly, but Carlo had been around Fernan multiple times, and Aint had seen him in passing on several occasions.
He’d never sensed even the slightest trace of corruption in him.
— Then there are only two possibilities.
— Either he was a corrupt from the beginning and hid it very well. Or…
— He became one recently.
“Does that mean…?”
— Exactly.
Gardner’s voice turned serious.
— There’s a host inside the academy creating corrupts.
— I was wondering how they kept getting in despite the rector’s measures. Now it’s clear.
— From the very beginning, they’ve been growing from the inside.
Aint nodded firmly.
— We’ll have to thank Professor Ladina. Thanks to her letting you watch the final, we’ve discovered something huge.
— Damn corrupts, filthy cockroaches.
His eyes didn’t leave Carlo for a second.
____
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