Chapter 213
aALCarlo held his throbbing head. A deep breath was enough to ease the pain a little.7BdhG7
aAukLlVIt wasn’t anything serious.dNhr
UWuZQaGIllusion and deceptive magic were filled with tricks meant to confuse the opponent. Of course, the magical circles, formulas, circuits, and calculations were complex.UcNihR
tUWJThat’s why, for Carlo—who had only been exploring this field for a few months—it was still impossible to cast illusion magic smoothly.FmG
sG6PigsIt required a lot of preparation and time, and by trying to shorten that process forcefully, he had overloaded his brain.7YtYnzw
QDaSThe headache was a result of that.bgFFGje
EMam“I’ll do it again this time.”n7v2
duFHe had defeated Liana Horton. Last year’s champion. A rival he previously could hardly compete with.EBvY
cAiLudger Schwaben had always been below him from the beginning.wfj1
aeryAlthough Fernan had abruptly barged in and changed things in a strange way, in terms of magical ability, Carlo had always held the upper hand.jzDKOg3
YyavXC“I’m sorry, Ludger.”FFJ
ZYaeUFrom the moment he entered the academy, Carlo had shown goodwill to Ludger, and Ludger had returned it with equal kindness.op7
pwPCarlo had clung to that bond, and Ludger had rewarded him with full support.SBrcql
IOx8That’s why defeating him felt, in a way, like betrayal.5DZ
hW2a7But Ludger was a prince. His value as a mage was less compared to his value as a prince.K036j
YK1OauGOn the other hand, Carlo—without the label of mage—was nothing. The Deneb family was just another count’s house among many.SXwalw
54I5That’s why.i1z9F
QwmjOt“…Victory is mine.”xe2JOPt
RRb9BBecause to him, it meant far more.zIy
ZRosQgOHis hand trembled. Not from fear, but from excitement, anticipation, and joy.yR0cd
NskNow that the title of Magic Tournament Champion was so close, his heart raced uncontrollably.eo4VRLL
CBhgG1L【Salon Ravidus destroyed during the festival…?】dm7bOr
K0WTFg【The Saintbird appeared during the festival…!】WoMh92k
Jqwb【Is Aint Armian the owner of the Saintbird…?】PeZ6g
5BXS5Suddenly, his eyes landed on the newspaper next to him.VHP
dt5His face twisted.i7Tv4
NZKfKHVAt a moment that should have been his stage, someone else was causing a stir. But it didn’t matter.i5rsQ
JKY4They said he was being punished. A hero? How could he be called a hero? All he had was good blood, nothing more.dlpp6e
iFv6h‘The first emperor wasn’t a hero from the start either.’n7A
2UIAt the beginning, he was merely the king of the Kingdom of Armian. He became great by slaying demons, gaining fame, and founding an empire.oUoR8bH
1Pz5Carlo 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.XoB
4yU8fHe just wanted one thing.3xLi
ZJPo“To be the greatest mage.”CTGGuns
jCVThe best in the empire, the continent, the world.FETmfc
fssIt was his dream from the moment he began studying magic until now—a dream he had never forgotten.8hz
F6x8And winning the Magic Tournament was the first step toward achieving it.I95
8v8eI1“It’s time.”cz6CBN0
dpO4rAt the assistant’s call, Carlo stood up.EmP004
8dRHe stepped onto the stage. Thousands of spectators watched. Ludger appeared at the opposite end.c4Zpmg
ZvCein5“……”ZIV25
L0L“……”M7yujmd
peq93pNo words were needed.KJzUQ
Xd4wFns“Begin!”4t6O
tsI9tiuBoth mages unleashed their magic at the same time.G9yv
wMyEqT────!bPC7jFU
9KhXsgX⸻EsKYB6V
33F8aAM***Tdw25LV
Gowg0Professor Ladina finished inscribing the last rune onto the container used to store Aint’s aura.mAS
Bo48pHB“I suppose by now the Magic Tournament has already started. Don’t you feel bad about missing it?”HyY4W6
WY6Sz“And you, Professor? Aren’t you going?”9WzLpAe
XbHQ5D“Personally, I’m not too interested in competitions. I’d rather focus on any clue that might help the research.”AnpjE
plMoShe poured a reagent into the mixture.TkBxgUl
gTkw“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.”SdyOhSI
8BKDY“It’s fine.”NWd
wOvDFBut the magical circles inscribed on the container weren’t reacting at all.LmnCP
CQvLadina sighed.bhuv
2a4“Is it a failure?”wL6GoC1
IIYB“It’s not working?”5XNOnq
73gNF“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.”CJeAYH0
xQ3ozvJust 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.h1cWQ
AeeQN4“If you move forward step by step, you’ll succeed eventually.”yiog0Uy
3Z3“But you won’t always be here, right?”fdSOek
EpQC“I won’t be able to come often, but I’ll drop by now and then to inject aura.”3lJrwo
ST9“Really?”wI3
xKUH“Yes. I also want a weapon that can kill demons to be developed.”lwEV
SBk3After all, demons were the enemy of humanity; any effort to defeat them was worth it.8xXM
fMa“Really? You shouldn’t underestimate a mage’s memory.”JxJs
78HU4“I’m serious.”4U2mMXB
1ggo“Thanks. Then why don’t you go watch the finals? Take a break.”KQUzHH
iDV“Didn’t you just say I shouldn’t…”TcUj
LtyaB62“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.”Tif
A9g“You won’t need more aura?”tA2cU5
GR3“I’m good. You said you’d come back from time to time. Now go on, don’t make me feel guiltier.”91WS9gm
s7HSvLadina signaled to her assistant, who forced a hooded cloak over Aint’s head, covering his face, and pushed him out of the lab.S4ru1d
DmLlYO“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.”LbBYSa
I2d8h“Get some rest! Have fun!”5irGL7
hKORBang!kY6
gv8hEWVThe door closed.fplipM
LELPhAint was left standing there, confused.4BY
GpFQP“…What just happened?”HjEZ
I5r1Ce— 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.M374t
fqQOT“But hasn’t it already started? And I don’t have a ticket…”TnjnYam
qgSaB— 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.Nqjv
kbEh“Oh, right.”7tX3
DTMLAfter washing up in the communal bathroom, Aint fixed his clothes.kIcL
mOCmCIL— You’re even getting used to using communal bathrooms now.dAFCLC3
QYXyIbU“It’s… habit, I guess…”9rGQP
mKFqLSJust as he was about to leave the dormitory, he saw Aria collapsed like a corpse on the terrace.qbEc
vnvLzML“Aria?”Pm4Dgo
WW1g“Mm… Aint?”KZUi
ZkvorRqWith great effort, she opened her eyes.Ng4
c9zLoB“Are you okay?”Sq8k6y
kNbXBF“…Yes… No, actually no, but let’s say yes.”vYtij
OEM4kH“What do you mean?”Wnc
iZ53IZC“That I’m on the verge of going insane. There’s just too much work… It’s too much!”jETu
LGn4Combining 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.uKd
nZl“And the worst part is, the day of the festival is just a few days away!”xu95
k1sThere 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.jGx
82Vp“But didn’t you sleep the entire day yesterday?”HFshI
l1P“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.”I0623
uoh4I— That means they’ve been wringing her dry.j9WsR
MjzTHvAint was tired too, but compared to Aria, what he felt was nothing.DJKcjMZ
D9sKIwc“Seriously, my mind is still foggy…”O71
f902ZGj“You can tell.”LxZ
N2uuh5“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!”VSf
5J8“Want to rest with me for a while? I’m going to watch the final of the magic tournament.”oFaM
NR5YE“Sounds tempting but…”QYt40
QTm2Aria hesitated a moment, then shook her head.mea
jeyFc2p“No, I have to do it.”DNSUH
wdlWwP“Even if you don’t want to? You’re going to kill yourself at this rate.”fCZ5b
iFkbcTF“I must. No matter what.”DsSfPw
0YR3She downed her coffee in one gulp, staggered to her feet, and left.MH6
iyJIgbf“…I hope she’s okay.”ofv
OMXXMx— It’s a little strange.JGV
7n1v— That an elf who slept for an entire day still hasn’t recovered at all is odd.dpK
mZBHBNElves typically need fewer hours of sleep on average, since their physical capacities surpass those of humans.nssm
47WlAnd yet, even after sleeping like the dead for an entire day, Aria didn’t seem the least bit recovered.eLxk
5YPnp5l— 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.tVANrB
GE3we“When I see her again, I’ll have to ask.”SWOv
PwqTAint headed directly to the Magic Tournament stadium.BEIATu
dfWqzJ7“This way, please.”k0gHNtj
ujk“So you knew I was coming…?”jfKHC9
P492vcJ“Of course. We’ll keep it confidential.”ogHSz5
PDD6quhUpon mentioning Fernan’s name, the administrator in charge of the stands personally guided him to the VIP box.QgUbsr
FmfmDtThanks to that, he didn’t have to show his face to too many people, which was a relief.XUnwz
ZazOG— Money really works. I’m starting to understand the Pellenberg love for it.DpTlor
7a8PGAint silently agreed.jM73G
FVCq3cWBut he didn’t get to enjoy the benefits of money for long.mWJr9q
7U1As soon as he sat down, a gigantic magic circle covered the entire sky.hjZ23
P4p“…What is this?”UlPfdyJ
fRlv1gm“Carlo Deneb has reached this level of skill?”NAl
bTBhRSome were horrified at what they saw.Znc
Mp5pwYG“This is what a final match of the Magic Tournament should look like!”ULVThM
dF80d“A lightning bolt’s going to fall!”ykD4
gGS“How are you supposed to dodge that?”xEwfR
ZtREGWOthers, however, could only marvel.UCnZ
T8xThen, from the colossal magic circle Carlo had finished drawing mid-combat, hundreds of lightning bolts fell over the entire stadium.qc7q
6pQ5─────!0lDb
J3JzrL3The entire world turned blue. A screeching noise filled the air, like the cries of thousands of insects at once.ljpPe
nI7fjZ— They’re illusions! More than half of them are fake!HFbUPg
PPKKtThere were real and fake bolts mixed together, but distinguishing them all was nearly impossible.e2jCGth
pKueDThat decided the fight.LB4
szvlILudger’s flames spread out but struck only empty air, leaving a fatal opening.F0818
xSFwDIDozens of bolts struck him directly.xy1AXp
0CKh“The winner is Carlo Deneb!”vdc
6R9oQThe match was decided.60QYgW
gKaAnd at that very moment.bRQKave
uNO“……!”iVc
wYO“……!”ea5L
iwGAint and Carlo’s eyes met. Aint stood up abruptly.vsd
vVDNbMaybe Carlo was looking elsewhere, but Aint was certain they had recognized each other.IkSV
XF7nJQ2Because at that instant, he felt it clearly.32VF9
zph0Q4“…Gardner.”VES6Xb
GkH— Exactly.qXh
CeUDWmVery faint, very brief, but unmistakable.y63
7s1YTbv— It was demonic magic.rfBGLcG
VlJflHe was a demon.WDaTq4
GWFRjyaAnd precisely because he was a demon, Aint had been able to sense it clearly.YDyFb
gUMBAnd since Carlo also possessed it, he must have recognized Aint too.4kdF
LfPVE— A Magic Tournament winner turned corrupt? Wow, incredible.aC0dD
eN8sUB“But that senior wasn’t a corrupt. I’m sure of it.”g3JTMcw
Vp1HxHe’d never confirmed it directly, but Carlo had been around Fernan multiple times, and Aint had seen him in passing on several occasions.gH8
kcltHe’d never sensed even the slightest trace of corruption in him.ueQ9X
4JO— Then there are only two possibilities.Q2Z4ud
J7Nglg— Either he was a corrupt from the beginning and hid it very well. Or…dBcnYvs
RSscHwB— He became one recently.DnUR
upUd“Does that mean…?”5uqn
nG6Te— Exactly.FD9tU
7zMxmPGardner’s voice turned serious.pyAz
jimf— There’s a host inside the academy creating corrupts.Wh4j
lGg— I was wondering how they kept getting in despite the rector’s measures. Now it’s clear.C865
gqkHcCh— From the very beginning, they’ve been growing from the inside.FepMa
XWpVaAint nodded firmly.nbzTm
NdCArV— We’ll have to thank Professor Ladina. Thanks to her letting you watch the final, we’ve discovered something huge.p6coI7E
Ckis— Damn corrupts, filthy cockroaches.VZHrj5v
4r1cxHis eyes didn’t leave Carlo for a second.HRjN8
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