"Then, the duel between the students Maria Marigold and Nayari will now officially...Start!"
------
"Ehhh?! Maria Marigold challenged you for a duel, and you accepted it?!" Lilith was shocked to hear about Maria and Nayari's conversation.
"What's about it?"
"Hey, hey, hey! I heard that she's the most powerful mage here in this academy! Do you think you can take her on?!"
"I've got a fair share of experience dealing with sorcerers before, and most of them lost the moment I closed up my distance on them, so if I managed to get close to her the moment the battle start, then my win is guaranteed."
"...I don't think she would be that easy but..."
"Besides, I'm also doing this for your sake."
"M-M-My sake?!" Lilith's face suddenly brightened up upon hearing Nayari's words.
"You're bothered by the rumor, right? How can I properly treat you when you try to stay away from me?"
"Ah...I'm sorry about that..."
"Well then. I'll go and start training. I can't underestimate my opponent, either."
----
"Wait for me, my dear sister. I'll definitely find a cure for you."
Maria thought as she also went to train herself.
The opponent she was going to face looked to be a veteran, so she couldn't underestimate him.
If she wins, then she will ask him to cure his sister, if he really was who she thought he was.
If he wasn't, then she would have wasted her time for nothing.
It's a gamble, but first thing first, she had to win this duel.
She had never met someone with such a deep hatred for magic such as Nayari, so she wanted to show him that magic isn't at all what he thought it to be.
And if he started to learn magic after this, he could as well become the best mage in this academy.
Then, she just had to become stronger than him, and one day finally proved herself to "that person".
Nayari was just a stepping stone for her to become stronger.
But, when she was holding his hands, she did not know why it felt familiar.
That same warm feeling...
She stopped thinking further as she continued to train.
----
Two days later.
The arena that they had decided to fight in was the Mage Arena.
It wasn't that Nayari was giving Maria a handicap, but it was that he could familiarize himself in the environment full of mages.
"...*Hum* *hum* *hum*~ I'll be the one to arrive first and then when he came, I'll say, "I thought you have already chickened and run away.", and stuffs. I've always wanted to say that- Ack! Nayari!?!"
When arrived at the destined place, Maria thought that she had gone very soon, but Nayari himself had gone even sooner than her, at the time when the sun had only just risen a bit.
"Yo."
"W-Why are you here?!"
"Why? Isn't this the place where we said we would meet up?"
"B-B-But...Argh..." Maria looked dejected.
But somehow, with his presence here, she felt at ease.
Nayari's aura somehow felt similar to that of Karmeson's, both have that warm feeling.
But Nayari's one was darker and felt sadder.
After their initial meeting, they went on to prepare themselves.
"Ah, by the way, where's the boy that always follow you around?"
"You mean Lilith? Ah, I left him to sleep in the room. It's still early in the morning, and with his illness and stuff, it's advisable for him to refrain from moving around too much."
"Oh..."
"Speaking of which, you said you know the truth about the rumor, right? Are you perhaps, the one that spied on us on that night?"
"W-what are you saying?! I-I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Hmm..."
----
After a while.
The arena was already full of spectators.
Maria and Nayari each stood at a corner of the arena.
"You better fight with your all because I'm not going to hold back!" Maria shouted toward Nayari.
"Hmph! You talk like you'll be the one to win this duel. Too much boasting can lead to self-destruction, you know?"
"Why you..."
"Ahem...You two ready?" The teacher, who was currently in the role of the referee, interrupted both of them.
"Yes!" They spoke at the same time.
"Then, the duel between the students Maria Marigold and Nayari will now officially...Start!"
As soon as he finished his line, Nayari immediately charged toward Maria.
Seeing that, Maria first let out a shocked expression, then a smirk.
"Naive! <
Maria's body glowed a bright light.
"Wha-?!"
The blonde girl took a stance, before dealing a punching blow right into Nayari.
"Guah...!!" Despite managing to quickly block it with the spear he borrowed, the impact still came through.
He flew backward, before steadying himself and landed on the ground.
"Guh...Seems like I did underestimate you...I'll be getting serious from now!" Nayari said as he wiped the blood that had just spilled from his mouth.
"Please do!"
He took a step back, before briefly disappeared, and suddenly reappeared to her right.
"Wha-?!" Despite being caught off guard by the incredible speed Nayari had just performed, she readied herself at his upcoming frontal attack, judging from his spear's movement.
But betraying her expectation, the attack was a feint and to her stomach delivered a kick, flinging her backward like what she did to him.
"<
Twenty red magic circles appeared, and fireballs started coming out from them, the speed at which they flew was approximately the same as Nayari's current speed, all aiming at him.
He started running sideways, trying to dodge the incoming projectiles.
But the projectiles kept on following him, no matter where he ran.
Maria, who had just landed onto the ground and tried to regain her breathing, cast another spell.
"<
Walls made out of dirt appeared one by one in the way of Nayari's escape root.
"Not that easy!"
He swiftly leaped over all of them, despite the walls' height.
The fireballs collided into the walls and dissipated.
"Whoa..." Maria was shocked at his ability, unable to help herself to admire him.
With nothing to help him, he already had this much power. One would wonder how stronger he would be if he started learning magic as well.
After managing to stop the chasing fireballs, he headed straight toward for Maria.
Nayari had bloomed a smile.
As he had gone through many life and death battles, never once did her consider a battle fun.
But even though this battle was only a duel, for the first time he managed to enjoy it.
Or maybe because this wasn't a battle to the death that he was able to enjoy it.
Maria had already felt a bit exhausted after casting a large about of spells, so the best possible option for her was to engage in close combat.
But, she continued casting another spell.
"<
A green magic circle appeared under Maria, which then a small whirlwind formed with Maria as its core temporarily pushed Nayari back.
"Hrghh..." He raised his arms to block it, before looking up to the sky.
The whirlwind had lifted Maria up into the sky.
Under the blinding sun, Maria who was directly under it was shining like an angel who has just descended upon land.
Her hair refracted the sunlight, making it glimmering even more like a crystal.
"What..."
Her beauty attracted almost every single students who were spectating.
Every student except Nayari.
He felt something wasn't right.
Something big was coming.
Meanwhile, Maria who was currently up in the sky decided to end the battle with a single strike.
"Let see if you can run away from this! <
Hundreds of spears made from condensed light started coming out from their respective magic circles.
They started coming down like what its name suggested, rain.
Nayari quickly spun his spear in a circular motion to deflect the incoming attacks.
No.
This wasn't the danger he was feeling.
"Hey! Everyone looks! There's something on the sky!" One of the students who was spectating pointed toward the sky.
Maria quickly glanced upon her, and Nayari did the same.
"That is...!!!" The blonde girl was shocked when she realized the thing's silhouette.
"A griffon." Nayari clenched the spear in his hand.
Things had started turning for the worse.