Chapter 40 - Free-for-all

Where would the current of battle flow on its path to the end? Far too many

potentials existed, and no one could begin to predict them all. With multiple

teams in a free-for-all, that was exponentially worse; a minor coincidence in the

opening moments could prove decisive in the finale.

"Oh, wait, Nanao," warned Yuri. "Dragon breath's in effect there."

"Hrm."

Three days had passed since the prelim. The main act lay before them, yet in

the first-floor waiting room, Oliver's teammates were absorbed in a game,

showing no hints of nerves.

"..."

Oliver himself knew there was no use fretting over things. He'd drilled a set of

basic expectations and countermeasures into their heads, and now all they had

left to do was stay flexible and take the match as it came. Perhaps relaxing was

the best thing they could be doing. Certainly far better than stressing out. Still…

"Hmm, the golems are in a line. I believe I can combine them now!"

"Oh, nice, Nanao. Lemme check the rules. Um…once earth golems fuse, their

resistance and attack…"

"…Increase eightfold, in that variation," Oliver said, unable to stand by while

they dug through a very thick rule book.

He glanced over the board stuffed with minis of all shapes and sizes, looking

appalled.

"The match is upon us, yet you're enjoying this chaotic mess of a game."

"The turmoil is the fun! Have you not played Magic Chess Dynamic?"

"…I started with the fifteenth edition, Coolish, and kept up until the twenty-

eighth, Invisible. But there I learned my lesson. Rules update every month, each

completely overturning the fundamentals of the previous edition. Ordinary

chess is far more polished and preferable."

Even as he spoke, Oliver winced, hearing himself sound exactly like his father.

The memories were coming back to him already. His mother, the undefeated

champion—his father, reeling from another loss and wailing, "Noll, play me

again!" But no matter which of them was seated across the board, he was

always at his wit's end.

"Five minutes till start. Take your places."

An upperclassman's voice dragged him from his reverie. Nanao and Yuri

abandoned their game.

"Oh, it's time!"

"Verily."

They stood up, and Oliver joined them.

A voice echoed from the ceiling.

"Before our match begins, let me run over the rules again."

As ten AM drew near, Garland kicked off the commentary. The feed from the

surveillance golems showed the twelve students about to do battle.

"This is a four-team free-for-all. All teams will hit the field at the match's start.

Spells and blades allowed. You earn a point for each member of the opposing

teams you take out, and teams that survive till the end of the match earn two

additional points. The team with the highest total score is considered the

victor." Garland continued: "As per the previously announced terms, familiars

and golems are allowed. Entrants wishing to make use of these but without any

ready may borrow thoroughly average units from the league administration.

Feel free to ask."

These loaners were primarily to assist the second-year teams. Third-year

students were expected to have familiars on hand for scouting and messaging,

but it was hardly reasonable to expect younger students to match that. But

since the competition about to start was entirely third-year teams, this was

hardly a serious concern.

"This is the lower-form league, so naturally, dulling spells have been applied.

Contracts are in place to ensure spell lethality is limited to noncritical damage,

and the field itself has dulling spells applied to ensure no unfortunate accidents

from, say, bad falls. In other words, league combat requires a means of

determining injured and eliminated beyond the entrants' actual physical

condition. These are the rings you see around the entrants' wrists, ankles, and

necks."

"These right here!" Glenda leaped to her feet, showing off the rings she

herself wore.

"These rings detect extreme heat, cold, and impacts," Garland went on. "In

other words, offensive interference with the flesh. When the values registered

cross a certain threshold, the spell activates—applying a local paralysis to the

area around the ring. So if a spell scrapes by the ring on the left wrist, you'll lose

some feeling in your entire left arm—but if you soak that hit directly, you'll lose

the use of that arm entirely. Blows to the head or torso are registered by the

ring around the neck, causing not paralysis but unconsciousness—in other

words, eliminating you from the match. Even if the neck ring itself is intact, if all

four limbs are down, you're taken out."

At this point, he paused and glanced at Glenda. She caught the signal and

drew her athame, holding it in her dominant right hand. The screen zoomed in.

"The key point to understand here is that the loss of one's dominant hand

does not result in immediate elimination. Unlike a regular duel, this is a team

battle. Without that hand, fighters may not be casting spells or swinging swords

—but as long as they're running around, they can still help their team win. With

that in mind, we're expecting everyone to scramble like crazy."

As a general rule, mages could wield wands only with their dominant hand. In

light of that, standard duel rules held that a cut to the dominant hand—

incapable of casting or swinging—was a loss. But in a group event, this might

not be true. There was still plenty that could be done: Mages could serve as

decoys, soak blows for the others, or even focus on controlling familiars.

"We have several fields prepared, and these will be chosen at random for

each match. The time limit is one hour. You are free to fight however you like

within the parameters of the rules, but if you lurk or flee or avoid combat for

too long, you'll be declared unwilling to fight, and your rings will activate and

eliminate you. Take care that does not happen."

Fight—and survive. As primal a theme as any.

Garland wasn't quite done yet.

"Forbidden actions—first and foremost, any and all dangerous behaviors that

could lead to death or lasting damage. That includes all curses. Even if it doesn't

fall under those parameters, inflicting unnecessary or excessive pain is

obviously forbidden. Anyone spotted engaging in such behavior will receive a

warning or a penalty, and if deemed dire enough, they may be immediately

disqualified. To that end, there are upperclassmen placed around the field to

act as referees. Remember, their eyes—and mine—are always on you."

"So don't be an asshole!" Glenda roared. A succinct interpretation.

Garland nodded, and Glenda turned to the two other students seated at the

commentators' table.

"For this match, it won't just be Instructor Garland and me! We've also called

in two candidates for the next student body president. Ms. Miligan, Mr.

Whalley, can we get a word from each of you before the match begins?"

"Vera Miligan, presidential candidate. It's an honor to be offered a seat at this

table. Can't say I love the company, though."

"Percival Whalley, presidential candidate. I'll ignore the inscrutable squawking

next to me and simply say that I can endure any hardship for the future of

Kimberly."

They were already trading barbs.

"Yikes! Tensions are clearly high." Glenda chuckled. But her eyes were on the

clock before her. "Whoa! Two minutes till the match begins. Let's welcome our

fighters to the field!"

"Okay, it's time. Get out there!" the upperclassman administrator barked.

The cloth covering one side of the room fell away, revealing a painting of

sheer rock faces. They knew at once—this was the entrance to the battlefield.

Nanao and Yuri were clearly raring to go, so Oliver issued his first instruction.

"Hoods up. You ready for this?"

"You bet!"

"I can hardly wait!"

Enthusiastic faces vanished beneath their hoods. The pair's anticipation

clearly outweighed any anxiety. There was no need for Oliver to encourage

them further. All three stepped forward as one and leaped into the painting.

For a few seconds, they plunged through darkness—then they were thrown

out into an open space. Landing silently, they swiftly checked their

surroundings.

"…The painting told no lies."

Steep terrain, boulders bathed in orangish light. Few signs of life, but even

with their eyes closed, any mage worth their salt could sense power emanating

from beneath the ground. Even without a proper investigation, Oliver knew

exactly what type of field this was.

"The first match will take place on the beldite reserves! Applying the

labyrinth's magitech, our battlefields reproduce real-world terrain in a limited

locale! Both our guests have experience in team combat, so what do you make

of this field?"

Glenda was already getting her guests involved.

The Snake-Eyed Witch smirked. "A mineral-rich zone? Certainly a field type

that'll rattle a newcomer. The first test will be accurately reading the properties

of the terrain, and the second how they incorporate that into their strategy. A

chance for our adorable juniors to display their skills."

It would be faster to show them. With that in mind, Oliver applied a little

mana to the ground at his feet. A rock pillar rose from it, growing to waist

height in the blink of an eye.

"Oh!"

"Whoa."

Nanao and Yuri both looked fascinated. It was a standard foothold alteration

in the Lanoff school's earth stance, but under ordinary conditions, you could

hardly get an effect this dramatic without casting. Which just showed how

extraordinary this terrain was.

"As you can see, the terrain here is primarily beldite—a spellstone with a high

mana capacity. Magic that alters the ground will get a major boost. Even

something like Clypeus. On the other hand, oppositional-element spells will be

absorbed by the ground and their power diminished. Be prepared for that."

Even as he explained it, Oliver felt like this was a pretty tricky field. His

personal style made great use of the earth stance, so it had a big impact, and

there was no telling what effects it would have on their opposition—whom they

already knew far too little about. Before they entered combat, they'd have to

adapt to the terrain itself.

"You can cause big changes with a tiny amount of mana, but if you forget

that, you'll end up shocking yourself with the power of your own spells. Or the

lack thereof. You've been warned."

As for the minimal necessary precautions, he deliberately explained no

further. A verbal breakdown would be less useful for these two than acquiring

an innate grasp. He quickly moved to other subjects.

"How's it going for you, Leik?"

"Uh…not the best. The voices are quite soft… I can barely hear 'em."

Yuri had his hand on a rock nearby, shaking his head. His quirk was still a

mystery, but the voices of nature he heard were not going to help much here.

This was far from a natural environment—the field itself had been made by the

combat league administrators.

"Then we'll do this legit." Oliver nodded. He swung his athame. "Satus

sursum."

At his incantation, three shadows flew out of his robe, each headed in a

different direction. Little golems, modeled after birds. They made a quick circuit

of the airspace above the field, sharing their visual intel with Oliver.

"…Ngh…"

Processing four fields of view at once left him mildly "drunk," but he adjusted

after a few seconds. He closed his eyes and focused on the terrain observations.

"…I've got golems scouting," he said. "They're getting a big picture of the field

itself and locating the other teams if possible."

"Everyone starts by hiding and probing, huh?"

"Naturally, if we're attacked, we'll handle it, but nobody's going to be running

around without any information. Relative positions are going to be a major

factor in the outcome here. If multiple teams surround you, you're instantly in

trouble."

He held his athame out between Nanao and Yuri. Catching his drift, they

placed theirs on his, and the map he'd drawn in his mind was shared with them.

This approach required knowledge of the methodology and some practice, but

mages could link minds this way.

"Sending the image. See it? I've set provisional directions, but we're on the

southeast side of the map. No enemies for around two hundred yards. The

outskirts have some greens, but the elevation increases as you reach the center,

leading up to a towering peak. Keep it stealthy, but let's head there at top

speed."

"Mm-hmm, got it."

"Position ourselves on higher ground. A military fundamental."

All nodded, and they dashed off toward their first destination. Yuri glanced up

from behind a rock—there were several small golems flitting around. The

admin's surveillance golems and the scouts of opposing teams.

Like Oliver's team, the others were on the move.

"Spellstone reserves? It's our lucky day."

Jürgen Liebert, leader of one third-year team, was examining a stone in hand.

The students flanking him nodded. The girl with hawklike eyes was Camilla

Asmus, and the boy with fair, messy hair was Thomas Chatwin—the other

members of Team Liebert.

"Then let's get started."

"Gonna be a real showstopper, boss?"

"Yeah. High-quality beldite… The build's gonna be ideal."

Liebert drew his athame and pointed it at his feet. His first spell flattened the

ground around them. Then light flowed from the tip, drawing on the ground. As

he worked, he issued orders.

"Blueprint A-3. It's in your heads?"

"Yep."

"Not forgetting it anytime soon, not after all that practice."

Both set about their respective tasks, treating the ground as a canvas and

covering it in letters and diagrams to sketch out a giant, ornate magic circle.

"Horn to the southeast, Ames to the northwest, Mistral to the southwest—all

three teams on the move. Everyone's running straight to the peak at the center!

They all started at roughly the same distance from it, so who will get there

first?!"

Surveillance golems had every inch of the action covered, and the audience

was fully aware of what each team was up to. Watching the three teams

converge on the high ground, Miligan put her hand to her chin.

"Yes…Horn's team is noticeably fleeter of foot. Oliver and Nanao I expected,

but I'm rather shocked Mr. Leik can keep up with them. He transferred in last

year and hasn't really made a name for himself—so perhaps we just didn't

know."

"Hmph, speed alone will get you nowhere. Under these conditions, gaining

the sole high ground means you must be prepared to be the target of all other

teams. Have they given thought to what lies at the end of this race?"

Sensing that his political rival was backing Oliver, Whalley immediately moved

to disagree. Her guests locked horns, and Glenda shot them a sidelong smirk—it

was her job to keep the hype going.

"But the three-way race is not the only attraction! Look to the northeast, to

the Liebert team! They haven't taken a step outside their starting location!"

"Avoiding the race to high ground is one strategy, although I'm not sure what

they stand to gain from staying put. I can see they're sketching something…but

do they plan to camp there?"

Whalley folded his arms, puzzled. To avoid affecting the battle, the

surveillance golems were keeping their distance—and no one could work out

just what was being drawn. Miligan looked equally lost.

"Even if they're going full defensive and waiting for the other teams to crush

one another, they're still too far from the main action. They might be deemed

unwilling and find themselves disqualified. So what is their plan?"

Eight minutes after the match started—the last chunk of which involved

running up a very steep slope—Oliver's team reached the top.

"Well, that was easy," said Yuri.

"Stay on guard. No ambushes, but odds are the enemy's close," Oliver

cautioned. "Clypeus."

He cast a spell to adjust the terrain and swept his eyes over their

surroundings. He had scout golems patrolling, too, but he had to keep them

high up or they'd be shot down, and the functionality of golem eyes was a far

cry from those of a mage. Placing himself on high ground gave him far more

detailed intelligence, which made it easier to guard their vicinity and freed up

the golems to cover a broader area.

"First, we've gotta find the enemy. Once that's done, we hit whoever is a

close run downslope. Our goal is always swift strikes to take one team at a time,

not to defend this location."

The increased elevation helped locate enemies, but Oliver had no intention of

camping here. The advantage it offered was not worth getting surrounded. Yet

it would be tricky if their opponents occupied it, so as they scouted, all three of

them were planting spells in the ground and placing magic traps. Only a third of

them would actually trigger, and the rest were fakes, but just knowing there

were traps around would make a foe hesitate. The mineral deposits

strengthening earth magic really helped here.

"…? There's a team to the northeast, but they aren't approaching. They're

drawing something on the ground, but I can't tell what. They don't seem like an

immediate threat…"

It bothered him, so he left a single golem wheeling in the sky above. Nanao

and Yuri were checking other directions, so he glanced their way.

"Hmm, not finding anything."

"Nor am I. They excel at hiding."

Oliver nodded, unperturbed. Unless you were specialized in stealth like

Teresa, moving unnoticed was a real challenge in these conditions. If the enemy

was escaping detection, they were either moving extremely slowly or not at all.

Most likely hiding behind rocks and waiting for an opening. Inspecting the

surroundings in light of that and their potential locations was limited.

Perhaps it was time to flush them out. As Oliver considered that, a vibration

came from underfoot. All three saw rock fragments skittering down the slope.

"Mm, the field's shaking," said Nanao.

"An earthquake?" Yuri wondered aloud.

The pair exchanged frowns. But the cause was no mystery—the golem Oliver

had monitoring the northeast was watching the ground rise at prodigious

speeds.

" ?!"

"Build complete," Liebert said as the spell finished deploying. He wiped the

sweat from his brow. He and his teammates were in rather different

surroundings now.

A tower had rapidly grown from the ground, carrying them up. The top of it

was now taller than the mountain peak, looming over the entire field. But it was

no mere pile of rocks. There was space inside, windows coating the exteriors,

and a defensive wall surrounding the level ground at the base. A literal fortress

born from sheer rock.

"Nice."

"Whew, glad that didn't collapse halfway."

Long white wands in hand, Camilla and Thomas had their eyes trained on the

sights below. As they stepped forward, Liebert sat down heavily, his job done.

"…I'll rest a moment. It should be tall enough. Can you aim?"

"'Course."

"I've spotted them. On top of that little hill."

They each took aim—at what had once been the field's highest point. Their

wands targeting the prey in position there, their chants rang out.

"Flamma!"

"Tonitrus!"

"Clypeus!"

Flames and lightning shot out of the tower's tip, and Oliver quickly threw up a

barrier. The wall creaked from the force of the spells, and hot electrified winds

billowed around the sides. Still scrambling to catch up with these changes, he

barked an order.

"Spell snipers to the northeast! Don't return fire! Stay low!"

Repairing his spell's defenses, he urged Nanao and Yuri to defensive positions.

He would've loved to shoot back himself—but the enemy was much too far

away. At this distance, they'd be lucky if their spells even traveled that far. And

they had other teams to worry about—defense was their only option.

"Wow, that's really something. A whole new tower!"

"Indeed! That was not how I expected to lose the height advantage."

Their cries were astonished and delighted, and Oliver couldn't help but laugh,

all the while analyzing what these latest developments meant.

"…Pretty sure it's a golem fortification. Never seen one that size before."

"Wowzers!" Glenda cried. "Team Liebert went for some crazy construction!

They made a whole new tower and claimed the highest point with brute force!

Or I suppose incredible skill. And the moment it was done, they started sniping

Team Horn!"

"A golem fortification!" Garland added. "Well done, Mr. Liebert. An advance

application of classical golem techniques."

You'd expect him to elaborate, but the sword arts instructor broke off there,

his gaze turning to their guests. Catching his drift, Miligan and Whalley spoke

up.

"Allow me to explain. Modern mainstream golems prize careful construction,

from materials to schematics, while classical golem practices merely prepare a

core formula and use materials at hand to complete the build. The primary

advantage is that you need merely carry a small core with you but can create

large-scale golems."

"The disadvantage is that the size and quality of the golems vary wildly by the

materials at your location. Common dirt will just make cheap mudmen—the

quality of the ground may make construction entirely impossible. But naturally

—that can work the other way around, as it has here. A field of high-capacity

spellstones is the ideal environment for golem work. Under ordinary conditions,

three lower-form students would never have enough mana to build a structure

that size. But here, if the caster is skilled enough, it becomes possible. Though

clearly it took a lot out of him."

Like Whalley said, Liebert himself was leaving the fighting to his team and

recuperating. Perfectly understandable after a feat like that, Miligan thought.

"The bigger a golem is, the more mana it requires to move," the Snake-Eyed

Witch said. "But there has long been a view that you simply need not move

them at all. In essence, golems are containers, so they do not technically require

arms and legs. This golem fortification is clearly based on that principle.

Essentially a mage's pop-up fort."

Garland nodded approvingly.

"Solid exposition, both of you. If I have anything to add—it's that a build this

large is hardly a matter of burying a core and chanting a single spell. You need

thorough knowledge of the earth's composition and the support of appropriate

magic circles to ensure nothing gets unbalanced during the build itself. That

alone is difficult enough, but Team Liebert pulled it off without a hitch less than

ten minutes into the match. Mr. Liebert's skills on main construction are

commendable, but this proves the entire team came well prepared." He then

added, "Effectively, this flips the terrain advantage that Team Horn's speed

gained. They're in trouble already—and if they make the wrong judgment call

here, they'll be swiftly cornered."

Meanwhile, at the base of the rocky mountain Oliver's team had occupied,

another team was getting ready to act.

"There goes Team Liebert. What a sport."

The three-man team led by Rosé Mistral. Like Oliver assumed, they'd been

hiding behind rocks, waiting for a chance to attack. And that opportunity had

just presented itself.

"Time we do our part. Effingo frable."

He closed his eyes, beginning an incantation. An amorphous fluid born from

his wand steadily took form, the outline growing clear—and in time, two more

Rosé Mistrals stood before him.

"Clypeus! Down the hill! This is no longer the highest point, so no use staying

put!" Oliver barked, strengthening the barrier against the powerful spells

raining down from the northeast.

Yuri turned in the opposite direction.

"Mm, if we want to avoid the snipers, we'd need to head west…," he said,

peeking down the slope. A lightning spell hit the rocks nearby, and the shower

of sparks made him duck back under cover. "But, uh, it's occupied. We're

pinned down above and below."

"I see full teams to the northwest and southwest. We're punching through

the latter."

The results of his scouting informed Oliver's decision. Using the mountain

itself as cover against the snipers, they'd head southwest and use the

momentum of the downslope to push past the team stationed there—or even

take them out. The terrain switch up had been a surprise, but the general plan

hadn't changed: one team at a time, as hard as they could.

With their new goal confirmed, the team set out—but then Yuri stopped in his

tracks.

"? What's wrong, Leik? If we don't move now, we'll be a punching bag."

"…Mm…but still…"

Yuri tapped his forehead, falling silent.

"This your thing?" Oliver asked.

"…I think so? It's faint, but something's speaking to me. Hmm…"

Yuri started cocking his head. Feeling like this was a bad sign, Oliver took

another look around. The scouting he'd done had given him a good idea what

their opponents were up to. Given their current positions, southwest was the

safest move to make. But was he missing something?

As the wheels in his mind churned, more sniper spells came in, and Nanao's

spell strengthened the rock wall. Feeling the heat of the wind gushing past that

barrier on her skin, the Azian girl murmured, "Most impressive. Spells of this

force from so great a distance."

She meant little by it; she was simply voicing her admiration. But it tugged at

Oliver's mind in a way he could not ignore.

"…No, that makes no sense."

"Mm?"

"It's downright unnatural. One team to the east, two to the west, but the

teams on the west side are much, much closer to us. Yet the attacks from the

east are clearly far stronger."

This was feeling more and more wrong by the second. From their opponents'

perspective, this was a prime chance for all three teams to focus fire on Team

Horn. There was no point in anybody holding back—and to keep the tower

team's line of sight, they'd actually want to push Oliver's team to the east side

of the mountain. Which would mean they'd up the pressure from the west. Yet

the spells coming from that side were clearly far and few between.

There must have been a reason why the teams couldn't hit them harder. At

this point, Oliver had one of his scout golems look toward the peak upon which

he and his teammates stood. There, he saw three figures plastered against the

barrier wall, hiding among the snipers' flash and noise.

" ! Behind you, Nanao!"

The Azian girl swung around just as one of the figures leaped over the barrier,

lunging straight at her. Nanao braced her katana—but as the figure reached

her, so did a pair of lightning bolts.

"Hrm—!"

Cover spells timed perfectly with the assault. Three blows at once—and

Nanao knew she couldn't block them all. She made her choice and stepped hard

to the left, dodging the right bolt, parrying the thrust to her chest and taking a

swing to force her foe back. Inevitably, the bolt she had chosen to soak struck

her left elbow.

"Bold and decisive. You live up to your reputation."

"Tonitrus!"

"Impetus!"

Oliver and Yuri soon had spells flying in, but the figure danced around them

and flitted back up on the rock. As the figure fell back down beyond, the wind

caught their hood—revealing distinctive long bangs.

"But we took an arm. Next time—it'll be your head."

"Ms. Ames…!"

And with that, Ames was lost between the boulders to the east. With the

sniper fire raining down, they couldn't exactly give chase. Oliver had a scout

golem follow, and he ran to Nanao's side. The hit had resulted in her left arm

dangling limply.

"I'm afraid my left arm is done for. I could not well afford to lose my right or

chest."

"Not your fault. I'm the one who failed to spot them in time. I was sure I'd

found all our foes, and they took advantage of that. Those three must have

circled around the south—which means half the foes I spotted are fakes."

Oliver was as impressed as he was frustrated. It all made sense in hindsight.

The western offense had lacked ferocity because there was only one team over

there. The fakes had simply made it appear there were two. And before that

perception error could be corrected, Ames's team had slipped through the

sniper fire, closing in from the south—then retreated to the east, preventing

their pursuit. Hit-and-run, no injuries to their side.

There were several reasons why Oliver had failed to see it coming—chief

among them being just how impressive the fakes were. Splinters and illusions

ordinarily couldn't move like the real thing, but nothing he'd seen through

golem eyes had seemed remotely out of place. Was he controlling them

expertly, so they appeared natural? Or had they been given an unusual degree

of autonomy? Either way, the splinters were a major threat.

The second factor was the sniper barrage from the northeast. Alone, it was

tricky—but it had also served a function, covering Team Ames's approach. With

the fakes tricking them into believing they knew where their foes were, none of

them had been checking the south slope. If Yuri hadn't sensed something amiss,

their damages would have been far worse than Nanao's arm.

"Worst of all, this means our foes are working together," said Oliver. "You

can't pull off a strategy like this without prior planning. From the get-go, they

were teamed up to take us out."

"Three against one? A standard enough practice when one team is clearly

stronger, but they're not making any bones about it."

Miligan was frowning, reassessing the match flow.

"Not a fan?" Whalley sneered. "I'm inclined to praise them. They're doing

what they need to win. That is how a Kimberly student ought to be. It goes

against no match rules, yes, Master Garland?"

He glanced behind him, and their sword arts instructor answered with a silent

smile. Encouraged, Whalley lambasted his political rival.

"To avoid this outcome, Team Horn should have made overtures themselves.

If they'd managed to ally with just one of these teams, we'd be seeing a very

different match. Their indolence is a sign of their conceit. Or can you refute

that, Miligan?"

He shot her a challenge, but the Snake-Eyed Witch pointedly ignored it.

Fixation on victory was one thing—but mages had pride and style, too. And that

must be proven not by her—but by the underclassmen fighting before them.

"…Message from Team Ames. Surprise attack successful; Ms. Hibiya lost her

left arm."

A signal via mana frequency from a scout golem above, sent to Team Mistral

in the rocky foothills to the west. The teammate who received the message

relayed it to their leader.

"Then she can't use that two-handed Flow Cut," Rosé Mistral said, laughing

aloud. "The wind's blowing our way!"

"Hate to burst your bubble, but they'll be coming right at us. And they're onto

the splinters," the third team member added.

Mistral cracked his neck. "Bring it," he said. "I ain't shown even a tenth of the

Mistral bag o' tricks!"

At the same time, with three teams breathing down their necks, Team Horn

had to make a choice.

"…They're positioned well," Oliver muttered, his mind's eye tapped into the

view of his scout golems. "No matter where we go, we'll have eyes on us from

at least two directions."

With the height advantage gone, they gained nothing by staying on this peak.

The only question was how to get down. The eastern slope was bathed in sniper

fire and had to be avoided, but going west would leave them fighting the other

two teams at once. Now that they knew their foes were in cahoots, it was all

the more important they target one at a time.

Oliver made his choice in light of that, turning to his companions.

"Let's try and surprise them. We'll take a big leap that way." He glanced to the

northwest. "You both up for some acrobatics?"

Nanao and Yuri caught his drift and nodded in response. They all lined up in a

row, facing the same direction. Athames in hand, the trio aimed for their feet

and chanted in unison:

"""Clypeus!"""

Oliver's fine control pulled the three spells together. The spellstone ground

gave them a boost—the rocks shot up, lifting them all. That lift hit their feet and

propelled them into a bound, sending them hurtling across the sky toward the

northwest.

"Whoa, this feels amazing!"

"Most exhilarating!"

"Enjoy it all you like, but be ready to land. Elletardus!"

Their flight was all too brief. The ground was coming up fast, and their lastsecond deceleration spell applied the brakes just before touchdown. They

intentionally left plenty of momentum so they'd land running pell-mell.

"C'mon!" Oliver roared, at the fore. "Straight at Team Mistral and take 'em

down!"

"Gladly!"

"Before Team Ames gets here!"

With everyone on board, they rushed through a patch of boulders toward

their target team. Positionally speaking, things weren't at all bad. They'd landed

to the south of Mistral's team, so if their foes tried to run for it, they'd have to

go north. But since Team Ames was on the southwest end of the field, going

north would add to the distance between them. Oliver's goal was to isolate.

And with terrain this uneven, from the northeast, Team Liebert had no line of

sight.

"…Hmm, they're not running," Oliver muttered.

Clearly, his enemies knew flight would be pointless. His golems could see

Team Mistral holding their ground, ready for battle. Another few seconds of

sprinting and they could see them with the naked eye.

"Did not see that flight coming. So hasty, Mr. Horn!"

"Mr. Mistral—"

Oliver's team ground to a halt. Before them lay a cluster of stone columns and

three hooded figures among them. But then the hoods went down—and three

identical faces appeared. Three more opponents emerged from the pillars on

either side, and now there were six Rosé Mistrals facing them.

"We've got your welcome wagon ready. Let's party!"

All six sprang into action. Nanao raised her katana one-handed, and Yuri

blinked furiously.

"Wow! They've all got the same face! Sextuplets?"

"Splinters and transformations mixed together!" Oliver yelled. "Don't be

fooled—the splinters can't use magic!"

That was his best guess at the trick here. He knew this foe could use

exceedingly impressive fakes—so of the six, half were splinters, and the real

foes were Mistral and two transformed teammates.

"Going in!"

"Frigus!"

A spell interrupted Oliver's thoughts, and he blocked with the oppositional.

Figuring the caster must be real, he aimed for them—but they quickly slipped

behind a column. Another foe joined them, and then each stepped out from

different sides. Oliver scowled.

"…Okay, if they shuffle often enough, it'll be hard to track who's real."

"Then we gotta down 'em as we spot 'em!" Yuri yelled.

He and Nanao plunged into the fray, and Oliver backed their strategy. It might

have seemed reckless, but showing no fear was the right move. Splitting

strength into the splinters reduced their enemy's output—going all out would

overwhelm them.

"Gladio! "

Nanao's severing spell knocked down a stone column. If the obstructions

allowed the real foes and splinters to trade places, then best to clear those

away. Naturally, if possible, she planned to cut an opponent and the column.

While she kept the enemy on their toes, Yuri made his own aggressive move.

"Those footsteps sound off," he said. "If those are fake—then you're real!"

The moment his observations detected a discrepancy, he made a beeline for

his target. Oliver and Nanao each shot a spell to back him and keep the other

foes from stepping in. In the blink of an eye, Yuri was right on his foe—

"Huh?"

But as his athame swung in, he froze—in a very awkward stance. The Mistral

before him smirked.

"Keh-keh-keh! Wrong answer!"

The laughing foe's body glowed white—and exploded, scattering fireworks.

Yuri instinctively leaped back from the blast radius but couldn't avoid the light

itself; he was left blind. The enemy pressed that advantage, firing a spell at his

unguarded flank.

"Flamma!"

Oliver's spell barely managed to stifle it in midair. He and Nanao quickly

moved in, shoulder to shoulder, clearing out the volley of spells.

"Tonitrus! You okay, Leik?"

"I'm fine! That was close, though."

It took only seconds for his vision to recover, and then Yuri was back in the

fight. Certain he was uninjured, Oliver went back to analyzing—armed with new

knowledge of their opponent's formidability.

"…Self-destruct magic embedded in the splinters. A nice trick, Mr. Mistral."

"Such praise! I'm touched."

"We accept tips."

"But which of us is real?"

Five foes taunted Oliver around five columns. If the fakes exploded, it was

harder for Oliver's team to cut their way in. Their foes lacked offensive options,

too, but Mistral's goal was to buy enough time for Team Ames to arrive—so he

didn't really care.

The gist of the strategy was clear by this point. In light of that, Oliver turned

to their next plan—but Yuri was frowning, mulling over his misstep.

"Man, it doesn't make any sense. I was sure I could tell them apart."

"His goal was to make you think that. I imagine—"

But midsentence, Oliver did a sudden about-face.

"Fragor!"

The spell he launched raced through the air—and a figure shot out from

behind the pillar where it landed. A seventh foe, on the exact opposite side of

the battle from the previous Mistrals.

"That one's real, Nanao!" Oliver yelled.

The Azian girl was already rocketing forward. With Oliver's team between the

seventh foe and the rest of the Mistrals, the latter could offer no aid to their

newest comrade. Realizing he would have to fight his own way out, the seventh

foe drew his athame. Nanao's course never wavered.

"Tonitrus!"

"Tenebris! "

The bolt of lightning was blinding, so Nanao produced a blackout; the spells

clashed, canceling each other out. The enemy tried to cast again, leaping back—

"Gah!"

—and a blade pierced his neck. Still in her casting stance, Nanao had thrust

her way right through the clashing spells.

"Ms. Hibiya's strike goes through the throat! The first fighter down!"

"He misjudged the distance. Likely assumed without her two-handed Flow

Cut, his spell would actually hit her."

Garland broke off again, glancing at the guest commentators.

Miligan quickly took over.

"Darkness against lightning. A beautiful use of an oppositional counter. For

the benefit of the first-years, I'll explain—you can shoot down spells even

without the use of the oppositional element. Push back a fire spell with fire of

your own. But if you take that approach, both your spells will linger, clashing in

the air, and as long as they're fighting for dominance, neither caster can step

through that space. It leads to both parties keeping their distance and firing

more spells. Since Team Horn needs to swiftly take teams down one at a time,

Nanao wanted to avoid that outcome."

A clear explanation of the techniques and a demonstration of her ability to

lead the younger students. Whalley was not about to let Miligan score all the

points, and he rather forcefully interrupted.

"But if you do employ an oppositional element, the spells cancel each other

out and quickly fade away. If there is little discrepancy between the power of

the spells, you can chase your spell and close in fast. You first have to identify

the element your foe has used—so the closer you are, the harder it is. But if you

pull it off, you'll be on top of your enemy a moment after casting. Whether that

was the right judgment call in this situation aside, her decisiveness and

gumption are certainly commendable. I would have gone for a more orthodox

castoff myself."

Whalley wrapped things up with a trace of sour grapes, and Miligan smirked

at him. She knew full well that whatever he might say, he was far too rational to

underestimate the feat Nanao had just achieved.

Thrusting through an oppositional cancel was a choice she ordinarily would

not have needed. Nanao Hibiya's primary style would simply employ her twohanded Flow Cut to deflect her opponent's spell and cut her way in. What was

truly remarkable here was how effortlessly she'd pulled off an approach she

ordinarily had no use for. A purely situational technique—one she'd

nonetheless clearly honed till she could wield it on instinct.

And Percival Whalley was not one to diminish that type of slow and steady

self-improvement. Which was why Miligan seized this chance to boast.

"Ha-ha! It's all too easy to be blinded by her uncommon skills, but Nanao has

clearly mastered her magic-duel fundamentals, too. Oliver would hardly let her

remain remiss on that front."

"But the match is still anyone's to win. The lost teammate was not Mr. Mistral

himself," Whalley said with a frown. On-screen, the situation was in rapid flux.

The instant Nanao took out one Team Mistral member, two of the remaining

foes disappeared into thin air.

"Fewer splinters," Oliver observed. "I'm starting to see the trick here."

Oliver stepped in—and Team Mistral turned on their heels, running. But he

knew perfectly well there were no other teams ahead, and he swiftly gave

chase.

"After them!"

"Sure," Yuri said, keeping pace. "But can I get a briefing as we run? My head's

spinning!"

Oliver made sure Nanao was on their heels and started explaining.

"There were two types of splinters. The detailed corporeal models with the

self-destruct and shadow splinters that were easier to detect. The former were

likely under Mistral's own control, while the latter were operated from hiding

by the opponent we just eliminated."

He was keeping it simple. When the fight started, they'd been facing Mistral

himself, a student disguised as Mistral, a student hiding behind a rock, two

corporeal splinters, and two shadow splinters for a total of seven. Since one

type of splinter was more tangible than the other, they had assumed those

were real—a trap that exploited the way the mind worked.

"Hmm, okay. So the one I thought was real was just a corporeal splinter. But

how'd you know there was someone hiding nearby?"

"It's a classic strat. Flashy stunts and actions to distract you from the real

threat. A technique common in magical comedy—your basic misdirection.

That's why I had a scout golem wheeling overhead and keeping an eye on what

it saw, which helped me spot the foe sneaking around."

Camouflage spells used while hiding were easier to spot on the move.

Assuming there would be someone lurking nearby, he had intentionally left his

back turned, making his foe think he was exposed. And when that lurker started

moving, he'd spotted them through the golem and fired a quick spell to flush

them out, sending Nanao in for the kill.

But there had been surprises, too—Oliver had assumed the foe in hiding was

controlling the corporeal splinters, yet they'd actually been in charge of the

shadows. That meant they still had to deal with one that could blow itself up—

one that was that much worse. And of course, there was still Mistral himself.

"If they start working with any other teams, it'll be tricky. Finish them here!"

"Gladly!"

Nanao caught up with them, and they gave chase. Oliver's team had the

speed advantage, so the gap was steadily closing. Oliver drew his athame,

certain they had them—

" ?!"

Sensing a surge above, he leaped back. Nanao and Yuri did the same—and the

ground before them exploded.

"Don'tcha go thinking you'll escape my sniping that easy," Camilla Asmus

muttered.

She stood atop the northeast tower, white wand drawn. Naturally, she

couldn't see Oliver's team at all from this vantage point. They were too far—

and the steep rock formations themselves blocked her line of sight. No amount

of squinting would help.

But that applied only to her own eyes. The eyes she was using were above her

prey.

"Magnus Fragor!"

A second spell, fired at a high angle. It flew in an arc, cresting, before falling

directly toward Oliver's team on the other side of the obstruction.

"There it is!" Thomas Chatwin cried, glancing up at his teammate's spell.

"Angling her shots through golem spotters. Sure is something else."

He was busy building a slight distance from the tower. The moment Team

Horn had ditched the peak and headed west, he'd stopped sniping and headed

to ground level. He wasn't a half-bad sniper himself but definitely couldn't

manage what Camilla was doing.

"No time to watch in awe. Gotta get my own job done. Argh, so much to do!"

Grumbling, he cast toward the ground, generating a wall. While the battle

raged on elsewhere, he had time to prepare for what lay ahead.

A second burst spell dropped down ahead of Oliver's team. Not a miss at all—

if they'd taken the shortest route after Team Mistral, they'd have been right

under it.

"They can aim without any line of sight…!" Oliver shuddered.

And the tower was a considerable distance from here—few could even make

the shot aiming normally.

There were three barriers to long-range spell sniping. First, getting the spell

there. Second, hitting your target. And third, predicting where your target

would be. The first barrier required high magical output and a honed mental

image. The second required practiced technique and stable casting. And the

third—well, reading the battle was a mix of sheer experience and an innate

knack for it. Three towering obstacles, and their foe had added a fourth—

aiming over a literal obstacle. They must be making indirect shots using scout

golems stationed overhead, but that was clearly not something just any mage

could do.

"We can't get too close to each other!" Oliver yelled.

Nanao and Yuri spread out. That at least should avoid them getting taken out

together, but they'd need a much better plan, and fast. As Oliver racked his

brain for one, Yuri raised a hand.

"I'll stave off the sniping," he said. "That'll keep me out of combat, but you

can handle three-on-two, right?"

"…Go for it!" Oliver called, nodding. If they had one of them focused on the

skies, the other two need spend far less of their attention on the snipers. This

cost them a big chuck of their offense, but Team Mistral was already down one

member—though they did have the remaining splinters. But Oliver and Nanao

alone were enough to handle them.

They were back on the chase now. Yuri lagged slightly behind, eyes above, but

they were steadily closing in.

Sensing that, one of the four Mistrals yelled, "They're on our heels! What do

we do? Turn and fight? Spread out and hope for the best?"

"Hya-ha! Don't panic."

The real Mistral cackled. The perfect time to spring a trap was when your foes

thought they had you.

"Turn and fight? Spread out? Don't be daft! We do what we do—trick 'em!"

He was already putting that into practice. Spotting a good-sized boulder up

ahead, two Mistrals went on either side of it, shuffling the splinters and real

team members. The new pairs ran off in opposite directions, but Oliver's side

was prepared for that.

"Nanao, right! Leik, you're with her!"

"Consider it done!"

"Roger that!"

They broke away, and Oliver himself acted like he was chasing the pair on the

left. But as he passed the boulder they'd used to shuffle their members—

"Tonitrus!"

—he fired off a spell without even looking, his arm alone pointing directly to

one side. The ensuing bolt lit up the rock's surface, and a figure shot out of the

damaged camouflage spell.

"…Dammit…!" the figure swore, grimacing.

Team Mistral had made it look like they'd split in two—but they'd actually

added a splinter, leaving one behind the rock as an ambush. When Oliver had

seen through the ruse, the lurker hadn't dodged in time—and was now down

on one knee.

There was a trace of the oppositional element on his athame, so this was no

splinter. His injured foe couldn't run, but Oliver approached with caution.

"That's the second time you've pulled that trick. You're the real one, Mr.

Mistral!"

The moment he was in one-step, one-spell range, he lunged forward. With a

leg lost, his foe stood no chance. Oliver knew he had him—but in that instant,

lightning shot toward his side.

" ?!"

He quickly leaped back and fired off a spell at Mistral to keep him in place. As

his foe dealt with that, Oliver quickly scanned his surroundings. On a rock to the

rear left stood a short girl with bangs over her eyes.

"I barely made it in time," Jasmine Ames whispered, faintly out of breath,

athame in hand. Very conscious of her, Oliver leaped behind a boulder, plotting

his next move. She'd caught up faster than anticipated, and he couldn't afford

to take risks here.

Keeping rocks between him and their spells, Oliver ran north. Once she was

certain he was moving away, Ames sighed and lowered her blade.

"A swift retreat. That gentleman never overestimates himself. Most

admirable."

"Ha-ha…you saved my ass for sure."

Mistral wiped the sweat from his brow. Ames quickly moved over.

"I'm unable to provide assistance to your compatriot," she said. "The odds of

your team emerging victorious are slim—but may I ask one more favor of you,

Mr. Mistral?"

Her tone cold, she had her athame's tip pointed his way. It was an order

phrased as a question—and Mistral had no choice but to agree.

With one crisis over, it fell to the announcers to sum things up. Miligan was

smiling, arms folded.

"A fight well worth watching. We simply must lavish praise on Team Horn's

adaptability. Don't you agree, Mr. Whalley?"

She took a jab at her political rival, which earned her a frown. Garland

stepped in instead.

"Two types of splinters, of very different natures. Mixed in with transformed

teammates, creating confusion, and using hidden companions to attack from

their blind spot. Team Mistral's strategies were plenty viable in their own right.

The fact that Team Horn handled that on sight is, as Ms. Miligan said, well

worth praising."

That went straight to the Snake-Eyed Witch's head, and she jumped at the

chance.

"Oliver's the one making the calls here. Nanao may find her route to victory

through pure instinct, but that's not him. He must be bringing in a wealth of

projections—a genuinely dizzying number—and incorporating those into their

combat on the fly. The instant he realized their opponents were using splinters,

he was already prepared for a trap like that."

Sensing that this would never end if he allowed it, Whalley cut in.

"…He can make such accurate calls based on prior conjecture alone? How

exactly has this boy trained?"

"Curious?" Miligan said, leaning in. "Want me to teach you the secret art of

flawless judgment? Mm?"

Meanwhile, Guy was watching them from the stands.

"…She's got nerves of steel. Already making it sound like this is her doing."

"Well…um…she is teaching us stuff…," Katie said, looking highly ambivalent.

Miligan was definitely providing Katie with firsthand instruction, but she

wasn't exactly teaching Nanao or Oliver on a day-to-day basis. But since they

were rooting for her in the election, pointing that out seemed unwise.

In the booth, the two rivals were still bickering. Whalley had started edging

away from Miligan.

"We have praised Team Horn enough!" he declared. "Ms. Ames's movements

were equally commendable. No normal run would have reached Team Mistral

in time, so she closed the difference in a bound, using the same convergence

magic as Team Horn. Leaving her team behind extended the length of the flight.

A decision that paid off big-time."

"Very true," Miligan said readily. "I thought from the start that her

movements were head and shoulders above her teammates. You'd think a girl

of her abilities would have made a name for herself by now, and I'm downright

baffled that this is the first I've heard of her. Was she intentionally hiding what

she can do?"

"Oh!" Glenda cried. "Ms. Hibiya has caught the remaining Team Mistral

member! With their leader down a leg, Team Horn has made a big comeback

from a clear disadvantage! What will each team do next?"

Team Mistral had made several miscalculations, but their biggest was just

how much the loss of an arm didn't slow Nanao Hibiya down.

"Flamma!"

Spotting her behind him, the last Team Mistral member must have decided

escape was not an option. He cast a spell to intercept her.

Nanao's athame was a two-hander—it was natural to assume the loss of an

arm would be a disadvantage. Loss of blade pressure during sword art

exchanges, and the reduction of swing speed when using it as a wand, would

work against her in a casting duel. And naturally, both of those applied to her.

"Frigus! "

So she had to compensate. Avoid getting bogged down trading spells. Use the

minimal necessary strength to cancel unavoidable spells on the approach and

redirect any magic conserved by that to her legs, helping her close the distance

faster. The precision was astonishing. The moment she heard the first syllable

of her opponent's chant, she knew the oppositional and was already chanting a

spell of her own. Once fired, she didn't wait for the spells to dissipate but

charged straight through the space as they clashed. Such a move required snap

judgment and steady nerves.

"Tonitrus…!"

The Mistral member desperately chanted another spell, thinking, It wasn't

supposed to be like this!

Generally speaking, oppositional elements were primarily used by those with

low magic output. After all—in a basic one-on-one duel, whoever was more

powerful didn't need to pick and choose what they cast. No matter what spell

they used, they could power through—freeing them up to focus on aim and

speed.

But at a power disadvantage, that was not an option. They were forced to

make up for their lack of might. Use of oppositional elements was a key part of

that, and even if they couldn't entirely cancel the spell, they could deflect it,

improving their own evasion. With directly opposed elements, the clash effects

were simple and easy to predict—if other elements clashed, it was far harder to

tell how the spells would react. Mages might find themselves soaking the brunt

of a surprise flare, and fear of that tended to make their footsteps falter.

The astounding thing here was that Nanao Hibiya in peak condition had no

such concerns. Her magic output was at the top of her class and was expected

to get even better as she grew. It was rare for her to encounter situations that

forced her to make careful use of oppositionals, and her infamous two-handed

Flow Cut made short work of it if she did. She never needed this kind of

precision casting. Training for it would be low priority—at least, that's what

everyone assumed. Mistral's team had.

So their error came from neglecting what effect having Oliver Horn around

would provide. Missing the fact that his coaching ensured that Nanao Hibiya

had a thorough grounding in all things a mage could require.

"Gah… Clypeus!"

In range of her blade, the Team Mistral member would wind up like his

companion before him. Desperate to avoid that fate, he went for a blockade

spell. The spellstones in the ground strengthened it, giving him a sturdy rock

shield—

"Gladio! "

—yet her spell cut right through it and hit him hard across the torso.

"Kah…!"

Detecting a fatal blow, the ring around his neck activated—and in the instant

before his consciousness faded, the Mistral member knew why he'd lost.

Barriers made with blockade magic could defend against most spells, but there

was a delay between the cast and the wall fully sprouting from the ground. He

was well aware of that weakness, and that had led him to emphasize the speed

at which the wall had formed. And that haste had undermined his image of the

spell, creating a barrier too flimsy to stand up to her severing spell.

"…Shit…"

With a curse on his lips, he toppled over. When she was sure he was down,

Nanao silently lowered her blade.

"Oh, you got him already? Quick work, Nanao!" Yuri cried, catching up. The

scout golems above signaled them to remain on standby, so neither moved.

Less than two minutes later, Oliver appeared from the west. He'd seen the

whole thing through his golems' eyes.

"I took out the left side. A corporeal and a shadow splinter. The latter

vanished quick."

"Hrm? Then what of the last member?"

"Hid behind the boulder while they pretended to split up. I spotted that and

took out his leg, but Ms. Ames interfered before I could finish him."

As he spoke, he took a good look at the face of the boy Nanao had downed.

With the loss of consciousness, the transformation had faded, revealing his true

form. Having confirmed that, Oliver looked up.

"This isn't Mistral, either. That means the one I fought must be. He still has his

corporeal splinters available, so watch out for them as we fight the other

teams."

"Sure, but he can't move that fast himself. Think he can keep making

corporeal splinters?" Yuri asked.

Oliver considered it a moment.

"Splinters of that detail must burn through mana like crazy. He didn't seem

like he had an unusual capacity, so if he can make more, it'll be two at best.

Shadow splinters are another matter, but those are only sustainable near the

caster."

At most, they had to worry about only two more self-destructs. Aware that

was functionally the last gasp of Team Mistral, Oliver focused his mind on the

scout golems. He had one to the west, but it was showing the boulder, now

deserted.

"…Team Ames has scattered and gone into hiding. We could go search for

them, but it'll take time to flush them out of cover. And there's every chance

Mistral's splinters will waste even more of our time. Plus, if Team Liebert moves

to the center of the map while we're at it, they'll be a problem. For safety's

sake, we should go the other way around."

"Whoever acts first prevails," Nanao agreed.

Oliver nodded and looked east.

"If we run at speed, Team Ames can't keep up. Head for that tower."

All three broke into a run, but once they were up to speed, Oliver spoke

softly.

"One more thing as we run. Something I noticed while my golems were doing

a full map scan. This field might well—"

Meanwhile, up the top of that distant tower, they'd already spotted Team

Horn coming. Team Liebert's sniper, Camilla, had long been biding her time, and

she muttered, "Two down on Team Mistral—they're coming for us."

"I figured as much," Thomas said, shrugging. "Rough luck they didn't get at

least one."

He had only just returned from his groundwork outside. He glanced over his

shoulder, where their team leader sat—Jürgen Liebert.

"Boss, you recovered yet?"

Liebert opened his eyes and got to his feet.

"…I'm good to go. We'll just shoot 'em down."

His voice never wavered. His teammates both nodded.

"Lutuom limus!"

Oliver's spell hit a rock dead ahead, melting it. His team was picking routes

with comparatively even ground, but obstacles like this kept blocking their path.

This struck Yuri as odd.

"All these walls in our way, slowing us down. Another team's plan?"

"Lutuom limus! Yeah, while we were fighting across the map, they altered the

terrain, knowing we'd be coming for them."

"Makes sense. Whoops, up above. Frigus!"

Yuri's spell intercepted another spell flying in. It was fired from the tower

straight ahead, so not that tricky to handle, but focusing his mind and mana on

defending did tend to slow him down. And that frustrated him.

"Hmm, this path is right in their line of fire, and there's all these walls. Maybe

we should just circle 'round the mountain to our right?"

"No, this is the correct route. We'll just pretend we're circling 'round."

Oliver curved to the right, and Nanao and Yuri followed his lead. Not long

after, two lights flashed at the top of the tower—spells activating.

"Now! Back to the left!"

All three made a sharp swerve onto their original route. A few seconds later,

both spells hit the right-hand slope—and a large swath of it began to slide. A

gray flow of rocks and sand.

"A landslide?!" Nanao cried.

"Yikes, glad we didn't go there!" Yuri said, eyes wide.

"They loosened the soil there and then hit it with a burst spell. If I were in

their position, I'd have expected approaching foes to use that mountain as

cover. That would be the first place I'd leave a trap."

He'd predicted their opponents' response to the situation at hand, and that

was some small measure of comfort. Oliver's gaze shifted back to the tower

above.

"For the same reasons, I'm intentionally not avoiding the blockades in our

path. Odds are high they're trying to tempt us into using the less obstructed

route nearby. They do slow us down, but traps we can't see are a bigger

problem than walls we can."

"Hmm. Hmm… Hmmmmmm."

Yuri had pulled up alongside Oliver and was now staring intently at his profile.

Puzzled, Oliver asked, "Leik, is there something on my face? Focus on the path

ahead."

"Ah-ha-ha, sorry, my bad. Just—suddenly real glad I'm on the same team as

you."

"Uh, thanks? But frankly, you're getting the short end of the stick here. They

came after us, and you're caught in the crossfire."

This was accurate enough; Oliver's and Nanao's reputations had encouraged

the other teams to join forces. Yuri might have had better odds if he'd found

another team.

"He speaks not of outcomes," Nanao said, smiling from ear to ear. "Do you,

Yuri?"

Yuri flashed her a grin, one as bright and clear as any little kid's.

"I dunno how to phrase it," he began. "It just feels like I see the world clearer

when I'm around you, Oliver. Maybe 'cause you're so good at explaining?

Anyway, it's super fun."

The unexpected compliment left Oliver speechless. He turned his head away,

cleared his throat, and changed the subject.

"…The tower's not far off. Once we arrive, it'll be full-on combat. Keep your

wits about you."

"Yep!"

"Always!"

Good answers from both, and Oliver realized something. It was buried

beneath the tension and need to concentrate, but…he, too, was really enjoying

this match.

Back up at the tower, Thomas was spell sniping from the roof with Camilla,

frustrated by their plans gone awry.

"Why aren't they taking the bait?! So not fair!"

"Horn's in charge. I expected nothing less," Liebert said. "Quit griping and

slow 'em down."

Their leader was the kind of guy who never crossed a stone bridge without

knocking it down and building a steel one in its place. He'd never bank on his

enemy's mistakes. To his mind, this was proof things were going smoothly.

Logical, accurate—it was easy for him to guess how Oliver thought.

"Shoot a few more, then head down. Be extra careful not to get detected."

"Sure thing."

"Got it."

Neither teammate looked concerned. Their faith in their leader was every bit

as strong as Team Horn's.

"Hmm, the base is in sight."

Spotting a change up ahead, Nanao drew to a halt, and Oliver checked the

view through his scout golems. The random dents and protrusions gave way to

a smooth decline into a rounded crater, at the base of which were the tower

foundations, encircled by a ten-foot-tall wall. He shared that view through his

teammates' athames.

"That wall goes all the way around," Yuri said. "Any sign of our opponents?"

"No, none." Oliver shook his head. "Not since they left the roof."

He'd been watching carefully with two scout golems but had seen nothing at

the base or the windows on the side. He could try sending one inside, but these

golems specialized for conducting reconnaissance and, if discovered, could be

easily taken down. If Team Liebert was their last target, that might be worth it,

but Team Ames was still in full health, and he couldn't risk losing his scouts.

Oliver thought a few seconds longer, then picked a plan.

"…First, let's get over that wall and in on the first floor. If the enemy comes

down to fight, we'll meet them there, but expect them to hole up elsewhere. In

that case, we'll use convergence magic to collapse the tower from the base."

"A bold strategy!"

"Sounds like fun but a bit of a shame."

With both on board, Oliver lowered his voice.

"Enter as one from three directions. Leik on the left, me in the center, Nanao

on the right. Don't just watch for enemy fire—expect traps."

Splitting up prevented the enemy from focusing their attacks. Once each

companion had hit their start point, Oliver chanted a spell at the wall before

him.

"Lutuom limus—?!"

But as he was about to gouge an opening, a bullet of wind came through the

wall. Oliver twisted his body, dodging. The hole it made was barely the size of a

fingertip, and the sight of that made him shudder. Wind this focused meant the

caster was aiming directly at him.

"Whoa?!"

"Hng!"

Shouts went up from either side of Oliver. Yuri and Nanao had met similar

fates. Natural reflexes and instincts allowed them both to dodge—

—and a flat voice drifted through the wall.

"You've come a long way—and this next part'll be longer. Impetus."

""Impetus!""

All three leaped back as the foes across the wall fired more spells, aimed

directly at their vital points. To avoid this, they began running, circling the

defenses.

"Sniping through the wall…?! Nanao, Leik! Block their view above! Covell!"

He soon unfurled a curtain of darkness overhead, and his team followed suit.

The first attack had been a shock, but he'd fired spells through walls himself in

the fight with Miligan. Their opponents clearly didn't have a direct line of sight

—which meant the blackout spell would shut down any scout golems and—

" ?!"

But his read was quickly overturned by two spells that skimmed past, one in

front, one behind.

"The accuracy's not letting up…?! They're not watching from above, then. But

how?"

Oliver's eyes darted around, searching for an answer. When he looked down,

he found it. The ground was too flat. Even a golem fortification had no need to

make the surface this smooth—all it did was make things easier on encroachers.

And the lack of magic traps around the base was downright unnatural. If there

was meaning in that—

"You're kidding?! The ground's—!"

Across the wall, Team Horn was in trouble. The three members of Team

Liebert couldn't see them but knew right where they were. Magical maps of

their base were installed on the floor here and there, displaying three moving

dots.

"Impetus! How do you like dancing in the palms of our hands?!"

"Impetus! Don't get cocky. They'll figure it out soon enough," Liebert

growled. He fired a spell through the wall, and it almost hit.

"…The ground's part of the golem! We're on the enemy's skin!" Oliver yelled,

dodging spellfire as he raced along the wall's length. But the conclusion he'd

reached provoked looks of surprise.

"Um—you mean the ground can sense us? Like we can see bugs walking

across our skin? The tower knows where we are?"

"Accurate enough! They can pinpoint our positions!"

Even as Oliver answered, his mind was racing. The ground's flatness and the

lack of magical traps were both choices made to improve the feedback

precision. That suggested the tower's detection was likely using pressure, heat,

or mana, but figuring out which and preparing countermeasures would take

time. Team Ames was closing in from the west, likely less than five minutes out

—time was a luxury they could not afford.

"Should we just shoot back?" Yuri suggested. "If these walls are a circle

around the tower, then they're in the center, right? Random shots should hit!"

Oliver shook his head. "I considered it, but the inner and outer sides of this

wall handle attacks differently. Our spells won't penetrate as easily as theirs

are. A shootout through the wall leaves us at a disadvantage."

They could arc their spells over the wall, but that meant their spells had to

travel farther than their opponents'. He'd rather punch a hole in the wall itself,

but that would require focusing a spell on the same spot for several seconds

running, and the ceaseless barrage prevented that. He even considered running

up the wall and vaulting over, but the enemy must be watching for that—the

moment their faces came into view, they'd be hit by focused fire and downed.

They had to get past the wall, but aggressive measures would backfire. With

that in mind, he thought, was there a way to overcome this impasse?

"But what part?" Nanao asked, running some distance from him. Oliver and

Yuri looked her way, throwing feints into their runs to throw off their foes' aim.

"If this ground is skin, what part of the body? The tops of the feet, the palms,

the brow? Perhaps the chest or stomach?"

"? Uh, that was a metaphor—"

"Ah, I see." She frowned. "Taken literally, I imagined the sensitivity of it might

vary by location."

A simple notion, but it caught Oliver's ear.

"…That actually makes sense."

"Impetus! See, see? You're helpless!"

Team Liebert alone was on the offensive here. But a moment later—their

assault died down. This strategy relied upon the magic maps on the floor, but

the three dots had stopped flitting around the surface—and vanished

completely.

"…?"

"Yo, boss! It ain't showing their positions!"

Suspecting something amiss, Camilla and Thomas turned toward the caster.

But Liebert himself was scowling at the wall.

"…Well played."

Across the wall, Oliver's team was still on the move—just not on the ground.

All three were using Wall Walk, their feet planted on the side of the wall itself.

"Big drop in shot accuracy! Sensors were only on the ground!"

Spells were still coming but well away from any of them—proving this was the

correct solution.

"Ohhh," Yuri said, looking very impressed. "If the ground won't work, try the

wall! Good idea, Nanao!"

"I solved nothing myself, but if we have our answer, I welcome it."

They were speaking softly lest their voices reveal their locations, running

lightly around the walls. Even more certain his theory was right, Oliver focused

his attention on the other side of the barrier.

"They're on the wall…!"

Footsteps echoed in their ears, clearly coming through the wall itself.

Thomas's eye twitched.

Watching the other direction, Camilla asked, "Can't tell where on the wall?

Ain't that part of the golem?"

"…Afraid not. There's no sensors on the wall itself. Adding them would have

to start with the schematic."

Liebert was clearly not happy. He'd certainly anticipated they might try

running up the wall, but he assumed his team could handle that based on

where the run began. He hadn't expected them to turn the wall's surface into

their main footing. And having them perpendicular to the ground meant they

were much smaller targets. Sniping them like this was unreasonably harder, and

Thomas let out a wail.

"I need height…! Can I move to the top of the wall?"

"Absolutely not," Liebert snapped. "You'll be cut down before you get there."

From above, they might have a clear view of their foe, but Team Horn would

hardly stand by and let them reposition. Relentless spellfire from all three of

them was the only thing staving off incursion; if the barrage died down at all,

their opponents would hit back hard and make short work of them.

"Don't panic," Camilla sneered. "We've got more walls, and they'll have to

punch a hole—and that'll give us a target."

That brought Thomas back to earth. With mana diverted to their feet, it was

tough for any third-year to doublecant while Wall Walking. If Team Horn

wanted to punch a hole in the wall, they'd have to converge and repeatedly

cast single-incantation spells. And the hole itself would give away their location.

Their aim would be approximate, covering the general area, but they could

make up for that in size and quantity of projectiles.

With the plan in mind, they bided their time. And they weren't wrong—soon

enough, magic turned a chunk of the northwest wall from gray to dark brown.

Camilla turned her wand to it.

"See? Magnus Fragor!"

""Magnus Fragor!""

It wasn't just the one. Two, three doublecant spells from the interior. Oliver's

team watched them fly from their positions on the wall, well away from that

location—and their run resumed.

"Three doublecants! Get through now!"

The enemies themselves had destroyed the wall, and they stepped on

through, flinging themselves to the interior. Opening any hole would allow for

telltale signs on the far side; they'd been well aware this would leave them

exposed. The liquefying spell had merely primed the pump; they'd backed off

quickly once their foes reacted, making Team Liebert open a hole for them.

Unable to determine Team Horn's actual locations, they were forced to up the

attack size, using doublecants to blow away a big chunk of wall.

But getting through one wall didn't exactly mean they were able to directly

engage. The second they stepped inside—a second wall rose up from the

ground before them. Yuri blinked, surprised.

"What? Another wall?!"

"They have spares?!"

"Don't worry—the same plan'll work. Pick our moment and get through!"

Oliver led the way. He'd never for a second believed there'd be only one line

of defense. If once wasn't enough, they'd just have to try twice or three times.

He, Nanao, and Yuri started running along the second wall.

Team Liebert had prepared three walls for their tower defenses. Since getting

through the first wall meant they'd have figured out there were sensors in the

ground, the area before the second wall was covered in magic traps. But these

were not designed for foes running on the wall itself. Team Horn had simply

jumped from the first wall's interior to the second wall's exterior, never once

setting foot on the ground and giving the traps no chance to activate.

And the fact that their own spells had allowed this intrusion made Team

Liebert hesitate. Sensing that, Oliver's team quickly opened a hole themselves

and were through the second wall. The final wall rose maybe ten yards from the

tower itself.

"Dammit!" Thomas yelled, feeling their foes breathing down their necks.

"That's the last one! Hit, please, let me hit! Impetus—gah!"

He was starting to fire frantically, so Camilla kicked him in the back. He fell flat

on his face, then gaped up at her.

"Cool your head," the sniper snarled, her wand trained on the wall. "If you

start praying for a hit, you're done. Better off not shooting at all."

There was a quiet fury behind her voice, fueled by the countless hours she'd

put into her craft. That time had given her a sniper's pride.

"Don't pray. Aim. No matter if they're too far, too fast, or outta sight. As long

as they exist, they've got a tell."

Words her mentor had left with her. Teachings direct from the Supreme

Witch of a Thousand Years echoing in her heart, Camilla Asmus focused all

senses she had. The situation was tense, but from another perspective—not all

that bad. With the walls this much closer, it was easier to detect their foes. The

ears were more viable than the eyes—the sound of footsteps on the walls was

all she needed.

" "

With her mind focused on sounds alone, she could tell someone on Team

Horn was running diagonally up the wall in front of her. It wasn't enough to

take proper aim, but she could tell generally where they were headed. That

made it possible to place a pebble in their way.

"Fragor!"

Camilla's wand released a burst spell, her image leaning hard toward

penetration, set to detonate just after it passed through. Since the bulk of the

mana was devoted to just piercing the wall, the blast itself was not that strong,

but no opponent could ignore an explosion in their path. Especially during a

Wall Walk—they'd have to change direction or slow down, either of which

would make it tough to maintain the technique. The result—they could no

longer fool gravity, and it caught them—dragged them down.

A dot blinked on the magic map at her feet. In that instant, she knew right

where her foe was through the thick wall.

"Fortis Impetus!"

Her aim locked on, a gale shot from her wand. Its range of damage spread

wide to each side. This shot was closer to her target than any shot before, and

they'd just landed and were off-balance. They stood no chance of dodging. She

had them. The spell carved an ellipse in the wall like a cookie cutter.

"…Did you get 'em?"

The footsteps had ceased. Keeping one eye on his surroundings, Thomas

peered into the hole, expecting to find a fallen foe—but Camilla had the answer

first.

"Hah…"

It was Nanao Hibiya. On one knee, the katana in her right hand thrust to the

fore, the strength in her eyes diminished not one iota. That sight alone told

Camilla the fate of her spell.

"…Nice," she said, unconscious praise escaping her lips. Objectively, her shot

had been nigh flawless. The speed and force of the spell had been on point,

timed to maximize the difficulty of evasion or blocking. If there was any chance

of failure, it lay in one thing—a foe who expected to be hit on a landing and was

already chanting an oppositional doublecant as their feet left the wall.

""Fragor!""

An instant later, two figures leaped through the hole Camilla had dug. As they

passed through that final barrier, Oliver and Yuri cast to make Team Liebert

flinch. Then they split up, closing in from both sides. Nanao herself came down

the center.

Seeing their defense about to collapse, Camilla yelled, "Go, boss!"

"Obliged! Clypeus!"

Leaving a small barrier as some modest support, Liebert turned and fled.

Three-on-three at this range, they could not win—and they were way past the

point of escape. Liebert still had a part to play, and the others would be his

shield. Their roles here were designated well in advance.

Camilla simply raised her wand, and Thomas stepped up next to her. All traces

of his earlier consternation had since vanished—he was almost eerily calm. The

failed attempt to snipe Nanao had blown aside all unnecessary emotions.

"Sorry. My head's level now."

"Good. Then overlap with me."

Oliver and Yuri were trying to flank them, but the tower's pillars and the

barriers Liebert had left were momentarily shielding them. Sparing no thought

to what would happen once those fell, they aimed their wands for Nanao Hibiya

alone. Their mage's instincts told them so—even down an arm, she had to be

their primary target.

"Flamma!"

"Frigus!"

As she closed in, Thomas and Camilla fired polar-opposite spells that

overlapped. Even if Nanao used an oppositional to cancel the first, the other

element would hit. She was running full tilt toward them and could not dodge

to either side. On her own, she could never block this attack—

"Flamma!"

—but Oliver spotted it, and his spell shot in, canceling his foe's second spell.

Nanao canceled the first with the oppositional as Yuri's lightning hit Thomas in

the chest. Camilla switched from her sniper's wand to her athame, but by then

Nanao was on her, piercing her chest before she could even raise the blade.

"Magnificent shooting," the Azian girl said.

"Thanks."

A brief exchange in passing. Then the spell on the rings activated. Thomas and

Camilla went down, and Team Horn never even looked back, charging in after

the final foe.

" !"

Oliver's eyes went wide. Liebert was ignoring them completely, his athame

pointed at his feet. He was standing dead center on the first floor, in the middle

of the tower's foundation. A prediction—no, a conviction—sent a shiver down

Oliver's spine.

"Deicitis!"

And the incantation that followed put truth to his fear. The floor caved in

beneath Liebert, swallowing him—and cracks ran out, up the pillars across the

ceiling. The waves of destruction rose higher and higher, collapsing the golem

fortification less than an hour after it was built.

The ground was covered in the tower's rubble, kicking up a cloud of dust so

thick, visibility was measured in yards. One boy was left looking around.

"They knocked it down themselves?! Hope everyone's okay," Yuri Leik said.

It might be a golem, but that fortification was still a building. It had taken a

fair amount of time to completely collapse—enough for the people inside to get

out before the rubble buried them. But each had fled in a different direction,

and Yuri hadn't been able to confirm his companions' well-being. Much as he'd

love to shout, Team Ames was likely on top of them, making that ill-advised.

"Send a mana frequency to the golems above… No, bad idea. With no visibility

below, he'll have them spread out, and that just means our opponents' golems

would pick up my frequency. Hmm, now what?"

"Over here, Leik."

As he pondered how to locate his teammates, a voice came from shockingly

close at hand. Yuri spun around and saw a pile of rubble towering high—and his

friend's voice came from within.

"My arm's stuck…in the rubble…"

"Oliver?! Just you wait—I'll get you out!"

Yuri hustled over to him. He wanted to start casting, but without knowing

exactly how Oliver was buried, he had to check that first. He bent over, trying to

see between the gaps.

"Huh?"

Then he heard something that made his body leap back faster than thought.

The rubble exploded from within, a blade thrust out directly at his throat. Yuri

barely got his own athame up in time to deflect it.

"Yikes?!"

"…You blocked that?"

The figure took a step back, facing him at one-step, one-spell range. A girl

with bangs over her eyes—Jasmine Ames. Yuri's brain finally caught up.

"Ms. Ames…you mimicked his voice? Fascinating!"

He seemed to take it in good cheer. Ames inched ever closer.

"You are an enigma, but I am lacking in time. I need you out, Mr. Leik."

"Cool—let's do this!"

He nodded, delighted to go toe to toe with a powerful foe—

"Leik, where are you? Answer me!"

"Yuri! Reveal yourself!"

Oliver, too, was searching for his team in the dust. He'd found Nanao and no

longer needed to keep quiet—Yuri must have been close, so they prioritized

locating him and started yelling. Then their ears caught a hint: shoes treading

on loose rocks. They ran that way…

"Whoa—"

…and that's where they saw Yuri's eyes gleaming with curiosity—a marked

contrast with the view below: Ames's athame was stabbing him directly in the

chest.