Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Amy’s face seemed to be shrouded in a faint mist, but in truth, it was smoke wafting from a compressed layer of air just three centimeters from her skin. This was magic known as an air shield, a spell that created an immediate barrier by condensing the surrounding atmosphere.

“Changing the meeting place, huh? A typical ambush tactic,” Amy remarked, gradually straightened up from her landing stance.

The man who had delivered the note to her stood smirking in the background. “I’ve harbored my share of anger against you as well. Things would’ve been easier if you’d just played along.”

“Cut the trash talk. Where is Sirone?” she fumed, her patience wearing thin.

As she spoke, five figures dropped from the sky and encircled her.

Jake, the ringleader of the Dark Magicians, scanned the area before speaking with a sneer, “Never expected you to come alone. Has someone finally become dear to our Amy?”

“Don’t be stupid. I can handle you all by myself. Where’s Sirone?”

“That weakling is probably in the library,” he chuckled, “He’s oblivious to the danger his savior is in. Such a fool.”

It was at this moment Amy realized the ruse, but instead of panic, a sigh of relief escaped her. Without a hostage, Jake and his cronies were powerless against her.

“By summoning me, this means you’re prepared to die, right?”

“Big words! But are you sure you can back them up? Every hotshot we sent packing was like you at first. They underestimated us, relying solely on their school grades, but in actual combat...”

Amy stepped into her Spirit Zone, ready to engage. “Still haven’t learned your lesson?”

Recalling the previous day’s events, Jake reacted immediately but missed the first strike yet again, a costly mistake.

Ignoring his fumble, she focused on the Dark Magicians surrounding her and let loose with Fire Strike, her favorite move. Instantly, one of the men’s garments ignited.

“Ahh! It’s hot! It’s hot!”

The rest of the group blanched, not expecting the top student from the advanced class to wield her magic so fiercely in a real confrontation.

She’s serious... And she’s not holding back.

Even students with a strong resistance to magic found fire spells to be a formidable threat.

“Put out the fire! Everyone else, attack!” Jake commanded.

The Spirit Zone around Amy danced with precision, tracking the erratic movements of the Dark Magicians. The unpredictability of live combatants made her head pound with each counter-rotation, yet her accuracy remained unerring, and another assailant was soon aflame.

“Ahhh!” Jake clenched his teeth in frustration. Just as I would expect from the advanced class’s top student. But I know that targeted spells have their drawbacks when facing multiple foes. Also... He recalled the limitations of her conventional cross form Spirit Zone as he ascended. It’s weak in vertical rotation.

Jake and Amy, former classmates, were well-versed in each other’s magical strengths. If you’re fire, then I am wind. With a swift motion, he compressed the surrounding air and directed it earthward. Wind Cutter!

Focused on maintaining her Spirit Zone in a horizontal cross form, she was oblivious to the descending attack.

It’s over, he thought, convinced of his imminent victory.

However, just as his spell neared its target, Amy twisted her body with astonishing agility, narrowly avoiding the blade of wind as it trimmed her hair.

Jake was astonished. “Impossible! How did she do that from that distance?!”

“It’s called Schema, loser.”

With composure regained, she promptly adjusted her Spirit Zone to counter aerial threats. Sensing the altered Spirit Zone, he struggled to change the direction of his body. Amy’s targeting was swift and precise, a testament to her advanced class standing.

“Fire Strike!” She launched a condensed fireball at him, and Jake knew he couldn’t dodge it.

“Damn it!”

Sensing the impending impact, he instinctively encased himself in an air suit, an advanced air-type spell. The fireball made contact with a thunderous impact, and Jake tumbled to the ground but was quick to recover.

“That annoying witch!” he groaned.

The flames had latched onto the protective air around him, consuming it voraciously. Just before the flames could scorch him, Jake detonated his air suit, sending flames scattering with a resounding explosion. Smoke billowed from his singed body.

“I’m going to kill you,” he snarled.

“You thought you could defeat me with that level of skill?” Amy responded with a derisive snort. “Forget graduating. You’ll end up failing at this level. It’s your fixation on pointless pursuits that has doomed you to stagnate.”

House Karmis. Even among a family of prodigies, where each skill was honed into an art, Amy’s talent was exceptional.

I’m going to enjoy this even more! In fact, Jake relished the challenge of formidable opponents, which were his favorite kind. “Are you sure? Overconfidence has its limits, you know.”

To back his words, the Dark Magicians extended their hands in unison.

“Ugh!” Amy winced as if a hammer had struck her head. Her Spirit Zone shattered under the force of their combined assault. “Anti-magic...?”

“Hahaha! Surprised? This is the Dark Magicians’ specialty. All those top students who opposed me retreated in defeat after facing this move. Now, it’s your turn.”

“You pathetic fool.”

Using forbidden magic, the battle escalated. The magic was perilously intense for students.

I have to withstand it. With her eyes ablaze in red, Amy re-entered the Spirit Zone, but inevitably, anti-magic struck her consciousness hard. It felt like being trapped in a machine with her head spinning aimlessly, and her condition was evident through the distorted form of her Spirit Zone.

“Ugh!” she groaned.

Jake’s grin widened with a sense of impending triumph. “You’re tough. I’ll give you that. But the longer you resist, the more dangerous it will be for you. You might end up losing your mind.”

It could risk her becoming a broken mage.

“Sh-shut up. I would never yield to someone like you...” Amy realized the extent of his threats. He had been bullying students into submission all this time. Yet, she stood defiant, unwilling to back down.

“Oh, is that so?” he asked. “It doesn’t really matter to me. In fact, going crazy might be even better. Then you won’t even recognize who I am.”

Amy raised her head. “Try it if you think you can. But don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll get away without a scratch.”

Her warning left Jake speechless. Truth be told, even he felt a tremor of trepidation. Amy was the first to have resisted their tactics to this extent.

She’s tough. Is she aiming to drag us down with her? he wondered silently.

Though he felt a slight tinge of fear, the recent scuffle at the library had ignited a fury within him. As the leader of the Dark Magicians, he couldn’t show any signs of weakness, especially not in front of his subordinates.

“All right, let’s see who comes out on top. Men, break her resistance!”

Despite their mixed emotions, the unity of their group helped to stifle any lingering guilt. As the members braced themselves to unleash their anti-magic once more, a voice cut through the tension from the edge of the forest.

“Wait, you jerks!”

The unexpected interruption caught the members off guard.

“Who the heck is that?”

Sirone, fists clenched and breath ragged, stepped forward.

“You’re...?”

Amy’s face registered shock, and then Jake’s mocking laughter filled the clearing. “Look, the prince has arrived. But what a sorry sight. The prince is about to be thrashed.”

“What are you doing to Amy?” Sirone asked.

“Hmm... Who knows? Why not ask her yourself?” Jake retorted.

Amy, frustration etched on her face, called out, “Idiot! Why did you come alone?”

He hadn’t expected her to be cornered like this. However, his priority was to stall. The professors had likely been alerted by now. Sirone was armed only with a branch the size of a wooden sword he had found in the forest.

“Let her go!” he shouted. “Otherwise, I won’t let you off easy!”

Jake’s laughter echoed mockingly. “Did you hear that, guys? He says he won’t let us off easy! Hey, kid. Do you even know who you’re dealing with?”

Unfazed by their taunting laughter, Sirone charged at them. Having bested Lian in a sword fight previously, he figured he could buy time using the Spirit Zone until a professor arrived. He yelled as he charged, but Jake casually sidestepped him.

“Guys, he wants to come meet us,” he said. “Why don’t we give him a warm welcome?”

The Dark Magicians stood still, not bothering with defense. Instead, they wore anticipatory grins, as if inviting Sirone to proceed. That was when Sirone sensed something amiss. Suddenly, he felt a jarring blow and felt like he was hammered from all sides.

“Ugh!”

“You idiot! Dismiss your Spirit Zone! It’s anti-magic!”

Anti-magic? It dawned on Sirone why Amy, the top student from Class Four, had fallen prey to these thugs.

“Ugh!”

The simultaneous shockwaves from the five assailants were violently rattling his senses. Sirone clenched his teeth, determined not to lose consciousness. If he went down, there would be no one left to shield Amy.

Amy, her voice laced with urgency, shouted once more. “Get out of the Spirit Zone! You could end up unable to cast magic forever! Do you want to drive yourself mad?”

But Sirone couldn’t hear her. Remember, all magic stems from the Spirit Zone, even anti-magic. Professor Etala’s lessons echoed in his mind, propelling him forward.

Finally, Jake furrowed his brow. “Huh! He’s quite resilient. Is this the new talent the professors are buzzing about? He’s still just a freshman!”

Twisted feelings of inferiority and envy led Jake to cast his most formidable anti-magic spell.

“No!” Amy reached out, her voice desperate.

Dark Magicians flinched. “What’s happening? He’s withstanding this too?”

Although Sirone’s steps had stopped, his Spirit Zone was solidifying. I need more stability and more frames. As he unfolded a defense Spirit Zone, a mental framework snapped into place, shrinking the zone’s size.

At that moment, the Dark Magicians began to scream in agony. The tide of the mental battle was turning. Anti-magic, typically advantageous for the caster, could backfire if resisted, and that was what was happening.

“What’s this? What’s going on?”

The members were panicked. Their minds felt heavy as if crushed by the weight of a boulder.

In that heavy air, Sirone’s eyes shone with determination. More structure... With perfect precision, he completed the cubic formation of his Spirit Zone.

“Argh! S-save me! My head! My head hurts!”

The Dark Magicians clutched their heads in agony, collapsing as blood dripped from their noses. Half-conscious, they still trembled, caught in the aftermath of the shock.

“Please... help me...” Their pleas were faint.

Anti-magic, unless wielded by a mind as firm as stone, could turn on the caster. This was the school’s rationale for its prohibition.

Incredible... Amy was in shock.

Sirone had single-handedly neutralized the combined anti-magic of five attackers. To him, it felt as though he was stepping on insignificant bugs. While maintaining the Quaternion defense form of his Spirit Zone, he felt a squirming underfoot but knew they couldn’t break free.

As time passed, their weak attempts at resistance ceased, and they abandoned their spell. Amy, nearing Sirone, examined his Spirit Zone with her own. Her eyes widened in astonishment.

“Amazing...” she mumbled.

Even Jake, though he remained conscious, couldn’t hide his shock.

As Sirone drew closer, Jake, the only one left conscious, recoiled. Fear was evident in his voice.

“N-no! Stay back!”

The urge to keep their Spirit Zones from touching was instinctive. No! This can’t be happening! Jake didn’t want to admit it, but the sensory information he was feeling was unmistakable.

Sirone’s Spirit Zone was a defense form of the Spirit Zone Quaternion. A massive seven-meter cubic structure with eighty-eight faces loomed over them, an oppressive presence in the space.