A new problem had arisen. Stopping Kamibarez had been the right move, but her condition, which he had barely managed to stabilize, was rapidly deteriorating again. Her breathing grew ragged, and her face flushed a deep crimson. Her heart was beating erratically, and worst of all, her eyes were losing focus, darting wildly just as they had when she first transformed.
"Kami, calm down," Simon said, forcing a placid expression. "Can you hear me? I think the Ursula blood is acting up again! Clear your head and take slow, deep breaths!"
She didn't seem to hear him. She wriggled in his arms as if trying to break free, but Simon refused to let go. If she lost control now and lunged at someone else, it would be a catastrophe.
"...L-Le—" her voice trembled.
Was she asking him to let her go? But her face was pale, and her tone was strange.
"Not until you're back to your senses! Seal the power and calm the Ursula blood!"
'You idiot!' Kamibarez thought, her vision spinning. 'This is all your fault, Simon!'
He was close. Far, far too close. Her vampiric blood had long since subsided, but now that she was lucid, she found herself in a situation that made it impossible to think straight.
She was in Simon's arms. In the middle of the arena. In front of all these people.
"Th-Tha—"
She couldn't form a coherent thought. Simon's scent filled her senses, and she could feel the warmth of his body pressed against hers. Every time his urgent breath ghosted across her shoulder, the nape of her neck burned a brighter shade of red. Her lips trembled so violently she couldn't speak.
She squirmed, trying to escape, but it only made things worse. Alarmed, Simon tightened his embrace even more. She was no match for his strength, and the more he pressed against her, the more her reason evaporated. A hot breath escaped her parted lips, and her fangs glinted in the light.
"Calm down! If you drink blood, it'll get even more out of control!" Simon pleaded, his misunderstanding deepening with every second.
"I-I-I'm f-fine! Please... let... go!"
The stimulation was too much, coming so soon after her transformation. And now, smelling Simon's scent, she could feel her Ursula blood actually beginning to stir again.
"...What do you think you're doing?" a voice as cold as ice cut in.
Jane had appeared at their side. With a sharp 'thwack', she flicked Simon on the forehead.
"Professor Jane! Kami's condition is—!"
"Step back," she ordered. "You're making the situation worse, Mr. President."
He didn't understand, but it was a direct order. With a bewildered expression, Simon loosened his arms. As he stepped away, Kamibarez, her face an impossible shade of red, let out a faint moan and collapsed to the ground.
"Are you all right, Secretary Kamibarez?" Jane asked, kнeling beside her.
After staring blankly for a moment, Kamibarez looked up at Jane. Her eyes immediately welled with tears, and with a choked sob, she threw herself into the professor's arms.
'Thank goodness.'
She seemed to be okay. Simon finally let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. From the safety of Jane's embrace, Kamibarez glared at him, her expression a mixture of embarrassment and resentment.
"Secretary Kamibarez, how do you feel?"
"Y-Yes! I'm fine now."
After a few more questions, Jane suggested she get checked by the medical staff just in case. Kamibarez nodded.
"Kami, are you really okay?" Simon asked as he approached.
She immediately ducked behind Jane, squeezed her eyes shut, and shrieked, "Simon, you idiot!"
Simon was left speechless.
With that, she scurried away to the other side of the arena. Simon looked at Jane, utterly flustered.
"D-Did I do something wrong?"
Jane turned her head, clearly wanting no part in the matter.
"You'll have to ask her yourself."
Just then, Kamibarez returned. Her face still flushed, she took a few panting breaths, her eyes darting around before she finally shouted, "B-But thank you for saving me, Simon!"
"...Ah, yeah."
First an idiot, now a hero. He had no idea what to make of it, but Simon just scratched the side of his head and smiled.
"Kami! Are you okay?!" Meirin, who had also tried to rush the field and been held back by the guards, called out in a tear-clogged voice.
Kamibarez smiled brightly and ran over to her, and the two began talking animatedly.
Meanwhile, in the spectator seats, Benz watched them with a complicated expression. Jetz, the transfer student from Sierra, tapped him on the head from the row behind.
"Told you to wake up and smell the coffee."
Benz closed his eyes and sighed.
"I should have said something. I should have stopped her. My arms were trembling, I was so worried, but the words just wouldn't come out. But..."
His gaze shifted to Simon.
"He rushed out without a moment's hesitation."
Recalling the look of pure relief on Kamibarez's face as Simon held her, Benz smacked his lips with a bitter taste. He leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head.
"...Yeah. I guess a real man knows when to give up."
"Haha! Your competition is the Student Council President of Kizen. What were you gonna do against him?"
"Hey, why does a nobody from Sierra keep picking fights with me?!"
As the two started bickering again, the other transfer students laughed and pulled them apart.
"We will now begin the second match," the Moiran Headmaster announced, reaching into the box of spheres.
Standing in the waiting area, Simon looked across at the Moiran representatives.
'This is unsettling. I really want to fight that guy.'
The boy with the pure white hair was still gesturing at nothing, his eyes vacant and unfocused. There was no way to know what he was thinking or what power he possessed. He seemed utterly obsessed with the birds in the sky. It was strangely unnerving. He even looked vaguely familiar.
'What's his deal?'
"The next match has been decided."
The referee took the spheres from the Headmaster and read the names.
"From Moiran, Svera Matius. And..."
Simon swallowed, waiting.
"From Kizen, Simon Polentia! Please step forward!"
The crowd applauded as the name of Kizen's Student Council President was announced. Simon glanced at the Moiran waiting area. A female student was walking forward—not the white-haired boy.
'Too bad. It's not him.'
"It's finally your turn! Go show them what you've got, Simon!" Meirin slapped his arm encouragingly.
He rubbed the spot and laughed.
"Meirin."
"Yeah?"
"...Never mind. It's nothing. I'll go do my best."
"What? That was anticlimactic. Anyway, go show them what you're made of!"
Soon, the two contestants for the next match entered the arena.
'Her name was Svera, right?' he recalled.
Her dark brown hair fell straight before curling up at the ends. She had deep, dark circles under her eyes and a strange, eerie laugh that seemed to constantly bubble under the surface. She looked every bit the part of a necromancer, and he found her presence unsettling.
A moment later, the referee instructed them to shake hands. They approached and clasped hands.
"It's an honor to face you, Kizen's Student Council President."
"Yeah. Let's have a good match."
"Sorry, but I'll have to make you a sacrifice for my showmanship," she said, her tongue flicking out to wet her lips. "You see, for us transfer students, our treatment at Kizen will depend heavily on how we perform against you."
She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Tell me, have you ever had a near-death experience drowning?"
With that single, enigmatic glance, she turned her back, radiating the strange, unsettling aura unique to a necromancer. After the handshake, the two separated and confirmed the barrier was functioning correctly. Jane and a professor from Moiran then approached the students.
"Your opponent is from the Spiritology Department," the professor announced. "Her spiritual sensitivity is said to be extraordinary."
"The Spiritology Department," Simon murmured.
Jane crossed her arms. "I am concerned about your lack of experience against a Spiritology student, Mr. President, but I trust you will find a way to overcome this."
"Yes, of course!"
"And," Jane added, tilting her head, "while I said one loss in the team battle is permissible, the defeat of Kizen's Student Council President is absolutely unacceptable. Regardless of whether the team wins or loses, if you are defeated, consider this entire evaluation a failure."
A bitter smile touched Simon's lips. "Aren't you being a little harsh, especially with me?"
"Because you're the type who performs better under pressure, Mr. President. You thrive in a crisis."
He had to admit, she had a point. Soon, Jane and the Moiran professor departed, leaving the two students alone.
"We will now begin the Moiran transfer evaluation match between Svera Matius of Moiran and Simon Polentia of Kizen!"
Simon and Svera assumed their stances. The referee's arm fell.
"Begin!"
A magic circle materialized with a low 'hum'. After laying the groundwork with a basic spell, Simon charged straight for his opponent. He couldn't claim a type advantage against a Spiritology student; his plan was to control the match by overwhelming her with martial arts.
Svera spread her spirits around her, preparing to cast a spell. She was timing her black magic to intercept Simon's charge.
"Have you ever heard of them?" she asked, levitating a beast formed from pure spirit into the air. "The souls of those who drowned. The Drowners."
With a great surge, the water in the canals overflowed its banks, coalescing around the spirit beast. It took the shape of a human torso, floating as if submerged in an unseen ocean.
'Just as I thought.'
Simon skidded to a halt, his eyes fixed on the creature. 'A combination of spirit magic and water.'
"Go!"
The Drowner surged forward with a low rumble, its body of water sloshing with every movement. It spread its arms as if to embrace him, radiating the chilling aura of a vengeful water spirit intent on dragging him to a watery grave.
'Stay calm. Spirit beasts can't be damaged by physical attacks, but...'
Simon clenched his fist, and jet-black energy swirled around it in an instant.
'I can hit the water!'
With a deafening 'boom', Simon's jet-black-wreathed fist slammed into the Drowner. The water exploded outward, but the creature's core remained unharmed.
With a rush of water, the canals immediately refilled the creature's form, restoring it completely.
'Hmm.'
Simon gave his right fist a light shake before opening his subspace. A skeleton shot out, enveloping his arm like a second skin and transforming into Handgun Mode.
He fired a volley of precisely aimed bone bullets, but the Drowner, lacking a physical form, simply let the projectiles pass harmlessly through it.
"Simon Polentia, the Student Council President of Kizen," Svera said coolly. "Since you were my confirmed opponent, I analyzed you in excruciating detail."
A second Drowner materialized beside her, floating into the air. "You can't feel spirits, so you haven't taken a single Spiritology class since your first semester, have you?"
The two Drowners lunged at Simon. He backpedaled, firing continuously, but the Drowners simply phased through the bullets.
"What a shame! A necromancer who can't use spirit magic can never defeat me! This is a terrible matchup for you!"
Normally, a spirit beast only materialized the moment it attacked. In its ethereal state, it couldn't harm an opponent, but it couldn't be harmed either. The key was to strike the instant it became solid. These Drowners, however, could gather water and take shape even in their spirit state. If one of them caught him, he'd be trapped in a liquid prison and drowned.
A triumphant laugh escaped her as she summoned a third, then a fourth Drowner. With Simon forced to flee, Svera had seized complete control of the match.
"It seems you came prepared with a strategy just for me," Simon called out. He, who had been retreating, suddenly slid to a screeching halt. "But a battle never goes the way you expect."
"What?"
The air around Simon turned a deep violet as sparks crackled from his waist. He grabbed the source of the light and hurled it forward with all his might.
A violent crackle ripped through the air. Svera felt the hair on her arms stand on end as she glanced back. A purple spear had materialized from nowhere and pierced straight through the Drowner's core.
"I told you it's useless—!"
But after the shockwave subsided, the Drowner had vanished without a trace.
'He destroyed it?'
If that was the case, the technique had to be spirit magic. And if it was spirit magic in the form of a spear...
"H-How can you use a Soul Sphere when you can't even feel spirits!"
"That's not what this is." Simon brought his hand to his waist. Like swords being drawn from their scabbards, three crackling purple spears rose into existence.
Simon Original: Chaos Sphere
With a low crackle, Simon grinned, adjusting his grip on the violet spear. "I take it this wasn't part of your plan?"
In the waiting area, Meirin watched with her arms crossed and shook her head.
'No one on this continent would have planned for that.'

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