'Wh-Where did it all go wrong?'
Confusion seized Svera. She had been certain Kizen's Student Council President couldn't feel spirits. She'd even confirmed he hadn't taken a single Spiritology class after his first semester. That was why she was so confident he couldn't attack a spiritual entity, allowing her to focus all her training on her specialty, the Drowner, and her ability to draw in massive amounts of water.
And yet...
'That black magic is clearly a Soul Sphere!'
With a fierce clap of thunder, a purple spear tore through the air, precisely piercing and obliterating her Drowners. She kept summoning more, but Simon was creating and throwing spears faster. Svera, pouring immense amounts of jet-black energy and spiritual power into her creations, was being devastatingly, one-sidedly overwhelmed.
A question surfaced in her reeling mind.
'Is it not a Soul Sphere?'
The shape was identical to the Soul Sphere she knew, but the color and the crackling effect were different. Above all, the aura it radiated felt utterly alien—an energy she had never encountered in her life.
"Ugh!"
A Chaos Sphere suddenly curved mid-flight with a sharp crackle, grazing her abdomen. Wincing, she shot a glance at the large monitor in the stands.
[Simon Polentia: 100%]
[Svera Matius: 94%]
'Huh?'
For something so flashy and intense, her barrier hadn't taken much damage. Was its power weaker than it looked?
Another spear grazed her thigh. She staggered back, throwing up a jet-black shield before checking the monitor again.
[Simon Polentia: 100%]
[Svera Matius: 76%]
This time, a mere graze had wiped out nearly twenty percent of her barrier. And what was with its trajectory? It curved, it dipped, it flew in a straight line. It was impossible to analyze its pattern.
'What in the world is that technique?!'
The moment Simon had drawn his purple spear, the tide of the duel had turned completely. The sudden shift in momentum sent puzzled murmurs rippling through the crowd. Benz and Jetz, who had already faced Simon, were just as baffled. They turned to Meirin in the contestants' waiting area.
"Hey, Kizen! What's that spear Simon is using?"
"He didn't use anything like that against me."
Meirin's brow furrowed as she turned to them. "A transfer student like you doesn't get to address me by my school. You will call me Vice President!"
"Ah, so you're the Vice President."
After shooting them a glare, Meirin turned back to the arena, a wicked smile playing on her lips. "You tried to analyze him with incomplete information, so of course you're struggling. Simon has never used that technique in an official duel evaluation."
The first and last time he had revealed it was in an unofficial match—against Hector. She casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Actually, whether he's used it before or not is irrelevant. That is a power Simon created himself."
With every swing of Simon's arm, purple lightning streaked across the arena, bathing it in brilliant flashes that rumbled like thunder. Svera felt a throbbing headache begin, making it difficult to think. She even started fumbling her magic circles, something she never did.
'This can't be.' She gasped for breath. 'Does that technique have a mental curse effect, too?'
It was clear the longer this went on, the worse her disadvantage would become. Svera knew she had to make her move now.
'The Drowners I secretly moved through the canals...!'
No matter what, she had the home-field advantage. Two Drowners, having navigated the waterways out of Simon's line of sight, burst from the surface with a spray of water and lunged. Even as they attacked, Simon was throwing another spear straight ahead.
'Did it work?'
But the two purple spears he had clearly thrown forward suddenly changed course with a deafening 'boom', piercing the backs of the Drowners' heads and crossing in an X as they slammed into the ground.
'He threw them forward, so why did they hit from behind?!'
A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. She had never faced an opponent so utterly unpredictable. So this was the Student Council President of Kizen.
"Give up, Svera," Simon said, drawing a new Chaos Sphere. "It seems we have a bad matchup."
A strangled sound escaped her. Her own words thrown back at her sent a hot flush across her face. "I admit you got me, but I'll be the one winning in the end!"
She opened her subspace and pulled out an old, moss-covered pirate flag. Spreading a prepared spirit magic circle on the ground, she slammed the flag into its center.
"The infamous pirate crew of the North Sea, the Steklo," she said with a grim smile. "They brought down six cities and even beheaded a lord. Do you happen to know why they suddenly vanished?"
Bubbles formed from spirit energy gurgled and rose from the flag's base. Atop them, a massive ship made of spirits surged upward—a dilapidated pirate vessel riddled with holes, its mast shattered.
From within, the wails of dozens of vengeful spirits echoed. The ghost ship began to draw in all the water from the canals, giving form to its skeletal hull and the tormented souls aboard.
"This is my full power!"
Frenzy of the Wrecked Ship
The pirate ship charged at Simon, a tidal wave of canal water surging in its wake. The cries of the pirate spirits echoed through the arena.
Simon launched a volley of Chaos Spheres, but the wrecked ship remained intact, its massive hull absorbing the chaotic energy as it pressed its assault.
'Impressive.' Simon was genuinely impressed. 'This would have been a good fight for our Elisa.'
Of course, Elisa, the representative of Kizen's Spiritology Department, would have started the match with two or three ghost ships already summoned as a basic opening.
"Consider this my thanks for that spectacular display of black magic."
Simon detached the chaos magic circle from his waist and laid it on the ground. He then placed a Spirit Stone—a medium—on top of it. Chaos energy coated the stone, and crackling sparks flew from its surface.
"Whatever you do now, my victory is assured!" Svera's spirit pirate ship was nearly upon him.
Simon only smiled.
A massive crack split the air.
Watching from behind, Svera didn't see it clearly. All she registered was a flash, like a colossal purple slash of light. And then...
'The wrecked ship!'
The massive vessel had been cleanly split in two. Its bisected halves slid past Simon on either side before collapsing to the ground with a heavy 'thud'.
A chilling cackle echoed through the arena. Standing before Simon was a phantom wearing a mask reminiscent of a joker from a deck of cards, frozen in the pose of having just swung a giant scythe.
Simon Original: Chaos Reaper
As a Spiritology major, Svera was horrified. 'Someone who gave up on Spiritology is using a Reaper? Even I can't do that yet!'
Simon raised his right hand. A Chaos Sphere embedded in the ground flew up and settled into his grasp. With a metallic 'ring', the pointed spearhead elongated sideways, transforming into the blade of a scythe.
In perfect unison, Simon and the Chaos Reaper lowered their stances, leveling their scythes.
"Let's go!"
Simon charged forward, the Chaos Reaper moving with him, hidden within his shadow.
"Block them!" Svera threw her arms wide. From the sundered pirate ship, vengeful spirits rose, pulling water with them as they swooped down on Simon from above.
With a dazzling dance of flashing blades, Simon and the Reaper moved as one, swapping positions as they swung their purple scythes. Bound by a powerful link of black magic, their coordination was flawless. The vengeful water spirits, pouring down like rain, were sliced apart and dissipated.
In an instant, Simon closed the distance to Svera.
"Sorry, but—"
He kicked hard off the ground. The arena floor cracked as he shot forward. He and the Reaper raised their scythes in unison.
"As the Student Council President of Kizen, I cannot lose."
They swept past Svera in a cross-slash, the air singing with the sound of their blades. A distinct X of violet light flashed before her, brilliantly illuminating the arena.
"The winner!" the referee bellowed.
[Simon Polentia: 94%]
[Svera Matius: 0%]
"Kizen's Student Council President, Simon Polentia!"
The crowd roared its approval. Simon raised his scythe in a victory salute, basking in the cheers for the magnificent match he had fought.
As the barrier faded, Svera collapsed to the ground. She lowered her head, a resigned laugh escaping her lips. "My complete defeat."
Just then, she saw Simon speaking to the referee, who looked startled and quickly relayed the message to the surrounding staff.
"Svera." Simon approached her, having finished his conversation.
She shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. Gloating is the winner's right. I'm all ears."
"It's not that. Excuse me for a moment."
Without another word, Simon swept Svera into his arms and started running.
"Wh-What are you doing?!" she yelped, stunned.
"It's dangerous here."
As he put distance between them and the Chaos Reaper, Simon glanced back. The summon was dissolving, melting away before exploding into hundreds of chaos tendrils that shot toward the sky.
A wide-range chaos bombardment.
Simon Original: Chaotic Dance
A violet rain began to fall indiscriminately. Screams erupted from the stands, but fortunately, the staff, forewarned by Simon, had raised the spectator barriers to their maximum strength. Simon set Svera down and began deflecting the falling projectiles with a single Chaos Sphere.
Svera stared at the sky, dumbfounded. 'Good thing the match ended before I got hit by that.'
Watching Simon diligently swat away the descending chaos, a thought formed in her mind.
This guy is strong. And Kizen is the school that produced him.
'Tomorrow, I'll be taking classes there, too.'
Yes. She had definitely made the right decision to transfer.
Simon's match was over. The Chaotic Dance had left the arena pitted and devastated, so the final match would be held in an adjacent arena after a short break. Moiran had three such canal-style arenas, so it wasn't an issue. Such incidents were commonplace in battles between necromancer students.
"You did great, Simon!"
"You thrashed Moiran fair and square!"
The transfer students welcomed him as he returned to the spectator section. Simon smiled nonchalantly and greeted them, though it was just a facade.
'I feel like I'm about to collapse.'
Since returning from Tarados, he had fought in three duel-evaluation-level matches in two days. It was incredibly draining, but he couldn't let it show. Jane had repeatedly emphasized the need to maintain dignity as Kizen's Student Council President, and it was his duty. He kept a smile plastered on his face as if it were nothing, but in reality, he was dead on his feet.
"You worked hard, Simon." Meirin handed him a towel and a water bottle filled with ice.
"Thanks." He wanted nothing more than to lie flat on the floor and gulp down the water, but he maintained his composure, placing one hand on his hip.
She smiled and winked. "Putting on a brave face, are we, Mr. President?"
"...Is it that obvious?"
"Your arms and legs are trembling."
Simon smiled quietly and emptied the water bottle. Perhaps it was because he was in Moiran, but even the water tasted like honey.
'Now for the final match.'
He looked at Meirin. She tilted her head, a question in her eyes, but then a smile touched her lips and she nudged his elbow.
"Alright, alright. I'll win, so don't you worry."
"Haha, it's not that—"
"I will do my best, Mr. President!" she declared, snapping a cute salute before walking away. She had responded playfully, but he could see the slight tremor in her own fingertips.
Smiling, Simon followed, his coat fluttering behind him. The arena for the final match was just ahead.

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