From the spectator seats, Bahil, dressed in a spotless white suit, observed the event. The third-year students from the Curses Department stood anxiously nearby.
"It's going exactly as planned, Professor! Merida is facing the Student Council President!" one of them reported eagerly.
"And she's in her 'Selfless Dream State'!" another added.
"I see," Bahil mused, stroking his chin and giving a leisurely nod. "Excellent. You've all worked hard."
"Thank you, sir!"
The third-year Curses students exchanged triumphant high-fives behind his back, while Bahil's lips curved into a knowing smile.
'It pains me to do this, Simon Polentia,' he thought, 'but this defeat will be a valuable lesson for you.'
The train clattered along the tracks with Simon aboard. High in the sky above, Merida lay peacefully on her floating blanket.
'Phantastus Original – Selfless Dream State'
Tension etched Simon's features. 'It's started!'
The 'Selfless Dream State' Merida used was vastly different from her older brother Phantastus's version. Instead of falling into a deep, defenseless sleep, she transformed into a powerful curse cannon, unleashing hundreds of different curses indefinitely. All of this was backed by her immense Jet-Black control and lightning-fast curse calculation speed.
The sky soon darkened to an apocalyptic black. Curses of all shapes and sizes curved through the air, raining down on Simon's train.
'Ugh!'
Simon threw himself aside as the curses began to bombard the train indiscriminately. The barrage was relentless, the explosions so dense that it felt like being trapped in a jungle during a torrential downpour.
'A single hit would be fatal!'
Frantically dodging the onslaught, Simon stretched an arm behind him. 'At least I have this!'
A few bones he had attached to the train beforehand floated into the air, assembling into Bone Spears before launching toward the sky. But Merida was flying far higher than he had anticipated. The spears didn't get far before they were intercepted by a volley of curses and blown to pieces.
A storm of curses battered the train and the rails. Even as he moved with near-supernatural agility, Simon realized his feet were slowing. He glanced down.
Where the curses had struck, sections of the train were turning an oily black. Stepping on them subjected him to a disorienting effect that twisted his vision and churned his stomach.
'A spatial control curse!'
Curses cast on spaces and locations were an advanced technique that most majors didn't learn until their late second or third year. Simon was reminded of the curse Bahil had cast over the entire classroom to catch cheaters during the midterms.
'There's nowhere to run!'
The entire train was becoming saturated with curses. While Simon's movements grew increasingly sluggish, Merida, still floating on her blanket, showed no signs of letting up her assault.
'Ugh!'
He had already been hit by several curses without even realizing it. A feverish heat coursed through his body, his forehead burned, and his breathing grew ragged. And through it all, an overwhelming drowsiness began to dominate his senses. All the curses, with their varied effects, ultimately manifested as an overwhelming fatigue, luring him closer and closer to sleep.
'Just as expected of Merida.' This was the true power of the Curses Department representative.
As Merida relentlessly pushed back the Student Council President, the crowd's cheers grew louder. Many had bet on the Curses Department to win, and their support for Merida was thunderous.
"Go for it! Take him down!"
"I heard she's Phantastus Hugh Ikel's younger sister!"
"Oh, really? No wonder she's so strong!"
The announcer's voice boomed with excitement.
"Ah! Student Council President Simon Polentia is being completely overwhelmed! With an onslaught like that, it would be better to abandon the train! Why isn't he giving it up?"
Once Merida entered her 'Selfless Dream State', any opponent would be forced onto the defensive. This wasn't a formal duel; in a battle between necromancers, engaging an opponent at their strongest was a fool's errand. Worse yet, Simon was being cursed just by standing on the train. The wiser decision would have been to cede the train to the Curses Department and find another, but Simon refused to yield.
"Hahahaha! That kid hasn't changed one bit!" Byulya, the professor of Toxicology and a guest commentator for the event, chuckled with her arms laced behind her head.
The announcer beside her quickly followed up. "Why isn't he running away?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she said, baring her teeth.
"We are in awe of your insight, Professor!" a third-year student gushed to Bahil, rubbing his palms together. "How did you predict that the Student Council President wouldn't leave the train?"
At almost the exact same moment, Bahil and Byulya gave their answers.
"Because he would hate to lose," Bahil stated calmly.
"Because he hates to lose," Byulya echoed.
She grinned, revealing a set of jagged, shark-like teeth. "Watch closely. He's about to counterattack. See?"
With a surge of energy, a battered and bruised Simon finally unfurled the magic circle he had prepared in his right hand. From the flat, two-dimensional sigil, three-dimensional stems shot out, intertwining to weave new figures and formulas. It was as if he had constructed a tower of magic right in his palm. Bracing himself against the rain of curses, he aimed his own spell at Merida, high in the sky.
'Simon Original – Sleeping Deimos'
The mournful cry of a whale shook the stadium. A torrent of dark blue water surged forth, its sheer power blasting through Merida's curse bombardment and striking her, blanket and all.
"Woooah!" the crowd roared, leaping to their feet, thrilled by the sudden counterattack from the student who had been taking a one-sided beating.
After casting the spell, Simon staggered, dropping to one knee on the train. He squeezed one eye shut, his vision blurred, but a triumphant smirk touched his lips.
'It's a long-range sleep curse that can even put a fully grown Deimos to sleep. But...'
Ordinary students would have been knocked out cold, but for Merida, 'sleeping' meant something entirely different—especially when she was already in her 'Selfless Dream State'.
Her body lifted off the blanket, rising even higher into the air. Her prone form swayed precariously.
"Ugh—" A pained sound escaped through her gritted teeth. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Explosions rocked the stadium.
From her body, hundreds—no, thousands—of curses erupted wildly into the air. They flew past Simon's train and began to bombard the entire stadium.
"Wha-what is she doing!"
"Stop! Merida! You're attacking us, too!"
Even her own teammates from the Curses Department were caught in the indiscriminate barrage. Everything that moved within the arena was now her target.
[Merida Hugh Ikel: 17 Kills / 0 Points]
Merida was in a frenzy. No one could stop her. Only her kill count on the stadium's mana screen continued to climb. Students all over the arena abandoned the trains and ran for their lives. In the ensuing chaos, a newly freed Simon swiftly seized control of his objective.
"What kind of chaotic match is this?" a spectator muttered, dumbfounded.
"He had a plan after all! Student Council President Simon Polentia!" the announcer shouted, shooting to his feet. "He sent Merida into a frenzy, turning the bombardment of her 'Selfless Dream State' onto the entire stadium! Thanks to that, not only her own teammates but nearly every student has been taken down! Incredible!"
Only after unleashing over a thousand curses did Merida finally drift back down to the ground.
"...Ah."
She shot upright, her normally sleepy eyes wide open. Her skin was glowing, and her hair was lustrous with vitality. She had slept so well that she was practically overflowing with energy.
"No," she murmured, grabbing her face as if something was terribly wrong. "I'm not sleepy. I'm wide awake! This is different. This isn't me. This is..."
"Hello, Merida." Simon approached with a grin.
Merida flinched and turned her head. "Sleep well?"
"Simon...!" Her eyes hardened. "How dare you make me feel refreshed! Unforgivable!"
She threw her arms up to prepare a curse, but in her current state, a good result was unlikely. Formula errors plagued her casting, and eventually, due to a miscalculation, the curse fizzled out with a pathetic pop.
Doused by her own failed spell, her body began to turn to stone. Simon smiled leisurely and raised his fingertips.
"I'll take you on anytime."
A Bone Spear shot from behind, striking her barrier and reducing its gauge to zero.
[Simon Polentia: 1 Kill / 3 Points]
In the Train Capture event, any student whose barrier gauge hit zero was eliminated but could return to the field after ten minutes. However, the newly refreshed Merida was unable to muster her full power even after she returned. The most dangerous participant in the event had been effectively neutralized.
And so, in the end...
"The match is over!" the announcer declared.
1st - Summoning Department: 7 Points.
2nd - Necromancy Department: 5 Points.
3rd - Jet-Black Dynamics Department: 4 Points.
"The winner of the second-year Train Capture event is... the Summoning Department!"
As if on cue, a roar of cheers erupted. Toto, Eshe, and the other students who had participated ran toward Simon, shouting in triumph. Simon didn't hide his joy, either, embracing them and exchanging high-fives.
They had lost. The third-year Curses students watching from the stands trembled, stealing fearful glances at Bahil. He was just fiddling with the brim of his hat, which was pulled down low, obscuring his expression.
'We're screwed. It's all over.'
'This is insane.'
Just then, Bahil rose to his feet. The third-years flinched and scrambled to stand as well.
"W-we're sorry, Professor!"
"Please, just give us one more chance! Next time, we'll definitely—!"
Bahil's gaze swept over them. They squeezed their eyes shut, bracing for a curse.
"It's a shame," he said calmly, "but sometimes a match just doesn't go your way."
"Huh?!"
The third-years opened their eyes. Bahil had already turned his back.
"Let's go."
He walked away, the sound of his dress shoes echoing on the stone. The students exchanged bewildered glances.
'Professor Bahil...'
'Did he just smile?'
He was, they all thought, an utterly incomprehensible man.
Even after the Train Capture event ended, the Summoning Department students were still buzzing with the thrill of victory.
"Awesome! That was awesome! I never thought the Curses Department would fall so easily!" Eshe exclaimed with a broad grin.
The Train Capture event had been considered the most advantageous for the Curses Department. Even if an opponent was knocked out, they were only out of the game for ten minutes, making the risk relatively low. But the Curses Department could simply neutralize an opponent with a curse, taking them out not just for ten minutes, but for the entire match. They had, in fact, done just that, leaving several students cursed and abandoned, some even tied to trees. Students from other departments couldn't focus on capturing trains because they were busy rescuing their captured comrades.
But Merida's indiscriminate rampage had completely turned the tables. Afterward, she couldn't use her powers properly. In the end, the Curses Department, the favorite to win, was pushed to the bottom of the ranks.
"Ah! Here it is," Toto said, flipping through a memo pad. "It starts in five minutes. We should hurry if we want to see our department's next event!"
"What's the next event?" Simon asked.
Toto beamed. "Remember? The one you suggested to Fitz—the 'two people, one team' event!"
The moment he heard that, Simon broke into a sprint.
"Hurry up, guys!"
He could miss other events, but not this one.
In Serute Stadium, students from the seven departments were waiting with their legs tied together. However, every single participant was timidly stealing glances at one particular pair.
A colossal killing intent was blooming in the middle of the stadium.
As if reflecting their very natures, a girl with black hair and a girl with platinum blonde hair stood with one leg bound together, a perfect study in contrasts.
"Alright! Please prepare for the event!" the announcer called out.

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