Chapter 83
“See you later.”
“What do you mean···?”
Swish-.
Before I had any chance to ask what she meant, Lin turned into mist and disappeared.
Instead, a single male student was standing there.
He was smiling from ear to ear.
“Aaaah! The switch worked!”
Gale Levint.
He was the one serving as Keeper for Lin’s team.
At the same time, he was one of the most outstanding cursecasters in the entire grade.
One of the techniques he could use was switching places with a marked target.
I checked the crystal ball.
[Team Lin]
-Sprinter:Dexi Clouis
-Assistant:Gale Levint
-Keeper:Lin Glacia
Sure enough.
The two roles had already been switched.
They had made use of the rule allowing team members’ roles to be changed under the captain’s authority even while the game was in progress.
“Whew··· That was close.”
The boy wiped away the sweat pouring down his face.
I silently watched him.
The fact that this guy had come before me meant Lin had been sent to Zone 3.
‘······Caitlyn?’
Zone 3.
The girl who should be trying to take the flag and find a way back by now.
It meant Lin had appeared right in front of Caitlyn.
***
Class A’s top student vs. Class E’s top student.
The students seated in the stands were already ecstatic over the main match.
The buildup accumulated over the past few days, along with the reputations of the two contestants, had drawn everyone’s attention.
On the hologram displayed like a giant scoreboard, Lin and Victor’s figures were being broadcast exactly as they were.
-Ooh, they’re finally fighting!
-Are they fighting at the midpoint of Zone 2 because they’re both Assistants?
-What? I thought the Class E top student would be knocked out right away, but he’s putting up a pretty good fight?
-They’re moving so fast it’s hard to follow them with our eyes···!
Sword and scythe.
The two weapons clashed fiercely.
Snowflakes flew, and sparks leaped between the blades.
Perhaps thanks to their dazzling movements, the close-quarters fight alone was thrilling to watch.
The spectators could do nothing but marvel at the high-level exchange.
-They’re evenly matched, aren’t they?
-The Class E top student is holding up better than I expected.
-Are you all idiots? It’s obvious Lady Glacia is holding back!
-But the Class E top student doesn’t exactly look like he’s giving it his all either.
-They’re both taking it easy.
The students couldn’t tear their eyes away from the spectacle.
Soon, the excitement erupted into cheers.
-They’re both putting on a performance like that without even going all out?
-Just how monstrous are they? Could we really say Victor has the skill of one of the top students in Class A?
-Whoa··· I can feel the gap. Lady Glacia turns the whole area into ice with a single sword stroke.
-How is the Class E top student blocking attacks like that?
-He hasn’t been hit even once! He’s dodging or deflecting every single one···!
Even as this went on.
Suddenly, Lin vanished from her spot.
The abrupt exit left the spectators collectively baffled.
-What···? She suddenly disappeared as if she turned into mist?
-Where did she go? Is it some kind of stealth magic?
-Hey, Lady Glacia can’t use magic.
-Idiots, can’t you recognize a curse technique? A teammate on that side cast it.
The hologram came back into focus.
Gale Levint.
Lin Glacia.
The two had switched positions in an instant.
After checking the screen, the students grasped what was happening in each zone.
-Caitlyn had just snatched the flag in Zone 3!
-She was about to run off with it, but then Gale and Lady Glacia suddenly switched places··· and now Lady Glacia is blocking Caitlyn’s path!
-Could they have been aiming for this from the start?
-Come to think of it, they exchanged some kind of signal just before that!
-They must have agreed to switch positions immediately if it looked like they were about to lose the flag!
The students’ deduction was correct.
Gale and Lin had worked out the plan in advance.
If Gale failed to defend and let the enemy Sprinter get away, he would immediately switch places with Lin.
-Sure enough··· No matter how fast Caitlyn is, she can’t run away from Lady Glacia.
-I just checked, and their roles have been switched too. Looks like they manipulated the crystal ball as they changed positions.
-Gale chose his position well, didn’t he? Thanks to him, Lady Glacia has completely blocked off the escape route.
-That’s a major blow, isn’t it? If they lose their Sprinter like this···.
The stands erupted into another stir.
Victor’s team began to look increasingly doomed.
-For now, the second-ranked student in Class A is doing a good job defending, but···.
-Even so, the moment it becomes a two-against-three, the tide will turn completely.
-Just facing Lady Glacia alone must be exhausting.
-Victor’s tied up too. Gale’s actually one of the top students in Class A.
-He must be pretty worn out from fighting Lady Glacia, so he might even get KO’d by Gale at this rate.
The students watched with sweaty palms, their eyes fixed beyond the screen.
Victory seemed to be tilting toward Lin.
At that moment, Zone 3.
Caitlyn, who had taken the flag, was trying to return.
A sudden, pure-white snowstorm began to rage in front of her as she ran across the sandy desert.
“······.”
The hot desert air cooled, and cold winds roiled like a storm.
Snowflakes drifted down one after another.
At its center stood a blue-haired girl.
Caitlyn came to an involuntary stop.
Sparks crackled, and her expression twisted in dismay.
“Fuck···.”
Yellow eyes.
The force behind her seemed subtly diminished.
“Where the fuck did this monster bitch come from?”
Her bronze-colored fist clenched tight.
***
Meanwhile.
I stood there vacantly, fiddling with my scythe.
‘This is unexpected···.’
Who would have thought Lin would return to base to defend the flag?
It wasn’t entirely outside my calculations, but I was still surprised she had chosen to fall back.
If she was the woman I knew, she would have dealt with me right in front of her first, whether the flag was stolen or not, whether the match was won or lost···.
‘She’s strangely cautious.’
How should I put it?
She was approaching the match more seriously than usual, perhaps.
Her attitude just before that had been the same; it seemed there was some reason behind it.
‘Well··· it doesn’t really matter.’
The plan remained unchanged.
It had only veered slightly; there was nothing particularly problematic about it.
If the plan cracked from a variable this minor, it would be a patchwork rag, not a plan.
In the end, the match was still rolling around in the palm of my hand.
‘This is even better. I can use this chance to test Caitlyn too···.’
I shook out my tingling hand.
The aftermath of trading blows with Lin.
Was she really the best of this generation, after all?
Even after only a few clashes, my arm throbbed as if it were about to break.
“Ngh···.”
As I massaged my stiff arm, an extra suddenly started loitering in front of me.
“Hey~ What are you gonna do? Lady Glacia went to catch your Sprinter!”
His name was Gale, I think.
How could anyone be named Gale?
Remove just the L, and he becomes a member of a sexual minority.
I had plenty to say, but held my tongue because they were all statements that failed to respect human diversity.
I was an intellectual, after all.
Intellectuals don’t casually make discriminatory remarks.
“Haa··· Caitlyn, was it? The top student in Class B. She was too fast for me to catch. I could beat her if we fought, but she knows that too, apparently, so she just keeps running away···.”
As if to prove he was gay.
A guy who dumped a mountain of pointless TMI on a man he’d just met.
No wonder a chill ran down my spine; he looked like he might target the two chewy cookies between my thighs at any moment.
“Well··· Lady Glacia will take care of her. Forget that bitch. I think I’ll play with you for a while.”
Was he really living up to his name?
He was choosing to play with a man over a woman.
Even as my wariness grew, Gale was looking me up and down as though I were interesting.
“I hear you’re famous these days. People are saying all kinds of bullshit, that you’re Lady Glacia’s rival, that you’re as strong as one of the top students in Class A···. And as it happens, I’m one of the top students in Class A, you know? So now I want to check for myself.”
“Hmm.”
The corners of his mouth curled into an unpleasant smile.
What could he possibly want to check about a man that made him smile like that?
His fist clenched tight.
“I am a little tired, you know. That technique I just used took a lot out of me. Still, I think I can toy with someone like you.”
An unmistakable provocation.
The ease in his manner was a reaction dripping with contempt.
Did everyone around the top of Class A develop such inflated egos?
“Come at me. You don’t even need to make it as far as Lady Glacia. I’ll beat you down right here so you can never act cocky again.”
Well, I had no intention of wasting time on something like this.
Without hesitation, I reached a hand inside my robe.
“Enough talking. Let’s finish this quickly.”
“······What?”
Gae-L froze, stunned by my retort.
Regardless, I pulled a pitch-black shard from my inventory.
Ting-!
[Broken Crown]
-Category:Accessory
-Grade:A-
-Condition:Destroyed
-Description:This is the crown worn by the ‘Black Queen,’ ruler of nightmares. It has now been destroyed, leaving behind only her remnants. Can be worn for a maximum of five minutes per day. While worn, the skill ‘Nightmare Form’ can be used.
[Skill Name : Nightmare Form(惡夢化)]
-The user’s body merges with the nightmare.
-While the skill is active, the user receives an ‘invincible’ status.
-The user can fly without restriction and becomes free from all physical forces.
I placed the Broken Crown on my head.
A dark-red aura wavered, and a spine-chilling energy roiled around me.
“My dog is waiting for me at home.”
“Uh···?”
Gale froze as though his brain had stopped functioning.
Without another word, I charged straight at him, swinging my scythe.
Two minutes.
That was how long it took me to knock him unconscious.