Arima triggered his sigil and a huge fireball made by a group of students was struck by purple lightning and scattered. He then deflected Arister's spear and Lanya's rapier in a single swing. He infused his weapon with mana and lightning burst out from the katana.
The volatile sand started moving strangely and suddenly became a giant mouth that tried to eat him. "Melody, huh?" He muttered and conjured five compressed marbles in his hand. He threw them in a circle around him and the wind inside burst, blowing the sand away.
At the same time, a strong downpour suddenly arrived and Arima looked at the sky in surprise. His thunderclouds were the ones causing that rain.
‘But I didn't add any water... Isla? Did she actually manage to overwrite my magic and use my clouds? That girl is a prodigy indeed…’ He thought as the sand screen slowly fell down as the grains got heavier with the water. Arima ended up surrounded by the entire class when his vision got clear. They had all finished their preparation for a magic and they cast it at the same time.
Both Lanya and Arister had prepared the Fifth Blue Art as well and promptly threw it. Arima grinned and started chanting too. But what happened then was inexplicable. His chanting speed was too fast, it was utterly inhuman. It was as if someone had pressed on the fast play button.
"[Et erraverunt] (You strayed away)."
"[Ecce ego pronuntio] (Here I declare myself)."
"[Sine condicione erga dominum tuum] (Your unconditional master)."
"[Revertere ad me] (Return to me)."
This went by extremely fast, but Lanya and Night easily recognized the magic. "The Fourth Red Art!" They both exclaimed at the same time.
"Everyone, retreat! Don't even bother trying to hold your magic!" Lanya shouted and every student nodded before retreating.
"[Fourth Red Art, Nativus Dominare] (Elemental Rule)," Arima finished chanting and every magic aimed at him halted. The spikes coming from the ground, the water and ice blades flying at him, the blazing fire, even light and darkness had been stopped whilst spatial attacks were deviated by a simple rotation of Arima’s sigil.
He slowly waved his hands and every magic suddenly changed of aim and was returned back toward their caster, causing countless explosions around him, elevating one more time the dry sand. Fortunately, Lanya, Night, and Balan, who could make sturdy barriers, protected everyone.
"Who will do it?" Lanya flapped one wing to clear the sand and suddenly asked Arister who was next to her.
"You will. I'll do my best to hold him back," he replied and his body became clad in a full Spartan armor. He smirked and glanced at Irian who wasn't that far. He recalled how strong physically that kid was.
"Hey, do you wanna help?" Arister casually asked and Irian nodded firmly. Arister grinned and told him everything through telepathy.
"Got it," Irian responded and his body started expanding. After a few seconds, his body was now similar to a bear's, just that the fur was of a deep red color. It was the soul contract he had chosen.
The Demonic Bear, also called Crimson, is a beast reputed for its madness in combat. Its healing ability, which is not to be underestimated, and his overwhelming brute strength.
Following him, every student started transforming with their respective soul contracts. Almost all of them had already made a contract. The only exception was Lena who had an actual soul beast, which was a big Royal Eagle.
"Keep attacking, everyone!" Arister bellowed before kicking the ground and directly rushing toward Arima. The latter smiled whilst watching them.
"Looks like you have a plan. I won't have time to point out every detail, so I'll do it at the end. Good luck," Arima readied his katana and lightning covered the sky. At the same time, Arister swung his spear and clashed with Arima.
The latter was surprisingly pushed back by that unique blow. His eyes widened and the corner of lips raised. "I see, you're pushing to 100 already, huh? Then I won't hold back," he said and his arms bulged a bit and vapor escaped his mouth. He then countered Arister who was grinning and was attacking a lot more fiercely than before
"Seems like you started to use that armor to its full potential."
"Yeah, thanks are in order I guess," Arister replied.
Arima snickered and abruptly felt a huge pressure weighing on him. He shot a glance to the side and spotted Melody. Her current appearance was similar to a dryad with her hair which had turned glossy green and her ears pointed. But she also seemed to have some antlers growing on her head. She was crouching with her palms placed against the ground while staring at him.
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‘She made a peaceful contract with a Nature Deer, huh?’ Arima thought.
Nature Deer are very rare beasts living in places full of life and verdure. Nature Deer are said to have tremendous affinity with nature, even more than elves, and their mana pool is renowned for their high quality and size.
‘True, to use gravity to hinder me this much, you need a significant amount of mana,’ Arima inwardly commented.
Arister then swung his spear vertically, putting even more pressure on him. He clicked his tongue and a black light suddenly flashed in his left hand. Before Arister could realize it, Ira was already pointed toward Melody. Of course, Arima wasn't intending to harm her. The bullet was infused with soul magic to perturb her contract and forcefully end the resonance.
Ultimately, he was able to press the trigger before Arister could stop him but surprisingly, a sort of dark blue tunnel appeared on the trajectory and absorbed the bullet. Arima frowned when he saw that and promptly discharged a huge amount of lightning to get away from Arister. Half a second later, the bullet he shot passed just in front of him. It had come out from a second dark blue hole in mid-air.
Arima looked behind Melody and saw Balan smiling while drawing a magic circle. Arima then commanded his clouds and a lightning bolt fell. But the same thing happened and a wormhole redirected his attack toward him.
He snickered and focused on Arister. ‘He prepared many wormholes formations in advance. It’s a waste of time and energy,’ he determined that he couldn't shoot toward Melody at least.
In the end, he was slowly pushed back against a corner by Arister because of the gravity. The latter was Ares' inheritor and he was making good use of the power he received thanks to that title. Even if it was Arima, once slowed down, he had good chances to overpower him.
While Arima was fighting, he kept observing his surroundings and the fact that there were only Arister, Melody, and Balan opposing him was honestly confusing. Even though there were some magics attacking him from time to time, they were long-range and he couldn’t spot the casters.
He tried to concentrate and sensed the presence of the rest of the group far away. The students were aiming at him while encircling Lanya. Arima focused on her and saw that she was preparing to cast something.
He couldn’t hear what they were talking about but on the other hand, he noticed what was the magic being prepared. ‘The Third Destruction Art,’ Arima scowled. ‘Could be troublesome.’
"[Adolebitque in aeternum] (Burn for eternity)," he initiated a new incantation and Arister quivered. Arima was fighting him in close combat, controlling the lightning, and now chanting for a magic, all at the same time. He was speechless.
Then, he remembered something. "Hey! You didn't teach us about parallel minds!" He shouted and Arima smirked whilst continuing his chant.
"[Ipsam mundi] (Scorch the world)."
"[Erumpant ex religiosae vitae] (Erupt from the deepest level)."
"[Et haec stultum esse cremari] (And cremate these foolish beings)."
Arister clicked his tongue. He knew what was coming. He exchanged blows with Arima one last time then hurriedly retreated before planting his shield in the ground which then exponentially grew in size to become a large sphere sheltering its owner.
"[Fourth Blue Art, Huius Ignem Inferni] (Hell's Flame)," at the same moment, Arima finished his chant and the earth started shaking and cracks appeared all over the ground. The glittering sand drifted inside the fissures and fell in the pits of darkness. Then, the temperature increased greatly.
Melody ceased the gravity push and panted a bit. Balan used the circle he was drawing earlier to teleport the two of them away. Lanya's group also took some distance although they were already quite far.
Crimson flames suddenly erupted from the cracks and lava flowed out. The fire gathered in mid-air as if it was alive and formed a sort of immense disc. That disc shone and the fire condensed into a pillar that fell on Arister's shield. It looked like a concentrated ray of light coming from a giant loop. Arister's shield glowed with bright golden light as it resisted the vicious flames.
An explosion occurred that first hardened the sand then destroyed it. The shockwave spread for miles. Arima, in the middle of all of this, rushed toward Lanya's group position without any delay.
When he arrived, his eyes flashed and narrowed just after. "Spiritual illusions, those little…" He mumbled and then smirked in pride for his students. Anyone would feel like that if they saw someone using what they taught.
Arima closed his eyes and scanned the entire desert in a second before scanning even further. When he discovered Lanya's position, he found out that she had already started chanting and was fully prepared.
"This will be a problem," Arima smiled wryly. "The Third Destruction Art is too special," he said as he flew toward his students while breaking the sound barrier, leaving Arister, who was resisting the fire and lava, behind him.
Within his spherical shield, he sighed while drawing a teleportation circle. He was already sweating because of the heat. "Okay, I'm out… I don't think I will able to get out in time. Don't mess up, you all."
In a forest, out of the desert, Lanya was holding a white and black book in her hands. That book was glowing with a peculiar light. She opened it and the very first page was completely blank. As she held the book with one hand, she placed the other on the page.
The students were curiously watching. The book Lanya had in her hand had appeared too rapidly and they were questioning themselves about what it could be. Especially when Lanya said that it was the strongest magic Arima had ever taught her.
"[Auribus percipite verba mea] (Heed my words)."
"[Voluntatem meam] (Manifest my will)."
As Lanya chanted, indecipherable words appeared on the book’s pages.
"[Summone gloriam meam] (Summon my ambition),"
"[Et meam impleat votum] (And fulfill my wish)."
"[Secundum iudicium tuum] (According to your judgment)."
"[Et implerem] (Accomplish it)."
The words on the pages shined with a strong light and an ominous and overbearing aura spread around.
"[Third Destruction Art, Pars Impios] (Lawless Tome)."
When Arima arrived, it was already too late. He could only watch as the book transformed into a beam of white and black light that flew toward the sky. Soon after, a second earthquake occurred, much bigger than the one caused by the Fourth Blue Art, and a large shadow covered the forest.
Arima slowly looked up and his expression twitched. "Oi, you, shitty book. This is what you chose? We’re lucky that this is another dimension…" He grumbled and instantly tried to flee.
One of the particularities of this art was that it would never hurt someone else than the target defined by the caster. So, Arima didn't need to care about Lanya and the students.
As he was thinking that, he suddenly bumped into an invisible wall and was repelled toward the ground. He landed skillfully but his expression wasn’t that good. He looked at where he bumped into something and saw a faint, thin blue wall.
"Seriously…?" He muttered and then looked up at the huge dark object falling from the sky as if it was coming from the stratosphere. It wasn't a meteorite or anything of the sort. If a comparison was really needed, something like a giant press was a lot more accurate.
"It's a death trap," Arima snorted. A cylindric barrier was confining him, forcing him to take it head-on. The Third Destruction Art was most likely the most unique and ‘whimsical’ magic Arima ever created. The book would activate based on the caster's will but it's the book itself that would choose how the caster’s wish should be respected.
Arima even inserted the theory of the Original World Laws in it. If it wasn't for the fact that the book was very quirky and the power it could exert limited, it would easily be the first art. But even like that, the Lawless Tome was still very polyvalent. It could literally do anything the caster can imagine as long as the final result isn't more formidable than the caster's full power.
The book also consumes a huge amount of mana. You could say that this magic was the strongest one in the world, but awfully defective and inefficient.
"Freaking book. Did you have to choose this? I'm your creator damn it," Arima complained whilst drawing Superbia. He took out a pitch-black bullet. He charged it into the chamber of the rifle before pulling the bolt. He then loaded Superbia with a strange magazine filled with a dark substance exuding tremendous amounts of energy.
Arima smirked and pointed at the gigantic press falling on him. "Let’s see if you can take this bullet."