「…Dodge? Dodge what?-」

Aurelius says, looking at Straf and the glowing orb. With a massive grin on his face, he snaps his fingers and points at his opponent. The student's blue eyes suddenly widen, and instinctual dread washes over him.

Thud!

He leaps aside with his teeth clenched into a grimace, arms outstretched forward, and he lands on the dirt with a loud thud.

Fffffwwwwwwwwoooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmm!!

The next moment, Aurelius feels an immense heat burning his back. He looks to see what caused him the existential terror, and glances up from the ground over his shoulder.

A blindingly bright beam of continuous light as wide as a man, and almost as tall as one is right above him. It is letting out a steady, powerful humm, or perhaps a buzz. As it radiates heat, Aurelius feels almost as if he had his back right up against a campfire, but much worse. His panicked eyes then notice, that small flames begin to dance on top of his back. In the distance and roughly in the center of the arena, with his hands casually in his pockets, Straf is staring at him with a disdainfully amused smirk on his face.

「Lord Aurelius!…」「Your lordship!…」

The two attendants accompanying the nobleman scream out in sheer panic, clutching at their heads. Aurelius quickly looks the other way to see if the beam hit the barrier. Though it was mere fractions of a second before, it already had done so, seemingly so long ago.

The golden barrier is no longer golden. It turned into a color of brass. The barrier is no longer milky, or cloudy. It turned entirely opaque, murky like swampwater. But perhaps but most importantly so, the barrier is no longer attached to the pillars. It has begun to shrink rapidly, with a loud and echoing noise of shattered glass.

「Hhhhuuuuurrrkkkkk!…」

In shock and panic, Aria gasps for air with her jaw dropped, when she sees a stream of rainbow colors pour like a horizontal waterfall to the outside of the dome shield over the dueling grounds.

「Hnnnnnghhhhh!!…」

The professor's wide-open eyes glance at the runes on the obelisk beside her, once golden, the runes are now dark. The pillar appears inactive despite her very hand being upon it and flowing mana into the obelisk.

The arena barrier shoots inward, quickly shrinking as it leaves a semi-transparent, ghostly afterimage of itself briefly hanging in the air between the pillars, like a burnt-out picture on a screen. The rainbow stream spewing outside intensifies more and more, as the edge of the barrier gets closer to the center. The barrier appears to almost spit out Aurelius as it shrinks past him.

「Ahh!! Roll! Lord Aurelius! Roll!」「Aurelius, your back!! Roll!」

The two young men who usually orbit around him scream, running in their spots in panic, pointing at his blazer on fire.

「Aah! Aaa! Aa! Aaaaa!!」

Aurelius lets out a scream, and while there is a hint of pain within it, it remains mostly a scream of sheer terror. He rolls around on the ground like a tantruming child, trying to put the tiny flames out.

「Ahh!」

Aria shouts, clutching onto her hat's brim. She quickly peeks at the headmaster's window to check if he's looking. He is. With his head lightly tilted, he brushes his beard with his hand as he watches it all unfold.

「Ahh!」

She shouts again, and turns her panicking eyes back to the dueling grounds. The only people not screaming at this point at are the few spectators with no dog in the fight, and Straf.

As the arena barrier collapses next to him, it reveals him, still standing with his hands in his pockets. The rainbow stream that was flowing out of the collapsing barrier was none other than his beam of light, dispersing into pure mana as it hit the barrier. With the barrier now gone, the harmless rainbow is now a deadly beam of energy. Faster than anyone can see, it stretches across the Academy's backyard in an instant, and impacts the wall of the adjacent, secondary Academy building right at its corner. Loose mana particles and debris from the impact fly chaotically into the air.

Krrrrrunnnnkkkk…

The wall begins to rumble, and then it begins to crumble. The pale stone shatters into dust from the heat and kinetic energy imparted upon it by the beam, and the large, individual bricks begin coming apart, falling to the ground from above the beam, and falling into a large pile. The beam melts through the wall, and the top of the stones begin to drip down in glowing, semi-liquid beads. The spell burns into the building with a pulsing droning noise, and vaporizes the furniture in its corner, then melts through the wall on the other side.

The energy beam continues past the Academy building, narrowly missing trees and other foliage, as well as the mundane workers' buildings. It then impacts the Academy's defensive wall, boring a hole into it. When Straf sees it made its way all across the Academy, he nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders, and the beam narrows into nothing, abruptly disappearing. An uneasy silence falls upon the dueling grounds, the very few students that stuck around to the end are now muttering something amongst themselves in awe, and Aurelius pats away the last of the flames.

「Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkk…」

With her gloved hands up, hands hopelessly spread into dismayed claws, she stares at the carnage that she was meant to prevent. Drops of molten stone drip down the man-sized hole in the secondary Academy building, and a couple of terrified, shocked faces peek outside through it, looking at Aria in the distance. She pulls the hat's brim over her mortified face, and places her hand on the nearby obelisk, leaning forward onto it as she tries to catch her breath.

「Calm down… Calm down… Breathe…」

When she manages to calm down a little, she places her hand on her mostly exposed cleavage, and lets out a large huff. The professor glances at the headmaster's window once again.

「Urk!…」

She cringes, when she sees Corvus pinch his glasses to adjust them, and walk away.

「…Are you satisfied, blondie!? If not, we can have another go-!」

Straf mockingly asks, grinning at Aurelius while he's still in shock at how narrowly he survived the attack.

「I'm satisfied! I'm satisfied! I'm done!」

He jumps up to his knees, shouting back at Straf with a nervous grin, while waving his arms in a cross and feverishly shaking his disheveled golden head.

「Great!… But I'm not!」

Straf ominously announces, and begins walking towards Aurelius.

「What!? But- But I'm done! I can't fight anymore! I'm out of mana!」

The humbled noble explains as he's frantically waving his arms about, spreading them, pointing to himself, briefly placing his hand on his dirt-stained chest, or otherwise gesturing with them.

「So? This isn't a Federation-sanctioned duel, buddy, that ended like two hours ago. We're just having a little behind-the-school tussle right now.」

Straf says, grinning with his hands spread as he casually continues approaching.

「Straf! That's enough! I humored you two by extending the duel, but this is too much!」

Professor Aria shouts, watching the two still in the arena.

「But I thought duels go on until both sides are satisfied!?」

He replies, nonchalantly shrugging with his arms, smugly grinning at her.

「Or until your opponent can no longer go on! I said that's enough! Get back here!」

The big-hatted mage angrily reminds Straf, and points her finger at the ground next to her with an excessively exaggerated motion.

「Hold on, I'm just going to satisfy myself real quick!…」

He ominously chuckles, turning his attention to Aurelius.

《…He's not listening to the professor!? What is wrong with this idiot!?-》

His opponent thinks, glancing at Aria off to the side, outside of the perimeter of the now dark and inactive obelisks.

《…Power.》

Aurelius realizes it, and his face falls pale while Straf is drawing near.

《He's not listening, because he doesn't feel like she's even a threat!- I have to get out of here!》

He thinks, rising up to his feet with a panicked, wide-eyed yelp.

Thud.

Aurelius falls flat on his face after taking just a single step.

「Your lordship!…」「Lord Aurelius!…」

His retainers whine loudly, hopelessly raising their hands as if watching a character in a horror movie approach the monster's lair.

《Huh? Mana weakness!? Not now!》

He rolls onto his back, realizing that his legs are not strong enough to carry him away from the swiftly approaching mortal danger. He crawls away, but getting even a few paces away is now like running a marathon.

「Straf! I said enough!」

Aria feebly tries to stop Straf with a shout, but he is no longer even paying attention to her. She clenches her fist and teeth in exasperation.

《…What do I do? I can't just idly stand by, and let him do whatever he wants to him!》

She thinks, watching Straf rapidly close the distance between him and his opponent, despite merely leisurely walking towards him.

「Straf, stop right there!…」

The professor shouts, but he ignores it.

Thwomp.

Aria throws her hat off her head, kicking up a large cloud of dust. With a hesitant, shaky motion of her hand, she points her gloved palm at Straf from the side, tracking him with it.

「Straf, if you don't stop right now, I will intervene!…」

《…But what can I even do against someone like him? If he deems me a serious threat, I'm dead on the spot.》

The hatless big-hatted mage shout a stern warning, but her gloved hand is visibly shaking. Her long, raven-black silky hair sways gently in the breeze.

Straf continues ignoring her, getting almost within arms reach of Aurelius.

《And yet, the headmaster trusts him… Is he really the type of person to casually murder someone right in front of everyone else?…》

She clicks her tongue, weighing her options.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

「Wait!… Wait, please! Have mercy! I'm sorry!」

Lying on his back in the dirt, the once haughty noble begs with a look of terror on his face, meekly stretching his hands out towards Straf in a pointless attempt to shield himself from him.

「Straf!」「Aurelius!」「Lord Aurelius!」

Aria and the two lowly attendants shout over each other, while Straf reaches for the blonde man's arms with a malicious grin on his face.

《…I can't just let my student die!-》

Thwack… Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack…

「Ow!… Ow! Ow! Ow!- Stop!- Ow!」

Up on his knees, Aurelius cries out in pain with tears of humiliation in his eyes, as Straf begins hitting him in his face with his very own hands, holding him by his wrists.

「Eh?…」「Huh?…」「What?」

「Stop hitting yourself, Aurelius.」

Straf calmly states, while hitting him with his own hands.

Thwack. Thwack Thwack. Thwack…

「Ow! Stop it! Ow! Enough!- Ow! I said I'm sorr-! Ow!」

Aurelius keeps begging, tears rolling down his dirt-stained face. The students watching begin chortling quietly at his misfortune.

「Eh?… That's it?…」

Aria utters out, slowly lowering her arms with utter disbelief on her face, staring at the two with her brows furrowed.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack…

「Aurelius! Stop hitting yourself! This isn't healthy!」

Thwack.

「But I'm not-! Ow!」

Aurelius attempts to explain that he is, in fact, not hitting himself. However, Straf interrupts him by physically disproving his claim.

「…Straf, isn't this enough already?」

Aria loudly asks, and leans a little to pick her hat up by its slightly bent tip. She lets out a big sigh, dusts off its brim with her hand with a few rough pats, and sets it back on her head.

「Hold on, a few more!…」

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

「Stop hitting yourself!… Stop hitting yourself!… Stop hitting yourself!… Alright… I guess I'm done now.」

Straf shrugs, and lets go of Aurelius, dropping him to the ground. He spreads his hands, and makes his way back to Aria, leaving the blonde student sobbing and sniveling in the dirt.

「Aurelius!」「Your lordship!…」

His two attendants rush out from the group of spectators to his aid. Straf looks on with a smirk, and shakes his head as they run past him.

「So… How's that for a spell?」

He asks Aria with a smug grin, placing his fists on his hips.

「…Your blessing is causing the maximum amount of trouble for everyone with the minimum amount of effort involved, isn't it?」

She asks with her arms crossed, and a displeased expression on her face. His grin grows, and Straf snaps his fingers.

「Correct.」「It is!?」

He points his finger at her, and she lifts her hat's brim in shock.

「No, but I wish it was. That'd be helpful…」

Straf shrugs, rolling his eyes.

「…So, can everyone now fuck off and leave me be? I've got stuff to do. You know I do.」

He asks as he places his hands back in his pockets, looking Aria straight in her narrowed eyes.

「Yes… The dueling grounds are out of commission anyhow, thanks to you… But once and if the barrier is restored, I will take your task at hand into account for the validity any requests.」

The professor nods, and Straf shrugs, walking past her towards the main Academy building.

「…Who are you, really… Straf Katastrof?」

She asks, briefly pausing before she enunciates his name. He stops, partially turning around to look at her, standing sideways. His gaze escapes upward to the sky while he thinks about something for a brief moment.

「You know, I was going to say none of your business, and that's right, because it isn't, but…」

「But?…」

「But! That'd be a missed opportunity to say…」

He extends his index finger, smugly grinning at Aria.

「…I'm just an average guy in the Academy of Magic!」

Straf replies with a massive exaggerated grin, likewise exaggeratedly spreading his hands. He walks off cackling like a madman, shaking his head with his hands in his pockets.

「Hmpf…」

《Average?…》

Aria thinks, and looks at her gloved palm.

《…No average person could make me feel fear again at the prospect of dueling someone. I know you are hiding something, Straf Katastrof. You and that sly old fox are one and the same. I can tell…》

She lets out a large sigh, looking up at the headmaster's empty window.

《But what is it?… Is it related to the Cursefire?…》

The professor ruminates, while Aurelius is shambling out of the dueling grounds, hanging off his attendants' shoulders.

「Shit!… Shit! I don't care about this stupid Academy anymore! I want to go hooome!」

「This is but a temporary setback…」「It would be a waste, your lordship…」

He whines, sobbing loudly while the commoners beside him attempt to cheer him up…

…

Two days later, in front of the Cursefire Brazier…

Damian waits with his arms crossed, leaning onto one of the walls with his back. He glances left and right, looking for the specific set of girls in the sparse traffic of students.

「…Where are they?」

《Did they all chicken out, in the end?…》

Lowering his head with his eyes closed, he lets out a large, disappointed sigh.

「Hey, pants-shitter!」

「Hrk!-」

He instinctively clenches his teeth, and turns his eyes towards the girl's voice. Tisha is waving her hand towards him, grinning mischievously, approaching with Neela at her side.

「Don't call me that! You know it's not true!」

「It's close enough.」

「No it's not! It's lies and slander!… Tsk…」

He clicks his tongue, shaking his head. Damian looks at the two girls again, and peeks past their shoulder.

「…Where's the nice one? Is she too scared?」

He asks, and Neela shakes her head.

「Lia said she's coming, she just wanted to talk with Straf about something for a moment.」

Neela replies, and just as she's mentioned, Cycelia emerges from beyond a corner down the hallway, quickly jogging their way, breathing heavily. Despite her breasts being somewhat braced by the uniform blazer, they bounce heavily, and Damian stares. She runs up, taking a few moments to catch her breath with her hands on her knees.

「You didn't have to rush here, you know. We would have waited…」

Tisha says, looking at her with a mildly surprised grimace lightly resembling a pout, and amused upturn to her lips.

「I knooow… I know… But… Haah… I didn't want to… Haah… Make you wait…」

Cycelia nods her chestnut head, and straightens out. Damian stares. The three turn their eyes to him, and his gaze escapes in an emergency to a random point.

「So, are we going?」

With her arms crossed, Tisha asks.

「Y- Yeah, let's go. Let's be methodical about this. We'll begin with the top floors of the main building, make our way down, and then the secondary buildings… If we don't find anything, we'll try outside.」

Damian nods in reply, bounces himself off the wall, and begins walking down the hall.

「…And what if we don't find it? Are you ready to be my slave?」

Tisha scoffs, grinning as she walks behind him with her arms leisurely behind her head.

「S- Shut up. I'm going to find it, and your face will be even paler from fear!」

「Hahaha! Yeah, right! Bet you'll look cute in chains! Ahahaha!」

Tisha cackles like a hyena, shaking her golden head.

「Wh-!?」

「Tisha!」「Tisha! Don't even joke about that!」

Neela and Cycelia chide the unruly northerner with angry pouts on their pretty faces, following the sole young man in their group…