'That magic affinity will be a real pain in the ass.' Despite the overwhelming weight that plagued his body, Adonis landed gracefully on the grass without complications.

THUD

"I'll make note of you prince-" Interrupting the seventh Rising Star's acknowledgement was the fifth slicing at his skull.

"I was wondering where you were." Acting swiftly, Adonis raised his gladius to guard against Jerald's attack.

"It looked like you were having fun, I didn't wanna interrupt." Flashing a blank expression, Jerald increased the force he exerted.

"How thoughtful." Straining his muscles, Adonis pushed Jerald backwards and slashed at his thoughts.

"..." Perfectly reading Adonis's movements, Jerald leaned his head back.

Wishing to counterattack immediately, Jerald shot his leg at Adonis's outstretched sword arm.

'He's fast.' Having no time to verbally express his praises, Adonis reversed the grip on his sword and stabbed at Jerald's leg.

To evade the sudden strike, Jerald redirected his leg downwards to hit Adonis's leading calf.

'Quick thinking.' Adonis lifted his front leg and struck Jerald's rear thigh.

Feeling the pain echo through his lower body, Jerald couldn't help but mutter a curse.

Utilizing the same leg, Adonis flung his leg at Jerald's jaw.

Gritting his teeth intensely, Jerald caught Adonis's leg.

Jerald gripped the magic knight's leg tightly and pulled him closer to deliver a side kick to his stomach.

"Ah!" Feeling his stomach cave in, Adonis coughed up a cup of saliva.

"Ever since I saw you... I felt something strange." Repeating the manoeuvre once more, Jerald pulled the youth in closer.

"And what is that?" Refusing to let the scenario play out the same way, Adonis wrapped his other leg around Jerald's arm; catching his arm in a leg lock.

"You're like me, aren't you?" Jerald used his other hand to try and shake the magic knight off his limb.

"..." Slightly stunned, Adonis loosened his grip and stared at him blankly.

WHOOSH

"No, our magic affinities are slightly different." Noticing the approaching arrow, Adonis threw Jerald to the ground and dashed backwards.

"I can't help but feel you're playing favourites Donny." Maxwell slammed his hammer into Adonis's body, sending him tumbling through the long grass.

"Argh!" Feeling the pain reverberate through his entire body, Adonis coughed out a cup of blood.

Flying through the air, Toni brought down his large mace to crush Adonis's skull.

"That was really painful Max." Frowning, Adonis placed his hands on the ground and leapt backwards, managing to narrowly escape Toni's attack.

"Play with me first, Grape!" Meeting Adonis head-on, Luna cleaved her lightning magic-enhanced gladius at Adonis's head.

Middair, Adonis lowered his head away from the sword.

When he glanced back, Adonis was greeted by the eager Lutz van Alexia stabbing him in his left shoulder using a rapier.

Alexian Armour

SPLURT

"Huh?" Feeling more shock than pain, Adonis kicked Lutz in the jaw; propelling him a hundred meters away.

BAM

"Haa!" Maxwell plummeted towards Adonis with his hammer held high.

Using the same arm that continuously oozed blood, Adonis blocked Maxwell's hammer.

CRACK

Sensing the sudden surge of mana, Maxwell cautiously leapt backwards.

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Using lightning magic, Luna generated a large net of electricity.

Lightning magic: Shock Mesh

CRACKLE CRACKLE

Unable to match the overwhelming speed of the lightning, Adonis experienced a seething shock that spread to every inch of his body.

"AHHHHHH!" Adonis's knees buckled as he was forced to the ground by the intense pain.

"Argh..." To prevent any attacks in his moment of weakness, Adonis created a layer of ivory flames that eradicated all that it touched.

Inferno magic: Hell shroud (matter variation)

Now familiar with the spell's nature, all those nearby leapt backwards.

"That hurt..." He whispered.

"You're all so strong." Still emanating the ivory flame, Adonis gradually rose to his feet.

Adonis tilted his head toward the group of magic knights, directing his attention to a girl with stunning bronze skin and silky platinum hair.

'Amber Shine, arguably the most dangerous...Her Light magic is impossible to evade. When it comes to escaping damage from her my options are limited. I can't defend against the blinding spells she uses so I should just focus on the physical ones.'

'Option one and my safest is to continuously use Hell Shroud to destroy all the attacks that come my way, although effective it is incredibly inefficient.'

'Option two would be to rely on sensing the surging of her mana, analyzing where she aims her staff and dodging before she even casts the spell; although that would be possible in a one-on-one battle, trying that now would mean I'd have to focus on her constantly.

'Option three is a combination of the two, whenever I detect she'll be using a spell I'll have to instantly activate Hell shroud; this is doable because of the large difference in our casting speeds but it doesn't mean it's not without danger... I'll have to be accurate with my mana detection and make sure I have enough mana at all times.'

"I'll take the risk and go with option three."

'Jerald Cecil... Nothing more can be said about him than he's well-rounded, I should be cautious against him.' Adonis shifted his gaze to a boy whose long black hair covered his eyes, clad in undamaged chainmail.

'Now the princess...' Adonis stared at a girl with tied-up brown hair and captivating silver eyes.

'Her Imperial thunder arts are something to make note of, although they are inferior to my Supreme Devil arts. Her real strength lies in her troublesome Gravity magic, with the ability to change the circumstances of the entire battle. Although it's currently just a theory, I do have a way to nullify its effects.'

'Despite she is not a Rising Star yet, Flora is still someone to be feared. Although I can easily react to any of her arrows, she does hold the ability to shoot an attack that travels at the speed of sound... But that can just be handled the same way as Amber's light.' Adonis briefly glanced at the blonde girl with the large bow.

'Tarzy, the number one Rising Star is superior to me in just raw strength and durability; but this gap can be overcome by my martial arts and Earthly Aura. Another weakness he holds is a lack of speed and his limited range. ' He looked at the giant with long brown hair.

'Number two, Luna; is unable to fight as a team so she'll be as much pain to me as those she's fighting alongside, something I can use to my advantage. Her Star Magic will be a huge problem because of its versatility and its potential to eliminate me in one blow, but as long as I don't let her use any large spells and limit her to close-quarter combat I should be safe.' Adonis glanced at the girl with short two-toned hair and multiple piercings.

'Lutz has the best Earthly Aura control and mastery over his martial arts, but as long as I keep him at range or disarm him I can limit his usefulness by a lot.' Adonis frowned at the tall blonde young man with cyan eyes.

'Max can end me in one blow with his hammer if he times it correctly but he has problems with his self-confidence and overthinks a bit too much. I also believe he is hesitant to go all out because of the nature of our friendship.'

'Toni, alongside Luna, is a loose cannon with an incredibly destructive magic affinity; I shouldn't allow him to cast spells so freely.' Adonis acknowledged the commoner holding the large mace.

"You're all..." Satisfied with his plan of action, Adonis tightly gripped his injured shoulder and winced.

"Stronger than you thought?" Maxwell, a teenage boy with long black hair and big brown eyes smiled.

"Incredibly irritating..." Adonis corrected.

'The battle just started and I'm already injured, Lord Eos would be disappointed.' Adonis shook his head.

"Oh well, what's done is done." The flames that enveloped Adonis's body dissipated.

"Tell us when you're ready!" Luna grinned.

"Us? Who said I'll be fighting alongside you?" Tarzy snarled.

"Yeah, that sellout is all mine. I'm not sharing!" Toni pointed his mace at the injured magic knight before them.

"Sellout?" Adonis frowned.

"Whether you like it or not, we all have the same target... We'll at least have to try to be civil." Amber said.

"I agree. Once we beat him, then it's back to every man for himself." Irritated by his classmates' insistent bickering, Lutz arched his brows.

"Every man? Hmph, how sexist." Flora scoffed.

"..."

"..."

***

*Extra Information:

Although Light isn't necessarily matter; Adonis's Inferno Magic is still able to burn Amber's spells because the spells used were physical attacks.

Recap on magic affinities, martial arts and weapons:

Tarzy Goliath: Transformation magic; Unknown; Brass knuckles

Luna Triksta: Star magic; Triksta arts; Gladius

Amber Shine: Light magic; None; Magic staff

Lutz van Alexia: Gale magic; Alexian arts; Rapier

Jerald Cecil: Flame magic; None; Gladius

Marie Jupiter: Gravity magic; Imperial Thunder Arts; Gladius

Adonis P. Vindicta: Inferno magic; Supreme devil arts & Unknown; Gladius

Maxwell Aster: Metal magic; None; Hammer

Toni Modster: Lava magic; None; Mace

Flora Evergreen: Nature magic; None; Bow and arrow

(If a character is listed as "None" for martial arts, it doesn't mean they don't utilize any martial arts but rather they have no special martial techniques)