What’s Ilya doing? All she’s been doing is standing in front of the pillar while consuming bone after bone. I hope she knows how many barrels of hot chocolate those are worth! Because I don’t. But she won’t scam me, right? “Go, Ilya number one! You can do it.”

Oh, she’s doing the same thing as Daniel did. Her mana’s hovering behind her like a completed spell. She’s trying to stack them on top of each other, but why does she have to use so many bones? Speaking of bones…, didn’t the man in the sky say the pillar was made of a legendary beast’s bones? Could I … absorb it? Hm. Hmm. Hmmmmm. I’ll try it when it’s my turn!

Whoa, Ilya’s completed another spell. My skin’s actually feeling a little tingly from all the mana in the air. This feels a little like Daniel’s attack, but how? Daniel was a seventh circle magician who stacked three spells while Ilya’s weaker and only stacked two. Even I can do some simple math and realize something’s not right. Mm, well, at least there’s this barrier that the man in the sky created to protect the onlookers. Oh, it’s a third spell! She’s still making more?

Four…, five…, six…, seven…, eight…, what comes after eight again? Oh, right. I only forgot for a brief moment! Nine…, ten…, ten and one…, ten and two…, ten and three…. Is it just me or does Ilya look like she’s bloating a little around the waist? And her veins are bulging a lot; I’m pretty sure that’s not normal. How many spells is she at now? I lost count.

Crack.

What was that? There’s a scratch in the air…. The barrier? Before I could check, Ilya’s voice boomed in my ears. “Before the earth, before the sky, before the world…, there existed chaos!”

Ah! Who turned off the sun!? And my armor of slaughter is automatically activating, which means I’m being attacked? So the barrier really broke. …Is Ilya going to be okay in there? I’m not sure how I’d survive without someone as convenient as Ilya hanging around. Who else would I get to explain random things for me?

“This feeling is familiar,” Durandal muttered from mini-DalDal. “But I’m not sure why. Chaos magic? I’ll remember it.”

“What do you mean?” Hey, Durandal. You can’t just say something cryptic and foreshadowing like that and then disappear without a sound. “Hey. Hey. Durandal. Hey. Are you ignoring me?” Ever since I became stronger than him, Durandal turned super boring. Durandal’s just not Durandal if he can’t express his sadistic side. Not that I want him to! I’m not a masochist, alright? Ah! That reminds me! I’m supposed to be giving him the cold shoulder for throwing me out of that carriage. Right, that’s why we weren’t talking to each other much. Mhm. Every relationship has its problems.

The sun turned back on! Ilya looks completely fine! Everyone else is on the ground groaning and clutching themselves! Oh, that’s not something I should be rejoicing over, huh? “Ten centimeters,” the man in the sky said, ignoring everyone except for Ilya. “Very, very impressive. Are you alright?”

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“I’m … fine,” Ilya said while gasping. “That … felt great!”

“You’re Ilya Pentorn, correct?” the man in the sky rubbed his chin and asked. “I think it’s safe to say you’ll be in first place for this part of the competition. Though using that mana consumable items may have been a bit excessive.”

Ilya shook her head. “I’m not going to be first,” she said. Eh? Who could beat that score? It’s already three times greater than Daniel’s! “She is.” Ilya pointed at me. Oh, right.

The man in the sky stared at me. What kind of expression was that? I’m not something you should be gawking at. “Her?” the man asked and looked at Ilya. “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” Ilya said and nodded. “If bones had a nemesis, it would be her.”

“Interesting,” the man in the sky said and looked at me again. “Then show me what you can do, nemesis of bones.”

Don’t give me a weird nickname! I’ll show you what I can do! “Step aside, Ilya! The main character’s here to steal the spotlight!” Ilya rolled her eyes at me. “And don’t forget you owe me hot chocolate.”

“I won’t, thanks,” Ilya said and patted my shoulder before standing off to the side next to Ilya number two. Did the barrier only break on the side with all the people who’ve still yet to go? Well, it sucks to be them! …Disregard the fact that I was on that side too.

Okay, first, let’s see if I can carve anything on this bone. Don’t fail me now, mini-DalDal. Here we go…. And nope. “Hey, Durandal. Why can’t I cut this thing?”

“You forgot to use your qi.”

Oh. Right. I shouldn’t have given that bone of focus to Ilya. It was my last one. Well, hopefully I can carve one out of this pillar. “Unrelenting path of slaughter: Continuous Breaking Blades in a Specific Pattern!” It’s working! The engraving’s being carved; although it looks a bit crude, but that’s okay. A few more slashes and … it’s done! “Finishing hit! Unrelenting path of slaughter: Palm Strike That’s Not a Disguise to Absorb Things!”

And just like that, the pillar completely dissolved into nothing. The plane fell silent. That’s right; I’m awesome! Be amazed!

“What did you do!?” the man in the sky shouted. “Zero! Zero distance!”

“Eh!? No way!” It totally moved while I was slashing it! “It moved! It totally moved!”

“Negative! Negative ten thousand meters!” the man in the sky shouted. “Last place!”

Fight me! “If you didn’t want your pillar to be destroyed, you shouldn’t have asked everyone to hit it!”

“Wait!” Ilya said. “Don’t do anything just yet, Lucia. There’s still a chance for first place in the coming rounds. Calm down!”

I’m perfectly fucking calm! Don’t tell me what to do!

“Don’t fight,” Ilya number two said. “This is a peaceful place. Grandmother wouldn’t want you two to fight here.”

The man in the sky, or should I call him the man on the ground, snorted. Another black pillar appeared beside him. It looked about four times bigger than the last one. “Previously, you did a combination of attacks. You were only allowed to do one. By the rules, I should disqualify you. But, being the magnanimous man that I am, I’ll give you a second chance. One attack.”

“That’s the way,” Ilya number two said and nodded. “My grandmother would like this better.”

…One attack? It felt pretty light when I was swinging at it. Maybe I’ll just pick it up and throw it? Yeah, I’ll throw it at the man on the ground. This discriminatory bastard.

“What are you…, are you trying to…?” That was easy. I looked at the man on the ground. Target acquired! “What the hell…?”

“Catch!”