Eps 254 Another Sky (4)
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As the accumulation rate of Ataraxia exceeded 50%, the students began to complain of pain, unable to withstand the heat radiating from their bracelets.
Mark also asked Amy, twirling the bracelet around.
"Senior! Is this really safe?"
Amy was also sweating profusely.
To be honest, she wasn't sure. Even when the most talented seniors engaged in fierce magic battles, the bracelets had never heated up to this extent. It was clear that Heaven’s Trial was unable to process the massive amount of information from Ataraxia.
“I don’t know either. It might explode, so be careful."
"W- What...?"
Still, Amy's gaze was fixed on Heaven’s Trial. Even if the bracelet were to explode, her determination to witness the outcome was unwavering.
Then Mark also followed his senior's example and stopped worrying. What were a few burns in the presence of a clash between the century's greatest geniuses?
At that moment, surprisingly, Dante released Automaton. If things continued this way, Shirone’s magic circle would be completed, and the delicate balance of power would collapse.
Iruki was purely amazed.
“Excellent choice. He even read the channel of the battle.”
It’s hard to abandon a well-thought-out strategy. People watching from the outside may have all sorts of opinions, but the inertia of a person staking everything in battle is not easily swayed.
Yet, Dante broke through that.
Knowing that being swept up in the flow of the opponent is the most fatal thing in battle, he ventured once again into the unknown. This decision alone proved that Dante was indeed a genius.
'Fuck! There's no way I'm losing after coming this far!'
Dante transformed his Spirit Zone into sniper mode. A hundred amplified magic circles stretched out in a straight line in front of him.
A high-precision serial magic formation—Hundred Swords. (초정밀 직렬 마법진 백도.)
The magic circles rotated around an imaginary line, tightening inwards.
In this sleek serial structure designed solely for power amplification, there was no room for even a 1-millimeter error.
With Automaton released, Shirone was able to focus on Ataraxia. Yet, he felt despair creeping in.
If things had gone as planned, victory would have been his. But once again, Dante introduced a new variable.
‘You're incredible, Dante. Well, I would have done the same...’
Now, it was a race to see who could complete their magic circle first.
Dante's Hundred Swords had a much shorter activation time than Ataraxia, but Shirone had already accumulated more than 70% of the required information through his time division technique.
A smile crept onto Dante’s face. Even though hundreds of magic circles had disappeared, Pascal remained fully functional.
“This is the difference between you and me.”
Shirone looked down, realizing what he had overlooked. At some point, a spatial teleportation magic circle had been inscribed beneath his feet.
Shirone's body sank into the ground, then appeared from the sky and fell head-first in the exact same spot.
“Damn it! He had a trick like that!”
Nade slammed his fist down in frustration. Even while constructing Hundred Swords, Dante could still attack as much as he want.
Of course, this was only hindsight from a spectator’s perspective, but to win, Shirone should have paid closer attention.
Iruki sighed in resignation. Shirone had shown incredible skill, but Dante had one more small advantage up his sleeve.
“It was a good battle. I have to admit that.”
Nade shook his fist in anger. It wasn't that he hated Dante himself, it was that he hated Dante's perfection.
“That guy. He deliberately chose teleportation magic.”
“Heaven’s Trial registers a hit when faced with active magic. Shirone might have been able to withstand an offensive magic. That’s why Dante went for a physical strike. It’s probably the best defense in the kingdom.”
Meanwhile, Dante's Hundred Swords was completed. At the start of the amplification tunnel, he mounted a Fire Strike.
Dante, who had regained his confident, said with a smile.
“This is the end...!”
His words were abruptly cut off.
Curious, the students followed Dante’s gaze. Their eyes widened in shock.
Even though Shirone had lost consciousness, Ataraxia was still hovering in place.
Ping.
A single drop of information fell into the halo.
Ping. Ping-ping.
One more drop. And then two more.
Ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping!
Suddenly, a flood of light began pouring into the halo at an overwhelming speed.
The rotation of the halo sped up even more, and the multicolored light filled the halo to the point where it was no longer visible to the naked eye.
Olivia jumped to her feet in disbelief.
“No way! The information is imagining itself!”
Alpheas was just as astonished. However, for those who knew the nature of Shirone's Ataraxia, such a phenomenon was inevitable.
“This isn’t human logic. Once it surpasses the critical point, the information system enters a stage where it thinks for itself. That’s why it’s called magic of the heavens, isn’t it?”
Olivia asked back with a bewildered expression.
“Magic of the heavens? What are you talking about?”
Alpheas held back further explanation. Though Olivia would eventually understand after the battle ended, at that moment, heaven wasn't the most important thing.
“We’ve finally reached the destination. This is where the match will be decided.”
As if telling her not to miss the good view, Alpheas pointed to Heaven’s Trial with his chin, and Olivia also turned her head.
Shirone, who had regained consciousness, slowly stood up. With his head lowered, a flash of light burst forth, birthing the photon of Photon Cannon—one shot created with the last of his mental strength.
“Dammit!”
Dante barely held back a scream as he fired his Fire Strike. The flaming spear of air broke through the magic circle, growing in size as it advanced.
At that moment, the magic circle in front of Shirone was completed.
The supreme power amplification circle: Ataraxia.
Shirone watched as Fire Strike, amplified by Hundred Path, surged toward him. And in response, he fired Photon Cannon directly at the heart of the flames.
The sight of the photon passing through Ataraxia appeared in slow motion to everyone.
And then, the moment it crossed the threshold.
Flash!
The entire world filled with light.
Everything beyond Ataraxia was swept away by a massive storm of gravitational force.
The flash reached people’s consciousness only a little slower, and as if the very skin of space was being peeled back, the wrinkles of the air were exposed, pushing everything away.
Ching! Ching! Ching! Ching!
At the same time, a series of glass-shattering sounds echoed from where the students were gathered. The overload in information processing caused all the crystals in the bracelets to burst. Heaven’s Trial stopped functioning, and the simulated landscape disappeared.
Like a dream on a midsummer night, the spectacle disappeared, leaving only the dry, physical blocks in view.
No one spoke.
They were too consumed by thoughts of the magic they had just witnessed to think of anything else. Even the teachers had never seen such large-scale magic before.
Everyone's eyes focused on Shirone and Dante.
The students murmured in awe, seeing the two still standing in the exact same positions as at the start.
The fact that Dante hadn't collapsed was a surprise.
Shirone's magic had been so powerful that no one should have been able to withstand it. The sheer amount of information had overwhelmed Heaven’s Trial’s memory. If this had been a real battle, Dante might have been obliterated without a trace.
But this was Heaven’s Trial, and Dante was still standing.
Even with a 50% synchronization rate, if anti-magic had been activated, he should have already passed out.
Maybe Heaven’s Trial system went down before the shock set in. If so, determining a clear winner might seem a bit forced.
Considering this was a student duel on school grounds, the teachers might conclude the match as a beautiful draw.
But that wasn't what Shirone's friends, or the students who had been watching the battle so far, wanted.
Shirone and Dante had fought a match that would go down in history.
Though it might seem selfish, the students present wanted their memories of this battle to have a definite conclusion.
Shirone, panting heavily, glared at Dante. With Heaven’s Trial gone, there was nothing left to do but watch, but truthfully, Shirone was too exhausted to do anything other than breathe.
“Haha...”
Dante let out a hollow laugh. But he, too, was so fatigued that he could barely speak. He tried to take a step, but after only a few, he stopped.
From his slightly parted lips, a strained voice escaped.
“You…”
At that moment, blood poured out of Dante's nose. His eyes gradually lost their focus, and like a great tree falling, he collapsed to the ground in the same standing position.
Iruki’s trembling voice broke the silence.
“It hit him. The anti-magic activated just before the system shut down.”
Iruki's voice was soft, but it spread among the students like telepathy, connecting mind to mind.
“He lost, right? Dante lost, didn’t he?”
“I think so? Dante… that Dante lost.”
At that moment, it was as if the students had fallen into a collective trance. They all stood up and erupted into cheers. The sound waves from their voices mixed, causing the air in the hall to vibrate powerfully.
“Shirone won! Shirone beat the kingdom's greatest, Dante!”
Mark, whose mind had been floating somewhere far off, finally snapped back to reality. As the students' shouts filled his ears, his tension melted away, replaced by a flood of emotions pounding at his chest.
It was the moment Shirone ascended as the kingdom's new greatest star.
“Ahhh! Senior Shirone won! Now everyone knows who’s the best, right? Huh? Come on, who else wants to challenge him? Anyone?”
Mark was as excited as if he had won. Dante's friends were sitting right next to him with cold expressions, but Mark's adrenaline rush had long erased any trivial thoughts from his mind.
In a daze, Killain muttered under her breath.
“My god… Dante…”
It was an unbelievable result. But Dante, face down in the cold physical blocks, was undeniable proof.
473 wins, 472 victories.
And one loss.
It was Dante’s first experience of defeat since he entered the world of magic, marking the end of a ten-year undefeated streak.
Olivia remained in her seat with a calm expression, buried in the shouts of students coming from all directions.
She was worried about Dante, but for now, she had to maintain neutrality.
Sienna checked on Dante and signaled that he was okay. Only then did Olivia let out a small sigh.
'So Dante lost.'
She had never doubted Dante’s victory. Yet, strangely, now that he had been defeated, she felt no emotional disturbance.
Perhaps because it still didn’t feel real, or maybe because the battle had been so exceptional that she couldn’t help but accept the result.
'I have to acknowledge it. Dante gave everything he had. Shirone was just stronger. That’s all. But....'
The magic Shirone cast at the end—what on earth was it? Judging by its nature, it was clearly Shirone’s specialty, Photon Cannon.
But Olivia was certain that it wasn’t just Photon Cannon.
Even for her, a specialist in Word Magic, unleashing such destructive power would have required significant effort. No, even putting aside the power, the problem was the amplification power that went beyond common sense. To elevate a student-level Photon Cannon to the power of an archmage was something even she couldn’t do.
Olivia looked back at Alpheas. As expected, he didn't say anything, so it was clear that he had known from the beginning.
Was his excitement about the duel with Dante because he wanted to witness the miracle that had a small chance of happening? Like a boy rubbing his hands in anticipation before an exciting new toy.
'You're like a cunning snake. You've completely tricked me, haven't you?'
Olivia ground her teeth in frustration, but Alpheas wasn’t grinning as she had expected. Instead, he remained quiet, lost in thought for a long time.
'Was it this powerful?'
The supreme power amplification circle: Ataraxia.
He had expected something like this after hearing tales of Shirone’s exploits, but seeing it firsthand was far different from hearing about it.
Above all, it was a match organized by Kingdom’s Teachers Association. A special correspondent came and even brought a video recording device.
With this, it was inevitable that the royal family would take notice.
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