The Grand Festival (8)

I threw my racket aside.

Standing up, I stuck the ground with Zhonya's Staff.

The tip of Zhonya's Staff carved a clear ice crystal shape. It gradually grew in size until it was clearly marked on the ground.

Soon, a cold wind enveloped the area.

"…This is self-defense."

Three light-blue magic circles unfolded. At the same time, I began calculating the formula for the 6-star ice spell [Frost Wave].

This was to counter the Clover Paladin.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down my cheek.

I had no intention of getting hurt here. During the Grand Festival, I had to defeat Miya and the shadow demon in order to gain EXP.

"Student Isaac?!"

"Are you crazy?! Stop it!!"

"Didn't I tell you to calm down?!"

"If you don't stop right now, I will resort to force!"

Faculty members also deployed magic circles or drew their weapons.

However, they couldn't hide their nervousness, knowing Pierre and I were far stronger than them.

In fact, they were more like hindrances than actual combatants.

I gazed at Pierre with a faint smile on my lips.

"I told you to calm down, what do you think you're doing? Don't tell me I got you worked up?"

"…"

Pierre didn't respond. Thoughts of killing me ran rampant in his head.

Of course, he wasn't acting solely on impulse. There were rational judgments in his behavior as well.

The four Paladins suspected me of being the Nameless Hero.

It must be Alice who made them suspect me.

Thus, they usually hesitate to provoke me.

But if I tried to hide my power in front of the entire academy, I would inevitably fall prey to the Clover Paladin.

Comparing our mana, it was obvious who would win between Pierre and I in a fight. For me to win, I would be forced to unleash my "hidden power".

So, this was his judgment.

Suppose I was the Nameless Hero and, in this situation, I hid my power and ended up severely injured.

Even if I recovered through healing magic, I'd still be bedridden throughout the Grand Festival.

Being in the hospital would mean more eyes on me, restricting my movements.

Especially during the Grand Festival, when the shadow demon was expected to show up, the Nameless Hero would need to act. Alice and the four Paladins likely knew about this.

Using the hospital's eyes would be a great way to reveal my identity.

Yet, recovering at a dramatic rate and gaining freedom would also be problematic. It would deepen their suspicions.

And now, Pierre had found the perfect excuse to attack me.

He could say that his motive for attacking me had nothing to do with him being a Paladin. A motive that the entire academy would find plausible.

With the rumors of an informant in the academy circulating, such an excuse would be very handy.

In other words, he was willing to sacrifice himself to provide Alice with useful information.

So, assuming that a fight was inevitable, I conjured a magic circle.

"You're Senior Isaac, right…? I'll speak gently, so listen up."

Pierre stretched his arms out in front of him.

"I'm going to try to kill you. Try to dodge it."

After saying this, Pierre conjured a water elemental magic circle on the ground.

A large magic circle drew a trajectory. My feet were within the range of the magic circle.

'Bastard…'

There was no way I wouldn't recognize the form of this magic circle.

It was the 6-star water elemental magic [Flying Whale].

It was the spell that Luce had used during the end-of-semester evaluation in the first semester of our first year, devastating the surroundings. It was a magic where a mass of water in the shape of a whale bursts out, within which flows a powerful current strong enough to shatter buildings.

If I were caught in the [Flying Whale] conjured with his mana and rage, even someone like me would have to brace myself for death.

The only way to counter was to run away quickly or freeze the [Flying Whale] with a stronger power to prevent it from bursting out. But neither of those methods was accessible to me at the moment.

If I tried to run, he would immediately cast [Flying Whale].

And I didn't think my skills would be enough to freeze the water mana in that raging current.

"I'm warning you! Withdraw your magic circle immediately!!"

"Pierre! I told you to stop!!"

Several faculty members casted [Ice Spear], [Rock Avalanche], [Fireball] and deliberately missed Pierre. They were warning shots. For the administrative faculty who had just come to collect the disqualified students, that was the best they could do.

However, Pierre didn't care. He only found it annoying. He stared at me with lifeless eyes, focusing solely on me.

I unleashed the magic circle for the 6-star ice spell [Frost Wave].

I planned to counter [Flying Whale] to some extent with [Frost Wave] while pulling up rock pillars from the ground to escape.

The rock pillars would be shattered immediately, but by pulling up several all at once, I thought I could somehow manage to escape.'

I had no choice but to try, otherwise I'd die.

I focused.

As the blue magic circle emitted intense light from the ground, I activated my ice spell.

At that moment.

A crisp, clear sound rang through my ears.

An enormous amount of mana descended before me.

Whooong!

"Ahh!"

The ground gave way in an instant, and I lost my footing. I nearly fell but managed to maintain my balance by leaning on Zhonya's Staff.

Between Pierre and me, an unnaturally strong gravitational force seemed to have descended, preventing [Flying Whale] from fully manifesting.

At the same time, a thunderous roar filled the sky. Due to me putting my entire focus on Pierre, I hadn't noticed the dark clouds gathering in the clear sky. It was a thundercloud, and purple lightning split the sky.

Within the storm clouds, a silhouette of a giant black grouse appeared. The magic beast disappeared along with the thunder and lightning.

One after another, red winds rushed in like a typhoon. Countless sharp winds, like a blade, cut through the air.

Ching!

Surrounding Pierre, a myriad of colorful starlight magic circles unfurled, aiming at him from all directions. Encircled, he frowned and scanned his surroundings.

Three female students had gathered around him, their arms outstretched and their magic circles deployed.

"…"

Dorothy Heartnova, a student with light purple hair wearing a witch hat rode on the starlight magic. She remained silent.

"Who are you going to kill…?"

Luce Eltania, a girl with rose gold hair wrapped in purple lightning mana. Her lifeless, dull eyes and murderous voice were directed at Pierre.

"Kill who? What nonsense."

Kaya Astrea, with her green pigtail hair fluttering in the blood-red wind, tilted her head and let out a scornful laugh worthy of a villain.

Subsequently, some of the most powerful forces among the dispatched Imperial Knights, including some teachers with excellent combat abilities like Professor Philip Meltron, appeared all at once and surrounded Pierre. There were about ten of them.

They had all come to stop us before the situation escalated uncontrollably.

I was taken aback at first, but I was eventually in awe.

"Baby."

I felt a soft and plump touch on my back.

A gentle voice tickled my ear and I reflexively turned my back and saw a gold-haired girl.

Alice Carroll. There she was, closely behind me, lightly touching my arm.

She had her usual friendly smile on her face.

"Why don't you stop before you get yourself in more trouble?"

"Senior Alice…?"

With these guys here, not just me, but Pierre too, wouldn't have a chance to react.

As I withdrew my magic circle, Alice murmured in my ear with a melting voice, 'That's right, good boy.' Her soft hand smoothly slid down from my arm.

"Hey, Friend."

Hearing Dorothy's voice, I turned my head towards her.

Even though she was smiling, her voice was more subdued than usual. She wasn't talking to me but to Pierre.

The brim of her witch's hat casted a dark veil over her eyes. The air was heavy due to the oppressing mana emanating from her.

"Stop it. If you mess with that kid, I'm not sure what I'd do to you."

Pierre frowned and turned his gaze towards me.

Though it seemed like he was looking at me, he was actually making eye contact with Alice, who was hugging me from behind.

Alice was resting her chin on my shoulder. I couldn't see her expression, but it was probably not a good one.

Pierre sighed deeply, closed his eyes, and withdrew his magic circle.

Pierre's mana was Grade S. Causing trouble meant the academy would have no choice but to put him under special supervision.

Therefore, when Pierre acted unpredictably, the academy took immediate action.

There was no issue for Dorothy and Kaya to be here since they were officially involved in protecting the academy. I didn't know about Luce though.

Soon after, with his usual handsome smile, Pierre raised both of his hands in surrender.

"I'm sorry. I surrender. I lost my reason for a moment…"

[Wrathful Tail Strike!]

"Kugh!"

Bello, the small killer whale familiar, which had been summoned at some point, lashed its tail at the back of Pierre's head.

Thwack!

There was a dull thud as Pierre's head jerked forward from the impact.

That must have hurt.

[I don't know who you are, but if you mess with Isaac, this valiant killer whale, Bello, won't let you off easy!]

Bello shouted in the voice of a young boy.

He sure is reliable.

With earnest acting skills, Pierre looked at Bello and chuckled softly, 'Haha,' showing a kind smile. Now that his plan had failed, he knew better than to draw further attention to himself.

"Uh, oh, ugh…!"

Amy's panicked voice echoed throughout the academy.

"Yes! Somehow the situation has been resolved!! The disqualified players, Isaac and Pierre Flanche, please exit quietly!!"

Unable to let go of her enthusiasm for hosting, Amy shouted a warning in the midst of it all.

Pierre's wrists were handcuffed together after his rash behavior. They were special magic tools designed to disrupt mana circulation.

On the other hand, no action was taken against me. It was clear to anyone that I had only deployed magic circles to protect myself from Pierre.

Surrounded by faculty, we left the racetrack.