The Academy's Competition (XIV)

Meanwhile, outside the arena, a stunning woman with long purple hair and her signature purple witch hat gazed intently at the big screen.

Her light blue eyes were fixed on the silver-haired young man.

"Aestrea... he released his Aura, huh," she muttered to herself, her brow furrowing in concern as she bit her lip.

"That guy... didn't I tell him that if he kept his Aura sealed, the attacks wouldn't come so frequently? Why did he choose to unleash it now?"

She brought her hand to her mouth, biting her nails in anxiety.

"Especially since his Aura contains two of the strongest dispositions... and his personality... it's going to change under its influence."

Her gaze remained locked on Aestrea's figure, noting how his expression had shifted from his casual smile to something colder and more intense.

"He's not even smiling while fighting anymore..." she whispered, clutching her witch's hat tightly, her heart heavy with concern.

Then, she looked down at her legs, where a small piece of paper with Aestrea's name marked on it could be seen.

There, a particular detail stood out.

『 Danger: World Destroying Level. 』

"This little guy has an incredible affinity for both Mana and Aura; he truly is a monster. However, there's still Lucas, the hero of our era."

She tapped her legs lightly, her expression thoughtful.

As the strongest mage, she could easily pry to wherever she wanted, so it was no surprise that she knew about Lucas's true identity.

"As soon as Lucas gets the holy sword, his power should skyrocket. Then, Aestrea won't stand a chance against him, even with his incredible talent."

A smile crept onto her lips as she imagined the scene of Aestrea being defeated by Lucas.

"Ah~... that scene~..." she sighed dreamily, her cheeks flushing with excitement.

"At that moment, he won't have any choice but to come to me~" she let out a giggle, clutching her witch hat happily.

If one saw her face in that state, they would their jaw dropped.

After all...

Eleonora, the strongest mage in the world and the headmistress of the Eternum Royal Academy was blushing deeply at the thought of a student.

.....

Taking a step forward, Aestrea's silver mana began to convulse around him, sending clumps of dirt and debris flying into the air.

At the four remaining students, his eyes immediately focused on Iris, the only supporter of their team.

"Gah!" Iris gasped, jumping back in shock as Aestrea's icy eyes bore into her.

Without hesitation, Lucas stepped in front of Iris.

"Demon Slaying Sword Art..."

『 Devastation Sword! (✦ Advanced-level Swordsmanship (A) ✦) 』

Lucas knew that the weakest move of his technique wouldn't do much damage to Aestrea, so he decided to use the second one directly.

In that instant, Dark flames erupted from his body, swirling around him and forming a massive vortex that crackled with intensity.

Then, he dashed towards Aestrea and swung his sword with all his might.

CLANG!

Their swords collided, and the dark flames clung to Aestrea's blade, trying to consume his silver mana.

But to Lucas's shock, the flames didn't eat his silver mana; instead, they began to freeze, transforming into a layer of ice that coated Aestrea's sword.

Lucas's eyes widened in disbelief.

His dark flames had always devoured everything in their path, but they couldn't touch Aestrea's mana.

Slip!

At that moment, Lucas's sword slipped into the ground, piercing it, and before he could react, Aestrea pressed the palm of his hand into Lucas's chest.

"NO!"

His face contorted in shock as he remembered the past scene of Aestrea doing the same thing to Leon.

But just as Aestrea was about to strike, a massive golden light flashed before his eyes.

『 Royal Swordsmanship: Heavenly Strike! (✦ SS-level Swordsmanship ✦) 』

Immediately, his instincts kicked in, and Aestrea pushed Lucas back slightly, raising his sword to block the incoming attack.

CLANG!

Their swords met with a deafening crash, sparks flying as Aestrea's feet sank into the ground from the force of the impact.

BAM!

And as the golden light flickered, sending a shockwave that created a small crater beneath Aestrea, the ground cracking and splintering with each passing second.

Taking the opportunity, Iris buffed both Lucas and Ella, making Lucas's flames flare back to life, as his sword was now enveloped in dark flames once more.

"Demon Slaying Sword Art..."

『 Breaking the Sky! (✦ A+ level Swordsmanship ✦) 』

The third move of his technique!

Now, the dark flames had a faint blue tint as Lucas swung them in Aestrea's direction.

Suddenly, a massive force surged toward Aestrea, and Ella seized the opportunity to use Aestrea's blocking sword to jump on it, and leap away from there.

THRRRUUUM!

The attack came on his way, creating an incoming fissure on the ground.

Seeing this, Aestrea's stance shifted slightly, as he bent down his lower body...

"Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art..."

『 Third Move! (✦ Moonlight's One Flash ✦) 』

As the enormous cyclone of dark flames charged at him, Aestrea's body vanished from sight, and a silver line sliced through the air.

Shing!

In that instant, the silhouette of the moon emerged in the sky, illuminating Aestrea's form as he reappeared behind the incoming attack.

Hissss!

The dark flames dissipated, being cleanly cut in half.

"Ahh... that was a difficult one."

For the first time, Aestrea spoke, as he waved his right arm slightly, feeling the mana vessel convulse slightly.

It had broken, and now he couldn't use his right arm if he wanted to avoid injuries.

Looking ahead, he noticed the shocked expressions of the small group.

It was no surprise, given that Lucas's attack had been incredibly powerful, even capable of dealing great damage to a named demon beast.

Though it might appear that Aestrea came out from the attack unscathed, that wasn't entirely the truth.

He had expended a significant amount of mana using the third move of his sword art.

Additionally, he had broken the mana vessel, which was supposed to last for a day or so, even with the use of his third move.

But suddenly...

Beep!

The five of them got teleported out of the practical dungeon.

"Huh?" Aestrea muttered confused.

And he wasn't the only one.

Iris, Ella, and Lucas were equally confused.

Before they could gather their thoughts, the announcer's voice boomed over the arena.

"Aestrea, the leader of Silverleaf Academy, has been disqualified for using an unauthorized artificial mana vessel!"

Gasps rippled through the crowd, and Aestrea's heart sank.

"Because of that, Silverleaf Academy is deemed last in the competition and declared the weakest academy once again!"

"And of course, the Eternum Royal Academy is declared the strongest academy for the tenth consecutive year!"

"WHAT?!"

The crowd erupted in outrage and disbelief.

"An artificial mana vessel? Did Aestrea get injured and have to use that?"

"But how is it unauthorized? Did he get it on the black market or something?"

The crowd started whispering to each other.

This whole situation came as a shock, and Aestrea froze, shock coursing through him.

Immediately, the students from Eternum Royal Academy began to celebrate, their cheers ringing in his ears.

Ella's group was quickly surrounded by their classmates, who hoisted them into the air, showering them with compliments and cheers.

As for the Silverleaf Academy, the students gathered around Aestrea...

"It's okay; next year, we can still win!"

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Aestrea!"

The students tried to cheer him, even Mia pressed her gigantic breasts against his back as she whispered softly in his ear.

"Don't worry about it~, I'll give you a reward for still arriving in time. Even though we lost, everyone knows you're the strongest here, which means our academy is the strongest."

However, to her words, Aestrea remained silent, clenching his fists deeply.

His wounds still had blood, and Mia had dirtied her clothes with blood, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

"Aestrea..." Vivian whispered his name in a soft voice.

She was the only one who seemed to know how Aestrea was feeling.

All his hard work, training, and everything...

For him to be disqualified.

And knowing Aestrea, Vivian was sure that the artificial mana vessel wasn't from the black market, and was probably made by himself.

"Hah..."

He let out a bitter scoff, pushing his hair back into a messy slicked-back style, strands falling over his forehead and eyes.

"Unauthorized artificial mana vessel?" His voice was sequentially amplified by mana as he uttered those words.

"Who are you kidding?"

In a sudden burst of anger, he drew his sword and traced a deep line across his right arm.

"A-Aestrea!"

His classmates called out, but he signaled them to stop.

Then, he continued to cut into his skin until the line was deep and wide, blood gushing out and dripping to the ground. 

Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the broken mana vessel and snapped his fingers with his left hand, conjuring a massive screen in the air.

The image of the mana vessel appeared, along with his full name written across it.

It meant that the mana vessel had been created by him, therefore, it wasn't unauthorized since he was the one who created it.

At that moment, the crowd's complaints only got louder.

"SEEE! I KNEW IT, AESTREA WOULDN'T CHEAT LIKE THAT!"

"YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT! REDO THE MATCH!"

"REDO! REDO!"

A cold sweat trickled down the announcer's forehead as he glanced nervously at the emperor, who was watching with a stern expression.

Then, the Emperor stood up, his voice booming over the crowd.

"Even though the mana vessel was created by you, it's still considered an unfair advantage, making you lose the round regardless."

"Or do you have an opinion against me...?"

The moment those words left his lips, a crushing pressure descended upon Aestrea, forcing him to his knees.

"Ugh!"

He coughed, blood spilling from his mouth, and splattering onto the ground.

"Aestrea!"

His classmates shouted his name in worry but decided not to act to avoid being targeted by the emperor.

They knew that Aestrea wouldn't like them getting hurt.

"Haah..."

In response to the Emperor's words, Aestrea only seemed to let out a small laugh, as he formulated a small plan in mind.

He had a way to make sure that the Emperor couldn't act against him.

So, he took the liberty to say his real thoughts.

"Do you even know what a Mana Vessel is for?"

A smile formed on his lips as he directly insulted the Emperor.