Chapter 84: Chapter 84

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Boycott Uproar

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Seron Parmia.

At her appearance, Ban and I ceased our battle and simply stared at her.

"...Seron?"

When Ban called her name, Seron flinched.

"I-I'm not Seron?"

If she was going to hide, she should have done it properly.

That sparkling forehead above the mask was unmistakably Seron's.

"Seron, what are you doing right now?"

Then Lina, recognizing her as Seron, also shouted.

She was asking what on earth Seron thought she was doing, being on their side.

Seron looked even more flustered, but she bit her lip, clutching her two axes tightly.

"I don't know! Just fight me!"

Seron showed hostility towards Isabel's group.

"What's she talking about? Does she even know what's going on?"

Seeing this, Lina reacted with utter disbelief.

"She's not Seron, is she?"

At that moment, Ban imbued his sword with a chilling aura.

It was so menacing that even Seron flinched.

"Anyone who blocks my path is the same."

Ban expressed his intent to break through anyone.

But Seron didn't back down, raising her axes.

"...Just try me."

The honey badger, standing before the lion, bared its fearsome teeth.

For me, it was a rather absurd situation.

I hadn't expected Seron to suddenly appear.

'Had she been watching from somewhere all this time?'

From the looks of it, she seemed to have come out because she thought I was in danger.

I appreciated the sentiment, but this would only get Seron entangled with the Boycott group.

It was the moment I raised my hand to stop her.

"I, I came here of my own free will."

A firm resolve radiated from Seron's tightly pressed lips.

She had come here of her own free will.

Watching her back, I lowered my raised hand.

"Can you stop Ban?"

"Of course!"

Seron clashed her axes together, displaying her fighting spirit.

Good.

I'll leave Ban to her.

What remained was...

*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE—*

At that moment, flames began to rage around us.

My gaze fell upon the one wielding the flames.

The contractor of a Supreme Spirit, and the top-ranked student in Spiritology.

Beakiring Monem.

The Supreme Spirit of Fire she commanded manifested, beginning to spew flames.

The colossal spirit, resembling a giant lizard, flicked its tongue.

Even I, with my high resistance, could feel the heat.

Moreover, the Supreme Spirit's two eyes were fixed solely on me.

'Did it sense the Flame of Fire?'

I harbored the corpse of the Fire Spirit Lord within my body.

There was a high probability that the Supreme Spirit of Fire sensed something.

"I don't know what's going on, but..."

Beakiring gestured with her hand, as if she had waited long enough.

"With Sharin and Ring here, you're getting too cocky."

Sharin, standing next to Beakiring, glared at me with displeasure.

Then she sighed and slowly raised her staff.

"Senior Vikamen, this is going to sting a bit."

Sharin was here today at Isabel's request.

So she had no intention of going easy on me.

It was a situation where I had to fight a Supreme Spirit User and the top-ranked student in Sorcery.

Moreover, Isabel wouldn't just stand by and watch forever.

Just as I anticipated a grueling battle.

*WHOOSH!*

A gust of wind swept away the raging flames.

"Huh?"

A bewildered reaction came from Beakiring's side.

As she hurriedly looked up, a colossal jade-colored bird was descending from the sky.

The magnificent bird, large enough to inspire awe in human eyes, spread its transparent wings.

Each flap sent gusts of wind that shook everyone present.

"A-A Spirit Lord?"

Beakiring's voice was filled with shock.

The bird's true identity was none other than a Spirit Lord.

The spirit contracted to Poara Shilin.

*Thud!*

A boy, riding the wind, landed beside me.

"Ugh!"

He landed in a very awkward posture, then scrambled to stand upright.

He then adjusted the glasses he wore over his mask.

"S-Support has arrived!"

"Poara Shilin, why are you here?"

At Beakiring's question, Poara shook his head frantically with a flustered expression.

"I'm not Poara! I'm just a passing Spirit User!"

"What nonsense..."

Beakiring reacted with disbelief.

Then she frowned, as if asking if she was being made a fool of.

'It seems he came here sensing the spirit's power.'

I roughly guessed Poara's reason for being here.

He must have sensed the Supreme Spirit's power and came to fulfill his role as a member of the Boycott group.

"I-I'll stop the spirit."

Poara averted his gaze, speaking with effort, as if Beakiring's eyes were stinging him.

Good.

This made it quite manageable.

"As I said before."

I raised my fist towards Isabel's group.

"This area is off-limits to unauthorized personnel."

***

A thunderous roar echoed as the Supreme Spirit and the Spirit Lord clashed.

Caught in the unexpected disaster, the regular students were tossed about.

Amidst that chaos.

Seron and Ban charged, clashing and intertwining.

Seron's desperate combat arts had improved to a level that even surprised Ban.

Beyond the two of them, the light of magic painted the air.

Each time Sharin's light magic struck, the surroundings were utterly devastated.

It was practically a meteor shower.

*Thud!*

At that moment, Lina, Isabel's friend, emerged, piercing through the afterimage of light.

She skillfully tried to corner me with her swordsmanship.

But I had fought on equal terms with Ban.

My enhanced dynamic vision caught every place her sword tip aimed, allowing me to evade.

"How is a mage so fast?!"

Lina gasped, breathing heavily.

Sorry, but I'm not a mage.

I feinted by pulling my body back, then immediately lunged forward.

The distance between Lina and me closed in an instant.

Seizing Lina's moment of surprise, I threw a punch at her wrist.

*Thump!*

Explosion magic, activated from my elbow, propelled my fist forward.

*Crack!*

"Kyaak!"

Lina couldn't react in time and took a direct hit to the hand gripping her sword.

Seizing the moment her grip weakened, I channeled a faint electric current through the sword's blade.

As the current inherent in the Lightning Caller flowed from my hand, she flinched and dropped her sword.

She had seen what happened to Paladin Pasen earlier.

So she dropped it the moment she felt the current.

*Clang!*

I kicked the dropped sword with all my might.

With this, Lina was disarmed.

But Lina was never the main problem.

*Whoosh!*

Isabel appeared, piercing through the smoke where a light bullet had fallen.

Her crimson eyes narrowed into bestial slits.

Her sword lunged towards my neck in an instant.

This, I couldn't dodge.

I immediately raised my hands and swung.

*Clang!*

I parried with the edge of my hand, disappearing into the smoke with Isabel.

Amidst the hazy dust.

I quietly sharpened my senses.

As I held my breath, I saw Isabel's silhouette.

The sword pierced through the smoke before her silhouette.

*Clang! Clang!*

My hand, swung without hesitation, repeatedly clashed with the sword.

The sword's edge was alive.

'In terms of sharpness, it surpassed Ban's.'

I realized anew how much Isabel had trained during that time.

Come to think of it, this was my first time fighting Isabel like this.

To think the fight I had been putting off would happen here.

It just goes to show you never know what life has in store.

The moment I dodged another surging sword blade.

*Thump!*

I suddenly realized I had my back against a wall.

Ah, no.

I had focused too much on Isabel's sword tip and neglected my rear.

Just before another sword, extended, touched my chest.

I swung both hands simultaneously.

My fingers dug into the sword blade coming towards my chest.

A clever move I had used against Ban.

The Sword Breaker.

*CRUNCH!*

The moment Isabel's sword shattered.

I saw a flash of light from another direction.

Another sword was soaring there.

Isabel had abandoned her original sword and was wielding a new one.

The sword's source was Lina's sword, which I had knocked away a moment ago.

'She saw through me.'

Isabel had anticipated this, having seen me use Sword Breaker against Ban last time.

That's why she had intended to discard her original sword and wield Lina's from the start.

I saw Isabel's crimson eyes.

She was someone who would stop at nothing to truly defeat me.

Unconsciously, I found myself smiling.

That's right, that's how a main heroine should be.

Magic engravings on my back, pressed against the wall, burst with light.

Isabel realized this, but it was already too late.

*CRASH!*

With a thunderous roar, the entire wall collapsed.

"You!"

I heard Isabel's voice, but I quickly rolled backward.

Then I pushed off the ground and dashed away.

I had bought enough time anyway.

That was sufficient.

I gripped the Lightning Caller in my hand.

Then I released the maximum amount of Professor Barkio's remaining lightning.

Magic Engraving: Lightning Catcher

Gripping the black lightning, I unhesitatingly hurled it towards Ban and Seron.

Ban, who was swinging his sword at Seron, felt it and pulled back.

"Kyaak!?"

Seron also pulled back in surprise, and I reached out and snatched her by the waist.

"Kyaak!"

This time, Seron screamed for a different reason.

Holding the scarlet-faced Seron, I shouted.

"Poara, retreat!"

"Oh, y-yes!"

Poara stopped fighting Beakiring and retreated.

"Stop right there! After leaving Ring in such a state!"

Beakiring shouted at the fleeing Poara, but she couldn't bring herself to chase.

Even for a Supreme Spirit contractor, there was nothing she could do against a Spirit Lord.

Beakiring ground her teeth furiously, looking disheveled.

Poara was likely going to suffer quite a bit later.

As I ran, I saw Sharin in the distance.

She was glaring at me with a slightly displeased look.

Her face seemed to say, "If this was going to happen, you could have at least told me."

I'd have to apologize to her later too.

For now, it was the thirty-six stratagems: run away!

***

After running for a long time, Isabel's group no longer pursued us.

Even if not Isabel, their main goal was to mediate the Boycott group causing chaos in the academy.

There was no reason for them to specifically follow me.

After successfully shaking them off and hiding in a building, I gasped for breath.

Even after all the hellish stamina training with Aisha, I had gone wild like this.

Even I couldn't help but feel exhausted.

*CRASH, BANG!*

In the meantime, I could still see the Student Council members and the Boycott members battling it out.

They were quite far away, but everyone was fighting desperately.

"Ah."

Then, Seron let out a sound.

Having forgotten about Seron, I set her down.

Seron was gazing at the window with wavering eyes, not at me.

"Seron?"

When I called her name, puzzled, Seron bit her lip tightly.

"Prince, no, Senior Vikamen."

So, she finally knew my name.

Amidst that chaos, Vikamen's name had been shouted countless times.

There was no way she couldn't know my name now.

As I forced a wry smile, Seron bowed her head.

"This, it's because of Senior Nikita, isn't it?"

Vikamen liked Nikita.

Because of that, he had acted out against Lucas, crossed the line, and ended up expelled.

Even if Seron didn't know my face, she must have heard the story somewhere.

This was akin to a heartbreak for Seron.

"It's okay. I would have done the same."

Seron said in a somewhat wistful voice.

Seeing Seron's faint, tear-stained smile, I found myself speechless.

"But this is as far as I can help."

Seron's eyes were still fixed on the window outside.

"I have a friend who's close to me, even if she's a bit clumsy, and she's on the Student Council."

I belatedly realized what Seron had spotted outside the window.

Hania, in the guise of Hanon, was there.

"I can't betray my friend any further. She's my only precious friend, even so."

Seron said, smiling faintly.

"Even if she is a bit rotten."

My fists clenched tightly.

Seron then turned her body.

"That day, thanks to Senior Vikamen, I realized I wasn't entirely unhappy."

She spoke with earnest honesty.

"Thank you."

With that, Seron left.

Staring blankly at her retreating back, I bit my lip hard.

I had lost love because of the Veil Bandage.

But I could truly understand the meaning of friendship that Seron showed me.

I was Seron's friend.

This was true now, and it would be true in the future.

How long was I going to keep deceiving her?

With this misunderstanding lingering, could I truly reveal my real self to Seron?

My gut told me.

This was the only chance.

"Battered Tomato!"

This was, by all accounts, an impulsive act on my part.

I was an outsider in this world.

Yet, even for an outsider like me, Seron genuinely considered me a friend.

But even if it was impulsive, it was fine.

I wanted to clear the air in this suffocating world, just once.

So I stretched a wide smile across my face.

As I called out the nickname I had given Seron before, I pressed the Veil Bandage.

Beneath the moonlight streaming through the window.

My appearance instantly shifted to Hanon.

I wore the pendant that Seron had seen before.

The pendant Seron had mistakenly believed I gave to Vikamen.

I clutched it tightly and held it above my head.

"Oh?"

Seron, who had turned back, belatedly let out a flustered sound.

Her eyes were wide, as if she couldn't comprehend the situation.

I grinned wryly at her, still looking a bit dazed.

"Let's talk again tomorrow."

With that, I quickly made my escape.

I didn't know, but I just went for it.

I'll leave the resolution to tomorrow's me.

Today, I'm counting on you. Tomorrow's me, please handle it.

[Act 4, Chapter 1 'Boycott Uproar' concludes.]