“I’ve heard that the Scarlet Witch was one of the Pillars of last year’s First Years,” Nicole said as he gave Ethan a side-long glance. “She must be good to have been personally chosen by a Professor of the Academy.”
The blue-haired boy pretended that he didn’t hear Nicole’s statement, and simply focused his attention on the two duelists in the center of the arena.
“Isn’t that First Year one of the pillars? I believe his name is Langston Kerr.”
“Isn’t that the noble family that holds great influence over the other nobles in Eastshire?”
“Indeed. It seems that he challenged one of the Pillars last year in order to redeem himself from failing the Initiation Ceremony.”
“What a feisty kid. Just because he is handsome, and his family is of noble standing, he thinks he can do anything he wants here in the Academy.”
“Is that jealousy I hear? I’m sure that if you had his qualifications, you’d probably do the same.”
Ethan listened to the chatter in his surroundings and understood a bit of what was happening. It seemed that Langson had taken the initiative to offend the Scarlet Witch, Garnet, forcing her to challenge Langston in a duel.
“Are duels here very common?” Ethan asked Nicole who seemed to be very knowledgeable about the rules of the Academy.
“Yes,” Nicole replied in a heartbeat. “Since using Magic to attack someone in the Academy is against the rules, they needed to find a proper avenue to settle disputes. Of course, the victor isn’t always the one who was in the right. Having duels in the Arena gives people the chance to duke it out with each other, without fearing punishment from the Academy.”
“What happens to the loser of the duel?” Chloe inquired.
Nicole didn’t answer right away. Instead she narrowed her eyes to look at the two combatants in the Arena.
“It really depends on the contract they made before starting this duel,” Nicole replied. “Usually, a Professor mediates, and acts as the referee of the match. Since the one that was offended is Garnet, she’ll probably ask Langston for some kind of compensation if he loses.”
“And, what if she is the one that loses?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t know,” Nicole replied. “But, in cases like this, it is the offender that will be the one compensating, instead of the offended.”
Ethan rubbed his chin as he pondered Langston’s motive for offending the Second Year Witch, who was known to have a quick temper.
‘Is it really just because he wants to get some fame?’ Ethan thought. ‘Being able to defeat a Second Year, who was also a pillar, would definitely show everyone that he is an exceptional Wizard. But, does it really have to be this way?’
What Ethan, and the others didn’t know was that Garnet was the daughter of a Baron.
Langston belonged to the Kerr Family, a Ducal Family, and Garnet’s family, the Estreas, was a member of an opposing faction.
Naturally, Langston wanted to humiliate the Second Year Witch, as well as send a message to the children of the nobility in the Academy that if they didn’t align themselves with his faction, they were his enemies.
This was very common in the Magical World because nobles prided themselves in being exceptional Wizards and Witches, which often led to conflicts with other nobles.
Suddenly, a middle-aged woman riding on a flying broom descended into the center of the Arena.
She was none other than Professor Ophelia.
“I will be the referee of this duel,” she declared. “The match will end if someone surrenders, loses consciousness, or is unable to continue the match. The safety mechanism of the Arena is now activated.
“As long as it is active, neither of you will die. Anyone who is about to receive a deadly blow will be automatically kicked out of the arena. Are both of you ready?”
Langston nodded before looking at his opponent with a mocking smile.
“I’ve always wanted to see how strong the previous Pillars of the First Years were,” Langston said as he pointed his wand at the red-headed lady in front of him. “Scarlet Witch, is it? After this match, you’ll just be called Scarlet B*tch.”
“Mr. Kerr, inappropriate words are not allowed here in the Academy,” Professor Ophelia stated. “Watch your words, or I will be forced to take disciplinary actions.”
“Understood, Professor,” Langston replied with a cheeky smile.
Garnet, whose patience had reached her limit, had also taken out her wand, and pointed it at the ground in front of her.
Seeing that both duelists were ready to fight, Professor Ophelia declared the start of the match.
“Start the Duel!” Professor Ophelia declared.
As soon as she gave the signal to attack, Langston immediately cast his magic with the intention to end the match as soon as possible.
“Tenebris Famma Anguis!”
Dark flames surged out in front of him, creating a fiery snake that lunged at Garnet with its jaws wide open.
The Scarlet Witch wasn’t fazed by Langston’s first attack, and simply slashed her wand sideways, using it like a sword.
Immediately, a blade made of flames, sliced the black snake in half, dispersing it completely.
“Chantless,” Nicole arched an eyebrow. “It seems that being a pillar of the previous year wasn’t just for show.”
Langston, whose spell had failed, raised his wand above his head, and unleashed his second offensive spell.
“Flamma Verberare!”
Several dark fireballs materialized in the air and shot towards the Scarlet Witch like cannonballs, making the spectators gasp in shock.
“He certainly has high magic power. I’ll give him that.”
“Although his control needs some work, this kind of output is enough to destroy a car.”
“The Scarlet Witch is in trouble now!”
However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Garnet slashed the fireballs with her wand, cutting them in half while they were still in mid-air, dispersing them completely.
“Are you done?” Garnet asked as her red eyes glowed faintly. “As expected of a Kerr. All talk and no bite.”
Langston gritted his teeth as gathered all of his magical power at the tip of his wand and unleashed his strongest attack.
“Try to slice this!” Langston roared. “Magna Fragor!”
A giant fireball that was nearly two meters big materialized in front of the blonde boy, who believed that his superior magic could overcome every hurdle in his path.
Since the magic of the Arena was activated, preventing anyone from dying, he decided to go all out and use his strongest skill to devastate his opponent.
For the first time since the match started, Garnet pointed her wand towards Langston and unleashed her own spell.
“Ignis Eversor,” Garnet chanted.
Immediately, a crimson fireball erupted from the tip of her wand and shot towards the giant black fireball that was headed in her direction.
Compared to the two-meter tall fireball that Langston had cast, the crimson fireball that Garnet had unleashed was only the size of a basketball ball.
Those who were watching had already deemed that the one who would win the battle was Langston, but as soon as the two fireballs collided, all of their assumptions were proven wrong.
For a brief moment, the giant black fireball absorbed the basketball-sized crimson fireball in its body. However, two seconds later, the giant fireball exploded, shocking everyone.
But, it didn’t end there. The crimson fireball remained intact and continued its trajectory towards the arrogant blonde boy who thought that he already had this duel in the bag.
A scream of disbelief and anger escaped Langston’s lips before he was ejected from the arena, preventing the crimson fireball from burning him to a crisp.
“Winner, Garnet Estrea!” Professor Ophelia declared before shifting her gaze towards the blonde teenager who was glaring hatefully at the red-headed Witch who stood in the arena. “Mr. Kerr, I hope that you will follow the agreement written on the contract. Failure to do so will result in your immediate expulsion from the Academy. Do I make myself clear?”
Langston gritted his teeth, but he had no choice but to nod his head. He was the one that provoked Garnet first, so the Academy wouldn’t sit idly if he didn’t honor the details of the duel’s contract.
Although the Kerr Family was an influential Ducal Family in the Magical World, they didn’t dare offend the backers of Brynhildr Academy, who could easily make them regret ever sending their son to study there.
‘Amazing…’ Ethan thought as he gazed at the Scarlet Witch, who had easily defeated Langston, whom many believed would be the winner of the match. ‘She’s so strong.’
As if sensing his gaze, Garnet glanced in Ethan’s direction and gave the blue-haired boy a curt nod before leaving the arena.
Chloe, who noticed that Ethan was staring hard at the departing Scarlet Witch, pinched his waist, making the latter cry out in pain and shock.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” Ethan asked as he rubbed his poor waist, which had suffered an injustice.
“You had a stupid look on your face, so I thought that someone cast a befuddle spell on you,” Chloe replied with a smile. “It seems that it was a false alarm.”
Ethan wanted to flick Chloe’s forehead so badly as a way to return her favor. However, after remembering that the pretty lady with light-brown hair was like a honey badger when provoked, he decided that it wasn’t worth it getting beaten up for something so stupid.
Besides, Chloe could cast Fire Bolts, while he couldn’t cast anything. Right now, he was at a great disadvantage, so he decided to be the bigger man and set aside his grudge for the time being. 𝐎𝑽𝐥xt.𝐂𝗈𝚖
“One day, I’ll get back at you, and it won’t end with just pinching your waist,” Ethan said, disgruntled.
“Oh, then what else are you planning to pinch?” Nicole asked in a teasing tone. “You’re not planning to pinch ‘those’ kinds of places, right?”
Ethan and Chloe blinked at the same time because they didn’t know what Nicole was talking about.
Seeing that her joke wasn’t understood by the two teenagers, Nicole simply shook her head and smiled.
‘It seems that these two are either ignorant or innocent,’ Nicole thought. ‘I guess I’ll hold back on teasing them for now.’
The pink-haired beauty then shifted her attention on the handsome blonde boy who had stormed off in the distance because of the embarrassment of losing in front of so many people.
‘Truly a pity,’ Nicole mused. ‘The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.’
As one of the Pillars of the First Years of the current school year, Nicole thought that she wouldn’t feel bored with people in the same age group as her.
But after seeing Langston’s lackluster performance, she hoped that there was someone among the First Years, who could give her a duel that she would never forget.
