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Chapter 108. Winning The Battle But Losing The Match

Jeremiah has wings and is flying in the sky.

To put it simply, I have no idea what’s going on, but it’s happening right in front of me. Even though he has wings, his body’s balance hasn’t changed, so how is he flying? And why does he even have wings in the first place? There’s a lot I want to say.

But for now, the thrust attack launched from above grazed my cheek.

"Can you dodge that? …I guess it’s the difference in initial speed."

"Hey, hey."

They say it’s the difference in initial speed, but Jeremiah’s rapier has a higher initial speed than mine.

My Verethlagna has a longer blade than a typical sword, so it tends to be a wide swing… but that’s not the point.

If the rapier Jeremiah is holding were [Michael], it would have been bad. That rapier fires beams and can’t be dodged.

"If I wasn’t seeing it for the first time, I’d probably be countered weirdly, so I’ll fight properly on the ground."

"Really?"

Well, considering the disadvantages of being dragged down in aerial combat, it makes sense.

Especially since our strengths are relatively balanced, a single mistake can turn the match around completely.

The fight with Jeremiah feels like a battle of who will make the first mistake.

Neither of us can fully commit to attacking… we’re both narrowly avoiding each other’s strikes, so unless one of us slips up, it seems like we can’t take each other down.

"Then how about we try this next?"

"Sorry, I just want to finish this quickly."

"Huh?"

I don’t dislike fighting this guy that much, but if I really enjoy it, it’ll drag on too long, and I won’t get to the main topic about Ash and Nina’s Grimoires.

The moment Jeremiah tried to activate his magic, I stepped forward with my right foot and activated my magic.

I froze the ground around me, using my right foot as the base, restricting Jeremiah's movements.

Jeremiah immediately infused his weapon with fire and melted the ice, but that window of opportunity was enough.

"W-What did you throw!?"

I have a fair amount of confidence in my swordplay, but honestly, I don’t have the confidence to face someone like Jeremiah head-on and break through.

Therefore, I do what a normal magic knight wouldn’t. It creates openings.

I wrapped magic around my Verethlagna and threw it, enveloping my body in lightning.

This was a temporary boost in physical ability inspired by Liester's Grimoire, [Remiel].

If overused, it can lead to a bit of muscle soreness, but for a few seconds, it’s not a problem.

"Even faster!?"

"Hah!"

The instant I turned my gaze to the thrown Verethlagna, I circled behind him with lightning speed and swung the wind like a blade.

Though it lacks power… the invisible dagger is convenient for surprise attacks.

A gust of wind stabbed into Jeremiah's side, not knowing the reach of the blade I was holding.

Naturally, Jeremiah isn’t weak enough to let something like that stop him, so I quickly create distance.

If it were a normal opponent, I could just press the attack… but where I had been standing just a moment ago, a giant ice spear had emerged.

"…I might have underestimated your magical talent."

"Really? I’m glad to be praised regarding magic… but not so much about the sword."

Jeremiah was holding his side with a faint smile, but while speaking, he calmly healed the wound at his side.

"What should we do? …If we keep going like this, it might really get out of hand."

"…Are you satisfied if we end it here?"

"Of course not."

I thought so.

I was just starting to get… fired up.

Fire-producing magic, wind-slicing magic, ice spear-throwing magic, water dragon crashing magic, beam-firing magic, rock-fist slamming magic…

A multitude of spells were flying back and forth between Jeremiah and me.

Despite saying I wanted to finish quickly, it’s genuinely becoming fun.

As a magic knight student, I’ve taken various classes, but this is the first mock battle I’ve found this enjoyable.

"Ah… you really do love magic."

"Well, I’m always with a girl who holed herself up in a library thinking only about magic."

"Are you talking about me? You mean me, don’t you?"

Oh, there’s Elixira… I hadn’t been paying attention to my surroundings since I started fighting Jeremiah, but a fair number of people have gathered without me noticing.

"Now that I’m getting this much attention… I’m starting to feel like I should stop."

"Well, if you use any more powerful magic, the teachers will come flying over."

"Is there even more powerful magic than this? You don’t have to put on a brave front, you know?"

"Hahaha, should I show you?"

Alright, let’s take the bait of this pathetic provocation, huh?

"Do you know what happens if you compress magic to its limit?"

"…Hey, isn’t that…"

In simple terms, it causes an explosion.

"Haha!"

"That’s bound to have an incredible impact on the surroundings, right!?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll hold back a little!"

I calculated that if I didn’t hold back, it would explode with enough force to blow away the academy buildings, but with this, it’s expected to create a large crater in the training grounds, so it’s fine!

Seeing the magic glowing in my hand, Jeremiah had an unusually panicked expression.

Just that alone made it worth doing!

I won the battle but lost the match.

The outdoor training ground was obliterated by the explosion I unleashed, and the teachers were furious with me.

Ash, Nina, Elixira, and Vanessa, who had somehow become the judges, unanimously decided I had committed a foul.

Though Jeremiah insisted he lost, well… I can’t deny that I feel I’m at fault.

"Haah… you’re more of a monster than I thought."

"If I could use my Grimoire, I would have won in a much cooler way."

"That’s true for me too, you know?"

Well… that’s the case.

"I had an excuse that watching the fight might give me some insight about Grimoires, but thinking logically, you can’t learn anything from a fight without using a Grimoire."

"Really? In the end, a Grimoire consumes magic, so fundamentally it’s the same, right?"

"Not even close."

I use it with exactly the same sense… but I wonder if that’s because I have two souls.

"But regarding the magic humans use, I’ve learned a lot. So… I’ll give some advice to both of you from that perspective."

"Really? That’s helpful… Nina is unbelievably terrible at magic."

"Huh? I’m good at it!"

She’s still at the point of just being able to breathe fire, and yet she says that.