Crack—!

A fierce surge of sparks.

A flash of light.

High-voltage currents filled the view with white, tangling together before erupting into an explosion.

A blinding glare surged forward.

It was like watching a lightning strike.

“Damn.”

He narrowly ducked to avoid it.

The missed strike embedded itself into the floor.

A deafening roar followed soon after.

Boom—!

The sheer power shook the arena.

He had narrowly avoided getting caught in the shock.

Even if it seemed like a mere glancing hit, the voltage was enough to knock out any ordinary student.

Yuda steadied himself calmly.

“As expected, not an easy opponent.”

He muttered as if annoyed.

It had been ten minutes since the battle began.

The duel was fierce.

While brushing off the soot that clung to his fingers, someone emerged from the thick smoke.

A boy with a relaxed expression.

“You’ve been dodging all this time. It’s quite impressive how you slither around like a snake.”

A leisurely taunt.

Ian was smiling.

Electric currents sparked in both his hands.

As he charged his magic again, he pointed a finger toward Yuda and spoke.

It was a clear provocation.

“I didn’t think you’d struggle this much, did you?”

“Heh... who knows.”

Yuda shrugged.

“I haven’t been struggling.”

“Isn’t it obvious just by watching you avoid a head-on fight? If you’re confident, stop dodging and face me.”

“Consider it a strategy.”

“What strategy... All you’ve been doing is dodging desperately.”

Perhaps due to accumulated resentment.

He pushed Yuda unnecessarily hard.

It seemed Ian enjoyed this moment of control.

He feigned confidence.

“Even if they call you a genius among freshmen, you’re still just a kid.”

He still remembered the disbelief when he received Yuda’s challenge.

A mere first-year upstart daring to look down on him.

He wanted to crush him on the spot.

But—

“I’m a patient person.”

He endured for the sake of perfect revenge.

If you want to crush someone, you destroy them so thoroughly they can never rise again.

Ian had spent the past few days analyzing Yuda.

“Yuda Snakes.”

A boy with exceptional talent.

Top scores in magic, swordsmanship, academics... but there was one area where he truly excelled.

Illusion magic.

“But—”

Ian had found the weak point.

“No matter how great your illusions are, what good are they if I don’t play along?”

Magic could be dodged.

Of course, evading mental magic wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

It was possible only because it was Ian.

At the academy, he was known for his speed, ranking among the fastest.

Especially when he cloaked himself in current, he could match the speed of professors, if only briefly.

In short, an extreme counter.

“Let’s see if you can keep up with my speed.”

Speed combined with brutal power.

For Yuda, it was the worst match-up.

“......”

The golden snake remained silent.

Like he was deep in thought, the boy stood unmoving.

Ian assumed he was paralyzed by fear.

His lips, filled with arrogance, curled into a mocking grin.

“Looks like you’re starting to understand your situation?”

Crackle—!

Ian discharged his sparks and leaped forward.

A streak of lightning shot out.

“......!”

The snake, who had stood blankly, finally moved his sword.

A blade forged of shadows.

It met the flashing light, deflecting the trajectory just enough.

Even so, it left the weapon battered and chipped.

Clang—!

The shattered blackness fell behind as Yuda drew a new sword.

Ian charged forward, giving no quarter.

The two clashed with full force.

The arena rang with the sound of their fierce confrontation.

Clang! Crackle! Shatter—!

It was a deadlock.

Light and shadow tore into each other relentlessly.

The exchange was so fast it was hard to follow with the eye.

“Ugh...!”

But, it was clear the snake was tiring.

Though Yuda held his own against Ian’s speed, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being gradually overpowered.

Even blocking the onslaught of currents was overwhelming.

“Hah... Hah...!”

It seemed the outcome was leaning toward a conclusion.

Ian stepped back to create distance and began chanting his final attack.

Dark clouds gathered over the arena.

“O sky of storms.”

It was his ultimate move.

“Strike without mercy.”

—Ian’s Arcane Thunder Technique—

‘Thunderfall’

The moment he finished speaking.

Thousands of bolts of lightning shot from the clouds.

Crackle—!

Lightning rained down like a storm.

Amid the web of cracks, bright flashes burst forth, obstructing vision.

The spectators covered their eyes instinctively.

Screech—!

As the ringing in their ears subsided, they opened their eyes to find Yuda kneeling on the ground.

The duel was over.

“......”

The boy couldn’t even utter a word, as if he’d been hit hard.

Ian circled him with a triumphant smirk.

The satisfaction of finally crushing him fueled his mocking words.

“See? You shouldn’t have acted cocky.”

“......”

“It’s too late for regrets. I expect your withdrawal as the price for this duel. Unless, of course, you’d rather beg on your knees all day.”

“Hah.”

“......?”

A sudden laugh.

Yuda was smiling.

“What’s so funny?”

Had the pain driven him mad?

Ian frowned, but then Yuda’s clear voice echoed in his ears.

It was unwavering.

“It’s funny. You never realized anything until the end.”

Despite the electric shocks he had just endured, how could he speak so casually?

Ian froze at the unexpected response.

“I-it was a direct hit! How are you...!”

“I’m honestly disappointed.”

“What nonsense are you talking now!”

“I thought you’d at least be a little suspicious.”

Yuda stood up leisurely, brushing off his knees.

Their eyes met.

Ian found himself involuntarily holding his breath.

“No matter how impressive illusion magic is, you said it’s useless if I don’t engage, right?”

“......”

“Well, here’s a question for you.”

Yuda’s eyes, usually half-closed, were wide open now.

Bleached white irises glowed.

“When did you start thinking... that I wasn’t using illusion magic?”

Crack, crackle—!

Suddenly, cracks formed in the air around them.

Like a shattered mirror.

The arena they stood in fragmented into countless pieces. An unbelievable sight.

Staring at Ian’s shocked face, Yuda whispered.

“Break.”

Snap—!

The world flipped back.

Snap—!

When Ian’s mind cleared, he found himself standing in the original arena.

Exactly where they first faced each other.

He hadn’t moved a single step.

“......?”

Everything around him seemed normal.

It felt like waking up from a dream.

He racked his mind, but nothing made sense.

His thoughts were blank.

“What... is this?”

It had all been illusion magic.

The intense battle, the push with lightning, even the victory.

All of it had taken place within an illusion.

In short—

He’d been toyed with.

“No way.”

In reality, nothing had happened.

It was hard to comprehend.

Ian tried to look around, but his body wouldn’t obey him.

It was as if he’d lost control of himself.

“Why... can’t I move?”

As he struggled to even move his lips, someone spoke from beside him.

Of course, it was the golden snake.

“Oh~ finally came to your senses?”

Yuda’s cheerful smile met him.

He placed an arm around Ian’s frozen shoulder, a sinister grin forming as he spoke.

Providing an answer to Ian’s unspoken question.

“You’re already under hypnosis.”

“H-hypnosis...?”

“Another use of illusion magic. You won’t be able to do anything until I release you.”

“Damn it, from the start... you were playing with me!”

“I was just being nice enough to humor you.”

“Shut up!”

Ian was enraged, unable to accept the reality.

Maybe it was the shock of being utterly crushed.

He looked like his mind was breaking.

But it was too soon to lose it completely.

“Don’t raise your voice like that, Ian Ternado.”

While Ian wandered lost in the illusion, Yuda had been thinking as well.

How to break this arrogant opponent in the most ruthless way.

Finally, an idea had come to him.

“There’s a stage waiting for you.”

“Wait. What are you planning—!”

Yuda snapped his fingers.

With that gesture, Ian’s body began to move, approaching the center of the arena step by step.

He found himself facing the audience.

“Let’s show them.”

The students’ eyes turned to Ian.

Yuda, enjoying himself, wore a knowing smile.

“Your passion.”

It didn’t take long to understand what that meant.

“......”

The students in the stands were silent.

No, rather, they looked like they had lost their words.

Every face was frozen.

<Aaaahhh!>

They stared coldly at the center of the arena.

<I beg you, stop!!>

There, a boy was screaming.

A sound filled with despair.

Ian Ternado, the one who had participated in this duel.

Once the arena was a place of fierce combat, now the boy was...

<I-I was wrong!>

Dancing wildly in the middle of it.

Performing an absurd, clumsy dance.

He shook his hips ridiculously, flipping off the spectators as he flailed.

He had been at it for over an hour.

<I'd rather surrender... mmph!!>

Every time he tried to voice surrender, his lips sealed shut.

The students just watched.

<Damn it!!!>

Ian Ternado.

Admired by

 many, called a genius and the elite of his class.

The crane that ruled the second year.

“......”

His honor shattered in an instant.

Even as he faced social death, Ian couldn’t stop his enthusiastic twerking.

A single tear rolled down his cheek.

“Haha.”

Only the mastermind behind it all smiled in this chaos.

As if dopamine had exploded.