I got into school for nothing-239
I got into school for nothing (239)
Lesson 46. Union Founding Festival - 6
Cellon’s guess was accurate.
The moment Zenon declared the match open.
“Heed the will of the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas!”
As Ulrike Prominence spread her arms wide and shouted, a small lamp emerged from within her embrace.
The lamp, holding a dimly burning flame within, seemed to create a spherical barrier protecting Ulrike for an instant. The next moment, it shattered, transforming into a colossal crimson flame that engulfed her entire body.
“That crimson flame... could it be a fragment of a Constellation?!”
“To think they’d resort to such a method in a competition between students.”
The gallery was aghast.
Witnessing the sheer magnitude of power Ulrike had unleashed, it was understandable why the spectators were so terrified.
Recalling the time of the Orc Wave, Ban Yuwon calmly faced her.
Cellon’s gruff voice echoed in his mind.
[Right, I warned you, but you accepted the bet, so you must have something in mind, right?]
‘It’s a battle I can’t lose anyway. Usually, when I face something directly, a solution presents itself.’
[So, has a solution appeared?]
‘Maybe?’
The moment Cellon was about to retort to Ban Yuwon’s nonchalant reply, a thunderous crash—*KWAANG*!—reverberated through the air.
A colossal ice blade, which had seemingly materialized out of nowhere in the sky, was plummeting towards As Light, who parried it with his Holy Sword.
Not only that, but with every swing of the Holy Sword, multiple arrows of light radiated from its blade, flying towards Aire.
These were abilities he hadn’t seen before. They must have been kept hidden for today.
“Leave this side to me. I’ll melt him down nicely.”
Aire, noticing Ban Yuwon’s gaze, discharged her mana to erase the arrows of light, then created another ice spear and spoke.
Her words were incredibly reassuring, but As Light, her opponent, seemed to take offense.
“*You’re* the one who’s going to melt, Dragon—!”
“Silence.”
Dozens of ice spears simultaneously flew towards As Light, who had almost revealed Aire’s identity—an identity everyone already clearly suspected.
He somehow managed to block them all with the endlessly mana-generating Holy Sword before it was too late, but it seemed he no longer had the luxury of running his mouth.
“Guh—!”
With one swing, a barrier of light; with another, a wave of light.
As Light ignorantly unleashed the Holy Sword’s power to counter Aire’s raging torrent of magic, there was no trace of the martial arts he had learned from Dokgo Yeon over the past semester.
He had expected it—but the symptoms had worsened.
“Yep. He definitely needs re-education.”
As Aire spread her hands, a silver-blue orb, resembling the Eye of the Dragon, floated between them.
The orb emitted a brilliant light, fixing its gaze on As Light, and the next moment, materialized silver mana surged forth like a rampage, amplifying its power!
Not only did the temperature inside the arena, which had soared due to Ulrike summoning the Constellation’s power, drop in an instant, but Aire’s mana also materialized everywhere, beginning to weigh down the entire space.
Even Ban Yuwon, her ally, felt the pressure, so for anyone hostile to her, it would be difficult to even dare face her head-on!
‘Scary... As Light, survive!’
Terrified by this outburst of power, something usually only seen from a serious Dokgo Yeon, Ban Yuwon dismissed his concern for Aire and redirected his gaze to his own opponent.
There, Ulrike had, by now, transformed into an avatar of crimson flame.
“...Heh.”
Even while acknowledging Aire’s presence, which was nullifying the heat she had generated, a perfectly relaxed smile graced Ulrike’s lips.
“You seemed to have noticed that I possess a holy artifact of the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas. Why didn’t you stop me? The moment the lamp shattered, the outcome of this match was already decided, wasn’t it?”
“Ah, are you perhaps misunderst—.”
“As I thought, you harbored a secret liking for me, too.”
Yeah, I heard that earlier.
The guy on your team spouted the exact same nonsense, word for word!
These bastards are seriously dangerous.
It’s almost as if the Ten Great Families hold regular seminars to exchange incorrect information about people from lower-rank dimensions!
“There’s no need to try and deceive me. It’s obvious, isn’t it? After all, you successfully partnered with the being most beloved by frost in the academy, only to assign her to face that man.”
“She partnered with him because she wanted to fight As Light... No, never mind.”
If it's a delusion that won't be cured until a punch is thrown, then there's no choice but to deliver a gender-equalizing corrective punch.
My only worry is if it isn't cured even after getting hit... Well, in that case, there's nothing for it, I'll just have to leave the rest to my older sister.
“Shall we save the rest of our talk for later? For now, let’s just finish our match. ...[Stop].”
Huh? Ban Yuwon tilted his head.
Did she perhaps gain a time-stopping ability?
What was she planning to do by stopping time?!
Ban Yuwon, who had already seen through her, knowing she had no power to stop time as he constantly observed all the concepts she generated in real-time with his Giwon Sword, nonetheless activated the Authority of Gap, which he had obtained from a Constellation, splitting open a temporal rift, just in case.
Even if time truly stopped, he intended to slip into that gap, create his own personal time, and subdue Ulrike.
[No, it’s not time stop.]
Of course, time did not stop.
Narrowing the distance with Ulrike through the Gap he had created, Ban Yuwon heard Cellon’s explanation for the nonsense she had just uttered.
[It seems she’s trying to command you. Ah, is that wench... thinking that the Authority of the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas is mixed into your crimson flame?]
‘Huh.’
Pondering deeply, Ban Yuwon recalled Ulrike having told him that Prominence blood flowed within him.
At the time, he had simply taken it to mean she recognized his lineage from his mother, who had fled from Prominence with his older sister...
[Well, it’s true that you crushed the Orc Wave created by the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas, and used the crimson flame you obtained from it to awaken the crimson flame within you.]
‘Ah, so she noticed that. And...’
[She probably thinks you accepted a Constellation’s Authority. No wonder she was so overconfident.]
‘That was truly an unfortunate incident.’
But that was that, and this was this.
Within the infinitely stretched time, Ban Yuwon leapt through space, arriving directly in front of Ulrike, and swung the Executioner’s Longsword, wreathed in the power of Judgment, without hesitation.
The moment the blade met Ulrike, it clashed with the crimson flame engulfing her, releasing a horrific heat.
Ban Yuwon instantly felt the crimson flame turn its gaze towards him, imbued with will.
[I’ll devour you.]
“Hmm, as expected, you harbored a different intent than Ulrike.”
[All crimson flame is mine. You are mine too. Everything! Is mine!]
Even with the Gap's effective duration still remaining, the mere fact that it could clearly convey its intentions to Ban Yuwon was indeed worthy of being called a Constellation. However, seeing it open its maw and charge, roaring without any fragment of intellect, left Ban Yuwon dumbfounded.
Moreover, this bastard was descending upon the crimson flame again within this short moment.
Among the countless Constellations Ban Yuwon had encountered, wasn't this one, the most impatient and reckless, a perfect match for the Prominence family it sponsored?!
“And this is supposed to be a Constellation?”
[Constellations are just lucky brats who gained power! Yuwon, you learned my Starlight for times like this, didn't you?!]
“No, I don’t even need Starlight.”
Though he might fall short compared to his older sister, the true master of flame, Ban Yuwon, too, undeniably carried the blood of the Prominence family, and moreover, was an ability user who could ‘dominate’ crimson flame ‘without having contracted with or being sponsored by a Constellation.’
The being he now faced was a sinner who had committed an immeasurably great ‘sin’ against Ban Yuwon.
And at the same time—it was an enemy of high enough caliber for Ban Yuwon to commit ‘rebellion’ against.
[Activating the concepts of Judgment 280, Domination 120, and Rebellion 35.]
*Hwa-reuk*, a ruby-red, transparent crimson flame flared up above the blade of the longsword Ban Yuwon held.
High-level concepts suitable for the current situation were activated, amplified by Yugi, and exquisitely blended with the crimson flame by the Giwon Sword.
“—Ah?!”
It must have been because she unconsciously wasted energy while confronting the Constellation; as the Gap’s effective duration ended, Ulrike’s eyes widened, finally recognizing him.
She was blushing and reacting bashfully, for some unknown reason... Well, that wasn’t very important right now, so he’d just leave it.
[Give me mana. I shall devour your enemy.]
“Wha— No, wait!”
All the mana residing within Ulrike Prominence’s body was sucked into the avatar of the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas, born through the crimson flame as a medium, causing its size to grow.
Even after Ulrike, having completely lost control, fainted and collapsed, the flame did not vanish.
“A Constellation has descended!”
“It’s impossible! No matter that it’s the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas, to descend here, right in front of the Tower of Babel!”
“Why, just why...!”
A colossal wolf made of flame.
Towards the creature that opened its maw to swallow him whole, Ban Yuwon calmly thrust his longsword.
For the concept to add to this perfectly prepared god-slaying sword, the 'Pierce' he had learned from Dokgo Yeon would suffice.
“I’ll enjoy this.”
[I will enjoy this.]
Strangely, both their voices matched.
Each was convinced of their own victory—but of course, it was the wolf that vanished.
*Kwaduk*, with a fleshy tearing sound that shouldn't have been heard, the Executioner’s Longsword pierced the very center of the flame, instantly severing the connection between the avatar and the Constellation’s true body, annihilating most of it, and then dominating the remaining pure concepts, turning them into Ban Yuwon’s own.
[The Depth of Crimson Flame has reached 200, and the Depth of Constellation's Stigma has reached 160.]
“Good.”
Confirming that the Depth of Crimson Flame had instantly increased by 80, Ban Yuwon retracted his sword with a satisfied smile.
Just as splendidly as it had flared up, the flame vanished to nothingness, clearing the view. Ban Yuwon stood detachedly in his spot, a stark contrast to Ulrike, who lay unconscious and collapsed.
“An avatar, so easily...”
“It’s an Authority. I’ve seen it a few times on the Rebellion channel. An Authority that counters Constellations.”
“An Authority that counters Constellations... No wonder the Chancellor coddles him so much.”
“If he’s a talent of that caliber...”
Just as shocking as the card Ulrike had played, Ban Yuwon, who resolved it in a single strike, also caused a huge stir.
However, this level of attention was now commonplace for Ban Yuwon; receiving even more gazes than when he faced Ortima, he calmly turned his head to find Aire, who must be fighting As Light.
And there, an Ice Dragon stood.
As Light, having over-extracted the Holy Sword’s power to the point where he looked nothing more than light taking human form, was being slowly encircled and constricted by the Ice Dragon with Aire on its back!
“Hey.”
You said you’d hide your identity!
“I’ll make you realize. A Dragon isn’t so weak as to be crushed and disappear by such a foolish sword!”
You said you’d hide it!
“Shut up...! Shut up! I’m not a Dragon! I’m... not!”
However, seeing Aire recklessly rampaging, and As Light clutching his head in agony as if his middle-school-syndrome dark history notebook had been exposed while dealing with her, Ban Yuwon realized he had to do something immediately. It was then, as he moved towards them—
[No... you *are* a Dragon.]
The Holy Sword’s light subsided slightly.
In its place, the necklace around As Light’s neck pulsed with fierce brilliance.
[We are, Dragons.]
A colossal burst of energy.
The moment Ban Yuwon, sensing something ominous, was about to activate Gap again and charge forward, the necklace shattered.
Fragments of light, each containing immense energy, had been dwelling within it and burst forth, struggling to push each other away, before finally being absorbed into As Light’s body.
“Oh, no.”
It was then, as he rushed past the seemingly startled Aire, who appeared to be caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events, and charged towards As Light—
—I will help you.
A curtain fell over the world.
In that space, isolated from the audience, from the academy, from the world itself, only Ban Yuwon and As Light remained.
*Kkambak*, feeling the light flicker, Ban Yuwon raised his head.
A colossal eye gazed down upon them.
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