Chapter 185
Fwoooosh—
Fiora flapped her wings and soared into the air.
Snapping out of his shock at the phoenix’s sudden appearance, Rhys regained his focus and raised his [Aura].
Fwoooosh—!
The same fire emanating from Fiora ignited along Rhys’s sword.
“Fiora.”
Cheep!
“Go wild—do whatever you want.”
Chirp chirp!
Delighted by Leo’s words, Fiora flapped rapidly and shot even higher into the sky.
Fwoosh—!
The intensity of her flames surged even further.
Leo continued to draw out her potential using his [Spirit Power].
Thud—!
Fiora, high in the air, suddenly stopped mid-flight.
Then—BOOM—!
She plummeted toward Rhys at terrifying speed.
WOOOOOOH—!
Her descent distorted the air around her, the heat so intense that space itself seemed warped.
‘Stay calm.’
Rhys readied his stance as he stared at her.
‘No matter how impressive a phoenix is, she’s still young. This overwhelming strength must be Leo drawing out her latent potential.’
After years of competing for the class representative title with Ulta, Rhys knew how much [Spirit Power] it took to maintain a high-grade summoned beast’s full strength.
Fwoooosh—!
Chirp!
BOOOOOOM—!
Fiora flapped her wings hard, and a massive wave of fire engulfed the arena.
Rhys defended with his sword and looked up at Fiora, now rising back into the sky.
“This isn’t something you can just hold off anymore.”
He glanced at his cousin with a look of disbelief.
Meanwhile, the crowd was in uproar.
“No way!”
“A phoenix?! A phoenix?! He’s just a first-year!”
“First-year or not, that’s not the point! Could you make a pact with one of the three Great Beasts just by being older?!”
Even upperclassmen were screaming in shock, not just the first-years.
The Summoning Department’s reaction was the most extreme.
Even the professors were in disbelief—except for one.
“YES! Finally, you’ve summoned the Phoenix!”
Professor Yura leapt from her seat, shouting with glee.
This was the moment she had waited for.
Leo summoning the phoenix in front of everyone!
‘No one can deny now that Leo belongs to the Summoning Department!’
Just as Yura was celebrating—
“Sit down. You’re being disruptive.”
Professor Ain frowned, managing to keep his composure.
Yura looked down at him, smug.
“See that, Ain? This is why Leo belongs in the Summoning Department!”
“Sure, the phoenix is impressive. But do you think it’s easy to overwhelm Rhys with martial skill?”
“The phoenix is more impressive.”
“My, my. You two again?”
Len approached, shaking his head.
“Leo is in the Magic Department. His Bible—it’s a miracle among miracles for any mage. A groundbreaking spell, a marvel on par with the Star Magic crafted by the Founder of the Nebula. And now you think you can claim him just because he summoned a phoenix and knows a bit of martial arts? Have you no shame?”
As the three argued, their assistant professors—Clariana, Carro, and Anna—looked on in visible discomfort.
“Knights.”
“Summoning, I said!”
“Magic!”
As the shouting continued, Professor Harrid, watching from a corner of the arena, spoke to Sena beside him.
“Sena. Bring those three idiots to me, now.”
Sena hurried off and returned with the three professors, who were soon kneeling with their hands raised before Harrid.
Without even glancing at them, Harrid stared at Leo, now in the arena.
Even the stoic Harrid looked exhausted by his student’s absurdity.
‘Just where is this kid’s limit?’
—
Rhys let out a hollow laugh as he watched Fiora hovering overhead.
“A pact with a phoenix… I never imagined.”
He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
In Lumene’s entire history, had any first-year ever made a pact with one of the three Great Beasts?
As far as Rhys knew, Leo was the only one.
He gazed at Fiora in awe.
The phoenix—the very source of the Zerdinger family’s power.
For Rhys, seeing her stirred something deep within.
Sensing his gaze, Fiora raised her head proudly.
Cheep—!
And cried out in the most dignified voice she could muster.
Of course, to Rhys, it still sounded like a chirping chick.
“I heard the phoenix’s cry was supposed to be majestic…”
“It is. But she’s still a chick, so she chirps.”
Annoyed by the word ‘chick,’ Fiora pecked at Leo’s head.
Ignoring her, Leo spoke up.
“Shall we get serious now?”
“So that last attack wasn’t serious?”
“Rhys, you’re such a drama queen.”
“Heh.”
Leo was right.
Despite all the overwhelming firepower, Rhys’s clothes weren’t even singed.
He had nullified the Phoenix Flame entirely.
‘Even summoning Fiora won’t let me beat Rhys.’
Right now, Leo’s strength only allowed him to reach parity with Rhys.
Just as Rhys had guessed, Leo was nearing his limit in sustaining Fiora’s enhanced form.
‘And if Rhys targets me now, it’s over.’
Fiora was purely offensive.
Leo did possess contracts with the fairy and the pegasus—two of the other Great Beasts.
But summoning Fiora alone was already pushing his limits.
Summoning Kirran or Ahti wasn’t an option right now.
Even if he could, they weren’t cards he could reveal so easily.
‘I can’t expose any more.’
All of Tartaros’s spies within Lumene had already been purged.
But information still gets out.
Leo was already on Tartaros’s watchlist.
Only a few people within the academy even knew he had a contract with the Phoenix.
Tartaros might suspect it, but they didn’t know.
However, no one knew about Kirran or Ahti.
‘Can’t let them find out.’
Right now, the only cards he could show were Fiora—whose existence was already known—and Elci, whose identity was known only to Leo and perhaps the Necromancer King.
Meanwhile, Rhys studied Leo cautiously.
‘This won’t be easy.’
He knew the phoenix was still young.
And being young meant limited power, even for a Great Beast.
But Leo left no openings.
Someone with a time limit should’ve been rushing.
But Leo was calm.
Maybe the moment he summoned Fiora, he had already proven himself worthy of the presidency.
‘But if that were it, he wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble of dueling me in front of everyone.’
He could’ve simply announced the pact with the phoenix publicly.
‘Leo is trying to defeat me. For real.’
That was the feeling Rhys got.
And Leo’s strength was threatening.
‘Hah. What a terrifying little cousin.’
Rhys let out a soft laugh.
Of course, he had no intention of conceding.
‘This comes down to how much power Leo can draw from the phoenix.’
If the battle dragged on, Rhys would surely win.
But—
Thud!
Rhys raised his sword and aimed it at Leo.
A first-year was trying to defeat him with everything he had.
‘Wouldn’t look good if a fifth-year avoided a head-on fight.’
Rhys curled his lips into a grin.
Fwooooosh—!
Scarlet flame swirled around his body.
The Zerdinger family’s secret technique:
[Prominence].
Fwoosh—
Flames surged around Rhys’s blade.
He raised it high.
WOOOOOOOH—!
Unlike Celia’s [Prominence], his was not a thrust.
‘If hers was a thrust, this is a slash.’
Watching this, Leo spoke.
“Fiora, get ready.”
Cheep!
With that, flames began to condense around Fiora’s body.
Rhys’s eyes widened.
‘Prominence?’
It was the same crimson [Aura] as his.
But Leo enveloped Fiora with that very [Aura].
Her innate flames intensified, fusing with the new power.
“Interesting.”
Thud!
CRACK—!
As Leo gripped his sword with both hands, the flames around him blazed even hotter.
Fiora tucked her wings in.
FWOOSH—!
From above, Leo swung his sword downward.
A massive blade of flame swept toward Rhys and Fiora.
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
Fiora spread her wings wide.
The flaming wings from both sides clashed directly with the incoming blade.
BOOOOOOOM—!
A world of red flame erupted.
“Urgh!”
“That’s just the aftermath?!”
Flames burst from the arena and reached the spectator stands.
Of course, the students and professors of Lumene easily blocked the fire.
But the fact that the blast broke through the arena’s shield was staggering.
The flames dissipated.
Pop!
Fiora reverted with a puff of smoke and crashed to the ground.
Thud—roll roll!
Cheep! Cheep!
Tumbling across the floor, she flapped angrily.
Rhys’s eyes twitched as he looked at Leo.
“You’re… still standing?”
A shadowy veil surrounded Leo, the form indistinct.
A pitch-black fog completely obscured him.
‘…A spirit?’
Rhys narrowed his eyes.
Then—
Sssssss—
The darkness stirred and slipped into Leo’s shadow.
‘He took that blast head-on and didn’t fall. What a monster.’
Even as a flame [Aura] user, surviving a clash of such heat and force was absurd.
If not for Elci, drawn out with the last of his [Spirit Power], Leo wouldn’t be standing.
‘My [Aura] and [Mana] are completely depleted. All I have left is [Spirit Power]. But not enough to draw out Fiora again.’
Fiora looked up at Leo, wanting to continue—but it was her limit.
Elci, bound to Leo, could only fight with the power Leo had left.
‘What spirit is that? Definitely [Dark]-attribute.’
Rhys kept a wary eye on Leo’s shadow.
Leo had exceeded expectations again and again during this duel.
‘I can’t assume he has limits.’
Rhys tightened his grip on his sword.
Just then—
FWOOSH—!
“…!”
Leo’s shadow surged toward Rhys.
CRASH—!
Rhys deflected the blade of shadow with a swing of his sword.
‘[Spirit Armored]?’
A high-level spirit technique—binding a spirit to the body as armor.
And Leo had just used it.
‘Even his spirit techniques are at this level?’
Maybe there truly was nothing Leo couldn’t do.
If anyone deserved the title of All-Class, it was him.
Leo raised his hand.
WOOOOOOOH—!
Darkness flared around him.
As Rhys adjusted his grip—
CRACK—!
His sword fractured.
Both froze.
Snap!
It shattered completely.
“Hm.”
Rhys let out a short sigh.
“Guess I’ve still got a long way to go.”
The sword he’d used today was his training blade.
Of course, as the heir to Zerdinger, even his practice sword was of fine quality.
But it wasn’t meant for actual combat.
So it wasn’t strange that it couldn’t withstand his immense [Aura].
Of course, someone like Rhys didn’t need a sword to keep fighting.
But this wasn’t real combat—it was a sparring evaluation.
In a duel, losing your weapon was considered a loss.
Smacking his lips, Rhys gave a wry smile.
“I lost, Leo.”
Gasps of disbelief rippled across the arena.
Leo dismissed Elci and picked up Fiora, placing her on his shoulder.
“This result… doesn’t quite sit right with me.”
“A win is still a win.”
Rhys stepped forward and patted Leo on the shoulder.
“You’re more than qualified to be student council president. And you proved that yourself.”
He smiled.
“Take care of Lumene in my place, Leo.”