Chapter 328
“What’s happening? What?”
“A tidal wave?”
“Oh my goodness…!”
Gasps of shock erupted from the audience.
Responding to the scene, commentator Runba shouted excitedly.
—“Aaaah! A tidal wave! Leo Plov just created a tidal wave using Spirit Arts! Has he lost his mind?!”
—“What did you just say, Runba Tess?”
—“Ack! P-Professor Harrid… I mean, that was just—urk—!”
Runba’s broadcast was abruptly cut off as he knelt on the ground, bowing deeply. Professor Harrid glared down at him coldly.
Hearing the broadcast, Hark let out a dry laugh.
“Don’t tell me he made a contract with the Great Spirit of Water?”
“He didn’t,” Lil explained quickly. “If he had, he wouldn’t have needed to draw on the waters of Lake Lumeria to create a tidal wave. The Great Spirit of Water could have simply created the water itself.”
“Then it’s not that impressive after all.”
“It’s ‘very’ impressive! In fact, it’s even harder than contracting the Great Spirit of Water!”
Lil clenched her fists, her hands trembling with excitement.
“He temporaLily formed contracts with ‘countless’ water spirits in Lake Lumeria all at once to raise the tidal wave! That’s an extraordinary feat of Spirit Arts! Ahh! I’d give anything to sit down with Leo right now and discuss Spirit Magic in detail!”
“Our dear Lil is getting all worked up,” Elena said with a gentle smile.
“He’s changed the battlefield completely… What could he be planning, going through all that trouble?” Aina asked, her eyes fixed on the screen.
Hark answered with a bored tone.
“He probably wants to summon a spirit beast that thrives in a waterlogged battlefield.”
“A spirit beast that’s powerful in water… Could it be a Pegasus?!” Lil exclaimed excitedly.
“Do you think one of the Three Great Spirit Beasts is a pet dog?” Hark muttered, shaking his head.
Flash—! Boom—!
A blinding bolt of white lightning struck.
When the light faded, the creature known as the Pure-White Illusion appeared.
Hark’s jaw dropped.
Elena twirled her hair with a smile.
“At this point… I’d say Leo Plov is practically a nightmare for the second-years.”
—
Bubble, bubble, bubble—!
Carr flailed desperately in the water.
In front of him appeared Eliza’s familiars—Delphinus and Luri.
“Pii—”
Carr flapped his arms wildly when he saw Delphinus.
“Pii—!”
Delphinus bit the hem of his robe and dragged him upward.
“Pwah! Th-thanks.”
At his words, Delphinus let out a cheerful cry and dove back underwater.
Barely reaching the surface, Carr used magic to lift himself into the air and looked up.
There, he saw Leo riding atop a pure-white horse—and laughed helplessly.
‘…He really summoned a Pegasus.’
When Carr first heard that Leo had summoned a fairy, he’d already suspected that Leo might have contracts with all Three Great Spirit Beasts.
It should’ve been impossible.
‘But Leo always breaks the rules of what’s possible.’
He’d planned his strategy assuming the worst of the worst.
‘He changed the entire battlefield to his advantage.’
Carr knew well that Leo wasn’t limited by terrain.
Whether on land, over water, or in the sky—Leo could always fight at full strength.
The ones affected by terrain were Chloe and Chen Xia, as well as the other dorm students attacking Glory’s base.
Carr turned toward the Glory stronghold.
‘The base assault is over.’
The moment the battlefield turned into an ocean, Harmony and Noble lost their ground advantage.
Of course, some students were strong in aquatic combat, and others could adapt well.
But those specializing in land battles would now struggle greatly.
Glory, on the other hand, still held the advantage of their fortress wall.
And on top of that…
‘Celia and Duran.’
Their advantage in elemental matchup against Chloe and Chen Xia had completely flipped.
In a water battlefield, ice mage Chloe and water-Aura wielder Chen Xia held the upper hand.
Celia’s power would be halved underwater.
And Chloe now had an endless source of “water” to freeze at will.
Not to mention, Chen Xia was one of the strongest second-years in aquatic combat.
‘He orchestrated all of this on his own.’
There was no other word for it but extraordinary.
‘Amazing, Leo.’
He’d always acted as though limits didn’t exist.
And every time, he’d accomplished the impossible.
Carr’s eyes gleamed.
‘That’s why… we prepared for this!’
—
Celia let out a hollow laugh as she looked around the water-covered battlefield.
She had a pretty good guess who was responsible.
“Really… he’s my cousin, but this is too much.”
Every time she managed to get closer, he widened the gap again.
Just when she’d rekindled her flame, it was about to be snuffed out once more.
Whoooosh—
Celia gripped [Flame Storm] tightly.
The sword, its blade once more straight and true, pulsed with heat.
‘Still… I won’t break.’
Fwoosh—
Her soaked body dried instantly.
‘I always have, haven’t I?’
Her eyes gleamed brightly.
‘I’ve walked my own path.’
A knight unshamed before her great ancestors—one who swore to surpass them.
‘I’ll keep doing just that.’
“The Celia I know has returned.”
Hovering above the water, Chloe smiled, supported by flight magic.
Tap—!
Where Chloe stepped, the water froze beneath her feet.
Students from Harmony and Noble, floundering in the water, flinched.
“Get out of the water, now!”
“Chloe’s casting something!”
Plop—
Chloe dipped her staff’s tip into the water and chanted.
“Ice World.”
Crackle—!
The water around her froze instantly.
The students who hadn’t escaped in time were encased in ice, their bracelets signaling defeat.
Tap—!
Chloe’s blue eyes turned to Celia.
“You’re next, Celia.”
“…I’ve wanted to fight you seriously for a while now.”
Clack—!
Celia readied her sword.
Fwoosh—!
Crack! Sizzle—!
Ice and flame collided, filling the battlefield with thick steam.
Crackle—!
“Aaaaargh!”
“Hey! Duran, if you attack now, you’ll hit your own teammates!”
“I don’t care. Move or die.”
Duran’s cold voice rang out as lightning burst from his sword.
Flash! Boom! Crackle—!
“Eek!”
“Everyone back off!”
Golden sparks went wild across the water.
“I almost got fried alive…”
A male student who barely escaped wiped cold sweat as he stood on the water with his Aura Step.
“You’re telling me. I thought he’d hold back with allies nearby, but Duran really doesn’t care.”
“Geh—?! C-Chen Xia!”
“There you are.”
Squatting calmly on the water, Chen Xia muttered in exasperation.
Duran’s sword energy slashed toward her.
The male student tried to dodge, but Chen Xia tripped him first.
“Oops.”
“W-what are you doing?!”
“Using you as a shield.”
“You cruel woman!”
He screamed as Chen Xia casually flicked her hand—
—and the student was sent flying right into Duran’s lightning strike.
Zap—!
At that moment—
Duran’s sword energy twisted like a serpent, changing trajectory to avoid the student and strike Chen Xia instead.
She evaded easily, but then—
Grab—!
Duran appeared behind her, seizing her by the neck.
“You’ve run well until now.”
His golden eyes gleamed.
“This ends here.”
Crackle! Boom—!
“Grghhhh—!”
Electricity coursed through Chen Xia as she screamed.
Crackle! Sizzle—!
Her body went limp, her head falling forward.
Her bracelet flashed red, signaling defeat.
“Ruthless.”
“Ouch… that looked painful.”
As others murmured in disbelief, Duran scoffed.
“Do you even know who she is? Chen Xia’s strong. If I let my guard down, she’d kill me.”
“Got you.”
“……!”
Grab—!
“By the way, Duran…”
Chen Xia’s voice turned sharp, her expression twisting into a smile.
“Did you know shadows develop resistance to their weakness? I’ve been forced through electric torture since I was little, so I’ve got a pretty high resistance to lightning Aura.”
Splash!
Despite her small, gentle appearance, Chen Xia’s fighting style was brutal and unrelenting—muddy, desperate brawling.
She cared nothing for her own injuries as long as she could bring her opponent down.
She had let Duran grab her—so she could drag him into her territory: underwater.
‘Tch!’
Duran gritted his teeth and raised his sword, Aura flaring.
Fwoosh! Boom—!
But Chen Xia’s fist struck his stomach first.
Boom! Splash—!
Duran crashed to the bottom of the water.
Holding her breath, Chen Xia glared at him.
Hum—!
Water Aura surged around her.
Crack—!
An immense pressure slammed into Duran.
They were underwater now—her domain.
Stagger—!
Duran’s knees buckled.
The green light on his bracelet flickered to orange.
‘Good.’
Duran’s eyes gleamed.
‘I’ll defeat you… and then fight Leo Plov.’
Crackle—!
Sparks burst around his body.
—
“Huff!”
As Leo tugged on the reins, Arti let out a cry.
“What?”
—“Just thinking about obeying you in front of all these people makes me feel… conflicted. After all, I’ve served the Lordren royal line for generations.”
“No one’s going to recognize you as the Lordren Pegasus.”
Even now, Arti was cloaked in thunderlight—her battle form.
The lightning obscured her form so completely that only Sasha, who knew their contract, would recognize her.
—“That’s what makes this even better! Hehehe!”
As Arti trembled with an indecent giggle, Leo yanked on the reins irritably.
—“Ahhn~! So rough~ I like it rough!”
Ignoring her sultry voice, Leo charged toward the four enemies ahead.
Fwoosh—!
Walden and Chelsea stepped forward to block him.
Crackle—!
Raising his hand, Leo gathered lightning at his fingertips.
With a flash in his eyes, he fired it toward Chelsea.
Flash! Boom—!
Walden stepped in front of her.
Chelsea extended her staff and shouted.
“[Wind Break]!”
Crash—!
Her signature spell activated.
Then, she began a rapid-fire incantation—her words flowing at blinding speed. (T/N: My first thought, is that you Eminem? HAHAHAHA)
Countless [Wind Break] barriers multiplied, forming a massive wind net.
Leo tracked the currents with his eyes and pulled Arti’s reins.
Whoosh!
He tore through the net of wind without slowing down.
Gritting her teeth, Chelsea watched.
Fwoosh—!
Then the Wind Wyvern swooped down in front of Leo.
“What an honor! To face a Pegasus in aerial combat!”
Eliza shouted sharply, snapping her whip.
Crack! Snap—!
Leo caught it barehanded.
“Ugh!”
Seeing him easily stop a whip infused with her familiar’s power, Eliza clenched her jaw.
—“I wanted to be hit by that!”
Arti sighed dreamily.
Ignoring her, Leo yanked hard.
“Kyah?!”
“You always act so composed, but you can scream cutely, too.”
“Are you mocking me?!”
Eliza’s face flushed red, sparks flaring in her eyes.
Letting go of the whip, she urged the Wind Wyvern into a head-on charge.
Boom! Crackle—!
—“Oh my, so rough! Definitely my type.”
Arti laughed gleefully, pawing the air.
Leo smirked faintly and spurred her forward.
Boom—!
Eliza was thrown from the wyvern and plummeted toward the ground.
Chelsea swooped in, catching her in a princess carry.
“Why am I holding you like this?!”
“Ugh! You think I like being held by someone smaller than me?!”
“Who are you calling small! I’ll drop you right now!”
“Go ahead!”
As they shouted back and forth, Leo lifted his hand.
“You two get along well.”
Crackle—!
Lightning gathered once more, ready to strike them both.
Whoooosh—! Boom—!
Suddenly, wind surged around him.
‘…Abad?’
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
Abad’s spell was [Prison of Wind]—a barrier that sealed its target inside, completely cutting off the outside world.
Rumble—!
Leo looked up.
In the air above, enormous boulders began forming.
‘The Great Spirit of Earth.’
It was Walden, summoning Titan from outside the prison.
Crash—!
Leo looked down.
Beneath the water, Eliza had summoned Delphinus.
Finally, his gaze turned to Carr.
“So you predicted all this.”
Leo smiled faintly, meeting Chelsea’s eyes.
She stood before him, gripping her staff tightly, her face tense.
“Your plan is to summon the Great Spirit of Earth, create massive boulders, and crush me, right?”
“…That’s right, Leo.”
“And when the [Prison of Wind] dissipates, Eliza will use water to restrain me so I can’t escape.”
Leo glanced toward Abad.
“The problem is that the Prison is powerful, but it requires the caster to stay inside. They can’t do anything else while maintaining it. And they can’t receive outside support either.”
He smiled faintly.
“So, you’re planning to stop me all on your own?”
“…Yes.”
Leo nodded as sweat dripped down Chelsea’s face.
“You know it’s impossible, right?”
“The person I admire…”
Chelsea looked directly into his eyes.
“…is someone who makes the impossible happen.”
Whooooosh—!
The wind roared around her.
“Admiration alone isn’t enough.”
“……”
“I want to walk the same path now. So…”
Chelsea smiled.
“I’ll surpass my limits—and make the impossible happen.”