Chapter 329
“Surpassing limits and achieving the impossible, huh…”
Leo looked straight at Chelsea as he spoke.
“You do realize that’s not as easy as it sounds, right, Chelsea?”
Leo laughed.
It wasn’t his usual gentle smile.
It was sharp—radiating an overwhelming, absolute pressure.
Just facing him made every hair stand on end.
But—
‘I can’t let myself be intimidated!’
She had vowed not to give up—if she wanted to be acknowledged as his equal.
Even if he kept moving ahead of her, she’d keep chasing after him.
Whoooosh—!
Wind whirled violently around Chelsea.
Leo pulled the reins tight as he looked at her, cloaked in gales.
Crackle—!
Arti neighed, releasing bursts of thunderlight before charging toward Chelsea.
Leo streaked through the sky, narrowing the distance between them in an instant.
Chelsea aimed her staff.
“[Wind Sickle]!”
As she unleashed the spell, countless blades of wind slashed toward Leo.
Crash—!
Leo maneuvered Arti with masterful control, weaving through the hundreds of blades.
His evasive movements were near divine—his Pegasus handling flawless.
Watching that, Chelsea gripped her staff tighter.
‘I already anticipated this.’
No matter how many spells she threw, overpowering Leo was nearly impossible.
Her opponent was Leo Plov—wielder of overwhelming power.
Chelsea began chanting again.
Flash—Flash—Flash—!
Her body split into several forms.
‘[Wind Clone].’
A spell that created duplicates using one’s elemental affinity.
Among the second-years, no one handled clone magic better than Chloe—except Chelsea, who came next.
Ten Chelseas rushed Leo at once.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘Her clone magic has improved.’
He knew her signature tactic well—using clones to disrupt enemies in close combat.
‘The flow of Mana doesn’t distinguish which is real. Her control’s sharper than before.’
Leo calmly observed the Chelseas.
“[Wind Boom].”
The moment her spell completed, ten bursts of magic flew toward him.
Leo’s crimson eyes gleamed.
Fwoosh—!
Before they even reached him, the spells dissipated into harmless breezes.
He hadn’t blocked or dodged them—he had nullified them entirely.
Chelsea’s specialty was rapid incantation.
The advantage of her high-speed casting was obvious—faster spell completion.
But the downside was also clear: her formulas were simplified for speed.
Still, they weren’t simple enough to analyze and cancel in mere seconds—unless you were facing someone like Leo.
‘Because my opponent is Leo.’
Chelsea clenched her teeth.
As a mage, their difference in capability was staggering—and she knew it.
Flash! Boom—!
A streak of white light exploded as Leo charged.
Chelsea took a deep breath and scattered her clones.
“[Wind Chain]!”
Whirr—!
Chains of wind shot out from her staff, wrapping tightly around Leo.
Bound in midair, Leo looked at her.
Chelsea’s role wasn’t to defeat him.
Her job was to hold him down—until Walden was ready.
She only needed to stall him for a short while.
That alone would be a success.
“In most cases, that’d be a smart move.”
Crack—!
Leo tore apart the wind chains around his left arm with brute force.
Then he seized the chain itself and yanked.
Fwoosh—!
One of Chelsea’s clones was dragged into the air, struggling helplessly.
Pop—!
With a wave of his hand, the clone burst like a balloon and vanished.
Leo’s cold gaze then locked on one of the remaining Chelseas.
‘He found me!’
Chelsea’s face paled.
“No matter how perfect your clone magic is, it’s not hard to tell which one’s real.”
Creak—!
Leo grabbed the wind chain and pulled.
Chelsea was yanked forward with terrifying strength.
Grab—!
“Urk!”
Leo’s hand clamped around her neck.
“I can tell from your movements.”
Squeeze—!
“Gghh!”
Chelsea’s face twisted in pain as he tightened his grip.
“It’s over.”
As Leo spoke flatly, Chelsea smirked.
“H-heh… you think I’d… give up that easily?”
Hum—!
Magic circles appeared all over her body.
Leo’s eyes twitched.
A surge of Mana roared to life.
‘A self-destruct?’
“You’ll just be the only one disqualified.”
“When facing you, isn’t a gamble like this only natural?”
Chelsea grinned.
Something about that smile reminded Leo of his own.
He chuckled softly.
“Impressive.”
Flash—! Boom—!
A brilliant light engulfed him as Chelsea’s body exploded.
It was a point-blank magical detonation that burned every last drop of her Mana.
Leo felt his head spin from the shock.
His life-tracking bracelet flickered orange.
He looked down at Chelsea, who was falling unconscious through the air.
‘Barely avoided disqualification.’
A suicidal magic attack—reckless, but the surest way she could inflict damage on Leo.
Leo lifted his head.
Rumble—!
The massive earth mass summoned by Walden crashed down toward him.
Fwoosh—!
Abad dispelled his wind spell and dove to catch Chelsea.
Splash—!
Below, Eliza’s Delphinus spread a water barrier, cutting off Leo’s escape.
Their combined strike—painstakingly planned—was descending upon him.
“These kids… grow up so fast.”
Leo chuckled.
Barely a year ago, they were still fledgling students.
‘Well, they’re still kids… but even so.’
In a single year, they’d become strong enough to face a trial head-on.
For them, today must have been the hardest day of their lives.
They weren’t like Leo.
He had endured endless hardship and despair before finally defeating Erebos.
But they were still just teenagers—young, bright, and unbroken.
‘We never stood on the same starting line.’
To his peers, Leo was an immovable wall.
That’s why he’d always gone easy on them.
But—
‘There are lessons you only learn after you fall.’
People call those lessons “trials.”
‘The only way to learn how to stand tall is to fall first.’
He thought it would take them much longer to rise again.
The difference he’d shown was despair itself.
And yet, they’d endured it in the blink of an eye.
Was it reckless youthful courage—or sheer defiance?
Leo didn’t know.
But his peers were stronger—and far more resilient—than he’d expected.
Staring at the descending earth, Leo murmured,
“…I don’t plan to go down quietly.”
Boom—!
The massive earth mass crushed him.
—
“C-Captain…”
Eliana collapsed to the ground.
The other Glory students did the same.
Harmony and Noble students, who’d been on the verge of defeat earlier, now cheered wildly.
“It’s… it’s over!”
“That’s it, right? Glory’s done for!”
“Wooaaaah!”
Celia and Duran halted their fight.
Chloe let out a sigh, and Chen Xia smiled faintly.
Splash—!
The waters of Lake Lumeria, once controlled by Leo, began to recede.
It wasn’t a mere landslide—
It was like an entire mountain had fallen.
“Was that an earthquake or an ultimate spell?”
Carr looked exhausted.
“It was a good plan.”
Supporting the unconscious Chelsea, Abad smiled faintly as he approached Carr.
“Ahem! If we mark Chelsea as defeated right now, does that mean our dorm wins?”
“Well, technically yes… but do you think Duran or Eliza would forgive you for that?”
“Just joking. Even if I win this exam, what’s the point if I end up dead?”
Carr slumped down.
“My legs are jelly.”
Walden and Eliza approached.
“Honestly… that was half luck. If Leo had decided to crush us head-on, we’d all be done for.”
Walden looked toward where Leo had been buried.
“…Next time, it’ll be different. Win or lose, I’ll face him alone.”
“Hmph, agreed.”
“Aw, come on. It was great teamwork, you two!”
Carr grinned.
But Walden suddenly used his wind spirit to snatch Chelsea from Abad.
Abad and Eliza stepped protectively in front of Carr.
“Leo Plov is down. You’re next.”
“Hmph. With Leo gone, there’s no reason for us to cooperate anymore.”
Walden and Eliza spoke in unison.
Carr muttered under his breath.
“…I was just about to say that.”
“What?”
Abad looked puzzled.
Carr sighed.
“You know that cliché in stories? When you say ‘it’s over,’ and then the enemy—”
Rumble—!
“—comes back…”
Rumble—! Boom—!
The earth that had buried Leo exploded upward.
Leo emerged from the debris, brushing off dust, smiling coldly.
Carr’s face drained of color.
Walden, Abad, and Eliza instinctively took combat stances.
But as Leo stood there radiating killing intent, they couldn’t hide their dread.
“Not bad. So… got anything else?”
Leo smiled, raising his hand.
Fwoooosh—!
An enormous flame burst forth.
But that was his limit.
Walden, Abad, and Eliza had already exhausted their strength in their last attack.
Leo’s bracelet was glowing red—he was barely hanging on.
But the three had no strength left to protect Chelsea or Carr.
Leo glanced at them coldly.
“If that’s all, shall we end this?”
At that terrifying sight, Carr muttered despairingly,
“…At this point… he’s basically the Demon King.”
Boom—!
Flames engulfed the entire field.
—
Chelsea opened her eyes.
‘…The infirmary?’
Blinking in confusion, she suddenly gasped and sat up.
“The duel! The competition—ugh!”
Pain wracked her body as she screamed.
“You’re awake now?”
Celia, her eyes slightly red, asked quietly.
Chelsea spoke quickly.
“What happened to the match?”
“……”
Celia sighed softly and turned on the crystal display beside the bed.
Hum—!
—“Now, we’ll begin the MVP ceremony for this year’s dorm competition. Presenting the award will be Professor Sedgen, head of the second-year division. The MVP is… Leo Plov!”
Runba’s voice echoed as Leo appeared on stage.
—“Congratulations on your victory.”
—“Thank you.”
“…So we lost.”
Chelsea smiled bitterly.
Celia stood up.
“Since you’re awake, I’ll head back.”
“Okay.”
Chelsea answered without taking her eyes off the screen.
After Celia left the room, Chelsea clenched her fists tightly.
She’d always been happy to see Leo succeed.
But this time—
Even after giving her all, she couldn’t win.
She’d known the gap between them.
And yet…
‘It’s frustrating.’
Lowering her head, Chelsea bit her lip to hold back tears.
Out in the hall, Celia slapped her own cheek.
‘Don’t cry. Crying won’t change anything.’
Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back.
As a direct descendant of the Zerdinger family, it was her duty to congratulate her cousin.
At Noble Dorm—
“D-Duran, I told you not to overdo it!”
“Shut up.”
Duran continued his strength training in the gym, ignoring his classmate’s protests.
“Abad~ the party’s starting soon! Why are you still reading? I know losing sucks, but the test’s over! Come have fun!”
The girls in the Noble library whined as Abad calmly read through a grimoire, smiling faintly as always.
Eliza meditated atop the dorm tower, focusing her Spirit Power.
Walden sat quietly in Harmony Dorm, communing with his spirit.
At the center of Lumene—
Standing on the roof of the Hero’s Tower, Mel looked out over the sunset-stained academy.
“You once wished for a hero who could rise again—no matter how many times they fell.”
The great hero, who’d once blamed himself for being unable to rise, had left those words behind:
*Surpass your limits.*
“Your will still lives on in them. So please… hold on just a little longer.”
Mel clenched his fist as he gazed at the twilight-colored Lumene.
“The one you admired… will be the one to save you.”