Chapter 413
Aina heightened her senses to the limit with Aura.
‘I can’t distinguish the real one.’
The four types of magic Juen fused were Invisibility, Ice Clone, Explosion, and mana Distribution.
Invisibility constantly strained the senses, piling on fatigue.
She hid herself among the Ice Clones, so Aina couldn’t just cut them all down to find the real one—if she attacked recklessly, the clones would detonate through Explosion magic.
And mana Distribution made it impossible to identify the real one through mana detection.
In short, it was perfect interference.
Aina’s eyes narrowed.
‘I can’t pinpoint the her location, but…’
Whirr-! Flash!
As powerful mana swirled, Juen’s Mana Bullet shot toward Aina.
Aina’s golden eyes gleamed.
Thwack-!
She used Aura Step to evade the Mana Bullet flying at tremendous speed.
‘The moment she attacks, her location is revealed.’
No matter how perfectly she concealed herself, her position would be exposed the instant she attacked.
Whoosh-!
Aina dashed toward the spot the spell had come from—so fast it was almost invisible.
If she hesitated even slightly, Juen would slip back into the clones.
Aina intended to end it quickly, without giving her that opening.
Closing the distance in an instant, Aina thrust her sword without hesitation.
Thwack!
“Ugh?”
Juen, pierced through the shoulder, let out a groan.
Whoosh-!
The Invisibility dispelled.
“It’s over.”
Aina said calmly to Juen, who trembled with her head lowered.
At those words, Juen stopped moving—then raised her head and smiled brightly.
“Uh-uh. Not really.”
“……!”
Flash! Kaboom-!
Once again, the Ice Clones exploded.
Aina’s face twisted as she wrapped herself in Aura Armor.
‘How…!’
The moment Aina faltered—
Flash-!
Juen’s attack flew at her again.
“Ugh!”
Aina barely dodged and charged at Juen once more.
—
-Ooh! Juen! She’s taking the initiative against Aina and completely overwhelming her!
Runba shouted excitedly.
“Whoa. Totally unexpected, huh?”
Eliana, watching while eating popcorn, widened her eyes.
Plenty of people expected Aina to win, but they still thought it would be close.
No one expected Juen to dominate this hard.
Eliana called out to Carr as he passed by.
“Carr! Another popcorn, please! With caramel!”
“Ooh! Happy to, but that’s your third one already. Keep this up and you’ll turn into a pig.”
“Who are you calling a pig?”
Flustered, Eliana kicked at Carr, but he dodged neatly.
“Leo, what do you think?”
Carr came up to Leo and asked.
“If she keeps the initiative, Juen will win.”
Leo answered without taking his eyes off the match.
“And it won’t be easy for Aina to take it back.”
Juen Torbina.
As the daughter of the Southern Magic Tower Lord, her talent overflowed.
A rare mage who could handle all attributes, with outstanding understanding across them.
On top of that, she had powerful mana and fast casting speed.
‘She isn’t the type who overwhelms with raw firepower—she’s a well-balanced traditional mage.’
Juen’s greatest strength was her ability to keep firing off attacks with respectable power, without letting up.
And because she wielded so many kinds of magic, she could respond to almost any situation.
Against a mage like that, once you lose the initiative, it’s hard to take it back.
“But it won’t end like this.”
Even now, Aina was cutting down Juen’s clones rapidly.
The Ice Clones kept detonating, steadily chipping away at Aina.
But they weren’t doing meaningful damage.
It wasn’t that Juen’s magic was weak.
Her spells were plenty strong.
“Against a versatile mage like Juen, tricks don’t work well.”
The moment a mage was at her most dangerous was when she had a stronghold.
For a mage, taking the initiative meant turning the surroundings into her territory and fortifying it.
“But if you break through head-on, you’ll self-destruct.”
Leo watched Aina lowering her stance.
“Aina has enough ability to break through head-on against Juen.”
“Hm!”
Carr folded his arms, wearing a serious expression.
“Yeah, but she doesn’t think that deeply. She fights on instinct.”
Put nicely, she was the type to collide head-on.
Put bluntly, she charged in simple-mindedly.
‘But sometimes, those enemies are the scariest.’
Aina was exactly that kind.
—
‘Seriously, this girl!’
Hidden by Invisibility, Juen cursed inwardly.
Aina was silently cutting down the clones.
Each time, she got caught in the explosions and took damage, yet she never hesitated.
‘There’s a limit to how simple-minded you can be. Seriously!’
One Ice Clone’s damage would be minimal to Aina.
But even small damage adds up if it keeps stacking.
If someone were truly stuck in a dilemma, they’d hesitate at least once.
Aina didn’t.
She didn’t even blink—she just kept charging.
Like she intended to destroy everything in her way.
‘I didn’t think I could beat Aina with this. But I didn’t expect her to break through my Invisibility so fast.’
Juen clicked her tongue and tightened her grip on her staff.
‘I need to buy time.’
She had no chance in a straight-up clash.
To beat Aina, she needed a decisive blow.
Juen’s magic had tremendous power and an incredible rate of fire.
It could drop an average Knight Department student instantly.
But Aina wasn’t average.
And Aina’s sword was faster than Juen’s magic.
‘Aina can cut my attacks apart with her swordsmanship.’
Juen’s eyes narrowed.
‘Even if one hits, Aura Armor will block it. I won’t deal real damage.’
And the moment that happened, Aina would counter.
Unlike Aina—who could endure several hits—Juen would be finished if she took even one clean strike.
‘Either I take her down in one go, or I lose.’
So she needed time to prepare that one blow.
Juen readjusted her grip.
The moment Aina moved to cut down the last clone—
Flash-!
Juen pointed her staff at Aina and released her mana in an instant.
Whirr-! Flash-!
A powerful mana bullet shot toward Aina.
Aina’s golden eyes flashed.
Flash-! Kaboom-!
Swinging her sword up from below, she released a golden arc.
The spell was bisected cleanly.
Aina looked straight at Juen—now visible again.
“Found you.”
She immediately rushed in.
Juen unleashed everything at once.
Mana poured out from circles forming in midair.
Aina’s golden eyes gleamed as she tightened her grip and swung toward the air.
Whoosh! Kaboom-boom-boom-boom-!
Countless spells detonated midair.
“One more time!”
Juen forced up her mana and launched another indiscriminate barrage.
-Ah! Juen! She’s using extremely inefficient attacks! If she keeps casting at this scale, she’ll be exhausted quickly, no matter how vast her mana is!
Runba shouted urgently.
“The Invisibility magic was good, though.”
“It’s too disadvantageous for Juen Torbina. If this were an urban fight, or a battlefield with cover like a forest, it would’ve been more even.”
“It can’t be helped. It’s close-combat Knight class versus a mage.”
Regretful voices rose from the upperclassmen.
And once again, Juen’s magic was blocked by Aina’s golden swordsmanship.
“Hah… hah…”
Juen panted from overcasting.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth—her mana had been pushed too hard.
Limit.
Juen felt it.
Aina, on the other hand, still looked relatively fine.
She’d taken direct hits multiple times, but she wasn’t like Juen—already at the edge.
“You can’t beat me with attacks that just prioritize numbers.”
Aina said, lowering her sword.
“You’re stalling for time. So admit defeat.”
“I can’t obediently admit defeat to someone who ignores everyone like they don’t matter.”
“I’ve never ignored anyone.”
Aina lowered her eyes.
“I just focus on what I have to achieve.”
“That’s what ignoring others means.”
Juen ground her teeth.
When Aina first became class representative, Juen had been upset.
But she still acknowledged her.
Aina’s performance in the entrance exam had been better than Juen’s.
Even now, she had to admit Aina was stronger.
Haviden and Sasha were the same.
They’d aimed for class representative and pushed themselves with Aina as their goal.
– ‘Aina Beidna! Just wait. I’ll take that position soon!’
When she’d boldly declared war, Aina had answered flatly.
– ‘I’m not interested in being class representative.’
– ‘Then why are you aiming for first place?’
– ‘To be recognized by Leo-Sunbae-nim. If you want it, you can be class representative. I’m not interested.’
– ‘I’m not taking it like that. I’ll defeat you and take it myself.’
– ‘Then let’s just say you won.’
– ‘What?’
“I’m going to defeat you.”
“It’s impossible in that state. You’re already at your limit.”
Aina shook her head.
Juen smiled.
“Overcome your limits. That’s our school motto, isn’t it?”
“……”
“And because you only see what’s right in front of you…”
“……?”
“That’s why you get caught.”
“……!”
Juen pointed down.
Aina’s eyes widened as she followed the gesture.
‘What is it?’
Her feet wouldn’t move.
‘Invisible threads?’
Mana threads—like a spiderweb—were binding her legs.
Clang-!
Juen aimed her staff at Aina.
“The spells before were a smokescreen. The real goal was setting a trap to bind you!”
‘When did she…?’
Juen’s Original Magic, Arachne.
A spell that bound the opponent’s feet with mana threads like a spiderweb.
And once you were caught, the more you struggled, the more you tangled yourself.
Of course, Aina could escape given a little time.
But—
“That little time is enough!”
Juen’s mana surged.
It was different from before—denser, heavier.
“Maximum firepower!”
Kaboom-!
Like artillery fire.
The air itself shook.
Aina’s eyes wavered as the spell arrived right at her nose.
Boom! Kaboom-boom-boom-boom-!
With the explosion, the arena itself vanished.
Juen stared into the thick dust cloud.
Whoosh-!
Aina burst through the dust.
Her entire body was tattered, but her golden eyes still burned.
She’d broken through Juen’s desperate assault and reached her.
“I figured you wouldn’t fall from just this much!”
“What?”
At Juen’s cry, Aina’s eyes filled with shock.
Juen pointed at Aina and released her mana.
Spitting blood, she fired a Mana Bullet.
Bang-!
“Ugh?”
Hit head-on, Aina rolled across the ground.
‘Now… I’m at my limit…’
Using her sword like a cane, Aina forced herself upright.
She clenched her teeth and tried to move, but her body wouldn’t respond.
Juen staggered forward, finger still pointed.
Stagger- stagger-
Aina closed her eyes and lowered her head, as if giving up.
But when no spell came, she opened her eyes and lifted her head.
Juen stood there—hand trembling, eyes unfocused, still pointing at her.
Then—
Thud-
Juen collapsed.
Mel approached, checked Juen’s condition, then declared,
“Winner, Aina Beidna.”
“Oooooooooh!”
“That was so close at the end!”
“Wow! If the conditions hadn’t been so unfavorable for her, she would’ve won, right?”
Excited voices poured out.
Aina looked at Juen, unconscious on the ground.
Juen had hit her limit long ago.
But she kept pushing anyway.
Aina ground her teeth.
Herself—who’d given up the moment she reached her limit.
And Juen—who’d kept charging to the very end.
If Juen had held onto consciousness just a little longer—
‘I lost.’
Her heart stirred.
She’d never imagined she’d struggle this much.
She’d only thought about showing her best self and being recognized by Leo.
But—
‘It’s pathetic.’
Stumble-stumble-
Even as cheers rained down, Aina kept her head lowered.
Juen’s face—forcing herself beyond her limits—kept resurfacing.
Luke, too—struggling at his own limits.
Could she do that?
Aina looked down at her hands, face twisted.
To be recognized by Leo, inherit the Sword Saint’s legacy, and take revenge on Tartarus.
That had been all she thought about.
Until now, she’d never doubted that becoming stronger was enough.
But—
‘Can I… really be recognized by Leo-sunbae-nim like this?’
(T/N: Slow clap. What a beautiful fight.)