Ch. 49
Humans couldn’t speak or breathe underwater. That was basic common sense.
[Unwater Breathing]—a variation of the magic [Water Breathing] that allows breathing underwater—was simply used in reverse to prevent someone from breathing instead.
A reversed version, so to speak. Since it only required manipulating water, it also consumed far less Mana.
Leo thrashed wildly at the lump of water surrounding his face.
But splashing around didn’t remove the water, and only made him more breathless.
I should thank the Shavel Mercenary Corps once again for their major contribution in developing this technique. Not that they were happy about it.
“Ugh.”
“Wh-What is that?”
“That’s so dirty!”
It was such a lame technique that even the spectators started booing.
The downsides of this Spirit Magic were that it had to be continuously controlled to keep someone from escaping the water, making it hard to use on multiple targets, and that it looked kind of underhanded.
I agreed it wasn’t very cool, flashy, or honorable.
But it was also true that it was the simplest way to end a fight.
Humans were surprisingly fragile, and if they couldn’t breathe, they were easily rendered helpless. It was a straightforward way to subdue them.
“Well, something like this.”
Watching Leo flail around with a giant water bubble on his head, I deliberately swept my hair back.
As long as a creature needed to breathe, it couldn’t escape this technique.
It was also the ultimate technique that let me defeat even the greatest foe I ever faced—Shavel.
Though I did add one more technique back then—
—KWAANG!
Unable to remove the water around his face, Leo began slamming his head into the ground out of frustration.
But it was useless. The water took no damage at all.
To eliminate water controlled by Undine, you needed an advanced technique like Sword Aura.
And there was no way someone my age, like Leo, could use that.
Of course, there was also the method of taking me down so I couldn’t control the Spirit—but most of the mercenaries didn’t even figure that out and fell victim to it. I didn’t think Leo would catch on…
“Huh? Not bad.”
[That Knight Commander guy just gave the kid a hint with a hand signal.]
Leo ignored the water and came charging at me.
So that’s how it is. A referee interfering in a duel? That’s totally cheating, isn’t it?
While I was momentarily distracted, Leo’s fist brushed past my face.
It wasn’t that I dodged quickly—it was that Leo was slow.
He couldn’t breathe properly due to the water, his vision was unstable, and he must’ve already inhaled a lot of water through his nose, making him dizzy.
“Compression.”
A word meaning “to compress”—and a technique I developed thanks to that tough Shavel leader.
Tests showed it was an incredibly painful technique.
If [Unwater Breathing] was simply water around your face, [Compression] made that water forcibly surge into your nose, mouth, and ears.
Air bubbles spewed from around Leo’s face.
“Gkkk—!”
“A technique I came up with after almost drowning! Never tried it on myself though. Bet it hurts.”
I cheerfully explained while joining hands with my sweet Undine, spinning in a little dance as we escaped into the wide space away from Leo.
Leo collapsed on the spot, unable to move from the water surging inside him.
I casually approached the Knight Commander watching the duel and whispered:
“If you don’t surrender soon, your nephew might drown. Are you okay with that?”
“…How do you know he’s my nephew?!”
“Swallow too much water and your brain turns to mush. You become an idiot.”
I kindly whispered, and the Knight Commander glared at me like he wanted to kill me.
Of course, I wouldn’t compress the water enough to actually kill.
“Gkkkrrkk!”
Leo kept groaning in agony.
He was clearly out of commission, so the outcome was already decided.
All that was left was for Leo to surrender.
“Martial artists sure are something. Can’t believe it ended without him even landing a punch.”
“Stop! Enough! The duel is over! Leo’s going to die like that!”
I snorted at the Knight Commander’s words.
“This is a fight between me and Leo, right? It’s not over until he surrenders.”
“Still… this is too one-sided! Stop it already!”
“No! Don’t order me around! Unless he says he’s lost…”
“How’s he supposed to say he lost in that state?!”
Oh, right?
It only hit me after the Knight Commander shouted. I had never tested this on myself, so I hadn’t thought of that downside.
But there was no rule that said he had to say it out loud.
I skipped over lightly to Leo. I knelt down beside him as he lay face-down, clutching his neck.
“Hey. Don’t you think I’ve won?”
“Gkkrrllrk!”
“If you admit defeat, take off your gauntlet yourself. Throwing away your weapon means surrender, right? Taking off a glove is easy, isn’t it?”
A gauntlet was like a weaponized glove worn by martial artists. I nudged Leo’s weapon with my foot, telling him to take it off.
“Still not gonna surrender?”
Leo yelled something in rage, but the inside of the bubble only grew murkier.
“I said stop! Are you trying to kill him?!”
The Knight Commander grabbed my shoulder from behind and shook me violently.
What a barbaric family. Always grabbing people and shaking them.
Even as a referee, interfering in a fight like this? So rude.
I often smiled when I was in an especially foul mood.
“Isn’t this also Leo’s honor? Isn’t it cool? Dying for his honor. ‘Give me death over surrender!’”
“Leo’s just a child! I said stop!”
“I’m a child too, but you let me duel properly.”
“Stop—”
“Undine.”
When he grabbed me by the collar, I called for Undine. Honestly, I didn’t need to say the name of the skill—Undine always did exactly what I wanted.
Our souls were connected, and even with our eyes closed, we knew what the other wanted.
That was the proper relationship between a Spirit and a Spirit Mage.
“Geenie!”
Just as I added a water bubble to the Knight Commander’s face too, Ms. Iritho returned.
“What on earth is going on here!”
“Oh my, Ms. Iritho.”
I blinked innocently, but no amount of feigned innocence could hide the watery chaos around me.
Was this going to count as another incident I caused?
“He started the fight first…”
“Fighting between students is against the rules! Stop this. All of you!”
Yeah, I knew that too.
But because someone with actual sense finally arrived, I had no choice but to halt the magic.
“Stop, Undine. Cancel all the magic. Return the water to the kettle.”
The moment the water that had restrained him disappeared, Leo collapsed limply on the floor.
Since the water that had entered his esophagus was also completely retrieved, he’d recover quickly.
Not a single drop was left out—every bit of the water in the kettle had been restored.
Proof? There wasn’t even a droplet left on Leo’s head.
Could anyone believe his head had just been submerged? It was hard to tell.
Once again, I found myself marveling at Undine’s exceptional skill.
“Cough! Gkkhhk, huff!”
Leaving the stunned Knight Commander behind, I stood in front of Leo’s head. Looking down at him didn’t feel half bad.
“You should be thankful to Ms. Iritho for saving you.”
“…Y-You’ll see! Geenie Crowell! How dare you pull something like that!”
“What? I fought fair and square.”
“You were cowardly!”
“What can I do if my magic’s like that? Wouldn’t it be weirder if I tried to fistfight you?”
Even after being humiliated like that, Leo still burned with determination toward me.
Why wouldn’t he just accept that he lost? Maybe I really should’ve killed him to prevent future trouble.
I crouched in front of Leo. It was best to root out your enemies completely.
“Leo, let me teach you something. I’ve been working on a new technique lately. It uses the water inside the human body. Did you know about 70% of the human body is made of water?”
“What the hell are you saying!”
“And I’m a Spirit Mage of water, remember? I’ve been wondering if I could control the water inside people’s bodies. But I haven’t found a test subject yet. If we fight again, you’d make a great field test.” (T/N: Damn. That’s scary.)
“…”
“I mean, imagine all the blood inside your body gushing out. Sounds painful, doesn’t it?”
“You’re insane…”
“I’m serious. I hope I never have to test it on you.”
I smiled, and Leo went pale.
Why the long face just from seeing our cute little Undine?
(T/N: I hate unjust bullies, and this scene is just so satisfying to read. )
