In the center of the Arena, the air seemed to freeze; the golden flames in Grem’s palm burned silently, reflecting the unrestrained contempt in his eyes.
“Pseudo Third-tier Magic, Lava Vein!”
Boom——!
He gave the Rose Knights no time to breathe. The moment the incantation left his lips, the ground beneath Leanna and the others turned crimson, and scorching magma surged from the cracks like venomous snakes, forcing them to scatter in panic.
Aixi, wielding her Training Hammer, exchanged a glance with Leanna and tried to charge forward, only to be blocked by a sudden wall of rock that shot up in her path.
“Too slow!”
Bettys’s cool voice rang out as she waved her Magic Wand. Countless vines burst from the ground, wrapping themselves like living things around Teresa and Iserine’s ankles, greatly restricting their movements and spellcasting.
And that was not all—each of the other three members of Grem’s squad unleashed their own Magic, pressing the Rose Knights so hard they could barely catch their breath. In an instant, the entire Arena was engulfed in Magic.
Although Aixi’s strength and speed were astonishing, under the effect of the Slowing Curse, she couldn’t even get close to anyone.
Leanna’s opponent was Grem—the one known as Mills Academy’s once-in-a-millennium Magic genius. With just calm, measured Magic, he forced Leanna into a desperate defense.
Whenever Teresa and Iserine began their chanting, Bettys would interrupt them with pinpoint accuracy, while Seli was locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle with Grem’s other teammates.
The fearsome reputation of the Rose Knights seemed to meet its end before Grem’s squad.
In the stands, Lord Perez had a smile at the corner of his mouth, and the Academy Head nodded slightly—this was the level of power befitting Mills Academy’s elite.
What a pity, though—Saintess Isavel was absent. Otherwise, even they couldn’t imagine what her expression would be right now.
“Is this all you’ve got?” Grem’s voice held open disappointment. “What a waste of my time.”
“Don’t get too full of yourself!”
With a shout, Leanna’s sword became wreathed in Magic, and from then on, whenever Grem’s spells met her blade, they would be repelled in a strange manner.
“Magic Repulsion?”
Grem muttered softly, then let out a mocking laugh.
“Hmph, just a mere Second-tier Magic, and you dare act so arrogant!”
As his words fell, his careless demeanor disappeared.
He pressed his hands together before his chest, and blinding lightning began to gather in his palms, emitting a grating “zzzzt” sound.
“That’s Third-tier Magic—Thunder Python! Grem’s signature spell!”
A knowledgeable spectator cried out, and the smiles on Perez and the Academy Head’s faces grew even brighter.
To comprehend Third-tier Magic in one’s early twenties—such genius was equal to, if not surpassing, the Magic prodigies of Galwin Magic Academy.
This was also what gave the Academy Head and others the confidence to challenge Galwin Magic Academy!
As the Thunder Python took form, the members of the Rose Knights all seemed to sense its terrifying power and unconsciously moved closer to Leanna, forming a defensive formation.
But in Grem’s eyes, this only invited his scorn.
“You think hiding like turtles will let you withstand my attack? Heh, watch closely—this is a realm of Magic you will never touch in your lives!”
Taking a deep breath, he suddenly smashed a fist into the ground.
At the same time, the sky darkened, and a bolt of lightning, shaped like a Thunder Python, pierced the clouds and struck down at the girls!
It was so fast—it was indistinguishable from real lightning.
Teresa had already cast Ice Shield, and Iserine layered it with Support Magic to increase its strength.
But under the Thunder Python’s assault, the Ice Shield lasted just a second before shattering with a terrifying crack.
Shards of ice scattered, glinting as they brushed the girls’ faces, reflecting panic in their eyes.
Seli barely managed to draw her bow and shoot an arrow at Grem, but Grem didn’t dodge—he simply reached out, caught the Magic Arrow, and crushed it in his hand.
Crack——
The arrow dissolved into motes of magical light. In his eyes, these girls were nothing more than harmless Slaughtered Lambs.
A chilling grin stretched across his lips as he walked toward the girls, each step leaving a scorched, lightning-blasted pit in the ground behind him.
“I can be merciful and give you a chance—if you kneel and admit defeat, I’ll let you go. If not, I’ll use Thunder Python to turn every one of you into charred, stinking corpses!”
It seemed the outcome had been decided the moment he used Third-tier Magic. His teammates, including Bettys, simply stood with their arms crossed in the distance, watching him bask in glory.
However, just as Grem came close enough to Leanna and the others, the panic vanished from their faces, replaced by a playful look.
“Charred corpses? How frightening.” Aixi waved her hand, as if she’d caught a whiff of the smell, her face full of disdain.
“Kneel and surrender and you won’t become one.” Seli grinned, apparently ignoring Grem altogether.
This made Grem halt, a flash of anger rising in his heart.
“You’re not afraid of me? Or do you think I won’t really do it?”
“Whether we’re afraid or not is meaningless, Grem. Haven’t you heard—on the battlefield, only the dead can guarantee your safety?”
Leanna smiled as she raised her eyes, her sword once again wrapped in Magic.
Just as Grem was puzzling over her words, he was startled to see a Magic Circle glowing beneath his feet!
Trap Magic?!
But what truly filled him with fear and disbelief wasn’t just falling for the Trap Magic—it was the name of the spell uttered by one of the Rose Knights.
“Third-tier Magic, Mana Seal.”
In an instant, the Thunder Python coiled around Grem vanished, and his Magic fell utterly silent.
He stared, stunned, at the girl who had cast the spell.
The very Support Mage, Iserine, whom he’d never paid any attention to—she had mastered Magic of the same tier as him, and used it against him.
And that wasn’t all…
“Third-tier Magic, Ice Rain!”
With a wave of Teresa’s hand, countless shards of ice appeared behind her, their magical power just as terrifying as Grem’s Thunder Python.
Third-tier Magic?
He didn’t mishear, did he?
The Third-tier Magic he prided himself on—these girls, they could use it too?!
Suddenly, Grem’s legs gave way and he collapsed to his knees.
The shock of reality sent his mind blank.
He couldn’t understand—if they could all use Third-tier Magic, then why had they let themselves be beaten down before? Were they toying with him, mocking him?
And—if their strength utterly surpassed his, why stoop so low as to set a trap? To lure him in?!