Magic Academy Mayhem: A Class Full of Maniacs - Chapter 47

A protective barrier stood between the red boundary and the arena platform. It isolated the field’s magical attacks and kept the spectators safe.

Crossing beyond the red line would protect someone from those attacks, but it also meant voluntarily conceding the match.

Ashara’s strike had reached a terrifying level. Continuing to fight would only place Cynthia in a hopeless position, serving no purpose at all.

Eli and the others had no intention of persisting, either. The moment the Seven-Star Chain Whip wrapped around them, all four cooperatively stopped fighting and let Cynthia pull them off the platform.

Once all four teammates were clear, Cynthia’s magic ran completely dry.

The pain of Backlash was excruciating. The world spun before her eyes, and her strength deserted her. Her body began to collapse.

Vernel, the closest to her, caught her at once. She wasted no time asking pointless questions such as whether Cynthia was all right. Instead, she immediately took out a hemostatic recovery potion and made her drink.

With Resonance, they could understand the severity of one another’s injuries almost immediately. There was no need to ask.

In Cynthia’s current condition, failing to take a potion at once could send her into shock from blood loss.

“Cough… Thank you.”

After swallowing the potion, Cynthia could barely remain conscious. That allowed her to witness precisely how terrifying Ashara’s attack was.

The blow crushed every last Mirror Shard.

Fragments flew as black fog churned.

Even the obsidian floor was devastated by Ashara’s magic. Several bottomless trenches split the platform.

Countless ghosts detonated in a frenzy, blasting crack after crack through the magical railing at the arena’s edge.

It was easy to imagine what would have happened if Cynthia had stayed.

Her head began to ache. She was starting to question her earlier judgment.

Given this display, it was harder to believe Ashara *didn’t* have a grudge against her.

Amid the devastation, Ashara stood beneath the black fog. As if sensing Cynthia’s stare, she looked over.

Their eyes met.

“Even if you hadn’t dodged, I would have kept you alive,” Ashara said.

Her voice was calm and entirely serious. Not a trace of humor touched it, while the excitement in her eyes had yet to fade.

“…”

Cynthia’s mouth twitched.

All right. No grudge.

Ashara was simply insane.

Cynthia could not begin to understand what about her had caught the attention of the singles champion.

If she knew which quality it was…

She would correct it immediately. Thank you very much.

*

At the same time, the host rang the bell ending the match and announced the result.

“This match is over! Victory goes to Myriad Forms Academy’s Heaven’s Judgment Team!”

An uncanny silence held the stands for several seconds. Then cheers and applause erupted.

Along with… a few less pleasant voices.

“Tch. They lost, just as expected. A low Sequence is still a low Sequence.”

“You say that as if *you* would have won in their place.”

“Exactly. Considering their Sequences, reaching the second round was already impressive. And compared to most students, Eclipse Moon Team’s ranks aren’t low at all.”

“Uh, didn’t anyone else find that match so mild it was boring? Five Divine Sequences against five people from the lowest Sequences should have been a total slaughter. Somehow they actually traded blows for a while… Forget it. Apparently there’s nothing special about first place or last. I’ll wait for the year-end final examinations.”

“It’s a freshman match. How intense do you expect it to be? Would you only be satisfied if someone died?”

“Don’t bother with people like that. They only want to stir trouble.”

*

On the arena floor, both Eclipse Moon and Heaven’s Judgment tacitly ignored the flood of criticism.

Apart from the two captains, none of the members were seriously injured.

Ashara dismissed her scythe and glanced at Cynthia. “Your performances in the previous matches were respectable. If you belonged to a Divine Sequence, perhaps you could have fought me to a draw today.”

Cynthia could not tell whether that was praise or mockery.

She rubbed her aching temple and offered a diplomatic response. “Your strength astonished me as well, Student Ashara. You were even stronger than I imagined.”

Ashara made no attempt at modesty. Though there was no contempt in her eyes, she carried the oppressive air of someone accustomed to standing above others.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Since you understand that, devote everything you have to growing stronger. I’m curious how far you can go.”

“Perhaps one day you may even have a chance of defeating me.”

Her manner was far too mature, bordering on arrogant.

Cynthia had the strange impression that Ashara was a dozen years her senior.

In reality, they were exactly the same age.

Cynthia smiled politely. “…I certainly won’t disappoint you.”

Ashara passed her, her words scattering into the wind. “I’ll look forward to it.”

The other four members of Heaven’s Judgment exchanged glances. After nodding to Cynthia’s group, they hurried after their captain.

Cynthia withdrew her gaze and prepared to leave, only for someone to seize her wrist.

“What are you doing?” She looked at Richter, who had somehow drawn close and suddenly taken hold of her.

“…”

Richter did not answer.

His gaze rested on the blood staining his fingertips. He seemed faintly entranced by it.

When Cynthia tried to pull away, his hand tightened around her wrist by instinct.

His grip loosened, then tightened again.

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. She was about to tell him not to start acting deranged when he said, “I only wanted to give our captain some Magic Element. Haven’t you exhausted yours?”

“There’s no need to make such a production of it. It’ll recover soon.” Cynthia did not consider the matter significant. “Let go.”

“No.” Richter was inexplicably persistent today.

Cynthia stared at him.

They were about to become the subject of even more gossip from passing spectators. She could no longer be bothered to argue.

Ignoring Richter, she motioned to the other three. “Let’s return to the academy.”

The three murmured agreement.

*

Back at the academy, Richter pushed Cynthia all the way to the infirmary.

Her internal injuries were severe, and treatment lasted until nearly evening.

Cynthia glanced sideways at Richter, who had remained with her the entire time. Guarding her… no, clinging to her.

Something felt odd.

After leaving the infirmary, they headed toward the dormitories.

Cynthia lowered her gaze to the long-fingered hand still resting around her wrist. After a lengthy silence, she finally asked, “Do you realize you’re unusually clingy today?”

Pressed close beside her, Richter answered without changing expression. “…Our captain was injured so badly that she’s imagining things. I’ve always been like this.”

“Hah…” A trace of curiosity stirred in Cynthia.

Richter often appeared before her, but she could clearly tell he disliked physical contact.

Whenever anyone touched him—Cynthia included—he would immediately rinse himself with water, wipe the spot with a handkerchief, or layer cleansing magic over his body.

He never made it particularly obvious, but it happened too often for her to miss.

So why was he acting like an entirely different person today?

Something was wrong.

Cynthia abruptly stopped and raised her arm.

The hand around her wrist rose with it, refusing to let go.

She shook her wrist and said idly, “My magic has recovered now, so there should be no need to give me any more Magic Element. Why are you still holding on?”

“I—…”

Richter muttered something too quietly for her to make out.

“I didn’t hear you. Say it again.”

“…”

Richter lowered his eyes to her. His gaze was as thick as spilled ink, clouded with an emotion she could not name.

“I said… I can’t control it.”

He raised a hand and swept the windblown hair from his forehead, irritated and sullen.

“I want to touch you. What am I supposed to do?”

Cynthia stared at him.

This man had finally and conclusively lost his mind.