“The final duel will be between mister Devios from the kingdom of Bellcephora and mister George from the Heavenly Archer sect!”𝒪𝗏𝔩xt.𝗰𝐎𝐦

The teacher announced in a loud voice and even the loud students dissatisfied with the previous draw went silent with anticipation.

“Well then. I’m off.”

The blue-haired young man with one murky-black eye smiled at the particularly pitiful-looking white-as-snow woman who was sitting timidly on a bench.

“Come back soon.”

She asked him in a voice so vulnerable and sweet that for a second Devios was going to forfeit the match just to take care of her.

But alas…

“Sorry, I don’t intend on killing my opponent, so it will probably take a little bit. I will make it up to you afterward.”

The duty called, and as the person to whom everyone from the group of magicians looked up to as their leader, Devios could not show any weakness.

“You better do that, stupid Vio.”

Metavicero murmured without looking the young man in the face.

After a sendoff like that, Devios walked onto the arena with a serious expression, and only after looking into his blue eye, anyone would be able to figure out in how much good of a mood he was in.

“…!”

Unfortunately, that good mood did not last long – and neither did Devios’s conviction to not kill his opponent.

Why?

Because despite the young man’s eyes and hair becoming black, Devios RECOGNIZED him.

“GEROIZEN TENCELION!”

The blue-haired young man roared and even without the official signal, the air around him trembled as dozens of ice spears formed around his body.

“Eh…? Big brother Groizen…?!”

Even Metavicero raised her head and gasped in shock at the sight of the person.

“Huh? How come that the two of you…?! Wait…! WAIT!”

A jet-black-haired young man with jet-black eyes, wearing a black martial arts uniform straightened his back and asked before his eyes widened as the memories of his physical body flooded his mind and his ace became pale.

“Student Devios, using your techniques before the start of the official duel is a… severe offense… You… have… los… lo… l… l… Wh-wha-what is g-go-going o-o-on…?!”

The teacher in charge scolded the magician and was going to give the victory to the other party, but the sound of his own teeth chattered from the severe cold that enveloped the Heavenly Star Academy.

“YOU HAVE DARED TO SURVIVE?! AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO MY FAMILY? AFTER TAKING PART IN A PLAN THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO WIPE OFF MY ENTIRE BLOODLINE AND MOSTLY SUCCEED, YOU STILL DARE TO SHOW UP IN FRONT OF ME?!”

Devios, the source of the bone-chilling cold that caused not only the other students but even the teachers to suffer from hypothermia, roared reaching out his hand in accusation towards the black-haired man.

“I thought that you two have died for sure too. Still, nothing that can be fixed right n-FGHHHH?!”

Mocking words came out of the black-haired George’s mouth – but then they were almost immediately followed by a tip of the ice spear piercing his heart.

Not one around Devios though, but one that the young blue-haired man condensed behind his opponent’s back when he was not paying attention.

*THUNK* x200

Only after the surprise attack went through, the spears at the ready all launch themselves at the child of the marital artist and a magician, tearing him into shreds.

“…that felt too easy…”

Devios clenched his fist and glared at the shreds of a black marital arts uniform being torn to shreds.

There was no blood.

So either George’s body was parading around naked, or that was not the real one.

“YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME?!”

Devios straightened his back and roared, doing his best to use the moisture in the air to detect any sort of movement from the real half-blood man.

“Student Devios! Cease this foolishness at once, or as the member of the Heavenly Archer’s sect I will take your action against our pupil as a declaration of war!”

The vice headmaster of the Heavenly Star Academy raised his voice and waved his hand in a threatening manner from his spot.

He was one o the very few people that looked to be relatively fine with the temperature that dropped dozens of degrees below the water freezing point.

“You two are in the same sect? WERE YOU DEAF WHEN I ANNOUNCED HIS CRIMES? HAVING GEROIZEN AMONGST YOUR RANKS AND CALLING HIM A PUPIL MAKES YOU HIS ACCOMPLICE. IF YOU WILL NOT EXPEL HIM IMMEDIATELY AND REVEAL HIS CURRENT LOCATION TO ME, THEN I WILL TAKE IT AS THE HEAVENLY ARCHER SECT DECLARING A WAR AGAINST THE PERSERIOS FAMILY!”

The calm Devios was no longer there, the blue-haired man transformed into a frozen demon of vengeance – as he pointed at the vice headmaster with accusation, a demonic-looking ice armor grew around his body, complete with a horned helmet.

“…ghh…!”

The vice headmaster bit his lips which were becoming blue from the cold as the temperature dropped even lower.

“…what kind of monster you…? Ice dragon? Dragonewt in disguise? Why isn’t the law of Aquarius getting rid of your spell’s effects…?”

The mind growled through his teeth before faltering and falling onto one knee as the ice magic got to him despite his best efforts.

“I warned you lot that I know ways to get to you that you could not stop. For myself, I am human, the only monster here is Geroizen!”

Devios scoffed, spatting to the side and having his saliva turn into ice before it reached the frosted ground.

“COME AND GET ME IF YOU CAN! I’M RIGHT HERE!”

Suddenly, George showed up at the roof of the dormitory’s building, waving his arms around to get Devios’s attention.

“No, you’re not – it’s another copy created with the law of Gemini.”

*CRACK*

But the blue-haired man merely shook his head from left to right and breathed out while George on the rooftop became an ice sculpture and crumbled into pieces because of the ice spell.

“Tsk… if that’s the case, I will have to deal with you the old-fashioned way!”

“!!!”

After that, with no other warning, a lump of dark mist rose from the ground and a hand with a short jet-black blade sticking out of its knuckles emerged, aiming straight at the blue-haired man’s throat.