"Nightry, the Butterfly of Illusion."
She whispered its name into the arena. From her pouch, a massive form burst forth, soaring into the sky.
The beautiful, well-built dark-skinned fourth-year senior stood with one hand on her hip, gazing confidently at the brown-haired boy opposite her.
It was three in the afternoon. With no more classes, the students had all rushed over upon hearing of a freshman stealing points, gathering to watch the duel between Ray and Myra.
In front of the Black Dragon Castle, the grounds were filled with noise and tension.
No matter how pleasant the breeze, the sunlight, and the trees made the air for resting, people's hearts still pounded without pause.
"Myra's Nightry… the butterfly that has defeated countless legendary beasts. Even Oliver of the Phoenix house nearly lost to it. How interesting, someone actually dares challenge her."
"We'll finally see Senior Myra fight today! Yay, I'm so excited! Kyaa, senpai, please look this way!"
"Hahaha! Only King Victor could ever defeat that butterfly. That kid's finished for sure."
"That freshman is doomed. Even with a Phoenix, without multiple techniques to counter Nightry, it's over."
"He even wagered a dragon? What a pity… running into the genius of illusions."
"It's all over. He chose to fight the smartest woman of the Black Dragon house."
The whispers spread around, the crowd circling the dueling stage.
The beasts of both combatants beat their wings, facing one another in the sky.
Ray's Phoenix, radiant in fiery red-orange, spread embers with every beat of its wings. Opposite it hovered the shadowy butterfly, cloaked in darkness, with smaller butterflies circling around it like fragments of its aura.
At present, Ray's Phoenix was level 37—eleven levels lower than Nightry. Yet the gap had not made the legendary beast seem weak in the least.
"A one-on-one duel, with the wager being academy ranking against a legendary beast contract. Do both combatants accept?"
"I accept," Myra replied coolly, hand on her hip.
"I'll add one more condition," Ray said.
"If I lose, you may choose whichever of my legendary beasts you want."
Since he had interfered in Karua's matter uninvited, he felt he should bear the risk himself if he failed.
"Fine by me." Myra nodded.
"Then let the duel begin!" the referee declared.
"Flamethrower, Nixie!"
Ray flicked his hand. The Phoenix unleashed a torrent of hellfire at the butterfly.
"Veil of Darkness!"
The butterfly spread dark dust, forming a barrier of shadow that pushed against the inferno.
But it couldn't hold. The Phoenix's flames tore through the darkness, burning into the butterfly with violent force.
"Yes!" Ray clenched his fist when he saw its HP drop by a third.
"What the—!? That easy? Ray's pathetic Phoenix is this strong? It pierced the black veil designed to block magic! This is broken!" Jason gaped, clutching Karua's wing as he watched.
Aria nodded.
"I remember even with defense, it took enormous mana to withstand it. Without an opposing-element shield, you can't block Phoenix fire that easily."
"Heh… that's because she deliberately didn't defend… saving it for Ray's full strength," Karua muttered.
Aria nodded again. The senior must have some plan if she allowed herself to take the hit. Some spectators, familiar with Nightry's strategy, weren't surprised.
"Illusion - Split Form."
With a flick of Myra's hand, her butterfly split into three, circling the Phoenix.
Ray glanced from one to the next, unable to tell which was real.
"Flamethrower, the middle one, Nixie!"
Fire pierced the chest of the central butterfly, burning it away.
"Got it!" Ray cried, eyes bright.
"Ray, don't say that!" Aria scolded.
"Cute, aren't you, boy? But… Drain its blood, Nightry."
Ray's eyes widened—his attack had only struck an illusion.
The real body, hidden among the three, drew red streams of life force from the Phoenix.
Thanks to the illusion, Ray couldn't tell which stream was real. The black butterfly's HP gradually restored to full.
"So that's it… she didn't defend before because she didn't want to waste mana," Ray realized.
"Light Wings, Nixie, get out of the circle!"
The Phoenix's radiant wings cut the air, darting free of the encirclement.
"Switch positions, Nightry."
The three forms whirled and swapped places, leaving no clue which was real.
"So that's her plan… If you can't strike consecutively, the butterfly will just keep draining back to full. Ray, what will you do?" Aria worried aloud.
"Crazy! You'd have to guess right three times in a row. No one could do that, not even with a legendary Phoenix," Jason muttered.
"Heh… If it were me, I'd be in even worse shape… Draining aura directly bypasses Draker's defense…" Karua murmured tensely.
Myra only smirked, enjoying herself.
"Boy, power level doesn't decide victory. It's how you use it. Let me teach you. Thinking a legendary beast alone can topple everyone… that's childish."
Her fans cheered wildly.
"I know that already! Flame Tempest Dance, Nixie!"
The Phoenix spun a fiery storm, striking all three butterflies at once.
"Ray used a wide attack! Smart—solves the guessing game!" Jason grinned.
Aria frowned.
"But Myra must have prepared for that too…"
"Veil of Darkness!"
All three butterflies shrouded themselves in black mist, resisting the storm. The flames cut their HP by half.
"No way! She blocked it again!" Ray gasped.
"Drain." Myra's voice was casual.
"If I hit once more, it's over! Flamethrower, any one of them!"
But the fire burned through another illusion, dealing no damage.
Sweat beaded on Ray's brow as Nightry drained again.
Each time he struck, the butterflies swapped, and soon Nightry was back to full—while his Phoenix dropped to half.
Ray clenched his teeth. He couldn't use Flame Tempest Dance twice in a row. He would have to identify the real body and strike it down. Otherwise, even a Phoenix could lose.
"So strong," Ray muttered. For once, he didn't smile.
"I'm not strong. You're just not strong enough, boy." Myra twirled her hair, hand on hip, certain of victory.
Ray closed his eyes, forcing himself to ignore the taunts and the cheers.
'There has to be a way. If I can't see it, then I'll make myself see. I have to gamble everything.'
"Flame Tempest Dance—Advanced!"
With more mana, Nixie unleashed a giant inferno.
The stadium shook, flames swirling like a drill into the sky. Students ran screaming, though the arena's barrier shielded the duelists.
"Full Veil of Darkness!"
Nightry cloaked itself in shadow, but still its HP dropped by half.
Ray's mana was nearly gone.
"Light Wings, strike at least two, Nixie!"
The Phoenix slashed with golden wings of light-speed—only to hit two more illusions.
"Too bad. You'll never hit the real body like that. Drain, Nightry."
Again the Phoenix weakened.
"It's not over, senior! Stay close, Nixie—don't let them swap! Flamethrower on the last one!"
The Phoenix's flames engulfed the final form—yet again, an illusion.
"I-it can't be… none of them were real!?" Ray froze.
Aria, Jason, and Karua all stared in shock as Myra's fans roared.
"No real body? That's cheating!" Jason shouted.
"No, there has to be a real one. Her HP dropped from the wide attack," Aria countered.
"If she's been invisible from the start, then Ray's done for…" Karua whispered.
Ray's mind raced. He reread the skill description. Illusion created false images, but it couldn't erase reality.
To drain aura, the true body had to reveal itself.
Which meant… one of them had to be real.
'But I hit all three already! Why were they all illusions? Unless…'
He remembered her words: "You'll never hit the real one like that."
Ray's eyes snapped open, vision sharp as a blade.
'From the very start, when she declared "Nightry, the Butterfly of Illusion"… that was casting the skill itself. The giant butterfly we've seen this whole time… it was an illusion. The real body is the small black butterflies circling nearby!'
Ray searched—and found it. Among the three red streams of aura being drained, one thread was subtly feeding into a tiny butterfly hidden beside the false giant.
He smiled.
He had seen through her plan.
"Flamethrower, Nixie—hit that one! Burn it down!"
The Phoenix, nearly drained, let out a desperate cry and unleashed its full firepower at the tiny butterfly.
To the crowd, it looked like Ray had missed, hitting nothing.
But Myra froze. She alone knew he had found the truth.
"Not good! Nightry—Dark Orb!"
She tried to counterattack immediately, hurling a sphere of darkness at the weakened Phoenix.
But Ray's voice thundered back:
"Sorry, senior—Flame Tempest Dance!"
The Phoenix erupted, its final storm of fire consuming everything, spiraling into the heavens.
The crowd gawked in stunned silence.
Nightry's HP fell to zero.
Before the true body could be revealed, Myra recalled it to her pouch, hiding her secret.
The Phoenix hovered alone in the arena.
No one believed Ray could win.
No one even knew how he had defeated the second-strongest of the Black Dragon house.
But the truth was clear—Ray had won.
Myra dropped her hand from her hip and clapped for him.
For the first time, someone had seen through her perfected illusion.
The crowd followed her lead, applauding Ray.
Until now, no one had ever beaten her without brute-forcing wide attacks.
Aria, Jason, and Karua were still lost, not understanding what had just happened.
"Boy, you've beaten me. I'll transfer the points and rank right away…"
At once, Karua's card leapt to rank 10 of the academy rank 2 of the Black Dragon house.
But none of the four noticed the one-eyed King Victor, seated atop the castle, watching them with keen interest.
"This should be fun… freshmen."