Chapter 50: Meteor Shower
Although this was simply using Kudou's name to deter Mayumi's attempts to uncover the truth, there was no other way.
What good would knowing do?
In the end, it would only add to her troubles.
Time moved forward.
By the time of the Ice Pillar Break semifinals, the stands were still packed with people.
But compared to yesterday's cheers, today there was a lot more whispering.
Especially when they saw Yotsuba Mahiro still wearing that distinctive engineer's uniform.
"Heh heh, what's he so arrogant about? He just knows an A-class destructive magic."
"No, no, that guy's magic has already been upgraded to tactical-level by the competition organizers, and it's already been banned by the operation committee."
"Really? Then he can't use it? How's he going to compete now?"
"This is going to be a good show~"
.....
Although the discussions of these people were not loud, when more people discussed, it became very clear.
It happened to reach Sayaka's ears, who was preparing to enjoy the match.
She turned her head and glared at those people, then turned back and asked those around her:
"What are these people talking about? What magic is banned by the competition?"
When this was mentioned, Miyuki, Kitayama Shizuku, and Honoka, who were players and insiders, all averted their gaze and remained silent.
Especially Miyuki, her hands couldn't help but clench her skirt.
What the committee did was simply too much in everyone's eyes!
However, she still believed in Yotsuba Mahiro, just as she said yesterday, what if Scattering Mist was not available?
Mahiro-kun has so many other spells he can use, he can still slap these people in the face!
Only Sayaka was completely unaware of what had happened, looking at them, hoping for an answer.
At this moment, Erika gently patted her shoulder and said:
"sayaka, it's normal that you don't know. Just last night, the Nine Schools Competition officially announced that Mahiro's magic had been upgraded to tactical-level and prohibited from use."
"What? How could they... How could they do such an outrageous thing?!"
Sayaka's reaction was almost identical to theirs when they first found out, both confused and angry.
Even if she wasn't a Nine Schools Competition participant, she had watched so many matches and knew the rules.
Ice Pillar Break clearly doesn't restrict magic levels!
This is outright targeting!
"But why are they targeting Mahiro-kun?" Mizuki was equally indignant, yet confused.
"Mizuki is still so naive~ This is the adult world. They are always so dirty, for their own unknown purposes."
Erika sighed with profound emotion, as if she had long been accustomed to it.
"But sayaka, you don't need to worry so much. Look at Mahiro's expression on the field; he's clearly very confident."
Indeed, Yotsuba Mahiro, standing on the stage, was as composed as ever.
And the person opposite him, upon seeing him, had already become arrogant!
"Haha, your magic has been banned! How do you expect to win now? Just get eliminated here!"
A grand magic circle and thought-particle light enveloped the field.
However, just as the spell was about to be completed—
Spell Dismantlement!
Crack!
Like glass, it suddenly shattered!
The entire audience was immediately in an uproar.
"It's an un-system anti-magic 'Spell Dismantlement'?!"
But how did he manage to destroy such a vast magic with just a single thought-particle cluster?
Just as everyone was bewildered, a surging heat wave suddenly rose from the field.
""Muspelheim""
The field seemed to be covered with a layer of azure flames, emitting a high temperature like a scorching sun, so much so that even the audience seats could faintly feel the terrifying heat.
"Such powerful magical energy."
Kitayama Shizuku, sitting in the stands, couldn't help but exclaim.
Effortlessly casting such a large-scale magic made her somewhat captivated, and then seeing the young man whose broken hair was blown by the hot wind, always composed, made her heart race faster.
"Y-yes! Mahiro-kun is indeed unexpectedly powerful...."
Mitsui Honoka's cherry lips were slightly parted, and her eyes also sparkled with admiration.
As someone from a light-elemental lineage, she could actually see the flow of thought-particles in the air more clearly.
The magic in her eyes had no messy light signals; it was simply released very quietly, almost like art!
On the field, the opposing player, whether from the temperature or nervousness, was already sweating profusely, frantically tapping the CAD on his wrist.
But no matter what magic he released, it would be destroyed by Spell Dismantlement in the next instant.
He could only watch helplessly as his own icicles melted away bit by bit.
Winning the match in a completely unexpected way, even retaliating by making the opponent despair, the people in the audience couldn't help but feel awe when they looked at Yotsuba Mahiro's upright back.
He was simply a demon!
But this was just the beginning.
Since they liked to ban magic, the magic combinations he used in his subsequent matches were never repeated.
"Ice-Flame Hell," a waltz of extreme cold and extreme heat, with "Spell Dismantlement";
The wide-area vibration-deceleration magic "Ice Mist Divine Realm" with the simple vibration-type magic "Epicenter," plus "Spell Dismantlement";
An advanced version of "Sonomaiser," like a satellite ray, fused with "Multiple Casting," and "Spell Dismantlement."
As long as it was his turn to compete, it was still an endless stream of instant kills, just like before.
The audience was numb.
The players who were brutally massacred in various ways complained endlessly, to the point that various major high schools shamelessly protested again.
This time, the operations committee had no choice but to ban the anti-magic "Spell Dismantlement" again.
It was not allowed to be used in Ice Pillar Break.
But it was already somewhat late, because it was now the finals.
As the countdown clock on the screen above the arena reached zero.
The large characters "First High School VS Third High School" appeared.
The person who appeared on the opposite side was, as expected, Ichijo Masaki, who had boasted to him earlier.
Yotsuba Mahiro clearly remembered what happened in the hotel corridor yesterday.
Rather than a conversation, it was more like a challenge to him—
He would be crushed in the finals of "Ice Pillar Break"!
Not only Ichijo Masaki, but also George, were equally determined to win.
However, once they met on the field, neither of them said anything, nor was there any need to.
The moment the match began, Ichijo Masaki used the Ichijo Family's secret technique—"Explosion"—successfully shattering one of his icicles.
The audience outside the arena immediately erupted in an uproar.
This was the first time they had seen Yotsuba Mahiro's side lose an icicle since the start of the Ice Pillar Break!
Could Ichijo Masaki really have a chance to defeat this monster?
The answer was, of course, no.
He hadn't made a move earlier only because he was thinking about what magic would be best to use.
"Got it!"
He suddenly had a brilliant idea.
—"Information Body Reinforcement"—
The moment Explosion was about to shatter the second icicle, the icicle that had been tottering just a second ago suddenly stabilized.
Ichijo Masaki's brow furrowed slightly.
His Explosion magic had actually failed, and it wasn't by destroying the spell, but by covering the information body.
This surprised him somewhat.
But next, Ichijo Masaki pulled the trigger repeatedly.
In an instant, just an instant, he released a ten-shot Explosion magic.
He didn't believe that such a scale could still be defended against!
In contrast, Yotsuba Mahiro ignored the continuously exploding icicles and, under everyone's gaze, pulled out a second CAD from his Pocket—
The dagger that matched Night Demon, swung horizontally.
The thin blade seemed to cut through the barrier of space.
"MetroLine"!
Endless darkness instantly spread from under his feet, rapidly covering the entire venue like a mire!
It was like a canopy, covering the sky above!
Light particles streaking through the darkness, like thousands of flowing stars.
The beams of light descending from the sky were even a divine punishment from heaven!