Chapter 7. We came, we saw, we won.
7.75 Their Story
[3] The Beginning of a Legend
"Kuh!"
One of my comrades fell along with his summon. At the same time, more students from Arucia teamed up against another one of my comrade.
"Damn ittttt!"
One of them pulled up all of his power with his summon. He released a giant explosion using his salamander. It seemed too dangerous in a place of competition like this, but the magic failed to damage anyone in the area.
"Damn it… Nerkia…"
Elemental Core.
No one knew who gave this nickname to Nerkia, but it fit him perfectly.
He blocked attacks that he could block with a stronger elemental. If he couldn't block it, he would change the direction of the attack using an elemental of the same element.
He kept his cool amongst tens of different attacks, and managed to defeat his opponents.
"Damn it… So the council presidents of all the schools are here?"
The first one was Ruan, the council president of Arucia. His sword skills that already got approved by the imperial guard was extremely hard for an amateur to counter.
At the same time, there was commander Axis, the council president of Mercaria. He was perhaps the strangest individual in the entire school.
He wasn't strong. He didn't have much mana, either. But he was still a person that many knight corps coveted. If one told a corps that only one out of Ruan and Axis could be chosen, they would ten out of ten choose Axis.
He has one talent. A talent for a strategist.
He always deploys just the right amount of people. He calculates all variables, and looks through just about any strategy. Even now, despite the fact that countless Arucia students were rushing their enemies, their number was calculated, and efficient.
If a president of Marcis joins in as well, an unbeatable team would be formed on the spot.
Arucia, a school specializing in melee battles. Marcis, a school that specializes in ranged battles. Nerkia, an individual who protects both schools with his army of elementals. This was… unbeatable.
"But!"
Even so, I looked up at Nerkia with flaming eyes, and shouted.
"You, I cannot forgive!"
I summoned Loki's shoes. I combined this with the power of a low-class wind elemental.
"Eh?"
"What the?!"
The students of Arucia felt a strong gust pass by them, but were unable to find me.
"I have only one goal in front of me!"
Victory? Leaving school? That didn't matter any more. I just… wish to kill the sinner in front of me!
But.
My legs began to sink. The land around me was turning into a swamp. My speed that was like the wind began to slow. Even when I stepped in a place where there was no swamp, I almost tripped on a small rock tens of times already. More people began to catch up behind me.
This was no mere coincidence. One person. Just one person was causing this.
A style of fighting that wasn't powerful, but efficient. In the end, I was taken over by several students who rushed me.
"Nerkiaaaaaaa!"
"I'm sorry."
I shouted towards Nerkia at the top of the wall, but I only got a short response from him.
"How could you… betray the school!"
"Have you turned crazy because of a single woman!?"
"We promised to make girlfriends at the same time, but youuuu!!!!!!"
The captured comrades began to shout along with me. It was their last words in the battlefield. After hearing these words, one purple-haired girl blushed, and shouted.
"D… don't be mean to him! I asked him to do this!"
Nerkia's girlfriend. His childhood friend, was it? Her hair had come all the way down to her shoulders, and as expected of a student of Arucia, her body was quite something.
Ah… I'm getting even madder from this. Nerkia, you bastard! I'll kill you! This… this isn't because of jealousy! It's not! The thing in my eyes is just sweat!
A cold knight girl is beginning to tear up because of her boyfriend! Cute! I'm jea… no! I'm not jealous!
While we all denied what was happening with all our power, tears began to fall from the girl's eyes. Normally, we'd be shocked over how we made a girl cry. But we were unable to be like this due to her following words.
"He's… he's just doing this to get approval from [us]!"
…Approval. That's good.
He has to be approved. He's from a bad family, after all. Right. This makes complete sense.
But isn't something kind of strange?
There's a grammatical error in her sentence?
…Us?
…Us?
…………………USSSSSSSSSSSSS??????????
After this, the first miracle began.
Lumian Lekein.
He was a demon inside the school, and the strongest individual outside the school. Even within the student council of Yugrasia, he was an abnormality.
No, his summon in the first place was strange.
Normally, a summoner would form a contract with the four standard elementals. Then, he/she would form a contract with more abnormal elementals like the elemental of thunder, metal, wood, etc.
But Lumian managed to contract a rare dark elemental.
Those who knew him well made fun of him for being even darker than he alredy was.
And, after this, he met professor Nicerwin and contracted an even rarer elemental. He managed to form a contract with a shadow elemental, whose contractors could be counted by one hand in the entire continent.
Then, with his dark, villainous look, he normally performed his task as a secretary.
He wasn't even trying to look normal. He really was an individual who could be addressed as "Student A" in any story. Because of this, he seldom had friends, despite his ability and talent.
And the reason why he came all the way over here was simple.
He was jealous.
And angry.
But he laughed it off when the others said that they'd kill Nerkia.
Because he was so normal. Because he was just jealous. Ah, because he abandoned the entire school just for a girl. He was just here to punch Nerkia just once.
He had just decided to give up if he got caught like this. In the end, Lumian was a person who thought to congratulate his friend after this for getting a girlfriend.
Unlike the other people in the group, he was a total normie.
The only one who had thought of congratulating Nerkia even a little bit.
But this was all before the purple-haired girl spoke.
"He's… he's just doing this to get approval from [us]!"
Us.
Us she says.
That was exactly what she said.
If he wasn't mentally ill, the girl had clearly said "us".
Makin, his friend, had answered a question that would clear up everything in his mind for him.
"…Us? US?! How many more are there!?"
"If I were to count all of them…"
If you were to count them?
"F, four?"
One. Two. Three. Four.
Lumian tried counting by folding each of my fingers. He put up his other hand, and tried to count the girlfriends he's had in the past.
Zero, zilch, zip, nada, nothing.
It's empty. No fingers could be folded. All five fingers were standing up straight.
-I understand your feelings.
Lumian felt a dark hand reach out to his shoulder.
It was a miracle. Also a beginning of a new story.
It spoke to him quietly.
-Are you angry?
Lumian was angry.
Because he was simple. Because he was normal. Because he thought of Nerkia the most. Because of this, the feeling of anger hit Lumian harder than anything.
-Right. He betrayed you. He betrayed you, and the school.
Maybe this had to be done. Maybe this was inevitable. Even in this situation, Lumian tried to understand Nerkia. Even though he looked shady, even though he couldn't get along with others. But even so, Lumian tried to trust Nerkia.
Because of this.
"This is making me even madder?"
-Right. It's maddening. But you have no power. In the first place, you are outnumbered.
Then, he understood. The owner of this power was not the elemental of darkness he contracted with, nor the elemental of shadow. It was the strongest elemental he had ever seen. Perhaps the only one that could compete against this elemental was the lord of water that professor Muam possessed.
-I'll give oyu strength, angered one.
"The price for that is?"
-Ahh, your anger that has managed to captivate me is enough.
The strength that he felt on his shoulders began to spread all across his body. It wrapped around him, then loosened. The process repeated several times. Lumian made a smile that would've surprised those who knew him. Then, he spoke.
"Good. I, Lumian Lekein, will entrust this anger to you."
-Kuhahaha! Good, it's been 7000 years since my last contract. Treat me well. My name is Wrath. I am one of the seven sins, Wrath itself! I am the most primal of the elemental kings, the king of emotion!
At the same time, an invisible hand assaulted the students of Arucia.
"Ah… what the hell. I'm getting mad all of the sudden."
"What, you have a problem with me or something?"
"You think you know everything just because you're older than me?"
Clang.
The students of Arucia began to fight amongst themselves. This was the power of wrath. Just by spreading anger all around him, one could make armies fight amongst themselves!
It was a power that truly could not be stopped.
This was an event that proved the existence of elementals of emotion, and also the event that managed to put the alliance that centered around Arucia to its knees.