A powerful gust of wind slapped against my face.

Locke was sprinting forward with me riding on his back.

"How far are we going?"

"Quit asking and just run."

I realized that walking would only delay us.

So, I decided to ride Locke.

Our goal was simple: reach Evan as fast as we could.

As I'd hoped, Locke kept a swift pace despite my extra weight.

He seemed somewhat strained, but that wasn't important.

All that mattered was our speed.

Suddenly, the distant sounds of conflict reached my ears.

The clash of weapons, shouts of struggle.

I squinted, focusing on the direction of the noise.

There, caught in a beam of light, was a shimmer of silver hair.

Yeniel.

It had to be Yeniel.

Seeing a black-haired man with a sword nearby confirmed it.

It was Evan's group.

I tapped Locke's back, pointing out the sight.

"Look, over there."

"Evan's group."

Locke must have noticed as well since he changed course towards them.

"Listen, from now on, do as I say..."

But Locke had already taken off, running.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

He continued to ignore me, dashing straight into Evan's group.

"You stubborn..."

With a mighty leap, Locke tossed me into the sky.

My body soared upwards, against my will.

This wasn't part of my plan...

I hadn't planned on fighting.

My only aim had been to stop them from meeting Anton Fred.

Of course, confronting Evan's group might have ended up being inevitable.

But a fight wasn't necessary right off the bat.

Evan was the protagonist, a tough opponent.

Judging whether or not I could defeat him was a challenge in itself.

Assessing the enemy's strength before a fight was always the right move.

As I floated in the sky, I glanced downwards.

Only two figures were standing below, Evan and Yeniel.

Weren't they supposed to be three?

Where was the third person?

I dismissed the thought - now wasn't the time.

Evan and Yeniel's eyes widened as Locke and I suddenly descended from the sky.

Taking them by surprise, I cast a spell.

"Abyssal Flame!"

While still airborne, I launched my magic towards Evan, and Locke charged at Yeniel.

Evan seemed surprised but blocked my magic skillfully.

As his sword made contact with my spell, it vanished like dust in the wind.

Simultaneously, Locke and Yeniel locked swords.

Locke tried to overpower Yeniel with sheer force, but Yeniel deflected his attack, shoving him forwards.

She then aimed her sword at Locke's exposed neck.

Locke lurched forward, falling intentionally, and rolled away from Yeniel's range.

Falling from this height would be painful.

Locke might be unscathed, but I wasn't made of the same stuff.

Reacting quickly, I cast a spell.

"Finger of the Demon!"

A black column rose from the ground, catching me mid-air.

As I hung from the pillar, I shouted at Locke.

"Hey! Locke! If you plan an ambush, do it properly! What was that all about?"

"Does it matter? Isn't the point to fight and win?"

Locke responded nonchalantly.

His casual attitude only made me annoyed.

"I'm beginning to question why I even brought you along."

Evan and Yeniel, suddenly thrust into a skirmish, stared at us, baffled.

"Rudy Astria, were you aiming for us?"

Evan questioned, eyes locked on me.

Well, what's done was done.

'Isn't it enough to fight and win?'

I gave Evan a mischievous smirk.

"Come on, let's go, top seat."

Mana surged into my hand as I prepared for the battle.

Meanwhile, Rie, cheeks flushed, was dodging Luna and Riku's relentless assaults.

Seeing her desperately clinging onto her skirt was heartbreaking.

Her eyes welled up with tears, her cheeks ablaze with redness.

"Please...the...antidote..."

Rie stammered out.

Her words left the Petro family's son clueless.

"I...I don't know anything about this potion...I've never heard of it..."

Rie whimpered in response, her face showing clear signs of tears.

Luna and the others were at a loss.

They were in a battle, yes, but attacking her in this state felt... like they were crossing a line.

Suddenly, a potion soared in from behind Rie.

"Um... here, take this!"

"If you had it... why didn't you give it sooner?"

Rie managed to mutter, trying to hold back her tears.

She immediately guzzled down the potion as she received it.

"After hearing..."

Petro started, but was cut short by Rie's scowl.

"What is it?"

"It temporarily suppresses the effects of poison or drugs in the body, but they return stronger later," he explained.

Rie flashed a wry smile at this revelation.

"Well, in that case, it doesn't matter. I just have to wrap this up before then."

Despite her words, she was still under the influence of the potion.

Her cheeks retained their flush.

But now, she was at least capable of focusing.

"Luna, let's have a proper fight now," Rie announced.

Luna was taken aback.

She had thought they had been fighting seriously up until this point.

Despite being in an abnormal state, Rie had been successfully blocking all incoming attacks with Sylph.

With a dexterity that was hard to match, she managed to evade most of the attacks by artfully maneuvering her body and casting Sylph to block any critical attacks.

Luna's hand slid into her bag, counting the remaining scrolls.

Around ten were left, though only a handful of them would serve as effective attacks against Rie.

Luna fingered the cube in her pocket, its warmth still lingering from prior use.

She needed time before she could use it again.

It would've been a good move to use it when Rie was in a weakened state, but that window had slipped away.

Luna didn't dwell on it.

As Rie readied another spell, Luna's hand tightened around the cube.

It would be ready for one last use soon.

With Rie's clear intention to wrap up the battle quickly, Luna had to consider this the final deployment of the cube.

Should she target Rie or counter Rie's attack with it?

Despite such considerations, Luna reached a conclusion - it had to be used offensively.

"Riku, Ena. Don't focus on blocking Rie's attacks, instead impede her movements."

"Understood...!"

"Yes!"

Luna extracted two scrolls from her bag.

With a swift motion, Luna ripped both scrolls simultaneously.

A fireball materialized and surged towards Rie, just like before.

'The same attack as before...?'

Rie momentarily questioned the tactic, but she quickly dismissed the thought.

Two scrolls were torn, one was a fireball attack, the other unknown.

Rie smirked.

"Fire Sphere."

A flame sprouted from Rie's palm.

Despite the incoming fireball, she held her ground.

"Sylph."

As Rie began to assemble wind from Sylph, Luna was momentarily perplexed.

She wasn't moving, even as the fireball reached dangerously close.

The sound of another scroll being torn echoed in the field.

But Rie was busy with her own spellcasting.

The sound originated from somewhere else, most likely from her teammate who had been hiding behind her.

"I can use scrolls too."

Scrolls might be the creation of wizards, but usage wasn't exclusive to them.

A forceful jet of water collided with the fireball mid-air, smothering it completely.

Water-based magic was not Rie's forte.

Among fundamental magic, she excelled in harnessing the attributes of wind and fire.

With intermediate magic, she also largely leaned towards fire.

The notion of them countering with magic of a different attribute hadn't crossed their minds.

The tiny flame in Rie's hand darted towards Sylph's mouth.

Luna's body sprung into action instinctively.

If she was to take the full brunt of Rie's attack, it would spell disaster.

Riku and Ena too would be caught in its path.

Whirling the bag from her back to the front, Luna yanked out her spellbook.

All fears, anxieties, and stray thoughts were shoved aside.

Her sole focus now was to safeguard Riku and Ena.

"Sylph...." Rie whispered.

Luna furiously flipped through the pages of her spellbook.

Where was it?

Where...where.

Even though Luna hadn't used this spellbook, she had skimmed through its content.

There was certainly a spell hidden within its pages that could deflect this.

"Shoot!!!"

Rie's voice rang out just as Luna stumbled upon the desired spell.

Her finger brushed against the page.

"Ugh...!"

Luna grunted as a light burst forth from the book.

Mana drained from Luna's body, the spell taking effect.

"Fortify!"

An ethereal radiance enveloped Luna, Ena, and Riku.

The spell that was once used on the scarecrow.

A spell that fortified the body.

It essentially granted resistance against all impacts.

"Ah!!!!" Luna gasped as Rie's magic neared and detonated right before her.

Despite the fortification spell, Luna could feel a scorching sensation searing through her.

"Grrraaaah!!!!!" she roared.

"Luna!!!!"

Yet Luna didn't stop.

"This... is nothing...."

She managed to say through gritted teeth.

Her body screamed in pain, but she pushed through.

Rie, who had been watching, furrowed her brows.

It wasn't pleasant seeing Luna in pain, but if things went wrong, one of the teaching assistants would step in to save her.

Then, a clinking sound echoed from behind.

"Huh?" Rie glanced back.

It was Luna's cube.

"Ah...."

Rie realized what one of the scrolls Luna had used was.

It was a spell of invisibility.

Luna had concealed the cube using the invisibility spell and had released it alongside the fireball.

She had used the spell where the cube had been, rendering the need to pinpoint coordinates for the cube's magic.

Rie was taken aback.

The potion concealed in the water ball earlier, and now the cube, hidden and sent within the fireball.

"I got tricked the same way twice."

If you're fooled twice by the same trick...

As this thought crossed Rie's mind, she felt an odd sensation beneath her feet.

"Sylph!!!!"

she cried out in alarm.

Suddenly, gravity collapsed on Rie.