70. This Is My Turf – 2
The Student Council President election was drawing to a close.
A few days had passed since the trials in the Mial Mountains.
After visiting the Enchantment Practice Room with Wildy, Ian returned to the dormitory.
He found Class B students gathered in front.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re going to watch the final Student Council President election duel.”
“The dueling tournament?”
“Yeah. Aren’t you guys going?”
“I wasn’t really planning to. Wildy, what about you?”
“I’m not interested either.”
“Hey. Shouldn’t you guys take some interest in the Academy? It’s deciding who the new Student Council President will be.”
“Isn’t Rowena the frontrunner right now?”
“Anything can happen in a duel.”
Graegin adjusted his glasses and chimed in.
He seemed quite interested.
“Plus, Class C’s Rangell is about to reach the 6th Circle [a measure of magical power]. Just watching his magic is educational.”
Oerina also spoke, but Ian remained uninterested.
She sighed deeply and looked at Wildy.
“Wildy, what about you?”
“Then I’ll go too. It’ll be good for studying.”
Wildy had also recently reached the 5th Circle.
He needed to observe those ahead of him to learn.
“Then, Ian, I’ll come pick you up when it’s over. Let’s go eat together.”
Blanche waved lightly.
Ian glanced at those heading to the dueling tournament and entered the dormitory with Mya.
Inside, Haryun and Wilval were playing Janggi (Korean chess).
“Aren’t you guys going?”
“I don’t care who becomes president.”
Ian sat on a nearby sofa and watched the Janggi board.
Haryun seemed to have the upper hand.
Wilval was contemplating his next move, trying to find a way out.
“Ugh…….”
“Mya, Mya.”
“Hehe.”
“Hey, Ian, Mya. No coaching. This is a bet.”
“What bet?”
“This.”
On the table was a small pouch.
Inside were small beads.
“Eternal Ice?”
“And I have this.”
Next to Haryun was a bow.
Ian chuckled, recognizing the bow’s value at a glance.
“Where did you get this?”
“Park Bare got it from a mission last time, and I took it. Hehe.”
Wilval, after pondering for a while, moved his piece.
Haryun immediately moved his general in response, and after several attempts to resist, Wilval’s mage was eventually captured.
“Damn it!!”
“Looks fun. Haryun, let me play a game too.”
“Do you know how to play Janggi? I’ve never seen you play before.”
“I know the rules.”
“Oh, just knowing the rules and you’re challenging me?! I’m one of the Janggi Four Kings of Class B. I won’t lose at this.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Just then.
“Hey!! Big trouble!!”
Park Bare burst through the door.
The three in the lobby looked puzzled as Park Bare said, his face pale.
“There’s chaos at the dueling arena!”
“What chaos?”
“Eose tried to summon a High-Grade Spirit and it went berserk!”
Wilval and Haryun’s expressions hardened.
A High-Grade Spirit is a powerful entity that even skilled spiritists can’t summon carelessly.
Since they consider themselves superior to humans, if provoked, they could go berserk and destroy everything around them.
“Are you crazy?! Why summon a High-Grade Spirit?!”
“He was losing the duel, so he took a gamble, it seems.”
*This is why gambling is scary.*
As Ian thought this, Mya nodded in agreement.
“Mya, Mya.”
They couldn’t just stand by, so Haryun and Wilval grabbed their weapons.
If things went wrong, the entire Academy could be destroyed, so they had to stop it.
“Ian, what are you going to do?”
“I have to go.”
He had made the Academy his base, and he couldn’t just abandon it when problems arose.
And would such things not happen if he went elsewhere?
Problems always arise wherever people gather.
Would he run away every time such problems occurred?
He got up and left the dormitory, followed by Haryun, Wilval, and Park Bare.
The area around the dueling arena was utter chaos.
A massive whirlwind was swirling in the center, and blue wind spirits were flying out of it.
These were Low-Grade and Mid-Grade Spirits drawn out by the High-Grade Spirit.
Instructors and students who had come to watch were trying to stop them as they attacked indiscriminately.
However, spirits were constantly emerging from the whirlwind created by the High-Grade Wind Spirit.
If they couldn’t stop it, the damage would eventually spread outside the Academy.
“Kuh…… Instructor Valentine! How much longer?!”
“Kennes fell too quickly…… It’s difficult alone! We need another spiritist!!”
“They’ll be here soon, so hold on a little longer!!”
Fridion shouted, and Valentine reached out with a troubled expression.
She was trying to calm the High-Grade Spirit using the spirit affinity of the elves.
But it wasn’t easy.
“Priest Aute!! Priest Willis!! Please hold on a little longer! Support will come from the Magic Tower!!”
The two priests, who had come to prevent injuries, were exerting divine power to prevent the spirits from escaping.
But the rampage of a High-Grade Spirit was nothing short of a disaster.
It would be impossible to stop it with just the people here.
“Ugh…….”
Blood flowed from the corner of Aute’s mouth.
Willis’s complexion gradually turned pale.
Just then.
“Myaaaaaaa!!”
A cat’s cry echoed.
Perhaps because of the immense energy contained in that cry?
The spirits flying in the air and attacking indiscriminately stopped.
The expressions of the Class B students brightened upon hearing it.
They all knew what this cry was.
“Myaaaaaaa!!”
As Mya cried again, the spirits trembled.
They hurriedly retreated into the whirlwind as if fleeing.
Relieved, Wildy collapsed to the ground, and Mya, with her tail held high, walked over and sat on his leg.
“Mya~.”
“Good job, Mya! But where’s Ian?”
“Mya, Mya!”
Mya raised her front paw and pointed towards the whirlwind.
Ian was already standing in a place where no one could approach due to the strong winds.
The Class B students were taken aback.
“Ian!! It’s dangerous…….”
-KWA-BOOM!!
Ian, watching the whirlwind, swung his sword with immense force.
The whirlwind tore open, creating a hole.
As he entered, the students who were shouting to stop him fell silent.
Ian, inside the whirlwind, turned his gaze to a man standing in the center.
His eyes were dyed blue, and blue energy rippled around his body.
The spirit, the owner of that energy, who had taken over his body based on life force and spirit energy, spoke in a solemn tone.
“Insignificant being dares to summon me, Silmarion. How foolish, how very foolish.”
“That insignificant guy is unconscious, so why don’t you stop and get out?”
“I have already been summoned here. Do you think I will retreat without a price, insignificant one?”
“A price?”
“The lives of those of the same race in this area. The sin of an insignificant being summoning a great one. Repay it with that.”
In other words.
He was saying that he would kill not only the Academy but also the people in the surrounding villages.
“Is this a spirit or a demon?”
Ian stared intently at Silmarion and pointed his sword.
“This is my turf, and I won’t let anyone mess around here.”
“Try it, insignificant…….”
-THWACK!!
Ian moved in an instant and struck him with the flat of his sword.
Silmarion screamed as he was hit.
“Kuaaaak!! What is this……!! Why is it affecting me……?!”
The Heavenly Demon Art [a powerful martial art] could even kill gods and possessed yin and yang, encompassing all attributes.
So, even if it was a spirit without substance and physical force was ineffective, it could be damaged by the internal energy of the Heavenly Demon Art.
“You bastard!!”
Enraged, Silmarion finally revealed his true form.
Eose’s body slumped, and a giant bird appeared above him.
The green behemoth with eight wings revealed its sharp beak and tried to create a powerful wind.
Ian swung his sword with a cold face.
Even a High-Grade Spirit couldn’t withstand him.
The beautiful green wings of the behemoth became covered in dirt, and the beak that had been shining brilliantly was half-broken.
All the claws were pulled out, and all the wings were broken.
Ian grabbed the head of Silmarion, who was panting and rolling on the ground, and kicked it away.
-THWACK!!
Silmarion, hit again and knocked away, finally began to beg.
“S, stop…… stop hitting me……. I’ll go back! I’ll just go back……!”
The other spirits around were terrified.
They watched in disbelief as the High-Grade Spirit was beaten and begged.
Regardless, Ian beheaded Silmarion, completely annihilating him, and said.
“Go to the Spirit Realm and tell them. It’s fine to come for revenge, but make an appointment.”
Then he glared.
“If you come and mess around without permission, I’ll kill you all.”
The spirits hurriedly nodded and returned to the Spirit Realm.
Was it because Silmarion was annihilated?
The whirlwind disappeared.
In the completely destroyed dueling arena, Ian said indifferently to those who were looking at him with astonished faces.
“Then continue with your dueling tournament.”
“Uh, um, Student Ian?”
In the silence, Valentine asked with an awkward expression.
“What happened to Silmarion……?”
“I annihilated him.”
“Ah…… I see…….”
Just how strong was he?
Once a High-Grade Spirit went berserk, the entire area would be destroyed.
He blocked such danger alone and spoke so casually.
Valentine and the other instructors were sweating, and Ian went straight back to the dormitory.
Haryun and Wilval, who had returned, resumed their Janggi game.
Eventually, the game ended with Haryun’s victory.
“Haha! Then I’ll take this!”
“Damn it!”
As Wilval, frustrated, expressed his regret, Ian smiled and sat down in Wilval’s place.
“What are you betting?”
“I’ll bet this.”
Ian placed his sword on the table.
Haryun shook his head.
“Not that. Let’s go to my house this vacation.”
“Why there?”
“Vacation. You’re always busy running around, aren’t you? The Salt Marquisate is also famous as a resort. Take this opportunity to rest a bit.”
If left alone, Ian would be running around again.
Haryun said with a smile, and Ian nodded.
Later, when the Class B students returned after finishing their cleanup, Haryun muttered with an exhausted face.
“Damn it…… He even plays Janggi well…….”
“You’re back early? Who won?”
“How could we have a dueling tournament in that chaos? It was suspended. Plus, the candidates were quite injured by the spirits’ attacks. They’ll probably need to recuperate for a few months.”
“Then is the Student Council President election off the table?”
“No. One person held up well. They only need a few days to recover, so they’ll probably be the one.”
“Who is it?”
“Rowena.”
She moved calmly, protecting the students and herself.
The instructors noticed that, so she was likely to be chosen.
“It’s like fate is leading her to become the Student Council President.”
Haryun said jokingly with a smile, and Ian snorted.
“There’s no such thing as fate. Even if there is…….”
‘That’s right.’
To Ian, who liked to resist.
A predetermined future was just an object to be destroyed.