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Chapter 97: My Specialty Is Self-Destruction

Swimming through shadows.

I had undertaken such an absurd feat.

Perhaps that’s why a look of bewilderment flashed across Solvas’ face beyond the shadows.

It was only natural.

Shadows aren’t like water.

If I had to describe it, they feel more like paint.

But how was I swimming through shadows?

The answer was simple.

Magic Engraving: Wind.

I could create buoyancy with the wind magic attached to my arms and legs.

It wasn’t enough to let me soar through the air, but it allowed me to float within the shadows.

Thanks to that, I could swim even in the shadows.

Splash, splash, splash!

The distance between Solvas and me closed in an instant.

For what it’s worth, swimming is my specialty.

It’s an excellent exercise for building stamina without injuries, so there was a time I swam every day.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Even Solvas, who never expected this, showed his astonishment.

He quickly dashed across the wave of shadows, forming a shadow bow in his grasp.

Fwip!

As he released the drawn bowstring, a shadow arrow shot forth.

The arrow split into countless fragments, multiplying into hundreds in the blink of an eye.

A rain of arrows poured down from the sky.

I immediately dove into the shadows.

The shadow arrows pierced through the shadow waves but missed me as I swam nimbly inside.

The sheer force of the waves rendered the arrows less effective.

Beyond the shadows, Solvas’ face twisted.

It seemed he realized his shadow wave had backfired.

Shadows are inherently devoured by other shadows.

Within the shadow wave, even Solvas’ shadows were losing their edge.

Meanwhile, I kept closing the distance to Solvas.

Splash, splash, splash!

As I approached with incredible speed using the butterfly stroke, Solvas flinched.

If you’re going to look at me like I’m some sort of monster, it hurts, you know.

No choice but to swim even harder.

Thanks to that, I swam faster than Solvas, who was running on the shadow waves.

“What the—? How aren’t you slowing down? Don’t you get tired?!”

Of course not.

You think something like this would wear me out?

I’ve been training in hellish conditions with Aisha, and the intensity had only increased in preparation for today.

Stamina is power.

Right now, I’m a wrecking machine forged from endurance.

Solvas unleashed a torrent of shadow weapons.

But I trusted in my ability to evade and the resilience of my body, pushing forward without hesitation.

Even fleeing has its limits.

Eventually, the distance between Solvas and me closed.

My eyes gleamed.

This was my chance.

The magic engravings on my soles lit up all at once.

Boom!

In an instant, I surged upward, still in my swimming stance, propelled by the explosion of the magic engravings.

Caught off guard, Solvas looked up at me in stunned disbelief.

You didn’t see this coming—your mistake.

I grabbed Solvas’ shoulder, pushing him down forcefully.

Solvas dug in with both legs to resist.

“Ugh!”

But while he was a genius with shadows, when it came to raw strength, I had the upper hand.

Sploosh!

Overpowered, Solvas was plunged into the shadow wave.

Both of us were dragged beneath the surface in no time.

With a grimace, Solvas glared fiercely.

“This… was a mistake.”

That’s what his lips said.

Rumble!

The shadow wave began to churn violently.

What I saw next was a massive vortex forming within the shadow wave, sweeping everything into its spiraling force.

As expected of a Six-Star.

The scale is insane.

But Solvas didn’t realize one crucial fact.

My legs were tightly coiled around his waist, and my arms were locked firmly around his neck.

In this form, Hannon, I’m much smaller than Solvas.

Burying my face in a man’s chest is revolting, but it’s the best position for holding on tight.

“Let go of me!”

Solvas thrashed around, trying to shake me off.

It seems he planned to escape after creating this vortex.

He struck at me repeatedly with his fists.

But that was a mistake.

His face twisted in pain.

The hand he used to hit me was already swollen and red.

Punching a hunk of steel with bare hands was never going to end well.

Physical combat against me is a losing battle.

I tightened my hold even more.

Right now, I’m not a person—I’m a steel weight.

An unshakable steel weight.

I kept increasing the pressure.

Crack!

A sound of something breaking came from Solvas’ body.

“Gah!”

He groaned in pain, struggling harder, but there was no way I’d let go.

Once I latch on, I never let go.

That’s my one and only talent.

The vortex grew fiercer and more violent.

At this rate, even Solvas would be caught in it.

Eventually, he was forced to make an extreme choice.

And that was exactly what I’d been aiming for.

Solvas clenched both fists.

Whoosh!

The shadow wave surrounding us dissipated all at once.

As soon as it disappeared, I felt a weightless sensation.

The shadows that had anchored us were gone, and we started plummeting toward the ground.

Wind roared past, and the sensation of free fall filled my entire body.

But Solvas wasn’t a Six-Star for nothing.

As soon as he dismissed the shadow wave, he conjured shadow daggers in both hands.

He reversed his grip on the daggers and brought them down toward me.

Before they could pierce my back—

Snap!

The shadow daggers shattered.

A bony armor had formed on my back.

‘Grantoni.’

Grantoni, who must have been watching from somewhere, had created the bone armor for me.

Solvas’ eyes widened in shock.

As he tried to respond, he noticed my body glowing.

My entire form was gradually becoming suffused with light.

His eyes grew larger in proportion to his rising fear.

“Why… why are you glowing?”

“Beats me.”

I looked up at him with a sly grin.

“Maybe I’m about to explode.”

When magic engravings meet mystical energy, their power amplifies.

So I’d prepared for this.

A magic engraving mega explosion.

Solvas’ face turned pale as a sheet, but his skin darkened at the same time.

He was wrapping himself in a layer of night-shadow armor.

That should shield him from the explosion.

But the fact that Grantoni helped me meant someone else was watching this unfold too.

Thunk!

The night’s shadow, which was about to envelop Solvas completely, suddenly stopped at his neck.

Solvas’s night shadow was the advanced version of shadow magic.

Umbra was one of the few peculiar families recognized as mystical in the world.

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Acknowledged for the uniqueness of their night shadow, they were a special family permitted to cross over alongside the Whitewood.

But for a very brief moment—

A truly fleeting moment—shadow magic could make even the night’s shadow hesitate.

The shadow magic of Card.

His magic made Solvas’s night shadow pause for just a moment.

And that brief pause changed everything.

The one part of Solvas’s face not covered by the night shadow—his eyes—began to shine with light.

“...Fuck.”

It was Solvas’s final curse, muttered under his breath.

BOOOOOOOM!

Soon, the forest's sky was swept up in a massive explosion.

* * *

After the explosion of the magic engraving, Solvas and I both plummeted to the ground.

No matter how capable I was, the explosion of a magic engraving was overwhelming.

I couldn’t do anything until I hit the ground.

Just as I was about to crash—

Whoosh!

Something sticky and soft cushioned me, sparing me from face-planting into the ground.

When I regained my senses and looked around, I saw shadows enveloping me.

“Wangnon!”

From afar, Card was running over, waving his hand.

Thanks to Card’s shadow magic, I’d avoided the crash.

I slid down off the shadow.

“Hahaha! That was art!”

At that moment, Grantoni emerged from the forest, clapping his hands and praising the explosion as a masterpiece.

“You’re still as reckless as ever.”

Card gave a wry chuckle as he watched me descend from the shadow.

When Solvas used the Outlaw’s Wave, Card must have been watching from this side.

That meant he’d seen exactly how I fought.

“I had no choice but to be reckless. It was the only way to win.”

If Solvas had maintained his distance better, the fight would have been even tougher for me.

I have my own trump card, but I couldn’t reveal it here.

“So, where’s Solvas?”

“He crashed over that way. I was thinking of finishing him off, but I’m sure his real allies are gathered there.”

In other words, his elimination wasn’t certain.

I had hoped to knock him out during the preliminaries, but going further would be overdoing it.

I’d pushed myself quite hard in this fight; my body was sore.

And besides...

I sensed eerie presences all around the forest.

We’d caused quite a commotion.

The preliminaries were set in a jungle—a place filled with beasts obsessively determined to pass the qualifiers.

Before reaching Solvas, I’d need to get through them first.

“So, what did you think?”

As I loosened up my body, I asked Card.

He was silent for a moment before patting my shoulder.

“It was the most satisfying day of my life.”

Card, who had successfully outplayed a loathsome boss, looked more relieved than anyone.

“Great. Then let’s get to work, now that you’re satisfied.”

Rustle—

From between the trees, hyena-like figures emerged.

Just as we’d teamed up, they too had formed alliances.

Among them were students from our own academy’s Department of Magic.

“Card, I’ll make you regret ever kicking me.”

That one seemed to have a personal grudge.

As I glared at Card, who had clearly racked up his own share of enemies, he simply shrugged.

Anyway—

“Let’s make it through the qualifiers.”

It was time to become a wrecking ball.

* * *

The Sanctuary of Wolfram.

Within the arena building, a situation room was bustling with activity.

Here, gathered were professors from each academy.

“This generation truly has so much talent,”

Said one professor, marveling at the unfolding preliminaries.

Indeed, this generation had produced an extraordinary number of gifted individuals.

These were the heroes humanity relied on to protect the magical palace.

As the professor watched with satisfaction, he noticed the unusual silence around him.

Realizing the other professors were all fixated on one screen, he turned to see what had captured their attention.

On the screen, a boy was swimming through a sea of black waves.

What was that?

Was he swimming in a river?

As he stared blankly at the screen, a realization slowly dawned upon him.

“...Isn’t that Solvas Umbra’s shadow?”

The shadow of Solvas Umbra, a member of the Six Stars.

There was no doubt about it.

“That’s insane.”

Another professor exclaimed in disbelief, reacting to the absurdity of someone swimming through shadows.

But on the screen, the boy managed to reach Solvas, pull him out, and engage in a desperate battle that ended in a self-detonation.

The professors were stunned.

“He doesn’t hold anything back.”

“It looks like he’s wearing something special, but...”

“It’s hard to tell from this angle. What’s that kid’s name?”

As murmurs filled the room, one professor finally spoke.

“Hanon Irey.”

The voice belonged to a female professor in an ill-fitting suit, faintly exuding the scent of alcohol.

The professors all recognized her.

She was none other than Vega Mercia, one of the main figures of the Azure Generation.

Vega was grinning from ear to ear.

“He’s my student.”

A proud teacher boasting about her own student.

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