Emilia looked overjoyed as she joined me in the arena.
“That was a most unsightly defeat for us,” she told her allies. “But I’m grateful to have an opportunity to face Noir in battle.”
Todd didn’t reply. He just hung his head as he left the arena. Typical Emilia: sweet and proper on the outside, but rotten to the core.
“Maybe you shouldn’t act so cocky,” I said. “You could lose, you know.”
“Me? Lose? Perish the thought. Even if it were technically possible, we won’t lose today. After all, we have Mira.” It seemed even Mira’s classmates recognized how strong she was. “You may be friends, but don’t assume that she’ll go easy on you. Only one person earns the right not to wear a uniform. You’ll never beat her.”
“Not even if I manage to beat you?” I teased.
Emilia’s face was expressionless, but she seemed angry. Still, she had stalked and attacked me. The least she could do was laugh off that little jab!
“Just so we’re clear,” she said. “I wasn’t going all-out last time we fought.”
“Neither was I.”
“Very well,” said Mr. Torche, reading the room. “Begin!”
Emilia summoned the Metamorphic Frog, fed it a sword like she’d done before, then summoned another creature. It was a white snake, about six or seven yards long.
Name: White Snake
Level: 55
Skills: Squeeze
It seemed weaker than the Metamorphic Frog, but it was still big. If it got hold of me, it was probably over.
“A frog and a snake,” I said. “What an impressive combination…”
“Oh ho ho! Their names are Garma and Nyx. You see, their species prey upon each other. In other words, they’re natural enemies.” And yet here they were, standing side by side. “My training has turned them into allies. Uniting two such diametrically opposed creatures is an art.”
I see. So she’d deliberately picked them to show off her skills.
“Well, this is what I’m using,” I said.
“A morningstar?”
I spun the Shockwave Morningstar around and slammed the ball into the ground.
“Wh-what on earth?!”
Emilia trembled, and the monsters were frozen with fright. I settled on attacking the frog first. I made a beeline for it as it launched its blade-like tongue at me. Jumping with all my might, I fired a Water Drop from up high over its head. When I landed, I hit the soaked frog with an Ice Ball. Soon, a lot of its body was frozen.
“Ribb…it…”
The ice cooled it down until it couldn’t move.
“My poor, sweet Garma… ngh! Nyx, get him!”
The snake slithered toward me, but when I threatened it with Holy Flame, it stopped and flicked its tongue. It was apparently really averse to fire. That was perfect. As the snake hesitated, I took the chance to Bestow an A-Grade Lightning Elemental Weakness on it. It cost 2,800 LP in total, but I had LP to spare. Having a good reserve really did make fighting easier!
“Nyx! What are you waiting for? Bite his stupid head off!”
“Hissss!”
Unluckily for the creature, it did as she said. I fired a Lightning Strike from my fingertips.
“Sss…?!”
The White Snake let out a little cry and collapsed. It convulsed for a few moments, then just lay there with its mouth open.
“Its tail is moving,” I said. “It’s still alive.”
Having made sure of that, I walked up to Emilia and pointed my sword at her.
“I could have fried it to a crisp, but I get the impression that you care about your little pets. Maybe you should surrender so you can tend to them.”
“Y-y-you’ve bested me, utterly.”
Shockingly honest at the end. If only she’d been like this from the start. Then maybe we would have gotten along.