The line split before the arena. Statues of knights stood in a row nearby, and an owl was perched atop one of them.
“Please line up in groups as written on your invitation,” it said.
I looked at my invitation. It had the letter F on it.
“What’s yours, Misha?”
“E.” She flipped over her own to show me.
At the end of each line were more owls, each holding a scrap of parchment with a coordinating letter written on it. We were probably meant to line up there.
“Then I’ll see you once we’ve enrolled.”
“Yeah.”
I bid farewell to Misha and lined up in row F. The front of the line was far in the distance, but I could see the proceedings with my Magic Eyes of Farsight. They appeared to be letting people into the waiting room one by one.
Naturally, it would take some time for my turn to come. There were roughly one hundred people in this line alone—a total of seven hundred across all the groups. I know two thousand years had passed, but that was quite a lot of descendants. It appeared there had been no need to worry about my bloodline dying out.
I continued to ponder vacantly while waiting for time to pass.
After a while, I reached the front of the line, then entered the waiting room before me. Inside was yet another owl.
Whose familiar was this, anyway? From what I could see, it bore no trace of magic power. All signs of its master were skillfully hidden. There was at least one person in this era capable of using decent magic, then.
“Welcome to the entrance exam. I shall now explain the particulars of the practical test.”
After they’d sent out all those invitations, there would be a test anyway... So admittance into the school was still yet to be determined, huh? Their greater purpose was to locate the reincarnated founder after all.
This was my first time reincarnating. It wasn’t that rare to retain one’s past memories in doing so, but the demons of this era had no idea how much awareness the Demon King Anos would have of himself. They only possessed the vague knowledge that the reincarnation of the founder would be amongst the students enrolling this year.
The Cohort of Chaos was said to be promising, so they must have already shown enough power to be dubbed as such. That meant it was unlikely they had only been born one month ago like I had.
They perhaps hadn’t expected the founder to reincarnate as a baby, but rather within an existing vessel that already possessed great strength. There was also the possibility of returning without any immediate memories or abilities.
True, it would be easy to announce myself and end their search instantaneously, but they’d gone through all this trouble for me. It would only be polite to go along with their plans.
“In the practical test, candidates will duel one another in the arena. Those who defeat five others will undergo a test that measures magic and determines aptitude, before being accepted into Delsgade. Those who are defeated will be declined admission.”
Because there was no way the Demon King would lose, right?
The examination also had the potential to determine the founder from their application of magic. It was a somewhat simple test format, but it was sufficient.
“The use of any form of weapon, armor, or magic item is permitted. Do you have any questions?”
“No.”
“Then may the founder bless you.”
I opened the waiting room door. A dimly lit stone corridor extended outside.
Although it was part of my own castle, the arena had originally been built for exhibition matches. It was my first time using this passage.
After walking for a while, I saw light streaming in from outside. I stepped outside to find myself in a circular arena bordered by a towering wall. The spectator seats were located above the wall and were occupied by the odd demon. They all wore the same uniform so were presumably students of the academy.
“Yo. So we meet again.”
On the opposite side of the arena stood a dark-skinned man. It was that Zepes fellow I’d brushed off earlier.
Hmm. It’d be hard to show off my powers as founder against such a weak opponent... What was I to do now?
“Hey, are you even listening, bud?!”
I took one, two, then three silent steps forward when the passageway behind me was suddenly sealed with a magic barrier.
“Oops!” Zepes called smugly. “It seems I’ve blocked your chance of escape. What, you scared?”
“On the contrary, I’m merely pitying you for cornering yourself. But don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you.”
Zepes clicked his tongue in disgust.
Hmm. There was no need for that—I was only being considerate. Could it be that he still didn’t understand our difference in power? Surely he couldn’t be so stupid...
“Just so you know, I’m not a coward like you. Your smug face will be a bawling mess by the time I kill you.”
I couldn’t help myself—I burst into laughter. “Ha ha haaa! No wait, say that again. Who are you killing? Me?” I glared at Zepes. “Know your place, fool.”
Although my words flowed naturally with magic power, Zepes wasn’t compelled to follow my order. His newly donned dark-gray armor had activated a circle of magic resistance.
“Heh. I’m not falling for that trick again. This anti-magic armor has the power to ward off any kind of magic.”
I see. His dependence on such toys had weakened his resistance to magic. This descendant of mine never ceased to find new ways to disappoint me.
“The use of any form of weapon, armor, or magic item is permitted. Victory will be decided when one side dies or surrenders,” the owl’s voice echoed from above. “Now, let the practical test begin!”
Immediately, Zepes drew the sword at his hip. The blade burned with a brilliant flame.
“Surprised? The Demon Sword Zephrid has been passed down through the Indu family for generations. Its blade was forged in ancient flame and has the power to increase my power tenfold. You may have a high resistance to magic, but you’ve no chance in hell of blowing out this flame!”
“Hmm. Is math a weakness of yours?” I asked as he closed the distance between us.
Zepes flew into a rage. “What are you trying to say...?!”
“Ten times zero is still zero, you know.”
“Shut your mouth!” Zepes burst into a run. The next moment, he appeared before my eyes, raising his demon sword. “Now die.”
Haaah... Oh, I failed to stifle my yawn.
Still, he sure was taking his time. If I were the one holding that sword, I would have swung it a hundred times by now. But it would be immature of me to use my full power playing with a child. I’d do this at his level.
Fancy weapon aside, the skill of its user made it pointless to even dodge.
With a vicious horizontal slash, Zepes swung the flaming Zephrid at my throat. Distracted from my daydream, I looked up...and saw the sword properly for the first time.
Oh! I dodged the swing at the last moment.
“Heh. You’re pretty good at dodging.”
Phew. That was close. A millimeter closer and the faint anti-magic field that constantly surrounded me would have snapped his sword in two. He’d mentioned the weapon had been passed down through the Indu family for generations. No matter how dull a blade it was, I’d feel bad if I destroyed something so important. But that aside...
“So that’s a demon sword?” I inquired.
“That’s right. This your first time seeing one? This thing uses proper magic, unlike what you’ll have become used to seeing today. An ancient blade infused with power. An artifact of the Mythical Age. This is the Demon Sword Zephrid!”
This was a demon sword...? A twig lying on the floor in the Mythical Age would have held more power. He claimed it was an artifact of that time, but he must have received a fake. Real demon swords had their own will. Their power was so tremendous, they would consume their own wielder. The term “demon sword” had come to be used so frivolously.
“Haaah,” I sighed without thinking.
The flame of the demon sword flickered out.
“Wh-Whaaa—?!” Zepes’s ugly screech was accompanied by the surprised gasp of the audience.
“I...I can’t believe it...! He blew out the flame of Zephrid!”
“But it was said the ancient flame would burn till the end of the world... He didn’t even need a magic circle!”
Zepes gritted his teeth. “You... Did you just use sealing magic?!”
“No, I simply blew it out. But with the magic infused in that sword, it’s sure to start burning again in a few years.”
His expression turned sour. “First compulsion magic, now sealing magic. Your power may be impressive, but your spells are all defensive. Do you really think you can get past anti-magic armor with tricks like that?”
Hmm. That so-called armor looked like it would shatter with a featherlight touch, but would it be too immature of me to say such a thing?
“I wouldn’t call doing so much of a feat.”
“Heh. So you’re scared.”
“No, but I have an interesting proposition for you. You and I should never have been placed on the same playing field in the first place.”
Zepes glared at me warily.
“So, here’s a handicap: I won’t take a single step from this spot. I won’t use magic circles, and I won’t imbue my words or breath with magic. I shall defeat you without moving my arms, legs, hair, eyes—that’s right, I won’t even blink.”
“Ha! At least make your bluffs believable. Or is that an excuse for when you lose? It seems you really don’t have any offensive spe—” Blood spewed from Zepes’s mouth. “No way... Wha...is this...”
“Did you hear it?”
Badump.
“The sound of my heartbeat.”
The sound of my beating heart, filled with magic power, jolted Zepes’s entire body. The anti-magic armor he wore was far from a quality item—there were a number of gaps in the magic circle, which my heartbeat passed right through.
“Guh... Aagh...”
Blood spurted from all over Zepes’s body as he fell to his knees and then collapsed forward.
“Hmm. This is troubling. If everyone’s so weak, I’ll end up killing people whenever my pulse quickens.”