“Wh... What just happened?”
“Did she just cast Somniferous Mist?”
“What? But that’s only an intermediate-level spell! There’s no way that would work on a dragon unless you had a whole platoon of Court Grand Mages!”
“It’s not supposed to take effect that quickly, either... Have Magi-Knights always been this overpowered?!”
As the Red Dragon snored softly, the spectators buzzed with a mix of trepidation and relief.
“Incredible... She’s a saint...!”
Just then, the two commentators cut in:
“Is everyone alright out there? I know that was pretty intense, but lest you forget, this match isn’t over just yet!” Nadine exclaimed.
“Oui, oui! The show must go on!” said Stone Cold Stunner—er, Laplace.
At this, the crowd’s attention returned to the competitors once more.
Meanwhile, in the ring, Ryan had officially dug his own grave.
“Ryyyyyaaaaannnn?”
“Wait! Look, um... I wasn’t...!”
“Hahaha! Relax! I wasn’t really expecting you to fight me fair and square. I mean, that would just be embarrassing for you. But here’s the thing—there’s a line, and you definitely crossed it.”
All around her, the earth itself pulsed with invisible energy as she stared down at the ground, her hair hiding her expression from view.
“Hee hee... hee hee hee...”
Then he heard her giggling creepily to herself, and he knew he was going to die.
“From twilight I summon the ultimate destruction.”
She was casting Explosion, an Arcane-level spell. Depending on the skill of the caster, it was the sort of spell that could single-handedly demolish a castle or an entire army.
“Eeeegh! You’re using that on the dragon, right?! Right, Tanya?!”
Meanwhile, she continued her incantation. Ordinarily, as a Magi-Knight, all she really needed to do was focus her mana into her sword... and yet...
“Ashes to ashes.”
She wasn’t going to catch him off-guard with a surprise attack. She was going to come at him head-on and crush him solely with carefully honed skill.
With her mana circuits optimized for the Magi-Knight class, she had to be more careful and precise than she ever was as a regular Mage. She used her sword in place of a staff, refining her mana and steadily converting it into magical energy.
“Dust to dust.”
Seeing Ryan go weak in the knees and start crying for his mama filled Tanya with deep glee, and the corner of her lips curled in a smirk.
“Heed my call—”
“S-Stop! Don’t do this, Tanyaaaa!!! I’ll... I’ll pay you back all the money I skimmed from your wages!!!”
“—and unleash your might!”
A gleam of light flashed from the tip of her blade—
✦ ✦ ✦
“EXPLOSION!!!”
“STOP! PLEASE! I’LL BUY YOU A DESIGNER PURSE OR SOMETHING!!!”
“THIS IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF SHIT I’M TIRED OF, RYAN, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!! GO TO HELL!!!”
But the instant she swung her sword down—for some reason, she thought she heard Laplace snap her fingers.
There was a moment of silence... and then a thunderous BOOOOM erupted as a pillar of light shot up into the sky. The crowd screamed—whether out of fear or excitement, she couldn’t tell. Fortunately, the spell was masterfully contained so as to avoid causing any collateral damage.
And so Ryan vanished into the beam of light, leaving Tanya standing there in a dust cloud ten times more impressive than his measly bomb, her skirt fluttering in the blast, her pink hair flying.