Luke entered the arena first, followed by his opponent, a second-year student named Polpon. The audience was already so amped up that their mere entrance inspired the crowd to roar at their highest decibel, the deafening cheers ringing out through the arena. Rumors about the talented crop of first years had already been swirling for a while, and that only swelled their expectations for Luke. Finally, the boy at the top of his year would be taking part in a public rank duel; their frenzied enthusiasm was understandable.
“…I’ve heard about you. They say you’re a monster who uses Dark magic. Even the upperclassmen are talking.”
“I see.”
Luke’s dismissive two-word answer drew an irritated grunt from his opponent. Polpon glared back at him, but Luke didn’t bother to hide his disdain and acted as if he didn’t even see his opponent standing before him.
…He looks young, just as I thought. Is he really older than me? I’ve got this weird feeling though. Like I might have met him somewhere before, a long time ago…
While Polpon was raging inside, Luke’s thoughts were fairly mundane—a sense of déjà vu, and something he couldn’t quite remember.
“But…I’m not going to lose,” Polpon declared. “I can’t! I’ll win, no matter what it takes!”
“…”
Polpon’s spirited cry echoed out across the arena. His intensity stirred something, ever so slightly, in Luke’s emotions too.
He’s pretty damn strong-willed.
But that was all Luke thought of the boy, and his mind quickly turned to strategizing for the imminent duel. He thought of every possibility and came up with answers to each of them, one after the other. The only thing on Luke’s mind was how to achieve complete and total victory over his opponent.
The duelists separated, and the crowd buzzed with excitement, waiting for the duel to begin. The contrast between the two boys was striking—one glared daggers like he was trying to murder his opponent with his eyes, and the other wore a thin smile as if in an attempt to goad his opponent on. Polpon readied his staff. Luke watched quietly, making no particular movements of his own. The crowd’s anticipation ballooned further and further, swelling up until finally—
“Begin!”
The battle kicked off with the immediate activation of a spell—and it was not Luke who cast it.
“Flight!”
He’s good at that, thought Luke, as he watched Polpon soar through the air above him.
I knew well in advance that his opening move would likely be Flight magic, but I can fly too, you know? Though mine works a little differently, mwa ha…
Polpon immediately switched his focus into working up his mana in preparation for his second spell. Next, however, it was Luke’s turn.
“Wings of Darkness.”
Polpon expected that Luke would use the advanced magic technique of Flight during their duel, but he hadn’t counted on the dramatic black wings. For a moment, he was captivated by them, and it took him an extra fraction of a second to activate his next spell. In a duel against Luke, that was an incredibly significant opening to allow.
“…Huh?”
The wings flapped once—that was all that Polpon saw. Then Luke’s wide grin was right there in front of him. It was impossible for him to comprehend what had just happened.
“Augh!”
He felt a strong blow to his right cheek. Before he could even register that he had been punched in the face, Polpon had fallen from the air and crashed hard into the ground below. A sharp pain ran through his whole body, but the attack did nothing to break his concentration. Polpon continued to prepare his next spell. He was persistent in his relentless pursuit of victory. He intended to win, no matter what.
“Eat this—Water Dragon King!”
Polpon knew that regular magic was worthless against Luke, so he had resolved that he would not pull his punches in this fight. He activated the strongest spell that he had at his disposal, spawning a water dragon king that soared up into the air, seeking to pierce its cursed foe.
“Oho, that’s a nice spell.”
Luke’s smile never faltered, even when facing down a massive dragon that was many times his size. In fact, he was pleasantly surprised to see his opponent cast a spell that was a bit more complex than he had anticipated. However, it posed no real threat to him, and his mild interest waned quickly.
“Dark Sun.”
A small black orb appeared in the palm of his hand and abruptly swallowed the dragon king whole with terrifying ease. The little sun swelled up in size, as if using the dragon’s nutrients to fuel its growth.
The disappearance of the dragon stunned the crowd into bewildered silence. For a moment, it seemed that no one knew quite how to react, and every last member of the audience was so entranced by the duel that they scarcely wanted to blink, for fear of missing something. But their collective enthusiasm to see what would happen next was intense and irrepressible, and soon the cheers erupted to punctuate the silence.
“…N-no…”
“Mwa ha ha. That’s a nice expression you’ve got now too.”
Every emotion drained from Polpon’s face—all the fighting spirit brimming within him, all his unbending conviction, everything. It brought Luke unimaginable joy as he watched it all slip away before his very eyes in real time. Then he shifted his attention to deploying his next spell.
“Let’s see here…”
Suddenly the giant black sun, which had transfixed every last person in the arena, disappeared completely. Luke continued calmly as the crowd looked around in disbelief.
“Is this how you do it, then?” he muttered to himself. “Water Dragon King.”
Right on cue, a water dragon king appeared.
The word “despair” was not enough to describe how Polpon felt. It was so far beyond that. How long had it taken him to learn that spell? And yet, in an instant, Luke was able to deploy it against him? All he could do was stare wordlessly at the dragon before him.
This doesn’t make sense… That’s…one of my spells…
He was wrong, he decided suddenly. It was foolish to have even considered fighting Luke. His heart sank into the darkness, and in that moment, he lost all will to fight.
“Ha…ha ha…ha…”
A bitter smile crept across Polpon’s lips.
“Aha ha ha ha!”
The water dragon king closed in upon him—the spell that should have been his greatest ally, his most powerful weapon. He closed his eyes and gave up entirely. The only sound that reached him was Luke’s delighted laugh, genuine and joyous, echoing in his ears to the end.
✦ ✦ ✦
Dark was a rare enough element that most of the citizens were not used to seeing it used in rank duels. Luke left a clear, fearsome impression upon them, as evidenced by the words on every crowd member’s lips that day. Those words would quickly become his nickname.
Demon King.
Wearing a cloak of darkness, laughing wickedly as he brutally overpowered his opponents and stomped them flat, Luke truly did look like a demon king. That was the day that Luke captivated his first group of passionate fans, enamored with his incredible power, and that number would only continue to increase with time. Needless to say, this new and unexpected popularity was also a great boost to Yolande’s plan to make him king.