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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The signal sounded, and the princess immediately cast a spell.
4th-Circle Magic: Ice Lance
A chillingly large ice shard hurtled towards me.
I rolled out of the way and threw a dagger, but she’d anticipated my attack and erected a mana shield.
Clang!
My dagger ricocheted harmlessly, and flames erupted beneath her feet.
4th-Circle Magic: Fire Field
A blazing inferno engulfed a five-meter radius around her.
She clearly intended to keep me at a distance.
Another spell flew towards me.
She was one of the academy’s top students. I was no match for her magically, especially considering my low rank.
I conjured a massive stone wall, sacrificing it to absorb the impact of her spell. It shattered, but it served its purpose.
I continued to move, blocking larger spells and dodging or enduring smaller ones.
Constantly creating and dodging, I was tiring quickly.
Frustrated by my resilience, she escalated her attacks, unleashing increasingly dangerous spells. I narrowly avoided them, a sense of danger growing with each near miss.
“…How long are you going to keep running?”
“Huff… huff… Dodging is quite the workout.”
“…I’m starting to doubt you’re even a Reinhardt. I thought humiliating you like this would shame you, but I seem to have misjudged.”
“You have no pride as a noble. I’m done playing games. You won’t be able to dodge this.”
Her hair shimmered, crackling with yellow sparks. The energy flowed from her head to her shoulders, down her arms, converging in her hands, forming a sphere of pure power.
5th-Circle Magic: Pulse Shock
It hurtled towards me, and a single thought crossed my mind,
‘I’ll have to sacrifice my left arm.’
I created three metal balls in my left hand and held it out towards the approaching sphere of electricity.
It was drawn to my hand, and a searing pain jolted through me.
Did you know that the best way to deal with electrocution was to remove the source of the current?
I conjured a knife with a rubber handle and severed my left arm.
“W… What?!”
“…Did I offend you?”
I created a new left arm, and the princess and the other students stared at me in disbelief.
“Do you have no regard for your own body?”
“I’d rather not die.”
“…And yet you inflict such pain on others?”
There it was again.
What was she trying to say?
She’d already decided I was a villain, and she saw everything through that lens.
She didn’t understand.
The pain of losing someone precious. The sting of betrayal from those you thought cared about you. The self-loathing, the rage, the loneliness.
She, loved and adored by everyone, had never experienced any of it.
What did she know about me?
I was annoyed.
And then I decided, just for today, I’d wipe that smug look off her face. I’d show her, the sheltered princess who’d lived a life of privilege, what it felt like to suffer.
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My resolve didn’t immediately change the course of the match. She continued to attack, and I continued to dodge and defend.
The other students watched, their earlier excitement replaced with boredom. They muttered amongst themselves, convinced my victory against Leon had been a fluke.
As my stamina visibly waned, the princess spoke.
“I know what you’re planning, so give up.”
“…?”
“This… on the ground… it’s a magic circle, isn’t it?”
“…!”
She’d figured it out. She smirked, her expression mocking.
“Do you think I’d fall for the same trick twice? It’s almost complete. A homing circle. All you need to do is complete the section where I’m standing.”
“I’m not moving from this spot.”
“You have no chance of winning.”
She offered what she likely considered a final act of mercy.
“This is your last chance. Apologize to the students you’ve tormented.”
“Then I’ll at least make your defeat painless.”
She stared at me, a flicker of confusion in her eyes. My expression hadn’t changed. In fact, I almost seemed to be smiling.
I finally spoke.
“You’re right, Your Highness. This magic circle is incomplete. No matter how many projectiles I throw, they won’t reach you.”
“I’m glad you understand. Then—”
“But… I have a question for Your Highness.”
“…? I suppose I can answer one question.”
“Do you know what happens when you continuously pour mana into an incomplete magic circle?”
She looked confused.
“Of course. The mana has nowhere to go, so it explodes…”
“Exactly.”
I channeled a massive amount of mana into the circle. She reacted instantly, casting an offensive spell, but I was faster.
Boom!
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‘He’s insane!’
The princess cursed inwardly. Even a lunatic wouldn’t trigger an explosion within a confined space, especially one protected by a barrier.
She hastily erected a shield, but the force of the explosion was immense. It took multiple layers of shielding to contain the blast.
Acrid smoke filled the arena.
‘Is this some new form of self-harm? If he’s trying for a draw, it’s pathetic.’
She turned to leave, when something flew towards her from behind.
She reacted instinctively, assuming it was another of Jenison’s attacks. It didn’t matter how he’d survived the explosion. He was alive, and he was attacking her.
She intercepted the projectile with a quick spell. It exploded, releasing a cloud of gas.
Poof—
‘Poison?!’
She covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve, but…
“Cough! Cough! …W… What…?”
“How do you like it, Your Highness? A special tear gas grenade, just for you.”
“W… What?! T… Tear… Cough!”
“Such a beautiful face, ruined.”
Tear gas. A non-lethal weapon that caused intense irritation to the eyes.
Just before the explosion, Jenison had created a large bunker around himself, protecting him from the blast.
While the princess was distracted by the smoke, he’d created and thrown the tear gas grenade.
The princess, unfamiliar with such a weapon, was blinded by tears. Jenison seized the opportunity.
He threw another projectile, similar in appearance to the tear gas grenade. Having learned her lesson, the princess dodged instead of blocking.
But the projectile landed short, releasing a thick cloud of smoke.
One side of the arena was now obscured. The princess cast a wind spell to clear the smoke.
Jenison ran towards his severed arm, retrieved the three metal balls he’d created earlier, and transmuted them into magical tools.
He threw another smoke grenade at the princess, who’d just managed to clear the previous smoke, then threw one of the metal balls.
She dodged, and the ball flew past. He threw the remaining two, and she easily evaded them.
Or so she thought.
The metal balls exploded as they flew past her.
“Imbue: Flammable.”
“Eek!”
The unexpected explosions startled her, and she stumbled back as Jenison charged.
She tripped.
A massive steel wall, previously invisible, had appeared behind her.
“Imbue: Amplify, Target: Size.”
She remembered the first metal ball he’d thrown. She tried to move, but two daggers, thrown from his other hand, embedded themselves in the walls beside her, blocking her escape.
He slowly approached, his expressionless face terrifying. He looked like a demon.
“…Did you enjoy playing the righteous hero?”
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I mean…I do sort of get the MC lashing out because he’s at his breaking point, but it’s not like there’s really anything cathartic about this. He’s by all accounts done a great job of ensuring everyone perceives him as a scumbag, so laying a beatdown on someone who’s otherwise nice and was just hoodwinked by his act for the last few years feels a bit…eh…
I get that, but the princess also kinda blatantly ignored the fact that the kid he bullied admitted to not really being bullied, so there’s that. Even if it doesn’t really justify him.
Then again, he suffered 7 lifetimes already. Why would he give a shit at this point.
Agreed us he has no belief that this is the last life and thinks his hell will continue in another carnation