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Chapter 9 - The Last Breath Beneath the Waves

The night sky blanketed Elzila Academy with twinkling starlight. The air was cold, yet refreshing—a gentle breeze blowing from the mountains swept across the deserted academy grounds. The faint sound of crickets could be heard in the distance, adding to the serene atmosphere after a day of battles and surprises.

In a small park overlooking an artificial lake on the east side of the academy, three silhouettes sat on a long stone bench. The light of magic lamps floating in the air illuminated their faces—Hoshizura Luciel, Kuromine Lurie, and Shiromiko Ayako.

Luciel leaned back with his hands behind his head, gazing carefreely at the night sky. Beside him, Lurie crossed her legs, holding a cup of hot tea. Meanwhile, Shiromiko sat upright as usual, cradling a small notebook in her lap.

"Today... was amazing," Lurie spoke first, her eyes gazing at the reflection of the moon on the lake's surface.

"Yes..." Shiromiko nodded slowly. "The magic and sword tests... were all beyond expectations."

Luciel chuckled softly. "Eeh? Really? I thought... everything was going normally."

Lurie glared at him. "Normal? You destroyed the assessment system with black flames and defeated two examiners. That's amazing for anyone, Luciel."

"And you made a professional sword examiner cast an A-class spell just to survive," Shiromiko added flatly. "So don't be so modest."

Luciel just smiled shyly. He scratched his cheek.

"Hehehe... I just happened to train hard in the village, though. Well, and a little... talent?"

"A little?" Lurie repeated sarcastically, then shook her head. "You know, all the students today are talking about you. Even the seniors."

Shiromiko looked at him sharply. "That can be a burden too."

Luciel nodded slowly. He paused for a moment, then asked, "By the way... the duel is tomorrow. Are you guys going to sign up?"

Lurie and Shiromiko glanced at each other. Lurie answered first.

 "I didn't intend to join at first, but... after seeing how the duel arena can be a place to show who we really are... yes, I will."

Shiromiko added, "Me too. Although duels are optional, being in the elite class will give me access to the archives of advanced magic."

Their eyes then fell on Luciel.

"You alone?" Lurie asked.

Luciel looked up. "Hm... at first I thought, what for. But now..." he lowered his gaze and looked at the two of them, "I want to see. How far I can go. So I will join. Besides, I promised to duel that arrogant brat tomorrow."

"You mean Rudein?"

"Yes. So let's register and fight together tomorrow!"

Shiromiko smiled faintly. "You are strange."

"Yes," Lurie agreed. "But that's what makes you interesting."

---

After chatting for a while, they parted ways to their respective dorms. The sky was getting darker, and the lights began to dim one by one.

Luciel walked down the stone hallway of the male dormitory. The magic lamp was dimly lit on the wall. The atmosphere was quiet, only the sound of footsteps and the sound of night insects could be heard. 

Arriving at room 304, he opened the door slowly. Inside, a dark brown-haired young man was seen tidying up books on a small shelf. 

"Ah, you're finally here!" he exclaimed. 

Luciel nodded politely. "Sorry... I took a while." 

"No problem, no problem! My name is Felze, Felze Arvin. I'm your roommate." 

Felze stepped forward and shook Luciel's hand enthusiastically. 

"I... I saw you today! During the magic and sword test... it was amazing! You were like—you know—the main character from ancient hero stories!" 

Luciel chuckled, a little awkwardly. "Haha... you're exaggerating." 

Felze shook his head hard. "No! Seriously! Even the examiner looks like an NPC compared to you!" 

"NPC?" 

"Ah... that's a term from a game novel. Anyway... I want to know one thing." Felze approached, his face full of curiosity. "Are you going to join the duel tomorrow?"

Luciel stared out the window for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

Felze immediately clenched his fists. "YES! I knew you would! You can definitely win against anyone, even... that Rudein Arvendale!"

Luciel laughed, then flopped onto the bed.

"I don't know. I just wanted to test myself."

Felze sat down on his own bed. "Well, if you need moral support, I'll be in the front stands! Bring the name of room 304, okay!"

Luciel closed his eyes for a moment and smiled. "Thank you, Felze."

The night passed slowly. Outside the window, the stars were still shining brightly, as if watching a young man who was ready to challenge his destiny.

---

That night, the dormitory of Elzila Academy had sunk into silence. Moonlight seeped in from the window, casting long shadows on the floor of the room. The clock had already shown past midnight, but Hoshizura Luciel had yet to close his eyes. 

He lay on the wooden bed, staring at the ceiling with his eyes wide open. The dim light from the crystal light in the corner of the room created a soft reflection in his dark irises. Felze, his roommate, had fallen asleep half an hour ago, looking peaceful with regular breathing. 

Luciel squirmed slowly, then sat on the bed. His hand touched his head. 

"Damn. Why do I have trouble sleeping?" he muttered softly. 

He just pondered on the bed with black eyes like a rotten fish that was about to die. 

Not wanting to disturb Felze's sleep, he slowly got up and put on his light black robe. He decided to get some fresh air outside the dormitory. With slow and almost silent steps, he left the room, walking down the dark and cold hallway. There was not a single sound, except for the beat of his own footsteps. 

Once outside the dormitory, the cold night air greeted him. The moon shone brightly, hanging high in the dark sky filled with stars.

Luciel took a deep breath.

"A little practice… might help."

He stepped into the small field behind the academy—a place students usually used for night practice. Silently, he stood in the middle of the field. His eyes closed. He raised his hand.

"Magic is a means to dominate this world."

That was what his father, Luika, had told him since he was little. And now, Luciel began to understand the meaning of those words.

"I have to practice."

His hand radiated an aura. Black flames appeared in his palm—still, solid, and pure. Unlike raging flames, this was a lurking fire… like a lion preparing to pounce.

He exhaled. Then he created a magic circle in the air.

"Oh yeah, by the way, what's the name of this magic and the pitch-black magic I showed on the test? Ah well, the name doesn't really matter, what's important is its power." Luciel muttered in his mind.

A thin sword of black flames formed in his right hand. The tip was sharp and shiny like obsidian. Luciel swung it several times, cutting through the air.

 Each swing felt light, but the magic power contained within them resonated into the ground.

"Ahh I forgot to use soundproofing magic. I shouldn't disturb the surroundings."

Then, he opened another magic circle.

"[Silent Starfall]"

It was a magic spell used to remove sound. Usually this is used to ambush or injure the enemy secretly without being noticed in the slightest. Yes, this is the basic thing that magic soldiers are good at. His father was a former magic soldier. He taught all the magic he mastered to his son.

The sound of the small black flame exploding completely disappeared and was as silent as if it had been swallowed by the earth.

Luciel stared at the two spells, speechless.

"Father… this spell… is it really from me?"

A vague memory emerged in his mind—when he was still a baby, a god-like male wizard came to me and gave me a little bit of magic power. Then the wizard came back after the incident against the bandits when he was unconscious from the Orc attack and gave him a bit of the knowledge and magic power he had.

As he reminisced in his thoughts

Suddenly—

"Aaahhh—!!"

A loud scream echoed from the south of the academy.

Luciel looked up. His face tensed.

"A girl's voice?"

Without thinking, he ran towards the sound.

He passed through the fence, down the back alley until he reached a small forest outside the campus. The sound of leaves being stepped on was clearly audible in the silent night. And that's where he saw her.

Suddenly, a tall man wearing all black, his face covered with cloth, was seen carrying a young girl on his lap on the roof tiles of the houses. The girl was tied up, her hands and feet were wrapped in magic ropes, her mouth was gagged with cloth. Her body writhed weakly.

"Stop!!" Luciel shouted.

The man turned his head, but did not stop his steps. And he quickly chanted a physical enhancement spell [Physical Enhancement] to increase his speed.

Luciel who realized the man's steps were getting faster then gritted his teeth and chanted the same physical enhancement spell.

At full speed, he continued to run after... Until finally he was in a dense forest on the edge of the Capital.

"Don't blame me later!"

He opened the magic circle quickly.

"[Black Flames]!"

"Hmmm.. maybe this is a good name". Luciel muttered in his heart.

Instantly, the black flames shot and headed towards the man who was running near the tree.

BOOM!!

The man's body was pushed to the side, hit a large tree and fell to the ground.

The mysterious man got up with a quick movement. Despite being thrown hard, his body didn't seem to be injured.

Realizing that he couldn't escape anymore because Luciel was already in front of him, he threw the girl to lean her against a tree trunk.

"Looks like I have no choice but to fight you"... The man said as he stepped closer to Luciel.

Luciel walked closer. A black magic sword appeared in his hand.

"Who are you? And why kidnap a girl?"

The man sighed from behind the cloth covering his face. His voice was cold and calculating.

"The girl is very beautiful. I will sell her."

"Sell?"

"Yeah, my job is basically to kidnap a young and beautiful girl to sell. This is how I make money."

Luciel raised his sword.

"I don't care who you are. But if you kidnap someone... then I won't let you go."

The man lowered his foot and formed a dark magic circle.

"[Shadow Coil]"

A shadow tongue protruded from the ground, trying to bind Luciel.

But Luciel had anticipated this and leapt upwards.

"[Black Flames]"

A black aura of fire surrounded him, destroying the approaching shadows.

Then he leaped—and the battle began.

Magical slashes crisscrossed between the trees. Black flames and dark shadows collided, shattering the ground and spreading cracks in the rock.

Luciel dashed forward, swinging his sword with great force.

"HAAAAA—!!"

The man parried with a shadow blade, but Luciel's power broke through that defense. The magic emanating from each slash created a pressure like a shockwave.

"[Dark Whip]!"

A shadow whip appeared and struck Luciel's chest, sending him back several meters. But he quickly got up. His face showed no pain, only determination.

"I don't know who you are. But if you dare hurt anyone else… I'll make you regret it."

A large magic circle appeared behind him. Four magic seals lit up.

"[Crimson Annihilation]"

A burst of blackish-red light appeared, concentrating on his sword.

Luciel dashed forward, slashing with full force.

CRAAAAASHH!!

The man was thrown, his body crashing into a large tree until it fell. Smoke billowed from his body, although he was still breathing.

 Luciel stood up, his breath heavy, but his gaze remained sharp.

He walked closer to the kidnapped girl. Quickly, he cut the magic rope that bound her and removed the cloth covering her mouth.

"W-who are you?" the girl asked in a trembling voice.

"Hoshizura Luciel. First year student. Are you okay?"

The girl nodded slowly. Her eyes were still shocked, but a sense of relief radiated.

Luciel stood up and turned to the man's body that was lying down.

But as he walked closer—the man disappeared.

"Teleportation?" he muttered.

"No.. most likely he used shadow magic to escape, eliminating his shadow." The girl said.

"Really? How do you know that? Do you know the man?"

"No.. but I know he's from the Black Magician organization"

"What organization is that?"

"Well, the point is it's a criminal organization."

"C-criminal organization??"

"Yes."

"What the heck is that? That organization should be disbanded immediately." Luciel sneered with a very serious expression.

"By the way, thank you for saving me. I'm Ruika, a 2nd year student."

"I'm Luciel.. heeeh so you're my senior".

"Eh? Luciel? Aren't you the one who was the talk of many students and teachers during the test this afternoon!? So it's you." The girl was surprised.

"Aha yes". Luciel answered while holding his head.

"Okay Ruika-san, I'll take you home." Luciel provides assistance.

"Ha.. yes thank you very much Luciel-kun." The girl smiled.

As he walked, he took a deep breath and muttered something in his mind.

"Still not strong enough... to stop an enemy like that completely."

He looked up at the night sky which was now darker. The cold wind blew his hair.

Then, slowly, he led the girl back to the academy.

One thing is for sure... tomorrow's duel is just the beginning of something much bigger.

And this world... is waiting for the awakening of true magic.

---

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