For Shion, “Limit Accel” was precisely that magic for which he had an aptitude.
However, saying he could simply “use high-level magic due to innate aptitude” might make it sound extremely fortunate.
Indeed, it was fortunate, but the process by which he mastered “Limit Accel” was by no means easy.
Aware that his magical talent was below average, he had been searching for a magic that suited him since childhood.
To acquire at least one magic in which he wouldn’t lose to others.
He desperately studied magical compositions and formulas, spending an immense amount of time searching for magic that suited him. He meticulously studied and attempted to activate an uncountable number of magic spells.
Yet, not a single magic could be properly activated.
“If I could use the next magic, I’d be strong,” “Maybe I can activate the next magic.”
No matter how many times he harbored such hopes, they were all mercilessly crushed.
No matter how much he tried, tried, and tried again, the only result he ever obtained was the fact that “I have no talent.”
Still, he never gave up. No matter how many times he faced despair, no matter how much he realized his lack of talent, he never surrendered.
Because he believed that as long as he didn’t give up, there was a possibility. As long as he kept standing up, he believed there was light ahead.
–And then, he grasped it.
A weapon that could work against even vastly superior opponents.
His persistence, his unyielding spirit, allowed him to grasp the magic called “Limit Accel.”
Through the vast amount of time he devoted to magic, his extraordinary persistence, and his phenomenal concentration.
Due to its nature, “Limit Accel” requires the caster to constantly accelerate their consciousness to the extreme, demanding an extraordinary level of concentration. Perhaps it was because of who he was that he could master it.
This magic was by far the highest-level magic he could handle.
–Shion Ichinose’s ultimate trump card.
When cornered in his duel with Eliza Lowred, ranked fifth in the academy, he countered her with this trump card.
Shion approached her, dodging every single one of her “Vindictive Inferno Lance” – countless arrows of wind wrapped in flames – without receiving even a scratch.
The moment the distance to Eliza became just over two meters, she instinctively stopped her magic and leapt backward. Shion closed the distance in an instant.
Facing Eliza, who was speechless with surprise, he pointed two fingers at her face and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone:
“Checkmate,” he said.
But immediately after that—.
“Don’t underestimate me!!!”
It was Eliza Lowred who roared.
Eliza was enraged at him for declaring “Checkmate” on his own, pointing just two fingers at her face, as if showing mercy and urging her to surrender.
“(I haven’t lost yet!!)”
She deployed a magic circle about the size of Shion’s upper body in front of her and, in her fury, chanted, “Giant’s Frozen Fist!!”
What emerged from the magic circle was a giant fist made of ice.
The “Giant’s Frozen Fist” shot straight towards Shion, directly hitting his torso which was almost in point-blank range, and pushed his body far back with a strong impact.
The ice arm continued to extend at high speed from the magic circle, and Shion was slammed against the arena wall with a thunderous sound, as if crushed by a massive pillar of ice.
“Guh”
Strongly compressed by the ice fist, Shion expelled the air that had welled up in his lungs.
“Haa… Haa…”
Eliza, who had poured too much magical power into the spell in her anger, was out of breath. As she stopped channeling magic into the circle, the ice fist shattered into tiny crystals and vanished.
Shion, who had been pinned to the wall by the ice fist, suddenly lost his support when it disappeared and collapsed to his knees, falling face-down.
Eliza watched this entire sequence with a very stern expression.
She was on guard, expecting Shion to stand up and come at her again at an incredible speed.
She thought there must be some reason why the man who had performed the miraculous feat of dodging every shot of her “Vindictive Inferno Lance” had been hit so easily by the “Giant’s Frozen Fist.”
Eliza guessed that he probably thought it wasn’t worth avoiding something like “Giant’s Frozen Fist” and deliberately took the hit.
Thinking that man must still have something up his sleeve, that he must be planning something after deliberately taking the “Giant’s Frozen Fist,” Eliza remained on full alert, focusing her attention on Shion who lay fallen by the wall.
“A man who can wield such an astonishing magic couldn’t possibly end like this,” she thought, watching Shion with every fiber of her being.
However, the man simply rolled over onto his back, and
“I give up, I surrender,”
he declared his defeat in the duel very casually, waving his hands left and right as if holding a small flag.
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“Hey! What on earth are you thinking?!”
Eliza approached Shion, who was lying on his back by the arena wall, revealing her intense anger.
Shion had been slammed hard against the arena wall by Eliza’s attack, fallen to the ground, and surrendered.
While this might seem like a reasonable conclusion at first glance, Eliza was not convinced. She found it hard to believe that Shion couldn’t have avoided the “Giant’s Frozen Fist” in that situation.
She thought it impossible that a man who had shown the miraculous ability to dodge all of the near-sonic magical arrows of “Vindictive Inferno Lance” couldn’t avoid a magic like “Giant’s Frozen Fist,” even if it was a surprise attack.
Moreover, for Eliza, the “Giant’s Frozen Fist” was meant to be just an intimidation tactic.
It was a declaration that “the fight isn’t over yet” in response to Shion’s arbitrary “Checkmate” declaration, and she hadn’t even intended to seriously hit Shion with magic in that situation.
Even if the “Giant’s Frozen Fist” had hit, Eliza didn’t believe that someone with such unfathomable power would be easily taken down.
It’s one thing to block other spells, but to dodge every shot from “Inferno Lances”… There’s almost no one in this academy who could pull off such a feat.
During the duel, the fact that he remained calm while facing Eliza’s powerful magic could only mean one thing—he wasn’t afraid. Eliza couldn’t believe that it was just a bluff.
Judging by the power Shion displayed in this duel, Eliza was convinced his abilities were at least A-rank, if not higher.
—A mage’s resistance to magic is proportional to the amount of magical power they possess. The more magical power a mage has, the less damage they take from magical attacks.
From Eliza’s perspective, Shion’s abilities were definitely A-rank or higher. So it was only natural for her to think that he wouldn’t be taken down by just one hit from the “Giant’s Frozen Fist – Frýlien.”
However, contrary to her expectations, Shion was slammed into the arena wall by the “Giant’s Frozen Fist – Frýlien,” collapsed to the ground, and then very calmly declared his defeat.
The matter-of-fact tone in his voice made it seem like he still had plenty of energy left.
Piecing together everything that had happened, Eliza Lowred arrived at one conclusion.
Shion had deliberately taken the hit from the “Giant’s Frozen Fist – Frýlien” and let Eliza win while still holding back.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Her face twisted with rage, Eliza stormed over to Shion, who was still lying on his back, and straddled him. Grabbing his collar, she yelled at him.
“Are you making fun of me!?”
“…What are you talking about?”
Eliza glared at Shion with fury, but his expression remained unchanged.
This only fueled her anger even more.
“Don’t play dumb!! You deliberately didn’t dodge just now, didn’t you!? Don’t tell me you couldn’t avoid the ‘Giant’s Frozen Fist – Frýlien’ when you dodged all my other spells!!”
“…No, it was impossible. It was almost point-blank range.”
Shion answered with the same calm expression.
In truth, Shion had been practically pressed against the magic circle for “Giant’s Frozen Fist – Frýlien,” and the icy fist struck him almost the instant it was released. His explanation made sense.
“With how quick you are, there should’ve been plenty of time to dodge after I formed the magic circle and before I cast the spell…!”
“…Sure, if I’d kept using the magic I’d been using to dodge your other spells, I could’ve dodged that one too. —But I thought the duel was over, so I’d already stopped casting it. I never expected you to keep fighting from that point, and you caught me completely off guard. There was no way I could dodge that.”
“…!!”
His calm explanation felt like nonsense, but Eliza couldn’t deny that it was rational, leaving her at a loss for words.
…But then.
“…So what are you saying?”
Eliza fixed Shion with a sharp gaze.
“Are you saying it’s my fault for not admitting defeat…!?”
She raised her voice, rejecting the idea that she was at fault. She knew full well that she was lashing out irrationally.
The fact that Shion had completely dodged all of her strongest magic, closed the distance to point-blank range while still holding back, meant Eliza’s magic had been utterly defeated. Everything she had worked for had been crushed by Shion.
She knew she was just refusing to accept the truth.
But the idea that her stubbornness had led to this unsatisfying conclusion was too much for her to accept, and she screamed out in denial.
“Was it my own fault for being so stubborn?”
“Was it my fault for not admitting defeat?”
—“No.”
Shion responded.
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