Back in the student council’s office...

"The first-years look promising this year, don’t they?"

"That was expected. Most royals born under the Celestial Event sixteen years ago have finally made their appearance." A member glorified as one of the ten student council members crossed his arms. "Even the non-royals are impressive. The odds of whoever comes out on top in the annual ranking tournament might shock quite a few people."

"Yes! Yes! Oh my gosh, I’m so excited!" A woman clapped her hands together dramatically. "There are so many people worth watching this year. Literally so many."

Then a smirk escaped her lips.

"But the main attraction? Obviously, Victoria’s butler, Adam." She leaned into her chair. "I want him all to myself."

"Okay, that’s enough." The man who looked to be in charge spoke firmly. "Since only the three of us are here today, there’s something I’d like to discuss. Something very important."

Their interest immediately piqued. Both of them leaned forward from their chairs, then listened closely.

Then they heard his words.

’...’

...

"Quick, quick! The fight has already started!"

"I know, I know. Being a little late is fine."

"Bro, it’s going to end soon, hurry your ass up!"

"Fine."

Back in the arena, the cheers and roars only continued to grow louder around Cassien and Jameson.

More mana drained from Cassien’s reserves, continuing to deplete the more bullets he fired that seemed completely useless.

Boom! Boom!

"Damn, folks!" The announcer shouted into the microphone. "Looks like Cassien Butfold’s bullets are getting turned into roasted garbage!"

The crowd erupted into rich, mocking laughter.

All except for the few people who genuinely found stupidity entertaining.

’In what world is that even funny?!’

A heavily condensed fireball was suddenly launched toward Cassien.

He immediately threw himself to the right, narrowly avoiding the blast as scorching heat brushed against his skin.

Getting back up, Cassien calmly removed his jacket and tossed it onto the arena floor.

Jameson hadn’t moved a single inch during that entire exchange, simply standing there with an arrogant grin as though none of this required any effort.

"Time to get serious." Cassien ignored the crowd’s endless arrogance directed toward him. "I’ll start."

He raised his pistol upward.

The barrier remained perfectly intact, while the floor beneath them also held strong, its sharpened mana-infused defenses refusing to crack even once.

"What is this dumbass doing?! Your target’s on the ground, not flying in the sky!"

The crowd burst into laughter again.

Cassien smirked while Jameson narrowed his eyes at him.

"You surrendering already?" Jameson mocked. "Too bad. I’m not letting you off that easily."

Veins visibly bulged on Jameson’s forehead as the flames in his palms grew brighter.

Hotter.

Larger.

"Die!"

He forcefully compressed flames into one another, combining fire with fire as the size and heat of the attack increased with every bit of mana he poured into it.

Swish!

Just as Jameson was about to release the fireball, Cassien aimed his gun directly at the barrier and nowhere else.

But the position...

Was directly above the [Third-Rate Villain].

No one understood why.

But no one cared enough to question it.

Because they were all simply animals seeking entertainment and gossip.

At that same moment, Jameson released the fireball.

Everyone’s eyes followed the bright orange magic as it rapidly surged toward Cassien.

Bam!

The bullet collided with the barrier, causing a violent burst of sparks, colors, and sound that immediately stole everyone’s attention from the incoming fireball.

The fire still rushed forward.

But by the time the crowd blinked—

"Huh... what happened?"

Everything had already changed.

The tables had turned completely.

"E-e-e-eh?!" The announcer, a simple second-year student, nearly choked on his own words. "H-he’s down! Jameson Sparrow is down!"

He nearly slammed himself into the microphone.

"In a matter of milliseconds, one man remained standing with the same composure, while the other collapsed like a fallen hero!"

The arena went silent.

Then chaos erupted.

"Wait, how?!"

"No, seriously, what happened?!"

"Did anyone even see that?!"

Whispers immediately spread throughout the audience.

A bullet wound had formed near Jameson’s side abdomen, not enough to kill him, but enough to completely break his concentration and destabilize his mana control.

The fireball vanished instantly.

This wasn’t the only confusion either.

The announcer was practically losing his mind.

"But where did the fireball go?!"

He slammed his hands against the desk.

"A normal gun shouldn’t be capable of deleting a mana-infused spell that dense!"

Meanwhile, Cassien simply stood there.

Still.

Calm.

That same smug grin rested on his face.

The questions only continued piling up.

He didn’t budge.

He didn’t waver.

He simply stood there while the crowd stared at him as though they were looking at an entirely different person now.

The referee stuttered while looking between the two fighters.

Jameson was down.

And he clearly had no way of getting back up.

"P-pss..." Jameson struggled to force words out, blood escaping the corner of his lips. "C-come on... g-get up..."

Cassien turned toward one of the officials.

"Call the duel off before I shoot him again."

The referee visibly flinched before nodding.

"O-of course."

He quickly walked over, grabbed Cassien’s wrist, and raised it into the air.

"Winner by k-knockout..." He swallowed hard. "C-Cassien Artfold."

Cassien smirked as the referee slowly lowered his arm.

’Easy does it, Cassien.’

He exhaled quietly.

’Don’t let one small win inflate your ego.’

Of course, he couldn’t allow that to happen.

Because something far more atrocious was about to happen to the [Third-Rate Villain] after today.

...

A figure cloaked in purple darkness hurried into the arena.

...

She inhaled sharply, clearly out of breath.

"Has the duel already ended?" Victoria asked Adam, her self-proclaimed butler.

"It appears so, my lady."

Victoria sighed softly.

"Then I suppose Cassien has already lost." Her romantic interest in him slightly faded. "Looks like I got my hopes up for nothing."

"But Ms. Platini..."

She frowned.

"What is it now, Adam? Can’t you see I’m already irritated?"

He bowed slightly.

"My apologies. But perhaps you should look for yourself."

Victoria stepped forward slowly.

Then suddenly stopped.

Her eyes widened.

One boy was currently being escorted away by medics.

The other was calmly walking out of the arena.

Alone.

With every single eye locked onto him.

Victoria suddenly felt her heartbeat skip.

"That boy..." she whispered.

A smile slowly formed on her lips.

"He’s even better than I thought."

...

But the question remained...

’How did he pull that stunt off? What stunt did he even pull?’