The player introduction echoed as the platform rose. Showtime, Yugen thought, closing his eyes to stay calm. As the platform reached its peak, he opened them slowly—only to be met with utter silence from the crowd. Scanning the audience, he saw stunned faces. His opponent stood frozen. Yugen closed his eyes again, doubting himself.
Did I stop time? No, that's not a spell I know. Some superpower, maybe? My outfit's not that weird. What's wrong? He hadn't meant to intimidate, only loosening his usual aura suppression. Expecting gasps, not silence, he exhaled deeply.
The overthinking felt foolish, easing his tension. Opening his eyes, he fixed a serious gaze on the field's 24 ice pillars and his opponent, clarifying he harbored no malice.
Yugen Mitsuya, third son of the Mitsuya patriarch, First High's freshman representative, topped both magic theory and practice in term-end exams. Unofficially, he'd defeated the Juumonji heir in a formal match. His presence overwhelmed the audience, dominating the venue's atmosphere. His haori, hakama, and geta sandals suited him perfectly, though he was bemused by the crowd's reaction.
In the monitoring room, Katsuto stared silently at Yugen's intense expression. Mayumi broke the quiet. "He's beyond just pulling it off…"
"Mayumi, that's not something to say while snapping photos," Mari sighed, noticing Mayumi's hidden camera capturing Yugen's attire.
Tatsuya, meant to be at the women's venue for Miyuki's match, stayed at her request to watch Yugen. He estimated Yugen's match would be shorter, given the intervals. Mayumi's antics amused him, but Shizuku, ignoring the camera, stared at the field. Tatsuya leaned in, whispering, "Not taking photos, Shizuku?"
"I already did," she whispered back, her cunning reminiscent of Miyuki. Tatsuya marveled at their restraint, a miracle given their rivalry, and at Yugen's enigmatic nature.
The opponent's outclassed. No pity, though, Tatsuya thought. Yugen's perfect condition was clear, while the Eighth High player visibly shrank under his presence. The match was decided before it began, though Pillars Break wasn't about intimidation. I'm getting cynical, Tatsuya mused.
The field's red signal turned yellow, then blue, starting the match. Yugen moved first, casting magic on all his ice pillars. Mari, familiar with hardening magic, reacted instantly.
"Hardening magic on his own pillars?" she asked, surprised.
She'd expected Katsuto's Phalanx-breaking area interference, not this. The Eighth High player cast vibration magic to "melt" Yugen's pillars, but they remained pristine. Honoka noticed their flawless surfaces.
"Tatsuya-san, Yugen's only using hardening magic, right? Why are the pillars so clean?" she asked.
"He's refining them," Tatsuya explained. Hardening magic, a convergence spell, fixes relative positions. Yugen removed air bubbles at a molecular level, stabilizing the pillars, then adjusted surface water molecules for a pure, unmelted state. He also fixed the pillars' positions relative to the field, performing three simultaneous event modifications flawlessly.
"Triple hardening magic multi-casting…" Honoka marveled.
"World-class event modification. Maybe top-tier," Mayumi added.
Smoother surfaces reduced interference load, but Yugen's psion reserves made it unnecessary. Tatsuya saw this as a response to Retsu Kudou's "ingenuity" comment at the mixer.
"Can the opponent break his pillars?" Honoka asked.
"Only with equal or greater interference strength," Tatsuya said.
Few could match Ten Master Clan-level interference. Even focusing all resources on one pillar wouldn't fool Yugen's Eye, which would counter perfectly.
"Equal to Yugen… maybe Katsuto?" Honoka asked.
"No clue. We don't know if that's his full strength," Tatsuya replied.
Mayumi asked Katsuto, who admitted, "I don't know." Both she and Mari grew serious. Yugen's interference was already immense, and the Mitsuya, like the Saegusa, excelled at multi-magic control. Katsuto figured Yugen could easily handle hardening, interference, and reinforcement simultaneously. Even Phalanx might not suffice, especially after Yugen's Round Blade. His versatility felt limitless.
Mayumi recalled Yugen neutralizing Miyuki's leaked magic without a CAD, a feat dwarfing this display. Mari shared her awe.
The opponent's attacks were futile, switching to reinforcement to endure. Unfazed, Yugen operated his CAD, loading an activation sequence. An unfamiliar spell enveloped the opponent's pillars, a vertical light line piercing their centers. The pillars glowed white, then vaporized instantly into mist.
The buzzer sounded. Yugen closed his eyes, bowing quietly. The stunned crowd remained silent, the announcer's voice echoing clearly.
"Grandfather, that was…" Mototsume began.
"Indeed. A composite of ancient and modern magic," Gozo laughed. "He keeps exceeding expectations."
From the VIP seats, Mototsume and Gozo identified Yugen's spell: a Tenjin-modern hybrid, using the earth-based Resonance Rift. Unlike modern Resonance Destruction, it sent multi-directional vibrations to specific targets, mimicking an earthquake. It could activate underground or underwater, limited to designated objects, explaining why only the opponent's pillars were affected.
But Resonance Rift alone wouldn't vaporize pillars—more like shaving them to snow. Gozo deduced a modern spell caused it, noting the light line. Maya showed him Meteor Line.
Gozo was correct. Yugen used Meteor Line (light-wave convergence), Phase Shift Armor (structural hardening), and Resonance Rift, forming Meteor Divide. Meteor Line pierced defenses, targeting pillar centers; Phase Shift Armor forced molecular collapse, breaking hydrogen bonds; Resonance Rift vibrated water molecules, heating them to sublimation. Yugen learned this collapse from turning a bokken into carbon nanotubes. For combat, Decomposition or Gold Chain Hammer would be faster against living targets.
"Was that the spell?" Mototsume asked.
"You'd know," Gozo replied.
Retsu, familiar with it, noted Ninth and Second High players used it too. Mio, surprised, asked, "You know it, Excellency?"
"Tenjin magic—top-tier yin-yang ancient magic, tied to the Ueyama and Kagurazaka," Retsu explained.
Excluding Mototsume, the Ten Master Clans patriarchs and Mio were shocked. These non-Numbered families' influence stemmed from this magic. Mototsume, pre-briefed by Gozo, stayed composed.
"I can't teach it. Excuse us, Mototsume," Gozo said, leaving with him to avoid questions. Mototsume followed, exiting the VIP area.
Post-match, the venue's shock lingered. Shuji, Yume, and Himeri, heading to the next match, were silent until Yume spoke softly. "He used top-tier earth Tenjin magic… and a modern composite."
"That computational power…" Shuji said.
Both wielded Tenjin and modern magic but couldn't combine them simultaneously. The complexity gap between using and merging magic was vast. Yume noticed Himeri's distracted state, her steps steady but mind elsewhere.
"Himeri, want a squeeze?" Yume teased.
"What?!" Himeri snapped.
"Didn't say where. Why panic?" Yume grinned.
"Your fault," Shuji shot at Yume.
Their grandmother's "test" and Gozo's words had left them skeptical, but Yugen's display proved his prowess. Himeri, perhaps, felt her affection for him deepen—a private realization.
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