Fumio's powers were concentrated in his eyes.
His right eye, the black one, had the ability to nullify any [magic] as long as he maintained eye contact.
The potential of this ability was lethal; even an [Alpha Rank] would be risking their life if they underestimated the man. Under the right conditions, his power could turn the tide of a fight even between [Omega Ranks].
But, as extraordinary as [Cancel] was, it unfortunately had a limit to its uses that would cause his eyes to bleed. The more powerful the mage, the more difficult it was to cancel the magic, and Fumio preferred to use the power of his left eye when going on the offensive.
His green eyeball glowed ominously when the man activated his capabilities, which included, but were not limited to, seeing ultraviolet light, heat sources, the internal weak points of a person, and enhanced kinetic vision. So much so, that even [Alpha Ranks] lacked the speed necessary to surpass this power. Only Veronica and Yukihime, both [Omega Ranks], had managed to do so until now.
Of course, it should be noted that although Fumio could "read" the movements and predict his opponent's next moves, his own body didn't have the necessary speed to keep up with his eye.
Fortunately for him, his two opponents were much slower than him.
"Here I come!" (Fumio)
The [mage] charged forward, gripping his San jie gun tightly.
Goto's stepson tried to intercept him. Even though he didn't know how to use the two daggers that his partner had lent him, he could still slow down his master long enough to allow Kuro to get into position.
Or so he thought.
The 17-year-old had no chance; he couldn't block Fumio's rapid and painful strikes, let alone counterattack. The 30-year-old read every one of Hajime's moves with ease; he already knew what his student's next move would be before Hajime himself was aware of it. This was the power of the [magic] from his left eye.
"(He's too strong!)"
Hajime was struck in the sternum, side, and arms simultaneously by his opponent's weapon. The intense pain he felt was not normal. His master had targeted the natural weak points of his body, maximizing the effects of his strikes with minimal force. If he had wanted to, he could have killed him in an instant.
Before the man could knock out the silver-haired teenager, Kuro came up from behind. Trying to remain in his blind spot, Cloe's half-brother swung his three-bladed scythe with all his might, but not before performing a full turn, using a leg as a pivot. His speed tripled, coating his scythe with a particular black energy.
Fumio spun around, ready to block the attack.
When the two weapons made contact, something happened that left the 30-year-old surprised: the central rod of his San jie gun shattered while the other parts were completely consumed.
[Carmilla I] was a weapon he had created himself; he knew it was much more durable than the weapons available to him, but he was nonetheless speechless at the strength his student had brought forth.
"(What a powerful strike. It could have sliced me in half if it had hit. But he won't be able to stop.)"
The [mage] was perfectly right. The centrifugal force of the black-haired adolescent was more than enough to unbalance him and make him lose his footing for a moment. Fumio would not waste this huge error, which had led to this opening.
His weapon was destroyed, but he seemed ready to pull another weapon from his pocket.
However, before the 30-year-old could do so, a loud battle cry reached him from behind. Thanks to his many years of experience, the man jumped up without a second thought, thus avoiding Hajime's suicide charge.
"(He charged forward like a bull, using his head as a weapon... I can understand it; his hands are probably still numb after my strikes. I'm surprised he's still gripping those two daggers)" (Fumio)
While still in mid-air, Fumio immediately noticed what the next move from Cloe's half-brother would be. The boy had not stopped his rotation; on the contrary, he increased his speed, using Shadow Step to appear on the ceiling and strike from behind his master.
"(They lured me into a trap, so this was their idea? They deserve a 10 out of 10 for teamwork. And they did it without even communicating.)"
Making at least four spins, Kuro loosened his grip on his weapon, letting it slide outward until he held it by the handle's tip.
"Take this!!!!"
[Carmilla I] was launched against its creator. The 30-year-old smiled slightly; this time, they had truly caught him by surprise. If it weren't for him, they would have likely killed their opponent with this combination.
The [mage] moved in mid-air, using all his experience and strength to shift his weight, narrowly avoiding being decapitated.
"Tsk! I missed it!"
Before he could touch the ground, Hajime and his partner were on him. Both armed with knives, they attacked from four different directions at the same time.
But Fumio pulled out two short clubs from the inner pockets of his jacket, trying to parry every swing of the blades. This was a bit difficult for him, given that his two students constantly moved from side to side, always in opposite positions.
"(They're exploiting the natural limitations of my eye's field of vision, huh? Nice idea. One from behind and one from the front. Or one from the right and the other from the left. Maybe it's time to step it up a notch.)"
The 30-year-old swept the floor with his leg, knocking the two boys down. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity, the man jumped backward, giving himself time to pull a new weapon from his clothes, discarding his now worn-out clubs.
What he pulled out was a metal baton.
"I'm warning you. This will really hurt."
The two teenagers instinctively swallowed their saliva. If their master said it would hurt, it meant they were really in trouble.
"Ready?" (Hajime)
"Ready. You know what to do?" (Kuro)
"No need to tell me." (Hajime)
Both understood what the other had in mind. After all, they had trained together to the point that they knew each other too well.
Fumio charged forward. To his great surprise, both Goto's stepson and his partner jumped backward while throwing their knives at him. The man skillfully dodged the strikes.
"(Wait? They don't want to...?)"
The 30-year-old was caught off guard when he saw Kuro pass a knife to Hajime, who, instead of throwing it at his opponent, decided to send it high into the air.
Their master immediately understood which direction the weapon was headed.
"!?"
For the second time during the battle, his two students managed to surprise him. The knife flew straight up toward the metal sphere stuck to the ceiling, thanks to the force of magnetism.
The man noticed that the black-haired adolescent's three-bladed scythe had struck the other sphere, heavily damaging it.
"(So, his goal when he threw [Carmilla I] was to free Kamijo-san's katana? Unfortunately for them, the scythe was also stuck to the ceiling due to the magnetic effect of the second sphere.)"
With the strength derived from [Physical Enhancement], the knife effectively destroyed the second sphere. The two weapons of the boys detached from the ceiling as they fell to the ground.
Of course, Fumio wouldn't give them the time to recover them. With a leap forward, the [mage] caught the Cloe's half-brother by surprise.
"[Shadow Step]!"
"[Cancel]!"
Before he could escape, the teenager was struck in the stomach by his master's baton. Pressing a button on the handle, a significant electric current surged from the weapon, jolting the boy instantly.
With a strong kick to the head, Kuro was sent crashing into a wall of the training room. The impact was the final blow that sent him straight to dreamland. His body experienced brief spasms from the electricity before becoming completely still.
"Kuro!?"
Meanwhile, Goto's stepson had recovered the scythe and the katana. Moving them somewhat aimlessly, leveraging his superior form, the boy tried to strike Fumio, though unsuccessfully.
"(His imprecise and chaotic movements make it difficult to predict what he will do, but he still lacks the grace and finesse necessary to use [Carmilla I] and [Tepes I] simultaneously.)"
In the end, the holder of the [Grimoire] was running out of options; he was just consuming stamina swinging his weapons randomly. Taking a page from his partner's book, the silver-haired adolescent launched the three-bladed scythe at his master. It wasn't as precise as Kuro, but his superior strength compensated with speed.
"Nice move." (Fumio)
The 30-year-old dodged the scythe using his baton to deflect it, but in doing so, the man's weapon flew away due to the excess force generated by the scythe as it was hurled by the boy. Seizing an opportunity, Hajime charged forward with his katana. Unfortunately, he hadn't considered a possibility.
"(A second baton!?)" (Hajime)
"Checkmate." (Fumio)
Fumio pulled out a second baton, which he used to disarm Goto's stepson. Left with no options, the boy could only clench his teeth as electricity surged through his body from one of his arms.
While he was paralyzed, a beautiful knee to the stomach sent him flying more or less where Kuro was.
Both had been knocked out, losing consciousness.
"(They've really improved more than I had initially anticipated. Maybe it's time to give them heavier missions?)"
Meanwhile, Cloe and Kohaku, who had seen the entire fight, were reacting differently. The former had gone to check on the two boys to ensure they were okay, while the latter was loudly applauding Fumio after putting away her phone, which she had used to record the entire event.
"They should wake up in a few hours, girls. Take them to the infirmary; I have things to attend to. This test lasted longer than expected."
"As you wish, Fumio-sensei." (Cloe)
"Let us take care of them." (Kohaku)
"Ah, Aomori-san."
"Yes?" (Kohaku)
"Try not to tease them too much with that video you recorded." (Fumio)
"I make no promises, Fumio-sensei! Eheheheh!"