Shirone's body ached, but he felt a small spark of satisfaction. He had managed to fight back, even just a little. But a sad thought crept in: This is all I can do.
He turned to face the target, feeling a bit angry at himself. Everyone in the big Colosseum was watching him, completely silent. Shirone took a deep breath and focused all his energy.
"Halo!" he shouted.
A light, bright like a star, shot out from his hand. It slowly drew a giant, glowing circle in the air. Shirone pushed with all his might, making the circle as huge as he could.
He remembered what his friend Amy had told him after his last big fight. She said his Halo magic could overwhelm people who had super-strong senses. He was sure someone powerful here would be affected by it.
This might be a small act of rebellion, but he had to try. He had to create a chance for himself.
Finally, the Halo was complete—a beautiful, radiant ring of light hovering in the air.
Nearby, Amy quickly looked around at the crowd. She saw their friend Reina frowning. If the Halo is bothering Reina, her senses must be incredibly sharp, Amy thought.
The important nobles in their fancy clothes didn't seem to care. But the strong warriors protecting them were reacting differently. They were gritting their teeth, trying to fight off the effect of the light.
Shirone noticed this and thought, 'Hmm… they're definitely strong.'
Two of the main nobles, Zion and Wuorin, didn't look shocked at all.
Since the Halo didn't do much to the nobles, Amy turned her attention to another noble, Orcamp, and the tall, scary man standing behind him. This man seemed the most tense of anyone. He even covered his face with his hand, as if the light was too much for him.
The tall man's name was Arius, and he was thinking, 'Damn it! I was completely caught off guard.'
When the Halo appeared, Arius felt like a part of his mind was pulled right out of his head. The shock was horrifying. He was one of the famous Magical Seven, and hardly anything could stun him, but this was different. It was astonishing.
Arius thought, 'So this is the power of the Nephilim.'
He decided to study the Halo. He watched carefully, waiting to see how it worked so he could find a way to break it. Then, a new magic began to form inside the Halo. It was called Ataraxia. Arius's eyes burned with focus.
'It's starting!' he thought. 'First, it makes a simple choice, like a yes or no question.'
The first magic circle snapped into the center of the Halo, and a shower of light burst out. The nobles gasped at the pretty sight, but Arius was busy trying to understand every single piece of magic being built into the Ataraxia.
He mentally listed them as they appeared: 'Algebra. Musho geometry. Multivariate equations...'
But as more and more complicated ideas were added to the magic circle, his brain started to feel overloaded. It was like his head was going to explode!
When the magic was halfway done, it started using equations that were like the secret blueprints of the universe, stuff no human could ever fully understand. And it was being added to the circle at an insane speed.
Arius stopped thinking. No—he couldn't think anymore. It was impossible for him to understand.
He thought, 'This is insane…!'
When the magic was finished, the Ataraxia glowed as one perfect, radiant concept. It was an ultra-magic amplification circle that no human could ever copy.
Arius shuddered. He had only understood about 65% of it. That was actually an incredible feat, but not knowing the rest meant he was defeated.
Shirone stared at the beautiful, floating Ataraxia. He was lost in thought. He knew that what he decided to do next would change his life forever.
About ten seconds passed. The nobles, who had been watching intently, started to get bored and complain.
One noble grumbled, "What's he doing? If he's going to do it, just do it already!"
Another sneered, "He's so indecisive. Maybe he isn't prepared?"
They were used to seeing grand mages perform magic quickly. They had no patience for a student. Seeing his chance, the nasty noble Zion joined in.
Zion laughed, "Haha! Rumors are always exaggerated. With so many amazing mages here, who cares about some magic student showing off?"
Then, many nobles who were on Zion's side, the Teraze faction, started complaining too. They were trying to control the mood. Zion looked down at Shirone arrogantly. He thought he had won. All that was left was for Shirone to admit he was a failure.
Shirone heard all the voices around him. Just as he expected, most were Zion's lackeys.
He thought, 'Fine, I'll quit. These enemies were too strong for me from the start.'
His shoulders slumped in defeat as he started to speak.
"I…" he said softly.
But the nobles kept murmuring; no one was listening. Shirone realized his voice was too quiet. He took a huge, deep breath so he could speak loudly for everyone to hear.
But then, a strange thought hit him.
'Wait…'
Was giving up really the right choice?
This thought didn't come from his mind—it came from his body, from his very bones.
In all his eighteen years of life, Shirone had never judged himself based on what other people thought. That habit now screamed at him, filling him with doubt.
For the first time, his mind felt clear.
He realized this was a trap! No matter what he chose—to fight or to give up—Zion would win. By making him think about only two bad choices, Zion was making him dance like a puppet.
Shirone finally understood what Wuorin had meant earlier.
No one helps someone who just gives up.
The royal palace was a den of beasts. If he showed weakness, they would tear him to pieces. That's what Wuorin was trying to tell him.
If you want to live, you have to snarl. You have to bare your fangs and growl. You have to swing your claws so no one dares to think you're an easy target.
The moment you stop fighting, every beast in the palace will rush to devour you.
"Huuuuuu!" Shirone finally let out his breath in a long whoosh.
He didn't know how long he had held it, but it felt like all his scattered, worried thoughts were escaping with the air. His mind was now clear and his target was sharp.
He steadied his stance, getting ready to cast a spell. The nobles just sneered more. They thought he should have done something flashy and fast to show his will. This slow, focused attitude wouldn't convince them.
But Shirone didn't care anymore.
I'll become a beast, he decided.
With that fierce thought, he focused his mind. A sphere of crackling light began to form in front of him—a Photon Cannon!
Shirone endlessly compressed particles of light. The sphere of light pulsed violently, growing bigger and then smaller, looking like it was about to burst.
Watching him, Amy began to shudder. This was taking much longer than when he had used it in their duel. Back then, it was strong enough to crash the training system. What would happen when this super-powered Photon Cannon was amplified by the incredible Ataraxia circle? She couldn't even imagine.
Shirone thought, 'Not enough. This won't satisfy my rage!'
He kept squeezing the light, making it denser and brighter.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he remembered the last three days, especially his mother's fearful face. The Photon Cannon, now the size of a human head, glowed a blinding white and shook violently, as if it was about to explode.
Amy shot up from her seat. This was too dangerous! It was way beyond anything he had done before.
But before she could shout a warning, the Photon Cannon shot forward and pierced right through the center of the Ataraxia circle. Having seen this in their duel, Amy shut her eyes and twisted her body away.
FLAAAAASH!
A massive tunnel of pure, destructive light erupted from Shirone. It erased everything in its path—even the air itself disappeared!
A deafening ROAR numbed everyone's ears, and the blinding white light made the whole world go dark for a second.
When people could see again, the world was completely different.
The inner walls of the Colosseum were gone. Even the distant mountain ridge had completely vanished! The ground was now a flat plain, wide enough for dozens of carriages, stretching all the way to the horizon. A thick fog of dust floated everywhere.
The nobles were now surrounded by their high-ranking mages, who were frowning and throwing up powerful protective barriers. Swordsmen stood guard, ready to attack. If Shirone had shown any hostility towards the stands, they would have stormed the stage immediately.
A fat noble, red with rage, slammed his chair and stood up. "You insolent brat! What do you think you're doing?!" he yelled.
He and the others were furious. What if he had aimed at them? The swordsmen would have stopped him, but they had all let their guard down, thinking it was just a demonstration.
The fat noble hurled a stream of curses, but the fox-like noble beside him, Orcamp, whispered something. The fat man quickly shut up and sat back down. Orcamp had approved this, and arguing now would make them look bad.
Zion was trembling with rage. "That… that bastard…!" he whispered.
Not only had Shirone ignored his offer, but the sheer power of that magic had shattered Zion's pride. Since when can a human erase a mountain? he thought. That was power for a legendary archmage!
For a mere magic student to have such unfair power made Zion burn with jealousy. Power like that should belong only to royalty!
Zion shouted, "I heard your answer loud and clear, Shirone. Just you wait!" He stormed out of the Colosseum, followed by a large group of nobles—his Teraze faction.
Shirone ignored them. He felt dizzy and his consciousness swayed from the backlash of his full-power spell. It was the first time he had used Ataraxia without collapsing completely. His body was getting stronger, but it was his fierce willpower that had kept him standing.
With a sharp gaze, Shirone turned his head. Wuorin was still there. Her only reaction was to raise one eyebrow in a faint, mocking smirk.
She stood up, whispered something to her cat, and left the Colosseum without a single word.