As a Strategic-Class Magician, Belmont Muraguet’s magic compatibility was naturally exceptional.
It was only natural, for only those with the highest, 7th-grade compatibility could learn and use Strategic-Class Magic.
Like Yuri, Belmont specialized in only one of the four major magic systems, while possessing only a general understanding of the other three. But unlike her, who specialized in the Control System, he was a Transformation Magician, the most common type on the Akasha Continent.
At present, including Belmont, there were eight Strategic-Class Magicians on the Akasha Continent, and half of them specialized in the Transformation System.
Magic of the Transformation System was famous for its overwhelming attack power.
In pursuit of the greatest possible offensive power, Belmont had chosen the simplest elemental magic among the many forms of Transformation System Magic: fire attribute magic.
Because of that, when he unleashed the fire-attribute Combat-Class Magic he had mastered, the overwhelming might it displayed already carried a faint hint of Tactical-Class Magic.
As a result, everyone outside the barrier first saw a dazzling sea of flames suddenly spread outward. Immediately afterward, fire dragons composed entirely of pure fire burst forth. Roaring furiously, they charged toward Riezel one after another like a stampeding horde of dragons.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of fire dragons slammed into the magic mirrors before Riezel.
A deafening explosion erupted throughout the banquet hall, causing the entire venue to tremble and triggering cries of alarm from every direction.
Everyone stared wide-eyed into the barrier, watching as the fire dragons continuously crashed forward without pause.
Under the relentless assault of the dragons, the interior of the barrier had already become a sea of fire. Brilliant flames spread everywhere, while countless sparks scattered onto the banquet hall’s thick carpet, setting it ablaze.
Blazing heat waves swept in every direction, overturning the tables and chairs inside the barrier before engulfing them in flames. Plates, utensils, and exquisite dishes were all reduced to ashes by the inferno.
If not for the barrier that contained everything inside, such destructive power would undoubtedly have engulfed the entire banquet hall and dragged everyone present into disaster.
Just as many people began wondering whether Riezel could possibly survive within that sea of flames, the air where the fire dragons continued crashing suddenly began to ripple.
In the next moment, the roaring fire dragons abruptly let out miserable cries before every single one of them was sucked into the completely black magic mirrors.
Behind the magic mirrors, Riezel’s noble attire fluttered gently amid the blazing flames, yet not a single scratch could be found on him.
Before anyone could react, he curled his lips into a smile.
"Not bad. Here, you can have it back."
Right after saying that, Riezel lightly tapped the magic mirrors before him, causing them to immediately turn crimson and spit out every fire dragon they had absorbed.
Now, the fire dragons had completely switched sides.
Rolling through the air, they roared as they charged straight toward Belmont.
"!!!"
Belmont’s expression changed dramatically, and without the slightest hesitation, he pulled a scroll from his belt and unfurled it.
In the next second, brilliant magical energy enveloped his body, dyeing his magician’s robe pure white.
As the swarm of fire dragons descended upon him, violent explosions continuously erupted around Belmont, turning the white glow surrounding him bright red.
Relying on the unknown defensive magic as well as the magic armor that reduced magic damage by 80%, Belmont remained completely unharmed despite the endless explosions surrounding him.
Just like Riezel, he emerged without a single injury.
After activating the scroll, Belmont immediately began chanting another spell without wasting a second, allowing the magic to take shape amid thunderous roars.
In the next second, a raging storm of fire appeared overhead and descended with terrifying force, crashing directly down upon Riezel.
Another deafening explosion echoed throughout the hall as blazing flames erupted around Riezel once more, resembling the furious roar of a fire god descending from the heavens. As soon as the spell struck him, it detonated into an enormous inferno, making everyone wonder whether Belmont had actually used Tactical-Class Magic.
However, this time, the magic mirrors surrounding Riezel did not absorb Belmont’s attack, which was only to be expected because that was one of the minor flaws of
It could only defend against magic attacks coming from any horizontal direction, but it could not block attacks originating directly from above or below because the magic mirrors it created only floated around the caster, neither rising above the caster’s head nor descending beneath the caster’s feet.
Riezel had only discovered that flaw after mastering the magic, so before learning it, he had never imagined that such a flaw existed.
Fortunately, that flaw hardly mattered to the current him, considering he now possessed far more than a single defensive magic spell.
As the magic was chanted, all fire-attribute damage was destined to become completely ineffective against Riezel.
As a result, the descending firestorm failed to harm him in the slightest, leaving him standing proudly amid the raging flames, completely unscathed.
"You really like fire magic, don’t ya?"
Riezel spoke while looking at Belmont, whose expression had changed drastically.
"In that case... why don’t you give mine a try instead?"
He raised a single finger.
Violent flames immediately gathered at Riezel’s fingertip, forming a gigantic fireball that rapidly expanded until it became larger than Riezel himself.
And there weren’t just one, but three of them.
"A-Are those fireballs?"
"No way..."
"Fireballs? They’re basically three Flame Meteors!"
Outside the barrier, several magicians who also specialized in fire-attribute magic cried out in shock.
What one of them had referred to as was actually a Tactical-Class Magic from the Transformation System. Yet Riezel had created three enormous fireballs comparable to it before sending them crashing toward Belmont.
Moreover, before the fireballs struck Belmont, Riezel had not forgotten to remove the defensive spell that had been protecting him.
An invisible wave of magical energy swept forward, and the white light surrounding Belmont instantly shattered like glass, catching him completely off guard.
Before he could activate another magic item, the three gigantic fireballs slammed directly into him.
"AAAAAAHHH—!!!"
Just as the magnificent explosions erupted, Belmont’s agonized scream echoed throughout the hall as well.
Even though his magic armor reduced 80% of the magic damage, the remaining 20% was still enough to make Belmont feel as though his entire body had been set ablaze. As a result, his skin felt as if it were about to burn away, causing him to howl in pain as he was blasted backward into the barrier.
Riezel immediately followed up with the most powerful single-target fire attribute magic among Tier Magic, causing a crimson magic circle to spread beneath Belmont’s feet.
"NOT HAPPENING!"
Belmont, whose entire body was burning with pain, shouted as he hurriedly pulled a magic crystal from his waist and smashed it onto the ground.
As the magic crystal shattered, its fragments scattered across the crimson magic circle, corroding it before forcibly erasing it altogether.
Immediately afterward, Belmont tapped each of the rings he wore on his fingers in rapid succession, activating their stored powers.
Every one of those rings contained magic that did not belong to the Transformation System.
Although he specialized in the Transformation System, Belmont fully understood the weakness of focusing on a single magic system, which made him vulnerable to counterattacks.
For that reason, his rings stored magic spells from both the Control and Interference Systems. Of the six rings he wore, four contained magic spells from the Interference System: .
As their names suggested, they consisted of mental offensive magic, spiritual attack magic, and abnormal status magic.
attacked the target’s mind, trapping them within an illusion.
assaulted the brain, throwing the victim into mental chaos while inflicting splitting headaches.
robbed the target of their vision, plunging them into endless darkness and overwhelming fear.
rapidly weakened the victim’s body until they no longer possessed the strength to continue fighting.
Combined with the two magic spells of the Control System—one manipulating the earth to unleash a landslide capable of swallowing enemies whole, and the other manipulating the atmosphere to create a vacuum around the target and suffocate them—Belmont unleashed a total of six consecutive magic attacks.
Facing such attacks, even a Sword Saint would have been forced to retreat.
However...
"Just this?"
Standing opposite Belmont, Riezel merely looked at him with an amused smile.
"What?"
Belmont was completely dumbfounded.
Not just him—even the spectators outside the barrier gasped in astonishment.
Riezel simply made a light leap, effortlessly avoiding the landslide erupting beneath him.
As for the nearly completed vacuum field, the magic mirrors circling around him merely rotated once before absorbing every trace of the manipulated air.
As for the four magic spells of the Interference System that came rushing toward him, Riezel did absolutely nothing. He simply stood there and took them head-on, yet none of them had any effect whatsoever.
"Unlike you, I don’t wear a bunch of magic gear."
Riezel spoke calmly, his voice steady and completely unfazed.
"But whether it’s physical or mental interference, neither one works on me."
"And just so you know, I naturally have resistance to fire attacks, so even if I don’t use defensive magic, your fire magic is basically useless against me."
"Y’know, our compatibility is just terrible. Even without taking anything else into account, you were never really gonna beat me."
"And one more thing... in a way, I’m actually better at magic than I am with a sword."
As Belmont stared at him in utter disbelief, Riezel slowly raised one hand.
"In short, you never had a chance of winning from the very beginning."
As soon as those words fell, Riezel cast a magic spell that, for Belmont, was practically a guaranteed finishing blow.
As soon as the magic took effect, a scene that would nail Belmont to the pillar of shame for the rest of his life unfolded.
Suddenly, all the rings on his fingers shattered.
Right afterward, the magic crystals, scrolls, amulets, and every other magic item hanging from his waist exploded one after another.
Finally, his magician’s robe and battle outfit were instantly torn into countless pieces.
Aside from the wand in his hand, every piece of equipment on Belmont’s body was completely destroyed, leaving him standing completely naked.
"..."
In an instant, the entire hall fell silent.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
Several seconds later, accompanied by an inhuman scream, Belmont collapsed before spectacularly losing consciousness.
Needless to say, the victor had already been decided.