Three people stood facing each other in the dueling arena.
Unusually, the size of the arena within the veil was larger than the actual space of the building.
This was because the arena within the veil functioned as a sort of virtual reality, allowing the interior to be adjusted more spaciously than the exterior.
The tense standoff, fragile as thin ice, lasted only a minute.
The girl with purple hair, who had roughly assessed her opponents, aimed her vertically upright spear at them.
In the blink of an eye, she sprung forward like a compressed spring.
She moved across the hard-tiled floor as if flying.
Her hair rippled like waves with each step.
She charged, holding the spear, longer than her height, upright in front of her.
Two opponents stood before her:
To the left, a female student held a crossbow with a drum magazine attached.
Slightly ahead to the right, a male student armed with a rapier and wearing gloves engraved with peculiar patterns stood on alert.
“…Eat this!”
The male student raised his left hand, causing the patterns on the gloves to light up.
After a sharp cracking sound, glowing spheres rained down like a shower.
It was the most basic type of magical bullet attack.
Irene deftly stepped aside to dodge the shots, and as their number increased, she spun her spear like a windmill to deflect the falling projectiles.
The magic power imbued in her spear clashed with the magic bullets, sending golden sparks flying and slightly slowing her advance.
The male student charged at her, the rapier’s tip glowing with a white sword aura.
His thrusts were swift, akin to those of a fencing athlete.
Simultaneously, the female student on the left aimed her crossbow.
Magically infused crossbow bolts flew in quick succession.
There seemed to be no way to evade both attacks coming from diagonal angles.
If it were me, I would have been defeated there, but Irene was different.
At the moment of crisis, she disappeared.
“What the? Where… Ah!”
-Thud!-
Irene had struck her spear against the ground mid-spin, using the rebound to vault into the air like a pole vaulter.
The rapier sliced through empty space.
While the male student stared blankly behind him, the golden spear tip aimed straight at the female student in the rear.
“Huh? Kyaa!”
The startled female student tried to aim her crossbow, but by then, the spear, glowing with golden light, had already split the crossbow in two.
It was a clean vertical slash.
The spear, moving seamlessly, struck the female student on the head with a downward blow.
“Ugh!”
“Damn it! You’re gonna regret this!”
Seeing the female student collapse after being hit by the spear, the male student finally regained his senses and rushed toward Irene’s back.
It was a futile effort.
Without even looking back, Irene thrust the butt of her spear into the male student’s chest.
“Ugh! Ack! Gah…”
Struck in the solar plexus, the male student toppled over and rolled on the ground, gagging.
The duel was over.
All of this happened in just five seconds.
I had been timing it to measure how long it would take compared to other clones, so I was certain of the duration.
As the victory declaration was announced, the veil was lifted.
Irene approached the student council member, received a folder of documents, and leisurely walked toward her defeated opponents.
“A promise is a promise, right?”
“Ha… damn…”
Reluctantly, the defeated opponents signed the documents in the folder.
“With this, you’re no longer members of the Management Committee. Understood? Also, don’t forget the other promises.”
“Y-yeah, fine! Whatever… ugh…”
Their pride seemed bruised from the loss, evident in their twisted expressions, but that was all.
I had been seated in the audience and left the arena first.
As I exited, some first-year students who had come to watch the duel were shouting in excitement.
“Irene! Irene!”
“Freedom! Hurray!”
I waited for her to slip through the crowd of enthusiastic onlookers before approaching her slowly.
“Congratulations. As expected, you’re amazing, Irene!”
“This was nothing.”
Despite the victory, Irene’s face showed a hint of bewilderment.
“They were… weaker than I thought.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“If they’d enrolled earlier, they would have undergone more training and gained more experience. For them to crumble so easily against such a simple tactic… it’s disappointing.”
I partially agreed with her.
Two people with ranged attack capabilities had rushed her, yet they were effortlessly outmaneuvered by a single individual.
Strictly speaking, she hadn’t even used her unique ability.
“Still, if other people hear you say that, they might get upset.”
“…Yeah, I get what you’re saying. But I just can’t understand how they fell apart so quickly against such basic tactics.”
I could somewhat understand where her disappointment was coming from.
-Her standards were just too high.-
-This was the school her parents had attended, after all.-
Perhaps a few years ago, this school was indeed the prestigious institution she had imagined.
But she already knew it wasn’t anymore.
“Come on, don’t be too disappointed. At least achieving your goals just got easier, right?”
“I suppose… but still…”
While I was talking with Irene, the other clones who had observed the duel exchanged their opinions.
-“The seniors were trash, but she’s overwhelming.”-
-“Even if we all charged at her, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”-
It was a relief she was on our side.
Her speed alone defied imagination.
Her charge was comparable to the velocity of a vehicle.
Even if a hundred Violets formed a phalanx and attacked, she could probably break through them all in a single charge.
We wouldn’t even get a chance to retaliate.
-“At this rate, the process of normalizing the school will wrap up quickly.”-
Clone Four chimed in.
The conversation from yesterday suddenly resurfaced in my mind.
Before this duel took place, we had a brief discussion yesterday afternoon.
“The Freshman Management Committee is like a club. It consists of a president and four members who create and disseminate integrated directives.”
“So, all we need to do is get rid of them?”
“No, the academic injustices and individual misconduct are separate from the committee’s activities. However, we can immediately eliminate the mistreatment of the entire first-year class.”
My smartphone vibrated.
“I’ve uploaded the data to the messenger. Take a look.”
It was a group chat we had set up earlier.
I browsed through the detailed personal information and photos of the committee members she had compiled.
Among them, one particularly striking female student caught my eye—a girl with cascading blonde hair.
At first glance, she looked more like an adult than a student.
“Martina Perian? She’s the leader?”
“That’s right. She’s a fourth-year.”
A fourth-year acting this ridiculously at her age—pathetic.
“Alright, so if we eliminate this organization through dueling, it’s over, right?”
“No. That’s not the end. There’s still a lot more to do afterward.”
Irene’s violet eyes were filled with determination.
“I’m going to create a group to eliminate absurdities. From there, I’ll address the student council, faculty, and other problems step by step.”
I suddenly had a question.
There must be a quicker way to resolve this.
“Can’t you just challenge the president to a duel directly?”
Irene shook her head.
“I already tried. But that person refused the duel request.”
“What?!”
As expected, there was a critical issue. Duels had to be mutually agreed upon.
While the outcomes of school duels were absolute, it was difficult to unilaterally coerce someone into accepting a duel through threats.
I had felt this during previous duels too—the procedures were incredibly complicated.
There were numerous documents to fill out, and both sides had to agree on the terms and conditions of the duel.
Although the winner could impose all sorts of bizarre demands on the loser, some exceptions, like requesting a transfer or expulsion, were off-limits.
For a place rife with absurdities and nonsensical order, they were surprisingly strict in these areas.
-Could it be that duels are being used as a form of internal control from above? –
-They don’t care what you do, but conflicts beyond a certain level seem to have to be resolved through duels. –
While we were discussing, other clones who had been observing began voicing their thoughts.
Alright, one question was answered.
Her plan, from what I heard, seemed reasonable and had long-term goals.
But another question arose.
“Still, will that alone solve all the problems?”
“What do you mean?”
“Getting rid of the management committee is good, and forming a problem-solving organization to replace them is an excellent idea. But what about the student council and other school issues? What about the incident at the entrance ceremony?”
Irene’s expression grew serious upon hearing my words.
“Ah, this is just a casual question…”
“You’re right.”
She nodded quietly.
“Huh?”
“I also don’t think that clubs or groups alone can solve all the school’s problems.”
She sighed, her shoulders briefly slumping.
“To begin with, the whole school is twisted. It’s strange. There’s not much I can do, to be honest.”
If the conversation I overheard with the student council president was true, she couldn’t even seek external help.
It was a frustrating situation.
I felt her gaze on me again.
“Even so, I won’t just stand still. I’ll do my best as far as I can.”
“It sounds like it’s going to be really tough. Are you okay with that?”
“It won’t be easy. In fact, it’ll be even harder. I’m not just planning to duel people. My ultimate goal is to uncover the truth about the disaster at the entrance ceremony.”
“The entrance ceremony…”
The incident seemed to be a constant presence in her memory.
“Yes. For now, eliminating the absurdities is my priority, but I’ve hired people to keep investigating the monster invasion at the entrance ceremony. If I subtly provoke the student council and board of directors, they’ll focus on me. That will create an opening.”
“Won’t it be too much for you?”
When I asked again, concerned, her eyes met mine, filled with steadfast determination despite her weariness.
“It will be difficult. But someone has to do it. Someone has to stand up and protest against this injustice. It’s probably what the other graduates of this school—and our parents—would want.”
Her calm demeanor carried a quiet resilience. It struck me as reckless but admirable. Considering her capabilities, she could have just transferred schools.
Choosing to stay in this mess and voluntarily take on such arduous tasks was no easy feat.
“That’s why I want to restore this school to normalcy and uncover the truth. Because it’s the right thing to do.”
I wasn’t sure if it was possible, but I didn’t want to argue with her.
I didn’t know why she decided to take such a stance. But it wasn’t a bad cause.
That was enough for me.
Since the mood had become overly serious, we managed to steer the conversation back to the main topic.
“Anyway, for now, the solution is to incapacitate the group’s activities. They can’t do anything alone.”
“That’s right. If we keep the pressure on, that person will have no choice but to act. If they keep avoiding duels, I’ll take down everyone related to the management committee through duels.”
If the head hides, she plans to cut off all the organization’s limbs. It didn’t seem like a bad approach for now. By applying enough pressure, they would eventually be forced out.
And today, there was proof of that progress.
The person Irene crushed today was one of those management committee members.
Those foolish guys thought they could win by proposing a 2:1 duel.
And they were thoroughly defeated.
“Still, just a few more, and you’ll probably be able to reach that management committee president or whatever. Irene, you’re amazing!”
“Thanks for the support.”
Seeing her smile made me think I should do what I could as quickly as possible.
-The underground search still hasn’t made any progress. Have you found anything? –
-Soon! Just wait a little longer! I think we’re close! –
That night, good news came.
-We finally found a decent space. It looks like a storage room. –
One of the many Violets wandering the vents had finally made a discovery.
She found an empty, desolate area tucked between the walls.
-Finally, we have a use for this. –
-It better be worth the money. –
Carefully prying open a crack, I inserted an endoscopic camera I had prepared beforehand to inspect the surroundings.
It was a tool that could even connect to a smartphone.
After looking around, there were no visible surveillance cameras or special alarms.
Now, there was nothing to worry about.
A little while later, a clone materialized in the center of the room.
Dressed in pitch-black clothing and a mask, Violet surveyed her surroundings.
-Do you see anything? –
-No, it’s just a storage room. Only boxes here. –
The door to the storage room was locked.
It seemed there was a padlock outside.
When I slid the endoscopic camera under the door, I saw a brightly lit concrete corridor.
There were no signs of life.
–Confirmed. No surveillance system in sight. –
-Let’s check outside briefly. –
A clone was created across the door as if stepping on stepping stones.
The underground facility was a network of pipes and exposed structural beams.
The only sound breaking the eerie silence was the faint hum of distant, unknown machinery.
-Beginning exploration. –
-Don’t push yourself. If anything feels off, dissolve the clone immediately. –
She removed her shoes and stored them in her inventory, cautiously stepping down the corridor.
Several Violets disappeared into the concrete passageway.
What lay beyond that shadow?