Chapter 76

"Dieeeeeeeeee!!!"

Legal shouted as he hurled countless knives at me. The sheer number of knives made them look like a muddy torrent.

"---28th, Berit"

In response, I countered with Berit's ability to degrade matter. However, it was impossible to handle all of them with just Berit's ability alone. So, I decided to borrow the power of another demon.

"---70th, Seere"

Seere's ability was to store items in an item box. I thought of using this ability to store the incoming knives by opening the item box. However, there was a limit to storage, and the size of the hole connecting to the other dimension was not large enough to store all the knives heading towards me. Nevertheless, by using both Berit and Seere's abilities simultaneously, it would be easy to neutralize all the knives that hit me.

All that was left was to wait until Legal reached his limit.

◆

"I will kill you, I absolutely will!!!"

Legal barked as he continuously generated and hurled knives at Norman. He had a firm resolve to win at all costs.

Legal Randallce, the second son of the Randallce Baron family, had an older brother who was six years older. His brother was calm and kind to everyone. Naturally, he was also kind to his younger brother, Legal. Therefore, Legal loved spending time with his brother more than anything. Among the things he enjoyed, he particularly liked listening to his brother's stories about school. His brother always reported to Legal in detail about his school life, such as achieving excellent grades in magic exams, overwhelming others in magical battles, and stopping fights among friends with his magic. His brother was very talented and was highly respected by his classmates. The stories his brother told about his school life were truly glorious, and Legal was proud of him. To Legal, his brother was his goal and his idol.

"Hey, Legal. Your brother forgot his lunch, can you deliver it for him?"

One day, his mother asked him to do this. Legal nodded happily. He could see his brother at school while delivering the lunch. So, he went to deliver the lunch with great joy.

"Hey, don't get too cocky!" "Don't stand up to us, you inferior student! Take that!" "S-Sorry!"

He accidentally saw this.

"Huh?"

It was a scene where his brother was being bullied by other students. Multiple students surrounded his brother, and his brother was prostrating himself. Legal instantly understood that the school life his brother described to him did not exist. His brother was not the admired, excellent student he had always talked about; it was the complete opposite.

"Lie! Lie! Lie!"

Legal shouted and ran out of the school, forgetting about the lunch. When his brother returned home, he told Legal the usual heroic tales about his school life, seemingly unaware that Legal had come to the school. From that day on, his brother's words no longer reached Legal.

"I won't be like my brother."

A strong resolve was born within Legal. He would not be like the brother he saw that day but would become the one who bullied his brother.

From then on, Legal worked hard to become the strongest magician in his grade. That was his goal.

Eventually, he succeeded in achieving the best grades in his grade. ---Now I can be the one who bullies others. Among his classmates, Norman was the weakest. Norman was one of his childhood friends, and they had played together when they were young. Despite being born into a noble family, Norman was completely unable to use magic. Yes, just like those who bullied his brother, now it was his turn to bully Norman. This way, his school life would be secure. This line of thinking was perfectly normal for him.

But then---

He lost to Norman in a duel. Confident that Norman couldn't use magic, he called a large group of students to witness the duel, only to be defeated. This defeat shook Legal's school life. Rumors began to spread among the students that Legal, who had lost to Norman, was actually weak. The students believed that Norman, who had never been able to use magic, couldn't possibly be strong. However, his past achievements did not disappear entirely. Legal barely managed to maintain his status.

But another incident occurred. Dimit Eslund, a former commoner, transferred to the school. Rumors circulated that he had replaced Norman, who had been kicked out of his home, as the heir to the Eslund family, but the truth was uncertain. Nevertheless, a commoner couldn't possibly be better than a noble. So, Legal decided to bully him to restore his honor.

However, Dimit was a tough opponent. He did not approve of bullying, and before he knew it, Legal found himself in a duel with Dimit. Despite his pride in being the best student in the school, Legal believed that his loss to Norman was a mistake. Therefore, he was confident he wouldn't lose.

The result was a crushing defeat for Legal. He had lost to both Norman and the former commoner, Dimit. As a result, no one thought Legal was strong anymore. Rumors spread throughout the school that Legal was actually weak. This was the moment when the status he had built up crumbled.

Before he knew it, Dimit had become the best student in the school and walked around with a sense of ownership.

And today, he decided to challenge Norman to a duel to regain the self-respect he had lost.

But, but, but---

"What the hell is this? This is ridiculous!"

In front of him stood Norman, unscathed despite being attacked with a number of knives that exceeded his limits.

"――――――――――"

Suddenly, Norman said something, but Legal couldn't hear what it was.

In an instant, the knives Legal had thrown gathered around Norman.

"This is difficult."

What Norman was doing was re-creating the knives through alchemy. He was making the knives his own and transforming them into a giant sword.

"No way... This is like an advanced version of my magic."

Faced with the towering giant sword, he couldn't help but say this. It was as if it was a superior version of his own magic.

"This is a joke! Why can you use magic?!"

He couldn't help but say this. How could the person he had always looked down on be so far above him?

"I figured out my strengths and weaknesses."

"Huh?"

"I realized what kind of magic I'm good at. And I also learned a lot from various kind people."

"What the hell does that mean? I don't get it."

He couldn't understand anything Norman was saying.

"Also, I wanted to thank you, Legal."

"Huh?"

"Thank you for running ahead of me. Thanks to you, I didn't lose sight of my goal."

Being thanked didn't make him feel happy at all. He just felt a deep hatred for the person in front of him.

"So, are you still going to continue? I think the outcome is already decided."

"Shut up! I haven't lost yet!"

Indeed, the outcome might already be decided. But he didn't want to admit it. He still believed he could do more.

"Alright."

Norman's face showed a look of disappointment, as if he was tired of Legal's refusal to accept defeat. Just now, he had been looked down upon by this person.

"Why are you making that face?!"

It was the face a strong person makes when looking at a weak one. The face those who bullied his brother had made that day. And the face he believed he could make towards Norman.

"If you can't accept defeat, there's no choice. I'll hold back so I don't kill you."

With that, Norman sent the giant sword flying towards him. Faced with its overwhelming power, he finally understood that he had lost to Norman.

"Damn it..."

A feeling of regret that was hard to describe washed over him, but it was too late.