Chapter 52

And then, the time for the semifinals arrived.

Amid the crowd of spectators, the host loudly announced,

"Now, the opponent for Seika is—likewise, a recommended candidate from the Magic Academy, Mabel Crane!!"

Seeing Mabel ascend the stage, I smiled lightly.

"So this is your true weapon, Mabel."

"Oh, Mabel has changed her weapon! This is... a gigantic battle axe!"

Mabel, wielding a double-edged battle axe that was nearly twice her height including the handle, faced me.

"The act of pretending to be a hero is over."

Mabel declared, raising her battle axe.

How much does that thing weigh?

It seems impossible to lift without magic.

I looked at Mabel and said,

"I didn't intend to forfeit the semifinals because I wanted to see a bit more of your fighting style. I thought there was still something more, but... I'm glad we talked yesterday."

Mabel frowned.

"Are you underestimating me? Let me tell you, I still intend to win against you."

"I'm not underestimating you."

I smiled.

"I'm just evaluating your strength accurately."

"...I still can't believe you're strong. A noble child who has lived a peaceful life—there's no way you can win against me."

"Though they are both students of the academy, they are completely opposite! Who will win the second semifinal match? Let's begin the match!!"

The whistle sounded.

"!"

At the same time, Mabel kicked off the ground.

She raised her battle axe and instantly brought me into range.

The heavy blade swung down.

But it was slow, and the trajectory was easy to read.

I easily dodged.

The battle axe struck the ground to my left, missing me completely.

However, in the next instant—the ground beneath my feet shot up.

"What!?"

Looking down, I saw that stones had been exposed along with the dirt.

It seemed that Mabel's strike had shattered the stones laid beneath the stage as a foundation. What kind of power is this?

With her stance disrupted, Mabel's horizontal swing came at me.

I had no choice but to dodge using a teleportation spell. However, my next position was anticipated. I dodged the next strike by crouching.

Despite the size of the battle axe, the counterstrike was as fast as a one-handed sword. It must be extremely light when swung. Mabel herself hardly moved from the recoil.

This makes it easier to aim.

While dodging, I sent a humanoid figure to the stones that had appeared on the ground and formed a seal with one hand.

"Yang Phase—Art of Kinetic Energy Release"

The stones were imbued with kinetic energy and launched at Mabel. The battle axe had just been swung, and there was no time to use it for defense.

Her response was peculiar.

The momentum of the battle axe suddenly weakened, and Mabel was swung around as if the recoil was just now transmitted. The stone missed and shattered a pillar supporting the audience seats.

"...Interesting."

I muttered.

Mabel had just returned the battle axe to its original weight.

When the weight of a weapon changes, the center of gravity of the weapon and the user as a single object also changes. This shifts the center of rotation. Instead of the battle axe, Mabel was the one being swung around.

With her stance disrupted, Mabel threw a low-lying dagger.

I jumped back to dodge, and the thin blades pierced the ground one after another. The impact created conical holes, and dirt flew up.

In the obscured vision, I narrowed my eyes and focused on Mabel.

This was probably to deter a counterattack, but she had to release one hand from the battle axe to throw the dagger.

"Wood Phase—Art of Vine Binding"

Vines sprouted from Mabel's feet.

I wasn't carrying a short sword today. It was too late to swing the battle axe. Would she—

"Is this all!?"

Mabel swung her hand horizontally.

The vines were torn off as if struck by a metal rod.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"...Yeah."

Good.

It seems her previous matches were just a warm-up.

Well, I'm satisfied to see this much.

According to the original plan, I was supposed to lose here.

But now, I have to win.

And I said I would win with ease, so I need to finish this quickly.

Mabel's horizontal swing approached as she closed the distance again.

I activated a spell using the invisible humanoid figure I had secretly attached to the blade.

"Yang Phase—Art of Fruit Falling"

The weight of the battle axe increased a thousandfold.

"What!?"

Forced to shift her center of gravity, Mabel was swung around.

Taking advantage of her disrupted stance, I launched another move.

"Wood and Metal Phase—Art of Mercury Vine Binding"

Black-tinged vines sprouted from the ground.

"The same trick!?"

Mabel swung her arm again.

But this time, the vines couldn't be torn off. They wrapped around her arm, immobilizing her, and other vines bound her entire body.

Mabel let out a groan.

The battle axe fell from her hand.

"How... why...?"

"These vines are filled with mercury. They are much heavier than the usual ones."

Even if she used her full strength, they might have been torn off, but Mabel had already seen the "Vine Binding" twice.

She must have let her guard down because she knew it.

"This much...!"

Mabel, using her only free left hand, grabbed the vines binding her.

The wooden vines began to creak.

Due to the immense weight, parts of the structure began to break, and red sap, a mercury compound, started to leak out.

This won't last long.

I picked up the handle of the battle axe Mabel had dropped.

Seeing this, the girl glared at me.

"There's no way you can lift it with just you."

"I can lift it."

"Yin Phase—Art of Floating Leaves"

The weight of the battle axe disappeared.

I swung it dramatically with one arm and placed the blade right at the captive girl's neck.

Mabel's expression twisted.

"You can't even scratch me with such a light axe."

"I don't intend to hurt you."

I smiled and said,

"I just need to win the match."

At that moment—

The whistle signaling the end of the match sounded.

"The referee has made the decision!! What a turn of events! Mabel, who seemed to be dominating at the beginning, was suddenly overturned! No, was she in his palm from the start!? Seika Lamprouge, the prodigy, advances to the final!!"

I exhaled and threw the battle axe behind me.

The spell was released, and the battle axe spun in the air before embedding itself in the ground with a thud.

I had tried to mimic what Reinas intended to do at the end yesterday, and it seemed to work.

"I'll take care of Kyle."

In the center of the decaying vines, I told Mabel, who had collapsed on the ground,

"It's okay now. You should rest for a bit."

*Art of Mercury Vine Binding*

A technique that binds the opponent with heavy vines containing high concentrations of mercury. Hyperaccumulators, a group of plants, actively accumulate heavy metals absorbed from the soil. Common examples include rice and willow, but Pycnandra acuminata, found in New Caledonia, is known for its blue-green sap containing up to 25% nickel. If we assume that one-quarter of the water content in a typical tree is replaced with mercury, which has a higher density, we can create a super-heavy plant with nearly three times the mass of the same volume.

*Art of Floating Leaves*

A technique that reduces the weight of the target. The opposite of "Fruit Falling." While otherworldly magic can influence either gravitational acceleration or gravitational mass, which are factors that determine "weight," "Fruit Falling" and "Floating Leaves" can only adjust the latter. Since gravitational mass is linked to inertial mass by the equivalence principle, using this on a weapon can change its handling and power.