Chapter 153: The Stars Are Beautiful

「… Does that mean you’re not going to use that staff?」

「Yes! Don’t worry, I won’t use it at all just like the previous matches!」

「………」

The smile disappears from Dry’s face, and a tense atmosphere takes over the place. He is clearly giving off negative emotions such as anger. However, that doesn’t change Haruna’s policy. She doesn’t mind about it and her Doggan Staff is fixed firmly on the stage.

「I heard from Solte and Noct that you haven’t used that staff in any of your fights so far and you ended each of them with a single kick. You indeed have amazing power. However, your opponents were pure magicians. They would normally stand in the rearguard of a party.」

「Yes, I think you have a point.」

Haruna replied while bending and stretching her knees.

「But, I’m different. I’ve trained my magic and this steel body diligently. If you don’t intend to be conceited or making light of me, you should pull out that staff now and use it in the match. I will allow you to do so now.」

「………」

Haruna, who stopped bending and stretching, slowly raised her face and looked dry. His expression remains the same, and he looks like he is always smiling.

「No, I don’t intend to be conceited or making light of you from the start.」

「I see, then――」

「I made this judgment after calmy examining your ability. If I got conceited, I wouldn’t be able to examine it properly and it would be a problem if I killed you by mistake because of it. Well, I’m confident that I can defeat my opponents using this staff without killing them, but my master forbade me to use it until the final. That’s why I can’t use it even if I want to. Ah, but you see, the reason I put my staff down on the stage is purely because I’m looking forward to having close combat with Dry-san. This staff is as heavy as it looks, and if I don’t use it, I can’t use one of my arms and it will be a heavy burden!」

There is no lie in Haruna’s words. By using her sharpened Magic Power Detection skill to sense the support magics Dry is wearing, and watching his match in the first round, Haruna can roughly grasp Dry’s ability. Taking these factors into consideration, she judged that he wouldn’t die even if she removed the weight and got a bit serious. Deris instructed her not to use her Doggan Staff, and it’s not against the rules even if she doesn’t use it. Taking off the staff she’s not going to use is rather an act of paying respect.

「I see. I won’t say anything more. I’ll do my best to crush you. That’s all.」

「That’s what I want. Let’s have a good match!」

Haruna held out her small hand, asking for a handshake before the match.

「… Yeah.」

Dry hesitated a bit, but he lightly grasped her hand that’s many times different in size. Then, it’s time for the start of the match to be announced.

「Their gazes collided passionately and this cold sweat from the tension… Oi oi, this match will be a fierce one…!」

「Yeah! That Chinatsu won easily in the first round but had a good match against Therese-ojousama, so I’m sure that students who are good in close combat can fight well!」

「Karua is a top ranker, but she has an image of specializing in magic. If it’s Dry, he is ranked 4th, higher than Therese-ojousama, and he has that muscular body. Also, Haruna seems to be eager to have close combat. This is going to be an interesting match!」

As the start time approached, the spectators also heated up. They are talking about who has the advantage, who is going to win, which one to scout, etc. Their prediction is that it would be close combat, so they are no longer debating about who is stronger in magic.

「It’s time to start the match. For both of the participants, please stand on the starting line on the stage. Are you ready? Then―― start!」

「Diesefilt.」

「I knew it! Heat Wave!」

As soon as the match started, black smoke appeared on the entire stage. Dry blew away the darkness with the hot air and flames from the 『Heat Wave』 he used. The stage changed from the night world without moonlight to the daytime with sunlight shining brightly. As a result, the spectators are able to see Haruna’s match for the first time.

「Here I go!」

In addition, Heat Wave also has the effect of strengthening the fire attribute in the area. After scattering the darkness with the hot wind, it seems that Dry is planning to settle the match right away using his unique fist technique that’s created by integrating fire magic and martial arts. He approaches Haruna with the help of Karua’s wind magic and swings his fist.

「Ho.」

―――― Bam!

He attacked using the power he borrowed from his friends in addition to his own power. Normally, this would be considered the best action. But, it’s a bad move if the opponent is Haruna.

A strange sight is spreading in the field of view of Dry. There’s the floor of the stage above his vision and the beautiful stars trying to cover it. And now, he can see that Haruna’s leg is gradually approaching. It’s approaching his face as if she’s trying to kick a ball. He understands in his head that it’s bad, but his body refused to move. It’s as if he is in a slow-motion world.

(I’m going to die――)

The moment he realized that, a tremendous impact hit Dry. His field of vision became more and more distant, and he felt as if he was floating in the sky. Then, Dry lost consciousness. The rescue team confirmed that Dry, who fell on the grass, fainted.

「O-Out of the stage. Winner, Haruna Katsuragi…」

「Thank you very much!」

「「「「……Ha?」」」」

Even after the announcement of the end of the match and Haruna’s greeting, the spectators could not understand what had happened. However, the person who caused this situation quickly pulled out her Doggan Staff and left while saying, 「Now, it’s time for evaluation meeting with Shishō!」. Everyone saw off Haruna with a blank look and returned to their senses when she disappeared.

「W-What happened?」

「Well, uh… When Dry was trying to punch Haruna, he fell over on his own, his head hit the stage, and Haruna kicked him? Then, he was blown out of the stage together with the rubble because of the impact…」

「How did he end up in that situation!?」

「Hey, wasn’t it supposed to be a good match?」

「You were thinking the same, right…? I feel like the final is going to be between the recommended students…!」

Even though it wasn’t hidden by the smokescreen, the spectators couldn’t understand what was happening. For them, Dry looked like he fell on his own, and Haruna’s kick looked like it hit Dry. However, the reality was greatly different.

Even though Dry’s speed was reinforced by Karua’s wind magic, it was no threat to Haruna. After all, she had already experienced the attacks of Touko. Without the shackles, she could handle Dry’s frontal attack that’s much inferior to that.

As soon as Dry swung his fist down, Haruna used her aiki magic with a bit of her power and slammed him against the ground, causing him to fall from his head. The impact of the blow to his head caused stars to shine in his vision, and then Haruna kicked the stage in front of him, sending everything flying out of the stage. If the kick had hit him directly, it would have been Dry’s face that was blown away.

「It will take some time to reinforce the destroyed stage. The next match will start――」

At the same time as the broadcast, the stage repair team that manipulates earth magic rushed out.