第２７２堀：青春、駆け抜けろ (Part2)
If I were to go all out, this entire area would be reduced to a vacant lot.
"I see. Thank you for the comment, Eris in the commentary booth. Is there any movement in the duel?"
"……Hehe."
"……Hey, Eris?"
"Ah, excuse me. Eris here in the commentary booth. Looking at both contestants, they are still staring each other down. Even that massive clash from earlier seems to have been nothing more than a test of strength for them. Neither of their spells reached the other, yet their expressions haven't wavered in the slightest."
……I caught a glimpse of it; Eris is filming this personally, too. I saw a camcorder.
Well, if I don't move soon, the audience is going to get bored. Should I make the first move?
Just as I was thinking that, Ardes began chanting again, and countless spears of flame manifested in the air.
"Oh!! Ardes has made a move!! Are those spears of flame!? What do you think, Principal?"
"Yes. As Ratz-san said, they are spears of flame. Unlike the Firestorm from earlier, this spell lacks range and raw power, but it has the advantage of being able to be fired in rapid succession, much like arrows. The mana consumption is also lower than Firestorm. He likely concluded that Yuki-dono’s magic is limited to single-shot bursts and is prioritizing volume."
As the Principal finished her explanation, Ardes opened his mouth, his chant apparently complete.
"So, your wind magic is indeed limited to single shots. You won't fire unless you're certain of a hit. I was watching you closely while I was chanting, and I realized you couldn't land one. Am I right?"
No, you are wrong.
It’s just to stall for time. Ah, wait, that’s not it. Let’s see, this is being filmed, so I’m just padding the runtime.
"But you should have fired! You had a sliver of a chance to win!! Can you dodge this many spears of flame!?"
As Ardes shouted, the multitude of flame spears floating in the air rained down upon me.
"Oh!! The spears of flame are raining down on Yuki!!"
Now, for some reason, people keep calling it wind magic, but in reality, it’s just an extension of mana manipulation—I’m simply slamming my mana into them to forcibly dispel the spells.
Well, since I’ve been thrusting my fists out on purpose to make it look like I’m using magic, it being called wind magic is, in a sense, exactly as planned.
And now, the rain of flame spears is closing in.
It would be easy to nullify them or blow them away entirely, but since everyone thinks my style is to stand my ground and thrust my fists, I’ll intercept them in a way that fits that image.
*Bang!!*
"Oh!! Yuki has shot down one of the incoming spears of flame! But the others are right in front of him!! He won't make it in—"
Ratz doesn't seem worried at all.
Well, showing off for my wives is part of the objective, after all...
*Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba!!*
I simply thrust my fists out in rapid succession, as clearly as possible.
"What!?"
Ardes is stunned by what’s happening before his eyes.
I suppose he can't be blamed; he thought I was only capable of single-shot interceptions.
"Yuki isn't stopping. He is calmly intercepting them one by one with incredible speed. Is this some kind of wind-based support magic?"
"Yes. As Eris-san said, it must be the enhancement of physical ability and speed through wind magic. However, even with that, to intercept over thirty raining spears of flame in mid-air is truly astonishing."
*Ba-ba-ba-bang!!*
And after blowing away the very last one, I returned to my stance...
"There!"
Not missing that slight opening, Ardes launched an oversized fireball with a delayed timing.
But my weapons aren't just my fists. Humans have legs, too.
In fact, my legs have more power than my fists.
"Yo."
Big as it is, it’s just a lump of fire made of mana.
It can be dealt with easily using wind or mana manipulation.
"Wh-what!?"
This time, Ardes was left speechless.
Well, I suppose that’s understandable.
After all, I didn't kick the fireball away to extinguish it.
"Yo, ho."
I started juggling the ball of fire.
Yes, juggling. Surely every Japanese man has tried that at least once, hasn't he?
Whether you're good at it or not, everyone has given it a shot.
I, too, used to watch famous soccer manga and have juggling contests with my friends.