Some students had gathered. Almost all of them were from Class A, while half of the Class S students had also spread out to different points near where the fight was supposed to take place. Everyone wanted to watch the battle between the teachers, but no students would be allowed to enter, as a battle of that level could end up causing serious injuries even to those who were merely watching.
"I wanted to see this battle happen."
Kai says as he arrives beside Enrico, still with his arm bandaged. Enrico, on the other hand, was deeply thinking about a way to enter Director Hao's Barrier.
The director's barrier was extremely strong. There was no safe way to enter without Hao noticing, which ended up discouraging Enrico. He really wanted to watch the Class S teacher's defeat, but after thinking for a few moments, he gave up on the idea. Instead, he noticed some nearby students and began observing their stats, looking for people who could be useful in the future.
'Most of them are quite strong, but that's normal for Class S. Although I can defeat the Rank twenty to thirty students here.'
They were not important characters, but they could still be useful later. Enrico then also began observing the Class A students. He had not been able to analyze all of them before leaving the academy, so this was a good opportunity.
'Those two characters are important, but they die in the Infernal Academy arc.'
Giulio Tintorelli, Rank 38, and Camila Cinzaria, Rank 39. The two were important characters during the middle of the first year. Both would die in the future, but if Enrico's plan worked, they would not even come close to the Infernal Academy that day.
'I should talk to them soon.'
Before he could take a step, Angela appears behind the two, causing both of them to be startled.
"Dear students, Professor Virelle asked me to accompany you."
Enrico and Kai look at each other for a moment. Angela then calls Elian and Sílva, who were a little farther ahead, to follow them as well.
When they arrive at a room, they find Serenya and Valença.
"Are you two feeling better?"
Enrico's question immediately makes Serenya assume an arrogant posture.
"It was nothing."
Valença simply nods. Ever since she had seen Enrico's power that day, she had immediately returned to training after being examined by the healing mages.
"Hey, everyone! You're here too?"
Liam arrives, and right behind him appears Caelan, with his eyes almost closed, as if he had just woken up.
"How troublesome... can it be tomorrow instead?"
"That's exactly why you're falling behind."
Elian and Caelan begin arguing, while Seraphina arrives and sits beside Enrico. That makes Serenya glare at the two, but no one comments on it.
Angela then takes a stone, and from it, a broadcast image begins to be projected, showing the fight between Professor Virelle and the Class S teacher. Immediately, everyone moves closer, excited to watch.
"Do you really want this, Professor Virelle?"
Professor Finguerard, from Class S, was the one speaking.
"Of course. I can't let a teacher walk away unharmed after telling a lie about my students."
"I didn't lie."
He was not going to admit it so easily. Therefore, Virelle would have to force him to tell the truth and clear her students' names.
Director Hao was sitting together with other teachers, among them Borem, Sir Drenholm, and even Sairus. They all watched the situation attentively, waiting to see how far that fight would go.
"You may begin."
Professor Virelle creates a sword made of vines and prepares to attack, while Professor Finguerard summons fire and wind magic, combining both and making the flames surround the sword and burn her entire arm. He not only had a type advantage, but also possessed something that increased the potency of his fire magic. Therefore, in that fight, unless Virelle had a second magic, she would not be able to fight him properly with such a disadvantage.
The students watching the broadcast become worried, but Enrico remained calm. In fact, he was even trembling with excitement at what was about to happen to Finguerard.
"Are you really a teacher?"
Virelle's question surprises Finguerard. She then raises her hand together with the sword and dispels the flames, using a greater amount of magic to drive the fire away from the sword without suffering any damage.
"How do you think others will see us if you keep hiding what your student does?"
An absurd amount of mana begins to pour out of Virelle's body, while enormous pressure runs through the bodies of all the teachers present. The only one unaffected by the pressure is Director Hao, who is merely surprised upon feeling that amount of power.
Enrico rises slightly, also surprised. Virelle was going to use a Seventh Circle magic. However, she should have been hiding her true power, unless...
'She reached the Eighth Circle.'
Professor Finguerard begins to tremble. Virelle does not answer. She only lowers the sword.
"Wait, when did you become a Seventh Circle?"
At the same instant, Director Hao raises his hand and creates a two-layer barrier over Finguerard. Several cuts appear across the teacher's body, while the magic and pressure released by Virelle are so intense that the ground beneath her is completely destroyed. Surely, the destruction would have been even greater if it were not for the barrier that was also protecting the underground.
"Thank goodness I made this barrier, otherwise the city would have suffered major damage."
Hao realizes that even so, Virelle had held back. A Seventh Circle could destroy an entire territory if its power were not contained, although the world itself reduced the destruction that mages could cause. Even so, the higher the circle, the more difficult it was for the world to control that power, especially at the Ninth Circle.
"I hope Professor Finguerard tells the truth now."
Finguerard was lying on the ground, with cuts spread all over his body. Hao had created the barrier only to prevent him from dying. Without that protection, the result would probably have been much worse.
Hao then declares Virelle the winner and says that she could take the position of Class S teacher. However, to everyone's surprise, she refuses.
"I'll take it after a certain student moves up a class."
The statement leaves the other teachers completely bewildered.
Meanwhile, back in the room, the students were surprised by what they had just watched, especially Sílva, who seemed increasingly excited.
"Professor Virelle reached the Seventh Circle?"
"She's a prodigy. Look, even Enrico is surprised."
Everyone notices that Enrico was looking at the broadcast with an incredulous expression. To them, that made sense. After all, he was seeing a prodigy who had reached a level higher than his own.
But that was not why Enrico was surprised.
From the very beginning, one of his family's orders had been to keep their true powers a secret. Therefore, when Virelle revealed that she had reached the Seventh Circle, Enrico immediately realized the true meaning of it.
'She shouldn't awaken at this time yet... no, wait. This is good.'
Enrico becomes even more excited. He wanted to see Professor Finguerard being humiliated much more than with just one blow, but now he would put that aside. Something much better was in front of him. If Virelle had really reached that level so early, Enrico would have one more chance to survive against the evil gods in the future.
Seeing Enrico happy, Angela simply shakes her head, thinking about how Virelle had asked her to show that fight precisely so that Enrico would realize how good she was as a teacher.
'With this, there is no way he can refuse to become my lady's disciple.'
Outside, on the roof of a building on the other side of the academy, an eye had followed the entire fight through the transmitted image. The boy watched in silence, analyzing every detail of what had happened. This was something he needed to be grateful to have witnessed, because from that moment on, he would have to act much more carefully.
'After I worked so hard to convince those Ranvil Level Nartheis to attack the city, I don't want to mess something up.'
He remained watching the academy for a few more moments before standing up and leaving the roof. His next destination was the infirmary.
Some time later, already inside the infirmary, the same boy was sitting in one of the windows, watching the movement outside. He had managed to enter without attracting attention and was now simply waiting. Behind him, one of the injured students begins to wake up.
"That bastard... he'll pay."
It was Deymon. Even injured, he was still thinking about Enrico, and the memory of being defeated by him made him furious. Even though he had been defeated by another noble, he could not admit it. To Deymon, his defeat had happened because he had been caught off guard.
"You woke up."
Deymon raises his head and looks at the boy sitting in the window. He was extremely pale, making Deymon wonder for a moment if he was a vampire. However, that would be impossible. Vampires did not have a good relationship with any race and saw humans only as food. Besides, they had not become involved in any major conflicts in the last hundred years.
"Who are you?"
The boy leaves the window and approaches Deymon with a smile that immediately makes him dislike him.
"My name is Jago, and I would like to offer you something."