Just after delivering a powerful throw, Motohama lost his balance but managed to force his arm upward and bounce the ball high into the air.
"I'm counting on you, Matsuda!!"
"You got it!"
Matsuda instantly responded, showing off Olympic-level leaping ability as he reached for the airborne ball. If he caught it before it touched the ground, he'd be safe.
But Matsuda didn't go for a catch.
"Wooooooh!! Matsuda's Dynamic Spike!!"
That's right—he spiked the ball straight toward the opponent's court instead of catching it. Unlike Ikki's earlier counter shot, which was technically a catch, Matsuda's attack was a full-on deflection. If it touched the ground without hitting anyone, both he and Motohama would be out.
But he took that risk anyway—no, he chose it—because the surprise of a fast, early counterattack was their best shot at landing a blow. He understood that in terms of raw physical ability, Ikki and Issei outclassed them. So, he gambled on catching them off guard.
His target wasn't Ikki, but Issei—the easier of the two. And it worked. Issei was a split second too slow to react.
"Crap!"
As expected, Issei failed to catch the ball. It struck his right arm and bounced far off toward the sideline. Once the ball hits the ground, the outfielders—who belong to the enemy side—can grab it, but it doesn't matter. Issei had already joined the ranks of the "outfield"—in other words, the losers.
But Ikki had already started moving the moment Matsuda spiked the ball, preparing for the worst.
His unnaturally smooth and fluid movements pushed him to top speed in an instant.
"Issei! Launch me!!"
Seeing Ikki charging in from his left, Issei instinctively clasped his hands together, bracing himself to boost Ikki into the air.
It was a launch technique more suited to gymnastics, usually for vertical leaps—but their target was behind them.
The moment Ikki's foot landed in his cupped hands, Issei bent backward like a limbo dancer and hurled Ikki nearly horizontally. He knew he'd fall over afterward, but he didn't care.
Ikki shot through the air like a cannonball—and caught the ball mid-air just above the outfield.
But he couldn't land there. The outfield was enemy territory. If he touched down, he'd be out immediately. It was the reverse of what just happened to Matsuda and Motohama. Which meant—he'd just return the favor.
With his back to the enemy, mid-flight, Ikki twisted his body at the very last second and unleashed a single, precise throw.
"Seventh Secret Sword—Amaterasu!!"
Even though he wasn't using his full [Ittou Shura] state, this was the same secret technique that had once felled even high-tier grim reapers.
The ball shot out like a bolt of divine fire, slammed into the just-landed Matsuda, and ricocheted off toward Motohama. The change in trajectory caught Motohama off guard—and he couldn't dodge it in time. With both of them hit, the match was decided.
Needless to say, the gym teacher had given up trying to scold these four for "dangerous plays."
Issei flipped back into a bridge and then stood up in a back handspring. Ikki hit the ground and acrobatically rolled to his feet without taking damage.
Matsuda and Motohama were much the same. Honestly, if this wasn't Kuoh Academy—a place cloaked in a unique energy field—any normal gym teacher would've marched straight to the principal and begged to get these kids into the Olympics. That's how high-level this match was.
And no, they weren't even using touki or anything like that. Three out of the four were just regular humans.
"Aaaugh! We lost again!! Seriously, if Ikki and Issei are on the same team, there's no way we can win! Heck, even just Ikki alone is enough to match the three of us! These team matchups are totally unfair!"
"Hey, it's not our fault—it was a random draw."
As humans, their physical abilities were already maxed out with limited techniques. Having to face this kind of trio every single time was honestly exhausting. And using the same teams repeatedly in gym class wasn't educationally sound anyway.
As class ended and we started walking toward the locker rooms to change, my vision suddenly shifted.
It wasn't teleportation—this was a shared vision from Izuna.
Through Izuna's eyes, I saw it: a cloaked magician who had just emerged from a glowing summoning circle on the floor was holding a nearby student hostage, pointing an aggressive magical sigil at them.
I'd told Izuna to connect our vision like this in case of emergency—but damn it, they really did manage to slip through the Three Factions' barrier and teleport in!
Damn it all! Even if we caught Georg, it wouldn't mean anything if the other side had someone who could still move freely like this!
"Issei—enemy contact. Likely Khaos Brigade."
"Huh!?"
I whispered directly to Issei beside me. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"I'm heading out."
I didn't wait for a response. I ran toward the classroom where Ravel and the others were.
On the way past the field, two enemy mages teleported in.
"Whoa there, where you headed in such a rush? Why not hang out with us a while—"
They didn't finish their sentences.
As I passed between them, I hit them both with a double lariat powered by Senjutsu and took them down. Since regular students were still nearby, I only knocked them out.
Then it happened—from the direction of the old school building, a massive magical energy burst was unleashed. The volume of magic was insane—enough to level the academy and wipe out half the surrounding town.
You've gotta be kidding me…! The only ones here who could handle that kind of power alone are me or Issei! And Issei can't transform and fly around in his armor during broad daylight, so I'm the only option!
Shirone might manage it, but she'd get seriously hurt—and she shouldn't even be able to move right now.
As I hesitated for a moment, the energy signature disappeared—and so did the presence of Ravel, Shirone, and Gasper. A bluff!?
Wait... that must've been Euclid—Grayfia's brother. I think that was his name. He must've released all that ominous energy as a decoy to distract us while they abducted Ravel. The other two were just bonus targets.
Even though I'd expected this possibility, it still pisses me off. How the hell are we supposed to stop teleportation-based kidnappings that bypass barriers!?
Well, at least I prepared for this. I'd instructed either Ravel or Shirone to summon me in such an event. I'd rather not teleport in myself and get spotted by the whole school.
Just then, Issei caught up behind me.
"Ikki! What happened?! I fought one of the mages over by the forest, but then that creepy aura came pouring out of the old building and they all just up and vanished!"
"They took hostages. Ravel, Shirone, and Gasper are gone. Ravel's probably the main target. I'm still under contract with both her and Shirone, and Izuna is with Ravel. I gave Izuna special instructions to send out a beacon in a situation like this. I'll get summoned soon—once I'm gone, follow the signal. I've already passed the beacon protocol to Kuroka and Rossweisse-sensei."
I made sure we had some way of recovering from this fast—but I still wish we could've stopped the abduction in the first place.
Just then, I felt the pull of a summoning spell.
Good. My summoning circle wasn't compromised. Only Georg, Cao Cao, Pluto, and Thanatos had seen the spell before—and two of them are dead, the other two are in the underworld. The rogue mages must not have had that intel.
"Issei—I'm being summoned. I'm leaving the rest to you."
"Got it! I'll be right behind you!"
In the blink of an eye, my vision darkened.
And when it returned—
"Ohohohohohohoho!! If you still think I'm just some delicate lady who needs protection, then you are gravely mistaken! How dare you create something as tasteless as a clone of me! For such insolence, you shall burn to cinders in my inferno! Ohohohohohohohoho!!"
What greeted me was a wild-eyed Ravel, incinerating a whole squad of rogue mages with magical fire several times more intense than usual.
...Not that I'm complaining, but this was definitely not what I expected.
"Uh… can someone explain what's going on here?"
I turned to Shirone, who I assumed had summoned me, for an update.
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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