Chapter 333: Chapter 333: Arrived of Grand
Naturally, similar to mid-class Magus, high-class Magus also has rank divisions.
Budot, as a high-class Magus with long-standing prestige, naturally possessed combat power stronger than a newly broken-through high-class Magus like Cecilia. People were only curious about how long Cecilia could hold out.
Having reached the level of a high-class Magus, they no longer needed to stick to fixed moves but could freely transform magical forms based on their own perception. This meant that every high-class Magus, even within the same element, would have different styles. And for swordsmen like Budot and Cecilia, all they needed was the strongest offensive power.
With a loud explosion, the two rushed at each other. Their blades clashed, erupting into a storm of wind and fire that entwined together.
With the power of a high-class Magus, a wide-area burst could completely submerge the central downtown area, but this wasn’t a performance—this was a life-and-death battle.
Knowing her sword was not as strong as Budot’s, Cecilia used [Air Magic] to increase her swing speed to the maximum, continuously creating sword shadows to wear down and cut through Budot’s flames. Meanwhile, Budot focused only on how to shatter Cecilia’s sword stance in a single strike; one side creating, one side destroying, as the two constantly exchanged sword techniques.
A swordsman’s battle is simply that straightforward.
However, over time, Cecilia gradually lost her strength.
It wasn’t because she ran out of energy—high-class Magus rarely tire in battle—but because of the difference in the ability to "impose" oneself onto the world.
A high-class Magus fighting a mid-class Magus is extremely simple, but a high-class Magus fighting another high-class Magus is not.
Because both can bend laws and impose their "ego" on everything around them, when two egos, two impositions, and two magics collide, a high-class Magus must simultaneously protect the integrity of their own magic while breaking the integrity of their opponent’s.
Here, Cecilia had tried to attack and break Budot’s magic, but she was, after all, only a newly broken-through high-class Magus. Being able to reinforce and protect her own magic’s integrity was already outstanding, and this was naturally much easier than affecting another high-class Magus’s magic—something that was not under her control but belonged to another "ego" and "imposition."
As a result, Cecilia was pushed into a state where she could only defend, while Budot, with his years of experience, was gradually breaking the integrity of Cecilia’s magic.
If two newly broken-through high-class Magus fought, their battle would be like the mid-class Magus era, just on a much larger scale. But when a veteran high-class Magus faced a young one, this was the normal state: one side could only defend while the other attacked relentlessly.
More alarmingly, [Air Magic] was not particularly good at defending in such a suppressed state.
All of Cecilia’s magic was burnt away; she was pushed back, coughing up a mouthful of blood, while Budot remained as unmoved as ever.
When the two concepts of "wind cuts fire" and "fire burns wind" confronted each other, the stronger the will, perception, and ego standing behind a concept, the higher the ability to suppress the opponent, and vice versa.
Obviously, Cecilia was the weaker side.
However, there wasn’t a trace of fear in her eyes. Wiping the blood from her mouth, she was certain that as long as she kept moving forward and sublimating, she would be able to match or even defeat Budot.
A Magus must always keep this in mind, even if reality presents a different truth. Otherwise, magic will desert them.
Magus are always stubborn—stubborn enough to use their will to interfere with the preordained truth of the world.
This is magic.
Just as Cecilia was about to charge again, a gentle and melodious voice suddenly rang out, like a gospel descending from heaven.
"Alright, stop right there."
It was a woman’s voice.
Watching from the sidelines, Kain recognized this voice; it was the same one from the opening ceremony and the tournament.
The Principal of Kanzax Academy.
Between Budot and Cecilia, a woman appeared, blocking the way. She had a tall, powerful figure, wearing a somewhat flamboyant green morning coat, her black hair hanging loosely. Most peculiar was her face, which seemed intentionally obscured, making it impossible for anyone looking at her to distinguish her features—it appeared only as a blur of overlapping frosted glass.
Budot’s eyes widened. A sense of extreme danger enveloped his heart, even creating a vague type of fear.
Fear?
A veteran high-class Magus like him was afraid?
"If I were you, I wouldn’t draw that sword," the Principal said calmly, causing Budot’s burning killing intent to be extinguished like a small flame hit by a bucket of water.
This wasn’t just a simple warning; the Principal’s voice was a form of power. Budot’s killing intent, which could normally overwhelm a mid-class Magus into immobility, was now compressed to the point where it couldn’t even manifest.
"Grand... grand-class Magus!" someone gasped, stuttering.
If a high-class Magus was the peak, then a grand-class Magus was the peak of peaks. Their existence didn’t just affect a clan or even a city, but a vast territory of the Akazac Empire. That is not even to mention their power.
With just one sentence, even a powerhouse among high-class Magus like Budot could only retreat dejectedly.
At that moment, General Cass stepped forward, performing a formal salute.
"Principal Kanzax..."
"Give my regards to the Commander-in-Chief. General Cass, I am only here today to pick up my student. It won’t take long."
"Your student?"
General Cass was astonished. Although he knew Kanzax Academy protected its students well, which student had enough weight to require this legendary Principal to personally come and pick them up?
"Could it be..."
Realizing something, General Cass glanced toward Cecilia. Achieving high-class Magus status before the age of 18 was certainly enough for this Principal to make an appearance.
Surprisingly, the principal approached Faith, who was frozen to the ground by his own [Ice Magic]. With a wave of his hand, the headmaster dispelled all the magic, causing Faith to fall heavily to the ground, his limbs still trembling.
