Eleanor’s magic was Corrosion—a terrifying power capable of eating through any defense.
It wasn't that her targets became soft like pudding; it was more like they were being sizzled and dissolved by a potent acid. From the perspective of someone facing her, the pressure of having your defenses utterly nullified was overwhelming. Furthermore, she possessed incredible defensive resistance herself. Honestly, in terms of raw combat ability, she might have even surpassed Sierra.
But this was a cavalry battle. And that… that was where my chance for victory lay.
“—I won’t lose!” Eleanor cried.
With her Corroding Hand surging with power, she lunged for my hat. I managed to dodge by twisting my torso, but the sound of the dark waves and the air being sliced echoed with a violent whoosh.
“Ei! Ei!”
She seemed dead serious, but I decided to just ignore those cute little grunts.
I deliberately channeled mana into my hand, attempting to test the potency of her corrosion. I made a move as if to grab her hand, but a split second before contact, I heard a sharp sizzle as my mana evaporated. If I had actually touched her, intense pain probably would have shot straight through my arm.
I jerked my hand back immediately, but Eleanor followed up with a rapid-fire flurry of alternating palm strikes. The sound of the air being shredded grew louder and louder as her speed ramped up. I focused everything on dodging using only my upper body.
“Whoa, she’s way too fast…” one of the spectators muttered.
“Combined with that bounce, it’s freaking lethal,” another added.
“Seriously, what kind of face am I even supposed to make while watching this...?”
The crowd seemed to be spiraling into a collective state of confusion. As expected of an event that provided both the carrot and the stick—or in this case, the whip—it made sense that they didn't know how to react. Aside from us, every other match had been decided; the entire field was now dead-set on watching the showdown between Eleanor and me.
Come to think of it, this was our first real match against each other. I would have preferred a proper duel, but I guess this will have to do.
“—Ugh.”
A groan of pain came from the "mob student" supporting me from below. I couldn't tell if he was suffering from the miasma of Eleanor’s darkness, the frustration of being unable to see the "bounce" from his position, or if his legs had simply reached their physical limit.
In contrast, the guys supporting Eleanor were upperclassmen, and they looked like they still had plenty of energy left. I had to settle this fast.
Alright... I guess I’ll act like a proper Weiss Fancent for once.
“—You know, Eleanor-senpai, it turns out Senior Sierra is actually weaker than you.”
Eleanor’s expression instantly darkened. It was a cowardly move, but I needed a quick resolution. This was purely tactical.
I’m sorry, Senior Sierra. But I’m Weiss Fancent, so please, just forgive me.
“...What did you just say?”
“I mean, she’s the older sister, yet she lost so easily—”
“—I don’t care if it’s you, Weiss-kun! There are things you can say, and there are things you CAN’T!!!!”
Eleanor exploded. Honestly, I’m not sure "exploded" even covers it. Her mana output was suddenly on a completely different scale. I felt a bottomless, cursed power emanating from her darkness. Anyone with weak magic resistance probably would have fainted just by standing near her. In fact, the upperclassmen holding her up looked like they were about to die.
She swung her hand; I dodged by a hair’s breadth, but she actually tore right through my Magic Resistance—and my clothes.
Wait, what?
“~~~~!!!!”
The next instant, Eleanor’s hands were a blur, targeting my hat—no, they were targeting me at a speed I could barely track. It was incredible; I didn't know darkness could go on a rampage like this.
But this was exactly what I wanted.
I intentionally dropped my defense. It was useless anyway. Instead, I poured every ounce of my being into Time Lapse.
Her hands were still too fast. But I could see them. I could see the path.
“—Kh, my legs!”
Finally, one of the upperclassmen supporting Eleanor reached his limit and his stance buckled. I didn't miss the opening. I lunged with my right arm.
Eleanor’s reaction was terrifying. We both reached out at almost the exact same time. I couldn't tell if she was trying to punch me in the face or grab my hat. Since my defense was at zero, if it was the former... would I die? Was I actually about to die right here?
No—this was for the victory.
My fingers brushed Eleanor’s hat. At the same time, Eleanor’s hand... touched mine.
The whistle blew. The crowd erupted into a confused roar, nobody certain who had actually won.
Thank god she didn't punch me in the face.
After a tense deliberation by the judges—
"The winner is the Red Team, Weiss Fancent! It was a narrow margin, but by Teacher Milk’s judgment, the victory goes to Red!"
My team broke out into cheers. Eleanor’s shoulders slumped in defeat.
“I lost...”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I used a bit of a dirty trick.”
“...I know. But I just lost my cool. I really need to fix that...”
Sierra approached us from behind. “Not bad, Vai! But tell me... who exactly was calling me small and weak?”
“You heard that...? I didn't go that far, I swear.”
“Hmph. Well, Eleanor, if you’ve learned your lesson, it’s time to stop being such a codependent little sister!”
“It’s not really like that, but...”
Sierra began to comfort her sister. It was a bit of a cheap shot on my part, but again, it was a tactic. The other side had been using their own "weapons"—the bounce—against us, after all. My own support squad had suffered because of it, so I considered us even.
The Sports Festival continued. We ended up losing the tug-of-war because of the combined muscle power of Duke and Eleanor.
“Hell yeah! Muscles are the ultimate mana, right?!” Duke roared.
“You said it!” Eleanor cheered back.
Well... there was no stopping that duo.
In the obstacle-course-meets-scavenger-hunt event, Cecil and Carta dominated. No one could compete with the combination of a genius’s intuition and the ability to gather items while flying.
“We did it! We actually won!”
“Good job, Miss Carta.”
Then there was the ball toss, where Lilith proved to be an absolute monster. Her high-speed, perfectly accurate rapid-fire was something no one could even hope to match.
“I did it, Lord Weiss!”
“Yeah, you were amazing.”
Surprisingly, even Eva seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself. She was originally supposed to have withdrawn from school by now, but it turned out she actually liked this sort of thing.
“Fufu, this is quite entertaining,” she remarked.
In the scavenger hunt, Shari and Olynn were a force of nature. Olynn used her Subjugation to gather items, while Shari set traps to stall everyone else, securing the top spots for themselves.
It was surprising to see everyone working so hard and having so much fun, even while they stressed over the points. I suddenly remembered Teacher Milk telling us to "enjoy our youth."
...Well, I guess this isn't so bad.
That said, my obsession with winning hadn't changed.
Finally, the Sports Festival entered its final round.
"The White Team is currently in the lead! Can the Red Team pull off a final victory!?"
The final program was a match truly befitting the name Noblesse. I remembered it from the Original Story, but I never expected this specific matchup. This was an alteration of an alteration.
"The final match will be a tag-team battle between students selected from the top performers!"
Naturally, I was one of them. The last time I had teamed up with someone was with Allen during the Sword-Magic Cup, and even then, our opponent hadn't been a Noblesse—it was Duran.
There wouldn't be a series of matches; just one single showdown. Considering this was a one-day event unlike the week-long Battle Royale, it made sense.
As for the participants—
"Red Team: Weiss Fancent & Sierra Witch! White Team: Eva Avery & Eleanor Witch!"
In the original timeline, Allen should have been in this match. But Eva’s presence had changed everything. Honestly, for the first time in a long time, I couldn't see a clear vision of victory. Especially with Eleanor as the partner on the other side. There was no telling how this would go.
A massive, circular arena was suddenly carried onto the field by Darius. It sounded like something out of a ridiculous manga, but it was happening right in front of me. Everyone was floored, except for Duke, who was moved to tears by the "glory of those muscles." He’d probably try to do the same thing himself one day.
“E-Eva-chan! Let’s do our best!”
“Yes, Eleanor-senpai.”
The interaction between those two was fresh. Eleanor might have been the only person in the entire Noblesse Oblige who could get away with calling Eva "-chan."
This was it. The very end. There was no point in holding anything back.
“Vai, we’re winning this. I absolutely refuse to lose,” Sierra said.
Her expression was different than usual. She was completely, deadly serious. It was likely her sense of responsibility talking.
And as I looked at them, I found myself remembering the past of those two sisters.