A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 96. The Critical Moment

“I’ll go, too.”

When almost all of Class A charged into Class B’s camp, they initially had the upper hand, but thanks to Sara’s efforts, the tide turned again.

Katia, who remained as the only defensive force along with Clyde, assessed the situation and made her decision.

She was not mistaken. Class B’s formation was excellent, demonstrating far better coordination than Class A.

If someone didn’t support the frontline, the battle would soon tilt irreversibly.

It was more a declaration than a proposal, but—

“N-No way!”

To Katia’s surprise, Clyde objected.

“If you leave, who will protect the crystal? They’re surely trying to lure you out and then attack our weak spot—”

“Even so, if we stand by and do nothing, the frontline will collapse. If Class B, who wiped out our attackers, comes here, we’ll lose anyway. We have no choice but to take the risk and support them.”

“That can’t be true! We’re talking about Class A! We might be at a disadvantage now, but they’ll come back. You need to believe in them and wait, that’s your job—”

“Are you kidding me?”

Such wishful thinking was far from the objectivity required of a commander.

Additionally, Clyde seemed unusually anxious, as if he absolutely did not want Katia to go to the front—

(…Oh, I see.)

Katia quickly realized.

Simply put, Clyde didn’t want Katia to shine on the battlefield.

With Katia being the strongest in Class A, if she showed her prowess, Clyde, who was already in a precarious position, would face even more trouble.

Especially if she were on the front lines while he was left behind at the crystal, it would be glaringly obvious to the watching nobles that he was doing nothing.

His objection was more about protecting his own standing than winning the battle.

(Ridiculous.)

All the more reason to ignore him. Katia looked away from Clyde, making her decision.

“There’s no point in listening. It’s useless to stop me.”

“What—! Are you defying the commander’s orders?!”

“We’ll definitely lose if I do. There’s no time to argue, I’m going.”

Katia started to run, but Clyde, still reluctant, called out.

“W-Wait! Then, I’ll go too!”

“Huh?”

He stopped her, blurting out his puzzling declaration.

“That’s right, the commander should lead from the front and boost morale! So—”

“Pointless. And in the way.”

Clearly, he just wanted to make an impression. But Katia coldly dismissed him.

“If you look at the battlefield, you’d know. It’s too chaotic for mere orders to matter. Admit it. From the moment you fell for El’s provocation and attacked, you were finished. You’re now just dead weight.”

“Wha—”

“Should I put it more bluntly? You’re a useless burden now.”

With cold precision, Katia delivered the harsh truth. As Clyde stood speechless, she gave him her final directive.

“If you understand, stay here quietly and warn us if anyone comes for the crystal. Though I doubt anyone will. That’s the best you can do now.”

Seeing him finally freeze, Katia turned her back on him for good.

Ignoring the despair on his face, she ran towards the battlefield.

“…You’re having quite the fun, aren’t you?”

And now.

Having activated [Soteira Trivia] and sent ghost soldiers to turn the tide, she murmured while overlooking the battlefield.

She hadn’t lied to Clyde; her intervention was indeed the best move.

But there was also a bit of personal sentiment involved.

“Class B, you’re moving so differently from two weeks ago. You’ve been training hard every day with El, haven’t you? Even at home, El was so busy and tired that we barely talked. He must’ve been giving his all, even more than spending time with me… I’m really jealous.”

She wasn’t angry. She understood why and accepted it, but still.

While she was caught in the pointless power struggles and lies of Class A, Class B was likely thriving under Hermes’ leadership. They must have spent much more meaningful and productive time than Class A… without her.

Oh, how desirable.

Hermes once told her to use her magic with her emotions.

So now, as she committed to giving her all—

Even though she wasn’t angry, it seemed right to unleash her magic on Class B. It was definitely not just venting frustration.

Yes, let’s do it. She decided and raised her magic power.

“Katia-sama—!”

A Class B student, sensing her danger, prioritized attacking Katia over his own opponent.

His judgment of the situation and target was correct. But—

“Too naïve.”

—only if he had the skill to match.

She effortlessly blocked his attack with ghost soldiers. Seeing the Class B student’s widened eyes, she smiled thinly.

“You’ve gotten stronger, haven’t you? Trained by El for two weeks, feeling confident? But—”

She immediately summoned her soldiers. Gathering their power, she formed a spirit bullet, rivaling the strength of a bloodline magic attack.

“Too bad. I’ve been doing the same training since two months ago!”

She fired it mercilessly, with a remark tinged with personal feelings.

That’s how it is.

Having awakened to her magic’s true power, Katia was on a different level compared to the rest of Class A.

No matter how much Class B had trained, they couldn’t match her now.

So, if anyone could oppose her—

“…It has to be you.”

She saw the silver-haired boy, who had deflected her attack with a wall of light, standing before the Class B student she attacked.

“How will you stop me, El?”

As if she had found her long-awaited rival,

Katia spoke with a delicate, yet slightly ominous smile.

◆

“…You focus on your opponent. As for Katia-sama—leave her to me.”

“O-Okay!”

After telling the student to target Katia, Hermes turned to face her again, thinking to himself.

(…Now, this is the ultimate test.)

Without a doubt, she is the biggest obstacle in this competition.

Just the other day, he told her that the odds of winning were fifty-fifty. Of the ‘fifty’ that represents losing, the first part depends on whether they can engage in the initial skirmish.

And the rest—all depends on how well he can handle Katia.

Thus, the outcome largely hinges on his performance here. With that determination, he looked ahead.

“Well, I expected you would come.”

Katia said calmly, with a somewhat eerie smile.

But soon, she returned to the composed expression of a magician and continued.

“But are you sure you can handle me alone? …As much as I hate to say it—even you, in your current state, can’t stop me.”

“Ugh.”

At the same time, more ghost soldiers appeared around them. Seeing this again, this magic that equates to a large army by itself is indeed overwhelming.

…And what she says is absolutely correct.

In his current state—meaning without using his bloodline magic—he can handle A-Class opponents one-on-one…but that’s not including her.

Currently, as a magician, she is overwhelmingly powerful. No matter how skilled he is, he can’t win against her with his bloodline magic sealed—rather, she has the luxury of keeping an eye on other areas while facing him.

In fact, she’s likely planning to do just that. If that happens, the B-Class students, who are currently holding their ground against A-Class students, will also have to deal with her ghost soldiers, causing their front line to collapse. This is an inevitable future.

—Yes. As long as he fights her as a magician.

She doesn’t know.

What he has learned in B-Class. The most shocking encounter he had there, and its result.

“If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate, but even against you in my current state—”

“With all due respect.”

Interrupting Katia’s words, Hermes stated, then.

First, he relaxed all the power in his body. As he let himself fall to the ground, he gathered his magic power in his legs at the last moment, using it as propulsion to kick off the ground with all his might—

—He vanished.

It seemed that way to her. Just like he experienced on the second day after transferring.

Even so, she anticipated an attack from the front, focusing her ghost soldiers for defense—but that was expected.

Stopping just before hitting the wall of ghost soldiers. Using the recoil, he leaped sideways, instantly regaining his posture to get behind her without giving her a chance to react, and struck a karate chop toward the back of her neck to knock her out—

“!? ”

—At the last moment. She twisted her neck just in time, and simultaneously, a ghost soldier’s arm intercepted, deflecting his karate chop.

…Close. He wished he could have decided it with the first move, but it wasn’t that easy.

However, she must have realized now. …That the current him is not an opponent to be underestimated.

Yes. As a magician, she is overwhelmed, and he cannot hope to match her with his magic restricted.

However—magicians’ weakness is close combat. This is true for both Hermes and Katia.

And he has met someone in B-Class who specializes in exploiting that weakness. Shocked by her skills, he sought her teachings and continued to spar with her every day.

Even alongside the training of the B-Class students, he pushed his exhausted body to continue sparring—all for this moment. To hone his trump card against Katia, the greatest obstacle in this competition.

Of course, Katia’s bloodline magic is extraordinary. Even in close combat, her ghost soldiers would likely intercept, making it difficult to land a decisive blow.

But even she cannot afford to be distracted by anything else when facing an opponent using this close combat strategy.

“…With all due respect, I must say.”

Aiming for this, he boldly stated.

“Please don’t say such lonely things as ‘in my current state’—focus solely on me. Otherwise, even against the current me, you might find yourself caught off guard.”

This is the strategy against Katia.

Deploy Hermes or Nina, who are relatively strong in close combat, to keep her occupied, preventing her from focusing on anything else.

The decision on who to deploy was tough, but with Nina’s high mobility being better suited for supporting classmates and Hermes’ ability to counter with magic if necessary, he was chosen.

With this intent, he spoke. Katia showed a momentary blank expression—but soon regained her smile.

“…Oh my. You’re saying that?”

He sensed something was off.

What is it? It felt different from the expected reaction. As Hermes pondered, she spoke.

“…You know, I’ve been holding back for a long time. Because it was something you chose, something you wanted to work hard at. Even if you were too tired from B-Class training to spend time with me, even if we couldn’t have lunch together at all, even if I thought you were probably getting much closer to Sarah and Nina, I held back, you know?”

With that somewhat eerie smile, she spoke.

“I was holding back until the competition was over, but you said something like that in front of me. ‘Focus solely on me,’ you say. …Well, fine. I’ll take that provocation. Because that means—”

At the same time, ghost soldiers surrounded him. As if saying ‘I won’t let you escape.’

Amidst this, she smiled even more beautifully, like an angel, and declared.

“—From this moment on, I get to monopolize you, don’t I?”

…What is this?

His line was merely meant to draw her attention—but it seemed he triggered a switch he shouldn’t have. To be honest, it’s a bit scary.

(…No, calm down.)

Trying to steady his disturbed mind, he thought.

…It was unexpected in many ways, but the goal was achieved. —In other words, he just needs to keep her so focused on him that she can’t think about anything else. That way, there will be no reinforcements from her ghost soldiers, and his classmates will have time to recover.

Seeing the situation before Katia joined, Nina’s support alone should suffice. He should focus solely on Katia—or else, it would be very bad.

“…Alright.”

Then, his task is simple.

Until his classmates defeat the A-Class students—he will desperately keep Katia occupied.

Buying time, waiting for reinforcements. Honestly, he doesn’t feel confident about winning in close combat, so it’s best to focus on that.

…It’s quite ironic. The one who told others to think only of their own victory ends up being the one making the biggest sacrifice for the team’s victory.

Yet, despite that—strangely, he didn’t feel bad about it.

“Then, let’s have a fair match.”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

With a silent cheer to his classmates.

Exchanging brief words, Hermes faced the greatest threat in this competition.