Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 241: Hero

Boom─!

Viola crashed into the arena wall with a tremendous sound. The wall, now cracked like a spider web and broken apart, could hardly be called a wall anymore.

Thud!

Viola fell to the floor like a toppled object and staggered as she barely managed to stand up. For exactly ten seconds, she blinked like someone whose soul had left her body.

She couldn’t comprehend what had just happened to her.

‘What happened?’

She couldn’t recall any memory, feeling as though all her senses had been blocked. Then, like a flash, everything came rushing back to her.

“Ah, ugh.”

When she tried to straighten her back, her body refused to listen. The unbearable pain that returned with even the slightest effort made her realize she had been thoroughly defeated.

‘No strength… left…’

Her hand was still holding her sword, but even that wasn’t a conscious effort.

She had trained so intensely to treat the sword as part of her body that her instincts were the only thing keeping her grip.

“Haa….”

Viola let out a labored breath.

Though her body was in a pitiful state, it was still better off compared to her heart.

Suddenly, she wanted to look around. How were the spectators watching this situation? What would they think of her now?

Viola moved like a marionette with broken strings, creaking and struggling to straighten her back and stand upright.

Beeeeeep─

A ringing sound echoed in her ears.

Flan, who had done nothing but watch her with a relaxed demeanor, lingered in her mind. The melody he had just played kept ringing in her ears.

As she recalled it piece by piece, goosebumps rose on her skin. The concept of the piece, its atmosphere, the corresponding melody… She knew what to call someone who could conjure all these at once.

“…Genius.”

Unlike other composers who pondered what people wanted to hear, Flan merely laid out his story in the form of notes.

Simply laying out one’s story. It seemed so easy at first glance. It felt like something anyone could do.

But to possess the conviction that one’s story is the best, and for it to actually be the best, how difficult is that?

‘It wasn’t a coincidence.’

Since the beginning of her match with Flan, what she thought was a natural flow was, upon closer inspection, not coincidental.

“Ugh….”

Her stomach twisted, her abdomen vibrated, and blood seeped out of her mouth. Her arms were too stiff to wipe her mouth with her sleeve.

Viola’s unique ability.

It wasn’t a real sound but an attack aimed at the opponent’s internal injuries by stimulating the brain’s nerves.

Given her body and mind were in shambles, Flan’s attack had clearly been effective.

─♬

Viola recalled the melodies she usually loved. Movements that comforted her and made her smile in any situation.

‘…Calm down.’

And it worked this time as well. She felt her mind and body gradually calming down.

As her vision, which had narrowed to the limit, began to widen again, she saw Flan standing perfectly fine across from her.

Like a conductor preparing to exit after a performance, Flan was tidying up the movements one by one. The meaning behind this action was all too clear.

This movement was no longer Viola’s.

“Damn… Damn it, damn it all!”

Viola’s voice, spat out through clenched teeth, was filled with barely suppressed rage.

“How dare you…”

Humiliation? Shame? Disgrace? None of these words could fully capture Viola’s current state. Compared to what she felt now, those were mere trifles.

To be defeated by someone who had just stepped into the field she had devoted her entire life to—what words could possibly describe that?

Crack.

Viola clenched her jaw so tightly that a cracking sound came from her teeth. While Flan’s expression remained calm, her face contorted into that of a demon.

“Will you continue?”

“…”

Viola didn’t respond immediately to Flan’s question. No, she couldn’t respond. She felt like a fool for not answering quickly.

“I asked if you will continue the match.”

“Shut your mouth!”

Viola answered as if having a seizure. But like a frightened puppy’s bark, her loud voice was all she could muster—she couldn’t take action now.

Flan didn’t raise his voice. Even so, Viola heard him clearly.

“What use is music without an audience? Is this the chivalry you have always believed in?”

“What?”

“Killing those who do not acknowledge your melody and defeating those who do. That’s how you’ve maintained your existence, isn’t it?”

“…”

Viola’s body trembled as she stared at Flan.

And Flan’s words weren’t over yet.

“Therefore.”

His voice lowered quietly.

“Your music has never truly been good.”

A certain expression crossed Flan’s face, and Viola realized it was a sneer.

“Moreover, you’ve never been desperate enough to create music just to win. You’ve always done whatever you pleased, every time, always.”

Viola’s trembling intensified.

Not good music. Not even music that employs every trick to win. Just… music created on a whim, for one’s own amusement.

That was Flan’s assessment of Viola.

“Start over from the basics.”

“Start over from the basics?”

“Yes. Starting over means…”

Viola’s eyes widened at the shocking and incomprehensible words. However, Flan simply curled his lips slightly.

“…Fortunately, it means there is a next time for you.”

It was a declaration that he would spare her life, at least.

A white energy began to gather in Flan’s palm. It didn’t have any particularly special visual effects, nor did it make any distinct sounds.

“…!”

Because of this, the audience members who had been in a daze began to come to their senses one by one, surprised.

Because, if their thoughts were correct, that was…

“Magic Missile?”

Someone in the audience shouted.

Magic Missile. The basic combat spell that a magician can learn first when they take their first steps into the world of magic.

Saying it’s easy to learn means that its power is correspondingly low.

But then.

Rumble─!

The Magic Missile began to change shape.

It slowly deviated from the familiar form everyone knew as ‘Magic Missile.’ It began to transform and grow tremendously in size.

A white sphere imbued with the power of mana.

The most fundamental yet most important essence was engraved into it.

Its name was Fundamentals.

Finally, it left Flan’s hand. The Magic Missile, now crafted into a form quite different from what others expected, shot towards Viola like a fierce wave.

“Ugh…!”

Viola’s instincts reacted swiftly.

Her previously immobile hand moved, swinging her sword. She used all her strength to block the grayish-white sphere that approached her.

But Viola saw it clearly.

She saw her sword snap like a twig.

Crack!

With a pathetic sound, her sword broke, and her vision turned white. The fact that it was a basic spell meant it touched upon the most fundamental principles.

The Magic Missile splendidly crushed Viola.

Boom!

A white explosion bloomed in the arena. She barely clung to her senses, but not losing consciousness only prolonged her immense suffering.

‘Ah….’

Defeat.

Viola finally realized it. She had been defeated.

Bang!

Her hand twisted with a single explosion.

Bang─! Bang─!

With the successive explosions, Viola finally let go of her sword.

Without her sword, Viola was just a frail woman. The aftermath of the Magic Missile ruthlessly tore through her body, which was now suspended in the air.

The audience in the arena all stood up simultaneously. No matter how dazzling and trembling it was, this was a moment not to be missed. They had come this far for this moment!

Because this was the moment…

“Ugh─!”

The moment the victor of the arena was decided.

In other words, it was the moment a hero was born.