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“Next up is the final match of the second round, featuring Evangelin and Misaka Mikoto. Both are third-year middle school students who have shone brilliantly in the previous rounds. However, only one can advance to the semi-finals. Will it be Misaka Mikoto or Evangelin? Let’s wait and see!”

As the host, Asakura Kazumi, enthusiastically began, roars of cheers erupted from the audience. The battle had reached this stage, and everyone had their supporters. The fans of Evan and those of Mikoto were all cheering wildly for their idols.

“Ah, another internal struggle within Class Three? Honestly, too many people from our class participated,” the girls of Class Three muttered, feeling speechless. Nearly three-quarters of the finalists were connected to their class. Up until now, aside from a few bouts against outsiders, it had almost entirely been internal conflict.

Even the previous match—Sakuya Izayoi was their teacher, and Argent Doll was their teacher’s daughter... well, it felt a bit odd, but if she’s called her daughter, then let her be her daughter. They were all people connected to Class Three, so it could still loosely be considered an internal fight.

“Come to think of it, in the semi-finals, everyone except that person named Kunel is from Class Three.”

“Exactly! It’s three against one. Class Three has secured the championship, ha ha!”

She probably forgot that this competition was one-on-one, not a battle royale.

“The curse on the little cat has been lifted. Was that your doing?” On the contestants' observation platform, Kunel approached Lin Luo and asked with a smile.

Lin Luo glanced at him and didn’t hide anything. “Although I didn't do it, it's somewhat related to me, if you stretch the definition.”

“That’s truly remarkable. If we’re being honest, besides Negi himself, it was thought no one could break that curse.”

“Isn't that wrong? Can't his son’s blood break it?”

“Heh, how could that be? Even drinking Negi’s blood would only provide a temporary reprieve; the curse would remain. But from my observation, the little cat’s curse has vanished completely.”

“I see,” Lin Luo nodded. It was the first time he had heard such a thing, but it wasn't surprising given what the Heart of the World could achieve—it could even perform world-defying feats like traveling to the past to change what had already happened. What couldn’t it do?

“Speaking of which, the next match is between you and me. Aren’t you going to prepare your true body?” Lin Luo looked at him suggestively. “It will be quite difficult to defeat me using this current body.”

“It seems nothing escapes your notice,” Kunel chuckled without concern. “But the only reason I entered this tournament was to fulfill an old promise with that fellow. The result matters little to me. Besides, with your strength, it wouldn’t be strange for me to lose to you, and I could even forfeit.”

“That’s a real mood-killer,” Lin Luo shot him a look. “The audience is this excited; it would be so boring if you just forfeited. And for my part, I’d like to clash a bit with your Red Wings.”

“That’s true, I suppose. Since you are so earnestly desiring a challenge against our Red Wings, I shall graciously grant you this opportunity,” Kunel replied with a grin.

Lin Luo was speechless. This guy’s personality was truly atrocious; his skill at teasing was top-tier. No wonder even Evan couldn't stand him. But then again, he’s even cosplaying as members of Team Rocket and crashing their movie set!

“Teacher, we found something very strange.” Just then, Lin Luo suddenly heard Setsuna’s voice. He turned back to see her and Negi running over, saying in a panic, “News about this martial arts tournament is spreading all over the internet; many people are discussing it.”

“Is that so? Nothing to make a fuss about, is there?” Lin Luo said calmly with a slight smile.

“How can it be nothing? If mages are discovered by ordinary people, it’s going to be a huge problem!” Negi exclaimed anxiously. “If things really turn out that way, and it’s because of us, we’ll all be turned into ferrets!”

“But speaking of which, how did this happen? Didn’t Chō-Rin-On say there wouldn’t be any records spreading to the internet?” Asuna asked, puzzled.

You people are truly innocent to a fault. Lin Luo felt utterly speechless. Of course, he knew what was going on—Chō-Rin-On had already started making her move. The restriction on filming was just a facade; her real goal was to expose the existence of mages and the underground world. But these guys were really slow; they did such exaggerated things that even someone without common sense would think something was wrong. Exposure was practically inevitable.

Lin Luo thought this to himself but wouldn't tell them. If they learned Chō-Rin-On’s objective, this martial arts tournament might end prematurely. He still wanted to enjoy himself a bit. As for whether things get exposed or not, that wasn't his concern.

Afterward, Negi and Asuna and the others decided to investigate properly. They also asked Lin Luo to control the subsequent matches somewhat, trying not to make them too exaggerated, lest they be exploited by ill-intentioned parties. Lin Luo nodded in agreement and let them go ahead. Anyway, with their abilities, facing an opponent who wasn't actively planning against them, they couldn't surpass Chō-Rin-On for the time being.

On the stage.

The match had already begun. Mikoto seemed to be in excellent condition, looking quite energized, her body already covered in a field of electrical energy. She gazed at the girl across from her. “I’ve waited so long for this chance to fight you. Now is the perfect time to surpass you.”

“Then you’ll have to try. Don't expect me to go easy on you,” Evangelin curled her lips into a wicked smile.

“I wouldn’t want you to!”

As the words fell, Mikoto launched her attack. There was no need for pleasantries; she knew the gap between herself and an opponent like Evangelin. Ordinary attacks would be useless, so she started with Elementalization right from the opening.

Lightning flashed, and Misaka Mikoto’s figure vanished from the stage, replaced only by a streak of blinding light that instantly rushed toward Evangelin.

“Idiot. Do you think the technique I taught you will work on me?” Evangelin said dismissively, reaching out to grab. The electrical light retracted, and her elemental form was immediately broken. She then casually flung Mikoto away.

“It is a bit tricky,” Mikoto replied, unperturbed despite being countered and thrown back on the first strike; a smile even appeared on her face. It was within her expectations that Elementalization wouldn't work on Evangelin. The purpose of Elementalization wasn't offense; it was merely to disrupt the opponent's vision.

“Come on!” Mikoto shouted in mid-air. Suddenly, two massive pillars of water erupted from the lake beside the stage, surging toward Evangelin with supreme force.

The water pillars moved quickly, reaching Evangelin in the blink of an eye. She didn't evade, simply reaching out to meet them. However, the moment she made contact, she frowned. The power of the water pillars was far greater than she had anticipated; they were subtly pushing her back.

“I see. You want to push me out of bounds? But with the ten-second limit for being out of bounds, what does it matter if you push me out? Can you really keep me off the stage for ten seconds? And…” At this point, Evangelin smiled, and a faint black light appeared in her hand. “You absolutely cannot push me out!”

The power of Devouring activated, and the energy contained within the massive water pillars began to be absorbed by Evangelin.

Witnessing this, some people watching nearby suddenly showed expressions of utter disbelief. This wasn't due to Evangelin’s ability—many people before her possessed stranger powers. What mattered was... Evangelin was a vampire whose magic was sealed by a curse; she shouldn't be able to use magical power, yet the ability she was currently displaying was clearly magic!

“Has her curse been lifted?!” Some exclaimed in shock. If the curse was lifted, it meant the Dark Demon Lord was awakening, which was absolutely not good news for Mahora Academy.

On the field, Mikoto merely smiled. Evangelin's power of Devouring was indeed formidable, but trying to push her out with just water pillars was wishful thinking. This attack was merely bait!

“The real one is here!”

Mikoto pointed toward the sky... BOOM! Heavenly Thunder Summoned!

A massive, dazzling pillar of lightning tore through the clouds and smashed violently down onto Evangelin.

“This move is a bit too exaggerated…” Lin Luo muttered. With an attack like this, how could one expect the matter of magic not to be exposed? It was a joke! In the previous matches, there were ways to trick people into thinking certain things were just tools, especially with Sakuya, where it could be framed as cooperation between the two contestants. But now... that lightning strike truly fell from the sky, and the buzzing dark clouds were still lingering above. Damn it! Could anyone mistake lightning for a tool?

Lin Luo felt that there was no need for anyone else; if Mikoto was allowed to unleash her fury unrestrained just once, Chō-Rin-On’s objective might just be achieved.

And in fact, it wasn’t difficult to provoke Mikoto into a rage. Although she was usually self-aware and tried to control herself in battles to avoid killing people, once she determined her opponent was stronger than her, then forget it—no one could expect Railgun to hold back anymore.

Back in Academy City, on the day she was provoked by Kamijou-dama, she had used her psychic powers to summon heavenly lightning, destroying nearly half of Academy City’s electron industry facilities. Although no actual casualties resulted, this demonstrated that sometimes, the Railgun was utterly unrestrained, completely disregarding the surrounding environment.

The dazzling and massive pillar of lightning struck Evangelin, engulfing her completely. Apart from that white light, her figure was entirely hidden.

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