Chapter 21 - Convenient Plot
The moment the Ranking Duel began, Allen dashed forward like a bullet.
In his left hand, he gripped a blunted short sword for the match, holding it in a reverse grip.
Hollow’s Unique Skill is <Refraction>—a powerful magic that twists and warps anything he touches, whether living or not. But it requires precise mana control, and he’s terrible at high-speed close combat. It’s fine—I’ve done my homework on <Refraction>. As long as I stay wary of his hands, the source of the spell, I can handle—huh?!
A dull thunk echoed in the next instant.
“—!”
Allen winced, eyes watering, as a thin stream of fresh blood trickled down from his forehead.
“This is... <Wall>?!”
Before him loomed a massive, faintly translucent wall—barely visible if one squinted hard enough.
He had run headfirst straight into it.
“What’s with that stupid look? Don’t tell me you actually thought I’d use my Unique Skill for you?”
“Th-that’s... uh...”
That reaction said it all.
So focused on guarding against <Refraction>, he had neglected everything else—to the point he hadn’t even noticed the <Wall> materializing right in front of him.
“They say, ‘A lion uses all its strength to hunt a rabbit,’ but I don’t waste extra effort to crush an ant. For the likes of you, one <Wall> is more than enough.”
If I fought using nothing but <Wall>, the protagonist would gain almost no EXP, stalling his growth.
If I won with just <Wall>, it would be a flawless victory—and my image as a villainous noble would remain untarnished.
There’s some risk, but... it’ll be fine.
I had trained myself, humbly and diligently, to handle exactly this kind of irregularity.
Meanwhile, Allen...
“No <Refraction>, just <Wall>... I see. Then—I’ll do my best to make you get serious!”
Mana surged into his legs, and he launched into high-speed movement.
This time, instead of running straight for me, he wove a wide zigzag path, shifting left and right to throw me off.
...Already adapted to <Wall>, huh.
A simple, predictable approach would be easy prey for <Wall>.
He had learned that from the first exchange and immediately changed his tactics.
As expected of the original protagonist—he really was a combat genius.
“H-hey, isn’t he way too fast?!”
“Natural agility boosted by mana enhancement... that’s insane.”
“I get it now… the reason they put him straight into the special class despite being a prep student—it’s because of that superhuman physical strength.”
As the audience grew noisier—
“Hah, how unoriginal.”
I kept my hands in my pockets and deployed <Wall> at a blinding speed.
“What?!”
Walls of varying shapes and sizes rose up, blocking Allen’s path.
“Gh... fine, then—!”
He immediately changed course, but I filled that route with a fresh barrage of <Walls>.
“W-what kind of construction speed is that?!”
“Deploying magic even faster than Allen’s movement... sure, <Wall> is considered a lower-tier spell, but this kind of casting speed is absurd...”
“H-haha... what the hell kinda magic skills does that guy have...?”
Dry laughter slipped from the audience.
Alright, that’s his advance completely sealed. Now... what’s he going to try next?
Think, think. I have to find a way to break through Hollow’s defense...!
Perhaps plotting something, Allen’s speed dipped slightly.
I didn’t miss the tiny opening and sent a fresh wave of <Walls> at him.
“What—?!”
Allen instantly pushed his speed to the limit, leaping far forward—
—and a heartbeat later, a violent tide of <Wall> crashed forward, smashing into the outer wall of the training grounds.
Tch, so close. Just a bit more and I’d have had him.
Th-that was close…! I never imagined <Wall> could be used like that... Hollow really is amazing!
From that point on, our fight turned into a one-sided match.
“Kuku, what happened to that initial spirit? Just running away won’t win you the match.”
I kept deploying <Wall> relentlessly, filling the battlefield, while—
“Kh... (I can’t stop moving. If I stop even for an instant, the <Wall> will swallow me whole.)”
—Allen ran with desperate persistence, barely keeping himself from being trapped.
Hehe, yes... keep it up, just like that.
If this continued, I could end the Ranking Duel while meeting the victory conditions perfectly.
But I can’t afford to get impatient now.
The thing I needed to watch out for most was the complacency and overconfidence within myself.
If I stayed calm and kept making the correct moves, victory would naturally fall into my hands.
There was no need to rush—when you were winning, the best thing to do was keep grinding away with whatever tactics were working.
Since the Ranking Duel began, Hollow hasn’t taken a single step. Meanwhile, I’ve been running for my life with my body fully reinforced by mana. At this rate... I’m just going to get worn down...
I could see the hint of frustration on Allen’s face.
I’ve already shut down his “speed.” That means next, he’ll try—“strength.”
And sure enough—
“Let’s see you handle this!”
Allen gathered an enormous amount of mana into his right fist and drove a straight punch square into the <Wall> before him.
The protagonist’s body contained both the Hero’s Factor and the Demon Lord’s Factor.
A normal <Wall> would’ve been shattered by that strike.
Too bad for you... my <Wall> is special.
The moment Allen’s fist struck the translucent wall, a violent shockwave ripped through the training grounds.
And the result—
“Gh...! (S-so hard... This wall isn’t just any <Wall>... Each panel is packed with an insane amount of mana...)”
His face contorted in pain, and a red mark began to bloom on his right fist.
I had poured most of my resources into “defense” and “healing” to survive this brutal scenario—
In other words, an ultra-survivability build.
This <Wall> wouldn’t take a scratch even from a direct hit by a cannon.
“Haa... haa...”
Allen panted heavily, checking the condition of his fist.
...It hurts like hell, but no… the bone’s fine.
Alright... this was about the right moment.
I let out a languid sigh and locked eyes with him.
“The difference in our abilities is obvious. Continuing any further would be a waste of time.”
“W-what do you mean...?”
“Don’t you get it? I’m saying this is as far as you go. No matter how you struggle, you can’t defeat me. Just accept your loss.”
Pushing the protagonist too far... would be a bad move.
Allen was the world’s chosen darling—if his life were truly in danger, who knew what sort of absurd, plot-convenient turn might occur?
Before the fight hits its climax—right now, after showing him an overwhelming difference in strength—is the perfect time to make him bow out!
Please, just give up here...
Instead, when faced with my offer to surrender, Allen smiled—looking almost happy.
“...Hollow, you really are kind.”
“...What?”
“Thanks for worrying about my body. But it’s fine. I can still keep going!”
No, no, no—that’s not what I meant.
What the hell are you talking about?
I just don’t want to fight you.
I’m not sparing a single thought for your well-being.
If you exploded into a thousand pieces right here, I wouldn’t care in the slightest.
Stop twisting my words in such a weird way.
While I was mentally groaning over the protagonist’s Ultimate Positive Interpretation—
Hollow really is incredible... Strong, kind, the very image of the mage I aspire to be. It’s strange... it hurts, it’s exhausting, it’s suffocating... and yet fighting you is so unbelievably fun! Even when I throw everything I have at you, I can’t reach you—It should be frustrating, but for some reason... I feel so happy!
Allen kicked off the ground, closing the distance once more.
“Hmph, the result will be the same no matter how many times you—what?!”
The thirty <Walls> I’d just set up were breached in an instant.
Allen’s speed had increased again.
Don’t tell me... “Factor Resonance”!
When the protagonist reached a peak of emotional intensity—or was on the brink of death—the Hero’s Factor and Demon Lord’s Factor resonated, granting him a temporary, explosive boost in physical power. A cheat ability only Allen possessed.
A mere 3% chance of triggering, and he gets it now...?
“Tch...”
I pulled my right hand from my pocket and thrust it forward.
If I use my right arm to assist with coordinate calculations, I can still increase my <Wall> deployment speed!
Within a single breath, I conjured a hundred walls to block his path—
—but—
“I;m not done yet!”
Allen’s speed surged even further, weaving through the forest of <Walls>.
Damn it… This is why “protagonists” are... nothing but incarnations of plot convenience...
During Factor Resonance, his stats would keep climbing with every passing second.
If this drags on any longer... I’m in trouble...
If I were the protagonist right now, this would be a “brain-juice explosion” moment.
But as a reincarnated villainous noble... it was nothing but a massive headache.
Allen’s speed kept climbing, until at last he outpaced even my <Wall> deployment speed.
...So my defense is finally going to be breached...?
We were now only three meters apart.
Well within Allen’s striking range.
“At this distance, <Wall>’s no longer a threat!”
“Hah, that depends on how you use it.”
I formed my <Walls> into a pyramid structure, creating an omnidirectional three-dimensional defense centered around myself.
On top of that, I tripled their hardness.
Even with Allen’s greatly boosted strength, there was no way these reinforced <Walls> could be broken by a punch.
And yet—when the protagonist saw this perfect defense, he smiled.
“—<Zero Counter>!”
A sharp, metallic clang rang out, and my three-dimensional defense vanished into thin air.
His unique magic—<Zero Counter>.
It instantly mimicked the magic before him, generated an exact reverse-phase counterpart, and caused the two to annihilate each other.
A degraded version of the Origin-Class Unique Magic <Extreme Counter>, capable of neutralizing any magic.
So... he really was hiding that.
With his trump card unleashed, Allen broke through my layered defense, lunging in for the kill. He raised his short dagger, still in a reverse grip.
“This will be—”
“—Oh, it’s your loss.”
Allen’s downward slash cut through empty air.
“What, he... vanished—?”
“—Where are you looking?”
“Crap—?!”
Exploiting my overwhelming strength, I had slipped behind the protagonist in an instant. Then I drove a brutal kick into his unguarded flank.
“Guhah—?!”
Allen’s body bent sharply like a ‘<’ shape as the air was forced from his lungs. He was hurled sideways, parallel to the ground, and slammed full-force into the outer wall of the training grounds.
“Gah... ugh...”
Whether from complete unconsciousness or sheer shock, he didn’t so much as twitch.
“—That’s enough! Winner—Hollow von Heisenberg!”
The teacher serving as referee bellowed the decision.
And so, the first Ranking Battle in the special advancement class—
The duel between the villainous noble and the protagonist—
Ended in my overwhelming victory.
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