So, fair warning, this chapter hasn't been looked over by a second pair of eyes, so it's possible that I've missed some stuff. The person who I usually have look over these isn't available right now and I haven't really been able to contact anyone who's familiar with the series to act as a beta reader. I will keep trying to reach out but there may be more chapters like this one.
Feel free to point out any errors that you see and I will be happy to make the corrections.
Reinforced
The moment Iruma stepped on the field, the spells set up around it showed that he was using some sort of enhancement spells; one cast by a high rank demon, he knew Sullivan had interfered in his Grandchild's favor. So, when Asmodeous said that he would help the other boy win even from the other side, Kalego had hardly been surprised.
Then, Agares shifted the floor and the nature of the spell became clear. Not a cheat but oh, Kalego wished it was. It was a spell to reinforce any bones that would have cracked or broken and muscles that would have been crushed into a bruised mess under too much stress, protecting them from any damage.
The spell activated across a horrifying portion of Iruma's body as he was launched in the air, caught the ball in midmotion and landed on the ground afterward. In those few seconds, the detection spell set up so that only he could see the glowed in a deceptively warm manner as it showed what should have broken.
Careful suppress any reaction, lest he hint at Iruma's frailty and risk setting him up as a target in the future, he instead focused on Ararges, banning him from the rest of the game for using his power on the field.
And, once he knew to look for it, Kalego saw that even landing after jumping too high or stomping the stone floor too hard could set the spell off, ever so slightly. It was horrifying, to see someone with such a frail composition exposed like that, even if he were the only one who could see it.
A part of him wanted to call the boy off the field but he knew he risked exposing the child's vulnerability, as these games tended to get more physical as brats would get extremely competitive to the point of fighting and for someone that breakable, depending on the type of spell, the short time it would take for Kalego to intervene might be too long. Still, he knew that removing him would run the risk of providing a hint to Iruma's weakness. If that got exposed it would make him a target for anyone looking for weaklings. For now, he'd just make sure the game stayed well controlled and trust in a couple things. First, that the brat to be able to do what he did best. Hang close to danger but dodge everything thrown his way. Second, that Sullivan had enough foresight to give the boy a protection spell that would shield him from that kind of damage.
Luckily, he soon had plenty of reminders that, with this particular group, the worry barely proved necessary, as the Misfit class had…focus issues that outstripped most brats in their age group. Most brats barely paid enough mind to remember what game they were playing, let alone get dangerously confrontational over it. Furthermore, as hoped, Iruma easily evaded anything tossed his way.
Kalego's carefully concealed worry was quickly buried under easy to show annoyance at the general display.
That was, right up until the end where it looked like Asmodeous might throw the game for the brat, when it would be inexcusable. Of course, then the expression on his face changed and he started powering up his attack.
And Iruma braced himself to catch the damn thing. Kalego was sure that either Sullivan's spell would be putting on a lightshow for him.
Instead, the boy barely set off the reinforcement spell at all, a slight glow along his ankles and feet as he was first pushed back by the balls momentum and then spinning into the air with it before tossing it back at the other boy. If anything, unprotected, he would have ended up with a sprained or twisted ankles on the landing.
I know that the spell Sullivan cast showed on his wrist but I could still see it being a full body protective spell, because in execution cannonball/ dodgeball, a kid can get struck anywhere.
I'm not as proud of this one as my other pieces but it's still a few pages and I decided to post it anyway.
