Aspite Line, future head of the Line house, a fairly prestigious family in devil society, and Candidate of the World Arcana. He's a young man about to become 17 years old, with short gray hair and some loose bangs in front of his eyes. His blue eyes are gloomy, almost like he's been missing sleep.
Despite being of the same generation as Lizel, a genius recognized by anyone who knew her, Aspite himself was no slack. His biggest defect is that he gets a bit too full of himself if there's no one to beat him.
Compared to that, Noda Shiwa, Candidate of Magician and member of a not very well-known devil family, didn't seem like much. Though, in all fairness, it'd be hard to find someone who seemed less mediocre than him.
Noda's hair and eyes were black. He wasn't especially short or tall for his age. Nor was he especially smart or had any difficulties. Aspite was smarter than him, despite being almost a year younger. Even Noda's Arcana didn't seem too special, after all anyone could use magic.
"Take this!"
Again, Noda wasn't an especially skilled magician. In combat, his strategy was basically to throw the most powerful spells he could at his opponents.
At the end of the day, he was still a noble devil, so that strategy was effective against most opponents. But today he wouldn't have such luck.
"Are you even trying? I don't even need to use World Revision for this."
Aspite was easily dodging all of Noda's attacks. As he had said, he didn't even need to use his Characteristic Magic to defend himself.
Noda was not blind to this. He could easily see that he would never win like this. That's why he decided to change tactics. Noda would bring the fight closer.
He used magic to enhance his own body. It wasn't the usual Maximize or Stride as most devils did, Noda was using his Characteristic Magic, Spell Master, to create his own version of body enhancement spells. It was a single magic that combined all those effects.
Though, if it was any better than simply and normally using the already existing spells was another matter entirely.
"Let's try this!"
Noda advanced. Before a second had passed, he was in front of Aspite. His next action was to repeatedly attack with his fists.
However, even now, Aspite was easily able to dodge all those attacks. It wasn't even enough to make him sweat.
Aspite knows a fair amount of magic, but his preferred method of combat, even before he got his Arcana, was always close-quarters. World Revision's short range only served as another incentive for Aspite to get better at it.
That's why Aspite could tell this wasn't Noda's preferred way of fighting. Though, from the spells just before, it didn't seem like using magic was it either. It seemed more likely he just wasn't any good at it.
"I think you should give up and save us both the trouble. This fight isn't worthy of the great me."
"You think you're hot shit?! Well, you fell right into my trap!"
For a second, Aspite thought Noda really might have had a plan and had carefully laid a trap for him. But that thought only lasted a second.
The next thing Noda did was start firing magic while still trying to punch Aspite. Not only was it a sorry attempt at fighting, Noda's own spells were getting in his way sometimes, making Aspite wonder how had this man survived so far.
Tired of this, Aspite decided he should end this quickly. If nothing else, it would help Noda save some face.
Once he saw an opening, Aspite dashed towards Noda, who only had enough reaction time to show a surprised face. Aspite landed a punch right on his face, as if to show how a real punch was executed.
"Puuuh!"
Aspite was stunned for a second with Noda's strange scream, but he quickly recovered. Next, he swiped Noda's from under him, making him fall to the ground.
Once Noda had his face on the ground, Aspite grabbed his arm and used it to hold him in place.
"Just give up already."
"Guaaaa!"
Aspite had lost all interest in this fight. What he thought would be a way to redeem his loss against Yuuto turned out to be little more than bullying. It was to the point Aspite even had to wonder if Noda wasn't just pretending to be Magician's Candidate.
In any case, Noda was still a Candidate of an opposing team. Aspite felt he should at least make Noda give up now. He didn't even think he was an opponent worth killing.
And Noda noticed that.
"You! You think you're so much better than me, just like everyone else. But you know what? It's time to show everyone what I'm really capable of! Aaaaaaaa!"
Aspite felt Noda's magic power increase. He reflexively jumped back, though it's not like Noda's power had increased by a great amount, it was just something unexpected. This increase seemed to be caused by his anger rather than some trump card he'd kept hidden.
Once Noda got up, he eyed Aspite with anger. Aspite figured he'd see what would come of this new attack.
"It's not yet complete, but screw it, it's going to work. Meet your end. Ragnarok!"
Right after Noda said that, his magic power expanded all across the room. It formed a barrier, though it seemed like it was intended to keep people, and maybe the spell's effect, inside, rather than as a form of defense.
The next thing Aspite noticed was how magic circles began appearing everywhere. They varied in size and color, and soon he found out exactly why.
Some of the magic circles created fire, others exploded, some even shot out lighting everywhere. The effects were varied, but they were all destructive.
Looking from the outside, what the spell did could easily be associated with the word Ragnarok. To the random devil, it really looked like some kind of apocalyptic event.
But Aspite was still not impressed.
"You've exceeded this great me's expectations, I'll admit that much. But I still thought a magic with such a name would be much stronger."
"I said it was incomplete! And it doesn't matter anyway, just die!"
"By the way, how do you plan to defend yourself from your spell?"
"… I'll do something about it!"
Aspite was stunned without words for a second. He was so surprised that he was almost caught by one of the explosions.
While he did manage to dodge at the last second, he could tell he didn't want to be hit without any protection. It seems that the spells, or rather Ragnarok's components, are boosting each other, creating a more devastating effect each time. It was even starting to damage Ginsei Academy.
And that's not to mention the simpler things, like the eventual lack of oxygen inside the barrier that the fires will eventually cause.
Overall, despite the slightly disappointing effects for a magic with such a grandiose name, Aspite knew he couldn't just keep playing like he had been.
"World Revision."
Aspite approached Noda and grabbed him by the neck, then he activated his Characteristic Magic. He would use World Revision's barrier to break through Ragnarok's barrier.
Aspite imagined that Noda had made it in such a way that he would be able to go through his own barrier, that's why he grabbed him and then rushed towards one of the exits. But he was surprised when he was met with resistance.
"Idiot, you didn't make your own escape route?!"
"Shut up, just die. Kill him, Ragnarok!"
"This great me will never be killed by the likes of you, idiot!"
Somehow, Noda focused Ragnarok's effects on Aspite. The ground froze around World Revision and all the effects were happening near it.
Aspite didn't doubt he could resist it, but he had no intention of going on the defensive against such an opponent. To him, that would be a greater humiliation than losing to Yuuto. He'll just break through with greater power.
Aspite stepped back and then rushed towards the exit again. He slammed against it with such power that even Noda, who was still being held by his neck, felt the impact.
"Gaaaah!"
"Break through, World Revision!"
Once again, Aspite took some distance and then slammed into Ragnarok's barrier. He did that repeatedly, to the point Noda couldn't even scream in pain anymore and even World Revision was starting to feel the pressure.
But Aspite was able to do it. With the sound of glass breaking, he broke through the barrier.
Though an unexpected effect happened right after. Maybe because of all the gasses and stuff that had built up inside Ragnarok, once the barrier was broken, what followed was a huge explosion. It was strong enough that everyone nearby felt it.
Yet, Aspite had not a scratch on him. Though he did have to cancel World Revision due to all the damages.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Aspite had let Noda go, but he still came at Aspite, trying to punch him. Aspite didn't feel like playing around anymore, so he easily swiped Noda's punch to the side and then punched him right below the chin, sending him flying to the ground.
"I'll… still… beat… you…"
"You're persistent, I'll give you that at least. But I'm tired of this."
With one more punch, Aspite knocked out Noda. He could have killed him then, but felt like it wasn't worth the trouble.
What was on Aspite's mind was how much trouble a simple opponent had given him. Yes, Noda is part of the Triumph, but he was hardly a formidable opponent. Rather than playing around, Aspite should have just dealt with him quickly.
"It seems the shame of my previous defeat hasn't been cleared just yet."
Aspite decided to rest for a moment before continuing to go through the maze looking for more opponents.
