Chapter 426 139 - Just a little showcase (part 3)

Chapter 426 139 - Just a little showcase (part 3)　　"Proceed."

*click*

Burdoff waved his hand as the mark of the beginning of the actual examination, to which Zoemi reacted not with words but rather with the snap of his fingers.

With a completely nonchalant stance, without saying a single word of incantation, it looked like just with the gesture alone the black-haired boy caused his shadow to extend and condense below the training dummy donning a prime-quality magic armor.

"(WIGGLY WIGGLY STAB!)"

...Zoemi might not have said anything – but the same could not be said for the sentinel using the spell...

*blublublublublub*

As a continuation, the shadow that became a splatter of murky darkness began boiling and bubbling as if affected by an unearthly heat – then...

*STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB*

Spears of darkness erupted from the shadow and pierced through the armor as if it was made out of wet tissue, causing the magic device hidden within the dummy to release crimson red light to indicate the deadly amount of damage, but that wasn't it either...

*SCREEEEEECH*

To the shock and terror of the students amongst whom some thought they would have a chance against the black-haired boy, the spears stabbing through the armor came alive, turning into tentacles that tightly wrapped around the armor, before crushing it into unrecognizable scrap metal and finally pulling it into darkness from where they emerged.

"Hmph~"

Zoemi smirked to himself proudly, making sure his satisfaction is conveyed to his sentinels, who chose a fitting spell for the occasion.

Without further ado, the black-haired boy turned to the next target at the short-range.

*tap*

This time he merely raised his crystal cane slightly, before bringing it back down with only the slightest amount of force necessary to produce a sound...

"(ICE WHIRL PARADISE!)"

The other sentinel also was having blast, joining its comrade in picking up random names for their spells instead of just casting them.

*WHOOOOSH*

The cyclone of ice-cold air surrounded the armor-wearing dummy – which immediately released a red light, but the attack was only just starting.

The entire dummy became encased in ice, causing the red light indicating the damage to flicker and disappear before...

*CRACK*

Breaking apart into specks of crystal-like dust that got thrown away into the icy winds, leaving only the empty, frosted piece of baren soul where the boy's target was only a moment before.

"..."

Zoemi looked over at the closest students and smirk at their jaws hanging open from shock.

The black-haired boy nodded to himself and faced the next target dummy, this one set at the middle range.

This one was still too close to use anything truly spectacular, considering that the shockwave had a chance of damaging the members of the audience.

Zoemi could point that out to his sentinels, but he trusted their judgment – at least in terms of wholeheartedly putting themselves to the job, that is.

In terms of the safety of others...

Well... he still had doubts, but at least he confirmed that Miriette and Horeo wave both positioned at a safe enough distance – or at least one that would allow his sentinels to protect them if that wasn't the case.

*rumble*

"(ANGRY MOUNTAIN REVENGE~!)"

"...?!"

This time he didn't even make any distinct movement, so everybody else looked around in confusion when the earth trembled...

*RUMBLE*

*WHAM*

Still, their consternation was resolved instantly when a gigantic arm made out of rock, burst out of the ground as if it was a water basin hiding a giant, and turned the training dummy into a splatter of vaguely recognizable metal with bits and pieces of red-glowing mana crystal stuck inside of it.

"...pffft..."

By far the hardest part of the examination was for Zoemi to keep a straight face when his resident sentinels were having so much fun.

They didn't even use the names like incantations – as was proven by one of the sentinels activating the spell before calling out a random name that it found funny.

"...whew..."

Zoemi breathed out discreetly, this time focusing his attention on the Aspakeony's puppet and the other teachers.

The result?

*thump*

Lady Auequas, the old woman who would be Zoemi's grandmother if she and the rest of the Auequas family not disinherited his adopted father, fell heavily back on the seat she stood up from when a spell that was a few times larger than the one her granddaughter tried to use against Zoemi during the tournament appeared as if it was nothing.

In short – the result: satisfactory.

"(ZIPPY-ZAP, GRANDPA BENEVIRAU ISN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN USE MANA FROM NATURE!)"

"...huh...?!"

Surprisingly enough – even for Zoemi who couldn't hold back a gasp – the next attack had a rather interesting and descriptive name.

It also had a longer delay – but the exact reason for that became recognizable soon enough.

That being the sudden arrival of murky black clouds right above the long-range practice target that...

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

"!!!!"

"!!!!"

"KYAAAAAH!"

...soon birthed a thunderbolt that erased the existence of the dummy with the best magically enhanced armor money could buy in a flash before even the roar of the thunder caused some of the students to cry out in panic and fear.

|Whoa there... you are getting a bit out of hand, don't you think?|

Zoemi thought to his sentinels when the gust of the shockwave created by the spell rustled his school uniform.

"(Sorry master...)"

"(We will be careful to not overdo it with the last one!)"

The first sentinel sounded apologetically enough, although the second one just shrugged it off without a sliver of remorse.

|I'm counting on you.|

Zoemi rolled his eyes and thought before turning to the headmaster and putting a confident smirk on his face.

"Ultra-long range target for more points?"

He asked in a loud voice, making sure that the people still slightly deafened by the thunder would get what he meant.

"...if those other kids weren't afraid of you before, they sure are now... It was supposed to be a showcase, not an examination, so go ahead..."

Aspaekony sighed through Burdoff's mouth and waved his hand in approval.

"(Master! Master, for the last spell reach out your hand as if you were aiming the spell yourself!)"

"(Yeah! We will make it super cool~!)"

"..."

Although Zoemi didn't mind doing an overkill, when his sentinels were BOTH cheering out in excitement, even he got a bad feeling and hesitated.

"(Please...?)"

"(Please...!)"

|Fine...|

The sentinels pleaded and made Zoemi agree to their request, even though he started feeling that the supposed showcase has been turned into the playground for his summons...

Nonetheless, the black-haired boy complied and reached out his hand vaguely in the direction that he saw the glistening of the magic armor and waited.

*WHOOM*

*WHOOM*

"...?"

The next moment, both of his sentinels actually left his shadow and floated towards his outstretched arm, assuming a position in front of his palm.

That already should have set off the alarm in the boy's head.

But even if it didn't – the next words spoken by the sentinels certainly did...

"(BURIAL OF MANA...)"

"(AND DEATH OF HOPE~!)"

...but it was too late, as when the sentinels completely flipped their master's expectation and chose a very menacing name instead of a cute one, it didn't create an air quake.

But what it did instead was...