Humanity's Hero Of Despair

Silence.

That is all that happens for a solid ten seconds.

The only sound is the ringing echo of the Emperor's challenge. A duel? The Oriventh Emperor is known to be one of the strongest earth mages to exist. Even with my advanced dark magic, this is not going to be an easy fight. I squeeze my fork and take a sip of water before answering him. The whole room stays silent as I stand up from my chair, making a slight noise as I straighten my clothes.

I look up at the Emperor and analyze his expression.

He is smiling, though there is a serious, enthusiastic glint in his eyes. It shows he is eager to see my magic and the extent to which it can fight against him. This is a moment to prove to him that I am more than he thinks I am. I glance to the side for a moment. Quillen and Zephyr are exchanging glances.

Matteo looks at me and grins. He is excited for the duel.

I look back at the Emperor, grinning to myself with as much confidence as I can muster.

"I accept your duel, Your Imperial Highness. With all due respect, you will probably regret challenging me."

The Emperor smiles and nods at this response. He goes back to his table. After a few minutes, once dinner is done, we all start walking towards a place none of us have previously seen. Once we reach the mysterious room, the doors are thrown wide open, revealing a massive empty space with intricate wallpaper designs and a fancy rug.

I can sense huge amounts of mana in the room. When I squint, I can see all the walls, the ground, and the ceiling covered in numerous layers of protective magic. The Emperor must have seen me looking, as he tells me, "You do not have to hold back at all in this duel. Give it your all."

I nod toward him and look in the direction people are walking. There are seats all around the perimeter of the room. A few, what appear to be high-ranking Oriventh nobles, including the Grand Duke, are sitting around the room. I didn't imagine we would have such a high-profile audience.

My wand feels heavy in my cloak.

This is one chance to prove myself.

My friends all make their way in and sit around the perimeter of the massive room. The Emperor and I get into our positions in the middle of the room. I pull out my wand from my pocket and get into a fighting stance. My palms feel heavy, and my forehead feels slightly light as I try not to be nervous or anxious.

Even if I can use light and dark magic combined, it doesn't make me feel any less nervous.

The Emperor takes out his wand as well. Once everyone is settled in, the announcer of the duel shouts, "Begin!"

The Emperor points his wand at the ground while saying, "Mountain's Wrath!"

The ground underneath immediately begins to shake, throwing me off balance. Stone pillars erupt beneath my feet. It takes my dark magic, using shadows while jumping, to phase through them. I land on my feet a few feet farther back. I point my wand at him while shouting,

"Seventh-level affinity magic, Blackthorn Medusa!"

Six intertwining rays of dark magic shoot out from my wand, attacking the Emperor from all angles. A simple Blackthorn spell wouldn't take him out. I have to use as much power as I can quickly before he adapts.

"Eighth-level affinity magic, Titan's Embrace!"

A gigantic stone titan is summoned from the ground, protecting the Emperor by standing in front of him. The stone titan tanks my dark magic spell. As the dust settles, the titan is noticeably damaged but still able to move. The Emperor flicks his wand, and the stone titan rushes to attack me, its arm cocked back to serve me a stone knuckle sandwich.

"Ninth-affinity level magic, Abyssal Sent!"

My dark magic conjures up several cosmic shadows in the form of a giant's hands as they grab the stone titan and drag it back into the ground. The whole crowd gasps at the display of advanced dark magic. The level I am at now would have made the Keeper Principal so much more afraid of me.

I squeeze my wand harder as I remember the deaths of Ignis and Justus.

The Emperor looks at me, and I notice his breathing getting heavier. He smiles.

"I'm impressed with your handiwork, Viscount Lotus. Most mages can't even last this long against me."

I smile right back at him and say, "The pleasure is all mine, Your Imperial Highness."

I shoot off several Blackthorn spells to keep him on the defensive. I don't want him using another advanced offensive affinity-level spell, as I don't know how much mana I have left to counter it. The Emperor easily blocks these advances by summoning boulders to connect with my spells before they reach him.

The Emperor switches it up on me and launches a boulder at my blind spot. I quickly redirect my dark magic to destroy it before it hits me. Parts of the boulder roll on the ground next to me on both sides, proving how close that attack came to hitting me. One hit, even from a small boulder, is enough to stun me for a moment.

We keep this back-and-forth spell casting until I see one opening. I dive closer to him, rolling on the ground as I barely avoid another boulder. I swing my arm up and point the tip of my wand very close to the Emperor's face.

"Flarizo!"

Flames immediately erupt from the tip of my wand. The Emperor has to fall backward and roll back to avoid being burnt alive by my flames. Everyone in the room gasps as I almost hit him. Some people look worried. However, the Emperor does nothing but smile as he gets up from the ground.

I guess he enjoys this display of powerful magic.

"Not bad, Viscount Lotus. Time to get serious then. Tenth-affinity level magic, Titanic Circle!"

A tenth-affinity level magic spell? This is insanity. I know I can use the newly discovered Eleventh level, but still. Isn't this a little overboard?!

Several, over four, gigantic stone titans erupt from the ground all around the Oriventh Emperor. I get into a defensive stance. I can't use Abyssal Sent on all of them in time. I have to manage the rest of my mana well. A bead of sweat falls from my forehead onto the ground.

This isn't going to be easy to take care of.