Chapter 7 – Whatever It Takes

The arena of Tokyo Magic Academy thundered with excitement the next morning.
Hundreds of students filled the stands, waving banners and chanting a single name in unison.

“Shiranui! Shiranui! Shiranui!”

Almost the entire crowd supported her—the blazing witch of fire. Only one figure in the audience sat silently, watching with unease.
Rio Tanaba.

He leaned toward his friend, his voice trembling.

“Kanata-san… are you sure about this? You do realize she could literally melt this arena if she wanted to, right?”

Kanata adjusted the strap of the small bag slung across his shoulder and smirked.

“You’re overreacting, Tanaba. Everyone has a weakness.”

Rio blinked.

“That’s not the reassuring kind of answer I was hoping for.”

“Relax,” Kanata said, opening the bag slightly. Inside gleamed a pair of black-silver gauntlets engraved with glowing runes.
“This was a gift from my grandmother. She said it’s useful against fire-type mages.”

What he didn’t say was that he’d secretly modified them the night before. The gauntlets would eventually lose control—exactly what he needed to cause enough chaos to get expelled.
To him, this was not a duel. It was his escape plan.

As Kanata stepped into the arena, the crowd erupted—not with cheers, but mockery.

“There he is! The cursed boy!”
“He’s dead the moment Itsuha gets serious!”

Kanata ignored them, walking to the center of the field with that same bored expression.
Across the field, Shiranui Itsuha emerged from the preparation room, clad in her crimson samurai-style armor, flames dancing along her shoulders like living spirits.
Every movement radiated heat and confidence.

The referee raised a hand.

“Armor check complete! Both participants—ready yourselves!”

Kanata crossed his arms.

“I won’t be using armor.”

“Again?” the referee muttered.
“Suit yourself, but don’t blame me when you’re carried out.”

The whistle blew.
The match began.

Itsuha moved first.

“<Flame Burst>!”

A column of red-orange fire exploded from her palm, sweeping across the arena like a burning tide. The ground sizzled and cracked, waves of heat distorting the air. Kanata barely rolled aside, landing hard on the scalding floor.

Before he could recover, Itsuha followed up with a second spell.

“<Blazing Fist>!”

Her right fist ignited, the air trembling with every punch. Each blow detonated like a grenade, scattering molten stone in all directions.

Kanata’s gauntlets flared as he blocked, each hit pushing him back further.
His breathing grew ragged. Sweat dripped from his forehead, hissing as it hit the ground.

“She’s faster than Celestine…” he thought, raising one trembling arm.
The metal of his gauntlet glowed red-hot, beginning to warp.

“Perfect,” he muttered with a grin. “Just as planned. Now—go ahead and finish it.”

But then the world froze.

Everything—flames, wind, the roar of the crowd—stopped.
A deep, guttural voice echoed within his mind.

“PATHETIC. WEAK. USELESS.”

Kanata’s eyes darted around, panic flashing across his face.

“You again… What do you want from me?”

“TO THINK… THAT A DESCENDANT OF THE ANCIENT DRAGON WOULD GROVEL LIKE A WORM. YOU DISGUST ME.”

“Disgust you?!” Kanata shouted back. “You think I care what you are? I’ve heard worse insults my whole life.”

“SILENCE! HUMANS… THEY PRIDE THEMSELVES ON POWER THEY NEVER EARNED. THEY LAUGH WHILE THEY DESTROY. YOU’RE NO DIFFERENT.”

“Then you clearly haven’t met the right humans,” Kanata growled. “Mock me all you want—but don’t you dare insult them.”

The dragon’s growl rumbled through the void like thunder.

“THEN LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT TRUE STRENGTH IS!”

A torrent of black mist burst from the dragon’s form, swirling violently before plunging straight into Kanata’s mouth. He screamed, clutching his chest as a surge of unbearable energy tore through him.

“STOP IT! STOP!”

The world lurched—and time resumed.

“<Crimson Kick>!”

Itsuha leapt forward, fire erupting from her legs as she spun midair, the shockwave splitting the ground. Kanata narrowly dodged, landing on one knee. His breath came in gasps.

From the spectator’s stand, Nagisha stiffened, her eyes wide.

“Something’s wrong. That aura—it isn’t his.”

She started forward, but Kisaragi Aine and Lilith Arcrayne blocked her path.

“Stay put,” Lilith warned. “If you interfere, you’ll miss the truth.”

Kanata clutched his head, screaming.
Dark energy surged from his body, wrapping him in a twisting storm of black and blue light. The crowd screamed as the temperature dropped, frost forming over molten stone.

Rio jumped to his feet.

“Stop the match! He’s not in control!”

But before the referee could act, a monstrous voice shook the arena.

“THE MATCH IS NOT OVER!”

The sound reverberated through every wall. The air itself vibrated with power.
Kanata raised his head—his eyes now glowing crimson like molten dragonfire.
The bandages around his right arm burst apart, revealing a massive scaled limb, dark as obsidian and veined with blue light.

The crowd gasped in horror.

“That— That’s impossible!”
“His arm— It’s a dragon’s arm!”

Even Itsuha took a step back, her confident smirk replaced with disbelief.

And then, she made her choice.
She clasped her hands, summoning the greatest spell in her arsenal.

Her voice rang across the arena like a hymn to the gods.

“O flame born of life and death, ignite within my heart and become my will!
Burn everything that dares to stand in my path, until the heavens themselves tremble before your heat!
Eternal fire, become my sword, become my light—
show them the undying spirit of humankind!
<Gōka Reikon>!”

A brilliant inferno erupted from her body, engulfing Kanata in a pillar of divine flame.
The ground melted. The crowd erupted in cheers.

“She did it!”
“Itsuha defeated the monster!”

But their celebration died almost instantly.

From within the flames came a deep, echoing laugh.
The inferno dimmed, shrinking—sucked inward like a vortex.
Itsuha’s eyes widened as she saw it: her own magic, her strongest attack, being absorbed into Kanata’s right arm.

“No way…”

Kanata’s voice was no longer his own.

“IT’S TIME YOU LEARN WHO THE STRONGEST TRULY IS.”

The dark aura expanded, shaking the very foundations of the arena.
For the first time, even The Four Witches—the so-called strongest of the academy—felt fear.

Because now they understood who Tendou Kanata really was.