A week passed in a flash, and the final exams arrived.

"Everyone, take your seats."

It was a bright and sunny morning. The first exam was Aaron’s Intermediate Summoning.

Simon and the other students, sporting severe bedhead and hollow eyes, were dipping their quills into their inkwells. Their expressions were as reverent as warriors performing a ritual before battle.

The tip of these quills would determine whether or not they could remain at Kizen next semester.

"Good luck on this exam too, Simon."

Lorraine, sitting in the seat in front of him, waved her hand. She looked exhausted, but her smile hadn’t faded.

"Thanks, Lorraine. Good luck to you too."

"Yeah."

While the two exchanged words of encouragement, Eshe, sitting a short distance away, was aggressively dipping her quill in her inkwell with the most serious face in the world.

"The golden line of the Rhino is an S-shape, Ghouls use the rot-mutation formula, Defilers have a jet-black circuit at their rear, the reason for the separation of a Dullahan’s neck and body is jet-black overload..."

Muttering the memorized content like a dark incantation, she suddenly let out a scream.

"Ah!"

At the piercing shriek, the concentrating students frowned and turned around. The teaching assistant also came running over in a flurry.

"Is everything alright?"

"S-sir...!"

She pointed at the floor, on the verge of tears.

"I dropped it! I’m doomed!"

She had merely dropped her quill.

Eshe made a huge fuss, attaching all sorts of ominous meaning to it, while the assistant sighed and used dark magic to return the quill to her inkwell.

"Attention, everyone," Aaron commanded.

All the students turned their heads in unison and repeated, "Attention!"

"Good work preparing for the exams. The importance of these finals goes without saying. Do your best so you have no regrets.

"As I said during the midterms, cheat if you think you can get away with it. Just keep in mind that the risks far outweigh the benefits."

The head assistant brought in the exam papers.

"Students, take your hands off your quills and raise them above your heads."

The students raised their hands.

A tense moment.

The facedown exam papers were swiftly placed on their desks. The moment to pour out everything they had learned so far had arrived. Checking his watch, Aaron spoke in a solemn voice.

"Begin."

With a collective rustle, the exam papers flipped over like the flapping wings of a flock of birds taking flight.

---

For this period of time, Simon devoted himself entirely to his finals.

With the resolve that he would fill this white paper with black ink even if he dried up and died on the spot, he poured all his energy onto the page.

However, in the middle of taking the exam so diligently, Aizel’s face would occasionally pop into his mind.

The final battle with him was just around the corner. Just thinking about it made his heart pound and his blood boil.

’No!’

Simon shook his head vigorously and focused on the questions again.

In such a state of trance, he took his exams one subject at a time.

Eventually, he finished his major exams and arrived at the classroom for Jane’s General Jet-Black Mechanics exam.

"Hey!"

Meirin came over to offer some encouragement. Since she majored in Jet-Black Mechanics, she was exempt from this exam.

"You guys didn’t even eat lunch, right? Drink this while you study."

She kindly handed out easy-to-drink vegetable juices to each of the Student Council members.

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Whoa, good looking out!"

"Thank you, Meirin!"

Simon looked at her as he drank his vegetable juice.

Meirin truly became a different person during exam season. Her prized light-blue hair was pulled back tightly, slick with grease as though it hadn’t been washed in days. She sported glasses, and baggy sweatpants and slippers peeked out from under her uniform skirt.

Simon took another sip of his vegetable juice and spoke.

"Is everything okay with Aizel?"

Simon blurted out the question, surprising himself. ’Why did I just ask that?’

He immediately saw Meirin’s eyes narrow.

"Hey! Are you really focusing on your finals?"

"Y-Yeah, I am."

"Unbelievable." Meirin sighed and sat in the seat in front of him. "He seems fine. But well, there are widespread rumors that he recently got into a fight with Sota."

"Sota... You mean the Necromancy representative, right?"

"That’s right, Kami." Meirin shrugged. "It’s probably nothing. They’ve been in the same class and best friends since their first year. You know how guys are, fighting over nothing and then making up like it never happened."

While the members were chatting about this and that, Jane’s teaching assistants began entering the exam room one by one. Meirin quickly stood up.

"Looks like it’s about to start. Our Student Council absolutely has to get good grades on Professor Jane’s exam! You know what I mean, right?"

She left, nagging them until the very end.

Simon finished his vegetable juice, interlaced his fingers, and stretched his arms out.

’Aizel and Sota got into a fight.’

He hoped it was nothing serious, just like Meirin had said.

---

All the exams were over.

"Whoo-hoo!"

"Hell yeah! It’s over! It’s finally over!"

The moment the teaching assistants collected the answer sheets, the classroom erupted into a wild party. Students burned their test booklets, shredded them, melted them with poison, and cast all sorts of terrible curses on them.

It was an incredibly brutal sight.

Using dark magic on campus was strictly forbidden, but for this one moment, even the teaching assistants didn’t dare try to stop them. They simply slipped out into the hallway, walking on eggshells with expressions that screamed, ’Please spare me.’

After venting their anger on the innocent test booklets to their hearts’ content, the students finally walked outside with bright smiles, looking like normal teenagers.

"I’m heading out first!"

Unable to hold back his racing heart any longer, Simon threw himself out the window.

He landed on the grass with a soft thud, the sensation grounding him. He vigorously roused his jet-black and ran through the garden. The cool headwind washed away his fatigue, and looking up at the sky dotted with floating clouds quenched his thirst.

’Tomorrow!’

He was going to challenge the strongest in Kizen in front of everyone. The exams were over, but Simon still had one more test left.

Running with all his might, Simon arrived at the roof of the Student Union building. There was no one else there yet.

He leaned against the railing and waited for a moment.

A sudden gust of wind swept past, carrying the distinct feel of jet-black. Simon grinned.

’He’s here.’

Two men rode the wind down, landing smoothly on the rooftop.

One was Aizel Bringer, whom Simon knew well. The other was a third-year he had never seen before.

"How have you been?"

Aizel, playing the role of a cold-hearted elite, adjusted his glasses and spoke. Simon greeted him with a smile.

"Great. I’m looking forward to our duel tomorrow."

Aizel silently crossed his arms to set a serious mood, but behind his companion’s back, he frantically waved his other hand at Simon. Simon let out a chuckle and waved back.

"Nice to meet you, Simon Polentia."

The calm-looking third-year approached and held out his hand.

"I’m Ednic Grerium. I was asked by former President Phantastus to oversee the refereeing and management of this student council president duel."

"I look forward to working with you."

The two shook hands.

"Did your finals go well?"

"They did!"

"That’s good to hear."

After the casual greeting, he got straight to the point, pulling some documents out of his bag and handing them to Simon and Aizel.

"Before graduating, former President Phantastus visited our Grerium family and requested that we handle the mediation and management of the student council president duel. On the honor of the esteemed Grerium Ducal Family, I solemnly swear to oversee your duel fairly and without bias."

The student council president duel was a sacred tradition entirely for the students, one where the school and headquarters could not interfere. Naturally, it was customary for a student to act as the manager of the match.

Ednic hailed from the prestigious Grerium Ducal Family, which had produced numerous diplomats. He also held a stellar reputation for his character, serving as a member of the school’s disciplinary committee.

He was a figure of undeniable credibility.

"Read the first page. It covers the rules of the duel."

Simon quickly read through the explanation.

’As expected.’

Aizel had hinted at it before: the student council president duel operated under the ’Real Combat Rule’.

This meant it was an actual, formal duel fought without protective suits, vests, or barriers.

Unlike the duel evaluations safely fought for grades at school, it held significance in that it was a true necromancer’s duel. Even in Kizen, ’Real Combat Rule’ duels were only permitted for third-years.

There were only two conditions for a match to end under the ’Real Combat Rule’. One side had to either lose consciousness or declare surrender.

"Of course, on the honor of the Grerium family, there will be no dangerous situations. We’ve prepared the best medical staff. They passed the strict entry procedures for Roc Island and have been here since a week ago."

It was a duel format he was trying for the first time. Other second-years might have turned pale at the thought, but Simon remained unfazed.

Aside from his abundant real combat experience as a Legion Commander, his two practice spars with Aizel had also been fought without barriers. Aizel had been considerate, helping Simon adapt to the rule in advance.

"If you agree, please sign at the bottom."

The two finished signing the document and moved on to the next page.

"The match will be held privately, with a total of ten observers. All ten will certify the student council president crowned at the end of the duel."

Simon first checked the names of the listed observers.

Two third-years and one second-year. There was even a first-year. And it was someone Simon knew.

’It’s Princess Molly.’

It was perfect. With royalty observing and guaranteeing this match, there was no way anything unfair could happen.

"Oh, and the participants can bring three observers each. Write down the names of the students you want to invite."

Simon thought for a moment.

Since this match was for the authority of the student council president, he decided to write down the names of the Student Council members. Simon wrote down Meirin Villenne, Dick Hayward, and Kamibarez Ursula in order.

"Once you’ve filled it out, sign the final box and hand it back to me."

Simon signed first and handed over his clipboard, followed immediately by Aizel. As Aizel passed his over, Simon caught a glimpse of his chosen observers.

-[Leonard Peyron.]

-[Vino Marshall.]

-[Anthony Aikman.]

Simon’s eyes widened in surprise.

Sota Pshyke, Aizel’s closest confidant, was noticeably missing from the list.

’Were the rumors that those two fought really true?’

"Perfect."

Ednic organized the clipboards and held out a token.

"This is the ’Token of Honorable Duel’ that will be used for the student council president duel. Only the bearers of this token can fight in the duel. Make sure to bring it with you tomorrow."

Simon and Aizel placed the duel tokens in their pockets.

"Shall we go take a look at the arena next? We prepared the arena while maintaining such strict security that even the headquarters staff don’t know about it."

Hearing that, Simon asked, "Does anyone else know about it besides the Grerium family?"

"Nope!" Ednic winked at Simon. "No matter how much of a Kizen Student Council tradition it is, things could get noisy if the adults found out that second-years were fighting under the ’Real Combat Rule’."

Aizel nodded. "Give us the location. We’ll head there immediately."

---

Simon wondered how an arena could be built on Roc Island without anyone knowing as they arrived at their destination.

It was a sheer cliff overlooking the deep blue sea, waves crashing violently against the rocks below.

"This way."

Ednic strode straight toward the precipice and suddenly vanished.

Simon flinched, but Aizel merely adjusted his glasses, completely unfazed.

"Let’s follow him."

"Right."

As Simon and Aizel stepped forward, they passed through a concealed barrier right at the edge of the cliff, and the environment instantly shifted.

A massive slab of land jutted out from the cliff face. They had constructed an entirely new clearing suspended over the precipice. It was remarkably spacious and looked sturdy enough to withstand any level of destruction.

Looking at the surprised Simon, Ednic spread his arms and smiled like a gentleman.

"This is the Grerium standard."

"Haha. It’s incredible."

"For a match to determine the strongest in Kizen, this is the bare minimum. It’s perfectly flat, so neither of you will have a terrain advantage. Sound fair?"

Both boys nodded.

"Then I’ll see you both here tomorrow at dawn. I’ll notify the observers myself."

Ednic clapped his hands together with a bright smile.

"I hope both of you put on a spectacular match."