Kasumi was the first to snap, lunging forward to challenge Tatsuya's verdict.
"What is the meaning of this!?" she demanded.
"I believe I made myself clear before the match," Tatsuya replied evenly. "Lethal strikes and attacks capable of causing irreversible injury are prohibited. I stated that I would forcibly terminate the match if I deemed the situation dangerous."
"Then... how is this to be settled?"
Izumi's voice was calmer than her twin's, yet there was a sharp, uncharacteristic edge to her tone.
"A double disqualification. In other words, you both lose."
By declaring it a loss for both sides rather than a draw, Tatsuya was subtly implying that there would be no rematch. Whether Izumi and the others grasped that nuance, however, was doubtful.
"But Shiba-senpai," Izumi pressed, "unlike Million Edge, Suffocating Turbulence is neither lethal nor does it leave lasting trauma."
"It is true that Suffocating Turbulence can be modulated to avoid serious injury. But Izumi, let's be honest: in the heat of that moment, neither of you had the presence of mind to hold back."
Tatsuya leveled a piercing gaze at them, silently asking, Am I wrong? Both twins went quiet, unable to find an answer. Taking their place, Takuma turned his indignation toward Tatsuya.
"That's not true! The match would have been decided before it reached that point!"
"Are you suggesting you would have won?" Tatsuya asked.
"Exactly! The Saegusas' Thermal Turbulence couldn't stop my Million Edge. My attack would have reached them long before their Suffocating Turbulence broke my Airtight Shield!"
"So," Tatsuya said, his voice dropping into a chillingly calm register, "your argument is that if I hadn't intervened, a million high-heat blades of paper would have shredded the skin of two first-year girls? If that is your claim, Shippou, then you are disqualified for a foul."
Before Takuma's face could turn from a flush of anger to a full explosion, Tatsuya delivered the sentence with cold, surgical precision.
"I won't let you claim ignorance of what Million Edge does to a human body. Excessive force is reserved for a kill-or-be-killed struggle. It has no place in a regulated match."
"Then what!?" Takuma screamed. "Was I doomed to lose the moment I used Million Edge? Was the game rigged from the start!? Talk about a handicap match!"
"The conditions were equal. The Saegusa sisters were similarly forbidden from using high-lethality magic."
"That's sophistry! They don't even have magic that lethal!"
"Suffocating Turbulence is plenty lethal. I didn't stop them initially because their output was controlled within the rules. But you, Shippou—you failed to suppress the lethality of Million Edge."
"That's a lie! I had my sequence under perfect control!"
Takuma's rebuttal was a desperate, knee-jerk reflex, devoid of any logic. It was painfully obvious to every second-year student present that his Million Edge had been anything but restrained. Had Tatsuya sought a consensus from the other four witnesses, Takuma would have been forced to back down. Even if he didn't trust Tatsuya's inner circle, he couldn't have ignored it if someone like Katsuto Juumonji had backed the play.
"I am the referee of this match," Tatsuya stated. "The judgment is mine to make. I believe I made that clear at the start as well."
Tatsuya saw no need to involve the others. The principle was simple: the referee's word is final.
"Fine! I get it!" Takuma spat. "So Million Edge equals excessive force, is that it? You should have just said so from the beginning! If I'd known it was against the rules, I would have fought differently!"
"Don't make excuses, Shippou. Your inability to control your own power is a mark of your immaturity. Failing to meet the criteria of the match is nothing more than a lack of skill on your part."
"I don't need to hear that from a Weed like you!"
The blood drained from Takuma's face. The crimson of rage vanished, replaced by a pale, sickly hue. He hadn't intended to go that far. He knew, instantly, that he had crossed a line he couldn't uncross. Honoka and Shizuku turned pale for a different reason—they looked as though they expected a blizzard to rip through the room at any second.
But Tatsuya spoke before the tension could snap.
"Are you dissatisfied with being corrected by me?"
Takuma realized his outburst was doubly foolish. "Weed" was a slur that should never have been uttered in this setting—and Tatsuya was the "exception," a student who had climbed from Course 2 to the Magic Engineering Course through sheer merit.
"I... I am dissatisfied with the lack of fairness! Whether they were in control and I wasn't is just your subjective opinion, Shiba-senpai! I had Million Edge under complete control! You're clearly just biased toward the Saegusas!"
"Shippou... you're making no sense," Juumonji intervened, his voice heavy with disappointment. "You just admitted a moment ago that your magic would have caused excessive injury if the match had continued."
"That's because they used Thermal Turbulence!" Takuma shouted, desperately trying to shift the blame.
"Enough, Shippou," Kasumi interrupted. "If you hate losing that much, fine—let's just say you won."
"Kasumi-chan, are you sure?" Izumi asked, startled.
"Yeah. Thinking back on it, it's not something to get this worked up over. Besides, using multiplication magic in an unofficial high school duel—not to mention multi-casting Suffocating and Thermal Turbulence—is definitely overkill. It's just like Shiba-senpai said."
"...If you say so, Kasumi-chan."
Kasumi walked toward Tatsuya, with Izumi trailing behind like a shadow.
"Shiba-senpai, sorry for the trouble," Kasumi said. "But I have one thing to say." She wasn't the type to let it end with a simple apology.
"What is it?"
"We never lost control of our magic. Stopping the match there was a misjudgment on your part."
It was a blatant display of bravado, clear to everyone. She rattled the words off quickly and marched out of the training hall. Izumi looked back and forth between Tatsuya and her sister, visibly bewildered.
"Um... excuse me..."
"Izumi."
"Eep!"
She jumped, her spine snapping straight as Tatsuya called her name. She immediately looked down, blushing at her own panicked response.
"Tell Kasumi this: if she's truly dissatisfied, I'm happy to step in as her opponent anytime."
"...I will convey the message. Thank you, Senpai."
Tatsuya didn't laugh at her stuttering, nor did he roll his eyes at Kasumi's stubborn pride. He simply gave her a calm, considerate nod. Izumi bowed deeply. When she looked up, however, she lingered for a moment.
"Is there something else?" Tatsuya asked.
"I... I've changed my mind about you. I suppose you really are Lady Miyuki's brother, after all."
It was a comment so loaded with backhanded logic that it nearly buckled under its own weight. But behind Tatsuya, Miyuki was already nodding to herself, beaming with pride now that Izumi had finally "recognized" her brother's worth.
The boy, meanwhile, had been thoroughly dismantled...
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