Elegance.
Absolute elegance.
He was witnessing the birth of a natural-born master of Ghost Arts.
Kagetsu Tessa's glasses flashed with a feverish light, as though he were admiring a masterpiece of impossible beauty.
In all the years he had spent teaching at the Spiritual Arts Institute, he had seen countless prodigies—students gifted with overwhelming pressure, others with sharp instinct, others who trained with terrifying speed—but very, very few like Arisawa Sōma.
Sōma's battlefield awareness was razor-fine.Every attack, every barrier, every shift of footing carried perfect precision.Even his spirit-pressure output was immaculate—never too little, never wasted.
Paired with near-flawless flash-step movement, Sōma drifted through the roaring explosions like a man strolling through a quiet garden.Not a hint of strain.Not a single misstep.
Judged solely on this Ghost Arts performance, Sōma's execution had reached a level Kagetsu could only describe as perfect.
Even if he himself stepped in, with equalized spirit pressure, he doubted he could surpass what Sōma was displaying now.
If he had to point out a flaw—there was only one.
Sōma's spiritual pressure was simply too low.Placed among the elite Class One, he sat squarely in the middle: competent, but not exceptional.
Such a shame.A heartbreaking shame.If this genius possessed stronger pressure, he would be flawless.
Regret flickered behind Kagetsu's narrow lenses.
But—
When his gaze shifted to the other participant, his composure cracked.His mouth twitched uncontrollably.Even his eyelids spasmed.
Because compared to Sōma's elegance…
Kisaragi Akira was the complete opposite.
Akira had thrown every lesson Kagetsu had ever taught straight out the window.The very concept of "managing spirit pressure" did not exist for him.His entire strategy revolved around one principle:
Maximum firepower, all the time.
Wild laughter and rapid-fire incantations filled the arena.The Ghost Arts barrier erupted with colors no instructor had ever intended to see.
Silver lightning writhed like furious spirits.Crimson mixed with sun-yellow flames burst again and again, howling through the enclosed space.Howling winds sliced across one another, roaring into wave after wave of pressure-laced shockwinds, spreading in ripples like a stone cast into still water.
Sōma exhaled with a trace of helpless resignation.
He spent a lot of time around Akira—enough to know his spiritual pressure and the real limits of his strength.But once the battle started, Sōma realized how wrong he had been.
Completely wrong.
Kisaragi Akira could never be judged by appearances.
He looked like he had the pressure of a mid-tier officer…but the power he unleashed was already close to a Vice-Captain-class Shinigami.
And his fighting style?Abnormal.No—unnatural.
Utterly beyond common sense.
Not only were his Ghost Arts far stronger than expected…the quantity was insane.
Yes, they were low-tier spells.But with that many?Anyone's scalp would tingle.
Originally, Sōma had planned to use this training battle to humble Akira a little—show him that no matter how strong one is, there's always someone stronger,encouraging him to act with the same quiet modesty Sōma himself maintained.
But at this rate, Sōma wasn't going to humble anyone.Another few volleys of Ghost Arts and he would be the first to fall.
"HAHAHAHA! Sōma! Do you feel it? Do you feel my mage's soul?!"Akira cackled triumphantly."A weakling like you could never understand a true magician's path!"
"Behold my newest breakthrough in Destructive Arts!"
He clapped his hands together.A surge of crimson smoke erupted beneath his feet, flooding the barrier in an instant and blanketing everything in sight.
Because the smoke spread so widely, Sōma had no way to dodge it.He could only watch as he was swallowed whole.
When the observers' vision was completely blocked—
A shocking scene unfolded.
A chorus of piercing birdlike shrieks split the air.Blinding white light blossomed inside the crimson fog.Bolts of pure lightning flashed and crossed, weaving into a vast net that devoured the entire arena.
It was the result of Sōma's own research—Ghost-Art Seals engraved for seamless fusion.
And Akira had weaponized it beautifully.
A single Akasumi Escape's worth of spirit pressure.And yet it produced devastating wide-area destruction.
Kagetsu Tessa stared at the sudden smoke bloom in utter confusion.He was already preparing to halt the match—
—but the crackling storm reached him first.
"W–wait—!"
When he realized what it was, his heart jolted violently.His pupils shrank to pinpoints.
A heartbeat later—
Radiance erupted inside the Ghost Arts barrier, swelling to its absolute peak.
Before the entire dojo's eyes, a miniature sun was born.
KA-THOOOOOOM!!!
Thunder detonated like a compressed storm-cloud finally released.White lightning raged outward, shredding through smoke and space alike.It carved through the red fog like a plow across soil, leaving charred scars across the once-pristine floor.
The students stared, slack-jawed.
They couldn't comprehend the spell's structure.How was Akira's Akasumi Escape—a basic mobility spell—producing lightning?And that much lightning?
Shriiiiiip—
A tearing noise rang out.The outer Ghost Arts barrier split open as the berserk lightning arc sliced a hole through it.
One bolt of White Thunder was manageable.But dozens—hundreds—linked together?
Its destructive power became something else entirely.
Sōma stared at the sight in disbelief.The defensive barrier Kagetsu had placed around him was falling apart at terrifying speed.
He had not expected this.
He thought Akira might use a higher-level Ghost Art,or break the training rules and rush into melee to demonstrate his so-called "mage's soul."
Never—never—did he expect Akira had already mastered perfect fusion of engraved Ghost-Art Seals,and elevated them beyond all reasonable limits.
Akira…Only you could pull this off.
Sōma smiled faintly and released a thin layer of hidden spirit pressure.The moment his defensive barrier shattered, he braced himself and withstood the incoming storm of White Thunder.
Just as he finished—
The red smoke and white lightning surged in one final eruption.Everything inside was consumed.The outer barrier shattered.
A crushing wave of pressure spread across the dojo like a collapsing sky.
When the smoke finally cleared…
Three figures stood upon the scorched, ruined floor.
Kisaragi Akira—completely unharmed, exactly as he had been when the match began.
Arisawa Sōma—largely uninjured, but his defensive barrier lay shattered beyond recognition.The result of the duel was perfectly clear.
And Kagetsu Tessa—
Believing in his own strength, he had not placed any barrier around himself.He had taken the lightning storm head-on.
Now…
A tall, blackened chunk of charcoal stood in his place,thin tendrils of smoke drifting lazily from his mouth.
Thus,the only true victim of the entire Ghost Arts duel…
was the instructor.