It is a foolish and lucky waste of time that worked only amongst children. Not every single professor thought positively of Dio's usage of a non-combative spell in a duel. Not all of them looked at his creativity as a good thing. Some of them saw it as poison.
What Dio did couldn't be recreated in an actual fight. That was the argument they made, which was indeed true. Even if it wasn't, there was no mage willing to waste their and learn new spells just to test such a thing. It was simple, he held an advantage at this point, however, these choices eventually come back to bite every individual. The Professors shared the opinion that Dio would suffer from such a fate.
"So you defeated the emo. Thought you'd lose again," Alex smirked as he took his seat. Not a single bead of sweat anywhere on his body. Perhaps it truly was that easy for Dio?
"The previous match was not my loss. I merely allowed her to win,"
"Soft spot for Hina Jaeger, is it?"
"What? Of course not, she isn't even on my radar," Dio swatted his hand in the air, completely rejecting the idea. "She has none of the characteristics I find attractive,"
"Your radar? Are you some kind of creep who was just released from prison? And please. Spare me, I care not for your sexual preferences," she made a puking gesture and turned away slowly.
"Whatever, it's not like anyone's ever going to look at you," as soon as those words left Dio's mouth, a blue-haired boy seemingly materialized in front of Alex as his glossy lips parted to say two words.
"Watch me,"
He was of a similar age, with confidence that resembled Dio's but his appearance held no similarities to Dio's. Dry blue hair that was tied into a man bun as a few strands remained apart. What bothered Dio the most wasn't even the hairdo which clearly didn't belong to someone their age. Rather, it was the confidence. Who was he? What made him act such a way in front of Dio?
"And I'm the creep?"
"Wahahat?" She replied as she dragged her face and turned it towards Dio. "What are you…ummm.. talking about?" She swallowed before she continued, "he's the one that appeared out of nowhere. Besides, who even was that?"
"I'm not sure, but he seems pretty sure of himself," Dio looked at him as he walked towards the stage. Steady steps, his fists gripped adequately, indicating a lack of rage but a presence of apt motivation.
"Jin Godfrey Vs John Fade,"
"Jin Godfrey…..why is it that we haven't heard of him yet?" Alex turned around to ask Dio a question, "I mean he seems pretty good…right?"
"Heck if I know, It's not like we know of everyone here that is capable. I mean, I get it, it's nearly the end, so we should have a good idea as to who's at the top and who isn't, but there are a lot of people here," Dio explained, his hand doing a quick sweep of all the applicants. Indeed, there were many, it was to be expected considering the institution though.
This was his first time hearing Jin's name as well.
It irked him. There was someone else who believed in themselves just as he did. Dio was aware that to a certain extent, he came across as delusional, nevertheless, he continued to live by what he knew was right. Was this what anger felt like? Why did he want to be on the stage so desperately?
'Guess we'll see, huh?' He thought to himself as he leaned forward and gazed deeply at the match that was about to start. His hands covered his mouth as he exhaled.
"If his confidence is any proof of his skill, then isn't this an unfair match-up? You faced John Fade and absolutely overwhelmed him."
"You're actually comparing your boy toy to me? You just learned of his existence and this? Really? Whatever, it's not like I care. it's going to be boring anyway," he knew there was logic to her argument, but he simply couldn't shake off these feelings.
Up until this point, Dio actively chose not to socialize as much. His life revolved around training and reading, with the addition of sparring with Alex now and then. However, that was about it, this was his introduction to "civilized" society and his reactions prove that.
Something about Jin seemed to stand out suddenly. Up until this point, neither of them knew who he was, but now that he stood there on the stage, his presence seemed to act like a black hole that absorbed every one's attention.
"Begin!!"
Silence, something that the people present there hadn't felt in a while. John was far too scared and anxious to make the first move, whereas Jin simply stood there looking at John.
It was solemn and eerie, however, what followed this was something that made everyone's jaw drop. Wisps of blue and purple appeared all around him. They were string-like in the beginning, but as time passed, they seemed to behave like cracks in reality. Waiting, urging to be given freedom, desperate to escape his hands, they grew stronger.
"Lightning….?" Alex muttered as she looked at him. An uncommon element for individuals of their age. It was as simple as this. The more unique and deviant the element is, the harder its spells are to learn and comprehend.
'…..Interesting….' Naturally, the conditions mentioned didn't exactly apply to Dio. It was only a matter of his comprehension ability. The matter solely depended upon an individual's comprehension, however, for Dio, the task was heavily simplified. He could simply recall everything about the structure of the spell and try until he could understand it.
"Conduct," Jin finally spoke with a slight grimace, it looked like all the lightning around him had dispersed or disappeared.
'Like mother huh?' he didn't miss a single frame of detail.
The audience was confused; the spell did nothing, they looked at Jin gripping his fists, it looked like he was preparing for something bigger but something seemed to be stopping him.
"Reverse Lightning," a jolt of pure blue flew towards John, striking him in the chest.
The bolt was quick, but it lacked power. It brought John down to his knees, but that was about it. However, what truly shocked the audience was the fact that it flew right back into Jin pushing him back a little.
Blood dripped from his fists as he looked at John with a serious expression. "Tha-" before John could finish his sentence, he could feel something else. Something that felt like restraints. Something that felt like a hand grabbing his heart.
'Paralysis…' Dio got up; he was horrified as he realized what was about to happen. 'Conduct first….no….he would not…' unconsciously taking a few steps forward, his lips began to tremble.
He wasn't the only one, the professors sitting behind the judging panel and many of the senior students present there looked worried. Something dangerous was about to go down, and none of them were close enough to stop it on time. The Professors were slower than Dio and some of the other students. It was unusual, but they did not expect that a student would be so bold and foolish.
"Get out of the way!!" They screamed at John, but no matter how much he tried, his body wouldn't respond.
"No…they won't make it…" Dio stuttered as he analyzed the situation. He felt conflict inside him, at the very core, some part of him denied jumping in. What was it? What made him hesitate? Was it his value for his own life? Was that different from fear?
"Fuck that shit….someone's life is at stake…" he cursed himself and dashed towards the stage and stood in front of John. Truth be told, as Dio gripped his eyes shut and bolted towards the stage, he wondered deeply about what he was doing. He was no hero. He never wanted to be.
Was it an opportunity to get on stage? Did this happen because of that small desire within him?
"Astralis," Jin was filled with energy. The usage of conduct first and reverse lightning allowed him to flood his entire body with mana. It wasn't too much, but it definitely was a boost. He now had enough mana within him to put on a fireworks show, but all of that concentrated into a single attack?
A loud boom was heard as professors desperately tried to reach the stage, some of the students were close by, but none of them knew if they would make it on time. If only the Professors had taken into consideration the naivety of teenagers. This was a situation that was never meant to occur.
Dio closed his eyes and kept one hand up, a futile attempt to stop such an attack. He was the only one close enough who was aware of what was about to happen. Even if the others caught up, it was still far too late. After all, everything took place in a few seconds and that was exactly where Dio existed.