18 Shocked Silence

Louise joins the circle of people as Guiche opens his arms out wide in a mock-friendly gesture. "You're very interesting, Familiar! I thought you wouldn't have the courage to come!"

Michael chews his cheek slightly to ease how incredibly nervous he felt right now... He could see many people watching the duel, from maids, to staff, to students... Even some of the main cast like Kirche and Tabitha... "Why would I run? Aside from your random luck with women, I doubt you have any other magic to show."

"You... I'll teach you to keep your mouth shut when speaking to your betters!... But I'll give you one chance, commoner! Get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness, and I might be lenient!" he commands, pointing his rose-shaped wand at Michael.

"Guiche!" Louise shouts from the side in a distressed tone, "Duel's are forbidden! Stop this now!"

Guiche raises his forearm and arrogantly laughs into it, "Duels between nobles are forbidden, but a noble and a commoner? There are no such restrictions... But don't worry, I'll try not to hurt your servant..."

Louise sends a pleading look at Michael who just shakes his head in response, causing her to stomp her foot in a huff and walk away, waiting on the sides to watch his inevitable beatdown.

Guiche turns back towards Michael and raises his wand,"Now, let's see if you are as pathetic as you look. Observe the Gramont family magic, Brass Valkyrie!" he shouts, swinging his wand which causes a petal to break off. Once it hits the ground, it glows bright white and grows, quickly forming into the shape of an armoured golem with feminine attributes.

It's about a head taller than Michael and holds a dangerous-looking spear. Combined with its thick armour, and now even seasoned warriors would be able to take it easy.

Michael does his best to remain confident, but now he was face to face with something that could easily kill him, he was quickly losing his courage... Fortunately, he had enough wherewithal to not freeze.

The golem rears back and leaps at him, attempting to punch him in either the face, or the upper body... But before it hits, Michael points a finger at it and shouts, "Ether Shock!"

This causes a bright orange thread of lightning to shoot from the tip of his finger, gasps could be heard from the students and especially Louise as the thread rams into the brass golem, causing it to seize up and fall to the floor.

Michael grins at his feat of magic, but frown slightly at the fact that the golem isn't dead yet... Still, the revelation of his abilities sent tremours through the crowd who were watching, not to mention Guiche who looked ready to run away.

Unbeknownst to Michael, it wasn't the fact he could use magic that was the biggest surprise... But the fact he didn't need a wand to do so. Using magic focus' to cast magic had been firmly cemented in this world, and even Brimir had been unable to avoid this limitation... Seeing a 'commoner' do so with relative ease almost had a few people call him an elf and attack him on the spot.

Michael points his finger at the golem again, not really knowing how much mana he had left in the tank and so deciding to end it as soon as he could."Ether Shock!"

The second blast of orange lightning finishes the golem off, causing it to disintegrate into many particles of light. Michael's about to shout for Guiche's surrender when he summons three more brass valkyrie in response. "I won't be beaten by some false-noble! Valkyrie! Attack!"

Michael unconscious steps back at the other golems charge at him, but again, he points forward while shouting, "Ether Shock!"

This time, three threads shoot out, striking all three Valkyrie at the same time. Causing them to fall to the floor, stunned.

Michael wasn't sure how much mana he had left, so he starts sprinting at Guiche to end the fight instead... But is blocked yet again by two more valkyries. Shaking his head, he thrusts his hand forward with all the confidence in the world, "Ether Shock!"

"AAArrrrrgh!*

Unfortunately, he'd underestimated the amount of effort he'd put into the magic, accidentally causing an additional thread to strike Guiche directly in the face. Of course, the noble wasn't as durable as his metal summons, so as soon as the lightning hits, Guiche falls to the fall and starts having a seizure, foam spilling from his mouth as liquid escapes his ears.

Apparently, the damage wasn't just contained to the scorch mark now decorating his face, but his brain as well... The people-watching scream in response, utterly horrified at what just befell their classmate.

Guiche eventually stops moving, just as the healers arrive and begin transporting him to the hospital. As the Vestori Square goes silent...

Michael was terrified at what'd just happened. He never intended to actually hurt Guiche, yet he may have just given the teen major brain damage! He touches his chest as he feels bile rise up in his throat, completely ignorant of the looks of animosity sent his way by the surrounding nobles.

While most of them didn't really care for Guiche, he was still a high-ranking noble, meaning this attack wouldn't go unpunished. Some of them may actually be awarded by Earl Gramont if they apprehended Michael... Yet his earlier display of wandless magic has scared most of them from even attempting it.

He's broken from his thoughts as someone begins pulling on his arm, the flash of pink in his peripheral revealing it to be Louise. He allows himself to be dragged away, unsure of how things would change from here... One thing was for certain though, he couldn't count on following the plot any longer...