#720 The Truth of the Battle

The battle between Zoth Syra and Teacher Carp is finally at its climax.

Teacher Carp is surrounded by the homunculus army.

There’s simply no chance of victory for her at this point.

Even a previous practitioner of witchcraft can’t match the skills of a witch who has kept up her practice for decades, considering the hiatus spent as a teacher.

The battle seems to have been decided... or so one might think.

“If I lose this fight, I’ll be forcibly sent back to the Mermaid Kingdom…! The distance between Sir Gobukichi and me will increase...!”

The homunculus army is pressing in from all sides.

“I can’t accept that... If so, I will... I will use that way of fighting unfit for a teacher... and unleash it now!” she boldly proclaims.

At that moment, the monster homunculi about to touch Teacher Carp instantly shattered into pieces!

“What?!”

For a moment, it was unclear what had happened.

Teacher Carp definitely did something. She must have counterattacked and scattered the homunculi, but how?!

“Did you get that, Platy?”

“I don’t...! A magical formula even I, the Crowned Witch, can’t understand? What’s the meaning of this?!”

Both husband and wife are confused, unable to comprehend the situation. 

This applies to the rest of the spectators too. With such a large audience, how is it possible that not a single person understands what Teacher Carp did?!

“I’m unleashing the magic principles I once discarded...! All for victory! Having reverted to my savage past, you should understand that your chances of winning are gone, Zoth Syra!”

“Hmph, you’ve just reset the competition to how it was decades ago. Don’t get too cocky.”

The atmosphere of the match changed in an instant.

It’s more tense, seething, and burning.

Is this a sign of the fighting spirit of those who were witches in a more devastated time?

Another clash reverberates.

Will we finally be able to discern Teacher Carp’s true power?!

“Here I come, Zoth Syra! Today, I will settle our long-standing feud!”

“The result will be my victory! Bring it on!”

Teacher Carp charges alone into the crowd of homunculi.

Without even hurling a magic potion?!

The next moment, something unbelievable happens. Teacher Carp, with her own hands, smashes the homunculus right in front of her!

With bare hands...

A karate chop.

With a karate chop?!

“A melee attack?!”

“What?! That’s completely different from a potion compounder’s fighting style!”

Not just me, but even Platy is utterly confused.

Platy, an expert in mermaid-specific pharmaceutic magic, doesn’t understand this either?!

“You still have a lot to learn, Platy dear.”

“Mom?! Do you understand what’s happening?!”

“Of course. Zossy and Carpy are my old friends, after all.”

Friends...?!

The way she says it has a subtly frightening ring to it.

“Carpy’s potion usage is as unique as Zossy’s, if not more. She’s undeniably a heretic as a potion compounder. It’s no wonder that Carpy, who became a teacher at Mermaid Witch Academie, had to seal it away.”

While Lady Mahi is explaining, Teacher Carp continues to brutally smash through the homunculi!

All with her bare hands!

A punch here, a kick there! She’s pushing back the horde with her overwhelming combat ability, just like an action movie staaaaaaaaaaar!

“Hmph!”

Ah, Teacher Carp finally pulls out a test tube.

A test tube filled with a magic potion.

I assumed she would hurl the potion towards her enemy like other potion users, but...

She drank it?!

She consumed the magical potion herself?!

And then...!

“It’s surging through meeeee!!!”

Teacher Carp displays even greater power, routing the homunculus army!

“That’s right, that’s Carpy’s special physique-boosting potion.”

“A physique-boosting potion?!”

“By consuming it, Carpy can amplify her physical strength and stamina tens of times over. With her body at its maximum, she can engage in close combat that rivals any hero or warrior on land!”

B-But...!

No matter how much she strengthened her body, she wouldn’t remain unscathed if she engaged in ultra-close combat.

Small wounds begin to appear on Teacher Carp’s body...

In contrast, Zoth Syra could produce combat homunculi indefinitely as long as she had potions.

In prolonged war, you can clearly tell who’s—

Just when I thought that, Teacher Carp poured another potion over her head?!

She splashed the potion onto herself?!

As soon as the potion-soaked parts were wet, her wounds healed instantly, and her skin regained its silky smoothness!

“By combining physique-boosting and healing potions, she can maintain maximum performance and endurance for the longest time. Victory through destruction by her own body is the power of Carp, the Witch of Arts!”

“So she’s a brawny combatant?!”

The meaning behind Teacher Carp’s title, The Witch of Arts, should mean some kind of art.

Her art as a potion user... her art as a witch...

You mean it’s ultimate truth of strengthening and hitting physically all along?!

“Finally reclaiming your old competitive edge, huh?! You look better that way than prancing around in some elite school! That’s the fighting spirit of a demon I remember!”

“Zoth Syra! You’re the only one who can make me fight like this! Now that it has come to this, I’ll go all out, bare everything, and beat you down!!!”

Wooooah!

Teacher Carp’s combat after taking the offensive is intense!

She shattered a homunculus’s skull with an overhead kick!

She kicked up a homunculus’s jaw with her knee while simultaneously delivering an elbow strike to the crown of its head! Was that a scissor kick?!

She snapped a spine with a camel clutchhhhhh?!

Teacher Carp’s fighting style, once in full swing, is ferocious. Should we be showing this to the kids?!

“Go, goooo.”

Junior seems to be enjoying the spectacle!

Is this really okay?!

“This brings back memories! The Witch of Arts, a beast starving for blood, is back!”

“Decades ago, I couldn’t break through your monstrous creations, but today, I will shatter that record, Witch of Abyss! I’ll snap your windpipe!!!”

Zoth Syra’s magic potions that create artificial life forms endlessly, and Teacher Carp’s potion that strengthens her to the limit.

It’s a battle between the infinite and the ultimate one. 

Zoth Syra keeps conjuring homunculi, but how long can she keep it up?

Or will Teacher Carp run out of stamina first?

The competition dynamics are clear, making the two seem like well-matched rivals.

This undoubtedly allows them to compete for such a long time. Is the resolution upon us today?

“All right, that’s enough.”

“WHAAAAAT?!”

To everyone’s surprise, Lady Mahi abruptly intervened, bringing everything to a halt.

Despite being the top potion compounders in the Mermaid Kingdom, the contest ended instantly with Lady Mahi’s interference. 

“You two haven’t lost your touch; in fact, you’ve improved. It truly takes me back to the old days.”

“We remember too! Sis Mahi, you always come in and wreck our intense battles!”

So she’s a repeat offender.

“You’ve never let us settle our disputes once and for all! What’s your deal, Sis? You instigated this, didn’t you? You’re the one who set the conditions for this fight!”

Indeed.

What became of Lady Mahi’s stipulation to Carp? That she could stay on the farm if she defeated Zoth Syra?

“Hmhm, you two are still so naive. Can’t you see the true intention behind this fight?”

“True intention?”

“As someone who’s already tied the knot with Darling, had many children, and even grandchildren, I’ll tell you: the key to romance is laying yourself bare. To not hide anything, to reveal your very core. Only by sharing and accepting these truths can a perfect couple be formed.”

By that logic, Teacher Carp certainly revealed an unexpected side of herself in this fight.

Her secret weapon was her astonishing physical prowess.

This was showcased before a large audience, making it no longer a secret.

Among the spectators was Gobukichi... the object of Teacher Carp’s affection.

“Eeeek! Sir Gobukichiiii?!”

Unaware that she was being observed, Teacher Carp panicked upon noticing him.

“I can’t believe you saw me in such a savage, disgraceful state! I’ll never be able to get married nowwwww!”

“It’s the opposite, Carpy. True love blossoms when you reveal your unsightly side and face it without turning away!”

Those words felt imbued with genuine sentiment.

“Honestly, SIs, you’ve shown your man something unimaginable before becoming his wife. If your bond can withstand that and stay intact, it truly is ironclad.”

“Zossy? You shouldn’t say anything uncalled for, you know?”

“I’m sorry!!!”

So how does this situation resolve?

“Now is the time, Carpy. Lay it all bare and confess your feelings to the man you love! Pour your heart out to him!!!”