The Meaning of Greatness
What is the greatness of Lucas Elmar? If anyone were to ask him that question, he would unfailingly name his mother. To him, Adela Elmar embodied the very ideal of a great mother.
I must… be perfect.
Yet if you asked her what he represented, the answer was weakness. An indelible shame, a scandal exposed before the entire world. The most easily exploited Achilles’ heel. Because in his veins flowed the blood of some nameless mercenary.
I must… defeat Edga Fix at all costs.
Bastard. Lucas Elmar was a child who had never been granted the Elmar surname. He only received it when he was nearly six years old; until then he had simply been called by his given name. Adela’s parents had fiercely denied his very existence.
That child must be erased at once!
A mercenary’s spawn? Absolutely impossible!
At the blooming age of eighteen, Adela’s parents were horrified when their daughter returned pregnant. Terrified that word of her condition might leak, they hounded her day after day to terminate the pregnancy.
“No. I cannot kill my child.”
But Adela’s will was iron. No matter what they tried, she stubbornly insisted on giving birth, and in the end she delivered Lucas, whose veins carried commoner blood.
Even so, Lucas’s grandparents could not accept him.
“I promise you my fullest support! You will be allowed to see the child’s face once a month… So please… you must hide him…”
They proposed disguising Lucas as the child of a wet nurse. Acknowledging the offspring of a lowly mercenary of unknown origin as the grandson of a ducal house was unthinkable. Besides, the other great ducal families were expanding their power through strategic marriage alliances. They could not allow the value of the eighteen-year-old Adela to be dragged through the mud.
“I understand Father’s wishes. As a member of House Elmar, I must bear the responsibility that comes with it. However, I feel no shame in my choices. Loving the man who died in my stead, and giving birth to this child, were both decisions I made myself. Therefore, I ask you not to insult me or my child. The responsibility is mine to carry.”
Yet Adela refused to yield. For months they coaxed, pleaded, scolded, and shouted, but she gave the same answer every time. In the end she publicly declared Lucas her son before the entire court, cementing the fact that she was an unwed mother.
The feared outcome came to pass. Adela’s reputation plummeted, and every house that had been maneuvering for a marriage alliance turned its back on her. On top of that, the label “duchess who gave herself to a commoner” stuck, and all manner of obscene gossip began to swirl. There were even vicious rumors that Lucas suffered from some disability.
“Giving birth to a child has not caused my talent to disappear.”
Adela paid the rumors no mind. She possessed overwhelming talent. The Space Control Technique—one of House Elmar’s secret vision arts and among its strongest trait-type spells. She polished that gift, aided the Empire’s wars of conquest, and carved her name across countless battlefields. Gradually the image of “the duchess who throws her body around” faded, replaced by the title Empress of the East. She was recognized as the legitimate heir to the Eastern Duke.
“I shall bestow a peerage upon you. Stand at His Majesty’s side and display your valor. Raise the name of Elmar and bring it glory.”
Afterward, having earned her father’s approval, Adela ascended to the position of family head. She performed countless feats in the great war seven years earlier. The previous head, bedridden at the time, smiled with satisfaction that his daughter had reclaimed her honor on her own and passed away in peace.
“Lucas, your grandfather has something to tell you.”
Before drawing his final breath, the old duke left Lucas with a solemn request: follow Adela’s wishes and grow into a worthy successor. He also revealed every hardship Adela had endured to protect him—details Lucas had never known.
Though young, Lucas had already grown mature beyond his years. He understood the enormous sacrifices his mother had made for his sake.
I… must not become a burden.
From then on, Lucas strove for perfection. Lacking a paternal house, he poured even greater effort into social graces and reputation. Because he was only half noble, he needed to become the noblest of nobles.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lucas, sole heir of House Elmar.”
He threw himself into the study of etiquette, culture, rhetoric, worldly wisdom, and diplomacy, striving to become a model for others while never neglecting his martial training. For the mother who had stood alone against the world, he did everything within his power.
“Lucas, you are your mother’s pride.”
“Lucas, I cannot express how happy I am to have you.”
“Lucas, you may take things more slowly. I worry you will harm your health.”
His mother always cheered him on. When children his age teased him. When he felt the sorrow of growing up without a father. When his grandparents gazed at him with icy eyes. She would always tell him how happy she was that he existed and that she loved him.
To Lucas, Adela was both father and mother, teacher and guiding star. She was everything.
“Nice to meet you. I am Edga Fix.”
While he was steadily growing into a son worthy of his mother’s renown, one irritating figure appeared. Edga Fix. A complete commoner who had entered the academy and stolen every eye. Even though Lucas had entered as the representative of the new students, Edga Fix’s overwhelming presence began to gnaw at him.
When the gauntlet was first unveiled, Lucas spent an entire day running simulations of dueling him.
My overwhelming victory.
But that was the extent of it. No matter how many simulations he ran, the result was always the same. Even after the Max incident, his conviction never wavered. He had confidence in his skill proportionate to the effort he had poured in.
“Mother, what did you think after seeing Edga Fix in person?”
However.
When Edga Fix was dispatched to the Dwarf Allied Kingdom and returned with staggering diplomatic achievements. When he was awarded the rank of Count in recognition of those feats. And when he recently crushed the newly emerged demon race with overwhelming force.
Only then did Lucas truly realize it. He no longer measured up.
“He truly is an impressive man in many respects. To possess such insight at that age…”
His mother’s verdict was decisive. She had called him an impressive man.
She acknowledged Edga Fix… as a man?
Adela did not lightly bestow the word “man.” Only those who met her own strict criteria earned the right to be called a man or a true warrior. Everyone else was merely “that guy” or “that fellow.”
Not an impressive fellow… but an impressive man…
His chest ached. He could not forget the sight of his mother smiling faintly while imagining a conversation with Ed. At thirty-six she still possessed breathtaking beauty, yet she never spared other men a glance. Countless suitors had tried every trick to win the heart of the Empress of the East, only to be cut down like weeds. And now that same mother was smiling foolishly, staring into empty space with a soft expression that could only mean she was thinking of Edga Fix.
For the first time, Lucas felt his stomach twist. He wanted to prove immediately that he was the superior man.
At last, that moment had arrived. The day he would surpass Edga Fix and stand tall.
Lucas charged straight at Ed.
While I was happily picturing the crispy, golden-brown surface of sizzling Macbeth pork, Lucas suddenly rushed me. The match had begun.
—Paat!
Of course I hadn’t been idly worrying about dinner with zero preparation. I immediately kicked off the ground to gain distance and summoned the gauntlet. A crack formed in the air as the bracelet appeared—
—Whoong!
Only for it to vanish again instantly. The Elmar family’s trait-type technique, Space Control Art, had snatched it away.
As expected, he’s on another level from the small fry.
Even so, I didn’t panic at the unprecedented situation of being unable to equip the gauntlet. In fact, I welcomed it. Since donning the suit would have guaranteed victory, the only thing I could gain from this duel was exactly this kind of improvisation—being ambushed before I could even put the suit on.
To become truly strong, one needed the power to respond to any situation. Demons wouldn’t spare you just because you were thinking about dinner or weren’t wearing your suit.
“Can you stop me without the gauntlet?”
In the blink of an eye Lucas closed the distance and threw a punch. I hurriedly raised my guard, but his fist vanished into thin air and reappeared behind me. Another application of the Elmar family’s space-manipulating technique.
“Urgh!”
A heavy impact slammed into my back. Had I not reinforced my entire body, that single blow might have ended it. Only my greater mana capacity compared to ordinary students let me endure it.
“As I thought, without the suit you’re nothing.”
But that strike had only been the opening act. Attacks with completely unpredictable patterns began raining down from every direction. I had no choice but to take them helplessly.
There’s emotion mixed in.
His attacks carried clear personal feeling. I could roughly guess why.
“I heard you’re a real mama’s boy.”
I provoked him. The face of the boy who had been attacking in a trance twisted violently. It was the first time I had seen such a demonic expression on someone who usually wore the gentle smile of a romance-novel prince.
“How dare you!”
Emotion creates openings. While he was enraged, I swiftly summoned the web-shooter, attached it, and fired a genetically modified spider web at his face—
—Whoong!
Only for it to fly straight back at me. The space-control technique had reversed my own web.
—Puff!
I fired another strand to cancel it out. The two webs tangled in midair and fell to the ground.
“Were you trying to provoke me? Not bad.”
Having regained control of his emotions, he resumed his assault. This time he even summoned weapons, forcing me to raise my focus another level.
—Squish!
A dagger sank into the top of my foot. I had neglected mana reinforcement there and paid the price.
—Hssssss!
I immediately applied emergency treatment. I yanked out the dagger, switched the web-shooter to healing mode, and sprayed medicinal webbing onto the wound. The bleeding stopped and the pain began to fade.
“Surrendering quickly will hurt less.”
Cracks formed in the air as Lucas’s arsenal appeared. Dozens of daggers floated around him—an early version of the blade-control technique that would one day slaughter thousands of demons. They were already sharpening their edges toward me.
Time to get serious.
His expression had grown deadly. The mama’s-boy jab must have struck home. Before he could attack, I pulled out the smoke grenade I had kept in my pocket. The moment I activated it, the entire arena was swallowed by thick smoke.
“Heh heh. You think you can hide with something like that? Don’t make me laugh, Edga Fix.”
Even inside the black smoke, his eyes glowed blue. He had activated his Blue Eye to see straight through me.
Shwoong! Whoong! Shuuuung!
Still, his accuracy had clearly dropped. Dozens of daggers rained down, but they were surprisingly easy to dodge. While I frantically evaded, I finally spotted my bracelet. He had tossed it into a far corner.
—Paat!
I reached out. The bracelet flew toward me like Thor’s hammer and wrapped snugly around my wrist.
Clatter-clatter—
A satisfying metallic click rang out as the pieces locked together perfectly.
—Pa-ang!
A wave of mana erupted, instantly dispersing the smoke. The moment I equipped the bracelet, the anxious Lucas had cleared the field.
Kiiiiing—!
But I wasn’t the only one who had been protected inside the smoke. I immediately fired a repulsor beam at the now-visible Lucas, then followed up with a web-shooter blast at his left foot.
—Whoong!
The first repulsor beam vanished under his space control.
“Urgh!”
It slammed back into me. The smell of burning flesh rose along with considerable damage.
“One landed.”
Yet he hadn’t managed to block the spider web. His left foot was now trapped in my genetically modified strands.
“…These cheap tricks!”
The moment he gathered mana at his toes, the web began to tear apart with ugly ripping sounds. I wasn’t foolish enough to simply watch. Concentrating mana at his feet meant he was defenseless. I instantly seized the opening, summoned the suit’s boots, and tried to step into them—
—Whoong!
They vanished again. His technique really was annoyingly difficult. I was starting to miss the nano suit badly.
“This isn’t working.”
At this rate I would never finish equipping the suit. I needed a way to buy solid time. I transformed the gauntlet, drew the plasma blade, and charged at Lucas, who was still bound by the web.
Countless daggers flew to intercept me, but they lacked their earlier threat. Most of his mana was still concentrated at his feet.
—Riiip!
The instant he tore free of the web, my plasma blade plunged toward his chest. But he smirked as though he had been waiting for it and distorted the trajectory.
“Be pierced by your own sword!”
The moment I thought I had run him through, I felt a bizarre floating sensation. My own hand was now aiming at my back—an eerie sight.
“I knew you’d try that.”
I had already anticipated Lucas’s favorite counter. The plasma blade thrust had been a feint; my real attack was this.
Pssssshhhhhht!
Hallucination powder sprayed directly into his face. It was a precious sample I had acquired while helping Charlotte.
“Krrgh!”
Lucas’s face twisted horribly.
The hallucination powder Ed obtained while training Charlotte. It maximized the victim’s deepest fears. The moment it was inhaled, the five senses twisted and the most horrifying vision imaginable unfolded.
“Kihihihihihi…”
The landscape created by Lucas’s fear was shockingly vivid.
Edga Fix sat arrogantly on a chair with a thuggish smirk, spitting on the floor. And beside him sat none other than Lucas’s own mother. Even though Ed had his hand draped casually over her shoulder, she remained obediently seated with a flushed, dreamy expression.
Then, from his mother’s lips came words he could not believe.