Lucas Elmar's Resolve
“Ed····!”
Charlotte, now back in her original form, clutched her pounding chest and stared at Ed. His appearance, as if he were being reborn into something entirely different, overlapped with the image of herself wearing the mask.
‘I-I still need more training, of course····!’
But her own power was still dangerous. She had been warned that if she used that power too much, her original self and the self wearing the mask might synchronize.
“······.”
Enya, meanwhile, was looking at Ed with a somewhat dejected expression. It was because she had lost in their previous match. She had stubbornly insisted on using Battojutsu, which she still couldn’t wield properly.
‘Ed keeps moving ahead···· while I····.’
Recently, Enya had been losing repeatedly and felt as if her skills were regressing. She had entered the academy praised as a swordsmanship genius, yet by clinging to Battojutsu she could no longer display even half of her original ability. Was this truly her path? If she lost again in the second round, going to the Wall of Water with Ed would become impossible····.
-Paaang──!
That was the moment. A powerful mana storm erupted from Lucas’s body. Just when it seemed the match would end in a dull fashion, Lucas returned. He had expelled all the hallucinatory components lodged inside him by circulating his mana.
“·····Edga Fix.”
Lucas opened his eyes and looked at Ed. Ed had already equipped every piece of the suit except the helmet. If things continued like this, defeat was certain.
“From now on, my target is you.”
Yet in this situation, Lucas only burned with fighting spirit. Declaring Ed as his goal, he took his stance.
-Waaaaaaaah!!!
-That’s more like it! There’s no way Lucas would go down that easily!!!
The spectators erupted in cheers. The academy had instantly split into Ed’s faction versus Lucas’s faction. Everyone watched with bated breath, waiting for the outcome. A lackluster ending to the match was unacceptable. As the stage to determine the strongest student aside from Isabella, the fight had to be worthy of the occasion.
“I thought it would take quite a while, but you broke out pretty fast.”
Ed looked at Lucas with a surprised expression. Originally, Lucas’s awakening was supposed to happen after suffering a humiliating defeat at the Allied Kingdoms Friendship Tournament.
“····Let’s have a good match.”
Lucas answered without further words. He immediately kicked off the ground and charged at Ed.
“Good attitude.”
Ed responded in kind. Loading a Repulsor Beam, he fired without hesitation at the charging Lucas. Several spatial-control spells reversed the Repulsor Beams back toward Ed, only to be nullified by his Plasma Mana Shield. Dozens of daggers rose into the air, stabbing at Ed from every direction—front, back, left, and right—only to be nullified again by the Plasma Mana Shield. Then daggers began appearing from within the mana shield itself. An unexpected attack pattern. The daggers targeted the suit’s joint seams, aiming for its vulnerabilities.
-Kagagagagagak─!
An attack combining telekinesis and spatial-transfer spells. The daggers spun like drills, digging into the suit’s gaps. Ed countered with Repulsor Beams. While Lucas blocked them, the spinning daggers fell to the ground.
-Pa-at!
When ranged attacks proved ineffective, Ed charged straight at Lucas, deciding to switch to close-quarters combat. Lucas, however, kept teleporting his body around to maintain distance. It had become a battle of speed. A chase and evasion fight. Lucas controlled his daggers to target Ed while Ed used three-dimensional maneuvers to close in rapidly.
-Whoosh!
Then, in an instant, Ed, who had been soaring through the air on Web Wire, felt his body lose buoyancy. Lucas had teleported part of the Web Wire and severed it. Ed’s body plummeted toward the ground in free fall.
-Pababababat!
Dozens of daggers merged into one, forming a razor-sharp blade. Its tip gleamed ominously, aiming for Ed’s back. If he fell like this, even the suit wouldn’t save him from being pierced.
-Paang!
At that moment, the suit’s shoulder pauldrons opened, revealing thrusters. Jet engines roared, propelling him out of the space in an instant. The speed was almost like light itself.
-I-insane····
-Another new technique····
Through countless technological developments, Ed had perfected the foundation of flight. All that remained was a “system” to control it.
“Kuh!”
But the match wasn’t over yet. Lucas immediately directed his daggers to pursue Ed.
-Pyuh! Pyuh!
Yet in that moment, the daggers became entangled in spider webs and fell to the ground. While Lucas stood bewildered at the neutralization of his weapons, Ed closed the distance in a flash. Ed’s fist drove into Lucas’s solar plexus.
-Thud!
“Guhk!”
A searing pain, as if his muscles were tearing apart. But Lucas did not give up. Completely freed from others’ gazes, he could pour all his strength into the duel. What mattered to him now was no longer satisfying his vanity. It was about forging his own beliefs and philosophy. Since he had yet to find them, he was burning his entire body. He was throwing himself against the massive wall that was Edga Fix.
-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Countless exchanges followed. Ed’s punches landed on Lucas, and Lucas’s counters struck Ed in return.
-Zzzzt····Zzzzzzt!
During the fight, large portions of the suit were damaged. The three-dimensional maneuvering device was completely broken and inoperable. The left arm had also lost power, preventing proper mana transmission.
-Thud!
“Kuh-heo-eok!”
By then, the outcome had already been decided. Lucas, who no longer had enough mana left to use spatial-transfer spells, was struck by Ed’s fist and rendered unable to fight.
“Match suspended! Since Lucas’s mana has been completely depleted, Edga Fix is the winner!”
The referee, capable of using Clean Eye, immediately declared Ed’s victory due to Lucas’s mana exhaustion. A thunderous roar swept across the arena.
-Waaaaaaaah!!!!
-Ed! Ed! Ed! Ed! Ed!
The arena was filled with cheers. Originally, Lucas had believed those cheers would be his. He had imagined himself, having brought Edga Fix to his knees, standing tall amid the crowd’s adulation.
‘Feels refreshing····’
Yet Lucas smiled even in defeat. Such cheers no longer mattered to him. Having escaped the pressure that had gnawed at him for so long, he finally felt free. He acknowledged that he was an imperfect being and that half the blood flowing through his veins belonged to a mercenary.
‘I···· never once met my father.’
Come to think of it, he had never once visited his father’s grave. His life had been consumed by the desperate need to protect the name Elmar.
“Lucas.”
At that moment, a man bathed in backlight extended his hand toward him. Edga Fix. The man who had acknowledged his own roots and carved out his own path.
“Good match.”
Lucas looked at Ed’s face. It wasn’t the mocking expression he had seen in his hallucinations. Instead, it felt as though the man was encouraging him for having reached a new stage.
“I learned a lot. I’m still lacking.”
Lucas smiled and took Ed’s hand. A strong force pulled him up, and his body rose to its feet. Lucas stood side by side with Ed.
-Waaaaaaaah!
The arena was filled with cheers, responding to the magnificent duel they had shown. Amid the roaring crowd, Lucas looked at Ed. How could he become so strong? He couldn’t understand it. The driving force behind that strength wasn’t something he could grasp through mere contemplation.
‘But····’
At least one thing was certain. He now had a reason to become stronger. He had found someone to admire. A man who had acknowledged his own roots and forged his own path. Lucas wanted to become a man worthy of standing beside him. Could he one day become a comrade whose back he could entrust?
‘If I keep moving forward like this.’
The doubt didn’t last long. Lucas nodded. If he too could find an unshakable conviction like Edga Fix, he would be able to stand beside him. Supported by Ed, Lucas walked forward.
“Lucas.”
At that moment, Ed called out to him. Lucas looked into Ed’s eyes. They held a serious gaze, almost tinged with melancholy. Had he also gained some realization from this duel?
“Want to eat some Macbeth pork?”
He hadn’t. His stomach was growling.
“····Kuh-kuh. Sure. I’m hungry too.”
Lucas let out a small laugh. He must have lost too much blood. To think he was reading meaning into everything.
“It’s delicious when you wrap it in kimchi.”
Grumble— His stomach was empty. He didn’t know what kimchi was, but his mouth was watering. Imagining the sizzling, golden-brown Macbeth pork, Ed and Lucas walked out of the arena together.