Rematch
"Hup!"
Booooom!Cracklecrack.
A deafening roar echoed as Drexler blocked the attack, spiderweb cracks spidering out beneath his feet.
Grind. Teeth grinding leaked from between Drexler's clenched jaws.
...Impossible!
The moment he parried the strike from the clearly inferior kid, his eyes bulged wide. Had he not instinctively used his signature deflection technique, his wrist would surely have snapped.
This—the attack from the boy who'd been sent flying by his warhammer just a week ago? It defied explanation by mere realm advancement alone. An unfathomable growth.
And it didn't end there. The instant he barely dispersed the force, a second blow came hurtling in.
The black-haired boy, using the recoil from the first clash to spin seamlessly, now swung his hammer toward Drexler's exposed right flank. Ominous blue mana roiled, filling his vision.
Even a graze would be a serious wound...!
As a sense of crisis flashed through his mind, any lingering guilt over past events vanished.
Where do you think you're—!
Thud!
Drexler slammed his mana-charged right gauntlet into the hammerhead's side, batting the warhammer upward. He fully expected it to fly off—but.
"Urk!?"
Far heavier than anticipated, the hammer didn't bounce away. It merely twisted direction—upward, no less.
The size difference turned that trajectory against him; the hammer now arced toward his own head. Drexler's face twisted as he urgently ducked, half-collapsing to the ground.
Whoosh!
A chilling whoosh sliced over his head, but the warhammer—defying inertia—dropped at a right angle, targeting his crouched form.
What...!?
Pale-faced, he desperately raised his kite shield. Booooom!
As the warhammer unleashed its ponderous might once more, the shield's mana—flashing brown in intricate patterns—absorbed the blow. Drexler's body slid backward in his collapsed stance.
Even from that broken posture, he deflected the impact maximally, using the momentum for evasion. A pinnacle display of earth-attribute mana shield arts.
"Whoaaa!"
Only then did the suffocating silence shatter with cheers. The spectators' reactions lagged half a beat behind the lightning-fast exchange.
"Tch... Not easy after all, eh?"
Tiny stuck out his tongue with an infuriating grin. Drexler—pushed back a good ten meters, lips twitching—rose with a heavy expression.
"...I underestimated you."
"Sorry if I surprised you."
"Don't taunt me with that not-sorry-at-all face, kid. No more holding back."
"That's what I was hoping for."
Drexler forced a wry smile at the boy's confident grin, then pointed at the warhammer in Tiny's hands.
"That last attack—it was much lighter than the first. Still getting the hang of 'control,' right?"
He'd nearly paid for his carelessness, but he hadn't forgotten his role.
Tiny's expression turned peculiar. Unfamiliar with gravity shifts, he'd lightened the weight for that final blow—and Drexler's word choice felt deliberate.
"...You knew?"
"I'm here to help you master it."
Drexler smiled faintly. His benevolent lord had shared even unnecessary details to ease his subordinate's unease: teaching Valentia direct-line secrets to a boy not even taken as disciple.
Thus, he owed repayment for that trust. And an apology to the kid for his unintended cruelty.
"...Now that you know I don't need mercy, stay sharp."
With that, Drexler grabbed another warhammer from the training ground's corner. The two battle hammers—usually just swung experimentally by admiring trainees—found their true purpose today.
"I'll fight you for real."
As Drexler—the Blue Wing's strongest vanguard—ignited his full battle spirit, Tiny grinned ferociously, delighted.
And soon.
Booooom!
The two warriors wielding identical weapons clashed with a thunderous boom.
BOOM!Cracklecrack.Thud!Whoosh!
Each hammer clash or ground strike shook the earth, birthing fissures. Even air swings sent shockwaves dozens of meters out. The expert-grade reinforced arena strained under their duel.
The watching knights' jaws dropped wider by the second.
"D-Does that make sense?"
"How's an Expert matching a Superior...?"
"Drexler's holding back, obviously."
"...Doesn't look like it."
"No mana weapon or soul weapon, but he's using attributes."
"One thing's sure—that kid's stronger than me... Ahem."
A knight bit his tongue at his own slip; the others coughed awkwardly, looking away. Admitting it aloud felt too pathetic.
Oblivious to the stares, the duel intensified.
The pattern: Tiny darting like wind across the arena, hammering the steadfast central Drexler; Drexler occasionally deflecting with shield and countering like lightning.
But gradually, it shifted.
Thud!BOOM!Booooom!
As Tiny's assaults accelerated, Drexler abandoned the center, moving aggressively.
Clear implication.
Got it—I'm used to it now.
Already? Monstrous talent.
Tiny now freely toggled his body weight from 1/8th to 8x— a 64-fold span.
Light until swing... heavy only at impact.
...Or when gathering for a mighty blow.
No easy feat, but not for Tiny.
Normal knights trained paths to next realms, repeating until senses ingrained. Tiny, versed in Mana Body secrets...
Just imprint the successful sensation into the Mana Body.
Possible even in past life; now, refined to match his body perfectly, easier still.
Once imprinted...
"Watch out!"
One step, max weight loaded, compressed superhuman spring and power into his frame. Propelled, Tiny whipped the rear-shouldered warhammer like thunder upon his foe.
- Tiny-style Battle Hammer Art, Form 1: Lightning Drop.
"Urk!?"
Drexler recoiled from the unblockable threat. Tiny's hammer smashed the ground instead, convulsing the arena corner.
Boooooooom!Rumble rumble.Scatterscatter.
The loudest boom yet shook the arena like an earthquake; shattered fragments flew everywhere.
"Wh-What!?"
"Whoa!"
"An Expert did that?"
Distant knights swatted debris in shock, but.
"Hup!"
Drexler—aiming for post-big-move opening up close—stumbled again from the erupting shockwave.
Damn...
Boosting earth power to anchor himself, or he'd have been hurt. Catching breath, he eyed the floor and chuckled bitterly.
A 5-meter crater from one kid's swing.
"...No need for more sparring."
Tiny, panting, slowly bowed.
"Th-Thank you... for the help."
Sweat steamed off him like exhaustion incarnate. Drexler sighed softly at the spent boy.
"...At this level, I wasn't even needed. Wonder how much repairs'll cost, though."
Tsking at his joke, Drexler paused thoughtfully, then asked.
"That last technique—what was it? Squeezed every ounce of power... Dangerous, no?"
"Called it Lightning Drop. Familiar move, so fine."
"Still, exhausting all at once..."
"Just smash the enemy first."
Drexler chuckled, worries fading at the boy's confidence.
"...Fair enough. But you know I went easy, right?"
No soul weapon—Superior hallmark—nor even Blader-grade mana weapon. True enough.
But.
"I didn't show everything either."
"What?"
Cold sweat beading, the retort slipped out naturally—but Tiny countered incredulously.
"...Forgot I'm a spirit user?"
True, Tiny hadn't used spirits. Not deliberate, but...
- Don't call Wolrang unless it's life-or-death, got it!? I'm stressed—need my cute boy.
- ...Kiiing.
Cloi had "stolen" his spirit with that warning. Closer to couldn't.
"Ah..."
Clueless Drexler gasped. Tiny's pre-Expert mobility—Wolrang—clicked.
Realizing he'd forgotten even that amid focus, he chuckled again.
Even so, I wouldn't lose...
An Expert (3rd stage) matching Superior (5th)? Absurd.
And twelve years old...
He couldn't fathom the black-haired boy's limits.
- He could be the Empire's—no, humanity's hope.
His lord's quiet words before departure finally made sense.
Empire or humanity's 'star' maybe, but 'hope'...?
The wording felt off, but now desire stirred in him.
"Impressive kid. Ever thought of joining Blue Wing?"
"...Pardon? I thought it was settled with His Grace...?"
"I know, but... Waste not to. You learned that—owe Valentia a debt, right?"
"Ah, th-that... Ha, haha..."
Irrefutable; Tiny managed only an awkward smile.
Seizing the moment, Drexler pitched hard.
"Think about it. Blue Wing's top-tier in the Empire—not just strength, but pay and perks too. For example..."
"Ha. Ha. Ha."
As Drexler's sales pitch ramped up, Tiny's smile faded—
Then a saving voice called from afar.
"...His Grace summons you!"