Union main building. Physical training room."Ugh.""Uoooh!"While the muscular students were training their bodies using various machines—Ciel, dressed in gym clothes, also visited the training room to work out.Thump, thump—.With bandages wrapped around her fists, Ciel lightly struck the leather sandbag.Every time she moved with dazzling footwork and threw a jab, the sandbag swayed back and forth.Then, in the midst of that—Flash—.Ciel’s eyes suddenly gleamed as she put rotation and power into her fist.Crunch—.A vortex formed on the leather surface of the sandbag, and the chain holding it to the ceiling was torn off.Boom—.The sandbag flew through the air and slid a long way across the smooth wooden floor."Whoo."Ciel took a deep breath, then went to the corner of the training room, grabbed another sandbag, and hung it from the ceiling.Clank—.Beside her, several sandbags with torn leather or broken chains were piled up."……."The other students using the training room admired Ciel’s overwhelming presence, but also started quietly backing away from her.They didn’t know the reason, but something told them instinctively that going near Ciel right now would be dangerous.Ciel calmly accepted the fearful gazes of the students and continued to hit the sandbag.Training, in the end, is a fight against oneself.There was no need to care how others looked at her.Right now, Ciel’s head was filled with only one thought: to become even stronger.Thud—.But countless questions dug into that determination.Every time Ciel’s fist struck the sandbag, the questions grew stronger and shook her heart.Without stopping her hands, Ciel kept thinking as she pounded the sandbag.Why.Why had Loen changed that day, seven years ago?And why—Why did he stain himself with evil deeds only to shoulder the infamy?And why—Why had he, after rising from his sickbed, reformed himself once again?Thud—.Why.Whenever she saw him getting along with others so easily, why did it hurt so much in one corner of her heart?Crunch—.As Ciel’s fist slammed in with tremendous force—Boom—.The sandbag burst open, spilling its contents over the floor.Sand poured down in a torrent beneath the torn bag."Whoo, whoo."Breathing heavily, Ciel silently watched the sand spilling onto the ground."……."Silence filled the training room.After watching the sand pour out for some time and steadying her breath, Ciel absentmindedly reached for the black necklace around her neck.Ssshhh—.As the necklace glowed, the sand scattered across the floor responded to Ciel’s mana, gathering on its own into a single clump.Swaaah—.The sand then moved straight into the trash can placed in the corner of the training room.Once she finished cleaning up, Ciel quietly sighed, shaking off all the tangled thoughts.'……The reason doesn’t matter.'Why Loen had changed in the past, and why he was changing once again now—The reason behind his every action, and even her own feelings, didn’t matter.Her role was simply to stand by his side and silently witness and accompany his beginning and end.All she had to do was remain by him with the same expressionless face as always.And for that—'I’ll become… stronger.'Clench—.Ciel tightened her fists.Loen, who had been growing stronger by the day ever since he rose from his sickbed.At this rate of growth, there might come a day when he no longer needed her protection.A day when she could no longer serve at his side.That was the one thing she could not allow.Ciel Yurapia.She lived to protect Loen.***A few days later. Near the Union main building.A small dueling ground where my Competition Battle with Ciel was to be held.There were no crowds like when I fought Meyer, and no grand stage with fancy lighting.It was just a plain dueling ground the size of a tennis court, made of grayish-white tiles.Naturally, there weren’t many spectators, either. But the faces among those few were anything but ordinary.Because of that, Ciel’s friends, who had come to cheer for her, were completely intimidated and huddled on one side of the dueling ground.Glancing over the gathered onlookers, I asked,"……Why did this many people show up?"I just wanted to quietly fight the match, but with this many eyes on us…In response to my complaint, Elena, who had volunteered as today’s Competition Battle announcer, answered,"Why else? We’re here to watch. Everyone has their own reasons, of course.""And why are you here?""Adler said we should come see the match. This is the first time you’re facing a proper martial artist, isn’t it?""That’s true."Up to now, most of my opponents in Competition Battles had been mages like Meyer.This was my first time facing a true hand-to-hand specialist at this level—Ciel."Since I came to watch anyway, I thought I’d help by hosting. It reminds me of the Territory War and all.""Hmm."I more or less accepted Elena’s reason for being here.When I turned my gaze, Beatrice spoke next."Yulina wanted to come watch. I had nothing in particular to do, so I tagged along.""……."I shifted my eyes to Yulina, sitting beside Beatrice.Judging from that very entertained expression, she probably really wanted to see me lose.Turning again, I looked at Freya sitting next to them.Freya didn’t say anything to me. She simply met Ciel’s gaze and gave a slight nod.So she hadn’t come to cheer for me, but for Ciel, whom she’d spent time with during the Sports Festival.Next to her sat Kiriel.She was hugging her bag tightly to her side, just waiting for the Competition Battle to end.It seemed she was more interested in our private tutoring session afterward than the match itself.In the end, the only ones genuinely hoping for my victory were Illeina over there, Philip, and Josephine.I let out a long sigh, then asked Ciel, who was standing opposite me."Ciel, did you have to embarrass me like this in front of such a star-studded audience?"Ciel, who had been silently staring at me, finally opened her mouth."I am merely performing the duties entrusted to me.""I don’t recall ever ordering you to defeat me in a Competition Battle."Unmoved by my joke, Ciel quietly took out her student ID.In other words: quit talking and hurry up.Heartless as always.While I was talking with Ciel, Elena stepped in."All right~ This match will proceed by the standard Competition Battle rules. It ends automatically if someone forfeits or becomes unable to fight. If there’s no clear outcome, the winner will be decided by the remaining barrier on the student IDs. Now, please touch your student IDs together."Standing at the center of the dueling ground, Elena held out her hands for our IDs. I took out my own and tapped it against Ciel’s.Vwooom—.The moment the IDs touched, a mana barrier spread throughout the dueling ground.Under the observation of the magic tools, my Competition Battle with Ciel began.As I tugged at my gloves and steadied my breath, Ciel suddenly spoke."Loen.""What is it?"In a calm voice, Ciel made a suggestion."For this match… could you perhaps forfeit?""……I don’t quite follow what you mean."I tilted my head.Forfeit, out of nowhere?Ciel wouldn’t ask that just to maintain her rank.If she truly wanted a high rank, she wouldn’t be sitting at exactly 100th place right now.After a brief thought, I spoke."Who is that suggestion for?""……For me—no, for you, Loen."With a blank face, Ciel answered as she looked at me. I slowly nodded.I didn’t know what she was thinking, but she was asking me to forfeit out of concern for me, most likely.But I couldn’t accept her proposal."I see. Honestly, there would be no problem at all if I forfeited just because you asked. Even if I lost to you, I could just climb back up by beating other students. However—"Slick—.I ran my hand along the Azoth Sword hanging at my waist as I continued."Beating you and moving ahead means more than just a simple rank-up. I won’t keep hiding behind you anymore, Ciel."Hearing my answer, Ciel lightly bit her lip and said,"……If that’s your decision."Flash—."I will simply defeat you head-on!"With a shout, Ciel vanished from my view in an instant.Even doped up on Blessing of Fierabras and enhancement stones, I lost track of her movements.At the same time—Flash—.As if she had teleported, Ciel’s form suddenly appeared right in front of my nose.Her fist, loaded with overwhelming power, had already reached my face.I barely reacted in time, crossing my arms to block Ciel’s attack.Crack—.The physical resistance engravings and the suit’s defense shattered instantly.At the same time, the thin Aegis barrier I’d spread under the suit also broke.Brute strength surpassing Meyer’s magic armor.Creak—.Feeling my arms bend under Ciel’s monstrous power, I was flung far away."Khf."Coughing out a breath as I tumbled across the floor, I rolled to the side without even pausing to catch my breath.Boom—!Ciel leapt in and slammed down on the spot where I had just been lying.I rolled again to the side, and each time, Ciel punched the ground where I’d been, relentlessly closing the distance.Bang— bang— bang—.Like a wrecking tank, Ciel crushed her way through the dueling ground as she charged.'……This is no joke.'Until now, I’d been able to subdue my opponents with proper use of items and doping, but Ciel outclassed me in every aspect of raw physical ability.That meant I had no choice but to fight her with magic.Biting my lip, I sprang to my feet and kicked off the ground, retreating in a bounce.Then I launched the mana chains stored in my gloves toward Ciel’s limbs.Clatter—.The mana chains shot out and wrapped around Ciel’s wrists and ankles in an instant.'Got her.'If I could just bind her movement even for a moment, I could create an opening.I smiled at the thought, but right then Ciel’s eyes flashed as she muttered,"……You think these can restrain anyone?"At the same moment—Creak—.Ciel grabbed the chains around her wrists and pulled."……!"A sudden tug made my body lurch forward, and I thrust a foot out to keep my balance.No way.Groooan—.I swallowed hard as I looked at the taut mana chains.These chains were strong enough to restrain even demons.No matter how strong Ciel might be, I never imagined she’d be able to yank on them and restrict my movement instead.Which meant her brute strength exceeded my mana output.'At this rate, I’ll end up caught and held by Ciel’s strength.'I quickly made a decision and fired off the chains binding Ciel’s limbs entirely.Shrrrrk—.Ciel snatched every one of the chains I’d fired with deft hands and flung them to the floor.Shatter—.The mana chains broke apart into particles of mana and vanished.Ciel «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» tilted her head slightly as she looked at me."Is that all you have to show me?""……."I stared at Ciel, standing there without a hint of instability.Ciel was a pure martial artist who didn’t use mana.I didn’t know where her monstrous power came from, but even if I made contact with Millia’s mana gauntlet, I wouldn’t be able to drain much mana from her.And even if I did drain some and tried to fire magic, I didn’t know if I could hit her.Because her speed far surpassed mine.With my current skill, I had no way to oppose Ciel."Whoo."I let out a deep breath and gripped the Azoth Sword at my waist.Clench—.The blade adhered to my hand as naturally as if it were a part of my body.I couldn’t fight her with my current abilities alone—but with this sword, I still had a chance.I fixed my eyes on the five-colored light streaming from the letters engraved on the blade and spoke."No. Not yet, Ciel."

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