Chapter 23 - Victory Part 2

She needed way more strength. More. More.

She closed her eyes. Red Bear... Next time we meet... I'll crush you.

...

**BAM.**

...

That was the end...

She opened her eyes and found an armor before her.

That ever-familiar armor...

That day, that armor also appeared before her at the last second... That day...

No! But she had already sworn to herself...

Did nothing change since that day?

...

Another M-Armor charged at him.

Move. Move. MOVE.

Why won’t you move!

...

Vor-chan won? That M-Armor was blown away...

Summon? Did Vor-chan have a summon? Is that Vor-chan? Who is that lizard? Where are you, Vor-chan?

[Vorst: Wait here.]

That’s Vor-chan’s voice. There is no way she would be mistaken... Vor-chan is in that M-Armor? What’s going on, Vor-chan?

But somehow that voice... It felt reassuring...

Wow. That was finished in a flash. The Red Bear that could defeat senpais was defeated so quickly! But is that really Vor-chan? Because Vor-chan was supposed to be weak...

Then Vorst’s white bot suddenly arrived and took her away from him...

What? Why? Vor-chan? I want to be next to you!

[Vorst (white bot): It’s gonna take a while. Wait for me.]

At that moment, Vorst’s face appeared in her imagination. His crystal-clear green eyes were full of that arrogant confidence, and with a smirk, he said, “Humph. Small fries like these I can take on anytime, so wait for a bit,” and he petted her head...

That’s right... That’s Vor-chan.

I believe in you, Vor-chan.

***

[Place: Special Lounge]

[Claire: ... To think that a second monster would be born...]

No one else could utter a word looking at the logs... It completely defied common sense.

[Claire: Doesn’t this remind you of the old times, Mist?]

[Mistglan: ...]

Mistglan, in the past, also soloed caves—that’s how he was noticed by a passing Claire. He is what they call a talent that appears once in a zillion. One per universe. A complete genius born purely for battle. He was created to fight, and in terms of battle talent, he was comparable to Calla, which definitely certified his strength. An inhuman reaction speed, accuracy, power, speed, even pain threshold. He could easily overdrive his body to break through limits, one after another.

[Claire: Though Vorst is probably an even bigger monster...]

[Mistglan: Right... That punch was powerful... Most probably empowered with ‘Runes’...]

‘Runes’... A power rarer than any type of Psychic. Through special nano-photon arrangements, they empower the user, granting a desired (or not) effect. It all depended on arrangement, movements, and various other factors. Only the gifted could actually see and recognize patterns... In this world, they were called Witches... That’s right, all of them female... Vorst... What are you?!

[Claire: ... That too... but what I really meant is how easily he deals with girls.]

[Mistglan: ...]

[Dermea: ... "Poor Mistglan-sensei. That must have hurt."]

Then on the screen, Vorst moved. He charged against 500 opponents.

[Mistglan: Hex Shield...]

He whispered, but the place was already so quiet that everyone clearly heard him. Claire and Dermea nodded.

[Dermea: It’s a Circle Tier skill. But that’s just because it’s difficult; it’s not limited to a big photon pool... though it’ll be thin, it’s true that no HST guns will be able to break through that...]

Shields are different from barriers. The Barrier was the lifeline of the Mechanical Machines; it is the main frame charged with nano-photons. Once the opponent destroyed that armor, the rest could be cut through easily. Shields were what pilots deployed consciously to absorb additional damage.

Then it came to melee. White flash, black sweep... Black and white dance. White and black whirlwind... But by no means did it merge into gray; both of them were completely distinct, as if the two were water and oil.

[Claire: ... He’s...]

[Mistglan: ...]

[Claire: ... He’s enjoying it.]

The Headmistress was definitely right. As expected from a person whose Insight Marc acknowledged. The playful personality of Marc was completely exposed in this battle. That was the difference between him and Mist. Consecutive strikes. Side-steps. Lightning-fast counters. Feints. Everything in completely fluid motions. With no regular pace. Consecutive bursts, then for several seconds, he would stay in one place. Then flash somewhere else...

That was the difference between him and Calla. Black Angel would fight with a straightforward attitude with all her power, while facing a difficult opponent, she would tirelessly exchange blows until he made a mistake. Marc, on the other hand, would actively try to make his opponent trip. He would purposely show a small opening for an instant... lure... trap... and utterly CRUSH.

One was a Fighter, the other a Predator, Beast, Hunter.

[Claire: He’s perfect.]

A lot of scratches appeared on Marc’s M-Armor, even several deep ones. But each of them was exchanged for an opponent’s life. The number of opponents was dropping at a horrifying speed. And as their numbers dropped, the openings he showed decreased as well...

[Mistglan: No HST is capable of beating him. Right now, the only ones that can match him are Lower Circle Tiers...]

[Claire: Mist, I’ve decided on your promotion.]

Liger showed a wry smile... On the screen, the Golden Dragon had already finished off half of the M-Armors, and dozens had started running away. With Celina’s permission, several team leaders decided to back away from the battle... They were retreating from a 1v500 battle!

[Claire: Fufu, I promised you after all. The HST A Class seems good enough, right?]

Mistglan brought his hand to silently facepalm himself...

Every single teacher in the Special Lounge sympathized with him, even the current HST A Class teacher, but they all wisely decided to keep quiet...

***

As Celina Nec went down, Vorst turned around. With several strides, he arrived before Mersa. With his M-Armor scratched all over, he looked even more imposing than before.

[--Lily--: Maaaarc. Remove the armor now.]

Lily’s mood finally recovered, and he didn’t want to ruin it again, so he did as she requested.

Click. Click. Clang. With a bit of mechanical noise, the Golden M-Armor dissipated into thin air. In its place was a black-haired 11-year-old boy in a military pilot suit (he had to store his normal Armor to wear the other one). With a clear gaze, he looked at the White Wolf Princess, who was still inside her Mechanical Armor.

[Vorst: Mer-chan.]

With a click, a hatch opened in the White M-Armor torso, and a small girl rushed out to embrace the boy.

[Mersa: Vor-chan!]

It was the sight of a princess welcoming her knight who had just returned from a successful campaign.

[--Lily--: Fufu~~ Hehe~]

[--Calla--: *Nods approvingly* Good job, Lily.]

[--Lily--: This scene was perfect.]

Two women in his soul high-fived each other. For them, the fact that Marc bested his opponents was a given from the start, no biggie.

***

Mersa’s photon pool was empty, which is why she had to open the hatch manually. Therefore, Vorst rushed to the Mars' Academy Base alone. No one opposed his plan.

[Vorst: I’ll be back. Wait for me.]

There was no uncertainty in his voice. With a last hug and a nod, he equipped his Golden Dragon and made his way towards the enemy base...

***

[Claire: This is Athena’s Victory.]

The Headmistress declared as Marc entered the innermost part of Mars' base. After the 1v500, winning in a 1v200 didn’t surprise anyone. More like everyone was too tired to be surprised.

[Dermea: He’s a boy; he should start attending Mars.]

[Claire: We already promised to let him stay in Athena, but if you think you can convince him otherwise, then go ahead.]

With that, her head pointed at the White Wolf Princess. Dermea knew it was a losing case...

Mistglan sympathetically put his hand on Dermea’s shoulder; they were both victims here. Then Liger left, following the Elf.

***

[Time: Same day, at night.]

The Wolf girl that night was again embracing the Neo-Aris (no one dared to call him powerless now).

[Mersa: Vor-chan...]

[Vorst: Yes, Mer-chan.]

[Mersa: Vor-chan... You won’t go away, right?]

[Vorst: No. Of course not.]

[Mersa: Even if... Even if I’m too weak to be with you?]

[Vorst: Hm?]

The boy turned around to face her. His emerald eyes were looking at her warmly.

[Vorst: Mer-chan... Mer-chan will never be too weak to be with me. No matter how weak you are. But I know Mer-chan has potential, so...]

He leaned over and offered her a smooch on her lips.

[Vor

st: That’s a charm. I know my Mer-chan will become truly strong.]

The Wolf Princess blushed all the way to her ears. Repeatedly nodding, she hid her face in his chest—her resolve rekindled.

[--Calla--: Smooth talker.]

[--Lily--: Smooth talks even to little girls~]

[--Marc--: ...]