Somewhere in a ghost town, bodies of monsters littered the streets. Inside the buildings, stuck to the walls, everywhere the eyes could see, there was part of a monster.
The open-air cemetery formed a track leading to a square, and inside this square two people were confronting each other.
Dora and Iris, in their usual mock battle, were rushing at each other in explosive showdowns.
Candace, Midgard, and Eryl were spectators, and soon a familiar figure joined them.
"How are things here?" asked Elizabeth.
She came from time to time and was here followed by Cid.
Candace waved at them to come closer.
"Depends on who you ask. Iris has been doing great all along, better than expected, but that means Dora isn't as tasty as we'd like."
"Hm?... It's weird, their energy keeps increasing tenfold every time I come back... Aren't they already A-rank?"
Eryl ran her finger over her lips, looking thoughtful.
"It's more complicated, the power of an A-rank varies according to each person's potential, they are beyond the average A-rank, but..."
Dora crashed near them. He stood still for a moment before getting up without a scratch.
"What resilience... I often forget that he's part tank." Elizabeth crossed her arms proudly.
Cid looked at Dora with disdain and put his hands in his pockets.
"So all this talk and he's still getting trashed? How ironic."
"Do you think you can do better, young man?" Elizabeth teased him.
"If I hadn't been injured for so long, you wouldn't have even heard of him. But now I'm closing the gap."
He clenched his fist with determination, paying no attention to the sigh of empathy from the women around him.
Dora put his hands on his hips and for a moment, Iris who was standing on a lamp post jumped in front of him.
"What's wrong? Why are you stopping? Did I hurt you? Was I too rough?"
Dora frowned and looked at her.
"Do you even realize that you've never hurt me? Stop trying to be nice, it's boring and we won't be friends."
"Huh? What's wrong?... Did I offend you again? I really didn't mean to insult you!"
They argued like this for a while, which seemed to annoy Cid.
"Look at her... I could swear she's a completely different person. Just wait until I surpass you both, you'll regret ignoring me."
"No offense, boy, but I really don't see you sitting at this table."
"... Shouldn't you worry about your brother first?"
Elizabeth flinched and looked away, embarrassed.
She hadn't seen Hope since that time at the academy and after hearing his confession to Mercy, she couldn't muster up the courage.
Her last idea was to meet him "by accident" here and have an explanation, but that too had failed.
"YOU KIDDING!"
A shout from Iris took her from her shadow.
"Since I'm telling you? I can't let you pamper me, because you are annoying, and I've been hiding my trump card this whole time."
"Wait-wait-wait, I'm about to have a heart attack... You... aren't going all out from the beginning... And you're not referring to this form you're forbidden to use because of your Sin?"
Candace and the others seemed surprised to hear that and came closer.
Dora took a distinguished pose, a smug on the lips.
"Exactly, or more like, half accurate. So you see, after being pounded so many times by your damned sword, which you took care never to remove from its sheath to better humiliate me..."
"I didn't…"
"I developed an ultimate strategy to take my revenge... The journey was long and perilous... I tried again and again, every los-... every non-ability to defeat you before being unfairly judged defeated and by someone who calls herself your mentor... All of that fueled my motivation..."
Candace sighed and shrugged her shoulders, while the other women tried to hide their laugh.
"And then one day, I found the truth! The very essence of this world, the concept of existence!"
"Aren't you tired of acting so stupid?" Cid asked with his usual tone.
"Don't make me come there, young boy, I could rip your fucking remaining leg."
Cid grunted and looked away.
"So, like I was saying, I found a way, fitting my attributes, to become even better than ever."
"Is that true? You've never pulled something like that." Candace insisted.
Dora took a few steps backward and glanced at Midgard.
"Because, dear dean, the best weapon is the one hidden behind the strongest, don't be worried about the attack incoming, be afraid of the one that's still charging."
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"It's a youngster's expression, of course, you wouldn't know."
While Elizabeth was busy holding back Candace, Dora put his hands together and faced Iris.
"Here's the culmination of my most powerful abilities: first, let's begin with a little schooling, creation magic."
Blue and white particles gathered in his hands, converging into a mass of energy.
"This formidable power allows me to create any physical things, or more precisely, tangibles. Paper, rocks, water, wood, metal... Sword."
The energy took the form of a beautiful sword with refined patterns.
Iris, a finger on her lips, nodded like a child.
"That's... That's a big sword... Big and beautiful."
"Yes, but here's where the real magic begins, creating a sword would be simple, and the more simple an action is, the more insignificant it actually becomes... So now, I won't create this sword right away, I'll infuse the particles with gravity magic."
The energy, with the shape of a sword, turned purple and started to shake.
Everyone watched now with high interest.
"This is now a sword with an edge inflicting gravitational magic, but only when infused with magic."
"Gravity? On the edge... so this sword hit hard?"
"Does it? Maybe it does, but it doesn't end here."
"There's more?!" Iris leaned forward, her eyes shining.
"Dearie, What are you doing?" Midgard asked intrigued.
Several particles of energy appeared and gathered in the mass of energy.
The sword began to take form and release a strange and refined aura.
"Last step, the special moment, are you ready?"
Iris nodded quickly.
"This part is very special, and can only be achieved by me. I decompose my spiritual pressure into an ideological form and a realistic form. The concept is, that the ideological form is the invisible energy that will follow the will of realistic energy... Take a fireball for example, the fire is the realistic part, the ball is the ideological part, the shape you want to give it."
Eryl raised an eyebrow and redoubled her attention. For everyone, this scene was surreal, it was no longer just a show of strength, but the insolent boy was reminding them that the reason he was endorsed in the first place, was because he was a genius.
The sword emitted a mesmerizing light and gave off a mystical energy.
"Separating the ideological part allows me to use its concept at a physical level if I infuse it to every particle of energy of this sword, this allows me to create something I call a Law."
"A law? I see, I see." Iris nodded.
"This Law is a general rule that the particles will follow. For example, let's say that on an ideological level, the particles will increase their defensive energy to not break and in response to the increase in defense, the gravity magic-infused particles will increase the power of gravity. This makes a sword that will exponentially increase your attack and will never break."
Iris clapped her hands in amazement, the others looked in shock.
"What the... This brat is actually a real genius..." Candace murmured.
Dora took the sword that emanated with a radiant energy, he inspected the shape and gave a teasing smile to his audience.
"That's... That's an amazing sword..." Iris said.
"Yes... and now, I have it in my hands."
"... What are you gonna do with this sword?"
"Hm? What I'm gonna do? You're asking me what I'm gonna do with this sword?" He raised his sword. "Look what I'm going to do. I'm raising this sword..."
"Uh-Uh."
"I infuse it with gravity magic..." the sword covered itself in an invisible aura.
Iris leaned even closer.
"And then…"
"Holy... Iris watch out!" Candace shouted, but the sword was already a few centimeters above Iris's forehead.
A powerful shockwave shook the place and sent Eryl and Cid onto their feet.
The group, too late in reaction, watched in horror the cruel fate of Iris.
But they soon opened their mouths paralyzed.
Iris, sword drawn, countered Dora's formidable blow.
"... You dare defend yourself when I attack you... And how did you even block that one? What kind of logic is that?!"
Iris tried to smile, but the pressure of the weapon pushed her blade back.
She jumped backwards, a wide excited smile that showed all her teeth.
Behind, Candace was furious,
"Are you crazy?! You could have killed her, you idiot!"
She tried to rush to them, but Elizabeth stopped her.
"Hey, Ely, this isn't the time for…"
She suddenly stopped talking, seeing a brand new expression on Elizabeth.
"... um... Ely?"
"Miss Candace, did I ever ask you for a favor?"
Elizabeth, smiled melancholy at her. The dean didn't answer, drowning in the eyes of her disciple.
"Miss Candace, if you really care about this girl, do you mind... letting her have the freedom to live this moment to the fullest?"
"... Uh?"
Iris grabbed her sword, shaking. Her smile looked more and more like a grimace, and sweat started to bead on her forehead.
"... Miss Candace?"
She called for her mentor, the dean, increasingly troubled clenched her fist.
"Iris?"
"I can't... I can't fight him... I won't defeat him if I can't unleash my sword."
"... You people are so stupid... You could just use a wooden... Aah Dammit! Fine, I allow you to kill each other now, may you suffer forever!"
At the words of the dean, Iris calmed down and looked at Dora.
The boy checked his sword and stared back.
"Well, Dora... I've never used my sword like this in friendly battle... but all my instincts tell me that I'm going to lose... for the first time if I don't go all out."
"... I literally just created one sword, why are you turned on?"
"Because you don't give off a feeling of doubt as usual, even after hearing that I'll go serious... and as a certain genius once said, the first weapon is just a threat, but the real weapon is the one hidden in the shadow."
Dora frowned and unleashed powerful waves of energy.
"You're not getting away this time, I prepared this mode especially for you, it is called: Iris's Killer... Synergy: Beta-Sigma"
As the energy swirled around him, the air behind him started to distort. Suddenly, several large spears emerged from the space, along with blue and yellow particles swirling around him. He balanced on a sword, taking his finger sword pose.
"Are you ready, La~dy Iris?"
Iris gulped, with a relieved smile on her lips and clenched her sword.
"For over ten years."
A rain of spears fell on the girl, who spun around, surrounded by her aura, and struck with her sword which destroyed the weapons in a flash of light.
In a magnificent display, Iris and Dora were surrounded by shining pieces of weapons covered by magic particles.
The two with confident smiles, Dora above, Iris on the ground, seeming almost immobile, forming the masterpiece of a painter.
And then, they both charged towards each other. Spears, swords, daggers, axes, and every kind of weapon appeared out of nowhere and were aimed at the girl. Iris, who was like a goddess of swordsmanship, moved swiftly around them, dodging and slicing.
Sometimes, she found herself trapped in a cage of blades, with almost no escape, but she always managed to reach Dora somehow. However, when she hit him, the creation magic would gather on the spot where she hit him, and push her back.
Although she had touched him many times, the boy never seemed to get hurt nor flinch, despite Iris' increasing attack. She decided to give it one last try and made sure to keep her eyes wide open.
As the creation magic pushed her back more forcefully than ever before, Iris finally understood something.
Perfect Defense.
The culmination of Dora's creation magic, used on himself.
The light particles worked the same way as for the sword enhancement.
Every time Dora received a hit, the particles infused with the ideological concept created a law consisting of returning the force received by equivalent energy, like a mirror.
To put it simply, Iris's attacks could only meet their rebound, no matter where she hit.
This battle was no longer a show of strength, but endurance, where the loser would be the first one to lose stamina.
Realizing that, as she fell around swords, a tear came from the young girl.
(All my life... All my life I've been waiting...)
She turned around herself, a blinding light followed, and turned the sword into debris, which gathered and formed smaller swords, then daggers, again and again.
(I've waited so long... How long has it been? Since the last time I felt so alive?)
The thing happened decades ago. The Avalon clan was a lineage of powerful knights throughout centuries.
It is said that they are among the most pure and famous clans in the Kingdom, alongside other great names like the Astaroth.
They were considered the strongest and most prolific, in the domain of Royal Knights, and about 14 years ago, a miracle happened among the miracles.
At the age of 4 years old, a little girl accomplished a surprising feat for her young age.
Armed with only a stick, she had destroyed a heavy steel training doll, a feat only possible by the use of reinforcement magic.
After that, she was considered a genius, and many tutors followed one another for her training.
At the age of 10, she gained widespread recognition as the most promising student of her age. She was greatly admired and considered a role model. Her achievements were deemed flawless, and she was not only seen as an exceptional phenomenon but also a future goddess. Her name became a popular topic among the nobility, and she was introduced to several duke families, including the Astaroth. However, her fame grew so much that many stopped pursuing her as they believed that someone as extraordinary as her could only belong to the highest house - the Royal Castle.
(It's always been like this, everyone praises me, worships me... But I've never understood why. I don't remember this story of destroying a training doll, and I don't know why they say that I'm so strong... Everything I do is giving a hit, Why is it so special?)
This tale was the story of a girl blessed with great power, but aware of herself.
She never saw herself as a prodigy, all she had to do was try something and she succeeded.
For everyone else, it was a century-old talent, but for her, it was like praising her for acting naturally.
(I am the strongest? I'm not even A-rank, why do you focus on me? Lady Elizabeth is far stronger than me, why are they all complimenting what I did? I met so many people, I fought many of them, but the result was always the same: when I try just a little to get serious, they stay on the ground.)
Lying in the air, among millions of tiny weapons, She looked at Dora. It seemed like the time had stopped around her.
(But you're different... You were the first one to point out that I wasn't so special, they were just too weak... They asked me to be the student council President, and without waiting for my answer, everyone was already rooting for me...)
She slashed in front of her, creating a space to escape the blade storm, as she moved forward, parts of her armor started to be disintegrated.
(... The more I destroy them, the smaller they become, and they multiply... But their toughest keep increasing... Is that another law?)
She looked above again, and Dora, with another hand gesture, threw several giant spears at her.
(... I regret it... I regret so much... having misjudged you... You're just like me, you're not trying to be the best because there's no competition here... Your only opponent is yourself. I put my trust in my council members, I hoped one of them could give me a real challenge for once... I was the one who pushed to select only the strongest students, I wished to be surrounded by people like me, people who could understand me... See me like a normal person... these people would be the world to me...)
Her armor was being destroyed more and more, she dodged three spears and broke a dozen with a slash.
(But no matter who I chose... Lisa never managed to give me a challenge, so she focused on students of her rank, Sunnah is too afraid to use her power, so she remains an E-rank... Cid had such great potential, but he never corrected his weaknesses, and there are a lot of them... Thomas was the best among them... he was strong, he was talented, he had a work ethic... I saw him as someone who could understand me, be my special person, the one who could see a face of me that no one else could... and help me to feel these emotions, that are burning me now... but it seemed like I was just too selfish.)
A burst of energy made the earth shake.
Dora flinched and stared in surprise at the girl whose aura was spreading around her, covering the whirlwind of blades.
"I was wrong to complain, none of them is wrong in this story, I was just a mistake... Because I am an anomaly in this world!" She shouted, holding her sword in an offensive stance.
"No kidding, you're really an anomaly now," Dora said clasping his hands.
The whirlwind turned blue and red, while Iris'sword shone brightly.
"I am an anomaly, and this is why I can't let go of you! You're the only one who can understand me, who can make me feel human! The one who will never see me as a genius... because you're greater than me! So please..."
A bright light covered the scene, engulfing everything.
"... Let me taste defeat for once."
The light destroyed the whirlwind in its entirety, reducing fragments of weapons into particles of weapons.
But despite the destruction, the girl kept slashing around her, again and again, faster and faster.
One could think that she was becoming crazy, but she was more aware than anyone who was watching her, aware of what was surrounding her.
"Law of Destruction and Creation: Infinite cycle" Dora's eyes shone brightly and he opened his hands, letting appear a small white orb.
The whirlwind of weapons around Iris was indeed reduced to smithereens, but each crumb turned into smaller weapons, stronger than the previous due to the effect of the Law, and destroyed themselves thanks to the use of creation magic to decompose them.
The weapons kept shrinking and increasing tenfold in number and forming a cloud of lethal particles.
Iris spun around, unable to think. Slashing, again and again, but her body was unable to protect itself from the rebound of her own increased power.
Her armor was destroyed, and her angelic and intact skin was outlined with red dots.
A few blue hairs flew away, but she never lost her smile.
She continued to dance, in this fatal spectacle, where her legendary armor was delicately removed, and suddenly, with a last breath, she muttered before closing her eyes.
"... Thank you for everything."
She stopped moving and greeted her audience with a shower of red petals spreading everywhere.
"IRIS!!!!" Candace shouted as everyone watched in shock.
Dora opened his eyes wide and clapped his hands, dispelling the attack.
Iris started to fall to the ground, Candace rushed towards her, but before she could catch her, she stopped in the air, or rather was stopped.
Dora used his magic to stop her fall and came down to her from above, before using healing magic on her.
In front of them, Candace was trembling with emotion, she had thought she was going to lose her student, but as soon as she saw Dora's face, her rage was replaced by confusion.
"Crazy, you're crazy! This is the last time I fight you with weapons!"
"Haha... hey, it's just... a scratch... I still have some fight in me."
"It wouldn't be just a scratch if it had lasted longer, you idiot! Don't use me to kill yourself!"
Iris laughed, stronger by the time her injuries disappeared.
Candace seemed invisible to them, and, on her knee, watched this incredible display of the Avatar of Greed being genuinely worried about injuring his opponent.
That day, she had witnessed two miracles: the humanity of a Sin, but also the humanity of a genius, as both of them stopped acting like godlike beings, but just as friends, like she could have seen in her very long life.
Iris, with a big smile on her lips, lay on her back and watched her blood flow from a cut on her hand.
"Wow... so even I have red blood... It's so weird to lose, I feel like I've left something undone."
"The whole story of my life."
"Ha... How's that?... Hey, Dora, what about you joining the student council? It would be so much fun with you around."
"... You serious? Well, what's about no? And by no, I mean bloody no!"
"Yep, I knew you would say that... because that's also what I would have said... But I'm still trapped there so... what if we make a bet? If I win the next fight, you join!"
She laughed, like the girl she forgot she was, like the human she was denied to be.
At this moment, no one could be seen around them, they were in their own world.
Some people here could be stronger than them, but appeared Invisibles, as both had found a new part of themselves and were feeling immense gratitude for the one who helped them to learn about themselves.
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