‘Waaaaaah!’
There were cheers in the audience, but there were also those who had been watching the tournament since yesterday and were baffled.
“What the hell! Why did Reinhardt lose!”
Olivia Lanze exclaimed in confusion.
This was mostly the reaction of the Royal Class. Even the ones from Class B were like that.
Reinhardt, who had been undefeated, repeatedly backed away from Scarlett, and was ultimately pushed back and lost the first set.
Sure, Scarlett’s swordplay was elegant and swift, and she was quick to take advantage of openings..
But even with that, it felt like Reinhardt was strangely helpless.
Everyone in the room realized that something was going on, but they didn’t know what.
“He’s not using his supernatural ability.”
Except for Ellen.
“…what?”
“He’s not using his supernatural ability.”
No one else knew, but Ellen did.
She knew everything about Reinhardt’s sword because she’s sparred with him more times than she could count. His habits, his preferred tactic, his strength when using his supernatural ability and his strength without it. She knew every detail of it.
That’s why she could tell that Reinhardt was somehow unable to use the power of Self-Suggestion right now.
“Why can’t he use it?”
“I don’t know.”
It was Harriet who spoke up at Ellen’s words.
“That… Scarlett’s talent is [Anti-Magic]. Maybe it has something to do with that?”
Ellen didn’t care much about the details of Class B’s talents, but Harriet knew about it because of the Magic Research Society. [Anti-Magic], a very unique talent, and a very powerful one, depending on the circumstances.
Ellen nodded at the idea that there might be supernatural abilities at play.
“So, does that mean Reinhardt can’t use his powers…”
“What the hell! Reinhardt is a supernatural ability user! It’s not fair if you prevent him from using them!”
Olivia sulked, but no one talked about whether or not those powers could be considered cheating too.
This senior, who was ridiculously pro-Reinhardt, would always sing his praises and defend him no matter what he did, no matter the reason.
It’s no use talking to a stubborn person, so it’s better to just let them do whatever they want and tire themselves out.
That’s the only solution.
A freakish talent called [Anti-Magic].
It was a powerful talent, and it’s the reason Scarlett got Reinhardt on the ropes.
Overhearing the conversation, Saviolin Turner looked over at Reinhardt, who had been recalled to the arena for the second set.
Charlotte was watching Scarlett and Reinhardt.
Scarlett.
Reinhardt.
They both meant different things to her, but they were both important to her.
They’re both people she felt sorry for when her heart leaned one way or the other.
And now they were fighting against each other
“What’s going to happen?”
At Charlotte’s question, Savior Turner shook her head.
“It will be difficult for Reinhardt.”
Saviolin Turner didn’t know much about Reinhardt’s supernatural ability, but if most of his cards were sealed, then the outcome was clear.
Unless he summoned Tiamata.
But that was something that couldn’t be shown easily.
Saviolin Turner predicted Reinhardt’s defeat.
Had he met Scarlett in the finals, he could have been in second place, or even the champion if Scarlett had been defeated in the quarterfinals..
To conclude.
Reinhardt was very unfortunate, bracket-wise.
I was forced to lose the next set just like the first.
‘Set score now 2:0! One more set in Scarlett’s favor and she’s guaranteed a spot in the finals!’
The emcee’s voice rang out enthusiastically.
The screen alternated between an image of a calm Scarlett and me who was scowling. She said she would do her best, and she did.
I did my best in our rare sparring matches, giving it my all.
But Scarlett had not used her ability against me until now.
She is doing her best here out of respect to me.
The words “cut me some slack” rose to the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t get them out. I have my powers, and she has hers.
We just used them against each other.
She didn’t laugh at me when I lost, but she didn’t worry about me either.
I’m your hero?
How could I be your hero when I’m so weak against you?
Of course, I know it’s not about skill, but in front of Scarlet’s expressionless face, I can’t find a way to get through.
In the first place, I was only relying on my various abilities to close the gap against opponents whose skills surpassed mine.
Without any of those, there was no way I could defeat anyone.
I hadn’t expected for Scarlett to become an obstacle.
I hadn’t considered the possibility that Scarlett’s talent might block my abilities. Since that wasn’t possible in the original, I figured it couldn’t be possible here either.
Using Liana as an example, in the original, if Liana’s lightning bolt hits Scarlett, it would do no damage to Scarlett.
Now, Liana wouldn’t even be able to start gathering voltage in Scarlett’s presence.
I had to admit it.
I was arrogant.
I was thinking about the final after Scarlett, not her.
But the reality was that I had struggled here, lost two sets, and now I had to accept defeat.
There was no way I could win.
After all, most of my strength was reliant on my supernatural abilities.. Against Scarlett who negated them all, I was practically useless.
The good news was that Scarlett was the only person in the world with that level of immunity.
I wondered if I should accept that the price of arrogance was defeat.
“Are you giving up?”
Scarlett asked, not approaching me, even though the start of the third set had already been announced.
“…”
“Is it because the supernatural ability you suddenly received one day is gone, and without it, you’re just an incompetent, shabby fool who can’t even do anything?”
Scarlett asks that quietly. Was I being scolded right now?
Was she mocking me, calling me a pathetic dog with its tail between its legs because all of my abilities were sealed?
It didn’t sound like it.
“You’re not.”
Scarlett said, pointing her sword at me.
“When you were fighting that third year, when you knew no one was going to help you, when you knew you were going to get beaten up worse if you got up, you kept… You kept getting up.”
Scarlett takes a step closer to me.
“I remember the look in your eyes then.”
What I was thinking then.
It was a long time ago, so I don’t remember the details. But sometimes someone else remembers things better than I do.
That seemed to be the case with Scarlett.
It was an unforgettable memory for me, but it seemed to be even more unforgettable for her.
With nothing to show for it and everyone wanting me to lose, I kept getting back up, even as I was getting beaten, knocked down, and thrown around.
No one was on my side.
Still, I managed to get back up and give Mayarton a run for his money, finally awakening my supernatural ability.
I don’t remember the look in my eyes, of course, because it was my own.
But Scarlett remembered.
“Show me those eyes again.”
Scarlett walks slowly toward me.
Not to hold my hand, but to point her sword at me.
Emotions could be two sided, but it didn’t mean they were equal..
Scarlett was not important to me, but I was important to her. I didn’t do anything for her, but she received something from me anyway, and through her efforts to make sense of it and change, she became a different person, with different abilities.
That’s why she said I was her hero.
Scarlet didn’t want me to give up here.
She didn’t want to see her hero run off with his tail between his legs just because his powers have been sealed.
Just like that.
She wanted to see me grit my teeth and get up and do something.
Scarlett didn’t know me. She just idolized me. And in that idolization, she had an idea of what she wanted me to be, even though it wasn’t the real me.
She had taken the me of that time, and built up an image in her mind with it. In a way, it was simply hero worship.
Scarlett wanted something from me.
Though, there was no reason for me to fulfill that wish.
It was just her expectation.
You can do it.
So show me.
Show me that the likes of me are no match for you.
In Scarlet’s calm, serene eyes, I see a quiet intensity.
Something that wanted me to remain her hero forever, something that wanted me to become something greater, something that wanted me to stay ahead of her….
Obsession.
The experiences of childhood molded a person. Scarlett was no exception.
Her memories of living on the streets and the bullying at Temple, it twisted her. She may have dragged herself out of the muck, but it didn’t mean that she escaped unscathed.
Scarlett found her salvation in me, not in Charlotte.
That’s why, having found salvation, She expected that savior to adhere to his way of life.
Like how I’ve always stood up, even when I know I shouldn’t.
This time, she wanted to be my trial, and she wanted me to overcome it.
Now, with my supernatural ability neutralized, I’m not much different than I was back with Mayarton during my first semester.
Scarlett had returned me to that clueless idiot from first semester.
As if to say, overcome this.
If I lost or didn’t find an answer.
Would Scarlett be disappointed in me?
And even if she was, what then?
Would she be driven to despair at the fact that her hero wasn’t a hero at all?
There’s no reason I should be responsible for all those feelings. Scarlett idolized me by her own will, and because of that, she was standing before me today.
Only, I learned the real reason she entered the tournament.
It wasn’t to prove a point.
It was a completely different reason from what I thought.
She entered the tournament to make me prove something, not herself.
She knew she was my worst enemy, and she wanted to see me surpass her.
I couldn’t fulfill those expectations, and I had no reason why I should.
I never wanted to be her hero, so there was no reason to play along.
Scarlett did not get better.
Rather than move on, she moved a different way entirely.
Her life was bound to be twisted, but meeting me twisted it in a different direction.
Scarlett.
I’ve never been comfortable with her.
She’s the victim of what I think is a strange setup: she was bullied for having red hair and red eyes.
Every time I saw her, I felt uncomfortable and guilty, like my shitty mistakes were coming back to haunt me in real life. So when Charlotte befriended Scarlett, my shoulders felt a little lightened.
Somehow it worked out.
I felt a strange sense of guilt and relief that someone else had solved my problem.
Maybe I wanted someone else to fix it for me because I didn’t want to ruin the original storyline, and I knew it was a cop-out, but I let it happen anyway.
But Scarlett had actually found salvation from me, not Charlotte.
I don’t know what would happen if Scarlett’s image of me was shattered. But when she looked up to me, she made an effort to stand up for herself and got along with everyone.
The consequences of looking up to me should only affect me.
She might try to force me to do something, she might have unreasonable expectations of me, and she might be unreasonably disappointed.
Even so.
That would be my just desserts for giving you this life.
“Yeah, Scarlett.”
My mind cleared.
I gripped my sword and pointed it at Scarlett, who took a step closer.
Self-Suggestion was sealed.
“I don’t know what you want from me.”
But that doesn’t mean the experience was gone.
The answer lied there.
“But I’ll show you all of that and more.”
Magic Body Strengthening.
Without even the aid of Self-Suggestion, I must do it.
I might get hurt, I might get injured.
If I fail, there’s no winning.
But that was fine. This girl, the one who called me her hero, the one who lived a life too late to fix, has asked me to do something for her.
She, who had lived through the misery I selfishly wrote.
I couldn’t fix her, but I could help her live with her twistedness.
I could do that much.
I couldn’t feel it, but I have felt it before.
I didn’t think I could do it, but I have.
Like going from a tricycle to a unicycle.
I knew I was going to fall off soon.
But with it I could still go a little further.
It didn’t give me any power, but that was just the nature of belief, wasn’t it?
In the first place, it was strange that believing could give me power.
Belief was usually unanswered..
Therefore, I believed, as all humans do, having returned to a state of simple faith.
I could do this.
I’ve used the power coursing through my body before, so there’s no reason I can’t do it again.
I nudged the things I could feel.
Scarlet just watched me.
-Fwoosh!.
The rush of exhilaration through my body is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
Without the aid of Self-Suggestion, I was now truly on the path to becoming a superhuman.
“… You did it.”
“Yeah.”
I’d gotten stronger, but Scarlett was even more pleased than I was that I’d gotten stronger.
You’re twisted.
Like everyone in this world was.
Like I’m responsible for every bad thing that’s happened to you.
If you overcame all your problems by idolizing me, if you could only be the way you are now because I was always in front of you.
“Here I go.”
Forever, I will be your hero.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Please report to us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!