In the corner of the training grounds, yet another encounter was taking place, basking in the dim light of the decorative lanterns...
The final battle of the 1st volume between the future hero and the volume's antagonist.
After confronting Vicas Lazalarius, Justin and Amelia Edemsworth's arguments were insufficient to convince him and his cronies to give in and confess their crimes.
The only option to make them face justice was subduing them with force.
Despite the difference in age and experience, Justin and Amelia made short work of Vicas's cronies, especially the young lady Edemsworth didn't seem to break a sweat… even though she appeared to be the one most determined to capture Vicas, she simply didn't have to put in all of her effort.
Alas, as the encounter turned into a two-versus-one, she stepped to the side merely using her spells to constrain Vicas's cronies, leaving Justin to face Vicas alone.
*shing*
"You…!? A commoner like you can already use a sword aura!?"
Within a single move, with Justin slashing apart the spell sent out by Vicas, the antagonist of the 1st volume called out in disbelief, fueled by anger and jealousy…
…in his outburst, missing a scene where a pane of ice grew from the outside of the Academy's barrier and reached the sky, momentarily causing a second moon to appear by reflecting the original one, before breaking apart and raining down in a myriad of sparkling shards…
He wasn't the only one. None of the people present at the scene realized or even noticed that something was going on just outside the Academy's wall so close to them…
"...!"
"...tsk…"
Amelia seemed even more surprised about her companion's skills than his opponent, and Justin himself ended up glancing back at her and clicking his tongue angrily.
"WHY!? Why is it so unfair!? Why couldn't I be half as talented as someone like you!?"
Vicas growled and unleashed an onslaught of spells that would directly oppose his own words…
And yet all of it was for naught!
All attacks were either dodged or parried by the swift future hero.
"It's not talent. Mere luck. A lucky encounter made me who I am today."
"...!?"
After sidestepping another spell and closing the distance between the two of them, Justin scoffed bitterly, shocking Vicas into flinching from confusion…
"It's not! Hard work! You should say hard work! Hard work has made you who you are today!"
"..."
"???"
Amelia Edemsworth instantly called out from the sidelines in an urgent voice, and the shocked Vicas managed to catch the expression that appeared on Justin's face…
…anger mixed with shame and even a little bit of regret…
Vicas's eyes widened… He could tell exactly what the commoner student was feeling at the moment, because he himself experienced the same so many times.
Hard work will never fail you… That's what everyone always says.
But in an environment where all sorts of geniuses and talented people gather and compete against each other, who wouldn't work hard?
When it comes down to it, when two people work equally hard, the one with talent will always beat the talentless one!
…the only thing that can be a tiebreaker in that case is…
Luck.
…just as the commoner student said…
Justin knew well the pain of being a talentless one…
Amelia Edemsworth, on the other hand, seemed adamant on wanting to push the agenda of hard work, alone, being able to scale any obstacle.
"Luck, huh…? Show me how far you took the chance given to you, then!"
"...!"
Ignoring the ignorant girl on the side, Vicas smirked at Justin and roared while only murmuring a chain of incantations and activating multiple spells at the same time, causing the future hero to breathe in in preparation.
The next moment, Justin jumped back, dodging immediate fireballs and wind blades before jumping in again, clearly determined to end the encounter with his overhead jump slash.
"!"
Vicas gritted his teeth and took a step back, raising his hands and casting additional defensive spells to withstand it, including an ice shield that grew out in front of his forearms.
The wooden blade coated in sword aura dug into the shield but ended up sliding off after not quite making it through. The force behind the attack was so strong that despite originally wanting to follow up with another slash after landing, the future hero lost his balance, leaning heavily on his left side.
"Got yo…!"
*WHOOSH* *WHAM*
Vicas called out triumphantly, convinced of his victory, but the next moment the heel of Justin's foot cut through the air and didn't simply break the remaining shield...! It pierced through every single spell that Vicas had put up and drove itself deep into his stomach…!
The future hero delivered a magnificently devastating spinning heel kick after a proper feint!
"GU-GHUAGH…! GAGH!"
The antagonist was sent flying and crashed against the outer wall with his eyes bulging out and the air forced out of his lungs from the impact.
"You did it!"
"..."
Amelia Edemsworth cheered out from the sideline, making the future hero tense up as he glanced back at her…
Did she ACTUALLY haven't noticed or was she just acting…?
Justin thought, anxiously observing the girl.
…after all, only a true sword aura could be applied to anything other than a sword…
But, it seemed that Amelia hadn't figured out that was what happened and merely believed Justin's kick to be empowered by the internal augmenting and enhancing spells.
"Ki-kiiiii!"
"!!!"
Vicas's contracted fae, a fuzzy ball of fluff with bat wings, materialized out of his shadow and charged at Justin with a fearless screech.
"Strig! No! RUN!"
"Ki-kii?!"
But Vicas already knew it was over. The kick that sent him flying seemed to have some unusual properties, and he could no longer muster any mana for even a single spell, so he shouted at his fae, causing it to come to a halt, flapping its wings and screeching in confusion.
"They want to kill you, Strig! Run! I release you from our contract! Just run!"
"Ki…? K-kii-kiiiiii!"
Vicas shouted hastily, causing his fae to hesitate for a second, but the moment a few particles of white light were released from its body as a visual representation of their contract dissolving. Strig instantly retreated, flying towards the outer wall without a second glance at its former master.
"Catch her! We can't let her get away!"
"...!"
Amelia called from the sidelines, spurring Justin into action.
The future hero charged at the fae about to cross the Academy's barrier, about to jump, when…
*thump*
"Gack!?"
A human hand seemingly grew from behind the wall and grabbed the fae that released a sound that definitely wasn't its usual screeching…