“Damn it, damn it, damn it all…”

The feminine voice continued its rantings, trailing off vaguely into other words that some might call unladylike. The owner of that voice, Alice, was currently in the process of somehow trying to walk, button up her blazer and fix up her tie all at once. In her haste, she stumbled slightly, causing her to mutter another curse.

“Slow down a little,” called out Fiona. In contrast to Alice, the dark-haired girl seemed to be in no hurry, walking over leisurely to the dining table, where she sat down at and grabbed herself some toast. Taking a bite out of it, she looked at the blonde.

“It’s really good,” she said. “Want some?”

Alice was about to tell her exactly what she thought of the toast, when another voice answered first.

“Don’t mind if I do.”

Sura walked into the dining room, taking a seat at the table. His plate was loaded with bread, meat and boiled eggs, which he promptly began to consume, practically inhaling the food.

“Wow, you can really eat, huh?” said Fiona.

“Need fuel to function,” he replied while chewing.

“Can’t argue there. How’s the grilled chicken?”

“It’s pretty good.”

Alice watched this conversation play out in front of her, temper rising with every line the two exchanged.

Are… are they not worried about being late at all? What’s with his uniform anyway? I know he’s a delinquent, but he could at least put the blazer on. And hold on a minute: when did these two become so close anyway?

It was true: the slender, dark-haired girl (who despite a full night’s sleep still somehow had shadows under her eyes) was talking to the brawler as though they had known each other for years. The two seemed perfectly at ease around each other, having settled into a pattern where they were exchanging quips, though neither of them seemed to mind anything the other said.

To top it all off, they both seemed to share the same disregard for punctuality, since neither of them seemed in any hurry to finish breakfast.

It irritated Alice tremendously.

“Hey”, she said, cutting into their conversation. “We have ten minutes to get to class. Save the chit-chat for later.”

“You need to relax a little,” said Sura.

His tone was immensely irritating to Alice, for no particular reason. He was way chattier than he had been the previous day.

“Yeah, he’s right,” chimed in Fiona. “All that stress can’t be good for yer heart. Look at Asuka. She’s got the right spirit.”

Alice wheeled around, turning her gaze to the living room, where the diminutive girl was sitting with her knees drawn up on one of the couches, reading the same book Sura had been the day before. Next to her was her school bag, which looked packed and ready.

The blonde daughter of aristocrats looked at her three dorm-mates.

“Are… are you all insane?”, said Alice, looking incredulously at them all one by one.

Sura and Fiona, who had finished eating by now, got up, grabbing their bags.

“There’s plenty of time,” the latter said.

“Well excuse me for not wanting to leave it to the last minute,” said Alice, who was already at the door.

None of them had been given any keys to it. Sura had spoken to Ms. Muramasa earlier in the morning, but none of them had seen her since, nor had she said anything about any keys. Stepping outside, they shut the door behind them. No sooner had they done this than they heard a tiny click, the sound of a lock.

“Huh. Well, there ya go,” said Fiona.

With that settled, the four of them headed towards the Secondary Building.

Unlike their first day at school, they were starting class at the same time as everyone else today, so all around them, they saw plenty of students, all on their way to homeroom or wherever else their schedules needed them to be. As the four of them passed by, people turned and stared, many of them speaking in not-so-hushed voices about them.

“That’s them, the new transfers. They’re all Flawed.”

“Just four of them in one class? That’s so weird.”

“The girls are kinda cute though…”

“They’re a bunch of Flawed trash!”

“But that guy… he beat up some guys from 2E yesterday…”

“Isn’t that just a rumour?”

“No, I saw the video. It’s true. He beat the hell out of them.”

“What a freak. How does a Flawed even get close to a Mage?

“He even looks like a freak. There’s no way that body’s natural…”

3F heard the words spewing forth, doing their best to not let any reaction show on their faces.

Alice grit her teeth, looking straight ahead with her head high, not willing to let them know how much their words affected her. Next to her, Fiona whistled lightly.

“They don’t even try to hide it, huh?”

On Alice’s other side, Asuka drew slightly closer, keeping her head down.

Sura said nothing, simply continuing to walk, seemingly unperturbed by any of this. As much as Alice thought he was misguided, she couldn’t help but be impressed.

Though people had gathered around to watch, they moved aside as the group approached, mostly because whether they were willing to admit aloud or not, the dark-haired youth intimidated them. He was built like a wild beast, and radiated the aura of one. Thus, despite all the attention they got, they made it to homeroom without anyone so much as speaking a word to them. As before, they went through the strange experience of climbing past two floors bustling with students and activity, before coming to one that was seemingly deserted.

Sliding open the door, Alice found Ms. Muramasa already inside, waiting. For a moment, she wondered if they were late and in trouble.

“Take your seats,” the gigantic teacher said simply.

Alice found herself in the somewhat unique position of being able to sit wherever she wanted, since it was only the four of them, till she realized it would be ridiculous for the four of them to sit in four different corners or anything of the sort.

Sura had eschewed the window seat of the previous day to take the one right in front of the teacher’s desk, causing Alice to raise her eyebrows in surprise. His demeanour had also changed slightly. His jaw was tight, and his intense gaze was fixed on Ms. Muramasa.

Guess he still hasn’t forgotten the beating he got yesterday. Or what she said afterwards.

It was clear just from his face that the words rankled.

Why is he so fixated on this? On picking a fight he can’t win? No matter how good he is, if he came here to fight Mages, he’s going to lose. He has no idea the kind of power they have…

She briefly saw a vision of a face she knew only too well, one she had known since childhood. Like her, he too had golden hair and eyes.

That was where the similarities ended.

Her own mood darkened as she took the seat next to Sura, with Fiona and Asuka sitting down on his other side.

Ms. Muramasa’s inscrutable eyes passed over each of them before she spoke.

“You’ve already been given your class schedules. You will be required to attend lessons for each of the mandatory subjects. Second Year onwards, students may choose subjects they wish to specialize in beyond the mandatory curriculum. Many of the Specialized Courses deal with the practice of Advanced Magic. Given your condition, most of these options are closed to you.”

She paused slightly, gazing particularly at Alice, whose nails were digging into her hand.

“However, there are still those which you can take.”

The blonde looked up at her words.

“Elysium provides many opportunities. I suggest you don’t let them pass by.”

Walking over, she handed each of them a file, along with a form.

Flipping through it, Alice saw that the file listed each of the available Specialized Courses, along with information on it. As for the form, it was to formally choose one’s Specialization, and needed to be filled in and submitted to the school before one could start attending those classes.

Nervously, Alice was about to go through the file, when she was interrupted by Ms. Muramasa’s voice.

“That form needs to be submitted by the end of the week. I won’t remind you.”

“R-right,” said Alice, replying aloud instinctively, before realizing the homeroom teacher hadn’t been addressing her in particular.

Next to her, Sura had already closed his file and folded up the form.

Alice felt compelled to elbow him in the side.

“Aren’t you at least going to take a look at it?” she whispered furiously.

Sura gave her his now-trademark impassive look.

“Got an entire week for that,” he replied.

“If you can last that long,” added Ms. Muramasa.

Sura’s eyes sharpened into a glare that would have sent most people scurrying for cover, but it had no effect on the woman in front of him.

“You still seek battle. I can see it in your eyes. You haven’t taken my warning... and you will lose.”

Sura stood up.

“Sura!” Alice whispered frantically, but he wasn’t listening.

“I’ll beat them,” he said. “No matter the Mage. I’ll beat them.”

Alice shook her head. She couldn’t understand the reason for his determination, the reason he refused to back down and end this impossible quest.

Why is he so fixated on this one thing?

It made no sense.

Ms. Muramasa, unimpressed by his declaration, gazed at him impassively.

“Assuming for a moment that a miracle happens. That you somehow succeed. What do you hope to gain from defeating Mages in battle? What is your goal? Is it simply pointless violence?”

Alice automatically glanced towards Sura’s face, wondering if he would even answer.

“Why I want to defeat Mages?”

Alice froze up.

The change in his voice and bearing was so sudden, it almost gave her whiplash.

The sheer anger he was emanating left Alice’s blood cold in her veins.

“Why wouldn’t I want to? Why wouldn’t I want to defeat them? The ones who’ve been stepping on me all my life. I’d have to be dead to not fight back.”

Chills ran down her spine as she heard the iron conviction in his next words.

“I’ll shatter their pride. These Elysium Mages the world’s so proud of… I’ll crush them.”

Cold sweat rolled down Alice’s face as she beheld him standing with his massive fists clenched. Every particle in her body felt alive, tingling as though lightning was running through her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she couldn’t look away from him. Scenes from her own life played out in her head, in no particular order. The countless humiliations she had faced. The constant belittling, from her peers… and from her own family. All of the anger from that had burned for so long that she had become numb to it. Somewhere along the way, she had given up on that anger, given up on fighting back. She had accepted that no matter what she did, she couldn’t change her place in the world. And so, she did the one thing she could. She survived. Did whatever it took to keep her pride alive.

Somewhere along the way, that purpose had been warped.

Looking at him now, she realized that for the longest time, it hadn’t been her own pride she had been protecting.

It was her parents’.

Desperately scratching and clawing, doing whatever it took, to not be a disappointment to her last name.

Wolvenheim.

She looked at Sura, and realized, as though for the first time, that he wasn’t from nobility. Most likely, he came from a working class home. No thousands of years of family history to carry forward. No famous name to bear. No legacy to live up to.

No, the enormous pride radiating from him was completely, entirely, his own.

For his own pride, and no one else’s, he was willing to fight the world.

All that he had faced as a Flawed: every time he had been spat on, treated like dirt, looked at as a lesser person, he hadn’t forgotten. He wasn’t numb to his anger. Even without knowing his history, Alice knew that Sura had been fighting from the day he was born, and never once stopped.

And somewhere inside of her, buried under the Wolvenheim name, her own pride resonated with it.

Every forgotten insult, every casually demeaning action, every slight she had suffered; she could see it all again. Feel it. The anger that had been simmering for so long was a roaring flame again.

Ms. Muramasa, who had never broken eye contact with Sura, even when he had unleashed his fighting spirit, finally spoke, the dismissive tone in her voice a shade lessened from before.

“If that is the path you have chosen, then be prepared for the suffering that comes with it.”

The bell rang, and she walked towards the door.

“Do not be late for your classes,” was all she said before she left.

Alice watched her go, before turning her attention to Sura, who was his normal self again, already picking up his bag to head for the first lesson of the day. The fiery spirit he had revealed just seconds ago was hidden once again, buried under his usual, laid-back exterior.

“What’s with you?”

He glanced at Alice as she said it.

“Don’t you realize this is all useless?”

Even as she said the words, she realized she didn’t mean to. They were pouring from her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

“You’ve come out lucky so far. Don’t you get it? Beating a few pieces of trash who can use Magic is different from taking on a true Mage.”

She didn’t know why she was trying so hard to talk him out of his crusade. The rational part of her told her there was no reason for her to even care. It shouldn’t matter to her if some fool who refused to accept reality went charging to his own death, picking a fight he could never win. Yet, for some reason, she wasn’t able to look the other way. She couldn’t stand it: the fact that he just wasn’t able to see the truth, the fact that even in the face of everything, he wasn’t backing down.

“Aren’t you the same though?”

Alice started.

“Yesterday, when they came at you… you didn’t lie down and take it. You fought back.”

“That- that was different! I had no choice! I had to fight back.”

“When they stepped on you, tried to take your dignity, you fought back. When a human being is treated like a thing, they fight back. Isn’t it the most natural thing in the world?”

Sura’s words were spoken with perfect simplicity, as though stating a truth that should be obvious, yet they struck Alice’s core.

“Don’t look down on your own pride,” he said. Turning to the other two members of 3F, who had been watching the exchange silently, he gestured towards the door.

“We should head to class. No point being late.”

The normally shy Asuka was looking at Sura with wide eyes. Even Fiona looked taken aback by what she had seen and heard. After all, this was the most the boy had ever spoken about himself. Adjusting quickly enough though, the dark-haired girl laughed lightly.

“So yer a philosopher now?” she quipped.

“I fancy myself somewhat of a wise man,” Sura replied in a perfectly deadpan voice.

“Hah.”

The two made their way towards the door, continuing to exchange barbs, trailed by Asuka, leaving Alice to her thoughts.

It’s just words. Everyone gives up, sooner or later.

She knew it was going to happen. It was only a matter of time. Hefting her own bag, she followed the others.

Lesson for the day went by relatively peacefully. No one started trouble right in front of the teachers, nor was anyone eager to interrupt classes. The subjects for the day were Math, Physics and Magical Theory. As was usual for her, Alice took notes diligently, paying attention to what the teachers were saying and demonstrating. While she wasn’t an exceptional student, she was certainly above average, and more than capable of keeping up with the formulae and theories that were being studied. Numbers and calculations weren’t quite her area, but she understood the scientific processes fine, particularly in the context of Magic itself. It was something she had achieved through years of work: with a body incapable of producing Magic, she had focused on at least being able to understand how Magic worked. In the middle of solving a problem, she happened to glance at Fiona, and noticed that she was idly resting her chin on one hand while spinning a pen in her other.

Is she a delinquent too?

Alice looked at the dark haired girl’s notebook, and her jaw all but dropped. All the problems set as the assignment for the class had already been solved.

There’s no way those answers are right… and that’s not even the right process!

“Hey,” she whispered furiously to her neighbour.

“What’s up?” asked Fiona.

“What’s with these steps? Were you even paying attention to the teacher?”

“Nope, not really. Tuned him out five minutes into the thing. Method he showed was way too long. This one’s shorter, faster and easier.”

“That’s… are those solutions even right?”

“Answers are at the back of the book, princess. Feel free ta look.”

Frowning sceptically, Alice flipped the coursebook all the way to the back pages, and checked. To her immense surprise, every single one of Fiona’s answers were correct.”

She stared at the girl in disbelief. Fiona: sleep deprived, delinquent-looking Fiona, who looked the least bit interested in class, had finished the assignment in twenty minutes, while the rest of the hall was still scribbling away furiously.

“Why?” she exclaimed.

“... Yer supposed to ask ‘how’, actually,” pointed out Fiona, the tiniest hint of a smirk on her face. She could see Alice’s notebook, and while a few of her answers were right, she’d taken a lot of steps to get there. And that wasn’t even talking about the answers that weren’t right, or all the scratched out calculations.

“This is some kind of joke,” Alice muttered. Turning to her other side, she looked into Asuka’s notebook, and found, to her relief, that she was still working. That relief, however, vanished when she noticed the quiet girl was more than halfway through the assignment, and hadn’t gotten a single answer wrong.

In desperation, she turned around to look at Sura, who was in the seat behind hers.

The boy seemed to have either given up on the assignment, or not attempted it in the first place, since he was in the middle of a figure drawing of a nude woman.

Wow, that’s actually really accurate… wait, hold on a second! That’s not the point.

“So you aren’t even going to try?” Alice asked him in a deadpan voice.

“Nope. I’m copying her answers,” he said, gesturing to Fiona.

Alice wheeled around towards her.

“And you’re okay with this?” she asked incredulously.

“Hey, the man’s a good artist. I want me some art, he wants himself some answers. That’s how ya make a deal.”

Again, just when did these two get so close?

She shook her head.

“Why am I the only normal person here?” she muttered.

The class came to an end soon enough, and the four of them exited the hall, Mages around them giving them plenty of space while throwing nervous glances at Sura.

“All right,” said Alice. “So lunch, then we go back to the dorm and go through these files to choose our Specializations?”

“Sounds aight,” said Fiona. Asuka nodded, and Sura shrugged indifferently.

The day had passed by free from any incidents so far. In hindsight, Alice might have noted that this itself was a foreboding sign.

In the lunch hall, they had barely got in line, when someone shouted.

“Hey, are dogs allowed in here?”

Alice couldn’t spot who had said it. Around them, people were backing away nervously, not wanting to get involved in a scene like the previous day. On the other hand, more voices joined the first one.

“They’ll let anyone in here now. Can’t they build a doghouse for the animals or something?”

Alice bit her lip, but looked away, eager to get her food, finish her lunch and be out of here. Surprisingly, Sura made no reply to the trash talk.

“I thought you’d be tearing to go at them,” she muttered.

“Barking dogs don’t bother me,” he replied.

The line moved, and Alice took a step forward, but she didn’t stop eyeing the crowd in the lunch hall cautiously.

“Hey.”

A youth with red-dyed hair spiked up in a mohawk had walked up to them.

“Didn’t you hear? Animals aren’t allowed here. Get the fu-”

Without a word, Sura casually turned around and swung his leg, smashing his shin into the boy’s jaw, sending him cartwheeling through the air, till he landed flat on his face ten feet away.

Alice blinked a few times.

“Go on, don’t hold up the line,” said Sura.

“R-right.”

She moved forward with her plate.

Before she could reach the counter, however, the sound of clapping entered her ears.

“Not bad. Not bad at all. The rumours didn’t do you justice.”

Alice’s face paled.

She recognized the voice instantly.

After all, she had known its owner since she was a child.

The entire hall had gone silent.

Knowing who she was about to see filled her with dread, but she turned around anyway.

Sure enough, a familiar figure was making his way towards them.

His gold hair and eyes mirrored her own. Even their faces were so alike, a single glance at them would have made their relationship obvious. The boy was taller than average, and on the slender side. He wore the Elysium uniform flawlessly. Under the blazer, his tie was blue as opposed to the grey that 3F wore. On his pocket was a pin resembling the school logo.

“Alphonse…” breathed Alice.

“Sister,” replied the boy, a smile on his face. “I was a bit surprised when I learnt you would be coming here. Pleasantly, of course. And I am glad to see you’ve made friends with some… interesting people.”

“What do you want?” asked the blonde in a flat voice, ignoring his attempt at pleasantries.

“Me? Why, I want nothing more than to spend some time with my sister. But, as enjoyable as that would be, I’m actually here to apologize on behalf of the school. I learnt you had an undesirable experience yesterday. Not to worry: the culprits have been properly punished. And so, my task becomes to properly welcome you to this school.”

His gaze shifted to the other members of 3F.

“That, of course, includes all of you as well. Welcome to Elysium.”

Alice could feel the air next to her change.

“I’ve heard a lot about you in particular,” said Alphonse to the muscular youth standing next to his sister. “Thank you for looking out for my sister.”

He bowed politely.

“Cut the crap.”

Sura’s voice was beyond cold.

“I know you didn’t come here for that, so get to the point.”

Alphonse’s smile grew.

So far, this was going better than he had expected.

“I’ve heard you’re quite the combatant. Here at Elysium, we believe in students competing with each other. So I thought: would you be open to a friendly bout with me?”

Alice’s eyes widened.

“Sura, don’t!” she shouted.

But he wasn’t listening.

His fighting spirit, which she had felt earlier on that very day, had exploded again, and the same palpable change had come over the atmosphere.

“Let’s do it.”

He began walking towards Alphonse.

Everyone was holding their breath, the tension in the air so thick, even a knife couldn’t cut it. In the midst of that silence, some enterprising youth cried out.

“Holy shit, the Stu Co Secretary’s fighting the Flawed kid.”

And just like that, the lunch hall had been transformed into an arena.

Roars broke out from all around.

“Get him, Al!”

“Show that Flawed bastard where he belongs!”

“Sura, stop!” shouted Alice, but she already knew it was too late. When he got like this, there was no stopping him.

“The hell he’s gonna stop,” said Fiona. The dark-haired girl’s usually jaded eyes were alive. Drawing breath, she shouted loudly.

“Kick his ass, Sura!”

Alice turned towards her, shock plastered on her face.

Didn’t she understand? He was on a suicide mission. And she was egging him on!

She was about to call her out on it, when she saw the look on Fiona’s face.

The same dark look as Sura’s.

A look that hadn’t forgotten for a moment what Mages had put them through.

Even Asuka, though she was clearly scared, was looking determinedly at Sura. She didn’t need to say a word for Alice to know how she felt.

Alphonse watched his opponent approach, smiling. Even through the deafening voices of the Mages, he had heard the cry of that Flawed girl. And he could see their faces. They believed in Sura. He couldn’t wait to go up against someone who could inspire that kind of faith in his companions.

“Go on, Al, beat that bi-”

Before the voice could finish what it was saying, something screamed through the air.

Alphonse already had his Barrier active, and with his vision and reflexes sharpened by Enhancement Magic, he was able to move aside, barely avoiding the projectile, which tore through the side of a stone pillar before burying itself in a wall.

Sura had thrown a metal lunch tray at him.

Alphonse could feel his heart pounding with excitement.

Phenomenal strength! He truly is on par with a Level 3. No, he’s even stronger than that… in terms of strength, he holds the advantage over me.

But there was no time for him to think.

A fist crashed into his Barrier, pushing him backwards.

Throwing the lunch tray had simply been a distraction: his true aim had been to close the distance between them.

Alphonse felt as though he were in the line of machine gun fire. Heavy strikes rained down on him, each one sending a shockwave of force exploding outwards as it struck his Barrier. Around him, people raised their hands, desperately trying to cover up and not be blown away. With his Enhanced eyes, he could see most of the movements, but for every three attacks he could see, a fourth would crash against his barriers without him knowing where it came from. And through it all, he could see the Flawed youth’s face.

His eyes were like a wild beast’s.

He’s fast and he attacks without hesitation. At close range, he’s nigh unbeatable. One might as well try to grapple with a tiger. However…

Gathering his Magic, he began to condense energy into a sphere, preparing to thrust it at his wild opponent, to force him away.

Before he could finish forming the Telekinetic sphere, however, a roundhouse kick smashed into his Barrier. The sudden drain on his energy from blocking the attack distracted him, interrupting his Cast.

Alphonse’ grinned.

Oho? He heard the sonic pulse from my Cast and attacked first to interrupt me? It seems there’s more to him than just power and speed. But that trick doesn’t work if I know about it.

He gathered his power again. Once more, a strong attack collided with his Barrier, a punch aimed for his abdomen this time. However, prepared for it this time, he maintained his focus. The sphere of Magic energy in the form of Telekinetic force shot forward, and Alphonse felt it smash into the Flawed youth.

Sura was pushed back from the impact, sent sliding on his feet. But he did not lose his balance. Surprisingly, he seemed to have taken almost no damage from the blow either.

Ah. He’s sturdy as well. That makes sense: his strength and speed are the result of a trained body. That training has given him the toughness to match.

If that was the case, then it was time to put that toughness to the test.

Once more, Alphonse called on his Magic. As before, Sura dashed towards him.

However, Alphonse had expected this response, and was already jumping backwards, using Enhancement Magic to increase the force of his legs. Sura’s step-in right cross was avoided as he moved out of its range. And as he did so, he finished his Casting. A pillar of flame rose up from just above the ground, right where Sura stood.

“It’s hot in here,” said Alphonse. “Watch out.”

As the smoke from the fire cleared, Sura came into view, brushing off the front of his shirt.

He was able to react to it?

Elemental Skills had an advantage over Skills based on pure force, since their unique effects could often do more damage at a lower energy cost. In addition, depending on the Skill in question, they might circumvent one’s defences. However, they also had their disadvantages. Firstly, Magic had to be converted from its natural form in the human body to the form of the element in question. This took time. Often just fractions of a second, but that was valuable time in a fight against opponents with split second reflexes. Secondly, the gathered elemental energy had visible signs. Whether it was the spark of electricity, or the flash of flame, or the chill of ice.

For Sura to have avoided the Flame Pillar, he would have had to sense the growing heat around his feet, and move away in less than a second, before the fire engulfed him.

He truly is like a wild beast: his senses are honed to the sharpest to survive.

A manic glint appeared in the blond aristocrat’s eyes.

However, this isn’t the jungle.

He had thought ahead. When he had gathered Magic, he hadn’t prepared just a single Skill, but several.

This was an advanced ability. Essentially, one gathered and shaped Magic energy into several different forms all at once, but did not release all of it at once. Instead, the Skills were held ready to be unleashed at any time, without needing any time to prepare. Mages could sense the Magic of other Mages to various degrees depending on their level of ability, meaning this technique couldn’t generally be used to gain an element of surprise against another Mage. But against a Flawed who couldn’t sense Magic at all, only rely on the sonic pulse to see it coming, it made attacks completely unpredictable.

Sure enough, as shards of ice shot towards Sura, his eyes widened in surprise.

He arched backwards, avoiding the projectiles by a hair’s breadth. Even as he did so, a second pillar of flame burst up from underneath him. Turning the backward arch into a handstand, he flipped away, barely dodging the fire. His massive frame moved with incredible agility that shouldn’t have been possible for one so packed with muscle, leaping and twisting through the air with inhuman athleticism, avoiding Skill after Skill, as Alphonse’s Magic sent fire, lightning and ice at the Flawed fighter.

“Is that all you can manage? Running away?”

His words found their mark. As a stream of fire poured towards him Sura jumped, flipping over in mid-air to and feet-first on a pillar. Pushing off it, he landed on another pillar. Alphonse’s eyes darted around as he tried to follow the wild movements.

Using the environment to move around quickly. He’s trying to confuse me.

It was indeed impressive, but Alphonse knew that it must be physically taxing for his opponent. While he stood and attacked safely, Sura had to throw himself around simply to avoid damage. With each movement, he got more tired. Sura himself knew this too.

He is skilled, and even tactical. But at the end of the day, he cannot change his nature. A wild beast will always rush in when he thinks he has his prey cornered.

Alphonse braced himself, focusing his energy on his Barrier, strengthening it.

He knew the coming attack would be powerful. Already, his eyes could barely follow Sura as he zipped around. All around, the crowd was in awe. The Flawed was moving through the air as though he could fly. The stuff of fairy tales was playing out in front of them.

When the impact came, it was from above.

Sura had leapt towards the ceiling, bouncing off it, heading straight down with the combined force of gravity and his own prodigious strength.

The attack smashed into the Magic Barrier, and for a second, Alphonse’s knees almost bent. He grit his teeth, even as his shield rippled wildly.

In the end, however, it held.

The glass walls and ceilings of Elysium were enchanted so that from the inside, they took the appearance of various other materials. In the case of the dining hall, it was marble. Aside from its appearance, the entirety of the Prime Building was Enhanced to withstand whatever an entire school of Mages could put it through. Alphonse had read in the official Elysium magazine once that each of the floors was capable of withstanding a strike from a tactical warhead.

The floor under his feet had cracked, spider web lines spreading through the glass, breaking the illusion of being made of stone.

Sura landed several feet away, visibly breathing deeply.

Alphonse’s heartbeat, which had reached a crescendo, and briefly stopped when he had felt the force behind the downward leaping blow, returned to normal.

Almost.

You almost touched the heavens.

He looked into the defiant eyes of the Flawed fighter.

But you can’t reach them. That is your tragedy.

“A splendid attack,” he said aloud. “That fighting style of yours… is it some secret of the Flawed? It’s magnificent. Allow me to repay that attack… with my own.”

More of the Skills he was holding ready arced towards Sura, who struggled to dodge them. His wild movements from earlier had caught up to him, and the signs of exhaustion were showing.

Meanwhile, Alphonse, who had launched the Skills to keep Sura at bay, began Casting.

He held his hands ready, and in them materialized a shimmering construct, composed entirely of Magical energy, condensed to solid form.

A violin.

From all around, gasps and shouts were heard, and even cheers.

“Alphonse brought that out?”

“It’s over… that bastard doesn’t stand a chance anymore.”

As he prepared to play, a second construct appeared, a bow.

Sura, who had been unable to get close enough to prevent them from materializing, was glaring at him, his face a mask of anger and confusion.

Alice, who had been watching all this time, barely able to draw breath, closed her eyes.

“It’s over. He can’t win.”

No sooner had she uttered the statement than Fiona’s hand gripped her collar. The normally laid-back, cynical girl’s eyes flashed dangerously.

“What was that?”

“He can’t win,” repeated Alice simply. The vehemence with which she would normally have said it was missing. Her voice sounded empty.

Growling, Fiona pushed her away, turning towards Sura.

“You better not lose to that blond brat!” she shouted.

Alphonse glanced at her, smiling slightly.

“I envy you,” he said to Sura. “It’s nice having friends, isn’t it?”

The youth gave no answer. Instead, he charged in.

However, as Alphonse made the slightest movement, drawing his bow across the strings, he was lifted up, as though by wind, away from Sura’s swing.

There he remained, up in the air, looking down on Sura.

He was held aloft by his Magic, though Sura had not sensed any pulse indicating its activation. And all the while, he was still playing his instrument, the sounds of a sad melody filling the hall.

Safely out of Sura’s reach, he continued to play, only stopping when the passage was finished. Many in the crowd applauded when he was done.

“What do you think?” he asked the Flawed youth. “Of my melody?”

“Sounds like tuneless shit,” said Sura, putting every last bit of venom he could muster into his words.

Alphonse laughed.

“Now now. You’ve fought admirably so far. With the grace and skill of a true warrior, even. Don’t tarnish that. There is honour in accepting defeat with grace.”

“Like hell!” said Sura, leaping into the air, towards him.

Before he could even get near him, however, invisible limbs gripped his arms and legs, stopping him in mid-air, holding him in place.

Alphonse was once more playing, but this time, the melody was uplifting… as though heralding victory.

“A knight in shining armour you are not,” he said to Sura. “No, perhaps you are the dragon. But don’t you know? In the end, all dragons must fall at the hands of the hero.”

Loud applause followed his words, as Mages cheered wildly for him.

Sura growled, clenching his teeth. His eyes had almost become bestial. Cords stood out on his neck, and the muscles of his arms bulged, nearly tearing through his shirt.

Impossibly, with sheer physical strength, he began to move his arms and legs against the Magic holding them in place.

As he struggled, a lone figure stood behind the counter, unnoticed by the students, watching.

Mizuki Muramasa watched the Flawed fighter as he hung suspended in the air, fighting against the bonds immobilizing him. She waited and watched, for the moment where it would happen.

The tempo of Alphonse’s playing had picked up, and in addition to the limbs holding him, more invisible limbs began to strike him, raining strikes all over his body. Mizuki could see every one of the blows. By the time the combo ended, she counted no fewer than a hundred strikes that had landed on Sura.

And yet, the moment she had waited for had not come.

Alphonse’s piece came to an end, and Sura dropped to the floor. The scion of Wolvenheims looked down at his opponent’s body, lying motionless.

So that was all, in the end.

He closed his eyes, slowly descending to the floor, his Arcane Instrument disappearing once he had landed.

“Sura!”

Fiona rushed forward, followed by Asuka. The two of them ran over to him.

Alphonse, who had no interest in them, was already walking away, when something made him stop.

Turning around, he saw that somehow, some way, Sura had forced himself up to his feet.

Blood dripped down his face, and he breathed heavily.

Behind the counter, Mizuki waited for the moment.

The moment which inevitably came for all those who struggled against the world. The moment the light in his eyes would die.

Instead, her eyes widened, as in violation of all logic, a wave of bloodlust burst forth from the wounded fighter.

Beaten, battered and bruised he might be.

But he wasn’t broken.

For a split second, the sheer intensity of that fighting spirit almost made Mizuki react with her own.

“I’ll beat that pretty face of yours into the ground.”

Alphonse blinked, before turning and continuing to walk away.

“Continue to struggle. Get stronger. Then come at me again.”

With that, he walked away.

The screaming of the crowd filled his ears.

The last thing Sura remembered was Fiona and Asuka rushing to catch him as he fell, before he lost consciousness.

The Student Council generally held its meetings in the evenings, after Specialization classes were done for the day. However, it was customary for the members to convene in the lunch hour after meals.

Alphonse was about to knock on the door, when it opened, revealing a familiar face.

“Am I late?” the blond asked.

“No. Ten seconds early,” said the other. “Still, it is unusual for you to arrive at the last moment, Secretary.”

“Sorry,” he answered cheerfully. “I got held up by a rather interesting encounter.”

“By that, are you referring to your brawl with the Flawed boy in the dining hall?”

Seated near one end of the Council table, glaring at him, was a girl with long, night-black hair. Her eyes were a startling, icy blue.

Alphonse did his best to suppress what he thought must be the redness infusing his cheeks.

“Ah, yes, that’s the one,” he said, laughing in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“That was completely uncalled for,” said the girl, not falling for it. “There was no reason for the Student Council to get involved. He hasn’t got Magic to protect himself. You could have done permanent damage.”

“Come on, Vice President,” protested Alphonse. “I held back. It’s nothing the Nurse can’t fix. Besides, fights aren’t against the rules here. And you can’t tell me you weren’t curious about the rumoured Flawed fighter. This way, everyone’s reminded how the world is supposed to be, and no one feels the need to prove a point that’s already been proven.”

“Nonsense,” muttered the girl. Getting up, she walked towards the door, when the lone figure standing near the window spoke.

“Are you sure you want to miss the meeting?”

“I’ll attend the official meeting this evening,” she answered, without stopping or looking back.

Sura awoke to the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. Slowly, he sat up. His muscles were stiff, and his head slightly groggy, but he wasn’t in any pain.

“Up at last, are you?”

On a chair next to the bed he was on sat Alice. Around them, he could see various medical equipment. Evidently he was in the Infirmary. He rolled his neck experimentally, then removed the bedsheet and looked at his own body. There didn’t seem to be any signs of damage. They had probably used Magic to heal him.

“So it seems,” he answered.

Alice’s normal haughtiness was absent, her tone noticeably softer.

“Want to head back to the dorm?”

He nodded wordlessly.

Contrary to what she had expected, there was no growling or cursing, no anger at all. He seemed to be taking it much better than she thought he would.

Good. He’s accepted this loss. He’s seen the truth for himself now. Maybe he can finally put this pipe dream down for good, and move on.

It was already night. The skies were clear, and the stars shone brightly above. Students were already in their dorms since it was past curfew. Thus, no one bothered them as they quietly walked back to the Muramasa house. Sura’s uniform had been bloodied by the fight, but the Nurse had seen fit to repair and clean that as well. Thus, if one didn’t already know what had happened, they wouldn’t be able to tell that he had been in a brutal battle. Alice glanced at him. He was unusually quiet, even for him.

He isn’t bad looking.

It was only a moment later that she realized what had just gone through her mind. Immediately, she shook her head, trying to expunge the thought. By the time they arrived at the Muramasa house, it was already quite late. The lights in the living room were off, though the ones in the bedrooms still seemed to be on.

“So you’re back.”

They were greeted by the rare sight of Ms. Muramasa. Though this was her living quarter and they were only rooming with her, the students of 3F almost never seemed to see her in the house. Neither of them were surprised to see that she was still in her black two piece suit. It was impossible to imagine her otherwise.

“Yes,” said Sura simply. He couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes.

In the end, she had proven to be right, while he was wrong. If she were to remind him of that now, he would have no choice but to accept it without argument.

“You’ve been here for a day already. Consider exploring the house. One shouldn’t be unfamiliar with the place where they live.”

That was all she said, leaving Sura to mull over her words.

“Explore the house?”

He looked around. The room at the very end of the hallway to the right was off-limits. But even besides that, there were quite a few doors they hadn’t opened.

“Why not?”

It was better than being in his own head at the moment, so she decided to take his homeroom teacher up on her offer. Together, Alice and Sura began checking out the rooms, one by one. To say they were shocked by what they saw would be an understatement. Behind each door was a new thing they did not expect. This continued, until they came to the last remaining door.

Reaching out a hand, Sura slid it open.

As he walked through it, his mouth opened in wonder.

“What is this place?” said Alice.

It was large, more a hall than a room. In the centre was a section made of polished wood which spanned at least thirty feet each way. Around the perimeter of that, the rest of the floor was solid stone, and here there was a wide variety of equipment that Alice was mostly unfamiliar with, though she recognized some of it from what she had seen athletes in her previous school train with. Heavy iron bars and plates, chains, horizontal bars suspended from the ceiling, large bags made of leather; these were just of the things she saw.

“This,” said Sura, “is a dojo.”

Alice looked at him, and for the very first time since meeting him, saw a genuine smile on his face. The anger, the guardedness; all of it was gone. In that moment, he was truly happy.

“A what?” asked Alice.

“A gym and training hall. A place of learning for Martial Artists.”

She looked on with growing awe as he took off his shoes, placing them next to the door, before bowing and entering the hall. Walking around, he made his way to every piece of equipment, running his hands over it loving, often lifting it experimentally. Finally, he stepped onto the wooden floor, and came to the centre of it. He hadn’t switched on the light; the only source of illumination was the moon itself, which shone through the open window. In the moonlight, he kneeled down on the floor, reverently touching his head to it.

Alice watched the entire display in amazement. She had never seen Sura like this.

Lifting his head, he sat up, smiling in the moonlight. He raised his fist up high, looking at it. The air of defeat that had laid heavy on him since the Infirmary was gone without a trace.

“This was a good start,” said Sura.

Alice couldn’t comprehend it.

“Why?”

She took a step forward, though she did not enter any further into the hall.

“Why don’t you see it even now? Why can’t you accept it? Wasn’t what happened enough? You were beaten down. You couldn’t even land a single blow on him. Why do you still go on?”

Turning towards her with a smile on his face, Sura answered with perfect simplicity.

“I’m Flawed, remember? What happened was just another Tuesday for me. The fight doesn’t end when one loses. It ends when one gives up. And I haven’t given up."