Chapter 574

Lea clenched her fists as she faced Aina, who stood in her path.

'Aina Beidna.'

It was a name she had heard endlessly from the moment she entered Seiren.

'The world made quite a fuss over her being descended from the Sword Saint. Just as it did with me.'

Like Lea, who had received the expectations of her entire race as the heir to House Tingel, Aina must have experienced the same thing.

That was why Lea could not help but be conscious of her.

Nothing changed even after she learned that Luke was Leo’s mentee.

Aina remained an opponent she absolutely had to defeat.

Ever since Lea enrolled, countless people around her had wanted to see her defeat Aina.

'It seems she feels the same way. Why else would she come to face me?'

Lea grinned.

“It’s a nuisance for both of us, isn’t it? Having everyone around us expect us to defeat each other.”

“What do you mean?”

Aina looked genuinely confused.

“Didn’t you come here to defeat me?”

“No.”

“....”

Lea stared at her blankly.

“Didn’t you just say that you were my opponent?”

“Yes.”

“Then you did come here to defeat me.”

“No.”

Lea found herself speechless as Aina shook her head.

“I only want to protect Luke from you. You’ve been strangely obsessed with him for quite some time.”

“Have you appointed yourself Luke Elda’s bodyguard?”

“Yes.”

Shhhhhk—!

Aina swung her sword.

Blades of Aura scattered around Lea.

“Luke must not be defeated by anyone.”

Aina’s eyes gleamed as sharply as a blade.

“Not until he loses to me.”

Lea could sense an obsession with Luke from Aina that rivaled her own.

'Luke Elda is certainly worth defeating.'

When Lea first learned of Luke’s existence, she had only been interested in him because he was Leo’s mentee.

Her feelings toward him had also been closer to jealousy than a competitive spirit.

Then came the end of the first semester.

When she saw Luke for the first time during the World Summit, he had astonished her.

'He continued growing even in the middle of his battle with Aina Beidna.'

She could still vividly remember Luke relentlessly challenging and surpassing his own limits.

Only then had she understood why Leo chose him.

'He was remarkable during the training camp as well.'

That was why she understood Aina’s intense awareness of Luke as a rival from the same academy.

'But... even so....'

Lea’s shoulders began to tremble.

“There’s a limit to how much you can ignore someone! What’s with that attitude, as though I’m not even worth your attention?!”

Ominous Magic Power erupted from the enraged Lea.

Crack-crack-crack—!

Countless fissures spread across the ground beneath her feet.

“I’ll defeat you and make sure you remember me!”

Magic Power gathered in both of Lea’s hands.

“If you want to defeat Luke Elda, you’ll have to defeat me first!”

“As long as I’m here, you won’t touch a single hair on Luke’s head! I’m the one who will defeat him!”

Kabooooom—!

Explosive Magic Power and razor-sharp blades of Aura collided.

===

Cold sweat trickled down Luke’s face at the chilling sound of the collision behind him.

“Why do I keep hearing my name when those two are the ones fighting?”

“Ha! It seems they are fighting fiercely to claim you.”

“I could do without being claimed like that.”

Luke looked ready to cry.

As a magic swordsman, Luke understood all too well how terrifying Aina’s swordsmanship was and how destructive Lea’s magic could be.

The idea of that sword and magic being turned against him was anything but welcome.

'As if it weren’t bad enough that Juen, Sasha, and Haviden have been eager to take me down lately.'

It was not that they were on bad terms.

If anything, they got along well.

However, the predatory looks his friends gave him always put Luke on edge.

Now Lea, who had treated him with hostility from the moment they met, had joined Aina, making Luke feel as though he were living through a nightmare.

'And now there’s this person too.'

Luke swallowed dryly as he looked at Medvez, Azonia’s first-year representative.

His massive frame was covered in bulging muscles.

Of course, being large did not necessarily make someone strong.

But Medvez was more than merely large.

'He’s strong.'

Every ripple of Medvez’s muscles made Luke tense unconsciously.

Seeing Luke lower his stance, Medvez spoke.

“You resemble an herbivore.”

“Pardon?”

“Does watching those two fight not make your blood race?”

“It makes me tremble.”

The mere thought of those vicious attacks being directed at him was enough to make him shudder.

“That isn’t what I meant.”

Medvez regarded Luke with displeasure.

“Those two powerful warriors are giving their all to earn the right to defeat you. Yet all you can do is cower in fear. How pathetic. Truly pathetic.”

Luke took a deep breath at Medvez’s words.

'Will this at least make him lose interest in me?'

Luke had no intention of avoiding a fight someone else brought to him.

However, defeating a powerful opponent was not what he needed to focus on right now.

'Lumene’s victory.'

Lea, Aina, and Medvez all seemed to have briefly forgotten that objective.

This was a team battle fought by one hundred students working together.

Moreover, every participant had been selected from among their academy’s first-years.

'It’s impossible for one person to overturn the entire battle.'

Thinking rationally, exhausting himself now would be a waste.

It would not be a bad outcome for Luke if Medvez simply lost interest and left.

'It wouldn’t be bad, but....'

Luke glanced up at the sky.

Leo, who had announced the opening match, was there.

'Leo Sunbae-nim changed an entire battlefield by himself.'

The sight of Leo displaying overwhelming might during the second-year dormitory competition flashed through Luke’s mind.

'It’s ridiculous to compare someone like me to Leo Sunbae-nim, but....'

He could not erase that powerful image from his mind.

At that moment—

Ruuuuumble—!

The ground began to tremble.

The faint vibrations rapidly intensified until the entire arena shook as though struck by an earthquake.

“Wh-What is this?”

The first-years, who had formed ranks and were attacking the other academies, looked bewildered.

Kabooooom—!

Lava began erupting through the ground.

The first-years stared at it in horror.

“The lava is shrinking the battlefield!”

“Anyone who can fight in the air, get airborne now—”

Bubble-bubble-bubble—! Kabooooom—!

An enormous monster erupted from the lava.

“A Lava Golem?!”

Cries of astonishment rang out among the first-years.

The enormous Lava Golem began wildly swinging its arms at the students flying through the air.

At the same time, globs of lava broke away from its arms and rained down upon the ground.

“It’s dangerous in the air!”

“Ghk! We have to fight those guys while watching out for the Lava Golem too?!”

“That’s not all! The lava is leaving us less and less room to fight!”

Panicked voices erupted everywhere.

It had become difficult to maintain defensive formations and hunt down their opponents.

Under these circumstances, the best strategy was to trigger a melee and eliminate their opponents as quickly as possible.

“Everyone, attack!”

“Ghk!”

“Avoid fighting the Lava Golem if possible! It will only drain our strength!”

“Hmm. If we remain here, we’ll be caught in the Lava Golem’s attacks.”

“Tsk! This is troublesome.”

“Luke, let’s withdraw.”

Medvez, Lea, and Aina, who were near the summoned Lava Golem, quickly tried to leave the area.

Then Aina caught sight of Luke’s face and parted her lips slightly.

'He’s smiling?'

===

“Seiren’s first-year representative is exactly like that delinquent elf.”

Ar muttered as she watched the match.

She then looked at her juniors.

“They’re moving well.”

In a chaotic melee like this, the Azonia students held a significant advantage thanks to their overwhelming physical abilities.

After all, such chaotic battles were commonplace at Azonia, where hardly a day passed without a fight.

“The Lava Golem is the biggest variable, as expected.”

Ar narrowed her eyes with her arms crossed.

It rampaged indiscriminately, inflicting damage on all four academies.

'There’s no particular benefit to defeating it.'

Doing so would clearly do nothing but drain their strength.

'What would I have done?'

Ar tilted her head before quickly reaching a simple conclusion.

'I would have defeated the Lava Golem first.'

There was no other reason.

It was simply a threat to all four academies.

If they won while leaving it untouched, luck would inevitably become a factor.

'A Lava Golem rampaging indiscriminately is the very definition of an unpredictable variable.'

Even if Ar won, she would probably be unable to rid herself of the lingering dissatisfaction.

She was confident she could still defeat her enemies after bringing down the Lava Golem.

Even if she lost, she would find it no less satisfying than winning through luck.

'A victory won through luck has no value. I would rather lose.'

Ar looked around.

It appeared she was not the only one who thought that way.

The Azonia students felt the same.

Nor were they alone.

The students from the other Hero Academies appeared to share those feelings.

Everyone possessed pride in the belief that their academy was the best.

They had to overcome every adversity and prove that superiority.

The Lava Golem was dangerous, but a top student in any year could defeat it alone.

The first-years were only avoiding it because engaging it carried too much risk.

'You’re vicious, Black Rabbit.'

Having understood Leo’s intentions, Ar pouted as she looked up at him in the sky.

===

“Leo can be truly merciless sometimes.”

Carr shook his head.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

Chelsea looked puzzled.

“He subtly structured the match to discourage the first-years from defeating the Lava Golem.”

“Yes. Is there something wrong with that?”

Carr chuckled.

“Winning without creating unnecessary risks is the ideal strategy. But the Festival of Heroes isn’t merely a competition between Hero Academies. It’s also a celebration and a place for everyone to come together.”

Carr watched the first-years frantically foisting the Lava Golem upon one another as he continued.

“The entire world is watching.”

“Yes. So?”

“This is why heroes don’t understand how ordinary people feel.”

Carr laughed hollowly before continuing.

“People want heroes.”

Carr looked at Leo.

“They want heroes who believe in themselves, pursue their potential, move forward, and surpass their limits.”

Carr turned his gaze from Leo to Chelsea.

“What would you have done in that situation?”

“I would have trusted myself and my companions and defeated the Lava Golem.”

“Exactly. That’s what people want to see. But the first-years are still inexperienced, so they can’t bring themselves to act so recklessly.”

Carr narrowed his eyes at the Lava Golem.

“Leo is testing them. He wants to know whether any of the first-years possess that kind of potential—whether any of them deserve to stand on the same stage as all of you.”

“Ah....”

Chelsea’s expression showed that she understood.

“But you said ‘all of you,’ not ‘all of us’?”

Chelsea tilted her head.

Carr shrugged at her.

“Would you mind not putting an ordinary person like me in the same category as all of you?”

“What category would that be?”

“Monsters.”

Chelsea drove her fist into Carr’s side.

She stared down at him as he clutched his side and collapsed to the ground.

“...Have you given up on advancing to the third year?”

“Heave-ho.”

Carr dusted himself off and rose at her question.

“Like hell I have. I’m going to struggle until the very end. But you know....”

Carr chuckled.

“Effort doesn’t guarantee that everything will work out. Some things remain impossible no matter how far you surpass your limits. I know myself better than anyone.”

“....”

“This is as far as I go, Chelsea.”

“Carr....”

“Still, I’ll do my best in a supporting role, so keep using my products! You’re definitely going to become a hero someday. Having a hero as a regular customer would be incredible publicity!”

“You bastard.”

Carr gave her a broad grin and raised his thumb, while Chelsea sighed softly.

“Oh?”

Carr suddenly exclaimed.

“Luke is charging at the Lava Golem.”

***