I thought of becoming her guardian. I knew her parents, after all. But I didn’t think I had any right. In the end, I hadn’t been able to protect Kenan and Framere. And, besides, Fran was doing all right by herself.
I decided to keep quiet and protect her in another way, so I sparred with her, to be her teacher and instruct her. Unfortunately, she already had Teacher to take care of her. But that was all right.
There was something only I could do. I could become the wall she had to overcome.
Fran would become one of the great adventurers in history, but there might come a day when her strength would make her complacent. I would be the wall to remind her that there were always stronger people. That she was still young. It was a mission I couldn’t entrust to anyone else.
I couldn’t remember the last time I trained so hard. I even levelled up Whip Arts for the first time in ten years. Fifty was still young for a half-elf, but I’d been using elven years to count my life, and I was slacking off. I had plateaued, and I couldn’t improve everything I wanted, but I got a lot done in those few months.
Now that I was a Whip Master, I could beat Fran. It was a Class I had pursued for years. The best way to get stronger was to have a clear goal.
Today, I stood opposite Fran in the ring. She smiled without a trace of fear. Winning was the only thing on her mind.
“I won’t hold back.”
“Hm!”
I had to put my life on the line. Fran was much faster than me—I’d gathered that much from yesterday’s fight. I also knew that Black Lightning would fry me in one strike. She had gotten even stronger since she evolved.
I had to win this match. I had to become her wall. A close shave wouldn’t cut it. I had to defeat her completely. How could I say to her “You’ve got a long way to go!” if I was half-dead when I said it? I was ready to make my sacrifice.
“Begin!”
“Hexagon Tornado.”
Fran launched multiple spells as soon as the fight started. Teacher was definitely behind most of them. How else would you explain the thunder spells when she only cast wind? She sent lightning and tornados at me—wind to disrupt my whip, and electricity to paralyze me.
Good plan, but not good enough. I used my strongest Advanced Whip Art, releasing my charged-up mana all at once. Using most of my mana in one go was a risky move. If Fran handled this attack, I might very well lose.
“Invocation: Vaisravana!”
My whip lashed all over the arena, so fast that even I couldn’t keep up with it. It blew Fran’s spells away, and I attacked too fast for Fran to dodge. But she still had Physical Immunity. I felt my attacks land, but Fran was unscathed. She was visibly losing mana, though, so I kept up my assault. I had to keep going!
I couldn’t keep this attack up forever. Advanced Whip Arts rapidly ate away at my whip’s durability. If I used it for long enough, my weapon would tear itself to shreds. I loved this whip and I’d had it for a long time, but I was prepared to lose it in this fight. I would worry about the finals after I beat Fran.
Soon, she disappeared from my sight.
“Here it comes.”
Teleportation with Timespace Magic. Easy enough to handle, as long as you knew what you were looking for. I immediately distanced myself from my starting position. I saw her look of shock when she found that I wasn’t there, but she didn’t give up. Fire burned in her eyes. She navigated the storm of whiplashes by skill and magic. She was fast, much faster than I expected. Frannie, you’re so strong!
“Haaaa!”
Claaaang!
Beloved of the Spirits triggered. I couldn’t dodge her attack in time. I was in Fran’s range now. This was bad.
“Tsch!”
Her sword was charged up with black lightning! I had to dodge it!
“Aaaaah!”
***
I was a few inches away from piercing Amanda’s eye when I broke.
Gah!
“Huh?”
Amanda’s attack, still ravaging the whole arena, had finally drained my mana. Physical Immunity deactivated.
Argh!
Receiving the full weight of Amanda’s attack, half my blade immediately shattered. Fran suffered the same fate—a crack of Amanda’s whip sent her flying.
“Oof!”
I could regenerate later. I had to heal Fran! The warmth of her blood ran down my blade. Her body was covered with deep lashes. How many strikes had she taken? Physical Immunity was out of the question, but at least I had enough mana to heal her.
Heal!
Hang in there! Just don’t die yet!
My prayers went unanswered. The Cradle of Time activated, and time reversed.
“What just happened?! Ten seconds in and the battle is over!” the commentator spat into his microphone.
Surely it had been more than ten seconds?
“Fran’s salvo of spells was dissipated with a thundering crack of Amanda’s whip! If you caught anything after that, give us a call, because this commentator couldn’t keep up!”
If our attack had landed, I was confident we would’ve won. But Amanda’s whip was far stronger than I imagined.
“I’ll tell you what I can see, though: the destruction of our beautiful arena! Ten seconds in, and the ring looks like the ruins of a war zone!” The commentator accurately described the arena. What wasn’t broken was severely damaged.
“We…lost?”
Yeah.
Fran picked me up, still dazed. It had all gone by so quickly. “Already?” she muttered, still finding it difficult to believe.
Yeah.
Amanda approached us. “Fran, are you okay?!”
She was panting. That one move exhausted her, knocking out over half her mana. But she was more worried about Fran than herself. Amanda loved children, and it had to have gone against her very nature to kill Fran. Her face was filled with sorrow.
Fran got up and
