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In the first match, we boarded our respective units without a moment’s rest.

Our first-round opponents were the noble team from Class 2-A—Lord of Lords.

“Now thennnnnn! It’s tiiiiime for the fiiiiirst roooound match!!”
“Making their deeeebut in the tournament—Loooord of Loooords!!”

With Johnny’s booming introduction, three Löwe units appeared at the entrance gate. Each was a standard model Mecha Soldier, armed with sabers—nothing out of the ordinary for a Löwe.

“Crush those demi-human nobodies!”

The stands packed with nobles were clearly fired up. It was likely a matter of pride—they couldn’t afford to lose to Class 1-F, a so-called “discriminated class” deliberately established beneath the elite Class 2-A.

In fact, the tournament brackets didn’t even list Class 2-F, nor D or E classes. The rankings reflected not just entrance scores, but also performance during the first year—so the gap in ability widened as students moved up the grades.

“There’s no way we’d lose to some low-born scum no one’s ever heard of, right!?”

Ignis shouted provocatively, and his entourage responded with cheers. It seemed Lord of Lords were also part of Ignis’ circle. The Löwe units halted their advance, raised their Mecha hands toward us, and bent four fingers inward in a taunting gesture.

“Whoa there! A bold provocation right out the gate! Could this mean they’re really expecting something from their opponents!?”

Johnny quickly stepped in to spin the childish and transparent provocation in a more favorable light.

“Nyahaha!”
“You better watch closely—‘cause this is gonna be one hell of a fight!”

Laughter and cheers erupted like a burst of fireworks from backstage, matching the crowd’s enthusiasm. The joyful voices from the noble dorm’s students helped ease our tension.

“…That was Lady Farah and the others, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. Only they would laugh like that, even in the middle of such a loud cheer.”

Vannabelle’s group clearly wasn’t feeling pressured by the situation.

“She said she was nervous, but it looks like she’s doing fine.”
“Knowing Vannabelle, she might’ve actually gotten fired up by this whole uphill battle.”

Their unshakable strength in the face of adversity was reassuring—even to us, who stood in the same position.

Now then, it was about time for us to make our entrance—

“Annnnd next up—one of my personal favorite teams to watch!! Headed by the Altered, it’s Reeeeeinforce!!”

Before I had time to mentally prepare, Johnny’s voice rang out as he loudly introduced us.

“I’ll go on ahead, Master.”
“I’ll be right behind you, Hom.”

The moment Hom stepped into the arena, cheers erupted from the stands for the Altered. While its name hadn’t been mentioned explicitly, it had been referenced during Chairman Felix’s speech—so for Mecha Soldier enthusiasts like Isaac and Romeo, as well as general machine aficionados, it had become the center of attention.

“Even the Magic Soldier is amazing!”
“Is there really a student who can pilot that Lemures!?”

Lemures, which followed after Hom, also received high praise. We couldn’t see her expression through the image plate, but the delighted sound of Alfe’s breathing, shared via sound-enhancing magic, conveyed her excitement.

“Well then, I guess it’s my turn.”

With a deep breath, I advanced my beloved Arkecius.

The crowd, still buzzing with excitement and awe over the custom Mecha Soldiers—Altered and Lemures—grew restless in a very different way the moment I entered.

“What’s with that Subordinate Unit…?”
“Isn’t that an antique Orum?”

Well, considering we were competing as a team, it was natural they’d expect every member to be piloting a custom Mecha Soldier. The audience had no way of knowing that I suffered from Aether Overproduction Syndrome—a condition that left my body incapable of physical growth—so their reaction was understandable.

“The Altered and the Lemuress! Even better than I imagined—what magnificent machines!! Buuuuut what’s this!? Following them is a suuuuuubordinate uuuuuunit!?”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me! I don’t care how souped-up it is, there’s no way some second-rate Subordinate Unit can take on a Löwe!”
“…Indeed. There’s no need for Master to trouble herself.”

Hom’s calm voice cut through the tension, in quiet response to the opposing team’s outburst over Johnny’s comment.

“Take ’em down!”
“Show them what noble pride really looks like!”

Just before the battle began, the nobles in the stands—centered around Ignis—shouted their support at the top of their lungs.

“I shall be going, Master, Lady Alfe.”
“We’re counting on you, Hom.”
“Do your best, Hom!”

At the moment Hom stepped forward, Alfe and I simultaneously moved back. In response to our maneuver, the opposing team pointed their sabers at us.

“Hey, don’t screw around! What’s with this one-on-three crap!?”
“Is the little scrap-bot gonna need Lemures to babysit it~?”
“Of course not. I’ll be handling you all on my own.”

Despite the mocking jeers thrown our way, Hom remained calm.

With this, I felt confident sending her into the fight without worry.

“Unbelievableeeeee! A sudden one-on-three showdown!! I knew I’d heard this setup before—this is just like Estea’s legendary match in the exhibition!!”

Having also announced the exhibition match, Johnny now drew direct comparisons between Hom’s situation and that legendary battle.

A murmur swept through the crowd, especially from those who had shown intense interest in Altered and Lemures during our entrance.

“Could it beeeee that we’re about to witness a recreation of that faaaaamous exhibition match!? Or will the rising star Altered faaaaade into oblivion before our very eyyyyyes!?”

Just as Johnny said, if Hom could wipe out all three Löwes by herself, it would be nothing short of a re-enactment of Estea’s legendary fight.

“Now theeeeen! Let the maaaatch… begiiiiiiiiin!!”

Standing at the center of the Colosseum, Johnny suddenly soared into the air toward the announcer’s booth using a levitation spell.

The moment the match officially began, Hom lowered herself into a crouch, one hand pressed to the ground.

“Pffft! What is that!?”
“Is that her ‘I’m so sorry’ pose or what!?”

The opposing team burst into laughter at Altered’s stance—but both Alfe and I already understood what Hom was about to do.

“Blitzraid!!”

The Altered’s charged-cloth began discharging electricity, and the plasma vernier thrusters unfolded from its back.

At the same moment the main unit’s magic stone light lit up in a dazzling amber glow, plasma-energized air burst forth—and the Altered launched forward with explosive speed.

Amid a deafening roar and howling wind, Hom’s spinning kick landed with blinding speed.

The Löwe standing directly in front of Altered had both its legs shattered and collapsed to the ground.

“Aaaaand there it is! A lightning-fast striiiiike!! Altered has shattered the Löwe’s legs in a single blow!!”

The instant knockdown ruling at the start of the match sent the arena into an uproar of cheers.

“So that’s Hom’s new Blitzraid…”
“Right. Altered’s version of Blitzraid doesn’t require the rails. Just the thrust from the new vernier system I developed is enough to match the same burst of speed.”
“Haaah!? What… the hell…!?”
“The match has already begun.”

Hom leapt over the downed Löwe and went straight after the remaining two units.

“G-Get away! Don’t come any cloooooser!”

Panicked and unable to comprehend what was happening, the enemy pilots flailed wildly with their sabers, reacting more in terror than strategy.

“Futile.”

A right straight, powered by the thrusters mounted on Altered’s arm, crushed the head of the second Löwe in an instant.

“I-I can’t even see her! What the hell is going on!?”
“Fall back! FALL BACK!!!”

With its head destroyed—and along with it, the main camera—one Löwe fell backward, tangled up with the last remaining, still-intact unit as they both stumbled away.

But Hom seized the right arm of the headless Löwe and began bending it in the opposite direction of its joints.

“OHHH!! Contestant Hom has taken the Löwe’s arm! And nowwwww—!”

Johnny’s heated commentary was met with equally explosive cheers, shaking the Colosseum to its foundation.

“Stooooop! Dammit, stop—! Quit it!!”

Ignoring the desperate cries of the enemy pilot, Hom forced the entire unit down, yanked its arm behind its back, and snapped it in two.

“Unbelievable! Lord of Lords is being taken down one after another with barely a fight!! Only one unit remains—how will it even try to keep up!?”
“Damn youuuuuuuuuuuu!!”

The final Löwe charged in, brandishing its saber, using its thrusters to propel itself at Hom with all the fury it could muster.

But Hom sidestepped with minimal movement, drove a knee into the Löwe’s torso—carefully avoiding the cockpit—and then launched it backward with a forward kick.

The Löwe, flung through the air at high speed, couldn’t recover its posture with its thrusters and crashed flat on its back against the arena floor.

Hom immediately took a defensive stance, ready for a counterattack—but the Löwe didn’t so much as twitch.

“Oh…? What’s this…?”

Johnny cautiously emerged from the announcer’s booth, hand to his ear as he examined the fallen Löwe from a safe distance.

“We will now begin the coooouuuuuunt!!”

It seemed the judgment was that the unit hadn’t been disabled by damage to the machine—but because the pilot was unable to continue.

“Oooone! Twooooooo—!”

Johnny’s voice echoed across the entire Colosseum. As the count progressed, the crowd began joining in, and soon the arena was roaring with a chorus of cheers.

“Thrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”

At the count of three, a pilot is declared incapacitated and the match automatically ends in a knockdown ruling.

“Pilot deemed unable to continue—knockdown confirmed! The winner is…
REEEEEEEIIIIINFORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRCE!!”

With Johnny’s triumphant announcement, a thunderous cheer erupted throughout the arena. Betting tickets were thrown into the air like confetti, and even inside my cockpit, I could feel the heat of the crowd’s excitement.

“What a first round! What a fight! The appearance of this unexpected dark horse has me absolutely fired uuuuuuuuuup!!”

The match had ended in under three minutes. Many in the audience were in disbelief—and thrilled—as they broke into applause for us.

“Altered! Altered!”
“Altered! Altered!”

A chant began to rise from the general spectators, calling for Altered—and in moments, it had swept across the entire Colosseum.

“Master…”

Hom’s Altered returned to where Alfe and I were waiting.

I couldn’t see Hom’s expression through the cockpit—but I was sure she was wearing a proud smile.

“You did great, Hom.”
“Yes. I think I’m finally getting the feel for Altered.”

Hom’s voice, slightly breathless, came through as Altered turned, clearly aware of the cheering audience. It didn’t take long to realize she was probably looking toward Estea.

“So, how is she?”
“Lady Estea… appears to have accepted my challenge.”

There was a brightness, a lively joy in Hom’s voice as she answered me.

***

#Altered#

The ultimate Legion that Leafa constructed as Hom’s personal unit for her participation in the Zersteller – Canalford Cup.
While its armor is fashioned from standard Legion materials, its internal frame incorporates the Fraternity Frame of the Löwe, which was previously used in the university division.

The Altered is a unit designed with maximum responsiveness in mind, boasting the flexibility and reaction speed necessary to perfectly trace Hom’s movements in her martial arts combat style.

It features two distinctive types of equipment.
One is a thruster mechanism housed within the forearm armor, used during melee attacks. When executing a punch, the arm armor unfolds, and the internal verniers fire—enhancing the impact force of the strike while also increasing the speed of the punch.

The second is a propulsion unit mounted on its back, known as the Plasma Vernier. This device falls under so-called “forbidden science,” a repurposed electric propulsion system originally developed by the Old Humanity for spacecraft thrust.

The theoretical groundwork comes from the Professor at Canalford High Educational Institute, who studied in the southern continent. He proposed the concept to Leafa, who then adapted it for the machine.
The mechanism itself is relatively simple: it draws in ambient air as propellant, electrically heats it within a chamber to an overheated state, and converts it into plasma.

The plasma is then accelerated in a specific direction using the Lorentz force, generated by electromagnetic fields also produced electrically. By expelling this through a nozzle—further compressing and stabilizing the flow—it generates an intense, focused thrust. This allows the unit to momentarily achieve acceleration several times greater than that of standard thrusters—as if it had been kicked violently in the back, so to speak.

Incidentally, in order to supply the necessary electrical power, both sides of the Plasma Vernier are equipped with special cloths known as Charged-Cloth, which store electricity using magic tool-based principles. These function similarly to capacitors from Old Humanity’s science, and the stored power is used to plasma-ize the intake air and generate the electromagnetic fields needed for the Lorentz force.