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**—Hom’s POV—**

“Here I come!”

The moment I began to dash forward with the aid of the thusters, I caught sight of Lemures moving in the corner of my vision.

“Lady Alfe!!”
“Alfe!!”

Master’s voice overlapped with mine. Lady Alfe swung her magic staff and sent me off.

“Linear Accel!”

The powerful chant resounded, filled with expectations for me. She believed I would win.

The acceleration magic circles she raised high into the sky numbered about twenty. Each one I passed through pulled both the unit and me higher and higher.

*—I can leap as far as I want!*

Under the drop in air pressure and the strain of gravity, both Altered’s unit and my body creaked and screamed in protest.

Clenching my teeth, I endured and pierced through layer after layer of clouds.

Lady Estea did not pursue. No matter what technique I unleashed, she surely intended to face it head-on.

Bursting into the brilliantly radiant sky, I looked down upon the distant earth far below.

Leaving the acceleration circles behind, the ascent of the unit slowed. This was likely the highest point I would reach.

“Master, Lady Alfe… thank you.”

Whispering my gratitude, I clenched my teeth once more.

Altered’s death from blood loss was only a matter of time. That was why this would surely be the final technique.

I ignited Altered’s jet propulsion system and spun the unit around in midair.

*—These months of training, the feelings I had built up, all of it, I shall stake on this strike.*

The charged cloth responded to my will, discharging sparks. The Plasma Vernier Master had repaired roared to life once more.

“Here I go—Blitzschlag!!”

The Plasma Vernier roared at full power, discharging violently behind me as Altered accelerated even further from its steep dive.

“Kh… aa—aaaaaaaahhh!!”

A sound, somewhere between a cry and a groan, leaked out through my clenched teeth. With each burst of acceleration, both Altered and I were subjected to impacts far beyond anything from the earlier ascent.

Yet the dive did not cease. We continued accelerating toward the colosseum—toward Lady Estea’s Selem Salkh.

“I see it!”

Canalford Academy came into view. The colosseum appeared—still no more than a speck, but my eyes had fixed upon it. I could feel it—Lady Estea was watching, waiting for me.

The ground surged up at terrifying speed, and a green silhouette wavered—Lady Estea had leapt.

“Fifth Blade—Sky-Shatering Gale!”

A voice that should never have reached me resounded in my head. Strangely enough, the situation mirrored that moment from before.

*—But I will not lose again.*

“This is it!!”

I swung Altered’s leg downward like a cleaving strike. The wind-wreathed blade and my lightning-charged blow clashed with a violent roar.

““Haaaaaahhh!!””

Our voices overlapped as the strikes collided.

The Plasma Vernier flared at maximum output, pouring strength into Altered.

“I—will not lose!!”

Steel armor and blades clashed, scattering sparks. At last, my all-out strike overpowered Lady Estea’s attack.

But Altered, still driven by momentum, could not stop. Selem Salkh lost balance under the force, and with our machines entangled, we crashed down into the colosseum.