A brilliant blue light burst from the soul stigmata engraved over Aaron’s left chest. The blue aura flared violently, coiling around his spear like a living flame.

I calmly watched him as he gathered his energy, then turned my gaze toward Bella and Raios, who were standing behind him. They were watching us with gleaming eyes, clearly entertained by how things were unfolding.

“What are you doing? Just going to stand there and watch?” I said.

“Huh?”

I tilted my head lazily. “You’re part of the same party, aren’t you? Come on, you should join in.”

Bella and Raios let out incredulous laughs.

Bella sighed and shook her head. “Aaron, I think that kid’s lost his mind.”

Raios clicked his tongue, as if to say he saw this coming. “I told you from the start, didn’t I? You shouldn’t trust him.”

Aaron smiled thinly, ignoring Raios completely, as he looked straight at me. “Hah. Quite the confidence, isn’t it?”

Even though a smile hung on his face, his eyes, narrowed and glinting coldly, were anything but friendly. It seemed my casual attitude had struck a nerve.

He continued, “Fine then. Let’s see if that confidence of yours is actually backed by skill.”

Aaron’s eyes flashed. Then, in the blink of an eye, his body blurred forward, and his spearhead was suddenly right in front of me. However, I caught it with one hand. Just like snatching a fish from the water, my fingers closed around the charging spearhead.

His pupils widened. Before he could react, I yanked the weapon toward me and kicked him squarely in the gut.

Aaron was sent skidding backward, boots scraping against the ground. He stared at his spear in disbelief, eyes trembling. The blue aura still burned fiercely along the spear tip.

“How did you... grab that bare-handed?” he asked.

A skilled martial artist could catch a blade by wrapping aura around their hands, but that was only possible if the difference in power between the two fighters was overwhelming. Moreover, my main weapon of choice wasn’t my fist. I was a swordsman.

Aaron’s expression hardened. “It wasn’t all talk after all.”

His eyes sharpened as his aura surged higher. He had intended to go easy on a junior. But apparently, that wouldn’t do.

“If you’re serious, then I’ll be serious too,” he said.

He gripped his spear tighter and crouched low, and a violent burst of blue aura erupted around him.

“Blink.”

Aaron vanished, his form melting into the air itself, instantly reappearing behind me. His spear lunged, aiming straight for my back. It was so fast, it almost seemed like space itself had shifted.

A smirk tugged at my lips. “Serious? Me?”

I stomped the ground lightly. It was time for Berald Combat Style: Tremor Step. The earth cracked open beneath our feet, throwing up a wave of stone and soil. Aaron’s balance broke, his spear veering off course. I caught the spearhead again and yanked hard.

“Urgh!”

Aaron was pulled forward like a fish caught on a hook. My other hand shot out, seizing him by the throat.

“G-gah!”

“Who said I was being serious?”

Aaron was strong. Given time, he would become one of the top-ranked heroes, perhaps even rivaling Yurina one day. But that was in the future. Right now, his power was still a step below even her recently blossomed strength.

I tightened my grip. “You’re the only one trying your hardest, you little kid.”

“Ghh! Ughh!”

Aaron struggled desperately, dropping his spear as his face turned pale. His legs kicked helplessly in the air.

“Aaron!” Bella shouted, charging toward me with her sword flashing.

Her sword whistled through the air at terrifying speed, but I pulled Aaron in front of me, using him as a human shield.

“Ugh!”

She twisted her sword at the last moment to avoid striking him, but the motion threw her balance completely off. Her upper body was wide open.

I immediately used Berald Combat Style: Thunder Kick. The resulting impact resounded through the clearing. Yet, it wasn’t even comparable to the kick she had delivered to Laneige earlier. This one sent her flying like a rag doll, crashing to the ground.

Bella collapsed, coughing and retching violently. “Gah! Urgh! Bleurgh!”

I looked down at her and said in a condescending tone, “When your ally’s being held hostage, don’t rush in blindly. Unless you’re ready to cut them down yourself.”

She trembled, clutching her stomach, shaking with fury and pain. “You... bastard.”

“Ghh! Kahh!”

I flung Aaron toward a nearby tree. He hit it hard, coughing and gasping for breath. Grinding his teeth, he reached out for his spear. It rose from the ground, floating toward him, but I stepped on the shaft, slamming it back into the dirt. Aaron froze, eyes wide, still panting.

I said calmly, “If you’re a warrior, don’t ever let go of your weapon. Even if it feels like you’re about to die.”

I kicked the spear, sending it skidding across the ground until it stopped in front of him.

Aaron stared down at it, fists trembling violently as rage boiled in his eyes. “Are you... trying to teach me right now?”

I replied casually, “I was planning to, but I’ve changed my mind.”

I clicked my tongue and shook my head. “Doesn’t really seem worth the effort.”

Aaron’s face twisted with fury. “You bastard...”

***

Aaron reached out toward the spear lying on the ground. It rose into the air on its own and flew back into his grasp. His fingers clenched around the shaft hard enough for the wood to creak. But then, something about the situation struck him as odd.

Wait a second. Has Dale ever used his sword during this entire fight? he thought.

He turned his head sharply, searching for Dale. There he was, standing at ease, one hand loosely holding his sword, the tip brushing the ground. That meant Dale had fought both him and Bella at the same time, without even using his sword hand. Moreover, he was a swordsman, no less.

Aaron’s eyes trembled as he stared at Dale. “What... the hell are you?”

This wasn’t something that could be explained away by rank or seniority anymore.

Is he even really a cadet? Aaron wondered.

Among ranked heroes, only those at the very top, the ones people called Masters, could pull off something like this. But this was impossible in this case. The title Master was reserved for heroes powerful enough to fight a high-ranking demon, such as an Archbishop-level demon, alone. Even within the Hero Academy, aside from the Thunder God Lionel Ryu, no one had ever been acknowledged as a Master.

But does this mean that t-this this third-year cadet... is he really hiding Master-level power? Aaron doubted himself.

Grinding his teeth, he raised his spear. “Ridiculous.”

He exhaled sharply, gathering his strength. A brilliant halo of light exploded from the soul stigmata on his chest. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Bella panickedly shouted, “A-Aaron!”

Ignoring her, Aaron drew out every last drop of his power, his Blessing of the Meteor. “GRAAAAAHHHHHH!”

The sound of bones grinding filled the air as veins bulged like tree roots beneath his skin. That blessing was too powerful for a human body to endure, and just invoking it meant he would be bedridden for at least a week. But he didn’t care about that right now.

Aaron stomped and drew his arm back. The ground shook as blue light gathered furiously around his spear. With a roar, he hurled his weapon with all his strength. A blinding flare erupted from the spear’s tip. It tore through the air faster than sound, and a streak of blue brilliance trailed behind it like a meteor falling from the heavens.

Everything in its path, stone, soil, and trees, was obliterated to dust. The ground caved in, leaving behind a crater several meters deep. The power was overwhelming, almost godlike. It was more than enough to explain why people would one day call him the Meteor Spear.

But that was in the future.

***

A low chuckle escaped my lips. “You’re trying hard, kid.”

I clenched my fist and said, “Now burn.”

Flames roared to life, wrapping around my entire body. Through the swirling ash-gray smoke, my fist blazed like molten metal.

I executed Berald Combat Style: Mountain Breaker. A thunderous impact ripped through the land. The shockwave was like a tidal surge, sweeping across the field.

Caught in the blast, Aaron coughed up blood and went flying. He hit the ground hard, bouncing and rolling dozens of meters before coming to a stop, falling unconscious.

“Phew.”

I let the embers die down and slid the sword, the one I hadn’t even used once, back into its sheath.

Then I turned to Raios. “Senior Raios.”

Raios, who had been gaping the entire time, jumped at the sound of my voice. “Y-yeah?”

“Please take care of Senior Aaron and Senior Bella.”

Aaron was out cold. Bella wasn’t unconscious, but she was far too battered to move.

He nodded stiffly, almost like a soldier before a general. “R-right! Got it!”

After he ran off toward Aaron’s fallen body, I turned toward Laneige. She was staring at me blankly, her eyes wide in disbelief.

When our eyes met, she flinched. “Ah!”

I sighed softly, thinking to myself, Was this really the right thing to do?

Considering the disaster she had caused in my previous life, the prospect of killing her here and ending it before it began made sense. But I had already made my choice. This time, I would take the hand I once ignored. I would offer warmth to the witch who had only ever known the cold.

She winced as she tried to stand. “T-thank... you. Ack!”

It seemed like she had twisted her ankle when she fell earlier.

I silently looked at her. Her lips were still pale, her body trembling. The Blessing of Frost clung to her like a curse. I raised my palm, summoning a small flame. It was a soft, grayish ember that flickered quietly. I didn’t know if it would really warm her, but I brought it close nonetheless.

“Ah!”

Her eyes widened as the ashen flame reached her face. Her trembling stopped, and color returned to her lips, chasing away the cold.

“How does it feel?” I held the flame a little closer. “Is it... warm now?”