He was irritated.

How could she give him such a basic method of searching?

Gritting his teeth, he watched the dust whirls before him.

Three dust whirls.

He slashed out with the sword, the pressure extending to his wrists. There were two pressures, canceling each other. One pressure flowed through Layfon's body, causing him to kneel on the ground.

Nina kept silent.

She was directing her attack at another whirl.

"Whirl Kei (Senkei)...." he murmured, then rolled away from his current position to confirm the situation.

Three figures separated Layfon and Nina.

This was an Internal-type Kei technique. It could strengthen the legs tremendously and made high speed movement possible. These three must have gone through special training in Whirl Kei.

After confirming their positions, the enemies had used their attack to confuse their vision, then executed a speedy attack with Whirl Kei. Their execution was flawless. They must have had special training in it.

They didn't need to set up traps at all. The simultaneous attack of the Whirl Kei was the biggest trap.

(But....)

That strategy had also given Layfon's team a chance. He and Nina had completely attracted the enemy's attention. Next, they only needed to make an opening for Sharnid....

And he realized his foolishness.

Three people separated him and Nina. Once Nina fell, they would have lost.

"Senpai!"

Layfon couldn't get up because of the numbness in his knees. The pressure of the high speed attack remained in his body, preventing him from using his strength.

As he was trying to get up, one of the opponents rushed to him again with a high-speed Whirl Kei attack. Dust filled the air. A presence that Layfon couldn't see with his eyes was closing in. He blocked the attack with his sword. The instability of his legs caused him to fly through the air and he fell, rolling on the ground.

The pressure of the attack ran through his body. Sparks exploded in his vision. He had almost hit his head on the ground. Even so, he still had to get back up. He saw Nina defending from a Whirl Kei attack with her iron whips.

Rooted tightly on the spot, she held tight to her two irons whips, receiving the high speed strikes.

Compared to attacking, she was probably better at defense. She watched her two opponents calmly, and used her External-type Burst Kei to minimize the force of the strikes.

Which was completely different from the clumsy-looking Layfon, rolling on the ground like a fool. In Nina's eyes was an indomitable light. The two iron whips spoke true of her determination.

That pose was like a firm iron fortress.

He had no time to be fascinated by the scene.

Again, he blocked an attack with his sword, and fell tumbling on the dusty ground.

"This is annoying!" Layfon's attacker said. Layfon couldn't see his opponent's expression through the dust screen, but he understood the enemy was frustrated that Layfon could block the speedy attacks despite his clumsiness.

Another strike. Layfon once again tumbled across the earth. He was worse than a rolling stone. All he heard was the vibration deep in his ears. He couldn't hear any external noise properly. His head had been hit numerous times and his consciousness began to dim.

(Why am I doing this?)

He staggered to his feet and was still considering this question as he once again received another attack, only to fall rolling on the ground.

(It doesn't matter if we lose, right?)

This wasn't a fight to determine the fate of the city. This was just a school activity. It shouldn't matter if they lost. The Academy City wouldn't lose its Electronic Fairy because of it.

Even so, why was he letting the enemy attack him? For what purpose was he sustaining all these injuries? He couldn't comprehend what he was doing.

(It shouldn't matter if we lose?)

He confirmed once more.

(Yes. It doesn't matter.)

It was all right to throw away his sword. It was all right to stay still and not get up. It was unnecessary to make himself more tired and muddy. He had a break today, but he had to clean the Central Mechanism Chamber tomorrow. It wouldn't do to waste his strength here. He might even fall ill.

It wasn't good to damage his physical condition, otherwise he couldn't make any money. He was an orphan without anyone to rely on, so he needed money. No one would send him an allowance. He could only rely on the scholarship. Sure, his school fees were waived, but if the Student President changed his mind, all the privileges would disappear. To save up for his future, he must make money.

Money, money, money....

All of a sudden, he subconsciously looked at the sword held tightly in his hand. Light still emitted from the green Dite.

(It was always money on my lips in the past.)

He didn't hate himself. In truth, money was necessary.

(Wasn't there something else?)

Only that he was more desperate in the past. Not for himself, but for the running of the orphanage. The Head of the orphanage, his adopted father, the person who first saw the potential of katana skill in Layfon, his Master, viewed money as trash. To put it in a worse light, he had no concept of money. So they were always troubled with finances. When Layfon found out he had the talent for the katana, he had decided to use this ability to earn money. For that purpose, he was determined to obtain a Heaven's Blade and become the best fighter in Grendan. In Layfon's heart, he didn't hold any simple and innocent admiration for the strong. He was only realistically following the rules of the world and from there, chose his path.

And now, he only needed to make money for himself. Enough money to keep on living. This was in itself difficult, but he didn't have to be as desperate as before.

(Don't I have something more important?)

He contemplated while rolling on the ground, his brain almost empty from sustaining repeated hits.

For example, the opposite sex.

(How naive.)

He was disappointed that this was the first thing that came to mind. But because of this thought, the face of his childhood friend, Leerin, surfaced. And lastly was the feeling of their lips touching.

(But what can I do for Leerin?)

Nothing. He wanted her to see him finding his purpose in this city - A Layfon who had succeeded in something other than the katana. But this felt different from what he wanted to do for Leerin. A gap forever separated people in different mobile cities, then perhaps, in his heart, he failed to look at Leerin as someone other than his childhood friend.

The touch of her lips made him realize she was female, but he still failed to look at her as someone of the opposite sex.

(We're like siblings, even though we aren't related by blood.)

It was a feeling nurtured through living in the same orphanage. That couldn't be helped.

(Then....)

Then who? As he thought of that, only Nina was in his line of sight. She stood in the Military Arts world that Layfon had given up. He envied her bright and dazzling form.

And he remembered three other students. One of them was in Military Arts, but they were all striving for what they wanted to do. He was jealous of that bright form.

Felli's experience was similar to his. A girl who believed she had no other choice but to follow the footsteps of her inborn ability. Although the road she had gone through to arrive here was different from his, he could understand her feeling on Naruki and her friends. They were too dazzling.

(Ahah, what a mess.)

What could he do for them? Nothing?

He thought, rolling again on the ground. His opponent continued to prattle off his reproofs under his breath. Things like "Hurry up and fall." "This is so annoying." "I don't have time for this."

What could he do? What did he want to do?

He couldn't think up an answer.

Not even an answer as tiny as the tip of his finger nail.

How troublesome.

He finally looked around him. He hadn't been counting, so he wasn't sure how many times he had been falling and climbing back to his feet. The dead end of his thoughts forced him back into the present.

"....Senpai?" he muttered, toppling onto the ground from another attack.

The sight he then saw in that one single moment was vividly carved into his mind.

She was kneeling on one knee.

No matter how good she was at defense, there had to be a limit. The accumulated injuries had taken away the strength in her legs.

She had become less responsive. The Kei receiving the high-speed attack was losing its strength. The light of her Kei flow in the iron whips had lost its vitality.

(No!)

Senpai will fall.

Senpai will fall.

The platoon will fail.

Fail.

The team will be disbanded.

Senpai will never get back her spirit.

Such naive thoughts surfaced one after another in Layfon's head.

(This won't do.)

And till now, the thought of losing had already disappeared. Layfon picked himself up.

"You're so annoying!" His opponent howled and closed in for another high-speed attack.

Layfon jumped aside. He already knew the position of his opponent. Since the movement was based on Whirl Kei, what came next was just a straight path to Layfon. Once Layfon timed the moment of his enemy's move, determining his opponent's position wouldn't be a problem at all.

The important point was how to judge the timing.

Forgetting about the man who just sped past him, Layfon raised his sword.

"That's a bit far."

Because he'd been rolling on the ground, he now stood a fair bit of a distance from Nina. Even if he ran over now, he wouldn't make it in time.

"In that case...."

He slashed out with his sword. He wasn't even thinking of the Kei flowing through his blade. This was a natural movement for him. Changing the quality of the Kei on his Dite, the Kei shot out of his blade on the momentum of its slashing movement.

It wasn't the same as shooting out Kei. He focused his Kei on one point only.

This was one of the moves of the External-type Burst Kei - Needle Kei (Shin Kei).

Kei sharp as needles struck one of the members of the 16th platoon and sent him sailing through the air.

While the other attacker was spacing out at his suddenly flying comrade, Layfon extended his Kei to his feet.

An Internal-type Kei -- Whirl Kei.

As he headed for Nina, he used his sword to send another attacker flying.

He stopped behind Nina and searched around for more enemies. The two people he had sent flying through the air had not returned to the field. He couldn't feel any hostile Kei. Those two must have fainted.

"You...."

Layfon didn't understand Nina's surprise. What was so surprising about that?

Just when he was confused over this, the siren rang.

"The flag's been destroyed! The 17th platoon wins!"

The commentator shouted excitedly. The audience roared in commotion.

"Hahaha! Did you see? I destroyed the flag with two shots, as promised," Sharnid's excited voice came through the transmitter.

But it sounded far away to Layfon.

He toppled.