Sasaki's veins bulged as he forced his body against the weight of the Shinra statue. Again and again he heaved, the earth cracking beneath his feet as he managed only a few seconds of lift before it thundered back to the ground. His arms trembled. His breath came ragged. But he refused to stop.
Jackson, still recovering, narrowed his eyes.Watching Sasaki as he keeps dropping and picking it up again… I get it now."
Alfie blinked, wiping sweat from his brow. "Get what?"
Jackson pushed himself to his feet, determination burning in his eyes. "He's not just being reckless.Mister Sasaki's building himself—his limit grows with every attempt. He's trying to make his body stronger, so when the time comes, he can lift it in one go and last the full thirty minutes. We can't let him outsmart us. Alfie, we'll do the same."
"That's not possible."
Lucy's voice cut across the field, sharp as a blade. She stood at the edge of the training ground, arms folded, her gaze stern. "Don't fool yourselves. Sasaki is relying purely on raw strength, not strategy. His repeated attempts aren't about growth—they're born of desperation. His endurance will shatter before he gains anything lasting,you just found a meaningful solution through his stupid way."
Jackson froze, embarrassed. Alfie laughed faintly. "Hah… just when I thought Mr. Reaper was doing something right for the first time."
Sasaki, still panting, managed a grin through his exhaustion. "Well, maybe you're right. But thanks to Jack, I think I'll stick to his plan anyway. Call it foolishness if you like—it's mine to bear."
Jackson blinked, surprised at the admission. Alfie clenched his fists. "Fine then, Jack. Let's build our strength together. Even if it kills us."
The three of them gazed at their statues. The ground shook as stone shifted again and again—Sasaki pushing to forty seconds before dropping, Alfie scraping his way to ten or fifteen, Jackson barely holding five to seven before collapsing.
Lucy, watching them with her sharp eyes, finally allowed a faint smile. "First day and already pushing their limits. Interesting…"
She turned away, disappearing for a moment. In the nearby town, she entered a mage's shop and purchased roasted chicken steaks and chilled soft drinks. By the time she switched back to the stone bench overlooking the training field, she was already biting into a skewer, observing her students with quiet satisfaction.
---
Suddenly, the air shifted. A wave of Renshi aura—feint, refined, and heavy—swept across the field. Lucy froze mid-bite, her expression hardening.
Her eyes sharpened. "...Who's there?"
A calm voice answered, carried by the wind itself. "Very sensitive of you. I didn't expect you to sense me so soon."
The space rippled, and a man emerged from the air itself. He had been standing there for ten seconds already, cloaked in silence.
Lucy set the skewer down and rose from the bench, every muscle taut. "State your business, Mister. You've got three seconds."
"Relax, young lady." The man's tone was light, almost playful. He stepped casually to the bench and picked up one of her steaks, biting into it without permission. "I didn't come to fight. Just a friendly conversation, if you don't mind."
Lucy's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Same old trick. Same disrespect. I won't tolerate anyone taking my food without permission again. Leave now, before I break your nose."
"Hey, hey. No need to get violent." He raised a hand, pretending innocence. "I told you—I'm not here for trouble. Just wanted to know a few things about you. I'm just a regular Shinra, looking to meet new people."
And with that, he pulled away the disguise covering his face.
Lucy's eyes flashed with recognition. "You can't fool me. Before you became a Special Darkside Knight… I knew you."
The man's smirk faded, his expression stiffening. "Impossible. I'm ten, fifteen years older than you. We've never met."
Lucy's form shimmered. Her body shifted—her aura flared—and in a blink, she stood before him wearing another face, another body. Marco.
The Special Darkside Knight's eyes widened in shock. "...Marco? That's not possible. How are you a woman? Is that another disguise?"
Lucy's voice was calm, serious. "Don't you notice how my Renshi isn't as overwhelming as before? I'm not Marco. My name… is Lucy. Marco was me, a long time ago. A past I abandoned."
The Special Darkside Knight—Raizer—stared at her in disbelief, his composure cracking.
"Lucy… Raizer," she said softly.
He staggered back. "No… it can't be. Marco, my savior… a woman all along? If you really are who you claim, then prove it. Tell me something no one else could know."
Lucy's eyes softened. "Ten years ago. You were trapped on a mission against four Alpha darkside spirits. But it wasn't Alphas—it was four Specials. You would have died there. Then the hero from the Kingdom of Mechan arrived, cutting them down one by one."
She shifted back to her true form, standing proudly.
Raizer trembled, his grip tightening at his side. "...It really is you. Marco—, Mrs Marco. My savior. I never thought… I'd meet you here again."
Lucy chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Don't call me Marco. And don't add 'Mrs.' either—I'm not married."
Lucy exhaled, almost in awe. "You've grown so much stronger since back then. If we dueled now… I don't think I'd defeat you in m seconds like back then."
"You're underestimating yourself,"Miss Lucy
"Lucy "
drawing two blades from her storage ring and tossing one his way. He caught it effortlessly, the steel ringing in his hand.
"Show me how much you've grown, Raizer. Give me your best shot. No Renshi."
---
The clash was immediate. Their blades screamed against each other, sparks flying as steel met steel. Lucy's strikes were precise and unrelenting, Raizer's parries sharp but heavy with pressure.
Each swing carried decades of training. Each clash resounded like thunder across the training field.
From across the ground, Alfie and Jackson stopped mid-lift, staring in shock. Sasaki blinked once—then vanished, reappearing near them in Switch Mode, his Renshi flaring as he forged a massive blade of energy in his hand.
"GET AWAY FROM LUCY!" Sasaki roared, charging forward.
But the moment his blade ignited, the training field rejected him violently. The anti-Renshi wards embedded in the ground crackled, shattering his attack into nothing and slamming him back with brute force.
"Stay out of this!" Lucy's voice cracked like a whip, her blade locking against Raizer's as sparks burst between them. "He's no enemy—he's an old friend! Back to training, all of you!"
The three froze, torn between loyalty and obedience.
Meanwhile, Lucy and Raizer's swords danced like lightning, each strike sharper, faster, heavier than the last—an echo of their pasts, and the proof of their present strength.