Three years had passed since that day...
Yuu and his friends were now part of the revolutionary army known as Libertas, an ancient word meaning "freedom," led by the man with the eyepatch Yuu had met first when he was inside the machine—Kyorano Sobe.
But the most important thing was that he and his friends had all achieved their dream: they had become Espers—and on the very same day.During his time at Yuu's home, Hitoshi had learned of his dream to become an Esper, a dream he had shared with his friends.Unfortunately, the other orphaned children who had once been part of their group had remained behind in Reeda, and Yuu had heard nothing from them since.The Kingdom had no idea that the members of Libertas were training Espers in secret, and it was far too dangerous to risk exposure. For that reason, Kyorano had forbidden all contact with the village.
The ones who had rescued his friends that day were two former members of the Aegir, Lucas Kenichiro and Mercure Serasaki, along with Shinya, Kyorano's adopted daughter—a cheerful and energetic girl.
Even though Shinya was older than the rest of them, ever since they became Espers, she remained with the group.She had personally requested to be assigned as their instructor.Petite for her nineteen years, she had beautiful lilac-colored hair neatly tied with little ribbons, and always wore a strange ring set with a black pearl.
Yuu and his friends quickly realized she was always trying her hardest to appear flawless—and for that reason, the whole group loved teasing her.
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They were outside, up in the mountains, training their powers."Come on, kid, why don't you show me how good you are at fighting?" she teased, giggling.
"Oh yeah, I'll make you feel my flames!" Yuu shouted, fired up. He took a deep breath and a burst of fire shot from his mouth, but Shinya easily deflected the attack with her large scythe.
"That's all you got, kid?" she laughed.
"Toru, now!" Yuu yelled.
"Here I go!" his friend replied. From the ground beneath Shinya's feet, roots sprouted and climbed up her body, immobilizing her.
"Hehe," Toru laughed as the roots tightened around her.
"Tsk, what are you trying to do?" Shinya spun her scythe and was free in an instant.
"You're exposed," said Keiji behind her, hurling a lightning bolt. Again, Shinya anticipated it and blocked the lightning with her scythe, then knocked Keiji down with a kick.
"You still have a lot to learn, hehe."
"Bring it on!" shouted Yuu.
"Do you really want me to get serious?" Shinya took a step toward him—and fell right into a trap. A glowing rune activated beneath her foot, and she found herself trapped in a sphere of air.
"Victory!" Mira laughed.
Shinya huffed. "Pff, the same old tricks."
Everyone laughed.
"We've been training together for quite a few years now, and so far you've just been dodging our attacks," said Keiji. "But in all this time, you haven't even shown us your Esper power. I'm curious."
It was true. In the beginning, they had trained mostly in hand-to-hand combat, rarely using their powers. But a few months ago, Kyorano had approved the start of their Esper training.
"I guess it's time to tell you," she answered. "My power isn't visible. As you know, Espers can control the elements around us. Currently, there are 13 categories of Espers, some of which you already know. You, Keiji, control lightning. Yuu, flames. Toru, like Captain Hitoshi, controls plants. Mira and Captain Lucas control air. Then there are Espers like Captain Mercure who can create poisons, and physical Espers with immense strength, like Kyorano. The other elements are water, ice, earth, steel, psychic, shadow, and unknown." She paused briefly. "I'm a psychic Esper—my power is based on mental strength. Once we were very rare, but now there are quite a few around." She smiled and stuck out her tongue at Yuu.
"What does a psychic Esper do?" asked Toru.
"Our attacks can manifest physically and have impact, but mostly on a psychological level. A very skilled psychic Esper can manipulate thoughts and memories. Any particularly gifted Esper can develop unique abilities. Plus, everyone recovers faster when in contact with their element. For me, for example, I just need to think."
"Think about what?" asked Keiji.
"Anything. Just a little concentration."
"That's not fair!" exclaimed Yuu. "Why do you and Mira get easy stuff while we get harder things?"
"Quiet, Yuu, think about me needing grass and roots..." Toru said. Mira and Shinya laughed so hard they fell to the ground.
"So what's the unknown element?" Keiji continued.
It took Shinya a few seconds to stop laughing and stand back up. "No one knows. They're very rare Espers who can use unique abilities, independent of any element. They're the most unpredictable and dangerous."
Yuu tried to soak up as much knowledge as possible. The time was coming when they would stop training and have to fight for real. In a life-or-death situation, this knowledge could mean the difference between survival and defeat.
"Enough lessons. Let's go to the nearby village and grab something to eat," Toru suggested. Everyone agreed.
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On the way, Yuu asked Shinya, "It's been three years since we became Espers, but the higher-ups still haven't let us fight.
"Shinya didn't say a word but lit a cigarette. "When the time comes, Kyorano will send you into battle."
"What's stopping you from telling us something? We're your friends, right?" Yuu insisted.
"You're so annoying… For now, I'll just tell you a little about the origin of the Espers." She turned to Yuu and blew smoke in his face. He coughed.
"The machine that allowed us to become Espers was designed back in the time of the Aegir, when there were only 13 Espers. No one knows how it was built or where the powers come from—not even the Captains. My father and the others managed to steal some of these machines before they ended up in the General's hands, and thanks to that, all of us are Espers. The only one who knew the truth was the old leader of the Aegir, Hono. When he was killed by the General 18 years ago, he took all his secrets to the grave. I won't say another word."
"You sure have a long tongue when you want, but other times…" Yuu protested, still coughing from the smoke.
"Stop smoking, you're polluting my air," Mira said, annoyed.
"Details, hehe," Shinya said, finishing her cigarette.
"Your dad doesn't want you to smoke," Keiji said.
"Who cares? He smokes too."
They had tried many times to make her quit, but she never changed her mind. Once they even threw away her pack, but all they achieved was making her furious.
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The village of Litt was larger and wealthier than Reeda. It was quite close to the capital of Harthland, Sira, which meant it was always full of soldiers.
Their faces were not among the wanted because the Governor believed they had died three years ago.
They had lunch in a tavern not far from the center, then stood up for a walk. While crossing the square, a group of guards escorting a tax collector passed by.
The man was short and clearly overweight, but his gaze betrayed his greed. At the end of the line stood a tall man with short black hair and a mustache. From the insignia he wore, Yuu recognized him as a sergeant in the army, but when their eyes met, Yuu sensed something else — a force barely repressed. He was an Esper too, but unlike them, he hadn't learned to hide his energy well from other Espers.
Yuu looked at his friends, but Shinya motioned to move on. After the guards passed, the girl warned them, "Don't do anything reckless, we're in enemy territory and not on a mission. Remember what Kyorano always tells us: no one must know that Libertas can train Espers until we're ready for war. So stay calm and stay in your place".
Yuu wanted to argue, but this was neither the place nor the right time. He continued to keep an eye on the guards. The tax collector approached a house and knocked.
"Yuu, don't do anything, please," Keiji begged him. His best friend had understood his intentions.
He turned back again and saw the tax collector arguing with the man who came out of the house. Then the tax collector signaled the guards, and they raised their weapons. They threw the man to the ground and beat him savagely with the handles of their spears. The man got up; a woman and a child were crying on the doorstep.
"Yuu, let's go," Keiji said, trying to drag him away.
The tax collector pulled out a knife and tried to stab the man.
In an instant, Yuu relived the death of his parents. When he became an Esper, he had promised himself he would never allow those who abused their power over the weak to go unpunished.
He shoved Keiji aside and set his fists ablaze. Every head in the square turned to him.
"I won't let this happen again!" he shouted, fury burning in his voice, and hurled a jet of flame at the tax collector. The man screamed and tried to wrench himself free from the fire, but after a few seconds he collapsed to the ground. People murmured and others fled screaming.
"What—an Esper?"
"Exactly. Take it out on someone who can actually defend themselves, you cowards."
"This is a surprise. So Libertas can make Espers after all—kids, no less."
"Sarge Lock, we'll handle this," the guards intervened, but the Esper signaled them to stand down.
"You'd be wasting your lives. This is no opponent for you."
The guards pushed back and some of them ran off to call for reinforcements.
Keiji stood frozen behind Yuu, unsure what to do. Shinya and the others had gone ahead, unaware of their absence. Yuu had never fought an Esper before—the missions he'd done so far had been barely dangerous. This was different. He knew nothing about his opponent, and one small mistake could mean death.
"Yuu, we have to get out of here," Keiji whispered, but it was too late. Sergeant Lock grabbed a spear from one of the soldiers and hurled it at Yuu.
Yuu dodged and countered with a ball of fire formed in his hands. His opponent smirked and locked himself inside a sphere of water. The fireball slammed into the sphere and went out.
"This isn't good—I'm at a disadvantage," Yuu cursed.
"Sorry kid, you picked the wrong foe, hahah," Lock laughed. "I'll crush you in an instant." The sergeant formed darts of water and launched them at his opponent. Yuu managed to avoid them, but he noticed that even though they were water, they cut like steel; whatever they struck shattered.
"Yuu, please, listen to me," Keiji begged again. "Make him take the defensive again."
"How? He cancels all my attacks with that sphere," Yuu replied.
"Trust me. Do what I say!"
Yuu decided to follow Keiji's lead and hurled more fireballs at the Esper.
"Tsk, are you stupid? Don't you see your fire does nothing to me?" Lock sneered, diving back into his water sphere.
Keiji seized the moment. A small spark formed in his palm and he threw it at the water sphere. The instant the electricity met the water, the sphere exploded, and the shockwave knocked Yuu backward, slamming him into Keiji.
"Did you plan all this?" Yuu asked, astonished as he scrambled to his feet.
"Exactly. I waited for him to retreat back into his sphere so I could strike," Keiji answered.
A moment later Toru, Mira and an enraged Shinya appeared. "What did I tell you?" she roared in a way Yuu had never seen before.
"We—" Keiji began.
"Hahah." Lock's tired, fading laugh cut him off. The lieutenant lay on the ground, dying. "Fools. You could have continued your miserable little rebellion, avoided the Kingdom's Espers and had your fun. But now the General will know Libertas trained Espers—he will hunt you down and wipe you out to the last man." With those words, he died.
Yuu felt utterly lost. He had done the one thing they had always told him not to do. "What do we do now?" he whispered.