The stands were silent at first, a low murmur passing through the gathered trainees as Violet’s body shimmered with the strange, violet aura. It wasn’t like anything they had seen before. Her weapon curled and tightened around her arm like a serpent, the glow of her power flaring so strongly it distorted the air around her.
“What… what is that?” Daisy whispered, her eyes wide.
Iris’s gaze narrowed. Even she, calm and composed, leaned forward slightly, lips parting. “That… is no normal activation.”
Raphael’s voice cut through the murmurs, steady and deep. “True form.”
Everyone turned toward him. Even Akane tilted her head, her golden eyes gleaming with interest.
Raphael crossed his arms, his gaze fixed firmly on Violet. “It’s one of the highest ways a Grace can evolve. After enough enlightenments, when an Esper has fully understood the essence of their Grace… the true form is revealed. It’s not a new power. It’s the complete release of what their Grace was always meant to be.”
Gasps rippled through the group.
“Wait, wait. True form?” Zane’s voice echoed faintly from the field, but back at the stands, Stacy clutched her bandolier with wide eyes. “So that’s like… the final evolution?”
“Not final,” Lena corrected softly, adjusting her glasses. “But it is rare. Some Espers never reach it. Most take decades.”
Raphael nodded. “And Violet… was one of the youngest Espers to awaken hers. At seventeen.” His tone dropped into a low weight. “That should tell you the kind of opponent your friends are facing.”
The trainees all exchanged glances. Caleb muttered under his breath, “Seventeen? That’s insane…”
Even Carter looked shaken, his usual cool demeanor faltering. “So she’s been fighting with her Grace at full potential for years?”
Haruto, leaning casually against a tree, smirked faintly. “This will be over quickly.”
But Kael’s sharp eyes narrowed. “Not necessarily. Let’s see how they handle this first.”
---
On the field, Zane swallowed hard, sparks crackling nervously across his skin. “Elisa… what’s her Grace?”
Elisa’s brow furrowed, water pooling at her fingertips as she stared at the violet glow. “…Friction and motion manipulation. She calls it Gearshift. That’s her grace true form.”
“Friction and motion?” Zane blinked. “What the hell does that even—”
He didn’t finish.
Violet clenched her fist. The air around her arm compressed violently, an audible pop cracking through the air before she thrust her hand forward.
A burst of pressurized air exploded outward, slamming into Zane and Elisa and splitting them apart before either could react.
“Too slow.” Her voice rang calm, even playful.
Her body blurred. Using her Grace, Violet lunged forward, her speed unnatural. She reached Elisa first, kicking her cleanly in the chest mid-air, sending her tumbling backward.
Zane tried to rush in from behind, electricity flaring violently. But Violet twisted, her rope flashing out to intercept him with a single parry, the force redirected harmlessly aside.
She smirked, calling out over the clash, “Is Aiden’s squad really this weak? You’d better give it your all, at least keep your captain’s dignity intact.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The taunt cut deep. Zane’s eyes flared with golden sparks, his teeth grinding. “Tch. Elisa, stand back.”
“What?” she gasped, pushing herself up, but Zane was already moving.
Electricity burst violently from his frame, static cracking and crawling over his skin like a storm given flesh. His breaths came sharp and fast, but his eyes glowed with raw determination.
He launched forward.
“Don’t do this recklessly—!” Elisa shouted, but the words couldn’t reach him.
---
Zane blurred, his body vanishing into streaks of golden light. He darted low, struck high, twisted sideways, each motion faster than the last. His strikes came in rapid succession, fists glowing with lightning.
Violet blocked. Dodged. Redirected. Each move precise, almost effortless. But as the seconds ticked by, Zane’s speed climbed. Each failed strike only fed more electricity into his body.
From the sidelines, Caleb’s eyes widened. “He’s getting faster… way faster.”
Lysander pushed his glasses up, smirking faintly. “Of course. His Grace compounds the longer he moves. He’s charging himself with every step.”
“Volt Tempo,” Carter muttered, recognizing the style. “He’s been working on that all week.”
On the field, Violet parried another strike, her eyes glinting with amusement. “So that’s what you’re trying. Volt Tempo, huh? You build power by never stopping. Clever… but predictable.”
Her foot slid across the dirt, her Grace shifting the friction itself. In an instant, Zane’s traction faltered, his momentum broken mid-stride.
“Sloppy,” Violet remarked, twisting her rope to catch him.
Zane stumbled, barely twisting away in time. His breaths grew sharper, sweat dripping.
Elisa, seeing the opening, gathered her Grace. Water flowed in thick streams around her, forming into a large orb at her side. Her hands flicked sharply, guiding its rotation as it swelled in size.
Violet’s eyes flicked sideways, catching it. “Tch. Too obvious.” She snapped her fingers, and compressed air bullets shot toward Elisa.
Elisa gasped and dove aside, narrowly avoiding the blasts. Her water orb wavered, but she caught it again, pulling herself smoothly back up. This time gliding across the ground, streams of water carrying her movements like a skater cutting through ice.
“Hmph.” Violet’s eyes narrowed, mildly impressed.
Zane roared, lightning sparking wildly around him. He dashed forward again, seizing the brief distraction.
This time, he closed the distance. His leg whipped around in a charged kick aimed straight for Violet’s head.
But Violet didn’t defend.
She opened her palm.
An invisible barrier of manipulated friction formed between them, stopping his foot inches from her cheek.
Zane’s eyes widened in shock. “What—”
Violet’s grin widened. “Got you.”
With a flick of her wrist, she controlled his motion, redirecting his momentum like water flowing down a chute. His body whipped sideways uncontrollably, flung straight toward Elisa.
“Zane!” Elisa cried, catching him with her orb of water before he slammed into the dirt.
Violet let out a long yawn, stretching her arms lazily. “If this is all you’ve got, I might as well end it now.”
She raised her hand high into the sky.
Air distorted, whirling violently around her palm. The ground trembled under the pull of her Grace as she compressed the atmosphere itself, condensing it into a massive orb of violent wind.
The whistling grew into a roar, like a hurricane forming at her fingertips. Her hair whipped wildly, eyes gleaming amber. “This should be enough to finish it.”
The trainees in the stands shielded their eyes from the sheer pressure. Daisy’s voice cracked with fear. “That… that’ll kill them!”
“Not kill,” Raphael said flatly, though his gaze was sharp. “But they won’t walk away unscathed.”
On the field, Zane forced himself upright. His body shook, sparks barely clinging to him. He looked at Elisa, his teeth clenched. “Elisa—”
Her eyes widened at his tone.
“It’s time!” Zane roared.
Confusion flickered across Violet’s face. “Time? What—”
She looked up.
Her amber eyes widened.
Above her, a massive wave of water loomed, suspended in the air. Elisa’s “orb” had been a distraction the whole time. The true attack gathered above the battlefield, manipulated with precise control, ready to fall.
Before Violet could react, Zane screamed, his body unleashing a violent surge of electricity. He directed it into the massive water mass, using it as a medium.
CRRRRAAACKK!
The field lit up like lightning splitting the heavens. A tidal wave crashed down, electrified into a violent storm of water and thunder. The impact slammed into Violet, engulfing her completely.
A shockwave blasted outward, shaking the ground and kicking up a massive dust cloud that swallowed the field.
Silence.
Then—
Zane collapsed face-first into the dirt, his body twitching, paralyzed from the backlash of his Grace. Elisa stumbled, barely able to keep herself upright, before crumpling down beside him, gasping for breath.
The crowd in the stands was silent, stunned.
Then, slowly—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound echoed through the settling dust.
As the haze cleared, a figure emerged. Violet stepped forward, her hair puffed up comically, her combat jacket ripped and torn in several places.
Her amber eyes glinted as she smirked faintly.
“Not bad, not bad at all” she said simply.
[End of chapter]
