Ch.5252. The Protagonist?

Lily took a deep breath as she prepared for the match. Meeting Gilbert in the Round of 16 through their persistent ill fate was unexpected, but she thought it might actually be a good opportunity.

Gilbert’s status had risen even higher through this competition. His overwhelming piloting skills had instantly captivated people’s hearts, and his popularity in the competition was so immense that it temporarily overshadowed his notorious reputation.

Given the situation, Lily, who considered Gilbert her mortal enemy, found the current circumstances far from pleasant. Honestly, she hated seeing someone she despised with all her heart doing so well.

In that sense, nothing would be more satisfying than eliminating him in the Round of 16. After all, it would be significant for a top championship contender like him to be knocked out so early.

But could she do it? Against that guy?

Sweat seeped into the control stick she was gripping tightly. Realistically speaking, Lily’s chances of defeating Gilbert were extremely low.

Having grown up watching her sister, an exceptional knight, Lily could objectively assess Gilbert’s skills. Separate from her dislike for him, there was something fundamentally different about the way he operated his giant mech compared to others.

And Lily knew all too well what that difference was.

An insurmountable wall for ordinary people.

Talent.

She couldn’t understand why this utterly unlikable person possessed such talent, but she was well aware of his innate abilities from what she had observed so far.

The skills he had demonstrated since the beginning of the competition far exceeded Lily’s expectations, but she knew about this through her sister as well.

That’s how geniuses typically were. A breed that effortlessly accomplished what seemed unreasonable and nearly impossible to others.

That’s why she knew defeating such an opponent was nearly impossible.

But giving up was not an option for Lily. Abandoning the fight because her chances of winning against Gilbert were slim would be tantamount to surrendering to him.

If she surrendered to the person who had traumatized her in childhood, the Lily she had been until now would cease to exist. That much, at least, she could guarantee.

“Get a grip.”

She slapped both her cheeks hard. It was an action that would normally earn her a scolding about minding her manners, but this one slap instantly cleared her mind.

Her cheeks turned bright red, but it helped her focus. She already knew he wouldn’t be an easy opponent, so her approach was set.

She would face this Round of 16 match with the same mindset as when facing her sister.

That was the only strategy she had devised for her battle against Gilbert.

***

The fierce battle between championship favorite Gilbert and Lily delivered a high-level match that exceeded the audience’s expectations. The way they exchanged attacks and defenses with their giant mechs, moving as if dancing, showcased a level of skill surpassing any other match in the competition.

Their confrontation was so thrilling and intense that it even outshone the match between Angelina and Hans, keeping spectators completely captivated.

The audience cheered and applauded both competitors enthusiastically. For them, the winner no longer mattered.

There was only praise for the two who had delivered such a magnificent match.

However, the internal situations of the two competitors were quite different.

Gilbert was trying to figure out how to deal with the tenaciously persistent Lily, while Lily was desperately struggling to somehow defeat Gilbert.

From the outside, they appeared to be two evenly matched opponents showcasing all their skills to defeat each other, but the reality was entirely different.

Lily, who had initially charged at Gilbert boldly with her iron sword, was blocked by his winter blade. Finding his swordplay as suffocating as facing her sister, she quickly abandoned close combat and created distance.

She realized she shouldn’t get entangled in sword wrestling, his specialty. That’s why she had chosen a medium-armored mech type.

A light-armored mech would have too little defense and risk immediate damage, while a heavy-armored type was not only something she couldn’t handle well but also too slow to keep up with Gilbert’s reaction speed.

But while she had done her best, her chances of winning hadn’t increased. He was skilled enough to dispel magical armaments with just a single iron sword. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen such a technique, but that didn’t make it any less impressive.

Gilbert, who performed techniques that only high-ranking knights should be capable of as easily as breathing, could rightfully be called a monster.

She unleashed the magical armaments equipped on her mech’s shoulder plates. She hadn’t calculated each position precisely, but she targeted areas based on reading certain patterns.

However, seeing him dodge everything with precisely controlled movements, as if he could see through all her attacks, made her grit her teeth involuntarily. Despite controlling a giant mech, he moved without any delay, as if using his actual body.

Is the gap this big…! I can’t lose. I really don’t want to lose to him of all people.

Gradually ignoring the depleting magic battery indicator, she began operating her mech roughly, focusing solely on attacks to bring Gilbert down. She deflected his iron sword and used high-speed movement to approach for a point-blank bombardment.

She was confident he couldn’t dodge this time, but her opponent didn’t move according to her expectations. He easily evaded the bombardment with a back flip and then shoulder-charged her exposed mech.

Even though she piloted a medium-armored mech, the impact from the massive mech’s charge made her struggle to control her violently shaking machine. Her head banged against the interior of the cockpit.

In that brief moment, Lily lost track of Gilbert’s mech’s position. And that immediately became the main cause of her defeat.

Gilbert’s mech, leaving afterimages as it moved, twisted its waist significantly and executed a horizontal slash. A terrifying wind swept through, and an eerie golden magical energy cut through the air.

Boom!

The magic barrier blocked the attack, but that was the end. With the barrier depleted from the unguarded hit, the match was over.

“Why on earth…!”

Having lost so dismally again, Lily struck the control stick, unable to contain her anger.

She knew she would lose. She had analyzed Gilbert more thoroughly than anyone else because she wanted to defeat him more than anyone, so she knew better than anyone.

Among the current academy students, those who could defeat him could be counted on one hand.

Of course, Lily was among those who couldn’t win.

Nevertheless, she had tried so hard and struggled desperately to defeat him in order to escape from her past trauma. Since reuniting with Gilbert, she occasionally dreamed of that day.

In her dreams, she was as fragile and weak as she had been back then. The content of the dream was her being helpless against Gilbert, unable to say anything.

When she struggled to escape, she would always wake up drenched in cold sweat.

She couldn’t understand why she, the victim, had to suffer even now, more than a decade later.

She had resolved to defeat Gilbert this time and break free from that spell, but she had failed.

Bang!

Her tightly clenched fist struck the control stick once more. There seemed to be no way to alleviate her frustration.

***

The final Round of 16 match for the first-year students ended amid the audience’s passionate support. People were satisfied with the higher-than-expected level of competition and looked forward to the quarterfinals.

Of course, interest wasn’t solely focused on the first-years. The matches between second and third-year students were of an even higher caliber than those of the first-years.

The reason for the slightly greater interest in the first-years was largely due to Gilbert’s overwhelming performance. It was rare for a first-year student to make such an impact.

The only student who had made a stronger impression was Princess Seraphina, who had defeated even upper-class students to proudly achieve the overall championship. This year too, she was steadily advancing to the finals with overwhelming skill, crushing her opponents.

At this point, people’s expectations shifted from who would win each grade’s competition to whether a match between Gilbert and Princess Seraphina would materialize.

The prerequisite was that both had to win their respective competitions, but it was already almost certain that Seraphina would win the third-year championship. Gilbert too had advanced to the quarterfinals with overwhelming skill, making his chances of winning very high.

People who enjoyed debating such matters began to argue about who would win if these two disciples of the same master, Briana, were to compete.

Gilbert would win.

Or Seraphina would win.

Each had their own logic and validity, making it a question without an easy answer. Eventually, people realized that the only way to resolve this issue was for the two to actually compete, and they began to sincerely support both competitors’ path to victory.

The two seemed to be aware of people’s wishes, smoothly advancing to the semifinals and eventually to the finals. People were ecstatic that this exciting match was just one step away from becoming reality.

However, there was one person who was displeased with the public’s enthusiasm—Ian, who had also advanced to the finals like Gilbert.

He had defeated his semifinal opponent, Hans, without much difficulty to reach the finals, but he was full of discontent.

The reason was simple. Gilbert was monopolizing all the attention that Ian felt he deserved.

He had thought that the competition would finally be the moment for him, the true protagonist, to stand before everyone. He had prepared his killer catchphrases, but contrary to his expectations, people were still showing interest in Gilbert.

Why? Why is everyone only interested in Gilbert?

***

Ian was hurt by people’s disregard for him, the protagonist. Until now, he had understood why people’s attention was focused on his rival Gilbert since he had been hiding his true self, but not anymore.

He had decided to fully emerge as the protagonist, but things weren’t going as he wanted, which was making him increasingly irritable. That’s why he had ended his matches more roughly than usual.

I am here.

The true protagonist is here.

Despite showing this and making it to the finals, he still couldn’t divert attention from Gilbert.

However, he calmed himself with the thought that this would be the last time. After all, everything would be resolved once he defeated Gilbert in the finals. Perhaps it wasn’t unreasonable to think that he might even become Professor Briana’s disciple, who had finally discovered this hidden gem.

It occurred to him belatedly that even the great Professor Briana might not have noticed him because he, in his perfection, had hidden himself perfectly.

Sigh… It’s hard being perfect.

Ian could finally smile genuinely with a calmed heart. Without adversity and hardship, heroes wouldn’t be born.

Wait, I should write this down.

Ian, who was trying to sleep early for the finals the next day, suddenly sat up in bed and opened his book of quotes. If he didn’t quickly record a good quote that suddenly came to mind, it would be forgotten as his brilliant and witty mind came up with another one.

Satisfied with having recorded what he thought was another excellent quote, he lay back down.

Tomorrow would surely be recorded as a historic day for Demeia Academy.

None other than the day Ian Tigris Rainbarrel stretched out after having been crouched for so long.

‘I, I should write this down too!’

Having closed his eyes, he thought of another brilliant quote and carefully recorded it in his book.

He repeated this behavior several more times before finally falling asleep.