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???: "—ku… -iku…! Aisaka Riku!!"
Riku: "Y-Yes?!"
I shot up from my desk like I'd been struck. I was daydreaming again. And the one calling me out — standing there with that cold, disappointed stare — was my teacher, Ms. Lawrence.
Ms. Lawrence: "Please pay attention in class, Aisaka Riku. Sigh. You're only good at written tests, but you always ruin your fencing. It's pathetic."
Riku: "Yes. I understand."
The whole classroom was filled with laughter — sharp, mocking giggles that stabbed deeper than any blade. They didn't even bother to whisper.
I'm Aisaka Riku, sixteen years old. A failure — at least, that's what everyone says. My classmates, the teachers… all of them look at me like trash they can't throw out. Only my fencing master still believes in me — for reasons I'll never understand.
Ms. Lawrence: "Sigh. Sit down. You're an embarrassment to this school."
I sat down. I could feel every pair of eyes drilling holes through me — full of disgust and pity and boredom. But… she's not wrong. I have no talent. No mana worth mentioning. I can't even stand straight when people look at me. In this school, written tests mean nothing — they're just a formality. Sword and magic decide your worth.
So I'm just useless scrap metal in a place that forges blades.
And yet… my master still believes in me.Why?
My eyes drifted to the window, to the sky outside, to anything that wasn't this suffocating room.
I thought I'd just drift off again...
But then — I was standing there. On the school rooftop. In the dark. Alone.
How did I get here?
Why am I holding a sword?
I can't use magic. I'm worthless with a blade in front of people.
So… why bother holding it at all?
Why am I standing so close to the edge?
Why… can't I move?
And before I knew it — I stepped forward.
I fell.
No — No! I don't want to die!
I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the concrete to shatter my bones.
But when I opened them again… I wasn't falling.
I was leaping. From rooftop to rooftop. Like a ghost in the wind.
…A dream. That's all this is. It has to be.I can't survive a fall like that. I can't fly like this.So it's a dream — a real, warm, impossible dream.
Riku (inner):Then… I guess I'll enjoy it. Just for a while.
I can't get hurt here. In this dream, I can finally breathe.
So I'll have fun — while it lasts.
Before I knew it, I was grinning. Grinning so wide it hurt.I felt alive for the first time in forever.
Then I saw it — a Kaiju, towering in the distance.A mountain of scales and wings and nightmares.Perfect.
Riku: "Hehe… he… Perfect. Let's see how real this dream can get."
Soldier A: "Hold them off! Where's our shield squad?!"
Soldier B: "All wiped out! All our shields are broken — we're sitting ducks!"
Soldier A: "What?! Then do something to protect the Kaiju!"
Soldier B: "Easy for you to say, you incompetent—!"
???: "Sigh. Move aside. I'm here."
Soldier A: "…!? That's— Marianna Frost! The top-ranked fencer! We're saved!!"
Marianna: "Tch… This was supposed to be my vacation. I'll be deducting hazard pay from your miserable salaries later."
Soldier A: "What—?!"
Marianna: "Shut up and stay down!"
She slammed her blade into the ground — and a massive ice wall erupted, swallowing the Kaiju's burning beam in a roar of steam and frost.
High above, I watched it all, perched like a stray cat on the rooftop edge.
Riku: "Hehe… that thing's huge. Must be 140 meters… And yet I can summon Marianna Frost too? This really is my dream…"
Marianna: "Don't panic! Its beam can't break my barrier! Focus on offense — hit it while you can!"
All Soldiers: "Yes, ma'am!!"
But I could see it. Even from up here.
Marianna's shoulders trembled. Frost formed around her hands, crackling with mana. Her breath came out ragged and white.
Marianna: "…Tch… How long can I… hold— huff — this…?"
Soldier B: "This is bad! Marianna! The Kaiju's skin is too tough! Our magic and weapons aren't doing anything!"
Marianna: "What?! Impossible! Every Kaiju has a weak spot — keep hitting it!"
Soldier A: "We tried! Nothing's working — we can't even scratch it!"
Marianna: "How— is that— nngh — possible…?!"
And then — the spot where I'd been sitting was empty.
A heartbeat later — the Kaiju's massive wing fell from the sky in a clean, wet slice.
Soldier B: "It's working! Hit it again — right there!"
Marianna: "…What…? How—? It wouldn't cut before— huff… huff…"
Soldier A: "Marianna! You okay?!"
Marianna: "Focus on the wound! Cast everything you've got! Blow it apart!!"
Soldier A: "Roger!! Hey! Load the cannon!!"
Soldier B: "On it! Firing— now!"
A thunderous boom. The cannon shell punched through the wounded wing. The Kaiju roared — an echo that cracked the sky — then it toppled, its blood drowning the street below.
Soldier A: "We… did it… We actually— WE DID IT!!"
Cheers and shouts filled the battlefield.
But high above, I was already back on the rooftop.
Riku: "…I feel… weak…"
I touched my chest — my heartbeat stuttered. My vision blurred.
Why?
I sliced the Kaiju. I was strong — free — alive.
But then I saw it. A window in a distant building. A pair of eyes — watching me.
And just like that, the dream cracked.
The strength drained away.
Darkness swirled around the edge of my sight.
Riku: "…Why…? Why… can't they see… me…?"
I collapsed — a phantom in the night — and the dream died with my heartbeat echoing in my ears.