Chapter 59: A win-less fight.

It was a normal Saturday morning; the birds chirped above the trees, the fresh morning air gently rustled through the leaves, the faint glow of the sun slowly rising on the horizon painted the clouds in soft pinks and yellows and… a certain student screamed at the top of her lungs as she fell down the Luna Nova tower.

"Palais capama!" The spell cast by a redheaded professor stopped her fall in midair and slowly lowered her towards the ground. Finally, Akko stopped screaming and opened her eyes, letting out a relieved breath.

"Sensei!" She exclaimed once her feet touched solid ground. "Thanks for saving me… again."

"I don't think Diana would forgive me if I let you get hurt during our strengthening magic training." The professor answered with a bit of humor.

"I bet she'd forget all about the Cavendish motto if we had an accident like the other day." Akko rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Seriously, sometimes she worries too much."

"Only because she cares about you." Ursula teased, and Akko's cheeks immediately turned a bright red.

"Yeah…" She said sheepishly. She always did when her love life was brought up, and honestly, Ursula found that kind of adorable.

"At least you've been getting better." The professor complimented. "You almost got halfway through the tower, even with the added traps. The risk of injuries will become lower the more you improve."

"Yeah, but falling was still terrifying." Akko shuddered. "I think I got flashbacks from my time at Wagandea."

At the mention of the magical tree, the professor flinched involuntarily as her own memories invaded her mind. She'd visited that place a total of two times, both with equally devastating consequences… and she really didn't want to be reminded of either.

"Uhm… sorry." Akko undoubtedly noticed the effect her words had had on her. "I shouldn't have mentioned it."

Ursula had to take a deep breath before answering, but still tried to fake a smile.

"It's… okay." She said shakily. Yeah… even Akko wouldn't buy the obvious act.

"Uhm… At least we'll be able to laugh about it once Croix-sensei finds a cure, right?" She laughed awkwardly, no doubt in an attempt to lift the mood.

"If she finds it." She amended sourly.

"You don't think she will?" Akko tilted her head, confused. In her eyes, Croix's genius could only be rivaled by Diana's. Surely, if someone could find the cure for something like Wagandea's sickness, it'd be her.

"Uhm… I think she has reasons to think she can." She answered cautiously. "I just don't know how realistic her expectations are."

"Reasons?" Akko raised an eyebrow as she went to sit at the steps at the base of the tower, and took the bottle of water she'd left there. Damn, water sure felt good after such a strenuous task! Still, she kept her eyes on the professor as she drank, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah… it's…" She trailed off, sighing. She really didn't want to discuss this, even with Akko, but she knew she probably had no choice. So, she went to sit next to the girl. "It's something that happened when she herself went to Wagandea for the first time."

Akko perked up immediately at her words.

"When you unlocked the sixth word?" She exclaimed excitedly. Yet… Ursula's face was the opposite from excited. It seemed she was downright dreading this conversation.

"… Yes." She answered like she was dragging the word out of her own mouth.

"Can you…?" Akko didn't want to push her professor, and it seemed like this was quite a touchy subject, but… she really wanted to know. And Ursula had promised to tell her how she unlocked the words of Arcturus, so… "Can you tell me?"

"Very well." She slumped, but complied nonetheless, looking at the ground instead of Akko, a troubled expression on her face. "It all started… when… When I saw Croix for the first time since becoming Shiny Chariot." She made a grimace. "As you can imagine, things were rather tense between us."


Today is a day I've been awaiting for months. Literally. And not only because it's the start of the Samhain break, which means no more classes, exams or responsibilities. No. The great thing about today is… Croix is coming to visit!

That's right. Croix, my super awesome, super cute girlfriend will come to Luna Nova for the first time since she graduated. It's the first time I'll be seeing her in… gosh, how long has it been? Five months? Definitely way too long! But, hey, we've both been busy, so I guess it couldn't be helped.

Anyways, I already got the whole day planned! We'll go to town, have a nice date, avoid talking about the Shiny Rod like the plague, not mention anything about Shiny Chariot, hope I don't get recognized by any of my fans, and that she doesn't see the posters announcing my next shows, and that none of the stores we visit are selling my merchandise…

You know what? An entire day locked inside the school doesn't sound half bad, now that I think about it. We could hang out in my room… after I get rid of any and all evidence of Shiny Chariot's existence. Maybe her tower will be a better option, actually. But, yeah, we can hang out at the Astronomy Tower, drink some tea, eat some ramen, kiss, and bum! Perfect date! Croix's never been one to go out much anyways.

So, after doing some cleaning at the Astronomy Tower and making sure there's no incriminating Shiny Chariot merchandise lying around the school, I go to the sports fields to wait for Croix's arrival. Sure enough, she comes through at midday, just as she said she would, and she's wearing her grey hoodie and black pants… not that I expected her to put more effort in her appearance, but… yeah. I just wished she could have, I don't know, dressed up to see me.

"Hey Croix." I greet her with a quick peck on her lips as soon as she gets off her broom. "How was your trip? I hope it wasn't too long."

"Nah." She shrugs, taking her broom and walking already towards the school, not waiting for me to catch up. Weird. I thought she'd be happier to see me. Still, I hurry up and grab her arm, pretty much clinging to her. "I actually spent the night at Blytonbury, so…" Croix shrugs once more, still not looking at me.

"Well… how's life at university?" I ask, hoping to start a conversation and avoid her just giving me curt answers.

"Oh, you know, just school but less magic." She frowns. "They still haven't given me that scholarship that I wanted; said the project I'm proposing isn't revolutionary enough!" Great, now she's angry. "But like, come on! I know way more than you! I don't need a PhD to know your idiot levels are though the roof." She then pinches her nose, no doubt trying to calm herself down. "But that's okay. I know they'll give it to me. Eventually."

"And… what does your mom say about all of this?" I ask, despite myself. Honestly, it's been a burning question in the back of my mind for months! I just didn't think it would be appropriate to ask via email.

"My mom?" She scoffs, pretty much scowling. "She doesn't understand technology at all. She pretty much disowned me! But who cares? I don't need her anymore." At this point Croix is looking at the ground like it personally offended her, her posture is still, her jaw tense, and her eyes definitely angry. She's probably sad too, even if she won't ever admit it. All in all, I think I shouldn't have brought this subject up. At least so soon. So, I quickly try to distract her.

"H-hey! What if we forget about this whole thing?" I quickly suggest. "We can go to your tower, do some cuddling and snuggling, maybe watch a movie, eat ramen or whatever… what do you say?"

"Ramen?" She raises an eyebrow. "Weren't you the one who always said it's unhealthy?"

"Yeah, but… It reminds me of you, so… maybe I'm starting to tolerate it?" I answer with a cheeky smile, hoping to lift up Croix's spirits, which actually seems to work because she at least smiles and shakes her head.

"I thought you said you wanted to go out."

"Nah, I'd rather stay here." I answer with a smile, trying to play it cool. She frowns, apparently noticing something odd, but doesn't comment about it.

"Well then, after talking with the Headmistress about my stay, I think I'd like to go walk around the forest… maybe see how your training is going." She says nonchalantly, but I actually feel a chill run down my spine at her words. I haven't practiced in… ages. I just don't have the time! Being Shiny Chariot is a lot of effort, honestly. Still, I decide to lie, least she gets mad at me.

"S-sure! But… I thought you'd be too tired for that." I laugh nervously.

"I'm not." She simply answers, still staring ahead as she walks. "Unless you are, for some reason?"

"N-no! I'm not. Training sounds good." I fake a smile, hoping I'll be able to pull this off. "I was just hoping for something more… romantic."

"You'll get your kisses and cuddles afterwards." She answers, smirking. "Think of it as your reward for practicing as you promised."

"R-right." Great. So… does that mean there won't be kisses and cuddles for me if I fail? I hope I'll be able to do this then!


So, after Croix left her stuff at the Astronomy Tower and talked to the headmistress, informing her she'll be staying here for a few days, we go to the forest; to the usual spot where I used to practice strengthening magic. Of course, Croix uses her broom while I run after her, but so far it wasn't so bad; sure, my muscles are a bit more sore than usual, but I think I haven't lost as much strength as I feared. Hopefully that'll be enough to appease Croix.

"Alright, let's start." Croix says, taking her seat under the usual tree and getting out her notebook and pen. "First I want to see how high you can jump."

"Okay." This should be easy enough, right? Just a jump. I have to put all my energy into it. "Vega varulus."

As soon as I feel the energy of the strengthening spell invading my limbs, I jump, concentrating all of my power on my legs. Instantly, I'm propelled through the sky to the point where I can see the canopy of the trees. Then, I'm falling again, but even as I brace myself for the impact, I still end up stumbling and falling to my knees.

"You should work on your equilibrium." Croix teases. "But it looks like your jumps are okay. Thirty meters, just like last time."

"Great." I smile. So far it appears I'm just as strong as before she left. With a little bit of luck, that'll be enough to trick her into thinking I've been practicing.

"Now… let's see how fast you can run." Croix says, not giving me a minute to rest. "Come on, to the New Moon tower and back."

"Sure." Feeling more confident now, I start running at maximum speed, expertly avoiding all the trees and following my usual route until I touch the white stones of the tower, and then I go back. By the time I'm with Croix again, I feel slightly out of breath and my legs are already aching, despite the strengthening spell, which is definitely not a good sign. Still, I try to smile and breathe through my nose, hoping to trick Croix into thinking I'm not the least bit tired, so that, hopefully, she'll be satisfied and decide it's time to cuddle.

"15.239 seconds." She says, looking at her cellphone. "A whole half a second slower than last time." She then looks pointedly at me, and I smile awkwardly, unwilling to tell her the truth.

"Really? I must have taken another path. Heh." I laugh, but it doesn't look like my little act is fooling her because she frowns.

"Let's do combat then. That's the most important part of your training anyways."

"Ah… sure." I fake a smile. Gosh, I hope she goes easy on me!

"Ready?" She gets out her wand while I assume a fighting position, waiting for whatever she'll throw at me. However, once I nod, she doesn't pronounce the puppet magic spell, but instead… "Go!"

Before I can properly react, dozens of small black cubes emerge seemingly out of nowhere. They're glowing with a green light, probably meaning they're using the magical energy of the Sorcerer's stone, but as they start combining, forming a large creature that resembles some kind of lizard I can't help remembering the dragon from the Samhain festival. Is… is she serious?! She's going to make me fight a dragon?! But I don't have my shiny rod with me!

I'm barely able to evade the strange creature when it lunges towards me, and when I try to retaliate, its tail almost sends me flying, if not for my fast reflexes. Okay. This is definitely a change from Croix's rocky golems. Those were far less agile than this!

But I bet this one's not as resistant!

After dodging its attacks for a few moments and trying to get used to its velocity and attack patterns, I'm finally able to come close enough to land a hit. And sure enough, the monster's body cracks under my fist. I step back, already relishing my victory, and I even turn to give Croix a smug smile, thinking I passed the test, but then…

I barely register Croix's shake of her head before something impacts my back and I'm thrown a few meters into the air, crashing against a tree and getting the air knocked out of my lungs. I only have the time to let out a strangled cry as pain starts erupting though my whole body before I'm being thrown again like a ragdoll. This time, however, I have the hindsight to change my position in midair and plant my feet firmly on the ground, while I use my hands to stop my momentum… granted, I'm pretty sure some of my nails broke, but whatever.

So, I'm sore, I'm way more agitated than I should be, and this lizard is tougher than it looks.

Doesn't matter. I can do this. I know it.

Immediately after landing, I start running towards the creature once again, taking care to pay attention to the little movements of its tail and legs in case it decides to attack. Unsurprisingly, it lunges towards me once I'm close enough, but I quickly step aside while landing a kick on its body, which actually sends it flying away a couple of meters and manages to crack part of its skin… which is then quickly repaired when the black cubes fill the missing space once more.

What? How am I supposed to defeat it then? Maybe a spell? But I thought we were supposed to be practicing strengthening magic!

As it lunges at me once more, I have no choice but to react by making a shield spell. But as the beast impacts it… gosh, the pressure is too great! My legs wobble as I struggle to remain in place, with the shield flickering every time the monster hits it, and I have to make a conscious effort to hold it in place. Sweat also starts dripping profusely from my face, the salt stinging my eyes as it runs off my forehead.

I'm ashamed to say that I only manage to hold this thing off for a few seconds before one of its paws strikes down with a particularly impressive amount of force, shattering my shield and tearing my wand away from my hand with just one clean swipe.

And what can you do in such a situation, really? That's right! Panic and run.

I hear the beast's heavy steps shaking the ground behind me as it chases after me. Thankfully, I am faster… for now. Even with the enhancement magic, my legs have started aching and I'm running short of breath. I have to end this quickly somehow! But… this is so different to the other monsters I've fought before. I don't even know if it has any weaknesses. I guess I'll just have to use brute strength.

Turing around, I make sure to stay firm on the ground as I grab one of its paws and flip it, smashing the creature against the ground. Then, I pretty much jump on top of it, landing punch after punch and using all the strength I have to try and end this as soon as possible. Sure, it struggles and also tries to land a hit a couple of times and even to bite my head off, but I'm doing a pretty god job of defending myself.

Then, it swipes one of its paws down at me, but I quickly grab it and crush it within my hands, wanting to cut it off for good and hopefully have one thing less to worry about… but I stayed static for one second too long. And before I can react, its other paw has already hit me and is now pinning me against the ground. I try to push it off me, but all that I manage is to make it press down harder, which in turn makes its claws dig into my skin. I cry in pain, at this point throwing punches and kicks randomly at the creature, hoping to land a hit somehow, but… no such luck.

Its mouth is such a terrifying sight too; a big crevice full of green light and surrounded by wicked-looking black teeth, about to either bite my head off or swallow me whole. Seriously, what was Croix thinking when she made this thing?!

Suddenly, its ugly snout aims right to my head, but while being immobilized by its paw, all I can do is raise my arms in a defensive manner… and of course I feel the sharp pain of its fangs digging into my skin a second later. I only manage to let out a pained scream before I'm tossed around, its fangs still deep inside my arm as it crashes me against the ground again and again. Then, it finally releases me and I end up flying a few meters, rolling for a couple of seconds before finally coming to a stop.

My left arm feels like it's on fire, and I can barely breathe because of the pain. It seems like every inch of my body hurts somehow at this point!

As I open my eyes, making a monumental effort, I see that everything's blurry and there are black spots in my vision. My body is also trembling, and my head's spinning. But it's not too bad… I hope. Let's see. My arm is bleeding profusely, but at least it's there, and… Oh no. The beast is already coming towards me!

I'm not exactly sure how I manage to do it, probably the adrenaline, but when the creature comes close enough, I somehow find the energy to stand up, raise my fist and send it flying away a few meters… and that's when I collapse.

With one final scream I fall to the ground, trembling from pain and exhaustion, barely able to keep my eyes open, or my heart beating for that matter. Even breathing is a conscious effort at this point! My vision is getting blurrier and blurrier and the pain more intense… Oh gosh, I think the spell wore off!

I turn to search for Croix with my gaze. As expected, she's sitting on a rock just a few meters away, watching me with a blank expression.

"Croix…" I mouth, trying to communicate my defeat so she will call her monster back. However, she just stares at me for a moment before her gaze deviates towards somewhere to her right… where the beast is already recovering from my punch and looking at me. "Croix!" I urge her. But the beast starts running towards me once more.

I try moving, but all I manage is to lift up my right arm a couple of centimeters before the pain gets too excruciating and I let it fall back to the ground. Seeing this, I turn to my girlfriend once more, but she hasn't changed her position in the slightest, and her expression is still too calm. Too emotionless.

I turn to look at the rapidly approaching beast that's now a couple of meters away from me.

"Croix!" I scream once more. But it's too late. The monster is already on top of me. All I see is a couple dozen black teeth before I close my eyes and resign to my fate, waiting for even more pain to arrive, but then…

Nothing.

What? Am I dead?

Slowly, I open my eyes once more. But there's no terrifying black creature anymore. Just the green canopy for the trees above me.

Then, I hear steps to my right, and tense thinking the creature simply took a detour before getting me. But… no, after I make an unfathomable amount of effort to turn my head slightly, I see Croix slowly walking towards me. Her expression cold and her eyebrows furrowed. She's looking at me almost with… contempt?

"C-Croix." I manage the say, even though the pain in my entire body is making it extremely difficult for me to even breathe. Still. I hope she gets the message. Heal me! Now!

"What a disappointment." She says, scrunching her nose as if in disgust. "Not that I expected anything else."

Wait… what? I don't understand. Why doesn't she heal me? Why is she saying such mean things?

"I mean, I would have understood, you know? If you had actually improved your grades, or found the remaining two words, I wouldn't have minded you slacking off in combat magic as well, but this? Come on, Chariot. This was pathetic."

Okay, I'm not liking her tone of voice at all. She's so cold. She's angry at me. And… why isn't she healing me? Can't she see I'm in pain?

"You can't fool me." Her face then morphs into a snarl; her expression angrier than ever. "Did you really think you could keep it from me? That I wouldn't see your posters or your merch?" She pauses, making a grimace as she spats the next words at me. "Your interviews?"

Oh no. No, please no!

"Shiny Chariot?" The tone she uses, like she's disgusted with it… it makes my blood run cold and an upsetting feeling to settle into my stomach. I'm scared. What is she gonna do? This is why I didn't want her to find out!

"Croix… I-I…" I try to speak, but once again the pain is too great. It doesn't matter, though, because Croix just keeps talking.

"Save it. I know you don't care about the words, or the future of magic, or my dream… you never have." She frowns, getting angrier by the second. "You're so selfish!"

"C-Croix!"

Just then she gets out her wand in one swift movement, almost aggressively, and points it right at me. The tip is glowing brightly. Too brightly, maybe. Menacingly, even. And I… gosh, I don't know what to think. I love Croix so much, but she can get pretty intense about these things. But she wouldn't hurt me, right? I mean the beast was one thing, but to directly attack me when I can't defend myself? No. There's no way! She wouldn't…

Instinctively I close my eyes just as the light becomes blinding, partially expecting to be hit with a nasty spell of sorts. But…

"Meiro soruaro."

Instantly, the pain diminishes considerably. A warm sensation invades my body, and I feel the energy returning to my sore limbs. My eyelids don't feel so heavy anymore, my vision isn't as blurry, and little by little I start to recover.

"Here." Croix says, kneeling down and handing me a flask full of a red potion. "I think it should be enough to mend your wounds completely by tomorrow morning."

"Right." I say, but realize my throat is too dry and decide to drink the potion first. The pain diminishes further, so I'm then able to sit up, putting me at Croix's eye-level. Then, I do a quick inspection of my body and… wait, my arm! "C-Croix…"

"It's not as bad as it looks." She says, a little too composed for my taste, as she comes closer and inspects my arm, now revealed thanks to my rolled-up sleeve. It has two huge bite marks that have pierced my skin, but thankfully not very deeply. And they don't even hurt much anymore thanks to the spell.

"I made its teeth a little blunt, in case it managed to get you." She explains. "Don't worry. As I said, it'll be gone in the morning."

And… okay. My life isn't in danger. I'm not going to lose my arm. I'm not feeling like dying anymore. So then… why do I still feel terrible? My throat hurts, my eyes burn with barely contained tears, and my heart is clutching painfully.

Maybe it's just… Croix had never hurt me like this before. Sure, there's been a few accidents, but she's usually more careful than this. She… she did it on purpose, didn't she? She was angry at me. And for what? For pursuing my own dream? What's so bad about that?!

And then I start crying. My tears fall, my sobs rock my body almost violently, and I'm barely able to breathe as I just keep crying with my face buried between my knees.

"Chariot." Croix calls, but her voice doesn't sound nearly as sympathetic as I'd like it. "Come on, don't cry… you've been through worse!" She places her hand on my shoulder, but I quickly jerk it away, finally looking up at her, unable to contain my rage, much less my sadness.

"It wasn't just training, though, was it?" I find myself accusing before I can contain myself. "You found out about Shiny Chariot and decided to punish me with that thing!"

"No!" She retorts, actually offended I'm suggesting such thing. "I wanted to show you my new invention, that's all." She says defensively. "I never meant to actually hurt you; I promise. In fact, according to my calculations, your enhancement spell was already so strong this creature's teeth wouldn't have even left a mark."

Okay… that's… that's true. I mean, we trained using rock golems! I reached a point where I wasn't even fazed by a direct punch at the face! But… still. It just… it felt different.

"You could have stopped it sooner!" I retort, letting my rage flow.

"I know! I know. I'm sorry." She quickly apologizes, at least having the decency to actually look ashamed this time. "I mean… I was angry. I still am, in fact. Maybe I let my emotions get the best of me for a moment, but… I swear I never meant to cause you any harm."

"Why is me following my dream such a bad thing for you?" I ask between sobs, still glaring at Croix. "You should be happy for me!"

"Because you don't have that luxury, Chariot!" She yells, getting angry once more. "The future of the magic is in your hands. The power to change the world is yours. And what do you do? Waste your time entertaining four-year-olds!"

"I never wanted it, okay? I didn't ask for it!" I retort, now even angrier by her answer. It hurt deeply. Mostly because deep down, I know it to be true. "My only dream has always been bringing joy through the power of magic, and now I can finally do it."

"But for how long, Chariot? How long will you be famous? A year, maybe? Two?" She laughs. "Come on, I can see you're hitting your limits as far as magic goes. The world will forget about you soon enough! And then what? What will you do? Your dream will be gone, you won't have the words and you'll be all alone."

"That won't happen! If I revive magic, I won't have any restrictions. My spectacles will be more and more amazing!"

"Right." She laughs again. That mocking laughter; full of malice and devoid of joy. Oh, how I hate it! "Your spectacles that heavily rely on the use of the Shiny Rod? The Shiny Balai? The Shiny arc?"

Ahm… okay. That's a good point. It's not like I haven't considered it, but…

"I just want to bring joy to people. I don't care about the words, about the future of magic or the Grand Triskelion." I answer, glaring at my girlfriend, holding her gaze even as I say such a painful truth. "But you know what? I tried reviving the stupid seven words! I did it for you! Because it was your dream!" I pause, hoping my next words will make her feel like I do. "I'm starting to think you're just not worth it."

My words are met with eerie silence. Croix just keeps staring at me for a moment before deviating her gaze and frowning. Her eyes start getting wet, but she refuses to cry, even when her face tells that she desperately needs to.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm not." She says, getting up and turning her back on me. "I'm just not worth it. That's the ugly truth, isn't it? No matter what I do, I'm never worth anything."

Oh no. Too late I realize what I just said. What Mellea said to Croix her entire life. What she thought her birth mother felt when she abandoned her.

But she continues speaking, before I can even think of taking my words back.

"It doesn't matter that without me you wouldn't know any magic, or that you'd already be expelled. It doesn't matter that I put all my resentments aside and did everything in my power to help you with the mission that was bestowed upon you." She sounds so bitter, but her voice is also strained. Like she's crying. "None of that matters. At the end of the day, I'm just not worth it for the mighty Shiny Chariot."

She pretty much spats the name, like it's an insult. And though I can understand her point, it doesn't justify her actions, or how mean she's being about it. I'm still mad at her, and I think she should be more supportive.

"You're being stupid." I say, getting up as well, although with more difficulty and pain than I'd like to admit. This only fuels my rage even more. "You don't have any right to tell me what to do with my life! The Shiny Rod chose me, and what I do with it should be none of your concern!"

"Fine! Whatever. Why would it matter what I think? I'm just your stupid girlfriend." She pauses for a second, staring down at me with contempt. "Oh wait! I forgot you're "not looking for romance at the moment"." She says those last words with a roll of her eyes and a mocking tone. "So, I guess I don't even exist for you anymore, huh?"

I see red at that. I want to punch her in her stupid face using all the strength I have left. I had no choice! I hated saying those words as much as she hated hearing them. But will she listen if I explain it? No. She won't listen to a word I say! I'm just a foolish and stubborn girl to her right now. I can see it in her eyes.

"You know what? I can't stand you anymore! I'm going to my room, and you can come see me once you're done being an idiot!"

And with that, I take my broom and fly away, towards the main building of Luna Nova. My tears make my vision blurry, but somehow, I still manage to make it to my room and lay down on my bed, crying in misery. Gosh, this is not how I expected this encounter to go… no. That's a lie. I fully expected it to go like this, which is why I postponed it for so long. But I was hoping it wouldn't.

But I mean, who am I kidding? After what happened today, it's clear that Croix is the worst girlfriend ever.


A/N: I hope this was as painful to read as it was to write. In a good way XD. I love making these two suffer, as will be even more apparent in the next few chapters.

Well, that's all for today, thanks for reading! And please leave a review/fav/follow if you want to support me.

Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.