Chapter 312: Edelweiss: What on Earth Is Luke Doing?!
At Luke's current level, chasing the thrill of battle was no longer as easy as it used to be.
Tension, danger, exhilaration—almost everyone capable of giving him those feelings was already a world-famous powerhouse.
And naturally, such powerhouses would not act lightly.
That was why Luke tried to create conflicts whenever possible, or gave help to talented people.
It was all so he could enjoy battle a little more.
The advice he gave Ikki and Stella, as well as the time he deliberately "provoked" Nene, had all been done for that purpose.
After all, only tense, thrilling battles on the edge of life and death were shortcuts to becoming stronger.
Just like Luke's battle with Edelweiss, after which his strength had undergone a long-awaited leap forward.
But chances like that were far too rare.
Most of the time, Luke still had to rely on ordinary training, steadily and slowly accumulating strength step by step.
However, things were a little different now.
The Rule of Grace Edelweiss had placed on him allowed Luke to feel that near-death tension almost anytime and anywhere.
Although there was still a huge gap compared to a real battle, it was already a brand-new experiment compared to daily training whose effects were gradually weakening.
If possible, Luke even wanted to combine it with his normal training to see whether it would produce any extra results.
The tension and danger mixed with novelty gradually drew Luke in.
In order to apply this emotion-stirring sense of crisis to his daily training, Luke began making all kinds of attempts.
At first, he was not very skilled and could not trigger the Rule of Grace at will.
But very soon, after trying various methods, he grasped the correct way to tease the Rule of Grace.
After that, Luke officially began all kinds of testing and playing around.
…
However, while Luke was having fun, Edelweiss, on the other side, was not in such a pleasant mood.
When Luke had just met Shinomiya Amane and triggered the Rule of Grace for the first time, Edelweiss was sitting quietly in a meditation room at her temporary residence.
By now, the injuries Luke had caused her had already healed, including the soul wound caused when her Device, Testament, had been cut apart.
At first, Edelweiss had begun this quiet meditation in order to recover from her injuries.
But as time passed, it had gradually become a habit.
Perhaps because her soul had once been injured, the recovered Edelweiss clearly felt that her mind and spirit had grown.
Although the result was good, the process itself had not been anything pleasant.
In order to prevent a similar situation from happening again in the future, Edelweiss decided to set aside some time every day to nourish her mind and spirit like this.
After all, even if she did not consider her second battle with Luke, she could not guarantee that she would never encounter another Blazer with a similar ability in the future.
Edelweiss had suffered that loss once.
She had no desire to suffer it a second time.
Of course, aside from learning from her mistake, Edelweiss had another reason for doing this.
Although she did not really want to admit it, she had indeed tasted the bitter fruit of defeat because of Luke.
That first defeat in her life made the woman named Edelweiss, the swordsman known as Twin-Wings, feel as though she had faintly glimpsed a trace of the "meaning" she had always been searching for.
Driven by that strange feeling, Edelweiss increased her training.
Including meditation to refine her mind, she tried many different methods to become stronger.
The old her would not have done this, because there had been no need.
This pure-white swordsman had always maintained a training amount that was neither too much nor too little.
Even so, she had still grown stronger at a shocking speed.
Even after standing at the peak of the world, Edelweiss's speed of growth had not slowed in the slightest.
Even if she made no changes at all, the next time she fought Luke, he would have to face a Twin-Wings far stronger than before.
But…
'That isn't enough!'
Somewhere deep in her heart, this thought kept flickering in and out.
It gave Edelweiss an inexplicable sense of urgency, making her unconsciously increase her training.
It was almost as if… she could feel someone rapidly approaching from behind.
'I don't want to lose a second time… I refuse to let him catch up to me!'
That thought drove Edelweiss to begin moving toward the next peak.
Then…
Bzz—!
A strange tremor in her mind instantly startled Edelweiss awake from her meditation.
She rarely used the Rule of Grace.
As a swordsman, it could even be said that she had barely used it more than a few times in her entire life.
And every time she used it, it had been a short-term "contract" that ended quickly.
The only remaining vow that could possibly be triggered now was the one placed on Luke.
"I thought he wouldn't trigger the Rule of Grace."
"Mm… it disappeared very quickly. Did he accidentally trigger it after running into someone?"
Although her meditation had been interrupted, Edelweiss was not angry.
On the contrary, she felt an inexplicable little happiness at receiving news of Luke after so long.
During this period, she had been focused on recovering from her injuries.
After those injuries healed, she immediately threw herself into preparations for her next battle with Luke.
Compared to Luke's side, Edelweiss's anticipation for their rematch was not lacking in the slightest.
That was only natural.
After all, it had been the first defeat of her life, so it was inevitable that she would be unable to let it go.
For someone who had always stood at the peak and had never lost before, a first defeat was extremely difficult to accept.
The fact that Edelweiss could behave as she did now already showed how firm her heart was.
After sensing that the Rule of Grace had been triggered but not truly activated, Edelweiss knew this was probably just an accident.
She did not think too much about it.
She pushed aside her thoughts and emptied her mind once again.
Bzz—!
"…"
Edelweiss, who had been interrupted again before long, opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow.
"Is he… testing it?"
"Interesting. Using my ability to confirm someone's identity is actually not a bad idea."
"Forget it. As long as he doesn't reveal anything related to the plan to anyone else, it doesn't matter how much he knows."
Edelweiss shook her head lightly, let out a breath, and closed her eyes again, intending to continue today's meditation.
Bzz—!
"…?"
"Why was it triggered again?"
"What is he doing?"
Edelweiss frowned slightly and thought about Luke's current motive.
"Perhaps… he's testing the conditions for triggering this ability?"
"Hmph. Is he preparing for our next battle? Fine. With his strength, three triggers should be enough for him to understand that this ability is of no help in battle."
"He actually doesn't believe what I said. Honestly… I'll complain to him the next time we meet."
After that, a slightly unhappy Edelweiss closed her eyes once again, preparing to empty her mind.
Bzz—!
Rage!
"What on earth is he doing?!"
…
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