"What do you mean by that?"
Stella frowned deeply, unable to comprehend what Makoto was talking about at all. She didn't even understand what he was trying to say.
"My meaning is—Stella, have you truly recognized your own essence? Do you really think your ability is just a natural-element interference type?"
Stella's heart suddenly trembled.
She seemed to faintly grasp what Makoto was hinting at, as though she had just realized the words behind his meaning.
So she froze.
"Earlier when you fought me, you used a move called Dragon Tremor, didn't you? That technique was formidable—its explosive force was terrifying. But haven't you ever wondered, why you're able to unleash that kind of power?"
Sometimes, the distance between reality and truth is nothing more than a thin veil of ignorance.
No one had ever pointed it out to her.
No one had ever laid the pieces out before her like this.
"What exactly is a so-called Blazer Technique? These last few days, I've done some digging into various materials to better develop my own power. If I recall correctly, it's supposed to be an advanced application—further development—of one's Device, right?"
Makoto laid out the key to the whole puzzle.
"Think carefully. You've always assumed your ability was fire-element interference. Then why are you clearly able to develop a strength-amplification move like Dragon Tremor?"
The blunt truth left Stella completely stunned.
She couldn't respond at all.
All her life, she had considered herself a fire-element Blazer.
Her flames burned at three thousand degrees Celsius—heat so intense that any material would turn to ash upon contact.
That had always been her understanding.
She honed her control over fire, creating a wide range of techniques.
Empress Dragon's Raiment, Empress Dragon's Breath, Empress Dragon's Great Jaw—all of them, fire techniques.
But Dragon Tremor…
Its principle was simple: explosively releasing her strength in one instant, stomping down to create destructive shockwaves.
If her Device were purely flame-based, every technique should be flame-based. Such physical reinforcement should not exist.
Stella wasn't stupid.
Makoto had already spelled it out for her. If she still couldn't understand, she'd be deliberately feigning ignorance.
"So… I'm not a natural interference-type Blazer?"
The thought made Stella's stomach sink.
What did this mean?
It meant her entire path of effort had been wrong from the start. Her training had been misdirected.
She had been wasting time walking down the wrong road.
"I think that's the case. After all, in the Kingdom of Vermilion there aren't many strong Blazers. You figured things out on your own—it's not surprising you misidentified your ability."
Such cases were common.
Blazers' powers were diverse—causal, elemental, reinforcement types. New variants appeared every year.
Realizing one's true nature along the way wasn't strange at all.
"Then… what is my real ability? Do you know?"
Stella leapt up from her seat, grabbing Makoto's collar with both hands.
The sudden surge of force nearly hauled him straight off his chair.
Their faces were only centimeters apart. If Makoto leaned forward slightly, he could touch the tip of her nose.
Normally, such closeness would have made Stella blush furiously. But now she was oblivious—too tense, too excited—her eyes fixed firmly on him.
She had come to this school to grow strong, to become her kingdom's guardian. If her previous road had been wrong, so be it. The past couldn't be undone.
What mattered now was understanding her power and training anew.
Makoto only smiled calmly.
"Are you prepared to accept the weight of your own destiny?"
-=-=-
Well then, Shiroyasha, what is it?
Within his mental space, Makoto gazed at the Shiroyasha's manifested will, impatience creeping into his tone.
Even here, he could perceive the outer world. The awkward tension outside was growing unbearable.
"All right, brat. This is only a fragment of my consciousness riding on you. I need your mana as a medium to manifest—that delay was inevitable."
Shiroyasha slowly opened his eyes.
Perhaps from overusing power, her presence seemed thinner than before.
"Time is short, so I'll keep it simple. Do you know the term Child of the World, or Child of Destiny?"
Instead of answering directly, Shiroyasha threw out this question.
"Ha? I've got a rough idea. In stories, it means those loved by the world, blessed with fortune. They fall off cliffs and find treasure, nearly die and awaken new powers—turning every hardship into opportunity."
"Mm! Exactly."
Shiroyasha nodded approvingly, pleased with Makoto's answer.
"Well said. That saves me some trouble. Simply put—that little girl is this world's Child of Destiny. She hasn't realized her essence yet. Once she does, her power will skyrocket dozens of times over."
Clack.
Her folding fan snapped shut. Shiroyasha's form faded further, blending into the void until she vanished.
"Such an existence is the perfect partner for you."
-=-=-
"Before you ask me, let me ask you. Stella, what is the full name of your Device?"
Returning from the memory with Shiroyasha, Makoto took Stella's hands in his, gently prying her grip off his collar.
"—Lævateinn:Empress Dragon's Sin Blade!"
She answered without hesitation.
Even though their hands were entwined in such an intimate posture, her gaze never wavered from his.
"What sort of being could grant you such terrifying physical strength?"
Makoto pressed further. Stella fell silent in thought.
"And note—my time-space interference can't affect your body directly."
That was already a clue.
From Shiroyasha's reminder of her unusual nature, to the battle earlier where her strength had defied explanation—Makoto had pieced it together.
"Your true ability must be… the Fire Dragon."
Yes—Stella's ability was the conceptual interference of Dragon.
Shiroyasha had already confirmed this.
Anyone else would likely miss such a truth.
Even Stella herself hadn't grasped it.
But Shiroyasha had seen countless dragons—worthless false-dragons fit only for the dinner table, and pureblood behemoths capable of annihilating universes.
The faint dragon aura clinging to Stella had been enough to rouse him from slumber within Makoto's consciousness.
Thus, events had unfolded as they had.
"…'Fire Dragon'?"
As if half-expecting it, Stella repeated the term without shock, her voice calm.
She couldn't be surprised—Makoto had already led her right up to the answer.
"Blazing breath. Unimaginable might. And a tendency for reckless thoughts. If I had to analyze it, there's only one conclusion: dragon."
Makoto spoke matter-of-factly.
"Your true power is the conceptualization of something that shouldn't exist in this world—turning the legendary Fire Dragon into reality. So what you're using now, those flames, are only one part of your potential."
Drawing upon Shiroyasha's knowledge of dragons in Little Garden, he explained further.
"Beyond fire, you should possess a dragon's physique, scales, vitality. In both Western and Eastern myths, dragons are the strongest phantasmal species. Your abilities should extend far beyond what you've tapped into."
Makoto fixed his gaze on her.
"That's why I said—if you had unleashed your full power earlier, I'd have suffered a crushing defeat."
And he wasn't exaggerating.
Time and space were among the most mysterious abilities, yet they had limits.
They could affect oneself and non-living matter—but not directly alter other living bodies.
Otherwise, they'd be too broken.
If Makoto could simply accelerate someone's time until they died of old age, or cut holes in their flesh with space, every battle would be trivial.
That was impossible.
Only when the opponent's mana was vastly inferior, or when the opponent let down all defenses, could his powers interfere with another's body.
If Stella had drawn upon her complete draconic strength earlier, Makoto could have done nothing but flee, buzzing around like a fly.
He wouldn't even have been able to freeze the time around her.
"Ha… but I don't know how to awaken that power."
Stella sat down, opening and closing her palm as if trying to grasp something unseen.
"I tried just now, but no matter what, I could only summon flame."
"It's simple—you haven't fully awakened yet. Your strength remains in a dormant state."
But that raised another problem.
"Then… how do I awaken it?"
Confusion filled Stella's face.
She was the only one in history—past or present—to bear the conceptual power of a Dragon.
There was no one's example to follow.
Makoto only smiled faintly, holding up two fingers.
"First method: battle to the brink of death, again and again. Push yourself into life-or-death situations and drag out your potential. Humans unleash their greatest power when clinging to survival."
The will to live draws out infinite strength.
Stella nodded—she had thought of this too.
When no road exists, one must carve their own with struggle.
"And the second?" she asked expectantly.
"This one's easier. The reason you can't tap into your true power is that your impression of dragons isn't vivid enough. You don't have a clear recognition of them. Sure, you've read about them in stories—but you always thought they were fiction. That disbelief keeps you from manifesting them. If you yourself think dragons are fake, how can you embody one?"
Stella listened intently, nodding from time to time.
"Stella—do you trust me?"
Suddenly, Makoto cut his explanation short and asked.
"Of course. If not for you, I'd never have known my ability was 'Dragon' at all." She answered without hesitation.
"Then let me show you—what a true phantasmal species, a Dragon, really is!"