The train cut through the continent like a metal arrow, steam hissing past the windows. Kazu sat near the back, hoping for quiet. Naturally, that meant the universe laughed in his face.
"Is that him—?"
"Wait, really? The youngest S-Rank?"
"Oh my god, it is—take a picture before he moves—"
Camera flashes burst like miniature explosions. Levy choked on a snort as Kazu turned slightly, trying to angle away.
A middle-aged man leaned in. "Young man, could you sign this? My son looks up to you. He keeps saying he wants to fire lasers from his eyes as you do."
"I… don't fire lasers from my eyes," Kazu said. 'The hell? Is he saying this to sell my autograph?'
"Doesn't matter! Kids will twist anything." The man held out a notebook.
Kazu signed it anyway.
Levy rested her chin on her hand, smiling at his misery. "You know… You could just smile once. Ease the tension."
"This is my relaxed face."
"Right. Terrifying."
Two teenagers approached next, shakily holding a camera lacrima. "M-Mister Sukehiro? Can we take a photo—?"
"No need to call me 'Mister.' And sure." Kazu stood, posed stiffly, let them snap the picture, and sat back down like he had performed some classified operation.
Levy nudged him with her elbow. "You're famous. Maybe pretend you don't hate it."
"I don't hate it." He watched another passenger sneaking photos from behind a newspaper. "I'm… adjusting."
"That's your 'I'd rather be anywhere else' expression."
Her teasing eased some of the stiffness around his shoulders. He didn't say thanks, but she didn't need it. The mission had him on edge for some reason.
Later, an older woman took the seat across from them. She wore a patched shawl and carried a basket of dried herbs. She didn't ask for pictures; she didn't stare. She simply watched the countryside through the window.
Then, softly, "You saved Halesport last winter, didn't you?"
Kazu paused. "Yes."
"My brother lives there. You kept his roof from collapsing when the blizzard hit. Thank you."
The gratitude landed heavier than the flashes and attention. Kazu bowed his head slightly. "I'm glad he's safe."
The rest of the trip passed with a gentler quiet. Kazu had changed trains and used barriers to conceal his identity, allowing him to train Levy in peace.
The shoreline greeted them with a hiss of wind so sharp it felt alive. Sand whipped across their boots; waves hammered the rocks with enough force to shake the ground. Clouds churned overhead in a slow spiral, not natural, not random.
Levy clutched her satchel. "This is… worse than the reports."
Kazu stepped closer to the water's edge. The air tasted metallic. Ethernano pulsed under the waves—deep, heavy, like something taking slow breaths.
Even standing on solid ground, the sea felt hostile.
"We fly from here," he said.
Levy nodded, though her eyes flicked toward the endless expanse below. "Right. Better than swimming."
Kazu formed the first layer of the barrier. A translucent dome shimmered around them before hardening into a small platform below. With a push, it lifted off the sand and rose steadily into the air.
Levy held the rail he formed. "Your barriers got smoother."
"Optimised the Ethernano flow. Didn't expect you to notice."
"Hehe. I might be a side character, but I am a useful one."
Kazu chuckled, but didn't comment.
The ocean stretched beneath them, dark and shifting. The waves didn't roll—they lurched, dragged inward by invisible force. Even the wind changed direction irregularly, as if confused.
Levy swallowed. "The sea's… humming."
"Ethernano pressure." Kazu scanned the horizon. "It's agitated."
They flew farther. The sky dimmed slightly, though no clouds blocked the sun. The barrier flickered once—no, not flickered. Something brushed against it. A ripple of pressure, faint but unmistakable.
Levy froze. "Did you—?"
"Yes." He tightened the barrier, reinforcing the outer shell. "Something's moving under us."
She peered down, then immediately regretted it. The depth looked endless. The water swirled unnaturally, rotating around a point far offshore.
"Kazu…" Her voice dropped. "The barrier won't break, right?" A chill ran up her spine.
"No."
The wind died. The platform steadied.
Under the silence, a low rumble vibrated through the air—almost like a call, or a warning.
Kazu stared forward, eyes narrowing. "Be alert."
Levy's grip on the barrier walls tightened. She trusted him completely, but trust didn't stop the human body from reacting to the idea of falling into a violent, possibly cursed ocean.
Kazu's gaze sharpened, posture straightening with a quiet readiness. Every instinct told him the same thing:
Something was watching.
From below.
The platform drifted forward, slicing through the distorted air.
"Prepare for combat." Just as he said that, a violet beam of light erupted from below them, rushing directly at them.
Kazu reacted instinctively—he shoved Levy aside, rotated the platform. The beam clipped the edge of the barrier and shattered it like glass hit by a hammer.
Levy flinched as fragments of magic scattered, harmlessly passing through her. "What—?!" Both of them started falling towards the violent ocean downwards.
A figure stood on the ocean miraculously. His coat whipped in the wind, hood low over his eyes. He was with just a metallic artefact gun raised calmly in one hand, already charging.
She snapped a script mid-fall. "Solid Script: FLOAT!" A glowing rune anchored to her back, and she drifted upward like a buoy in slow motion. Similar to her, Kazu quickly created a barrier beneath him.
Kazu moved closer to Levy.
The man didn't speak. He didn't warn. He simply had his gun aimed at them.
Kazu quickly shot a volley of magic bullets that cut through the air like a storm of sparks. They should have hit—his aim wasn't guesswork—but every bullet bent away at the last instant, curving off course.
Levy gasped. "They're… missing?"
"No. They're being moved." Kazu frowned. 'That's not wind magic. Something different.'
He fired again, this time at Levy.
Kazu formed a barrier surrounding her, rotated it like a shield, and the beam tore through two layers before losing power.
To Levy, one second, she suddenly saw a beam of light. Her heart almost leapt out.
The enemy flickered again—no teleportation circle, no motion blur—just a subtle shift, like he had sidestepped reality itself.
Kazu tossed another volley. This time, he deliberately aimed off-centre, leading the trajectory.
Still missed.
"He's not dodging me," Kazu muttered. "He's dodging the path...?"
Levy forced out a breath. "His magic… controls direction?"
"Influences it. Alter it." 'It's the same magic that's allowing him to float on water and move so quickly.'
For the next few shots, all of them were fired at Levy. His intention was clear--take down the weakest one first.
The enemy lifted the gun again. A faint whine built—cooldown ending. Kazu caught the timing. 'Three seconds. Maybe four. I can close the gap in that time. If he is bluffing with the timing, then Levy has a defensive artefact that could take one of its shots.'
He slammed a barrier platform under his feet and launched himself downward, chasing the attacker into open sky. The man reacted instantly, flickering backwards in a seamless drift, running across the water.
He moved with no wasted motion. However, his speed was no match for Kazu. Kazu was on him instantly, his arm cocked back.
The stranger quickly used his unnatural magic to make Kazu's attack miss, but Kazu didn't let him.
'Destructive Interference.' Before the magic circle could completely form, it was destroyed immediately, shocking the stranger. However, he didn't have much time to remain shocked.
One punch.
Short. Clean. Bone meets jaw with a dull crack. The man's hood snapped back from the impact, revealing a clean-cut Alvarez military crop and a faint tattoo along his temple.
He collapsed into the ocean, skidding across the surface before sinking to his knees. Kazu landed beside him on a fresh barrier platform, fist still raised.
The man coughed once, blood mixing with seawater. His voice came out cracked. "Alvarez… orders… scouting the disturbance…" He said before Kazu could even ask.
Kazu stared down at him, unreadable. Levy floated down, wide-eyed but steady. The wind whipped between them.
"What's your magic?"
The man hesitated for a second before continuing. "Dodge magic. It allows me to dodge anything I perceive as a threat."
'Perceive? Will it work against sneak attacks or not?' Kazu was quite fascinated by his magic, but now was not the time.
"Tell me about your orders. What's the cause of the disturbance?"
The man shut his eyes. "I can't answer that..Kill me… or let me go. Doesn't matter."
Kazu didn't answer with words. He glanced at Levy. 'I can't torture him with her here. Moreover, will torture even work on a military man?' Though Kazu was confident in his torture methods, compared to the military, he might just be an amateur.
Kazu stepped back.
"Leave," he said simply.
The Alvarez mage hesitated—confused by the mercy—but used the moment. He limped across the water, Dodge Magic tugging at the waves as he ran. Within seconds, he vanished into the haze.
Levy drifted closer. "You actually let him—"
Kazu shrugged. "He wouldn't have given us any information."
'Five.'
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