48. Karla, Karla, Oh, Karla. (2)
“Hey, Ivan.”
Karla’s voice always carried a sense of clarity whenever one listened to it.
Even though it had a slightly husky and lower tone,
even though it lacked any trace of Regina’s girlishness,
that must be why Ivan couldn’t reply at first after hearing Karla’s voice.
He just turned his head to look at her.
“What is it? Why don’t you answer? Is staring at someone your way of answering?”
Only after seeing Karla’s expressionless face did Ivan nod.
“Yeah. What is it?”
“There’s something… I’d rather not ask you for help, but… anyway, I need a bit of assistance.”
“Help? With what?”
“Ah… It’s not something I want to talk to you about either…”
Scratching behind her ear, Karla seemed reluctant to say whatever was on her mind. Ivan silently waited for her to continue, gazing steadily at her.
“…It’s about the Exchange Battle. I think I should train a bit for it.”
Ivan didn’t know how much contemplation Karla had gone through before saying this.
She’d already practiced quite a lot in the training room set up within the Academy.
Through effort, patience, and meditation, these were the three things she excelled at.
Yet, she came to the conclusion that practicing alone had limitations, which led her to approach Ivan.
“Helping with training? That’s not difficult. How would you like me to help?”
“Just…sparring with me would be enough. Even with my arm like this…”
Karla moved her left shoulder slightly.
Following Emil’s advice, the sleeves dangling aimlessly swayed, emphasizing the emptiness in the place where her arm should have been.
“…and my mana isn’t exactly the issue. It’s just… asking others to spar with me is a bit much.”
“Then that’s no problem. Anything I can help with, I will.”
“…ugh.”
Karla found Ivan’s smile strangely awkward to look at.
That smile… somehow always felt completely opposite to her own nature.
While Ivan genuinely treated her as a friend, Karla harbored lingering inferiority towards him, making it even more uncomfortable.
*
The practice rooms are prepared in various types.
Since students specialize in different fields—some in close-combat magic, others in area-based spells—the sizes of the practice rooms vary accordingly.
Among them, Ivan walked into a medium-sized room, hanging the “In Use” sign on the door as he entered.
“What’s with the looking around? Is this your first time here?”
“No, that’s not it. Just feels pretty spacious.”
“Medium-sized. There are larger ones for those who specialize in wide-area magic. You’ve hung the sign, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve hung it.”
“Alright.”
Karla stepped further into the practice room, casually taking off her coat and hanging it on the rack.
Since the “In Use” sign was up, no one else would enter, making this room exclusively Ivan and Karla’s for the training session.
“So, what help do I need to give?”
“Be a dummy for me.”
“…a dummy?”
Karla had already started channeling her mana.
A deep purple mana swirling around her body—symbolic of Electric Magic.
The crackling sound of electricity accompanied it as her hair whipped around in the swirling energy.
Her form was enveloped in a luminous purple glow emanating from the mana surging beneath her feet.
Even her face had taken on a violet tint, revealing the commanding power of her mana.
As Ivan observed her, he felt an underlying tension.
He had seen her obliterate slime with a single blow, so he knew her punches were incredibly powerful.
“[Wind.]”
A sharp gust of wind swirled around Ivan’s body.
The wind didn’t extend outward but cocooned him, forming an armor of wind.
“Stay still there.”
Karla’s voice was firm.
It was then Ivan realized what “being a dummy” actually meant.
“[True Lightning.]”
With that incantation, Karla’s figure disappeared in an instant.
A flash of purple streaked before Ivan’s eyes. It collided and crashed to the ground without Ivan even needing to move.
—BOOM!
“Karla!”
Ivan rushed to pick Karla up after she collapsed to the floor.
Though she seemed unscathed, Karla let out a deep sigh and struggled to get up.
“Karla, are you okay?”
“…I’m fine. Let’s try it again.”
It was at that moment Ivan fully understood the problem.
Karla had lost the ability to maintain her balance…Electric magic amplifies physical movements to unleash its power, but with Karla now moving so fast, she couldn’t control her balance.
“Let’s do it again.”
Ivan nodded.
Karla took a deep breath, calming herself.
Once again, they stood about ten steps apart. She began channeling her mana.
The might of her mana was truly formidable—it was clear just one hit from it would be deadly. However, that was assuming her attacks actually landed. For Karla right now…
“[Heaven’s Lightning.]”
Karla’s figure blurred once more.
Her leg swept down like an axe. Ivan instinctively stepped aside by a half-step to evade. The follow-up strike slammed into the practice room floor with a loud roar and sent a powerful tremor.
“[Lightning Spin]!”
Using her descending leg as an axis, she attempted to spin around.
But at that moment—
—BOOM!
Karla tumbled awkwardly to the floor again.
Hearing Ivan’s voice, her hand missed the ground entirely as she tried to push herself up.
Attempting to rise with her right arm, she lost balance and fell back down.
‘Even getting up is…’
Karla sighed.
It was hard to imagine this was the same Karla who had been relentlessly attacking Ivan for over an hour, repeatedly falling yet refusing to give up.
Her physical strength was utterly depleted, but she hadn’t even managed to land a single effective blow.
This simple fact weighed heavily on her.
“…What can I do? Am I really finished?”
Karla unwittingly voiced her inner thoughts, something unimaginable for her to do in front of Ivan. Why did this day come so soon?
Her body wobbled; she couldn’t maintain her posture or control her balance when moving.
Her forte—the speed and agility she once excelled in—along with the destructive power they brought, none of it functioned now. It was a futile confirmation.
“…I’m really done. I’m really all finished…”
Karla covered her face with her palm and continued speaking.
Her chest heaved so much she felt it might burst if she didn’t let it out somehow.
“What about becoming the strongest magician or whatever? There’s nothing I can do like this. Not just as a magician—right now, I’m not even a proper human being. Like this…”
“…Karla.”
How was Ivan looking at her?
With her lying down like this, Ivan must be looking down at her. Never in her life would Karla have allowed such a thing, but now she didn’t care in the slightest.
With her pride completely shattered, there was nothing left to support her. The one pillar that had upheld her—the ability to properly wield magic—was also lost.
The twenty years of her life were collapsing into fragments inside her, leaving not a single trace.
“Karla. I’ll help you. Let’s try again. We will start by revisiting the basic movements…”
“It’s enough, Ivan. I’m done. No matter how much you help… as a magician, I’m finished.”
Karla exhaled another quiet sigh.
She feared tears would spring out if she didn’t.
“Karla.”
Ivan gently embraced her and helped her sit up, careful not to strain her.
“Don’t give me any of that consoling crap, Ivan. I just… just…”
I’m done. Karla Del Cascata is finished.
That’s what she wanted to say.
Everything is over. As a magician, my life is done.
“That’s enough… Ivan, it’s just… enough.”
There’s no one here to blame.
She herself offered her devotion to the Waterfall Deity, she herself accepted whatever consequences, and her own lapse in judgment during the battle with Venere—all of it was her own self-induced calamity.
“Karla, you’ve been one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. I’ve seen you. Even if it’s a decade old… you’ve always worked hard. Haven’t you?”
A clumsy attempt at consoling someone.
If it was the Karla of before, she might have retorted, “What kind of consolation is that?” But now, Karla just listened to Ivan’s words quietly.
“Let’s try a bit more. For Electric Magic, maybe trying to slow down the speed will help. That’s what I think.”
“…even daily life is tough, Ivan. It’s enough. Just leave me alone.”
All she wanted now was to rest.
Maybe, as Enrico suggested, accepting his proposal and living comfortably by having him under her thumb might be better. But—
‘Can I even have that parasite under my thumb?’
Even that confidence was lost, and her body tumbled into the dirt.
“Let go— Ivan. It’s enough. I’m done. Please, just… let me stay like this until that parasite comes…”
“Don’t say that!”
Before Karla could react to Ivan’s sudden outburst, she felt his arms tightly encircling her. The residual magic energy—Air Magic energy—and the flow of wind enveloping her body.
“I’ll be the dummy for you, and I’ll keep standing for you. I’ll catch you every time you fall. So, don’t give up. If you give up, I’ll end too.”
Somewhere along the way, Ivan had pulled Karla into a tight embrace.
He shouted while holding her close to his chest.
“Am I supposed to send my friend to that garbage?! Absolutely not. It won’t happen. That will never, ever happen… You need to stay by my side. You always will.”
Ivan’s demeanor felt like it had changed.
His voice, sharper and colder, made Karla instinctively feel fear, but it didn’t oppress her as it had in the past.
It was a strange sensation.
Ivan’s embrace was warm.
Yet nonetheless, the sharp edge in his voice made her flinch.
But strangely, the resolute determination contained within that sharpness whispered to her—one that told her this was Ivan’s genuine feelings.
