The Arrogance of Humility 11

During a quiet noon in the infirmary.

Lucy opened her eyes and woke up in shock. She still wore her clothes from the night before, slightly damaged because of the fight.

“Ah!” Lucy panted as she looked around. She was sweating profusely as her body trembled. The shock from the battle that night still etched into her mind.

“Good morning,” Vennefer said calmly; he was sitting on a bed next to her.

Lucy calmed down as she looked at him, but before she could move her left hand, a binding sigil appeared on her body, preventing her from moving an inch.

“What the—?”

“Who are you?” Vennefer asked as he gripped his cane tightly with his hands trembling.

“Father, what—?”

Vennefer pointed his cane on Lucy as a level 15 sigil appeared; Lucy knew the sigil; it was the Light Ray of Obliteration, meaning Vennefer was going to kill her.

“Who. Are. You?”

“Father… It’s I… I’m Lucy, your daughter. D-Don’t you remember?” Worry filled her face as she looked visibly shaken.

“Prove it.”

Lucy took a deep breath.

“Remember when you first taught me about magic?” she asked as she calmed down.

“Yes.”

“You taught me a fire magic from an old grimoire I borrowed from the library. I accidentally burned the grimoire because I pointed it wrongly. I cried for an entire day, worrying that I would be scolded. Then, you tried to rewrite the grimoire yourself to avoid getting me in trouble.”

“Sigh…” Vennefer looked away. “In the end, we both got scolded by Headmaster Arcus.”

“Yes. But because of that, I have my own grimoire… Which I also accidentally burned it with the same mistake...” She looked away, embarrassed.

“You still remember that while I tried my best forgetting it.”

“Because, since that day, I wanted to be a magus like you, father.”

Vennefer sighed as he stopped the sigil and removed the bindings from her body. He stood and hugged her tightly, relieved.

“Father?” Lucy muttered as she was about to burst into tears. “What was that for?!”

“Nothing… I’m just… happy you’re safe.”

“You made me worry, you dummy!” Lucy wiped her tears.

“Sorry.” He sat back down and patted her head for a while.

“Where’s Gina?” she asked, concerned.

“She’s safe. The professors are taking care of her now.”

Lucy looked on her whitened skin and hair. She also felt weak and lethargic, and her movements were sluggish.

“What…” Lucy muttered, surprised. “What happened to me?”

“You…” Vennefer looked down, concerned.

“I… I what?”

“Lucy… You…” He didn’t want to tell her as he looked away, but he had to let her know. “You can’t be a magus anymore.”

“What? What do you mean? I’m… I’m just tired, right?”

“No. We, the professors, have healed you completely, but you’re in a point of no return; you can’t and will never recover.”

Lucy’s face looked sad as she looked at her condition.

“I… I can’t be a professor,” she thought as she clenched her fist.

“Also, who are those four who attacked you both?” he asked.

“I only knew the one holding the stone. He said his name is Emmeroloth Celzan—”

“Celzan?!” The name surprised Vennefer.

“Yes, Celzan.”

“The exiled families… One of them stole Lucy’s spirit power using the stone,” he thought. “But why? Did ‘he’ create another after giving me this stone to seal Belial?”

Vennefer stood.

“I have to inform this to the others.” He turned, leaving, but before he reached the door, Lucy called him.

“Father. What should I do now?”

“You get some rest, okay?”

“I want to help—!”

“Lucy, listen. I know what you’re feeling, but in your current condition, I suggest you do nothing. I will try finding the workaround for your condition later.”

Vennefer left the infirmary to inform Headmaster Arcus and General Draco, hoping they would take action sooner.

Lucy laid on her bed as she raised and looked at her left hand. A level one sigil formed on her left hand as she tried using magic. The sigil’s projection time was halved, unlike her usual who took less than a second to create it.

“Fire,” she muttered.

The intensity of flame was too little unlike before who reached the size of her palm; it was like a flickering fire from a candle. Lucy couldn’t even maintain it for long as it went out after two seconds.

Lucy retained her knowledge about sigils and magic, but had not enough power and energy to use or maintain them. It was like a level 100 character controlling a level 1 character.

“Gina…” she thought, saddened. “Looks like I can’t keep up with our promise.”

Tears of sadness fell from her eyes, but she smiled, relieved that her best friend was all right.

“At least you’re safe, Gina… I'm glad I made it in time…”

She wiped her tears and tried to stand. The moment her feet touched the ground, her legs couldn’t support her own weight as she fell on the ground flat.

“Ouch…” she tried to stand, but with her weakened left hand and unmoveable right arm, she couldn’t even crawl. She tried to push herself using her knee, but she felt couldn’t bend them.

The infirmary was empty; the students were having their classes while the professors were busy, including Professor Carolus as he wasn’t in the infirmary.

“Anyone…?” Lucy muttered as she looked around, but it was all empty.

“So, this is how powerlessness feels…” she thought as she smiled ironically. “You could do naught, hoping someone is kind enough to lend a hand…”

After two hours had passed, Professor Carolus went to the infirmary. He entered and walked around, taking some documents. He then noticed Lucy lying on the ground next to her bed..

“Oh my—!”

He hurried and helped Lucy to stand, carrying her left arm on his shoulder.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I tried to stand… Looks like my legs couldn’t even hold my weight, hm? Maybe I am getting too fat.” She smiled and laughed.

“I know your condition is weak,” he said. “But I didn’t know you would be too weak to stand.”

He sat Lucy on her bed and checked her condition in case she fractured her bones after the fall. Lucy was eerily calm; her eyes were empty even though she was smiling subtly.

“Sigh, you’re lucky to suffer no injury from that fall,” he said after checking. “Your muscles and your pulses are weaker than the average person now.”

“I see… My magic ability also drops drastically now.”

“I see no anomaly in your blood, so I don’t know what causes that. Your blood sample before and now shows insignificant change. So about your magic ability, I can’t say what causes it.”

“About my hair and skin?”

“About them… I don’t know. The loss pigmentation of your hair might have been caused by stress, and about your skin… I have no slightest clue what caused it.”

“I see…” She smiled as she admired her changes and played with her hair. “I look like a granny now, right?”

“I know it must be hard for you.”

“It’s fine.”

“If you really want to walk, I guess we have no other choice then,” he said as he stood and opened a storeroom door for medical equipment. He returned, bringing a wooden walking frame. “You can use this until your condition improves.”

“Thank you, Professor Carolus, but… I can’t use my right arm.”

“This is the first time he called me formally,” he thought. “The shock of losing her strength really affected her personality, hm?”

“Ah! I forgot about that,” he said as he scratched the back of his head.

Lucy laughed.

“I’m really helpless, right?” She smiled.

“Lucy…” he thought as he shook his head.

“Where’s Gina?” Lucy asked.

“She—Ah!” Carolus didn’t want to tell her.

“She… what?” Lucy looked concerned as she raised her voice slightly. “Isn’t she okay?!”

“She is okay! B-But—”

“But… What? Can I see her—?”

“No—”

“Why? She’s okay, right? Please, Professor Carolus. Tell me.”

“Even though she’s okay, there’s something we couldn’t do.”

“What do you mean?” Lucy looked concerned as her eyes opened wide.

“She… She somehow lost some part of her brain. Right now, even though she’s alive, she’s in a coma.”

“P… Pardon?”

She hoped she heard Carolus’ words wrong, but his silence and serious, concerned face emphasized the fact.

Lucy remembered when Dyson held Gina’s head with his hand glowing.

“It's…” Lucy’s eyes opened wide with her irises shrunk. Her body and lips started trembling as she clenched her fist with her heart going wild from the panic. Tears fell from her eyes while her breath became heavier.

Lucy knew the reason Gina was in that state was because of her; she hesitated for a second there, fearing and knowing that stone would harm her if she complied, which led them to hurt Gina.

“Lucy?” Carolus asked as he saw Lucy visibly shaken.

“It’s my fault!” she said aloud repeatedly, hysteric, as she pulled her own hair with her left hand forcefully. “It's… It’s all my fault—!!!”

“H-Hey, calm down! It’s not your fault!” He grabbed her left hand and put it down.

“I… I—!”

Carolus held her by the shoulders and shook her, trying to return her to her senses.

“It’s okay, Lucy. It’s okay,” he said, calming. “The fault wasn’t yours. Please, calm yourself.”

Lucy’s breath was heavy, but she stopped being hysterical. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from her face while patting her back to calm her down.

“Now, control your breathing, okay? Try taking a deep breath, hold it for a second, and let it out.”

Carolus helped her to regulate her breath to calm her down. After Lucy had cooled off, he gave her water to drink.

“Sorry for the sudden outburst,” she said as she smiled.

“I have never seen her panicking like this before,” he thought. “She usually kept her cool in any condition. Regina must be a very important person in her life…”

“Anyway,” he said as he stood. “I have an important thing to do. If you need anything, call me.”

Carolus sat on his personal writing desk, filling files while Lucy lied back on the bed, sinking into her thoughts.

The lessons for today ended; all students flooded the hallway while the professors gathered, discussing the assault the four made last night. It was noisy in the hallway, but Lucy was accustomed to it.

Out of the blue, someone rushed into the infirmary, slamming the door open and surprising Carolus as he accidentally tore a finished document. It was Lance; he was there to check on Lucy.

“Where’s my goddess?!” Lance said aloud, panicking.

Carolus threw a book on Lance’s head, peeved.

“Keep your voice down! Someone’s resting here!”

“And where’s she—?!”

Another book hit Lance’s head.

“Sigh…” Carolus shook his head as he pointed at Lucy’s bed. “She’s there!”

Lance rubbed his face as he walked and sat at a bed next to Lucy.

“Hello, Lancelot.” Lucy looked at him and smiled.

Lance felt something was off from her; it was always Lance who greeted her first, not the otherwise.

“My beautiful, outstanding, perfect, appealing, dazzling, gorgeous, stunning goddess…” he said, confused. “What happened?”

“Nothing much.”

Lance grabbed Lucy’s left hand without warning and rubbed his face on it.

“What a fragrant, sweet, spicy, aromatic, sensual, hand of a goddess!” he said aloud as he was about to kiss her hand, expecting her to be angry.

Lance looked at her; she was just… smiling. Not a single disgust or irritation from her face. He stopped, confused.

“You really love doing it, right?” she said as she looked at her hand.

“What the…” he muttered as he released her hand.

“So… Anything you need from me?”

“Ah, yes.” He took a fixed rosary from his pocket and gave it to her. “I am here to give you this. I found it on the rooftops.”

“Thank you, Lancelot.” She coiled the rosary on her right arm and moved it. Just like her left hand, it’s also weak with the movements sluggish.

“What happened to you?” Lance asked, concerned.

“I don’t know… When I woke up, this happened to my body. I don’t have strength to walk; I don’t have energy to use magic; my appearance changed to this. All happened in a night.”

“Lucy…”

“Sigh, looks like you are the number one now, Lancelot. Cheer up! You surpassed—”

“How could I be happy?” Lance asked, concerned.

“Lancelot…” She said as she looked down. “Can you leave me for a moment?”

“Agh…” Lance stood. “S-Sure.”

Lance did what she requested and left immediately.

Now, Lucy could move her arms, meaning it’s the time for her to try walking with the walking frame. She held the grips and put her weight there as she stood.

“Harder than I thought,” she thought as she moved slightly.

The noise she made caused Carolus to stop writing for a while. He stood, observing her.

“How is it?” he asked.

“It’s… good.”

“Be careful, okay. If you feel tired, rest.”

“All right. Thank you, Professor Carolus.”

Lucy went outside, to the hallway. The students looked at her, surprised with her current condition. They all began commenting as quiet as they could but Lucy could hear them clear as her hearings weren’t hindered.

“Isn’t she Luxianne?”

“She is. But she looks totally different.”

“What’s with her condition? She looks… pitiful.”

“Hey, don’t say that. She could beat you to pulp—”

“With that condition?”

“Hey… If we defeat her, we could be the number one, right?”

“Are you crazy?”

Outside the academy, it was afternoon. The sun wasn’t glaring with the sky turning orange.

Lucy reached the academy field; in the arena, there was a showdown there between Iggy and Celina. They were all ready and eager to defeat each other as they opened their grimoires.

“I’m taking the number 4 from you today, Iggy!” Celina said aloud as she pointed forward as a level 5 sigil appeared in front of her.

“Heh!” He read his grimoire and pointed forward; a level 6 sigil appeared in front of him. “Over my dead body, Cel!”

Lucy walked around, but she was slow so she thought it wasn’t a bad idea to watch their fight too as she limped towards her dorm.

“Energetic as ever…” she muttered with a subtle smile.

Both of their sigils completed at the same time; it’s the moment for a magic showdown.

“Snow Rage!” Celina uttered as her sigil shot a gust of chilly wind and snow towards Iggy.

“Infernal Pyro Blast!” Iggy uttered as the sigil shot an enormous black fireball towards Celina.

Their magic, albeit on a different level, matched each other as the fireball and the frigid wind exploded in a wide area after five seconds of clashing, pushing both of them back.

The black fire and frigid ice explosion hit the surroundings, prompting the students standing near the arena to run away, avoiding the blast, but unfortunately for Lucy, she got hit by the impact before she could move her legs.

“Agh…!” Lucy got blasted and pushed back. The black flame was burning her legs while the frigid ice immobilized her arms.

The damages she took were superficial as she suffered no serious injury. She was absorbing their magic slowly as she healed herself, but the healing and the absorbing process were too slow and agonizing for her as the fire spread and grow quicker on her skin before she could absorb them fully.

Both Celina and Iggy ceased their fight for a moment as they both looked at her.

“It’s fine!” Lucy said aloud to them before they moved to help Lucy.

Two nearby students (a male archmagus and a girl alchemist) helped Lucy by placing stronger vitae healing magic on her body and giving her a tonic to restore her strength.

“Thank you…” Lucy said to both of them. “And sorry for causing you both trouble.”

“It’s fine,” they said as they helped Lucy to stand on her walking frame. They offered to escort Lucy to the dorm, but Lucy refused, not wanting to trouble them anymore. They understood and continued watching as Iggy and Celina continued their fight.

Lucy continued limping towards the dorm, but she felt tired already.

“Absorbing a level 6 and a level 5 magic affects me this much, hm?” she thought as she panted. “I even drank a tonic. Looks like I only have 10% of my former energy now.”

Lucy entered the first floor, the boys’ dorm. The hallway was relatively empty so she could navigate to the stairs without hindrance. She climbed the stairs alone; it was exhausting, taking her 10 minutes to get past.

The moment she reached the grand dining hall, she took a seat, resting. Her body sweated profusely while panting.

“One more stairs…” she thought as she wiped her sweat and stood.

The grand dining hall was empty as the students were busy doing something. Lucy climbed the stairs, but she overestimated her condition. The moment she was 10 steps ahead, her arms and legs were too tired. She forced herself and slipped, falling.

“Lucy!!!” the sound of Lance shouted from afar.

He recently arrived at the second floor because of what happened to her earlier near the arena. Concerned about her, Lance ran to the dorm and ascended to the dining hall.

Lance hurried and successfully caught her mid air as he jumped high, coincidentally in princess-carry style, before she reached the ground.

He landed on the ground with none of them injured.

“What were you thinking?” he asked, concerned.

“I just want to walk—”

“Lucy… Please understand your condition first!” he scolded, worried about her well-being. “What if you fell?! Your condition would be worse than before!”

“Sorry,” She looked away.

“Sigh.” He calmed down. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice like that.”

“No. It’s fine.”

Lance carried her to the third floor, to her room. He laid her on the bed and brought her the walking frame.

“Thank you,” Lucy said as she looked away.

“I’ll be outside your room if you need anything else—”

“Wait, Lance. Can you… take me to the roof?”

“Ah—Y-Yeah.”

Lance helped her to stand and walk with her walking frame. They both went to the rooftops, sitting near the edge to admire the afternoon view of the academy. The intense explosions from the battle in the arena caught their eyes as they fixed their eyes there.

“Hey, Lance,” Lucy asked as she looked closer. “Who do you think will win?”

“Iggy.”

“Then I’ll bet on Celina.”

The battle went on intensely for thirty minutes straight. In the end, they both knocked each other out with their ultimate magic, destroying the arena again.

“Ah, they both lost,” Lucy said, smiling.

“What was the bet for?”

“Nothing,” she said as she lied on the ground, looking at the orange sky.

“I have heard everything from the professors,” Lance said.

“Hm?”

“About your current weakened condition, the battle last night, and Gina’s condition.”

“How do you know?” She sat back up with her face concerned.

“I eavesdropped the professors’ meeting. I heard everything from your father.”

“I see…” Lucy smiled. “And what now?”

“I’ll find a way to help you.”

Lucy laughed with a beaten, forced laughter.

“There’s nothing we can do,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for your words of encouragement—”

“That wasn’t an encouragement.” Lance was serious.

“What can we possibly do? My condition is permanent; Gina lost some parts of her brain with no chance of waking up; the exiled families are moving. What can we do, Lance?” she asked sarcastically.

“I’ll do everything I can! But first, I’ll do something with your condition first.”

“Lancelot… You can stop joking—”

“I’m not joking, Lux!”

Lucy was surprised as her heart skipped a beat.

“What happened to you?” Lance asked. “You are… You are different from the Luxianne I know and love… Don’t tell me you’re resigning to fate—!”

“Because there’s nothing I could do!!!” Lucy snapped aloud.

“Lucy—” Lance muttered.

“Look Lance! Look!!!” Lucy said aloud as she showed him her current condition. “I’m a cripple now; I’m an eyesore and a waste of space! I couldn’t even stand with this worthless body anymore! Because of me, Gina is—” Tears fell from her eyes. “—unconscious with no chance of recovering! I should have just died—!!!”

Lance hugged Lucy tightly.

“Please…” he muttered as she caressed her back. “Don’t say that. Don’t worry, Lucy. Don’t worry. I promise I’ll help you with everything I have.”

“Lance… Why? Why are you so hellbent on saving me?”

“I’ve told you before, haven’t I?”

“What is it?”

“Because… I love you, Lux.”

“Lance, it’s not the time for a joke.”

“That wasn’t a joke.”

Lance stopped, and they sat next to each other. Lucy calmed down as she wiped her tears. They said nothing for five minutes straight until Lucy started.

“Thank you…” she said as she smiled happily.

“For what?” Lance asked, curious.

“For helping me before and now. You are always there for me. What drives you to this? What makes you love me even in this pathetic, weakened state?”

“Because once… There’s a girl who saved me. She changed everything in my life without her even knowing.”

“Who was it?” Lucy asked, curious.

“You don’t remember?”

Lucy shook his head, not knowing.

Lance smiled as he shook his head.

“Maybe, I’ll tell it from the beginning then,” Lance said as he looked at the arena.

[Flashback: An Angel Who Brings Light 1]

Academy’s arena, 2 years ago.

A 25-year-old male archmagus fell on the ground with injuries all over his body.

“Impossible…!” the archmagus muttered, frustrated as he writhed in pain.

The one stood before him was Lancelot (17 years old) suffering little to no injuries. He had his Grand Alchemist robe and his special combat glove. His face was stoic and cold, unlike the present time.

“You’re…” the archmagus said as he tried to stand. “You’re just a pure alchemist! There’s no way you can win against a magus like me, you tonic brewer!”

Lance took two big flasks from his pocket and threw them to the archmagus, but the archmagus destroyed it with a wind magic and shot another to Lance.

Lance moved aside, dodging the sharp wind. The broken flasks contained nothing.

“Heh,” the archmagus said with a grin. “Looks like you ran out of ideas—!”

Lance turned back.

“Hey!” the archmagus said. “It’s not over yet!”

“Consider yourself dead,” he said as he flicked his finger with his special glove.

Sparks appeared, engulfing the magus wildly, roasting him. The fire appeared on Lance’s robe, but it didn’t even spread as Lance brushed them off easily thanks to his modified robe.

Lance looked at the spectators.

“I’m the number one now,” he said aloud.

Lance’s talents as an alchemist frightened the students. Usually, magi would always have the upper hand fighting against pure alchemists, but not in Lance’s case.

The boy’s talent impressed the professors, who were also present. Even though he was a grand alchemist, his skills were at par with the professors.

Unable to see a man burning like that, a girl rushed to the arena and cast a strong vitae magic to heal the man into a stable condition.

“Hey!” the girl said aloud, angry. “One butane flask is enough!”

Surprised by the girl’s knowledge, Lance turned, facing the girl. The girl was no other than Luxianne Verre Serafell (15 years old). She wore an Archmagus robe with the same way she always wore in the present.

Lance only looked at her with silence.

“Hey” she pouted as she got closer. “Say something!”

“Shut up, pipsqueak.” Lance walked away.

“What the—?!” Lucy was angry as she pursued him, but he brushed her off.

“If you have any complaints, then defeat me! Take my spot!”

“Fine!”

And since that day, on her quest to defeat Lance, Lucy proved her proficiency in magic, especially in Elementum and Vitae, qualifying her to enter the National Match against 50 other talented students from North, West, Center, East, and South.