Voidworm Knight, Great Hero

In the air.

Lynae opened her eyes and felt herself plummeting toward the ground.

After overusing her Resonance Ability and racing through one crisis after another all night, she could feel the exhaustion in her body.

But even if she hadn't been exhausted, she doubted she could land safely from this height.

As she fell, she instinctively glanced to one side.

Star Torch Academy stood there.

The place that had taken in someone with a less-than-stellar past like her.

No matter which way she looked at it, the Academy had always seemed beautiful to her.

It was a shame that beauty seemed about to disappear.

Feeling the turbulent air around her, Lynae couldn't help thinking so.

If she could go back, if she could stay at the Academy, what would she do?

She would try every dish the Academy had to offer, race to her heart's content, and...

She would spend more time with her friends.

If she vanished without a word, would they be sad?

More than anything, she wanted to enjoy life as Lynae, a student of Star Torch Academy, for as long as she could.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As Lynae fell, two figures shot through the air and reached her side at the same time.

They were Nue and Rover.

A single wing had sprouted from Rover's back. From a distance, she seemed nothing like she had before.

She looked colder, with an air of deadly resolve.

But up close, Rover was still Rover.

Thump.

She caught Lynae firmly by the arm, and the two began a steady descent.

"Let's go back."

As the sun rose over the horizon, they reached the ground.

Mo Bai had confirmed through Nue's eyes that Lynae was safe, so he waited on the ground for the two of them to return.

"Mo Bai!"

As soon as she landed, Lynae greeted Mo Bai excitedly.

She had seen him evade an enemy's attack by slipping into the shadows before.

But she still needed to see for herself that he was unharmed before she could relax.

"Yeah. Glad you're back."

Mo Bai gave a weary stretch.

Come to think of it, since arriving in this world, not only had he yet to experience any real Academy life, he hadn't even slept.

And the one time he'd eaten, it had been...

That tasteless blob of jelly.

Then he'd spent most of his time fighting machine monsters he knew next to nothing about...

Yeah, this Academy life had nothing academic about it.

"There's only one Motorcycle left..."

Mo Bai looked at Rover's Motorcycle, troubled.

His and Lynae's vehicles had both been all but destroyed in the fight with the Voidworm.

"Does this count as damaging Academy property?" Mo Bai turned to Lynae.

"Of course not! We're the heroes who stopped the Voidworm!" Lynae said at once.

She already sounded as lively as before.

"Mo Bai, drive us back," Rover said.

"Huh... There's only one bike. Three people would be too cramped. I can summon Nue and have her carry me back." Mo Bai pulled a face.

"Oh well. I suppose Lynae and I, the two most exhausted people here, will have to support each other all the way back."

Rover finished speaking and gave Lynae a sly look.

Lynae immediately caught on.

"Ow, ow! I just fell from way up there, and I used so much resonance power. Everything hurts. There's no way I can drive."

Lynae hunched over dramatically as she spoke.

"Fine, I'll drive. Get on and hold tight." Mo Bai gave in and recalled Nue.

The two of them just wanted him to come along with them.

Still, he had only just discovered Rover had such a playful side.

Maybe she only acted that way around people she knew well.

Did that mean she had finally accepted him?

Well, thinking of it that way made him feel a lot better.

"Yay! Back to the Academy!"

Lynae cheered and hopped onto the bike, looking nothing like someone who was injured.

So she and Rover really had planned that whole act!

But it was too late for Mo Bai to complain. Both of them were already on the Motorcycle.

Vroom!

Mo Bai twisted the throttle and headed back the way they had come.

They had defeated the Voidworm, and now the three of them were riding one Motorcycle toward Star Torch Academy, just as they had when they first met.

This time, though, things were a little different.

"Those elk-like Tunneler Swarm Creatures are Planter Elk. They're commonly herded by the Roy and are also a subject of research at the academy. And those over there are..."

Mo Bai rode at a pace slow enough for sightseeing, giving Lynae a chance to show off her knowledge.

She might have loved skipping class, but her confidence in her ability to ace every subject was well earned.

"You really know your stuff, Lynae," Rover teased from the bike.

"Yeah, Lynae. Once we start at the Academy, you'll have to look after us two new students," Mo Bai added with a grin.

After defeating the Voidworm and protecting the Academy, all three of them were in much better spirits.

"Oh, stop teasing me, you two."

Hearing her two dear friends, Lynae scratched her head in embarrassment.

No matter how much time passed, she could never get used to being treated like an upperclassman.

The three of them chatted and laughed the whole way until they were not far from the Academy.

But the closer they got to the Academy, the quieter they became.

"Speed up, Mo Bai! I can't wait to hear our classmates cheer for us!" Lynae suddenly said.

"Okay."

Mo Bai twisted the Motorcycle's throttle as she wished.

Lynae had probably noticed long ago that he was deliberately riding slowly.

But now that she was urging him back, perhaps she was ready to face whatever awaited her...

Once they returned to the Academy, she would face its judgment and be sent back to the New Federation.

Even so, she had chosen not to run. She had chosen to return to the Academy.

Vroom!

And so the three returned to Star Torch Academy.

"It's them! They're back!"

Other students spotted Mo Bai and the others as soon as they rode up to the Academy gates.

The students were beside themselves with excitement.

"Our Academy's great heroes are back!"

"The heroes who defeated the Voidworm!"

"The Voidworm Knights!"

The moment the three got off the bike, they were met with the students' enthusiasm.

Mo Bai and Lynae promptly ducked behind Rover.

"Whoa, there are so many people."

"Yeah. Just looking at them is setting off my social anxiety."

The two whispered behind Rover.

Tap, tap!

Just then, a student rushed toward them with a microphone.

"Wow! So it's true! Hei Black Lightning, the great hero of Rinascita, really has enrolled at our Academy!"

The student, dressed like a reporter, was especially excited.

Mo Bai and Lynae's eyes twitched at Rover's many over-the-top titles. They turned to look at her in disbelief.

"Ahem. I'll tell you about all that later." Rover winked at them.

Step. Step.

But just as everyone was swept up in the joy of their victory, several figures approached from a distance.

They were the Academy's teachers.