Rather than decimating the child with her barrage of Basic Spells, the boy was unharmed.

“Disappointing.” Were the words that came out of his mouth next.

Serah had never heard those words from anyone before.

From birth, she had a special constitution that made her regarded as a special child brought from the heavens.

Like the Beastfolk, her body naturally absorbed Mana from her surroundings. That way, she kept growing stronger at an alarming rate. Within a month, her Mana Core had already formed—and it was a Special Grade Core.

Special Grade Cores had no limit.

Serah Crimson was bestowed the ability to keep absorbing Mana into a Core that could grow indefinitely.

Her potential was limitless.

But…

“If this is all you can do, doesn’t that make you weak?”

… A single kid dared to talk down to her like that.

And so, as the red-haired girl and black-haired boy locked eyes, a strange sense of attachment was born.

Fortunately, their parents arrived before any further damage was done.

They were separated, and their respective family members took them away.

What surprised Serah the most was that her father profusely apologized to the Viscount who was Neron’s adopted father.

Her father was a Crimson. He was extremely tough and proud, yet he bowed his head to apologize to a mere Viscount.

That made her upset beyond words.

And so, Serah never forgot that incident. She decided to dig up all she could about the boy who had so brazenly defied her.

“He doesn’t even have a Mana Core yet!”

The anger raging within her turned into determination, and that fueled her training even more.

Her father must have noticed her obsessive attitude, so he told her that Neron would be attending Ainzlark in the same year as her.

Whether what she felt was happiness or even more rage, Serah didn’t know.

She simply worked hard every single day.

Eventually, she would meet the brat and teach him a lesson. Then, he would have no choice but to acknowledge his inferiority.

And so, the day finally came.

They enrolled in Ainzlark.

The first thing she did, even before the beginning of the exams, was to approach him and declare how she intended on decimating him.

But, his response shocked her beyond description.

“Uh, who are you?”

The boy whom she had spent seven years training with him in mind, had said something so unforgivable!

“Y-you…” Serah’s cheeks felt hot at that time, and it seemed like tears would come out at any moment.

It was so embarrassing, and it also hurt her deeply, that he did not even remember her… the same boy who had been on her mind for so long.

The attention of many people was on that particular scene, so they all rained harsh words at Neron for his discourtesy.

In the same vein, they tried to pamper Serah and befriend her.

“U-uh? What did I do, though?” The dark-haired murmured to himself, leaving the already crowded scene.

The exams began, and Serah gave it her all. She was sure she would end up being placed first, without a doubt.

None of the other students came close to her abilities. Even the lecturers were amazed by her raw talent and great skill.

The results were inevitable.

However…

EXAM RESULTS

~First Place~

Neron Kaelid 100

/100

~Second Place~

Serah Crimson 97

/100

.

No one had ever scored a perfect score in the history of Ainzlark Academy before. No… no one had even attained close to Serah’s score as well.

They were both phenomenal monsters who broke the records of the Academy.

However, it was clear to everyone—especially Serah herself—who the bigger monster was.

Even after so long, she couldn’t catch up to him. She felt worse than ever on that very day.

But… once again, the mysterious black-haired boy appeared to her while she was sulking.

“You’re pretty good. I didn’t think I’d see someone like you here.”

It was as though the previous words he told her vanished into thin air.

His smile was so genuine that it made her heart race faster than ever.

“My name is Neron. Neron Kaelid. What’s your name? Let’s be friends!”

And thus, their complicated friendship was initiated.

It was during their time together that Neron told her he wanted to marry her when he grew older.

I wonder why he said that, or if those were his exact words.

But, Serah was so serious when she narrated the story, and it didn’t seem like she was lying. So, I had no choice but to accept those words.

Neron had actually told me something about not believing anything she said, but… perhaps he simply wanted to hide these sides of himself.

Continuing the story, Serah never let go of those words he said. She still clung to those words and pestered him to make good on his promises, but he always avoided the topic.

“And, right now, I’m confused. I don’t know what to do anymore. I thought becoming stronger would make him give me more attention, but… at this point, I don’t know…”

Apparently, her defeat by my hands made her sullen because she wondered if she had still been inferior to Neron all this time.

The one thing Serah thought she had an advantage in was finally destroyed by my actions, so she was left in despondency.

Finally, she revealed the state of her heart—just as I wanted.

But, to be honest, I wasn’t very concerned about my plan when she did.

At this point, I didn’t see her as a potential ally, or as the Queen Of Destruction, but… the Serah Crimson who sat beside me was no e other than a girl.

Just a girl.

“Neron… that bastard… why won’t he just…”

Watching her feel this way made me realize just how unfair I was being toward the girls who had been attracted to me as well.

Was it better to spare them heartbreak, yet cause them to suffer in uncertainty?

No, that would be cruel.

‘I don’t know how you feel about this woman, Neron… but…’

It was time to take full responsibility—both for me and him.

*

*

*

A

/N

I’m actually considering writing a separate Novel on Neron. His character and abilities just deserve a backstory (Especially with what we’ll see in the future).

Well, once we get to that bridge, we’ll cross it.

Also…

I hope this explains why and how Serah Crimson is so absurdly strong.