Shane was completely immersed in breaking the lock.
Every time the "heartlight resonance" from Erza reached him, he would instinctively follow the ripples in his inner sea, focus his mind, and try to "pry" the lock open.
The pair of water-blue short spears he had manifested in his hands pulsed faintly with sheen as well—like a living thing breathing—growing ever more lustrous and profound.
He didn't know how much time passed. Just as his mechanical, repeated attempts were starting to go numb—
Shane suddenly felt an indescribable sense of release inside his body.
Crack.
A clear, crisp sound—like glass shattering—rang out.
Did it work?
His dulled mind jolted awake, and a surge of emotion he couldn't put into words rose in his chest.
Shane snapped his eyes open and reflexively stood up, about to share the good news with Erza.
But a cool hand gently pressed down on his shoulder, stopping him.
Shane turned and met Ultear's face—sometime while he wasn't paying attention, her expression had returned to its usual cold neutrality.
"Keep it down," she whispered, nodding toward the side.
Only then did Shane follow her gaze.
Erza had somehow fallen asleep with her head down on the open Illustrated Guide to Continental Monsters. Her breathing was steady and long, her cheek pressed to the page—completely unguarded.
"She…" Shane blinked, then looked out the window. Outside, the moon and stars hung in a deep night sky; daylight was long gone.
"It's already the next day," Ultear said darkly from beside him.
It was past midnight already?
Shane finally understood.
No wonder even someone as energetic as Erza had fallen asleep—her internal clock was absurdly precise. When it was time to sleep, she slept. Like clockwork.
"So your magic broke through?" Ultear pressed. She couldn't stay out long; if they delayed further, their plan for the Waiss Sea of Trees would have to be postponed.
"It did!" Shane checked briefly. His connection with Lancer's Noble Phantasm felt closer than ever. If he wanted, he could release its second stage at any time.
"Let's head back first," Shane said, bending down carefully and lifting Erza into his arms. "It's too late to be hanging around the guild."
He'd meant to carry her on his back, but after looking at her peaceful sleeping face, he adjusted his grip and held her securely in a bridal carry instead.
As her body shifted, Erza frowned faintly. Her nose twitched as if catching a familiar scent; her brows quickly relaxed.
She even nuzzled closer into the warmth of his arms, unconsciously finding a more comfortable position.
"Her sleep quality is so good…" Shane thought—for what felt like the hundredth time—his lips tugging into a small smile.
They stepped out of the guild into the cool night air.
The streets were empty; only the stars watched quietly from above. Shane carried Erza while Ultear walked beside him through the silent roads.
Then, as if seized by a sudden feeling, Shane stopped without warning. He tilted his head up, staring at the star-studded sky, motionless.
"What is it?" Ultear couldn't help asking.
"You know…" Shane answered without answering, his eyes still fixed upward. "Humans… long for the sky."
"What?" Ultear couldn't follow his leap of thought at all.
"Just like how mountains exist and people instinctively want to climb them," Shane continued, ignoring her confusion. "The sky is there, hanging above us—and people want to… conquer it."
Ultear was completely lost. She could only think Shane might've rattled his brain loose when he broke through.
But then she sharply noticed something else.
Shane's presence was changing—rapidly.
Just like back when he drew his bow and flames rose from him, a distinct, powerful "aura" began spilling out of him.
It triggered some very unpleasant memories for Ultear. Reflexively, she touched her lower abdomen, as if it was already starting to ache.
Shane didn't notice her reaction.
His entire focus was locked on the sky.
And then, as he switched to the Lancer class—
Under the bright moonlight, a pair of massive, cold and ferocious black wings exploded open from his back.
They weren't made of feathers. Their edges gleamed with an icy, metallic sheen—like some kind of crystalline or metal wing-bone layered in an unknown black material.
Fully spread behind him, the enormous shadow they cast swallowed the moonlight itself, blanketing Shane, the sleeping Erza in his arms, and Ultear beside them.
Ultear's eyes widened. Her pupils tightened.
The instant the wings appeared, every hair on her body stood on end. A shiver of primal fear ran up her spine.
What Shane radiated now felt like standing at the very bottom of the food chain, staring up at the apex predator.
"I'm going to fly," Shane murmured, his voice vibrating with barely contained excitement.
He tightened his hold on Erza. The wings behind him gave a light tremor—
BOOM.
A burst of compressed air detonated. A violent gust erupted outward.
Shane vanished from where he stood, becoming a straight black streak shooting upward—rocketing toward the moon at terrifying speed.
"Mm…"
A massive pressure wall slammed into them, whipping Shane's black hair into chaos.
Buildings shrank beneath them in seconds, quickly turning into indistinct black dots.
A freedom he had never felt before flooded Shane's chest—as if the world was vast enough to go anywhere, like a carefree "morning in the northern sea, evening in the southern mountains" kind of transcendence.
"Mm…"
Whether it was the weightlessness of high-speed ascent or the stimulation of the wind, Erza's eyelashes fluttered. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
At first her gaze was blurry—but when she finally recognized the enormous moon that looked close enough to touch, and the endless scatter of stars—
She blinked, and an expression of rare, sheer disbelief crossed her face.
"Did I wake you? Sorry—I got too excited," Shane said, noticing her stirring. He eased off the speed a little, and the roar of wind softened with it.
Erza looked around the night sky again. After a brief moment of shock, she steadied quickly—because the one holding her was Shane.
Then she turned her head, curiosity shining in her eyes, and looked at the savage black wings behind him.
"So this is your new magic? Wing magic?"
"No. Even if it looks like that—" Shane paused. Explaining "class," "Noble Phantasm," or "Lancer" would be a nightmare, so he gave up and simply nodded. "Yeah… fine. Let's call it wing magic."
Erza nodded, not digging deeper. She studied the wings with keen interest.
"They… don't look like they're moving."
"Good eye," Shane praised. "They have the form of wings, but it's not physical flapping. It uses atmospheric magic power to accelerate—like a series of boosted jumps."
He added, "It's not at full capacity yet, but the top speed should be around three hundred kilometers per hour."
Three hundred kilometers per hour?
A flicker of surprise crossed Erza's eyes. The number was so far beyond her intuition that she couldn't even find a good comparison.
Shane, too, felt awed by Lancer's power.
If he could reach this kind of "human high-speed rail" speed without even deciphering the true name… then what would the ceiling look like once he did?
After so long, he finally had the satisfying feeling that the permission points he'd hoarded hadn't been wasted.
At last—he was seeing a real corner of Lancer's strength.
~~~
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