Editing City Series:Volume1 Chapter 6 (section)

===Part 2===

It was 6:30 AM and the morning began early in Germany.

Even after rising above the clouds, the sun had yet to come out.

The Flammen Ritter rose in a straight line as purple filled the sky.

He was testing the fighter’s ascension ability.

The roar of the engine filled the fighter. It was still weak, but the moon was out. The Flammen Ritter had been given some moonlight resistance, but it was not perfect. The fighter shook.

Mayer faced the moon from the cockpit.

His body was pressed into the back of the chair. He had trouble breathing, but not enough to pass out.

His thoughts were clear and a single idea filled his mind.

How could he fight Walter and the others?

“Why am I hesitating?”

When he had said he wanted to fight the night before last, Else had asked him a question.

“You’re just afraid of losing, aren’t you!? But you also know how skilled you are, so you aren’t prepared to go all out and crush your opponent!”

That was definitely true.

“You think someone like that can fight us? I have something that is mine alone, but what do you have!?”

She had taken a breath.

“You’ve done nothing but borrow from others, so you have no right to stop us!”

Her harsh words had shocked him.

They had also reminded him of what Oscar had told him.

…''What matters most is determining what exactly it is you should be.

Her words had told him exactly what that had meant.

He was not Walter. Nor was he Paul or Oscar. In that case, who should he be?

That answer would give him the meaning for his fight.

…''But how should I fight?

This was not like the tests and training he had completed in the past. This was a competition that would have a clear result. If he lost, he would lose everything.

Why did he hope for a fight he had no confidence he could win?

He accelerated his fighter craft. To continue rising, he had to continue accelerating.

The needle slowly moved across the gauge. He was already higher than during the previous test.

The sky was growing bluer and deeper.

He accelerated further.

The sky outside the window was nearly indigo already, he saw the stars in the distance, and the altitude needle had reached the red danger zone.

The Flammen Ritter shook, but he ignored the disconcerting tremor.

He accelerated. His speed had dropped quite a bit because the earth’s gravity had ensnared him.

The altitude needle had reached the far side of the gauge.

…''Should I give up here?

He saw the moon in the heavens far above the sky. The ship’s ability to rise would be about at its limit.

Its acceleration was weakening.

“Is this really enough?”

His question to himself was immediately followed by an incoming transmission.

“Mayer, you have ascended quite a bit. You have set an excellent record.”

It was Oscar.

Mayer asked a question on reflex.

“Commander Oscar, how should I fight the dp-XXX?”

He blatantly revealed his worries.

After a short silence, the other man replied.

“Mayer, do you have no intention of testing your own ability?”

“!”

…''Testing!?

He almost felt like this was his first time to hear that word.

…''Why do I want to fight?

''I don’t care if I lose. I want to fight so I can test what I can do when I go all out!

He was certain to learn that if he fought Walter’s group. He would directly take on the person he respected and had set as his own goal.

Through that battle, he could confirm just how far he could go.

“!”

Strength filled his gut.

He forced a large burst of acceleration from the Flammen Ritter.

“Mayer! Do not force yourself!”

“I’m fine!”

His tone was strong as he responded.

His fingertips operated the field emitters. With a slight sound, glowing ether wrapped around the fighter craft.

The fighter stopped shaking and only solidified flames were visible though the cockpit windows.

“Activating Panzer Emblem – Flammen Lanze! I’m ascending even more!”

With a lurch of impact, the Flammen Ritter rose intensely into the sky.

Mayer smiled as he endured the inertia of the acceleration.