Chapter IX: Inglis, Age 15—Dual Starlets (9)
“What were you just trying to do?”
“Wh—?! Who are you?!”
“Answer me, please. Were you, perhaps, trying to hurt Rani?” Inglis’s voice was as intense as her grip on Diego’s fist.
“What’s going on? Who the hell are you?!” Diego’s eyes widened in shock as his mechanical fist creaked.
But I absorbed power from both my subordinates and that girl with so much mana, he thought. I’ve reached a point where I can overwhelm even the upper-class Rune-bearing knights of a major country like Karelia. I know as much from previous fights. So... Why? This girl with silver hair doesn’t even have an Artifact. And even if she did, there’s no Rune on her right hand.
It was the delicate, pale hand of a beautiful woman. So why was it able to nearly crush his own hand of steel?
Krrrrr-krshh!
No, that wasn’t right—it had completely crushed his hand. The metal groaned as it crumpled and pulled away from his arm. “Wh—?!”
“So you’re the same way, I guess. You have a body like a Flygear’s machinery...” she murmured.
Diego couldn’t feel pain in any part of his body that was mechanical, so the loss of a hand was nothing—but how it had happened left him with unfathomable dread.
“Good job, Chris! You crushed his Focusing Circle! Now he can’t absorb other people’s power!”
“Ah...!” It sounded to Inglis as though she had destroyed the key to some important power of his. She may have regretted that a bit, but this was no time to say so. Inglis shoved his crumpled fist to the floor and stomped on it. “Then, shall I crush the other one too? Fists which would strike at Rani have no reason to exist.”
“D-Don’t mess around with me!” Diego extended a blade from his arm and slashed at her.
Smack!
Inglis caught the blade between her fingers and stopped it, and Diego gasped.
“I’m being quite serious here.” Inglis smoothly jabbed a fist into Diego’s gut. It didn’t look like there was much force behind it, and yet...
Blammmmmm!
“Gaaah!” His body bent over as he was sent flying toward the stage and into a wall.
“Rani, are you okay?” As soon as Diego was blown away, Inglis knelt at Rafinha’s side, easily tearing away the chains that bound her ankles.
Rafinha answered by pouting and turning away.
“Huh?! S-Sorry, are you mad I took so long?”
“No, it’s not like that. Thanks, Chris, I was in trouble there,” she said after some hesitation.
“O-Okay...?” So why is she mad? She looks like she’s about to cry.
“I’m just mad at myself! I couldn’t protect Alina from that scumbag on my own...”
When Inglis had scanned the audience’s mana, she had noticed that Alina and the other children had also had unnatural flows of mana, although not to the degree of Ian or Diego. It was like it was focused on one point in their body, ready to come out, or even to burst out. With no real proof even that Ian and Diego were going to start anything, all she could do was hope they were uninvolved while leaving them off the list to be whisked away. She was glad that Alina and the other children weren’t at fault—but that had meant they’d been caught up in it.
So I should deal with that, she thought.
“That’s right...” Inglis stroked Rafinha’s hair. “It’s good to have regrets. They’ll help you grow, Rani. I have high expectations for where they’ll bring you... But for today, let me take them out, okay?”
“Okay... Beat him up!”
“Ha ha, leave it to me.” Inglis cast her eyes toward the stage.
Diego was there, embedded in the wall—and also present were those who had been taken to the same other dimension as her: Lahti, Pullum, and dozens of people who looked like Ian.
“Wh-Why are there that many Ians?! What’s going on?!” Rafinha shouted in shock.
“He’s like Diego. They both have a body like a Flygear’s machinery. There’s so many because they...duplicated him,” Inglis explained. “His heart, his body— He said he chose this.”
“Oh no... There’s no way to tell which one is really him... Does he care so little about himself? That’s so sad...” A bit of sorrow showed through in Rafinha’s expression. Lahti and Pullum had reacted the same way. It was hard for them to see him like this.
“We don’t need your pity!” the many copies of Ian replied in unison.
“Th-This is a nightmare...” remarked Leone, bound to the wall in the seating area but otherwise unharmed.
“Yes. How terrifying.” Liselotte was in a similar predicament to Leone. Even they were unnerved.
There was one other person around.
“Mmmm. That was a good nap.” Yua, who had happily dozed through her trip to the other dimension, suddenly jerked awake. The rainbow ears and tail she’d grown before were gone.
“Yua!”
“Hm...?” Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Yua looked around. “Oh, wow. There’s so many cute guys. Is this heaven? Am I dreaming?” A hint of a smile spread over her face.
For someone like Yua, normally near-expressionless and hard to read, the change was obvious. She was overjoyed. That comment was very Yua. Everyone around her was scared or creeped out, but not her.
“Yua, listen! This is real!” Inglis yelled.
“And it’s not good!” Rafinha continued.
“Well, can I have one for myself, then? There’s so many. No one’s going to mind.” Yua picked up the nearest Ian by the scruff of his neck and shoved him under her arm as if she was going to take him home with her. That mechanized body must have been several times heavier than a normal person, but he might as well have been a kitten in her arms.
“Er, Yua? I have something very important to do, so I’m kind of busy right now...” the Ian in her grip said.
“It’s fine. There’s so many of you, no one will notice if one’s slacking off.”
“No, if our strength and our hearts aren’t as one—” He squirmed in her embrace.
Then there was a scream as Diego burst forth from the wall. “Grahhhhh!”
“Diego! Thank goodness, are you okay?! What happened?!” Every Ian asked.
“Ian! You betrayed us, didn’t you?! Just as we were about to make our move, our target disappeared! That could have only happened if they knew in advance!”
“N-No, I didn’t! It’s not like that! Inglis saw through us. She’s fearsome! We need to work together—!”
“Very well, I could use your strength—by absorbing your power!” Diego thrust out his left palm, and writing reminiscent of Highlander rose from it.
“That’s a Focusing Circle! He had another one!” Rafinha shouted, surprised.
“Ah...!” Inglis gasped.
But when she thought about it, she figured that might actually be a good thing. Diego possessed immense strength, and before she had realized it, she had destroyed his way of becoming stronger. She was regretting that a little, so if he was still capable of harnessing that power, she wanted to take him on at his toughest.
“Give it to me, Ian! All of your mana!” Diego demanded.
“Aaaaaaagh!” As the several duplicated bodies of Ian groaned in pain, lights rose from them and drifted toward Diego.
“Stop, General Diego! Ian’s on your side, isn’t he?! You’re hurting him!” Lahti cried. He couldn’t stand to watch what was happening.
“Prince Lahti! You’re safe?!” Diego exclaimed, but then he paused, changing his tune. “No matter. The command of a prince who wasn’t there in his country’s hour of need means nothing!”
“Whaaat?! Prince?! Lahti’s a prince?!” Rafinha shouted.
“Yeah, seems that way,” Inglis confirmed.
“Ahh! Wait, never mind that! Stop him, Chris! We can’t let him absorb Ian’s power!”
“Huh?” Inglis said.
Well, that was inconvenient. She wanted to win a fight against Diego at his strongest, to beat him on his own terms. How else would she get anything out of such a duel?
She normally avoided those sorts of fights only when Rafinha was in danger, but the girl was safe and sound next to her. However, if sweet, adorable Rafinha was making such a direct request of her, she had enough parental (grandparental?) love for her to do as Rafinha wished.
Meanwhile, Ian’s voice echoed from the many bodies toward his old friend. “Let him do it, Lahti!”
“Ian! Wh-Why?!” Lahti yelled.
Rather than replying, the various copies of Ian spoke to Diego one by one.
“Diego, I don’t mind if you take my power.”
“So complete our mission!”
“If it’s for that purpose, I welcome it!”
“For our homeland! For Alcard!”
Then they collapsed, their power drained.
“Ian, you’re—?! I’m sorry for doubting you! I accept your power and your will!” Now that Diego had absorbed the abundant mana from all those bodies, his own was covered in a buzzing glow as if he’d been electrified.
Inglis could sense in him power far beyond what he’d had before. This Focusing Circle is a fascinating technique, she couldn’t help thinking.
“Thank you...” The last Ian on stage collapsed, a smile on his face.
Diego turned to Inglis, glaring at her. “This is our... This is Alcard’s power and will! I’ll crush you with them!”
“Power and will aren’t related at all—if you’re going to fight me, do it with power.”
“Silence! Grahhhhh!” With a battle cry that was half a guttural scream, Diego rushed toward Inglis. He was different than before. He rocketed toward her as intense as an arrow of light.
“Haaaah!”
Crrraaack!
Inglis brought an elbow down on his neck as he charged toward her.
Slam!
His heavy metal body creaked and crumpled as it smashed into the floor with unnatural force.
“Gah! Wh-What?! But I’m so strong now! Are you some kind of monster?”
“What makes you say that? I’m just a normal girl.” Inglis spoke calmly as she lifted Diego by his neck. “Anyway, was that all you have? Can’t you give me a bit more?” She was, to be honest, not satisfied at all. He wasn’t even up to the standard Evel had set recently. It would have been nice to get at least that much of a fight.
“Ugh... If I absorb more power... More...!”
Inglis let Diego drop, and he thudded to the floor. “Well, go ahead, then. Absorb as much power as you want.”
“You...! I’ll make you regret this!” His gaze turned to the corner where Alina and the other children had taken refuge.
“No! Absolutely not! Stop him, Chris! Stop him or I’m done with you!” Rafinha screamed. She was serious too.
“Done with me”? I’ve never seen her like this. She’s never said anything like that before.
“Huh?! Ah, o-okay!” Inglis absolutely didn’t want to ruin her relationship with Rafinha. She couldn’t imagine no longer being with her. She had no idea how she’d go on living if that happened. Panicking, Inglis again picked up Diego by the neck.
“He’s absorbing the mana of Alina and the other kids! He’s going to do to them what he did to Ian! We can’t let that happen!”
“Eh?! Now I see the problem. That is bad.” Inglis had no intention of letting that happen.
The more someone thinks they have lofty ideals and noble goals, the more likely they are to embrace the harshest means, even if it involves innocent people—and this is an archetypal example, Inglis thought. So I need to take him down.
“No, I don’t need to do that anymore!” Diego said, while still hanging from her hand.
“What do you mean?” Inglis asked.
“Look at the hand you’re holding me with!”
“Hm? What’s this on me?”
“That’s a Sending Mark! Be careful, Chris! He’s trying to absorb your power now!” Rafinha said.
“It’s too late! I’ll kill you with your own strength!” Diego taunted.
“Oh, that sounds great!” Inglis answered.
“Huh?!” Doubtful gasps rang out from all around her.
“Well, I mean... If he’s absorbing it from me, that means he isn’t harming Alina or the other kids... So it’s fine, right, Rani? Right?”
“W-Well... Kind of...” Rafinha replied.
“All right, then let’s do this! Go ahead, absorb as much power as you want.”
“H-How far are you going to go to make light of me?” Diego demanded.
“I just want to see you at your best. Absorb as much as you can, and fight me as hard as you can. That’s the least you can do to atone for having attacked Rani.”
“Very well! You’re going to regret this!”
Inglis sent the mana around her toward Diego. The glow around him increased and expanded.
“Bwa ha ha ha! Such incredible power! What I experienced before doesn’t hold a candle to this! Compared to yours, that of the children and Ian was a mere pittance! It’s wonderful! Wonderful!” Diego shouted, half-crazed, perhaps excited by the sheer volume of mana flowing to him from Inglis. His initial composure was completely gone.
“Excellent. Get strong for me, okay?” Inglis smiled and nodded to Diego.
Suddenly, the light flowing from her to him blinked out. “Ha... Ha ha ha ha! I’ve absorbed it all! You’re nothing to me now! Prepare yourself—”
“You’re mistaken. There’s plenty more.” The absorbed mana was merely a portion of Inglis’s aether. She could simply convert more aether into mana as she needed. She was in no danger of running out yet.
“Hmm? The power is flowing into me again... What’s going on? I thought I had drained you dry.”
“Now, now, let’s not worry too much about the details. Power is good, right?”
“Bwa ha ha ha! No one can stop me now! I’ve absorbed it all. Now di—”
“No, no, it’s still too early to say that. Have some more mana.”
“Ha ha ha! I can beat you! I can kill you! You, and anything in this world! I’ve obtained ultimate power!”
“That’s nice, isn’t it? You’re glowing so brightly now.”
“Ch-Chris, you’re going too far! I can’t even keep my eyes open!” Rafinha complained. She had to squint to even look in his direction.
“No, there’s still more where that came from. You can keep going, Diego. Don’t you want to shine even brighter? Isn’t it wonderful?” Inglis asked.
“Gwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Diego laughed as if he’d lost his mind and leaped high into the air.
I guess he’s at his limit? Inglis thought. He stopped taking mana, and he looks strange. Jumping up like that, he’s probably going to try a diving attack.
“Now, let me show you what I can do!” Diego said.
Inglis braced herself as she followed him with her eyes.
Diego’s body shined even more brightly. However, it also began to expand like a balloon.
Inglis gasped. That might be bad...
She quickly turned away, while firing swift Aether Pierces from the fingertips of both hands at the immobilized Leone and Liselotte.
Vshoo-vshoo-vshoo!
The aether, glowing its characteristic pale blue color, cut through the chains binding them.
“Leone, use your Artifact to get Alina and the other kids out of here! Liselotte, please help her!”
“G-Got it!” Leone answered.
“Yes! Lahti, everyone, over here!” Liselotte called out.
Leaving the rest to them, Inglis encouraged Diego on. “Don’t let the power carry you away! Stay in control! You’ll be fine! You have a strong will; use it to overcome the power! Do your best!”
But her words were in vain.
Booooooooooooooooooooom!
There was a huge, ear-splitting explosion. Diego’s body burst like an overfilled balloon.
“That’s no good! We hadn’t even fought!” Inglis sighed in dismay. Around her, the explosion’s aftermath had blown away the theater’s damaged walls and seats. All that remained of the Royal Theater was ruin.
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