EPILOGUE
IF I COULD GET IT, I WOULDN’T HESITATE TO DESTROY THE WORLD.
“Ugh…”
Christina woke up from her long sleep.
Her body felt heavy and her consciousness was unclear. Her last memory was when she descended into the dungeon.
“This place…”
Her limbs were restrained to the wall.
She tried to break free, but she could not do so. It seemed that her magic power was sealed.
“Oh, you seem to be awake. That’s amazing.”
She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Isaac was there.
“Why… am I restrained?”
Christina said.
“Because I’m the one restraining you.”
“I see.”
“So you’re not surprised?”
“Because I think you’re a strange person. You must be hiding something, most people are usually like that.”
“That’s good to know.”
“And the others?”
“Princess Alexia and Claire-san are in the hands of my lord.”
“Your lord?”
“Yes, in my lord’s hands.”
He repeated the same words. He didn’t seem to intend to say much more.
“Suzuki, he’s sleeping over there.”
Isaac pointed to a wall not far away.
Suzuki was also being held there, just like Christina.
“Suzuki…”
A sigh of relief escaped Christina.
“Unfortunately, he may never wake up again.”
‘What do you mean?
“The gas that put you all to sleep is a destructive drug for those with low magic power. It is not uncommon for them to fall into an eternal sleep and not wake up.”
“Suzuki…”
“It’s not like it’s just you, Christina-san. He is just a lowly noble of a branch family.
There should be no need for you to grieve.”
“That’s true, but…”
When Isaac explained that, Christina realized how upset she was.
He was right, Suzuki was just a lowly noble from a branch family. As a noble, there should be many options for Christina.
“I thought his abilities would be useful to the Hope family… That’s all.”
“I see. Well, it doesn’t matter whether Suzuki lives or dies.”
“doesn’t matter, you say…!”
Christina looked down on Isaac.
“Yeah, it doesn’t matter. I just want to finish my work…”
“What are you going to do?”
“Christina-san’s body has a lot of potential. We’ll use it in our organization.”
“What organization? The rumored Shadow Garden?”
“Shadow Garden? Don’t equate us with an organization that has such a short history.
We’ve ruled the world for far longer… Let’s stop, there’s no point in talking to you like this.
You’ll become a puppet who’s lost her mind.”
After saying that, Isaac took out a syringe filled with red liquid.
“Let’s finish the job quickly, If I’m slow, I won’t be in time to celebrate the resurrection of the right arm. You should be able to become the second child. Unfortunately, Suzuki, won’t even make it to third.”
Isaac laughed contemptuously and pressed the syringe into Christina’s arm.
“Stop…! Right, where’s Nina-senpai!”
“…That woman disappeared.”
Isaac’s face turned pale.
“Disappeared?”
“I’m sure I put you all to sleep. She disappeared before I realized it. There’s no way she came out of that shrine alive anyway. I’ll have to report it later…”
Saying this, Isaac put pressure on the syringe.
“No…!”
“It’s time to say goodbye…”
At that moment, something moved in the corner of his vision.
“How noisy… I slept so well.”
The voice was Suzuki, who should have been asleep.
“S-Suzuki…!”
“Wha… Y-You’re awake!?”
“I can tell just from looking at him. Is this so surprising?”
He let out a long yawn.
“Y-Yeah, whatever, waking up won’t change the outcome. Let’s get rid of you first, you’re an eyesore.”
Isaac headed towards the restrained Suzuki with the syringe.
“Get rid of me?”
“Hmph. I’ll turn you into a dumb doll.”
The needle from the injection pierced Suzuki’s neck.
“You want to get rid of me…?”
Suzuki said, a smile at the corner of his lips.
“-That’s impossible.”
The next moment, Isaac’s body trembled. The syringe filled with red liquid fell and rolled.
“Wha-!… *Gohh… *Gohoh*. ”
Suzuki’s right arm slammed into Isaac’s stomach.
…Palm strike.
A powerful palm strike struck Isaac in the abdomen.
“Impossible…! How could you release the restraints…? Your magic should have been sealed!”
Isaac recoiled, holding his stomach. A trickle of blood escaped from his lips.
“It’s easy. Just slide the joints.”
Suzuki said and released the restraints on his left arm. The joint deformed in a motion impossible for humans, and when he released the restraints, it returned to normal as if in reverse regeneration.
He released the restraints on his legs in the same way.
“Impossible…!”
“So, what are you going to do? Didn’t you want to get rid of me?”
“…Don’t underestimate me!”
Isaac’s eyes flashed anger.
“A lowly student like you dares to mock me…!?”
He drew his sword and got ready.
Suzuki also grabbed the sword at his waist, then he tilted his head in confusion.
“Where’s my sword…?”
All that was at Suzuki’s waist was the scabbard.
“What a pity. I put the weapon away.”
“I see.”
Suzuki took a pen from his pocket. He then unscrewed the cap and pointed the tip at Isaac.
“Then… this will be enough.”
“P-Pen…? No kidding!!”
Isaac’s magic power exploded.
He stepped up in an instant and swung his sword to the side. The trajectory of the sword should definitely have split Suzuki in two.
Except that the pen wasn’t in the way.
Suzuki blocked the sword with the tip of his pen.
A high-pitched sound like breaking glass was heard, and Isaac’s sword shattered into pieces.
Suzuki thrust out his pen.
“Wha…! Gahhhh!”
And the sharp tip hit Isaac.
A step or two later, Isaac slowly backed away.
He touched the pen stuck in his neck, as if he was looking at something extraordinary.
“Gohoh… no way, just a pen…”
Drip.
Red ink dripped from the pen.
“Come back here. I can’t write a diary without it.”
Suzuki grabbed the pen that was stuck in Isaac’s neck.
“Wait… Don’t… Stop, stop!”
As soon as the pen was pulled out, a large amount of blood gushed out.
Blood ink stained the floor.
“Ah… Aaah…”
Shocked, Isaac fell down.
Then he looked up at Suzuki and his eyes widened.
What was at the end of his gaze was Suzuki’s necklace. His remaining magic power was an incredible amount.
“What the… that magic power… Goho.”
Isaac collapsed, and coughed up blood.
“I… wouldn’t… in a place like this… Gohoh… Aah…”
Blood flowed unstoppably from his neck, and finally his breathing weakened.
Suzuki looked at the bloodstained pen with a bored look.
“It’s getting dirty, I’ll just throw it away.”
He then dumped it on top of Isaac’s corpse.
He turned around and walked towards Christina.
Christina felt anxious when she looked at Suzuki, who had bad eyes.
“Ah… Umm…”
Her heart was racing for some reason. She stared at Suzuki, not knowing what to say.
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
Suzuki released Christina’s restraints.
“T-Thank you Suzuki…”
In a small, muffled voice, she said.
“I just did what I had to do. Now, let’s hurry up. I’m worried about the other students.”
“U-Um, wait, Suzuki!”
Christina stopped Suzuki as he was about to walk away.
“Umm… It seems I misunderstood you. I thought you were a lowly student who couldn’t do anything… But that was all wrong.”
Christina looked down in shame.
“If you don’t mind, when this matter is over, I will take you to the main family…”
“…You’re not wrong, Christina-neesan. I am just a lowly student.”
Suzuki said this with his back turned.
“Eh? But, that doesn’t mean…”
“You are not wrong, you are not wrong at all.”
Suzuki’s voice was the coldest Christina had ever heard.
“Ah… Did I say something that offended you…?”
“No, it’s nothing. It’s just… Don’t get involved with me. All that lies ahead of me is a bloody road… I am someone who cannot live in a world where the sun shines.”
Suzuki did not look back. He spoke with his back turned, as if rejecting the world.
“What burden do you bear…?”
“I have a mission. I took on the sins of the world, and I’m still doing it… If you get involved, you’ll get hurt and covered in blood.”
Suzuki finally turned around.
Christina gasped when she saw his eyes. His eyes were the same as glass balls, seemingly emotionless.
But they weren’t.
Deep inside the glass orbs, emotions swirled like black flames.
Suzuki gently grabbed Christina’s neck.
Christina’s thin chin lifted and Suzuki’s face came closer.
“Suzuki…”
A voice like a breath escaped.
Christina closed her eyes, mesmerized by his deep eyes.
Then, there was a crackling and crunching sound.
“Eh…?”
When she opened her eyes, the necklace had disappeared.
“Ah… The necklace… How come?”
He did not answer Christina’s question. Before she realized it, Suzuki’s necklace was also gone.
“We don’t have time. Let’s hurry.”
Suzuki turned around and walked away. His back felt lonely.
“W-Wait, Suzuki!”
Christina chased after him so as not to be left behind.
[It’s time to wake up. This situation is not very good.]
Claire woke up as she felt a voice in her head.
“This…”
There, in the white mist, she was handcuffed to a testing table that looked like a bad surgical table.
Beside her, Alexia was also handcuffed.
“Alexia, are you okay? Wake up!”
“Ugh… Where am I…?”
Alexia also woke up. They looked around and were shocked.
“This is…!”
“What is this…!”
There were four cylindrical capsules. Inside were red liquid and humans.
“Don’t tell me they are the missing students…?”
“I’m sure of it. They are students on the missing persons list.”
“Why do this to them…?”
“It absorbs magic. To awaken the Demon Diabolos… We need to get out of here as soon as possible. We’ll suffer the same fate.”
Alexia tried to release the restraints, but did not budge. Claire tried, but the same thing happened to her.
“It’s like something is blocking my magic.”
“Isaac’s an asshole, how dare he do this.”
Alexia let out the words in a high tone.
At that moment, the cylindrical capsule began to move. With the sound of slow movement, the red liquid drained from both capsules.
“W-What happened?”
“I don’t know…”
At that moment, a voice sounded from behind.
“You guys are awake already. Just in time. I just finished preparing the capsules… About 10 percent left.”
Saying that, a boy with silvery white hair appeared.
The two fell silent at the sight of that beautiful figure, who looked as if he had just stepped out of a fairy tale.
“Who are you…?”
“I’m Fenrir. The fifth seat of Rounds.”
“F-Fenrir!?”
The boy, who introduced himself as Fenrir, was still quite young like Alexia and the others, perhaps even younger.
“Age really means nothing in the face of eternal life.”
Fenrir said, standing in front of two capsules filled with red liquid.
“What are you going to do?”
“I will put you into these capsules. To revive the Diabolos’ right arm. I was planning to absorb the magic from the necklace, but that was made easier by having you guys here. This saves me a lot of trouble.”
Fenrir laughed mockingly.
“The Academy is in chaos right now. Don’t think you’ll get away with it.”
Claire said.
“Who will punish us? The knights? Or you?”
“I-It’s…”
“We live in the underworld. You will never be able to reach us from the outside.”
“The Shadow Garden is here…”
When Alexia said something low-pitched, Fenrir’s movements stopped.
“So the Shadow Garden will punish us… kuku.”
He chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“I didn’t expect a royal princess to be dependent on a group of strangers. I just find it pathetic…”
“…!”
Alexia’s face turned red. The sound of gnashing back teeth could be heard.
“First of all, is Shadow Garden really going to punish us? What exactly is this Shadow Garden organization? You guys don’t know anything.”
While saying that, he took out the bodies that were the students from the capsule and threw them away.
“They are underworld dwellers like us. They are not entities that will punish us. Even if one of us loses, the one who wins will rule the underworld again. That’s all.”
Fenrir looked back. His eyes had turned red.
“Well now, the preparations are complete. It’s time for the reviving process.”
Fenrir turned to Claire first.
“Claire Kagenou. I received reports that you were using strange powers.”
Fenrir stood near the testing table and raised his chin.
“…Let go of me!”
“It is indeed thick blood, but not unusual. Alright, let’s see if we can figure it out.”
She said then pressed a syringe filled with red liquid into Claire’s neck.
Claire shook her head and resisted, but Fenrir’s strength was very strong.
“It’s no use.”
The syringe was stuck in her neck.
Then…
[Geez, how much longer are you going to make me wait?]
Aurora’s voice echoed in Claire’s head and the dense magic overflowed.
The syringe broke and the restraint slipped off.
“What is this magic power!?”
Fenrir moved away.
[I’ll lend you some of my power.]
“Thank you, Aurora.”
Claire then drew her sword and broke Alexia’s restraint.
“Well done, Claire.”
Alexia also drew her sword and got ready.
“Claire Kagenou… you just said Aurora, right?”
Fenrir looked straight at Claire.
“I did. Do you know Aurora?”
“Kuku… I see. Let’s see if it’s real. Blood Fang… Answer my call.”
Fenrir took out a sword from the void.
The sword was longer than his height and had a fiery blood-red blade.
“Blood Fang… The magic sword of a swordsman who was once called the strongest.
Don’t tell me…”
Alexia muttered. From that magic sword, she felt a heavy pressure that sent shivers down her spine.
“Be careful, Claire.”
“I know. Aurora won’t fight?”
[There’s not much magic left. If I use your body, I’ll lose a lot of things. And maybe you should learn to use your powers as well.”]
“…I think so too.”
Claire honed the magic inside her body. Little by little, she began to understand the sensation of two foreign powers blending into one.
Then, Claire closed the distance between them in an instant.
Fenrir, however, took Claire’s sword for granted.
“Is this the extent of it… What?”
A red tentacle wrapped around Blood Fang. That tentacle, extending from Claire’s right arm, moved under her direction to entangle the Blood Fang.
“With this power…!”
“Don’t get cocky just yet.”
Fenrir drew the blood fang. With just that one move, the red tentacles erupted.
Claire made the next move.
She stepped into the gap, dodged the blood fang, and then slashed directly at Fenrir’s body.
A rumbling sound echoed out.
Fenrir managed to block Claire’s sword with the hilt of his blood fang.
“W-With the hilt?”
“You did win the Bushin Festival… But it’s just a child’s sword.”
Fenrir turned his blood fang over, flicked Claire’s sword away and hit her chin with the hilt.
“Ugggh.”
The blow was light. Claire jumped back as fast as she could, reducing her strength.
But her mouth hurt and her lips turned red. Fenrir began to charge towards Claire, who had lost her stance.
At that moment, Fenrir’s movement stopped.
His left shoulder had somehow been pierced by the sword.
“Unbelievable. If I keep moving, I might get stabbed in the heart.”
It was Alexia.
“I know you’re looking for an opportunity. But when did you…”
Fenrir stepped back, drawing his blood fang. Blood gushed from his left shoulder, but he did not care at all.
“Hah!”
Letting out a loud gasp, Fenrir swung his blood fang. The attack was powerful and contained immense force.
Alexia prepared herself to defend with her sword. Her movements were not fast. The magic power in her sword was also small.
There was no way she could withstand the attack.
The blood fang shattered Alexia’s sword. Right before that, Alexia took half a step back.
Then she changed the angle of the sword and let the attack flow.
“Ohh~”
She then turned around to counterattack.
With a short movement and the least amount of magic power, she attacked Fenrir’s vital point.
Fenrir should have died if hit by that attack.
He seemed to have no other choice but to wait to be hit by Alexia’s stab, with his blood fang still unsheathed.
But, Fenrir pounded the ground with his foot.
The ground cracked with a tremendous vibration, and he positioned himself in a move that was impossible for an ordinary person to do.
Alexia’s sword shot into the air and made a cut on Fenrir’s cheek.
Fenrir remained in the same position, but was far behind.
“A commoner’s sword… A sword compared to Princess Iris and hated…”
“A commoner’s sword shouldn’t be that bad.”
“I hope to meet you in a hundred years. Sword is accumulation. The most important thing is, you should be able to see the difference between the two.”
Saying that, Fenrir closed his eyes.
“Let’s be a little more serious…”
The pressure changed.
Unexpected magic power radiated out from within Fenrir.
At the same time, his hair turned white. His face underwent some weight lameness and his limbs became emaciated.
Then he slowly opened his eyes.
The innocent boy had turned into a shabby old man.
“So that’s what he really looks like…”
He was so weak that it looked as if he would faint if pushed.
But Alexia and Claire never underestimated him. Because, despite his appearance, the weight of the pressure had increased tremendously.
Cold sweat ran down their cheeks.
[I remember… the Demon of Midgar.]
“The Demon of Midgar?”
Claire heard Aurora’s murmur.
[Long ago, he was a feared assassin in the Midgar region. He was a greedy assassin who only wanted to increase his own power. He should be old…]
“I don’t think anyone knows that name. Is that Aurora?”
Fenrir said in a wrinkled voice.
“Calamity Witch… So it’s real. You intend to use that girl as your sacrifice huh?”
“Aurora, what does that mean?”
[Focus. It was just a trick to catch you off guard.]
“But…!”
“Claire!”
“Eh?”
Fenrir’s blood fang extended.
Like a whip, the long blade loomed over Claire’s neck.
Shocked, Claire witnessed the approaching death.
But the next moment, Claire’s eyes turned purple. Over a hundred tentacles shot out, and when the blood fang was parried, the tentacles approached Fenrir in an instant.
“Nails… This is it, this is its power.”
Fenrir dodged the red tentacles that descended relentlessly with his slender body.
The tentacles repeatedly snatched at his body, turning his clothes into rags.
But the tentacles could not even scratch his body. And suddenly, all the bloody tentacles exploded and disappeared.
“My magic power…!”
The violet-eyed Claire, on her knees, was breathing heavily. Her magic power was only 36.
“Are you getting weaker, or am I getting stronger, Aurora?”
“…If only this body wasn’t so weak.”
Then, the blood fang slammed into Claire.
“Ugh…!”
She barely managed to avoid a fatal wound, but she rolled over, unable to even hold her prostrate body.
And Claire’s eyes turned from purple back to red.
“How dare you do that to Claire!!!”
Alexia attacked.
Her movements were not fast and weak. Surely Fenrir was far superior to that.
What Alexia saw was a red shadow.
And then her sword shattered into pieces.
“A-Aah…”
“Sword is a pedestal… The peak beyond a thousand years is still too far away.”
After saying that, Fenrir stood upright on it.
“My sword…”
His sword shattered into pieces. The humiliation of the past came back.
He had trained himself so that he would not regret it again. However, no matter how many times the swords were stacked, the top of the sword was too far away.
Tears appeared in the corners of Alexia’s eyes.
“…It’s over.”
The blood fang swung down from above.
At that moment, the sound of a strong gust of wind was heard. Fenrir stopped his attack and quickly moved back.
With a click, a pen stuck into the ground.
“Who are you?”
“You…”
There was Suzuki, an ordinary schoolboy with bad eyes.
“Are you okay?”
He slowly walked over and pulled out the pen stuck in the ground.
‘Princess Alexia, come here.’
Christina said, making Alexia step back.
“I-I’m still…”
“That’s too much, you have no magic power left.”
Before long, Alexia’s magic power was also below 100. She bit her lip and looked at Suzuki.
“Fenrir is very strong. He can’t face it alone.”
“I don’t think Suzuki will lose so easily.”
Christina’s eyes looked bright as she said that. Suzuki would face Fenrir alone.
“I ask again. Who are you?”
Fenrir looked at Suzuki.
“I am Suzuki. A first-year student at the Midgar Spell Swordsmen Academy.”
Suzuki said, playing with the pen in his palm.
“An ordinary student huh…”
Suddenly, Fenrir swung his blood fang. The red blade twitched like a whip and struck Suzuki’s bangs.
“For a student, you have a good grasp of distance.”
“Distance? What are you talking about?”
Calmly, Suzuki stepped forward.
That was Fenrir’s distance. Fenrir’s eyes narrowed sharply.
The sound of Suzuki’s footsteps sounded very loud.
Footsteps sounded again.
The next moment, the blood fang barrage began.
Red shadows flowed down from above, below, right and left with incredible speed. The single sword stroke was exquisite, like a dance that the naked eye could not see.
In the midst of it all, Suzuki held up a pen.
Four on each side, tucked between the rows as if they were fingernails.
The tip of the golden pen shines.
Then the red sword dance and golden light met.
Schwing, schwing, schwing, the sound of battle rang out many times in quick succession.
Red shadows and golden light danced in the mist.
“Great…”
Alexia stared in fascination.
Fenrir’s sword was clearly worthy of being one of the strongest. And Suzuki’s ability to counterbalance that sword with a pen was also beyond reason.
Even compared to the Knights of the King’s Guard of the Midgar Kingdom and the Seven Swords of the Begalta Empire, they were utter nobodies…
“Too strong…”
Christina muttered.
She was right, Suzuki’s strength far surpassed that of a student.
“Who is he?”
Alexia’s question was natural.
“I don’t know. But he bears a great burden. He has a mission to accomplish… That’s what he said.”
“Mission… The power to do that…”
Alexia clenched her hands into fists.
“Claire-san, are you okay?”
Cristina helped Claire up from her fall.
“I-I don’t know what to say… to Suzuki who fought.”
Claire said with pain.
“We can’t participate in this fight. We’ll see how it turns out.”
“Right…”
Claire held her right hand, which was engraved with a magic circle tightly.
In the mist, the battle between Fenrir and Suzuki continued.
The situation slowly began to reverse.
The red shadow pushed away the golden light. The tip of the pen, shining in the mist, slowly retreated.
The reason was the difference in distance between the two.
Fenrir’s blood fang was much longer than a normal sword, while Suzuki’s fountain pen could not even reach a normal sword.
As a result, Fenrir attacked unilaterally and Suzuki had no choice but to defend.
“The winner has been decided. You, too, who seek to master power, will realize this distance can never be reached.”
Fenrir’s voice could be heard between the barrage of attacks.
“Is that so?”
Suzuki kicked the ground and flew up.
He then readied his pens and threw them at Fenrir.
The eight pens became golden light and were released.
“What a waste of energy…”
Fenrir retreated and handled the pens with her blood fangs.
A few of them struck him body and injured him, but that was all. After throwing his weapon, Suzuki had no way to fight back.
It was supposed to be like that.
“What!?”
Suzuki had eight more pens in the air.
“Hidden technique :《Golden Rainstorm》”
And the pens were launched one after another.
The light from these pens showered Fenrir as if it were rain.
“It doesn’t hurt…!”
However, Fenrir’s ability was also extraordinary.
He avoided the rain of pens with agile movements, and deflected them with his blood fang if he felt he could not avoid them.
The golden rain fell to the ground without hitting Fenrir.
And all the rain stopped.
The number of pens stuck in the ground was overwhelming.
In the midst of it all, Fenrir stood. He didn’t move an inch. No, he could not move.
“Checkmate.”
Because Suzuki was standing behind her.
“Is the pen just a decoy?”
“They say pens are sharper than swords.”
Suzuki held one of the pens to Fenrir’s neck.
“You still have one, huh? Looks like I played too much. It’s been a long time since I played around. I can’t help being unhappy. It’s a bad habit of old people.”
“Whatever you say.”
Without hearing the end of Fenrir’s words, Suzuki stabbed his pen.
He pierced Fenrir’s neck and blood gushed out through it.
“Guahh…! Impatient young man. You should listen to this old man.”
Fenrir’s eyes turned red.
A large amount of magic power overflowed, and Suzuki was ejected. The wound on his neck healed, as if regenerating.
“Playtime is over. Let’s start with the little ones first…”
Fenrir’s face turned toward Alexia and the others. The first prey was one of them, Christina.
“Ah…!”
Christina’s spine shivered as he let out a red glare. The pressure she had never felt before was about to crush her.
“Goodbye, Miss.”
And then a red slash swung down on Christina.
She could only stare in dismay at her impending death.
Just before the blood fang split her in half, a figure came.
The figure embraced her and replaced her slash.
Blood splattered.
“Suzuki… You…!”
That figure was Suzuki.
“Thank goodness you survived… Gohoh!
Suzuki vomited a lot of blood.
“Suzuki, Suzuki, are you okay!? Why are you protecting me…!?”
“I owe you an apology…”
Suzuki said, his mouth turning red.
“You don’t need to apologize, it’s not the time for that, right now what matters is you…!”
“No, it has to be now. Because I’m…”
“Eh?”
“…not Suzuki.”
“He is dead. My true form is…”
Many of the pens stuck in the ground began to melt.
They turned into black slime and enveloped Suzuki’s body.
“S-Suzuki…”
At this strange sight, Christina and the others retreated.
The black slime enveloping Suzuki revealed itself in a gripping and frightening manner.
“My name is Shadow. I lurk in the darkness and hunt in the shadows…”
The man, wearing a long jet black coat and a hood, drew a black sword and said.
“Shadow!?”
Alexia’s astonished voice.
“Shadow…”
Christina was also surprised. But as she stared at Shadow, she felt her heart pounding slightly.
“Shadow huh. I knew you would come…”
Fenrir showed no signs of anxiety. He was filled with his magic power and faced Shadow.
“You disguised yourself as an ordinary student to wait for an opportunity? You’re a clever guy, too.”
“What? It’s just a side entertainment.”
“Pathetic. You can’t possibly do something that complicated just for the sake of entertainment. I’m not so senile as to be able to misread your intentions.”
“…Oh?”
“People lie to hide things they don’t want to be known. Behind every lie is the truth.”
“That makes sense.”
“You took the trouble to disguise yourself as a student, looking for an opportunity and avoiding a direct fight with me. There was only caution. You’re trying to hide your fear of me with lies as mere entertainment.”
“Hmph… Don’t make me laugh, old man.”
“If true, it’s a shame. How great is this man called Shadow really? Is he a man beyond my imagination who has reached the peak of the sword after so many years…? This will be a bit of fun.”
Fenrir then raised his blood fang.
“Would you like to try it?”
Shadow lightly raised his jet black sword.
“I intend to.”
Fenrir’s hips dropped deeply. He stepped away slightly, his blood fang drawn far back.
“Shadow, do not disappoint me.”
The next moment, Fenrir’s figure disappeared in a swirl of white mist.
“Ancient sword technique: Shadow.”
Fenrir appeared behind Shadow.
His blood fang was swung and he was in mist form.
“Oh…? You parried it.”
Fenrir said happily.
One scratch on Shadow’s long coat. This was a claw mark caused by Fenrir.
“I’ve parried fast sword attacks many times. But this sword is… slow.”
Shadow recovered the scratches on his long coat and looked back.
“Do you realize it’s too late?”
White mist swirled around Fenrir.
“…Interesting.”
Shadow silently assessed the flow of magic.
The next moment, Fenrir disappeared again. Another wound was scratched into Shadow’s long coat. It was deeper than the first strike.
“Again, you dodged it.”
Fenrir tried to get back behind Shadow.
“You’re so slow.”
Shadow patted the wound on his long coat and recovered.
“You can see the sword in the Shadow?”
“I almost saw it, but I couldn’t.”
“Then how did you avoid it?”
“I ducked just as the blades were approaching. That’s all.”
“Jujutsu huh? I’ve heard of martial arts that neutralize attacks like Willow’s.”
“I’ve never studied any martial arts.”
“So that’s your natural power?”
“Not that great.”
‘Then what?”
“Practice.”
“Oh? So that’s the truth of your power.”
And Fenrir lowered his hips and readied his blood fang.
“Then, accept the training from this old wolf.”
“…So be it.”
Shadow swung his sword. Towards the empty space.
“…Excellent.”
Then, Fenrir’s figure disappeared.
The next moment, Fenrir appeared behind Shadow. Blood spurted from Fenrir’s shoulder.
“…Already seen, huh?”
Fenrir said, holding the wound on his shoulder.
“No, I’m following the flow of magic.”
“I see… So the trick was already conceded.”
“The Shadow is the shadow of magic. Its counterpart is the slow sword, whose presence has been erased to the utmost extent.”
“That’s right. When you saw the Shadow, I was already swinging my sword. You saw me clearly. So your power is really real.”
Fenrir turned around and got ready again.
“Do you still want to continue?”
“Of course. I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. I can’t swing the sword alone.”
Then he extended his blood fang.
“Accept the Shadow technique that has broken through the boundary, Shadow.”
Fenrir swung his blood fang.
But Shadow dodged it first.
The white mist parted, carving a cut mark on the ground. After that, the blood fang shot out like a whip.
Attack and defense, the order of which was reversed, were further accelerated by Fenrir’s technique.
The number of blood fangs increased.
One, two, three… Every time Fenrir used the blood fang, the number increased, eventually reaching nine.
Fenrir laughed as he raised his nine blood fangs.
“This is the pinnacle of swords… Blood fangs from the Shadow sky.”
Nine blades attacked Shadow from all directions simultaneously.
“Oh…”
Shadow exhaled.
“Are all the blades I see just shadows?”
Then he closed his eyes as if he had given up.
The next moment, Shadow’s body was torn apart by nine slashes.
Right, left, up, down… He was viciously attacked, as if playing with a puppet.
“Shadow…!”
“Shadow-san!”
Alexia and Cristina shouted. It was the most vicious attack they had ever seen.
Fenrir stared at Shadow, who had fallen helplessly.
Shadow’s fingers twitched.
“…Is that all?”
It was Shadow who said it.
“I didn’t even hurt you!”
Fenrir said.
It was a strange conversation, as if the winners and losers were reversed.
Fenrir swung his blood fang at the fallen Shadow.
The blood fang easily cleaved Shadow in half, and carved a deep cut in the ground.
However, no blood came out of Shadow’s body.
Instead, his body faintly disappeared.
“Just a shadow huh…”
Fenrir muttered, as if giving up.
“I was shown a beautiful sword.”
A voice came from the mist.
Tap tap tap, nine Shadow appeared with nine footsteps.
“In just one try…”
Fenrir took a deep breath.
Nine black swords extended. They danced in the mist like dragons.
“Incredible!”
Fenrir’s voice had a hint of excitement in it.
“Hidden technique… Shadow’s Atomic.” (空蝉のアトミック)
Then, nine dragons devoured Fenrir.
The first bit his right arm, the second his left arm.
The third chewed off his right leg, the fourth his left.
The fifth and sixth cut both torsos, the seventh got the chest, and the eighth severed the neck.
And… The ninth devoured the head.
“Are you still breathing?”
Shadow spoke to the ninth head.
“Goff… In the end, I saw the peak of power… You showed me something good.”
Fenrir said in a low voice.
“There is no such thing as a peak of power.”
Shadow said in a bored tone.
“What do you mean? You’re one of the…”
“Above the peak, there is an even higher peak. That’s all…”
“What…?”
“People stop walking when they think they’re at the peak.”
“I see, so that’s why I…
Fenrir’s face showed regret.
“…I still haven’t seen the peak.”
And then the ninth dragon’s jaws closed.
Fenrir’s head shattered. Shadow shook out his long jet-black coat and disappeared into the depths of the white mist.
“W-Wait, Shadow!”
Alexia shouted. Shadow stopped in the mist.
“Tell me, who are you? What are you fighting for!?”
Alexia waited for an answer.
But Shadow turned away and didn’t answer.
“I want to protect this country! I don’t want my loved ones to feel sad! That’s why I decided to fight! Are you!? Can we trust you!?”
“Stay out of it… I told you so.”
“This is not the time for that! We fought to the death! If we were as strong as you, it might be a small matter. We might be insignificant. But… Weak people like me are also fighting to stay alive!”
Shadow slowly turned around.
His blood-red eyes looked at Alexia.
“We remove obstacles for our own purposes. That’s all…”
He said in a low voice, as if echoing from the distant depths.
“What is your purpose… Shadow, what are you going to do to this world!?”
Hearing Alexia’s question, Shadow’s expression moved for the first time.
He gave a small smile.
Then he swung his jet-black sword to the side. Beyond him was a terrifying device in the mist.
A metallic sound rang out and the device split into two.
“My necklace…”
Looking at it, Alexia and Claire’s necklaces had fallen off.
“Shadow!”
When looking back, Shadow was already gone. No trace of him could be found anywhere.
“If only I were stronger…”
Alexia clenched her fists tighter.
“Claire-san… Are you okay?”
Cristina supported Claire.
“Y-Yes…”
Claire said, holding her stomach. She might need medical treatment.
“Princess Alexia, we need to get out of here soon. But I don’t know where the exit is…”
Just then, footsteps sounded through the fog.
“Hey, I finally found you guys…!”
From there, a short girl appeared, it was Nina.
“Nina… Thank goodness, where have you been?”
Claire’s face broke into a sad smile.
“Sorry, sorry, I barely escaped Isaac, but I got lost. I found my way out.”
Hehehe, Nina laughed and pointed towards the exit.
“You’re so reliable, can we go?”
Alexia said that and turned to leave. At that moment, Nina moved quickly.
First, Alexia fell. Next, Claire and Cristina fell almost simultaneously.
It was a very fast pace.
Nina looked at the three unconscious people and muttered.
“Gosh, I have to lose the role to play.”
She let out a small sigh and changed her voice toward the fog.
“All preparations are ready… Zeta-sama.”
And then, a golden-haired beastkin and a pink-blonde haired girl appeared.
.
“Good job, besides, why don’t you go into the Shadow Garden too?”
Victoria spoke to Nina.
“You can become a Numbers in no time…”
Nina looked at Zeta in confusion.
“Nina shouldn’t be in the Shadow Garden. Precisely because she can move on her own, she didn’t betray us.”
Zeta said.
“In that case, I’ll continue as before.”
“Yes. Be Claire-sama’s best friend like you always have. Until the time comes…”
“…Okay.”
Nina made a white robe out of slime and pulled the hood over her head. She then lifted the unconscious Claire and proceeded to the door at the end of the shrine.
Zeta gave instructions and set Claire onto a pedestal with ancient letters engraved on it.
When she poured her magic into the pedestal, flames ignited on both sides of the door.
“There’s no turning back now, is there?”
Nina asked Zeta.
“Yes.”
“But Alpha-sama’s policy…”
“Alpha is naive. With her way, the bad guys came to power and the world repeated the same mistakes. So we will rule the world… Let no more mistakes be made.”
Zeta stared at the fire on the pedestal. She looked out from the blazing fire as if she was contemplating something.
“With eternal life, Shadow-sama will become a god. This world does not need a holy religion. We will teach a new teaching.”
Victoria said, her eyes shining with excitement.
“Is this really okay?”
“This is our mission.”
Muttering that, Zeta poured magic power into the pedestal.
The magic letters on the pedestal danced, leading to a door sealed with chains.
The chains creaked and squeaked as they glowed.
“Gwu… Gah…! Gah…!”
Claire, who was glued to the pedestal, trembled.
She opened her red eyes and screamed, her face bruised in pain.
“Aaaaauuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!”
“Claire!!!”
Nina approached Claire.
“Zeta-sama, Claire!”
“It’s just rejection. It will subside soon.”
“But…”
“Her body is essential for controlling the resurrected Diabolos.”
And the chains disintegrated bit by bit.
A new magic circle appeared in Claire’s right hand.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Claire shouted.
At the same time, the chains shattered and the innermost door opened.
There was nothing there. Only endless darkness.
Claire’s magic circle shone strongly.
“It worked.”
Victoria smiled sweetly.
“Her right arm and left arm are united. Nina, stay near Claire-sama and keep an eye out.”
Zeta carefully examined the magic circle engraved on Claire.
“Is this… your choice, Zeta-sama…”
Nina muttered to herself. She wiped Claire’s unconscious sweat from her face.
“Alpha and I… We’ll see which choice is right in time.”
With that, Zeta turned around and walked away.
“Until then, we lurk in the shadows…”
She then disappeared into the deepest darkness.
I was in an empty space.
I felt satisfied because it had been a long time since I had a good fight and good role-playing.
That terrorist old man’s sword was quite interesting. That’s called old wisdom.
I tried that opportunity because it was cool, but thanks to that I was able to connect with the best end result.
Learning the enemy’s techniques in the fight and using them to fight back. It was also emotionally charged.
Suzuki’s performance was also very good.
In my opinion, by playing as him, the depth of Shadow also increased. He appears and disappears. Where there is light, there is shadow.
I was thinking about that, and before I knew it, I was already here.
“This…”
I looked around.
The place looks familiar, the place where I met little Violet.
“Hey, we meet again.”
In the center of the white space, there was a little girl hugging her knees.
She was covered in scars.
“Are you okay?”
I flowed magic power into her and healed her wounds.
“Ugh…”
The girl raised her face.
Her face was red with tears of blood.
“…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. What happened?”
“Nothing. Same as usual.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
She looked at me and smiled.
“We finally meet again, Onii-chan.”
“Finally?”
“Because my power is strong at the center.”
“Hmm… Ah right, this.”
Saying that, I took out a red gem from my pocket.
“This is important to you, right?”
“…Are you sure?”
“One hundred million zeni. Installments are also possible.”
“Thank you.”
Then the girl received the red gem.
“I’ve been waiting for this.”
“Yes? If I may know what it is?”
“This is…”
The girl laughed.
The edges of her lips lifted up like a crescent moon.
The girl’s face contorted like an ugly monster, and then a powerful magic power overflowed.
The white space became completely black.
The girl moved her lips and muttered.
[My hatred.]
I didn’t hear her voice, but the girl must have said so.
And then, a black whirlpool of emotions formed.
Men, women, old people and children appeared one after another to insult the girl. But the next moment, they were turned into lumps of flesh torn apart by an unknown monster.
Hundreds and thousands kept repeating themselves, and suddenly I found myself standing on the roof of the school.
That was the place where I first met little Violet.
I could see the sun setting in the distance.
An ordinary school, a peaceful school.
“Hmm… Maybe I shouldn’t have given that to her?”
I tilted my head.
The silver-haired girl stared at the schoolyard with her red eyes.
“All the Knights could get from their investigation was the testimonies of the students.
No evidence was found….”
The silver-haired girl leaned against the window of the empty classroom and was dazed.
“So, why was I called here?”
Besides the silver-haired girl, there was an ordinary boy with black hair in the classroom.
“Because you’re also involved.”
“I told you, I’m sleeping in the dormitory and not doing anything…”
“Only Claire hasn’t woken up since then. The Order wants to talk to you about it.”
“Oh, about my sister. But I don’t know anything about it, so I don’t have anything to tell them.”
“Yes, you do. You really don’t know anything. You don’t know what’s going on in this world, how deep the darkness of this world is…”
The silver-haired girl chuckled when she said that.
“That’s why there’s no point in asking me.”
“I don’t expect the Order to gain anything either. This is just a formality.”
“…That’s all.”
The black-haired boy said resignedly.
The cold winter wind blew in through the window and brushed against the girl’s beautiful silver hair
“It’s cold. Close the window, please.”
“Hey, Pochi.”
The silver-haired girl ignored the black-haired boy’s request and continued talking.
“I really envy you, you’re so calm.”
“Is that sarcasm?”
“No, I just want peace, that’s all.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
When the black-haired boy replied, the silver-haired girl smiled.
The black-haired boy was called from outside the classroom.
“Alright then. The Knights are calling me, I’ll go first.”
The black-haired boy put his hand on the classroom door.
“Hey, Pochi.”
The silver-haired girl stopped him.
“…Do you ever wish to have eternal life?”
“I want it very much.”
The boy’s head flipped at an incredible speed.
“S-So.”
“If I could get it, I could destroy the world.”
“I should never have asked you.”
“If you find it, please let me know.”
The black-haired boy said that with a straight face and left the classroom.
The silver-haired girl who was left alone let out a small sigh.
“Eternal life… Shadow is not an arrogant person like Pochi. If Shadow wants eternal life, then the world…”
The silver-haired girl looked up at the sky.
There the gray sky was overcast as if it was endless.
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