#32. Black Hair

I plummet.

Naturally. The window opened onto a sheer drop.

There was a reason there was no guard.

Magic was unusable, but opening the door led straight into a horde of Minds. Escape through the window meant a fatal fall.

Even I’d get complacent in a situation like this.

“This is a magic-free zone, too.”

Even as I fall, no magic activates.

I’m facing a certain death, it seems.

Well, this is screwed.

[You moron.]

“You should have told me.”

I suppose it’s fortunate that I’m falling face-first. If I were facing the sky, I wouldn’t be able to turn over.

I strained to move my body.

I tensed all my muscles, crouched slightly, and aimed the shotgun at the ground.

This anti-gravity shotgun has several functions.

One of them is safety mode, and another is ‘no recoil mode’.

The fact that there’s a ‘no recoil mode’ means there’s also a recoil mode. And, as you might guess, this shotgun’s power is beyond imagining.

If I fired it with recoil enabled, my wrist would probably shatter, or my body would go flying.

It’s a feature designed for when the gun gets stolen… I never thought I’d actually have to use it.

“Hngh!”

With a shout, I fired. Recoil-free mode was, of course, deactivated.

My plummeting body instantly rocketed upwards.

“Krrgh…”

The pressure was beyond imagination; I almost lost consciousness.

I coughed up blood, and my wrist felt broken, refusing to hold any strength.

“Akasha, I think my insides just ruptured.”

[ It’s not ‘think,’ they *did*. ]

Damn it.

Still, I was alive.

I fired another shot without hesitation.

I shot into the sky like a rocket. This time, my back felt like it’d given out.

I’m reminded, once again. My body is pathetically weak.

“Even so…”

I was clear of the magic-null zone.

[ Circuit analysis complete. ]

[ Computing, Restoration magic. ]

[ Computing, Flight magic. ]

[ Aish, you’re really pushing me. ]

My body, ravaged by broken physics, healed in an instant. I was floating in the air, too. Finally, a chance to breathe.

[ Please, try to have a plan for once. ]

“Worried about me?”

[ Of course! If you die, I’ll be bored to death too. ]

“…”

Akasha definitely isn’t on my side.

Ah, I miss when you were just ChatGPT.

“Can’t I just revert you to the old system?”

[ Nope. ]

I need to find a way, someday.

Anyway.

“How long have I been kidnapped?”

[ Not long. About a day. ]

“Exactly?”

[ 10 minutes and 10 seconds. ]

[ 11 seconds. ]

[ 12 seconds. ]

“You can stop now.”

Not as long as I thought.

Still, best to get back quickly.

“But… you know.”

One thing gnawed at me…

“There’s someone else kidnapped besides me, isn’t there?”

[Around two people.]

“Is it the Professor?”

[Someone you don’t know.]

I started to deliberate.

Should I save them?

Or not?

They’re human, just like me, so I probably should…

But risking my life? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?

I scratched my head roughly.

Something tells me if I leave like this, it’ll haunt my dreams.

But seriously, this is terrifying.

“Akasha.”

[What.]

“If I go back in there, will I die?”

[No.]

“I see.”

I turned right around and landed somewhere.

“Let’s walk from here.”

[You’re going to save them?]

“Yeah.”

They’re a bunch of crazy humans trying to resurrect the Demon King. Who knows what they’ll do if I just leave them be.

[Didn’t know you had such a sense of duty.]

“Sense of duty, my foot.”

I started walking, checking my gear.

“If I just leave them, my sleep will be troubled.”

*

At the same time, at the Academy.

Rachel Arte was dedicated to protecting the students.

“Damn it…”

She had grown too complacent after blocking the first attack.

It wasn’t a problem that could be solved by focusing solely on defense.

These attacks erupting everywhere are the price of arrogance.

Why did she think she could stop them?

Why did she believe she could handle this?

Rachel cast protective magic on the students, filled with regret.

“As expected, Rachel Arte prioritizes the students.”

Simultaneously, she burned with anger.

At the source of this entire disaster.

“Hello, I’m Aurora. Haven’t seen me before, have you?”

The voice came from behind Rachel.

A mischievous voice in a low register. And within it, a dense, homicidal intent.

Rachel turned to face the voice’s owner.

“Take off the mask.”

“No can do. I like this mask.”

A mask that only covered the eyes. A tall frame and a shapely body. A mole near the lips.

She imprinted the rough features in her mind. A precaution, in case of escape.

“Is Rien Flint affiliated with you lot too?”

This couldn’t happen again.

She would crush them as thoroughly as possible, so they could never rise again.

Rachel’s body slowly began to float.

Her blue eyes emitted a savage glint. Fragments from the destruction, and armaments dropped by the Minders, floated around her, orbiting her.

“…What a foolish question.”

Even before hearing the answer to her question, Rachel had already decided.

And for her, an ‘answer’ was equivalent to execution.

Calculation, Gravity magic.

The ground where Aurora stood instantly began to grow heavy. The masked figure halted its movement, as if crushed.

Next.

“If you surrender, I won’t kill you.”

Calculation, Telekinesis magic.

The fragments and armaments that swirled around her rained down upon Aurora. A haphazard mass of projectiles, lacking order or regularity, that was sure to distort the shape of anything it hit, whether hard or soft.

“Ahahaha! How barbaric.”

The fact that it hadn’t meant the opponent was far from ordinary.

Having endured every attack, Aurora charged forward, laughing madly, and swung her arm.

*Thwack.*

Something pierced Rachel’s chest. She thought it might be a weapon, but it was Aurora’s hand.

Fascinating. Her hardened fingernails were like blades.

She had seen body enhancements before, but this was the first time she had seen a body transformed.

A surge of curiosity arose. What was the principle behind it?

“Why does everyone love my heart so much…”

Ah, now wasn’t the time for that.

Snapping back to reality, Rachel grabbed Aurora’s wrist.

“…What?”

“How foolish.”

Rachel’s knowledge base was at its highest point in the present.

Naturally. Knowledge was inherently proportional to the time one had lived.

Then, was her ‘magic’ also at its peak in the present?

Surprisingly, no. Rachel’s magic itself had regressed since she began researching magical engineering.

Speaking solely of magic…

The academy days must have been their heyday.

Calculation, Eidetic Magic.

Setting, Regression.

Rachel’s height shrunk a little.

Her hair shortened, her face becoming more youthful.

Returned to her ‘memory’ of their peak.

“That must sting.”

Thud.

Something fell to the floor.

It was Aurora’s arm, severed clean.

“……?”

Regeneration, of a kind beyond mere healing, had eliminated the obstacle blocking the Regression.

In short, Aurora’s arm was gone.

Where does lost mass go, in moments like this?

The question surfaced, but as she’d already thought, now wasn’t the time for such pondering.

“aaah!”

Rachel reached out a hand to the screaming Aurora.

Calculation, Wind Magic.

A fierce wind, unleashed from the magic circle, shoved Aurora away. Not a typical push. Its pressure would far surpass a typhoon.

Aurora’s body, flying through the air, slammed into the ground.

Calculation, Gravity Magic.

A sudden increase in gravity overcame the force of the wind, dragging Aurora back towards the earth.

“Hmm.”

She shouldn’t be dead yet.

Seemed like a tough one. Rachel began calculating more magic, to be sure.

“Ever flown before?”

Calculation, Anti-Gravity Magic.

The tattered Aurora rose into the air.

Again, Calculation, Gravity Magic.

This time, for the fall.

“……?”

But the impact never came. She clearly saw her fall, yet that satisfying thud never echoed.

“……Tch.”

It didn’t take long to realize she’d missed.

In the place where Aurora should have been crushed, a gleaming stone rolled around.

Return Stone. She escaped.

Tracking such magical tools was impossible. They left no ‘residue’.

Rachel felt a pang of unease about letting one of the Mages slip away, but quickly cast aside the regret. Protecting the students came first.

“I hope Rein is alright…”

.

.

The Sun Council’s stronghold, a forsaken castle.

By decree, magic is forbidden here, yet within “The Elder’s Chamber,” it is permitted.

It was here, too, that the grand space-leap magic was enacted.

And here, moments ago, that Aurora returned.

“Damn it! That b*tch…!”

She’d rushed in with bravado, only to be routed so utterly. To be brought to this state by nothing more than a *professor*… the humiliation was bitter indeed.

“Fine, I’ll admit it, I underestimated her. But next time…”

Aurora gritted her teeth, vowing vengeance.

Next time, she would crush that pretty face of hers.

“…”

Perhaps… healing first?

Originally, she’d intended to ask the Elder, but for some reason, he wasn’t there.

Damn, nothing goes right.

Aurora dragged her severed arm and broken leg as she left the chamber.

And came face-to-face.

“Oh.”

With a man of black hair.

“Crap, this is bad…”

“Y-you are…”

“Just get some sleep.”

*Boom.*

It was Rain Ortiz.