Negima and the Curse of the Dreadnoids
Chapter 2: Preparations for the Journey
With the difficult task ahead of them, Negi and Asuna returned to their room to gather their things for the trip. They met with Konoe again in his office before leaving. He had a few important things to tell them. Chamo was on Negi's shoulder and Jennifer was with them.
"I thought I should let you two know something important before you take off on your quest." Konoe said. But just as Konoe began, Kotaro came in with a backpack on.
"Kotaro? Why are you here?" Negi said. Kotaro looked at him with a chuckle.
"What? Think I'm sitting out? Think again. I'm sticking with you guys this time!" Kotaro said. Asuna groaned.
"Well, in any case, I have some things to tell you three before you take off." Konoe said. Chamo told him not to forget about himself.
"Shut up already ermine. The dean's trying to say something." Asuna said. The dean looked towards the right side of the room and waved his hand. He created a hologram illusion of Asuna.
"Hey. Is that...me?" Asuna said. Suddenly, the Asuna hologram changed into her form from earlier with her giant sword.
"Wha!" Asuna shouted from shock. Negi and Kotaro looked at Asuna and she just chuckled.
"These dark bugs, like the one we ejected from you Asuna, are known as Demon Parasites. These bugs are special creations of the Dreadnoids and can merge themselves with living beings and transform them into horrible monsters." Konoe said. Kotaro was picking at his teeth.
"Yeah. We know that already." Kotaro said.
"The process can cause the subject to become permamently mutated if the bug is not removed from within during the time period. How long it takes differs depending on the infected host." Konoe said "There are three states. Asuna, like all newly infected hosts, was only the first stage where the bug is the easiest to remove." Asuna looked at herself and sighed with relief. He waved his hand again and the Asuna hologram changed into something else.
"Ew!" Asuna said. This time, Asuna looked more taller and she held two giant swords in both hands. Her hair was dark orange and the small horns on her head grew out more. Her legs and feet appeared more monstrous like and her fangs were sticking out of her mouth.
"This is what Asuna would have been in her second state. In this state, the subject's power is at least four to ten times what their original level was before being infected. Also, her form starts to become more beast like." Konoe said. Asuna was completely grossed out with what she looked like.
"Man. Asuna sure is UGLY." Kotaro said. Asuna looked at Kotaro with rage in her eyes.
"Uh...I mean that in a...good way?" Kotaro said. He chuckled just as Konoe waved his hand again. The Asuna hologram changed again. When Asuna saw it, her eyes widened and she looked ready to throw up.
"And...is this the third state?" Negi said disturbed. Konoe nodded. The third state Asuna had her hands replaced by two giant swords like the one on her pactio card, her armor was all over her body, a knight mask covered her face with her nose and mouth exposed, her legs were gone and she was hovering, and in the middle of her chest was an empty heart shaped hole.
"This is the third state Asuna. In this state, the bug has completely taken over the subject. It has taken control of the subject's will and thoughts. The only way the bug can be removed is in a duel to the death. If you win, the bug is ejected and the subject is returned to normal." Konoe said. Asuna looked at her hologram self horrified.
"What's...the hole for?" Asuna said.
"That...is where the heart of the subject was. These bugs feed off the emotions of the host body and transforms them based off how they feel. Once in the third state, the subject has lost all emotions and can no longer think for itself." Konoe said.
"But...why would these Dreadnoid guys want Negi's class?" Jennifer said.
"Because...their favorite people to corrupt are always those who have a pactio with a mage. These bugs can actually force pactio powers out of the host and use them to their advantages. Like what happened to Asuna, they wanted to control her pactio powers." Konoe said. He waved his hand and next to the third state Asuna was a human like creature with purple skin and red and black eyes.
"This...is a Dreadnoid. They are the ones responsible for making the Demon Parasites. They treat magic like science and think of many diabolical ways to exploit magic and build mass armies with their powers." Konoe said.
"So...they wanted me to be...recruited in some army?" Asuna said. Konoe nodded. Negi was just glad that Asuna didn't suffer the same fate as any other unfortunate person.
"Hey. I have a question. What happens with those who have been infected by the bugs but they are removed?" Kotaro said.
"Well, like I said, they return to normal. And there is a positive side. If the bug is removed before transformation is complete, any future bugs cannot merge with the host. It's like having chicken pox. You only get it once in your life." Konoe said. Asuna sighed with relief.
"There goes my fears of becoming that thing." Asuna said.
"Now, I don't know how many of the Dreadnoids are left. But if you meet one, you must vanquish it before it can cause anymore damage to this world. They are crafty creatures and may try to decieve you with lies. Do not believe them by any means." Konoe said. The three of them nodded. Konoe smiled and the two holograms vanished.
"I wish you three the best of luck on your quest." Konoe said "And as a little tip of advice, if you meet another one of your classmates in their cursed form, do not fear about killing them. You are only fighting the bug. You cannot actually cause harm to the host." Negi sighed with relief. Now he wasn't afraid if he had to fight one of his own classmates.
"And don't worry about the damage Kotaro. I will make sure we get to work on fixing the walls and doors that you broke while fighting." Konoe said. After that, he shook their hands and Negi, Asuna and Kotaro left.
"Make sure to take care of Jennifer for us!" Asuna shouted. Konoe chuckled.
"Don't worry. I will. I have faith in you three." Konoe said. Chamo grumbled.
"You mean FOUR!" Chamo shouted. Konoe chuckled and waved.
"I think the old coot just plain hates me." Chamo said. Just then, they heard someone rushing down the halls panting for air. They rushed down and saw Nodoka clutching a wall.
"N...Nodoka!" Negi shouted. They hurried to Nodoka's side with Konoe and Jennifer behind.
"Bookworm! You're all right! What happened? Where were you?" Asuna said. Nodoka caught her breath and looked at Negi.
"P...Professor. It was...horrible. I was...being taken captive by...some monsters. They...tried to infect me with some bug. But...I escaped before...they could get me." Nodoka said. She shivered just thinking about the bug.
"So, did it infect you?" Konoe said. Nodoka shook her head.
"Well, don't worry Nodoka. You're with your friends now." Negi said. Nodoka thought back to when she was being taken away. She remembered that the other girls taken with her was Yue, Sakurako, Kaede and Fumika.
"Yue...she...she..." Nodoka said. She started crying and hugged Asuna. Asuna hugged her softly.
"Come on bookworm. You're brave. Be brave for Yue. She'll be all right." Asuna said.
"That's right. Because the three of us are going to save them!" Kotaro said. Nodoka looked at Negi, Asuna and Kotaro and saw their bags. She backed off a bit and looked at Negi more confidently.
"Please professor! Let me come too! I want to save Yue! She's my friend!" Nodoka said. Negi looked at Asuna and they looked at the dean.
"She might be of some help." Konoe said. Negi smiled remembering what Nodoka's pactio powers were.
"All right then Nodoka. You might want to gather some of your things since we are going to be heading off soon." Negi said. Nodoka looked at Negi and nodded. After gathering her stuff, the five of them set off for anywhere they wanted to.
"So, now what? We have no leads as to where to go." Kotaro said "Are we just...drifting with the wind?" Asuna looked confused.
"Come to think of it...the dean didn't give us any leads as to where to look first." Asuna said. Just then, Nodoka remembered something one of the Dreadnoids said.
"Wait. I remember...they were...planning something in...Venice involving one of us. But...I...don't remember who." Nodoka said.
"Venice? Isn't that in Italy or something?" Asuna said. Negi nodded.
"If those Dreadnoids are planning something in Venice, then they must have one of the girls. We better get there soon." Negi said. The others nodded once they decided that Venice was the first stop. Meanwhile, somewhere far away from Mahora City, all of the girls from Class 2-A are standing stiff as boards with a hypnotic trance on their faces.
"Oh. These girls are simply perfect. I never felt such strong magical energy in my life." one of the Dreadnoids said. This one was the king and he kept his face hidden beneath a hood.
"I am glad your majesty. We thought so as well." another one said. At the end of the line, there was Yue. She was already infected by the bug and her skin was pale blue. Her eyes were red and black, her hair had many split ends, veins were pulsing down her arms, and she had a third eye slowly coming on the middle of her forehead.
"N...Nodoka..." Yue whispered. The king stopped and looked at Yue when he heard her voice.
"Huh. Thought this one said something." the king said. As he went off, Yue's eyes shifted towards the king and she looked at herself. She was fighting against the hypnotic trance and was succeeding at it. But the king saw her trying to escape.
"And where are YOU going?" the king said. He fired a bolt of red lightning at Yue and she was zapped. She collapsed to the ground.
"Put extra watch on this one. She appears to be quite different from the others." the king said. Before he left, he counted their heads. He only counted twenty eight heads.
"Wait. I thought you captured thirty female humans from that academy. Where are the other two?" the king said.
"Well, both of them got away from us. One was called Asuna Kagurazaka. She was the first girl to form a pactio with the boy Negi Springfield. According to our tracker in the bug, the boy has removed the bug from her and she has returned to normal. The other, Nodoka Miyazaki, got away before ever infecting her." the Dreadnoid said.
"Hmm. Then that means they are surely helping Springfield." the king said. The king chuckled.
"To think. The son of the Thousand Master...is all that stands before us. This...will be quite interesting." the king said. Yue groaned thinking about Negi and Nodoka's safety.
"Ne...Negi...N...Nodoka..." Yue muttered before passing out.
END OF CHAPTER