A/N:

I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I'm quite busy but I'll at least try to write one chapter a week. If I am unable to do so, please forgive me.

Minor reference to a certain visual novel in this chapter. If you have never heard of it before, then you are missing out on a lot.

Expect the unexpected. Enjoy.

Chapter 6: "Oh that, he died."

"Fire, earth, water, and wind. By combining several of those four elements, one can create a stronger spell with a different effect, and our levels as mages correspond to the number of elements we can combine. Just what are these levels?" The teacher asked.

It was the day after Louise returned from her spy mission. Classes have resumed as all of the students have already recovered to attend. Agnes and her troops are off duty as the princess wanted to spend a few more days at the Academy. They can be seen training their swordsmanship in the courtyard which has been restored to its former glory.

"Yes, teacher." Montmorency raised her hand confidently.

"Proceed."

"If you can combine two, you are a line. Three, a triangle. Four, a square."

"Excellent. I believe that most of you can use one but..."

"Mrs. Chevruse, may I remind you that there is one here that is still unable to use one without a success rate of zero?" Kirche spoke up, causing everyone to turn and stare at Louise. The midget paid them no attention, instead focusing on taking notes.

"But isn't it just a waste to keep teaching her? We all know she'll never reach dot level anyways."

"A year of nothing but failure..."

"I guess coming from a good family doesn't mean there aren't bad apples..."

"But to not even reach dot level after all this time? She must surely be an idiot."

"And that's why she's a zero."

"Her familiar is scary too! Just what in the Founder's name is that monster?"

"That's right! And besides, what kind of summon was that? Didn't she just pay someone off the streets to act as her familiar?"

"Oi, brats, don't talk about me as if I'm not here."

Cries of surprise rang throughout the room as Accelerator seemed to materialize out of thin air beside Louise. Unknown to them, he was there the entire time, turning the vectors of light around him and making himself invisible. He gave them a wide grin and turned to Louise.

"So this is what they all say about you eh? No wonder your chest never got any bigger."

"W—what's that got to do with anything?"

Accelerator watched her rant at him with amusement. It had become one of his hobbies to fight off boredom to watch the little girl's reactions as he teased her.

What the hell happened to me? Getting attached to the brat.. tch, this isn't like me at all.

He ignored her and faced the others, who are slowly backing away and knocking their chairs over, trying to put as much distance between him and themselves as possible. Fear of the man's unknown ability showed in their eyes. Even the teacher, Mrs. Chevruse looked at him as if seeing a ghost. Only Tabitha and Kirche didn't seem scared, though they were surprised to see him pop out so suddenly.

"What, we haven't seen each other for a long time and not even a word of welcome? Looks like you all need another lesson." He got up and walked towards them menacingly. The brats shook in their seats. Some even pissed themselves. Girls and even some boys are crying.

"Ms. Valliere! I understand that you may hold grudges but this is borderline terrorism! Please stop your familiar right now!" The teacher shook as she spoke.

"And why should I? Do you all know how I felt through a year of bullying and torment? ...Trying my best while under the pressure of my peers' gloating and insults at my failures... How could I even begin to start to forgive... After all the humiliation, the name calling, the harassment..." Her voice cracked, all the pent up emotions seeping out. "You are all not human, much less nobles. If all the nobles are like this, then just what kind of image are we showing the peasants? Do you know that sometimes, I would even think about killing myself just to end it all, seeing as my whole life will only consist of pure failure?" She was nearly crying now, her voice shook as tears started to build on the corners of her eyes.

Her classmates look less frightened and more apologetic as she went on, guilt striking them at the core. Is this what happens when you drive someone to the point of madness?

"We—we're sorry Louise. We just couldn't help..." Kirche began. She too seemed to have been shaken by Louise's words. It had also been her who criticized Louise the most.

"You think just apologizing will make me forget all your jeers and contempt that I've had to bear for a long time? Have you finally come to your senses that maybe the person you have been making fun of all this time is actually hiding her suffering inside and facing life's challenges head on while feeling as if the whole world is against her? Does it take a genius to figure out that what you're doing is hurting someone's feelings?"

"Ms. Valliere..." The teacher sobbed into her robes. "I—I'm sorry... we knew about this and yet we pretended to be blind to all that's been happening. To be honest... we also thought you were a lost cause... and … and …. we're really sorry."

"Well I'm sorry but it's too late..." She smiled a sorrowful, tearful smile. "I have already made up my mind to say good bye to this cruel world." And with a final wave, she go up and left the room, heading to the rooftop.

"Wait, no! Someone stop her! She's going to kill herself!" Chairs were pushed out of the way and tables were turned over as everyone in the room exited, following Louise.

In no time at all, the room was void of life... except two.

"And with this, looks like we're even now, Mr. Familiar." The maid came out of the shadows, amused at the commotion that her work has caused.

"Tch... don't expect me to thank you for writing such a boring script."

"Ara, why don't you just be honest with yourself? You enjoyed it too didn't you? See? We're so much alike. But still... I was quite surprised you asked me to repay my favor to you to help Ms. Valliere. I would have thought you'd ask something that would benefit yourself more... Maybe you have started to develop feelings for her?"

"Bullshit."

The maid giggled. "Still... that went quite well didn't it?"

"Hmpf. It was luck."

"I agree. Aren't we lucky that Ms. Valliere had such talent for acting? It wouldn't have gone as well as planned otherwise."

"Heh. She didn't look like she was acting."

"And that's why she's a natural."

Accelerator eyed her warily. The maid just gives off a scary feeling that Accelerator still can't put into words.

"Why are you here anyways? Weren't you called by some noble to become his personal maid?"

"Oh, that. He died." She said simply.

Accelerator shuddered. There is no doubt in his mind that the maid herself killed her master and got away with it. Just how the hell can she talk about killing someone as if it was nothing? Normally people would be having nightmares after their first few kills right? Damn, this girl must be more cold blooded than I thought.

===Break===

A crowd gathered on the tallest tower's balcony. Murmurs of concern ran through the group. Teachers have even canceled classes to prevent what's about to happen next. Even the Musketeer Corps are helping, trying to negotiate with the midget to change her mind.

"Don't get any closer! If you do, I'll blow my head off!" Louise pointed her wand at her temples, he face drenched with tears.

"Mr. Colbert, we must subdue her at once! We cannot let a suicide happen under our watch. It would stain our name for eternity!"

"But what do you propose me do, headmaster?" Mr. Colbert's usually shining bald head seemed to dull as his face twisted with worry. Even Old Osmond seemed to have trouble keeping his wits.

"I'm sorry Louise! I promise not to call you 'Zero' ever again, so please... stop this..." Kirche's usually composed and confident face was now smeared with tears. She feels the most guilty about the midget's sudden change in behavior. She pleaded at her, hoping to change her mind.

"It's fine already Kirche. I know how much you hate me... You don't need to force yourself to say something you don't mean."

"No no no no no! You misunderstood me Louise!"

"You say something too!" Montmorency elbowed Guiche. Even if she considers Louise a love rival, she still doesn't want to see anyone die.

"I'm sorry as well." Guiche's usual pompous attitude is replaced with a mixture of worry and guilt. "I know life may be hard for someone like you who could never achieve anything, but won't you at least wait until you've lost your virginity?"

"Guiche!" Everyone turned to the clueless blonde. If Louise were to die, a unanimous decision was made to pour all the blame on him.

Something inside Louise snapped, however she kept her pained smile as she turned her back on them. It would destroy the mood that she worked so hard to build if she were to beat the shit out of him now.

And with a final wave, she jumped off the balcony.

===Break===

Louise fell.

She was honestly scared stiff as the ground loomed closer and closer, the wind mercilessly tearing through her tiny figure. It felt as if the an eternity passed by before she hit the ground with a loud thump, falling unconscious as she did so.

Did I actually die? Stupid familiar... I'm gonna kill him if he really let me get killed...

===Break===

Sounds of sloppy, wet sobs stirred her into consciousness. People are crying... For her?... No, it can't be...

Louise opened her eyes. Staring back at her were wide, tearful eyes. She vaguely recognized the surrounding that told her she's in the medical ward. A large group of students were around her. Kirche and Princess Henrietta were at the edge of her bed, drenched with tears.

"L—Louise! You're awake!" A sigh of relief went through the crowd. "Y—you idiot... scaring us like that? Do you know how we would feel if you died? I—I'm sorry I was so mean... I swear I'll never do it again..."

"Kirche... and her highness?"

"Louise Francoise! I—I'm sorry I didn't know what you were going through all this time and to think I still dared to call myself your friend... hic... I was only thinking of myself... giving you an unreasonable job, not knowing that you were hurting inside... I don't deserve to be a princess!" The princess burst into another fit of sobs. Everyone seemed relieved. It has been almost a day since she was found miraculously alive on the grounds. She had been lucky to have gotten only a few fractures from falling hundreds of meters. It was truly a miracle.

Louise felt a stab of guilt as she watched her childhood friend crying. Strengthening her resolve, she patted her on the head. "Don't worry about me your highness. It is not your fault and I doubt my existence is so important as to show such weakness in front of your people. Now please... lift up your head... you're not the only one who feels sad when their friend is in tears."

"Now that that's settled, I sincerely hope you not try to do something as foolish in the future, Ms. Valliere. Life is short so try to make the best of it while you're young. I'm sure good fortune will befall upon you someday."

And with that, Old Osmond gathered the remaining spectators and ushered them out of the room, leaving the still weeping Henrietta and Kirche by her side. Tabitha stayed as well, sitting in a chair on the side reading her book and paying the scene no attention.

"You brats done yet? It's seriously disgusting seeing this kind of mushy nonsense." Accelerator showed himself, enjoying the look of shock on their faces as he let the vectors of light strike him once again. Henrietta is clutching her mouth, eyes wide as saucers.

"G—ghost!"

"Familiar! Don't do that to her highness! I am deeply sorry about this, your royal majesty. And you! Stop doing that! Apologize right now!"

"It's fine Louise Francoise... please don't strain yourself for my sake. It was a miracle that you are still alive and so we should be grateful."

Like hell it was a miracle. Accelerator thought. It had been him who had cushioned her fall by subtly changing the vectors in the air around her landing area. It was quite easy to hide his presence as he did his work. The new trick that he had been working on had been very helpful in concealing his presence. Thought it still didn't sit right with him to always be hiding. The strongest never hide from his enemies.

He had first thought of the idea after playing a game that Yoshikawa brought home one day. The former researcher was asked to work on the project after Yomikawa introduced her to the creators of the game. The game was called Flake/Slay Knight. It is a visual novel in which seven magi fought for an ancient relic that can grant wishes. Accelerator thought the game was good in its own way and it kept him and Last Order from the streets for a good three days, addicted. The setting and characters were engaging in their own right. Each have their own history and motivations to fight. Although a certain blonde swordswoman annoyed him quite a bit with her foolish ideals. She tried her hardest to be a rightful king, trying to be just and good to her people and yet her kingdom fell in the end, her most trusted people betraying her. Her righteous attitude was just disgusting. Accelerator thought about a book he once read by Machiavelli while in hiding. It described how a good mixture of benevolence and ruthlessness needs to be used to rule a country. Using too much of either one will lead to your ruin. He just so desperately wanted to shove the book in her face throughout the game. Who the hell was dumb enough to choose a nation's ruler by pulling a sword from a stone anyway?

What awed him the most however, was the sheer epicness of the Heroic Spirits called upon by the Holy Grail to serve the magi. Even he would have trouble fighting one of those. Out of the many weird and wonderful techniques used by them, the ability to turn into spirit form and materialize at will was the one skill that he found the most intriguing. Although it was the most mundane skill out of them all, it reminded him of the time when he was still a naïve little brat. There are times when he just wished to be able to do just that back in his childhood... memories of being outcasted by everyone making him feel lonely to the point that he just wished he'd just disappear. In time however, he discarded those thoughts, instead focusing all his efforts into becoming stronger.

To become the strongest.

Thinking back on it now caused a wave of nostalgia to pass over him like a gentle breeze. He smiled. Those were indeed the days.

"What are you smirking at? Apologize right now!" The midget's voice brought him back to the present.

Right... There is no guarantee that I'll ever make it back is there?

"Where were you anyway? Louise could have died you know? A familiar who couldn't be by their master's side at times of need is worse than useless." Kirche chimed in, attempting to put part of the blame on Accelerator for Louise's near death experience.

Accelerator gave her a chop to the forehead, causing her to gawk at him in shock.

"What do you think you're—ow ow owowow!" A bump is slowly forming on her forehead from Accelerator's precise hits. She looked at him with disdain and quieted down.

"Shut it."

For a brief moment, Accelerator saw something weird flash in her eyes and noticed that she had started to sweat. Kirche started to fan herself and loosened her shirt. A large portion of her breasts popped out from underneath the low neckline.

The hell is she doing?

"Are you a ghost?" Henrietta asked. She still has not gotten over the shock of seeing him suddenly pop out of thin air.

"Yes."

Crash.

They all turned toward Tabitha. The blue haired midget had fallen out of her chair. Her small figure is trembling and she has her hands to her ears, as if trying to protect herself.

"Tabitha... could it be, you're scared of ghosts?" Louise asked incredulously. This is big news to her. To think that the best in their class and the strongest mage of her age had something she was scared of... It just doesn't seem right.

Brats are still brats after all.

"Idiots. Ghosts don't exist."

Accelerator left them, making sure to use the door this time.

===Break===

Louise shifted her weight on the horse, her butt sore and aching from nearly three hours of riding. It had been tough to get the school to let her go outside. They were still debating on whether or not she has recovered from her suicidal impulse and wouldn't let her go until she signed an oath stating that she would never attempt such a thing in the future.

"Care to tell me what we're doing back here?" Accelerator asked. The midget have once again dragged him to town, using shopping as an excuse. The horse backed away from him shamefully, unable to keep up with his ridiculous speed while traveling.

"B—because I have stuff I want to buy."

The pink haired midget got off the horse and handed it to the stables. People stared at them as they walked through the town.

"That white hair... could it be...?"

"No way! Look at how skinny he is."

"He looks weak..."

"He doesn't even have a beard!"

"Yeah... he's too young..."

"But doesn't he look kind of cool?"

"That wild look, like an untameable beast..."

"Couldn't you have worn a hat? All these stares are starting to get to me." Louise ground out, a vein popping on her forehead.

Accelerator grunted in response, directing light to flow around him as he did so. In another second, he was invisible.

The crowd gasped and rubbed heir eyes, unsure of what happened. Dismissing it as a mirage, they dispersed.

"You have to teach me how to do that one of these days." Louise said dryly. It hurts her pride to have a familiar that is more skilled than her but she also accepted the fact that if she is to improve her magic, his existence is an absolute necessity.

They ate lunch at a small restaurant before they went on. Oddly enough the restaurant was called MocRonall's, a complete clone of the one in Academy City. They even served burgers! Seeing such modern food in a medieval setting unnerved Accelerator quite a bit.

Damn foreigners, their franchise even reaches beyond the worlds?

Accelerator gave the restaurant another glance before dismissing it as mere coincidence. Satisfied, he followed the midget.

Louise turned down an alley and headed for the darker side of town. Drunks and thugs roamed about, their dirty appearance a clear representation of the poor populace. They moved out of her way, giving her hateful looks as she went along, resentment for the nobles clear on their faces. Louise ignored them and headed for the weapon store at the corner.

The brat wants to buy a sword...? Accelerator made himself visible again as they entered the shop, following the midget with curiosity.

"It's a recent fad at the castle to equip the underlings with weapons." The shop owner commented. He is thin with large front tooth that sticks out of his face, giving him the appearance of a mouse. Louise examined the selection of blades on the corner, her unfamiliarity with them clearly exposing her as an amateur. She held up a rapier and turned to the owner.

"Hmm... give me something bigger and thicker."

"Mind my words but that size is probably the best for him."

"I said give me something bigger and thicker!" Louise screamed, waving her arms in the process.

"Yes..." The owner went to the back, smirking as he did so. This one is gonna be an easy prey.

Bigger and thicker?

"Oi, brat. Small ones not enough for you?" Accelerator grinned.

"It's for you, you idiot."

"And just why the hell would I need a sword?" He raised an eyebrow. Considering that she knows what his usual fighting style is, it should be obvious that a sword will just be a hindrance.

"You should be happy your master is giving you a present!"

"The world must be ending if even someone as stingy as you would spend money for someone else."

Louise was about to retort when the owner came back, carrying a shiny sword. Her eyes lit up.

"How does this one look?" The owner handed her the golden sword. It was truly a beautiful blade with the both the blade and crossguard made of pure gold. Red gems decorated the pommel and crossguard.

"It's the shop's best sword, made by the famous Germanian alchemist Lord Shunpei. It'll cut iron like butter!"

"How much?"

"Three thousand new gold."

"Th—three thousand? You could buy a good house with a forest yard for that much!" Louise exclaimed incredulously. Accelerator took the sword from her and examined it, checking its sharpness.

"A fine blade is worth as much as a castle."

"Fine blade? Don't make me laugh." Accelerator grinned, tapping the sword in the middle of the blade with two fingers. The sword snapped, the tip burying itself onto the wooden floor.

"W—what did you just do? You better pay for that!" The owner gawked at him with his mouth open, caught between surprise and anger.

"Oi, oi. Don't get the wrong idea. What do you think you're trying to pull here, trying to sell us a broken sword." Accelerator's grin widened. This is gonna be fun.

"Ridiculous! I swear on my honor as a merchant that this is a respectable shop. All the blades here are of high quality and wouldn't break so easily..."

"Is that so?" Accelerator picked up another sword from the pile in the corner and broke it, throwing the pieces at the owner's floor.

"If this is what you mean by quality, then I suggest you move your business somewhere else, old man." Accelerator glared at the owner, his tone cold. "Bring me your best and we'll see if you weren't lying."

The owner hesitated for a moment and went to the back. After a few minutes of rummaging, he came back with finely made swords, each one worth at least a thousand new gold.

"These are the finest blades in this shop. I can assure you that each of them are of a state of the art weapons designed for heavy combat. Take your pick."

Accelerator only smiled and walked over to the pile of swords.

Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap!

"I—impossible!" The owner fell on his knees, his most prized merchandise turned into piles of useless metal.

"Tch, useless." Accelerator exited the shop, leaving the owner in tears.

"Couldn't you have been less harsh about it?" Louise asked dryly. "We could have gotten you a fine sword with a high discount after you broke the first one! What a waste..."

Seriously, she should get used to this by now.

"I told you I don't need a sword."

===Break===

"Mom, why is that girl talking to herself?" The little boy asked his mother, pointing at Louise.

"Shhh. Don't point your fingers at crazy people..." The mother dragged her kid away, looking at Louise as if she was some weirdo.

Louise ignored them and walked to the outskirts of the town, carefully avoiding the Enchanting Fairy Inn. She just don't have what it takes to face the people one more time. It is certain that if she shows her face to them, they would never let her go.

Accelerator turned invisible after they left the shop to avoid all the staring. It did very little however as it just made Louise look like a crazy person talking to an imaginary friend.

"Teach me how to do that right now!" She turned to where Accelerator materialized next to her. They have exited the town, taking the horse back with them.

Accelerator ignored her. Of course, it would be impossible to teach the midget...

"Why don't you show me da trick too, kid? It's been quite some time since I've seen such a trick."

Accelerator turned towards the voice sharply. He hasn't noticed anyone following them so who...

A few meters to the right of the road is a large slab of rock and stabbed into it was...

"What ya'll starin' at? Never seen a talking sword before?" The sword was moving its quillon, using it as a mouth. It is very old and single edged. Rust covered its entire length and its edge looked dull.

"Familiar... did that sword just... talk...?" Accelerator approached the blade, feeling a sense of nostalgia.

Is this what this world's Caliburn supposed to look like?

Getting closer, he noticed a note stuck on its hilt.

"Pull this sword and it's yours to keep." The note read.

Louise's eyes lit up. Even if the sword is a rusty piece of scrap iron, it is still a free item and Louise isn't exactly rich.

The midget gripped the handle and pulled.

Nothing interesting happens.

"Ha ha ha! You're gonna have to do better than that, girl! Though I wouldn't expect any less from someone as flat chested as you!"

"Grrrr... You're just a sword! How dare you talk to me like that!" Louise kicked the sword in anger, only to find herself on the ground afterward, clutching her broken toes. The sword howled in laughter, the sound echoing into the woods. Tears started to form around the corner of her eyes but she stopped herself from crying. No way in hell is she going to give the damn sword the pleasure of seeing her cry.

"What about you, kid? Fancy trying your luck with me?"

"The hell? Are you trying to make me the king of this country?" Accelerator asked it suspiciously.

"What?" The sword seemed confused, although it should be impossible for a sword to be confused...

"Don't expect me to do something so troublesome." Accelerator walked away, leaving the sword sputtering in shock at being rejected.

"Now hold on there brother! If it's conquering you want, then I'm just the right sword for you! I'm the legendary Derflinger!"

Accelerator ignored it and kept walking.

"First that shop owner throws me out when no one bought me after sitting in the corner for so long and now this? Why is it that humans prefer those useless pieces of junk over me?" The sword seemed offended, though if Louise were to visit the shop just a few days earlier, Derflinger would be no doubt in the same pile of broken metal as the other blades after Accelerator was done with him...

"It's pointless to fight fate." The girl's words rang in his head. Has his fate already been decided by some unknown existence in the abyss?

"Oho, looks like someone changed his mind—wait, what are you doing?"

Accelerator sprinted towards the sword, and lunged at the sword, delivering a round house kick to its blade.

Kwaaannggg. Thwack.

The sword spun and flew a few hundred meters into the forest, soaring in a wide arc. It buried itself perpendicularly into a tree.

"What were you trying to do? What will you do if the thing broke?"

Accelerator ignored her and went to retrieve the sword. The blade was spewing nonsense about how kids these days have no respect for the elderly. He shut it up by tightly gripping its handle in almost a chokehold and pulled it free.

"Nice grip you got there kid! If you weren't so damn hotheaded I would have let you be my partner you know."

"Swords don't talk." Accelerator glared at it with such intensity that the sword fell quiet instantly. Suddenly, light began to glow from the runes in his hand, the blinding pain jolting through his body as mana exploded out of the runes and entered his body. Information flooded his brain on the sword's usage just as his body was almost torn apart from the raging force inside his veins, boosting his physical strength as well as tearing his muscles apart.

Not this again...

Before the torrent of mana could reach his vitals, he quickly redirected the flow out of his body, flowing out of his mouth into...

"Now this is quite something else lad! I've decided to make you my partner!" The sword talked even as it greedily drank the excess mana coming off Accelerator. Derflinger began to glow dazzling white brilliance. Realizing that the runes responded when he grabbed the sword, Accelerator dropped the sword. The glow from the runes in his hand quickly faded.

"To think I would live to see another Gandalfr in my lifetime... This must surely be fate!"

"Gandal—what?" Louise helped Accelerator up, his body still unsteady from the sudden surge of magic.

"Gandalfr. Don't tell me you kids don't know about the class of familiars for void magic users?"

"Void magic?"

The sword sighed. It adopted a lecturing tone and told them the history of the world as it remembered it. It told of Brimir, the Founder and first void mage. It also told of the birth of the countries of Gallia, Romania, Tristain and Albion's royal families from the founder's descendants. What spiked Louise's interest however was the Founder's affinity for explosions and other destructive spells. The founder had four familiars: the left hand of god, the right hand of god, the heart of god, and the mind of god. The left hand of god, Gandalfr's, job is to stall the enemy long enough for the slow casting void mage to finish his spell. The sword went on to tell them about his own heroics and contributions. The sword then ended his tale by declaring Louise as the first void mage he's seen after Brimir's death six thousand years ago.

"But how am I supposed to learn an extinct magic..." Louise was upset. Just as when she thought she finally found a clue on how to properly use magic, it turned out that it is a lost art. A cloud of despair formed above her bent figure.

"Gandalfr..." So that's what these runes are. But just why the hell is it that my body feels like it's being destroyed when the power flows into me?

"You said you can swallow magic. Can you spit it out as well?"

"Now partner. Let me tell you this now just so we're clear. I do not suck, nor spit, nor swallow—ouch!"

Accelerator gave the sword a good smack to the... hilt. The founder's love for dirty jokes must have surely rubbed off on it. It was about to give him another lecture when he smacked it again, shutting it up for the moment.

"Well, I've never really tried spitting out what I already took in, but we can try..."

"Interesting..." Accelerator grinned, remembering the time when a certain spiky haired idiot had defeated him, the strongest esper in Academy City. The bastard's right hand had the ability to cancel out his own ability, leading to his defeat. While the sword can't exactly do the same thing, it seems close enough.

"Ready partner?"

Accelerator gripped the sword wordlessly. The white burst of light came almost immediately, filling his very being. He quickly redirected the flow into the sword, the ceaseless torrent of raw energy causing it to glow white hot.

Interesting... it seems to compress the magic it swallowed in order to minimize volume consumption, giving it higher capacity... As I pump more, it compresses it more and more, increasing the pressure as well...

"Slow down partner! Isn't that too much? I—I can't hold it! I'm gonna come!" The sword vibrated, its white glow shining brighter than the sun. Accelerator turned the light from his eyes to avoid being blinded. Louise covered her eyes. Accelerator's grip on the sword tightened. He held it to the side and faced the mountain in the distance, prepared to swing.

Now let's see if this works...

"At my signal."

"You got it partner! ... Ahhh." The sword moaned. Traces of white light started to seep out from it.

"EX—"

"Here we go!" The sword choked out its words.

"—CALIBUR!"

VWOOOOSSHHHH... BOOOOOM... Sh sh shshshsh...

An enormous beam of white light fifty meters in diameter exploded from the sword, vaporizing everything in its path. When Louise opened her eyes the mountain was gone. A path of bare earth led up to where it used to be. Burned vegetation that were caught on the edge of the beam lay smoking on the sides. The forest looks as if it was cleaved by a giant sword.

"Now that felt good! I knew you were the one meant to wield me, partner! But can you not say another sword's name while you're wielding me? It feels awkward you know." The sword laughed.

Accelerator felt a sense of exhilaration. He grinned, having found a new toy. The attack he just did resembled the one from holy sword in the game almost perfectly.

"Hmmpf." Accelerator dug out the sword's scabbard from under the rock and sheathed it.

"Let's run for the hills, kid's. Don't want anyone asking us questions on what we did to that mountain do we?"

"I-impossible..." Louise breathed out. She knew he was strong but to have an attack than can shatter mountains? She finally snapped out of her shock and looked at her familiar. It seems the only thing he's done ever since he was summoned was ridiculous things. Looking at him now, he seems more majestic than any dragon, stronger than any griffin, and more vicious than any viper.

"Familiar." She said dryly. "I thought you said you don't need a sword."

Accelerator grunted in response. This sword is special. He highly doubts there are any other out there that is on the level of a noble phantasm...

Tch, looks like I got too addicted to that game... damn you Yoshikawa.

===Break===

Guiche walked the empty hallways of the school in solitude, slap marks decorating his cheeks. Everyone had blamed him for giving Louise the last push for her to jump. If the midget actually died, there's no doubt they will take him to court and find him guilty of murder. He sighed. Things just doesn't seem to go his way recently. He almost died not too long ago and to top it off, he can't even seem to have dreams anymore. Every moment of sleep finds him in a dark river. Souls of the dead ferried along beside his own boat. He cursed his luck. Being the third son of Gramont, he was pressured to surpass the accomplishments of his elder brothers. When the task seemed impossible for him, he just thew it all out the window and instead pursued womanly pleasures.

Thinking back on it now, he wished he had tried just a little bit harder.

A loud rumbling noise jolted him back to the present. Out of the shadows came out a familiar figure.

"Ah, my dear Katie. Every moment that I didn't see you face brought my heart excruciating pain. I heard you went back home to recover from an illness... They didn't say that you came back..."

Guiche words trailed off. There was something wrong with Katie. Dried blood crusted on her dirty skin and her clothes were in tatters. She limped towards him, her eyes shining red.

"W—what happened to you...?" Looking closer, he noticed that she I wearing an eye patch on her left eye, hiding the empty socket where the maid had gouged her eye out during interrogation. The bright red glow shone through it and intensified as she got closer.

Guiche backed off, his long dormant sense of danger finally awakening. He started to run, his legs weakening in fear.

Too late.

Katie tackled him to the ground, pinning his arms to the sides and using her knees to hold down his center of gravity. She brought Guiche's face close close to her own and without hesitation, pressed her mouth into his.

"Mmmpffff!" Guiche struggled. If Montmorency were to see this, she would not let him go with just a beating...

Guiche struggled for a few more seconds and fell still.

Katie finally let go of his limp body, satisfied.

The useless fop didn't have nearly enough life force to suck out in order to feed the thing inside her but it would have to do for its first meal.

After all, this school is supposed to have many more students just brimming with life right?

===Break===

There are many things that I could have done to make this chapter better but I wasn't thinking straight when I wrote it. I kinda get the feeling that I don't focus on Louise enough.

In short, I don't like this chapter...

But if you DO enjoy reading this story, then please recommend it to a friend.

It really makes the writer happy to know that many people enjoy reading his work.

Until next time,

UglyFingers