Chapter 28: Descent into the abyss


When they had returned to the hotel they had all crashed into bed except for Konoka, who had stayed at the temple, the official story was that she needed to spend time with her father, and Negi, who stayed awake with the aid of spells and strong coffee. The other groups had wondered where they had been and when Negi had told them some convincing lies about visiting Konoka's home they demanded time with him too. Negi eventually had to let them draw straws. Group two won and that noon he walked with them through the shopping districts. Negi didn't pay too much attention to things since he was exhausted but the girls were doing fine on etheir own. Ku Fei grabbed himi when the other girls were watching a group of street-dancers and whispered.

"Thanks for last night Negi-sensei; I had time of my life." Kaede's sharp hearing picked up the whisper however and she winked at them. Negi grimaced when he realized how that had sounded. Chamo snickered as he reached the same conclusion. And the irritating thing was that Ku Fei didn't realize it at all.

Later as they sat on a restaurant eating lunch Misora leaned in, "If it's okay with you, can I ask you a… "special" question later?" "Special" was the word Misora used for magic, Negi nodded and when they had left the restaurant he and Misora fell behind the other girls.

"You see," Misora began, "It was this night, I suddenly felt a… pressure in the chest, it was like a powerful wind, it was kind of like when my parents and I got surprised by this hurricane. I felt like I would blow away. But this time it was not for real, it was like it was blowing inside me."

Negi understood perfectly, she had felt a magic surge as the magic all over Kyoto had rushed to Negi when he summoned the dragons. "It's called a magic surge, you know that to use magic you draw it from your surroundings, sometimes when people draw on magic they need so much that you can literally feel it. That is a prime example of it."

"But I mean I didn't feel any magic near me. That means that it had to be several dozens of meters away. And the power that would create… is there any magic that can do that?" She was sharp.

"It was miles away actually," Negi decided to tell her at least a part of the truth, "There were some pretty nasty things happening the previous night, but you don't need to worry, I took care of it."

"It was you?" She stared at him. Negi just smiled at her. "Wow… I can see why Mei is so infatu…" She suddenly clasped her hands over her mouth. Negi chuckled,

"It's all right," He said, "I know all about that, it was obvious after ten seconds."

"Just don't tell her that I said it." Misora pleaded, "She'll get furious."

"My lips are sealed." Negi swore solemnly.


Negi Springfield wasn't a man given to brooding. To him, it was much better to do something, get things done. That had been his motto for years now and he never sat down and brooded when he had problems, he solved them.

However the current situation wasn't something he could solve. Last night his body had dissolved into tainted liquid and reformed itself. How? Why? Negi rubbed his hands and tried to think clearly on the matter. Due to the many things that had happened the last twelve hours he had been able to push it aside but now there was nothing he could do to prevent the thoughts from coming.

He wasn't sure of anything anymore except for one thing.

He was terrified.

A part of him felt like he wanted to run home to Wales and crawl into Nekane's bed just like he had done as a child. Another part of him was giddy with excitement at the prospect of being able to transform instinctively and reform himself effortlessly and that part only scared him even more. He wasn't in control… he had only subdued the taint, not wrested control over it.

"Stop this!" he thought to himself, "all you have to do is manage for a few more weeks and then…" Then what? Then he would be a demon without a goal, a fiend lurking amongst humanity. He took a deep breath and tried to relax for the umpteenth time. Tried and failed.

"Monster…" Something within him whispered. Negi couldn't object, he was a monster. A demonic freak, there was no other way to put it. Both his soul and body was only human on the outside. Below the surface there was now a bubbling cauldron of darkness.

It wasn't a matter of him becoming a creature driven by lusts as he had been near becoming before the dark seals were branded into him, but a deep fundamental change beyond the scope of normal people's understanding. He had at several times now felt desires within him, desires that felt to him just as natural as breathing or eating, but were darker than the abyss.

Desire for power, desire to cause suffering, desire to drown the world in darkness. It was what he was now, what his very nature had become. How long would his mind hold on to a morale that was unnatural to him? How long before he became evil incarnate simply because it was who he was?

He was afraid… The man who without flinching faced the Sukuna, demon lords, arch-mages and much more trembled in fear of himself.

He was his own worst enemy. That saying had gained a totally new meaning to him.

"Help me… somebody… anybody… help me, please!" That was the first time Negi Springfield prayed. He prayed to whatever higher power that would listen that he would have strength to keep going. His powers were so great that if he snapped he knew that he would be unstoppable.

"Hey, Negi!" A hand smacked him on the back and he leaped up from his chair and spun around. He came eye-to-eye with Asuna who stared at him. Negi raised his hands and made an apologetic gesture.

"I'm sorry Asuna-san, I've been awake for too long and I suppose I'm a little jumpy, too mcuh coffee." He gave her the saddest excuse for a smile ever. The red-headed girl looked at him before grabbing him.

"I know how to solve that…" She said and Negi, not having the strength to argue, followed her. She dragged him to an ice-cream parlor near the hotel and pushed him into one of the seats. "Two Kyoto-special." She said to the man behind the desk and soon two large sundae stood in front of them. Asuna grabbed her spoon and started to eat. After a few seconds she noticed that Negi hadn't started eating and pointed at his sundae. "Come on, eat."

"Eh… I don't…" Negi feebly protested.

"Eat it or wear it!" Asuna snapped. Negi took his spoon and dug in. He had to admit it was a really good sundae.

"Hey, Negi, by the way." Asuna eventually said, "When I woke up today I, I don't know what's wrong with me but I tried one of those pop quizzes you gave me. Guess what I got?"

"No idea, five?" Negi guessed.

"Seven!" Asuna smiled triumphantly.

"Really?" Negi was amazed, that was her best so far.

"Take a look if you want to." She said holding out a crumpled paper. Negi took it and looked at it. His eyes opened wide when he saw that not only had she gotten seven right but the remaining three had only small flaws. He sat there quiet for a moment before looking up at Asuna, who was shining with pride.

"Keep this up and they will have to get a new baka-red." He said. Asuna sniggered at this. "But seriously Asuna-san, this is an amazing improvement. If you can stay on this level you will be halfway to becoming the best in the class."

The red-head rolled her eyes. "Wow… smooth way of telling me that I'm average."

"Hey, that's not bad." Negi defended himself, "Considering that you were the lowest scorer it's a huge improvement and every journey starts with a single step."

"Hey!" Asuna said grumpily but with eyes twinkling with amusement, "You are supposed to tell me I'm the best."

Negi sighed and went back to his sundae.

As they had finished their sundae Asuna dragged Negi to the arcade where they had dumped the other girls last day. Apparently there was some tournament going on and Asuna wanted to participate. After giving Negi a dose of puppy eyes he agreed to participate as well. Having trained somewhat last day he managed to perform quite well but Asuna mopped the floor with her opposition, her reflexes giving her an immense advantage.

In the end the name put up on the list of the tournament winners was Asuna Kagurazaka. The red-headed girl jumped with joy as the owner of the arcade gave her the prize: a brand new gaming console.

The guys in the arcade were amazed that a girl had won and apparently she was nothing if not attractive to them. As soon as she had stepped off the stage she was mobbed by guys asking for a date. Now she really surprised Negi by striding up to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry, guys," She said, "I'm taken." After that she tossed the console to Negi, who put in under one arm, before grabbing the other arm and dragged him outside. Negi looked at her with a questioning look on his face.

"Is there something I've missed?" He asked her.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself;" Asuna rolled her eyes, "I needed to get rid of the geeks somehow."

"Ok… but you do realize I could get fired for that."

"Only if anyone is told, and I'll be our little secret, right?" She smiled wryly.

Now Negi couldn't help it, he started to laugh. He put down the console before dropping it and clutched his stomach. When he had regained his composure he said to her.

"You've spent too much time around me." Before sniggering again. Asuna smiled at him.

"Good… you've finally gotten out of your funk, it doesn't suit you."

"Yeah…" Negi couldn't do anything else than agree. "Let's get back to the hotel; I'm not going to carry this any more than necessary."

"Thank you Asuna-san." Negi thought as they went back to the hotel. The despair was gone now. Thanks to the red-head he was calm again. Now he remembered why he fought. Now it was worth it. But as he looked at Asuna's back he came to think of something. He came to think of him…Negi's good mood was weakened but his resolve was still strong. Now he was ready to fight on.

Well back in his room he sat down by the table and clasped his hands in front of his face as he resumed his thinking. Asuna had given him the resolve he needed to calm down and he could view this matter clearly now. His mind went through the possibilities and options he had, sorted out the bad ones and slowly worked its way towards the best option. Sealing wasn't an option, nor was retirement, hoping that it would all work out on it's own was nothing short of foolishness...

After a while he made his decision. With a sigh he realized that when he was done with the ritual the book couldn't the only thing that would be destroyed.

He had to follow it into the void.

It was the only option available for him. He was too tainted, too befouled, to live. He had to die to ensure the safety of the world.

"I'm sorry father." He thought as he looked out through the window at the sky, "It seems like we'll never meet after all."


The will to live is deeply ingrained within everyone. The fear of death ensures that humanity lives on. To mankind the realization that you'll soon die is a horror of the worst kind. The knowledge that you'll never be able to walk the world again can make even the bravest man feel despair. Most people will do anything to ensure that they can live on. An approaching and certain death brings horror to everyone.

To Negi, it brought serenity.

He could see things much more clearly when he knew that he only had to complete his mission and then end his existence. He knew that his passing would cause grief amongst many. Nekane, Stan, Anya, his students, Takamichi and many more. He had so many that were precious to him. So with what right did he strive after death?

He wasn't selfish.

He had felt the taint changing him. Not just physically but also mentally. Actions that he'd never even consider before had suddenly become viable alternatives. He was quickly becoming more and more ruthless. As it were the thoughts only came up because they would help him save Asuna but he didn't delude himself into thinking anything else than that in the end he would be prepared to do anything to achieve anything. He had to die before he became a new Thanata.

He knew what he had to do and now he couldn't stop.

Not at anything.


Later that day it was group one's turn. Negi remembered his appointment with Kotaro and suggested that they went to eat at a nice little restaurant he knew. The girls, being who they were, were really enthusiastic about the idea. As Negi led them down the streets to Norihisa's restaurant he felt a surge of nostalgia. How many times hadn't he and Kotaro walked this road? The old man was a former member of the Everlasting Wind who, upon retirement, had opened a restaurant. But he still had many connections and his small restaurant had soon become more or less the mercenary hub of the supernatural part of Kyoto. It was here that they had gotten almost all of their assignments during the time as the wolf brothers. The old man had taken a liking to the two kids and become the closest thing to a father they had ever had.

When he rounded the last corner he froze in his tracks, the calm little restaurant he remembered was gone. In its place stood a large karaoke bar with neon signs and two beefy bouncers standing outside. The girls took one look at the place and before Negi could stop them they had already rushed inside, Negi hurried after and when he entered the cheerleader girls were already standing on a large stage singing and the Narutaki twins were happily eating ice-cream at the bar. Behind the bar Negi recognized Norihisa and he made beeline for the old man whose face lit up when he saw him.

"Hello again Negi-kun!" He said happily, "It sure has been a long time. Here, take a drink and tell me how life has been the last years."

"Up and down," Negi said as Norihisa poured up a glass of saké in front of him, "And I'm still only seventeen."

"Old enough to knock out the six Sukuna, old enough to drink." Norihisa poured up a glass to himself too.

Negi sighed and took a swig of the saké, "Would you mind telling me what you have done with the place?" He asked, "I remembered a quaint, calm little restaurant."

"I got bored," The old man grinned, "After ten years of chopping fish for businessmen I was ready to commit seppuku. I renovated the place two years ago and now I have twice as many customers. Besides, the rowdiness only makes it easier to hire mercenaries since no one will listen in, they are too busy drinking."

"Then how did those girls get in if this place is that rowdy?" Negi asked pointing at the girls as the scene.

"I don't open the bar until ten pm. Until then it's a normal club and pretty calm."

"Fair enough." He shrugged, "Is Kotaro here?"

"He and the others are in the VIP lounge." Norihisa pointed at the stairs. "And what did you do to the white-haired kid? He didn't want to show it but he looked like he expected you to jump out of the shadows and eat him." Negi only smiled and left the bar bringing his glass along. He walked up the stairs where another bouncer stood outside a black door. The beefy man opened the door and as Negi came in he saw a large room, luxuriously furnitured, with a red broadloom on the floor and a large one-way-window that offered a view of the dance-floor below. Fate was standing by the window looking down at the crowd, Tsukuyomi sat in the sofa eating popcorn and Kotaro currently stood behind the bar mixing something. The three of them looked up at him with mixed reactions. Kotaro seemed pleased to see him, Tsukuyomi seemed nervous and Fate seemed indifferent; at least if you didn't notice the very subtle signs that showed his true emotions, he was scared.

"I'm not here to kill you if that's what you think." Negi began as he shut the door, some small part of him wondered what the bouncer would think of what he had heard. Probably believe it was a Yakuza meeting, "I'm here because I have some offers for you."

"What's that?" Kotaro asked.

"The first offer is for you two," he looked at the other two in the room, "You attacked my girls, you tried to kill them, but I'm not unreasonable. I want to give you a second chance. If you can obtain a few items for me I'm going to forget what you did. I'll even pay you well for it."

"What items?" Fate asked.

"I'll only tell you if you agree to work for me." Negi sat down at the bar.

"And if we don't?" Fate said.

"Unfortunately you don't really have that option Fate." Negi smiled as he took a sip of his saké, "You and Tsukuyomi are guilty of three different crimes, any one of these severe enough to condemn you to a lifetime as an ermine. You have assisted in terrorism, your attacks on the Kansai Magic Association. They will find the ones responsible, that's, amongst others, you two, and punish them. These things are usually, as you all know, handled by the best mages in the area, mages that would give even you a hard time."

"You have assisted in the release of some of the most dreaded spirits in Japan, these kind of things fall under the God's Cry's jurisdiction, the Aoyama family specifically and since it involves the Sukuna, Tsuruko and Motoko Aoyama, the Gods' Cry's finest in three hundred years, will be the ones to investigate."

"You have threatened the veil between the mundane and the supernatural world due to your actions at cinema village, that demon was one of your Malebranche, Fate, Rubicante wasn't it. These things are handled by the Supernatural Enclaves' Security Federation and I don't even know what branch of law enforcement they deal with. Basically; you are in deeper trouble than any person I've ever met before."

"At this point there is actually very little that anybody can do for you. The one thing that you can do for yourself is to somehow prove that you did not act out of your own free will. Ironically I'm the only person on the planet that can come to your aid now because I am the only one who can fake a slave-rune and tell the authorities that you worked under the effect of it. The offer expires within five minutes and I want you to remember that I'm the only hope you've got of staying out of a life as an ermine. Let me also tell you that they have several eyewitnesses; they have fingerprints, images and scrying-data. They will get you."

"Why do you ask if you know that we have no other alternative?"

"It's always nice to be nice." Negi said calmly as he emptied his glass.

"Okay, I can't speak for whitey but I'll work for you." Tsukuyomi said, "That's the only option I got anyway. The God's Cry has exiled me. Might as well work for the guy who summons dragons." She smiled slightly but Negi could see that she was devastated by the news of her exile.

"I have no other option either. Istanbul won't give me any protection since I defected from them and as it is now I'm an outlaw." Fate said, "Consider me your servant."

"Good. Now that we have gotten that taken care of…" He got up, "Let's put those fake seals on you." His hands started to glow with a red light as runes began to appear on them. He looked from Fate to Tsukuyomi; neither made any move towards him.

"Are you backing out?" He asked. Eventually Tsukuyomi stood up and got near him. She trembled slightly as Negi put his hand on her forehead, fear evident in her eyes. The young girl gasped as the light enveloped her and a black rune appeared on her forehead. She eventually slumped together and Negi caught her. He put her in the sofa again and turned to Fate, "Are you coming?"

The white-haired boy didn't change expression at all but his fear was evident in the way his hands shook. He walked up to Negi and closed his eyes. When Negi touched his forehead his eyes opened again and Negi saw lights dance inside them. Eventually the rune appeared on his forehead too and he stumbled away even if he managed to stay on his feet at first. But after a few seconds he collapsed too. Negi put him on the sofa beside Tsukuyomi.

"I got to check up on the girls." Negi said, "Come get me when they have awakened."

"You really get off on this whole "Evil Mastermind" gig, dont'cha?" Kotaro asked with a grin as he poured up a glass of tequila. "That was some really slick stuff." Negi looked back at him with a neutral look on his face and shook his head.

"Not really, it's just business." He said before going down. The five girls were currently sitting by one of the tables eating sushi. Negi sat down beside them and picked up a pair of chopsticks.

"Hey this place is great sensei!" Misa said, "Can't we call the other girls too?"

"I don't know…" he said hesitantly, "Wasn't I supposed to be with you today?"

"Aw come on." Sakurako said, "They'd love this place. Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Negi threw his hands into the air, "It's your call girls." Actually it would be perfect, that way he could finish things here without urgency. The girls threw themselves at their phones and called the rest of the class who arrived soon. After a few minutes Kotaro came down the stairs and motioned for Negi to come. He excused himself from his conversation with Norihisa and walked upstairs again. Fate and Tsukuyomi sat on the sofa waiting for him. Negi put a map on the table.

"The items you need to obtain are illegal." He began, "Very illegal. Ever heard of the Nakhaza?"

"Blood-diamonds." Fate said, "Red diamonds used in many types of high level necromantic rituals."

"I need five of those. I also need Blackfire seeds, Kraken oil and Yozi venom."

"Don't know much about magic but it sounds like pretty creepy stuff." Tsukuyomi said.

"Astute guess," Fate said, "Those components are used for only the darkest of rituals. What are you planning?"

"That is for me to know and for you to stay out of." Negi said coldly, "Let me remind you that you have already agreed to work for me. Double-cross me and you'll regret it even beyond the grave."

Tsukuyomi gulped.

"Here are the most probable locations for the items," Negi said pointing at several spots on the map. "I have reason to believe that these locations are dangerous however and I want you to co-operate on this. Failure is not an option" He looked up at them. "I want this job to be finished within one month. Any questions?"

"Yeah, what was that about a reward?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"Half a million Yen each," Negi said without hesitation. "And I'm not going to negotiate so don't waste your time."

"How do we get the God's Cry off our backs?" Fate asked, "We have the runes but what's the next step?"

"I'll call them and tell that that you are here and that I've subdued you, they'll arrive and I'll discover the runes, the runes will be broken and you will claim to have been under the effect of them."

"That's the plan?" Kotaro asked, "Ain't never going t' work, too simple."

"You forget who I am, Negi said, "I'm considered a hero, remember. They will fall for it."

"Cool." The hanyō took a swig of the tequila, "But what about me? You didn't put any rune on my head."

"That's because you are going with me." Negi said, "Thus far you haven't caused any actual trouble, only delayed on of my students during last night and I can easily come up with some convincing lies about the attack outside the temple. If I claim that you have been an undercover agent in my service they will let you go."

"You have all bases covered it seems." Fate remarked. "When do we begin?"

"Right about now." Negi said as he looked out of the window and saw a group of disguised samurai enter the place.


The warriors of the Gods' Cry stood in the garden waiting for the last member of the strike-team to arrive. Apparently a western mage had demanded to be a part of this. Daisuke Hajime, the young prodigy who had been chosen to lead said team, had remembered said mage as the one who had brought word of the existence of the Heaven's Wing to the Gods' Cry. The son of the Thousand Master; Negi Springfield. They all noticed someone entering the garden and the mage came into view.

The sheer charisma of the man in front of them was impossible not to notice. Negi Springfield was a tall, fair-skinned man, with deep brown eyes and red hair, who wore the type of flowing robes the western mages favored. Daisuke couldn't help but notice how two of the girls in his team stared at him and he was prepared to bet quite a lot on that they wasn't captivated by the power he radiated.

Negi looked at them all before speaking up.

"It appears that the Gods' Cry hasn't understood how serious this is." His voice, even if clear and strong, betrayed his irritation. Daisuke gritted his teeth, even if he was only fifteen the mage in front of him was only two years his elder. He had expected him to be a little more tolerant. "But I suppose that I can't be choosy. Have you all been told what we're up against?" He asked them.

"A splinter faction of the Kansai Magic association who are commonly known as the Kansai extremists." Daisuke said, "They are a group of around thirty mages who specialize if the use of summoning and talisman magic. One of their members, Chigusa Amagasaki, was the one responsible for summoning the Sukuna three days ago. They have also made themselves guilty to kidnapping, several cases of assault, terrorism etc. The Kansai magic association has decided to take action and we are assembled to arrest them."

Negi sighed.

"Wrong." He said, "We are assembled to annihilate them." This made Daisuke blink. "The Kansai extremists have committed one crime that gives us no other option that to wipe them out. They have made deals with the dark gods. These deals have caused a form of supernatural energy known as taint to take root in them. Unlike a normal possession this taint cannot be exorcised and these deals were made willingly by the extremists, therefore it is too unlikely that they will cooperate if we try to seal it to take that chance. This leaves only one option. To kill them all."

"Hey wait a second here!" one of the samurai, a brash young man named Genji, spoke up. "Do you think you can just waltz in here and tell us to commit mass murder?" Negi gave the man a chilling glare.

"Yes." He said calmly. "The only reason you are even assembled is that the Supernatural Government has decided to respect the Gods' Cry's jurisdiction in this area. Normally we couldn't care less about what you think but we have decided to give you a chance to deal with this."

"Give us…" Genji sputtered, "How dare you! We are the Gods' Cry! We have defended Kyoto for hundreds of years! You think that you can just roll in and take over?"

Negi sighed, "Allow me to clarify." He said gently. "This taint is the essence of pure evil. When it has taken root it will forever remain in you. You cannot escape it. It's a cancer seeping into your soul, twisting it and turning you into the worst kind of demon; a demon who willingly gave up your humanity for power. And a tainted mage is one of the most deadly adversaries you can face. This taint gives them enough power to become a whirlwind of terror and death. It's not something that can be redeemed or reversed. A tainted mage must cause misery and bloodshed. It's impossible for him not to. The Supernatural Government decided over twelve hundred years ago that these monsters must be destroyed. It doesn't matter when, how, where or who. They, must, die. Normally we would send in a hundred of our best warrior-mages to destroy them but I wanted to give the samurai who has, as you said, watched over Kyoto for centuries, a chance. Now, which ones amongst you have the strength to utterly destroy them without any mercy or hesitation? If you have it, step forth. If you don't, leave."

Negi's gaze drilled into them all. Daisuke couldn't help but notice how sad his eyes were. Without one word he stepped up to him. Soon the rest of the samurai had taken a step forwards too.

Negi nodded.

"Then let's destroy these demons."


Negi hadn't been overly impressed by the warriors the Gods' Cry had sent but they surprised him, especially the young Daisuke who was a true prodigy in the arts of the Gods' Cry. After his speech they were completely convinced of the necessity to destroy the extremists and the battle had been swift and brutal. There was nothing heroic about the massacre that took place, most of the mages hadn't even time to cast a single spell before they were cut down and none of the nhad had chance to beg for their lives. In the end Negi put the building on fire, thereby ending the Kansai extremists once and for all.

Negi had just left the hotel again. This time he had claimed that he wanted to visit an old friend. Setsuna, Konoka and Asuna came along however seeing as how they were already involved enough that it would be impossible to keep his plans for Kotaro secret.

They were currently heading for Negi's father's safe house. Negi had decided to search the place for things that might help his plans. Upon entering he sighed nostalgically, he remembered when he had first come here.

Flashback:

"Wow…" The twelve-year-old Negi said as he looked at the bookshelves.

"We've kept it just the way it was when he was last here." Eishun said. Negi was walking along the bookshelves reading the titles. There were all kinds of books here, everything from advanced magic theory (that looked like they never had been opened) to manga; Negi had a little problem imagining his father sitting in a sofa reading manga.

As he came upstairs he saw a photo on the wall. It was of his father and his companions in the Crimson Wing. His father was only about fifteen on the photo. He stood with a grin on his face and around him were the others. Albiero looked just the same there as he did now. Eishun on the other hand was young and healthy on the photo instead of the scarred old man he was now. But the biggest difference was Takamichi; he was no older than Negi on the photo. It was hard for him to connect the kid on the photo with the man he was now.

"I have something here I think might help you." The elder said as he picked up a cardboard tube. "It's some maps he used to work with before he disappeared. I hope that they can help you."

End flashback:

Negi snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Setsuna gasp.

"You!" She hissed and drew her sword; in front of them, lying on the sofa, was Kotaro.

"Me." He said looking up at them, "Nice crib you got here Negi, how come we never used this place t' rest in?"

Negi shrugged, "I actually forgot about this place. I never thought about it as a home to be honest."

"Idiot." Kotaro got up from the sofa, "and could you tell th' pissed girl t' sheathe her sword? She ain't gonna listen to me."

"Sheathe your sword Setsuna-san," Negi said, "Kotaro is with us."

"What?!" The samurai didn't believe her ears and neither did Asuna.

"I was an undercover agent." Kotaro said, "Tried t' get some info by workin' for 'em. Didn't work though, they never told me anything."

"You honestly expect me to believe that?" Setsuna said.

"Not he, I expect you to believe it." Negi said, "Sheathe the sword. Now!" he continued more forcefully. Setsuna eventually sheathed her blade.

"What's wrong Set-chan?" Konoka asked, her friend's actions having unsettled her. Kotaro chortled when he heard her.

"Set-chan eh?" He chuckled, "Gotta remember that one."

"Enough!" Negi said; this was getting ridiculous. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Kotaro, he's one of my oldest friends and he helped me with infiltrating the Kansai extremists. The times he attacked it was due to there being no other option if he wanted his cover to remain intact."

Asuna looked at him with a suspicious look on her face and Setsuna was livid. Konoka however was her usual happy self.

"Hi Kotaro-kun." She said to him.

"Hi yourself Konoka-chan," he grinned, "pleasure meetin' ya. Peanuts?" He asked holding out a bowl towards her. She thanked him and took a few of them as she sat down in one of the armchairs. Negi looked sideways at the other girls. Neither of them looked especially pleased.

"I don't care what image you have of him. He's my friend and he risked his life for us. You better behave." With that he walked away, "I got to check up on a few things, don't wreck the house."

Eventually Asuna sat down too even if she was a little more reserved against him but Setsuna remained standing with an ice-cold look in her eyes. Then Konoka turned around and looked with a worried expression at her friend.

"Come on Set-chan, sit down you too, you don't need to look so angry."

"I… excuse me ojou-sama." Setsuna turned around and left the room. Konoka looked after her with a sad expression on her face. Kotaro chewed thoughtfully on his peanuts.

"She ain't likin' me." He stated.

"I thought Set-chan had warmed up to people." Konoka said sadly.

"It's all right," Asuna said as she patted her on the back, "She'll get used to him."

"Well I gotta answer a call of nature, be back soon." Kotaro got up and headed for the bathroom. But he took a detour and walked into the room where Setsuna had gone.

"Still pissed 'bout me beatin' you?" He asked with a smirk.

"Don't think that you're off the hook just because you managed to trick Negi-sensei!" Setsuna hissed at him, "Make one move against Konoka-ojou-sama and I will have your head you creature!"

"Creature eh?" Kotaro asked, the smirk never leaving her face, "You really like t' diss my inugami blood dont'cha? Well let me just ask you one thing." He leaned in.

"Your wings… they are white ain't they?" he whispered, only inches from her ear. Setsuna froze. "Your hair's dyed, I felt th' smell, and you also smell of th' crow tribe. Now th' crow tribe ain't got nothin' but black hair. That means you gotta be one of those white ravens. The ones born as an ill omen an' exiled 'cause of it. Cute actually, you dick 'round 'cause I'm a half-inugami but you're just as much spirit-born as me. An' on top of that you're an albino born into th' tribe that hates albinos. You ain't in no position t' diss my heritage, Set-chan, so can it, would you? You're th' same as me" With that he walked over to the bathroom, leaving a trembling Setsuna behind.


"It's amazing how the way you perceive a photograph can change." Negi thought as he looked upon the photo. Last time he had seen the men on the photo as heroes, as titans. Now he didn't know what to make of it. The biggest change was his father. Last time he had looked upon the man on the picture as if he was god himself. Now he only saw an arrogant whelp whose immense powers made him lazy, irresponsible and rebellious. Negi had never even met him and he had been running around collecting the rarest of components to save the only clue he had to his whereabouts. But now, as he had given up on finding him, he could for the first time look clearly on his father.

Did the Thousand Master even deserve to be called father? He could understand that he hadn't met him the years before he had to run away from home. He had traveled with Asuna then. But what about his earliest childhood? The man hadn't even come to see him once! He hadn't even acknowledged the fact that he had a son. Years had passed without even as much as a hello from him. The Thousand Master had never been his father. The only thing he had done had been to send demons to ensure that he would survive. What kind of sick love was that? And Nekane had told him that the years after he left had been peaceful and calm just like the time before he left. There hadn't been any signs of kidnappers or attackers. And his home village was only a few kilometers away from the Mages' Academy, a place where an immense amount of firepower and knowledge was gathered. They would have been able to reinforce the village in seconds if anything happened. His home village was one of the safest places on earth.

Perhaps it had never been Nagi's intention of aiding him. Negi had heard that one of the most discerning traits of the Thousand Master had been his cleverness. He had been a master of sneaky plans and tricks. Perhaps… perhaps he had sent the demons to ensure that Negi would be powerful enough to finish his work, not survive. The more he thought about it the more plausible it seemed. The Thousand Master had ensured that the tracks would lead straight to his journal and the revelation of Asuna. The Thousand Master had taken care of the girl during his travels and done everything for her. He had even decided to challenge one of the Demon Kings. It did make sense that the devious bastard would manipulate the son he didn't care about to continue his work in case he failed. It was ten years ago that he traveled to the infernal realm that was Malfeas' home. Two years thereafter Negi had fled his home chased by the demons.

Negi knew enough about human nature to know that there were people who could care immensely about some people but view everyone else as pawns to be used as they saw fit. Was that how the Thousand Master had viewed him? As a pawn? He had taken Nagi's love for granted, he had been sure that the Thousand Master would see him as a son. Now he wasn't so sure anymore. He took one last look on the photo before he punched it. The glass frame shattered and the photo fell to the ground. He picked it up and summoned the taint together with his magic.

"Practi-biginaru Ardescat." He said emotionlessly. The green flame devoured the picture in a second and the ashes rained to the ground. Negi turned around and walked back downstairs. There was nothing for him here.


A/N: And so the Kyoto arc comes towards it's ending. Negi now has his path set, there are no place for him in this world. Perhaps many of you will get pissed at this desicion but if you think about it, what else can he do? I can also say that the story isn't over yet.

On the other point I'd like to tell those who fear this will be an Asuna/Negi that it will be very light, due to the circumstances stated in this chapter. I can also promise you that in the next chapter there will also be some Negi/Eva AND a little lime, perhaps that can satify you?

Final point then, the competition, next clue is that the demon in question was mentioned in a book written by the medieval age author Dante Alighieri. Said book is his most famous one.