Well now, this chapter took the longest time to write, and I wanted to finish off the Mahorafest arc quite badly. I hope this chapter does it well enough, being that this is quite the longest one I wrote and after finding out Negima is going to end soon... kinda sad really. I mean, now I know where my stop point is going to be but... it is sad that it's going to end after so long.
I also wonder if using Starcraft cheat codes were funny, amusing, epic lol or downright annoying. Do let me know, even though that would only last until this chapter. I did have fun writing out that part, though. So this chapter, it has been noted that fighting a few thousand feet in the air is dangerous so please don't try it. And then there is the thing with the giant robot...
Please read and review please.
I do not own Negima nor Ragnarok Online.
Thoughts in italics.
Asakura's microphone work in bold.
Molded By Fire, Tempered With Steel
The armored boots slowly tapped down onto the broken pavement as the jet went off. The Tanaka unit took a quick look at the prone body of the assistant teacher. Still as a corpse, it seems, as he lay there on the slight indentation on the paved road. Satisfied that there were no significant reactions from him, it set on to continue its objective. Turning back ahead it announced, "Commencing Black Sheep Wall… Launching probe."
A small opening slid open on its left shoulder and a small round object was launched out. It expanded and deployed into the air and a disk opened on top, aiming for the sky.
"Calibrating… link received… prior targets detected… proceeding with neutralization …" it monotoned as its jump jets deployed again. They fired and he slowly hovered into the air. With the hovering, it aimed the trajectory at the closest targets. Before it could full blast off however, something grabbed its leg and it got slammed back onto the ground.
"Sorry, class is not over yet."
Gamiya was confused. He assumed that he would have passed out from the overwhelming pain or that it would be a one hit knockout punch; here he was still awake and aware. His body also somehow had stopped hurting, though he felt a little heavy right now. He watched as the landed robot turned its back on him. He listened as it announced its commands. He waited until the robot was hovering in the air, the sound of his rising body muffled by the noisiness of the jump jets. Just as it was about to shoot off, he grabbed its leg with his right hand and slammed it to the ground.
"Sorry, class is not over yet," he growled.
Looking around, he quickly moved to walk past the fallen robot to pick up his mace. It was then he noticed something altogether very unnerving; his left hand was also covered in metal.
"What the hell…" he thought as he looked over his hand in shock. Feeling himself over with the same hand, his shock bubbled over when his whole body seemed to have gone through the same transformation.
"Wait a damn minute," he muttered as he thought back, "The only time this happened was…"
"Scanning complete… target composition has been altered… percentage success has dropped by ten percent… projected outcome has not deviated… commencing neutralization…"
He turned back to face the robot and glared at it. "Do you mind, tin man? I'm trying to figure out what happened here."
"Negative," it sounded as jetted towards him, arm raised and ready to extend.
He sighed and said, "All right, maybe it's time to see what I can do."
He stepped in and quickly jabbed the mace into the robot's stomach area, halting its advance. With the next step, he swung and slammed the mace on its head, intent on disorienting it. All the while, he was gathering power to his left fist. Strangely, it was quite easy to do, probably because of his full body transformation. His fist glowed in bright orange, as if on fire, as he struck it in the face. With a great explosion, it got thrown back and crashed into the wall, smoke billowing out of the head.
The high priest then relaxed his stance and looked at his left fist as it cooled down.
"Huh, so I can use Magnum Break this way as well. Less painful too…" he surmised.
"Abeat."
Pocketing the card, he teleported to the roof and looked round. The area seemed to be peaceful in contrast with all the fireworks going on near the World Tree. Still, he could always teleport ahead a few buildings to scout out. He'd better do it fast, just to see if he could catch up with them.
"Regarding to that evil, there's still room for debate…" admitted Yue, tears streaming down her face, "But… if those words allow you to continue on, then you are right. However, Negi-sensei, that evil is the kind of thing that should be carried by everyone within this school… no, this country… no, by everyone who lives in this world. If you will accept us, we will carry it together with you."
Negi was left speechless from her advice.
"I have a message… from the future Takahata-sensei, one week from now," she continued, "Even if you fail, it doesn't mean the world is going to end. You don't have to feel responsible for everything. Don't try to shoulder the whole burden yourself, alright? That's what he said. And 'Hang in there' too."
"Th-thanks, Yue-san," the kid finally said, "I understand now."
With that, he got on his staff and sped off towards the World Tree.
"Very good advice you gave him, Ayase," said a voice from behind the small bell tower.
"Iroi-sensei!" she exclaimed as the high priest stepped out from the shadows.
"I heard everything," stated Gamiya with a smile, "I'm glad he decided to stop Chao. You may think I am too set in my belief to even think otherwise when I say that, but I also think of the consequences of her actions, no matter if she believes it's for our own good or not. What people set as good or bad is relative to each other."
"Sensei…" Yue muttered in surprise when she heard his discourse.
"I may sound like I'm lecturing or preaching, but that is just the way I think," he continued, "The whole world is steeped in evil. All humanity is capable of both good and evil. What the kid is doing is just siding with a lesser evil. Yes, we are all capable of doing bad things. I liken this to a saying I picked up while trawling the Internet… There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt."
"Iroi Sir, what would you have done if aniki sided with Chao?" asked Chamo, who was perched over her shoulder.
"I would have knocked him out and left him here with you," he answered nonchalantly, "Then, I will go and smash though her attacking army and disrupt the casting of the spell. Simple as that."
Taking one look at their shocked faces, he sighed and continued, "Right, never mind… let's go to the plaza to see if they need backup."
Then, just as he turned around, he stopped and paused. The other two looked at each other and wondered why he stopped.
He sighed and said, "I… am really going to hate myself later on, but I have to ask you, rat... do you have an instruction manual for the 'Other' pactio?"
Back where the fallen Tanaka unit was, the smoke had stopped, revealing the damage wrought on its head. The whole right side of its head was destroyed by the punch. But then, its armor glowed green once more.
"Initiating repairs…"
The whole chest panel opened and numerous glowing green cables stretched out, half the number searching for material and the other half scanning and later on conducted repairs on the sum of its parts.
"Quick! The giant robot that Negi-sensei cut into half is still moving!" shouted Yuna as she fired another barrage of shots at it.
"Strike the enemy!" shouted all the fighters present. Multiple streams of magic impacted the robot but it shrugged them all off as it still moved forward at a snail's pace.
Without warning, something flew out and struck the robot on its giant forehead. Something was sticking out, and this actually halted its advance. While everyone was busy staring and trying to see what was it that was stuck there, Kazumi gaped at the assistant teacher. He had just arrived with Yue and Chamo and had thrown the mace at the robot, accurately nailing it in the head.
He stopped to think a moment, and then he started removing his priest robes.
"Er, sensei? What are you doing?" asked the reporter, finally able to find her voice, her curiosity overriding here shock.
"After I deal with this overgrown tin can, I'm going to take to the sky to see if the kid needs any help," he replied nonchalantly as he folded the robes and handed it to Yue, "Thanks, Ayase."
"Just take care not to damage it too much, sensei," reminded the bibliophile, "At least not the head, lest you release the demon inside."
"All right, no worries," he assured before he started chanting.
"Blessing… Agi Up…"
The high priest then broke into a run and launched himself off the stone railing. One Teleport later, he was on the head and pulling out his mace. He then had to jump off to avoid the robot swatting him with one of its arms. He hefted his mace on his shoulder and grinned at the giant robot.
"You know, I've always wanted to try something new," he told it, "Ever since Chao upgraded this here mace, I always wanted to test this out. I even thought out a name for it."
He then leaped backwards, just in time to avoid the other hand. He wagged his finger at it with his free hand, taunting, "Hey hey, no need to be impatient. Let me do this first…"
"Signum Crucis!" the high priest half shouted half chanted, as he drew the sign of the cross in the air, aimed at the robot's left arm. There was the sound of screeching metal as a large Cross was suddenly branded on it. The grin melted away from his face as he looked at the fallen machine before him. It stared back at him with the neon lights that were its eyes. It then raised its right hand to try and pound him into the ground.
"Too slow!" he shouted as he suddenly charged towards his target, the left arm. He started pumping his mana into the weapon, the mace head glowing orange and the crystal on top of it glowing bright blue. A few steps away from the arm, he pressed the button on the handle.
"Jolt Thunder!" he yelled as he jumped and slammed the mace into the center of the cross. Amazingly, the mace ripped through the metal and a great tear followed as the high priest fell down to land on his feet. With a great explosion, the rest of the arm separated itself, rocketing to the side and crashing into the nearby building.
The silence behind the high priest was palpable as the participants were in shock and awe after having witnessed the assistant teacher actually cut off the arm of a supposed giant robot with just one move. Everyone was motionless, including the robot. The man took one look at the devastation he created and started stroking his chin with his free hand.
"Hmm, I think I went overboard with that," he muttered, although with the silence, everyone heard it.
Then, he started pumping mana into the weapon again, not only making it glow once more, but also filling up the battery inside. The blue crystal once more, signifying the power was ready to be discharged.
"Alright, time to halt your advance!" he yelled as he raced towards the other arm, nothing else standing in the way. Again, the mace ripped through the metal, leaving a jagged tear in the wake. But then, as he landed on his feet, when the explosion happened, it ripped through the tear and the shock wave sent him flying backwards into the top of stone steps of the plaza. He wasn't able to land of his feet so he crashed into the stone wall instead. The robot, without support of its arms, fell forward with a crash.
He gritted his teeth as he silently cast his Heal. Feeling a little better, he started groaning as Kazumi started commentating.
"Such an incredible turnaround! Sudden appearance of Hero Unit Iroi Gamiya successfully halted the advance of the giant mini boss robot! But this is not the time to rest! There is still the robot army to contend with and we can't all rely on Iroi-sensei, now can we?"
The surviving participants cheered at the announcement as he got to his feet and ran up the stairs to find Yue.
"Ayase, take care of this for me, will you?" he asked as he handed his mace to her, "I don't think I'll be able to bring this up there."
"Just come back soon, sensei," she replied as she eyed the weapon warily, her hands sagging a bit as she tried to adjust to the weight, "I don't feel comfortable handling this."
"Geh, I wish I didn't leave my box behind," he said regretfully, "Meh, what's done is done. I'll be back for my stuff real soon."
With that, he gave a wave and ran down the steps again to find a deserted place to use the card. He had some flying to do.
Another aerial unit exploded as it came in contact with a flame bolt. An all out battle between the jump jetting Tanaka's with the group that consisted of Misora, Asuna, Setsuna, Kotarou and all the other mages that had escaped from being shot by Mana.
"I think we settled all of them," declared Asuna as she tried to strike a cool pose while standing on the broom.
"Asuna! Stop moving around so much! I already told you earlier that if you shift your weight around too much, you will fall off," reprimanded Misora, who was also quite scared of falling off the broom.
"Woohoo, another wave!" exclaimed an overjoyed Kotarou, "Time to continue my training!"
Alas, before he could start summoning any more inugami, a bright flare shot in between the incoming wave and suddenly transformed into a mini sun with an explosion. The entire wave was destroyed in one fell swoop.
"Well, that was certainly unexpected," commented Seruhiko in amazement.
"Aww, who got the big idea to bust down my training time," grumbled the dog hanyou.
"S-s-sensei?" sputtered the swordswoman as she watched as the mini sun transformed back into the tiny flare that flew towards them.
The high priest's half dressed body was totally sheathed in flames and curiously, his pants were not burnt to ashes.
"How did you get this way, sensei? Is it with ojou-sama's pactio?" asked Setsuna in awe.
"No… it was… the other pactio," admitted the high priest reluctantly.
The two girls gaped at him, knowing well of the rage he displayed at the resort, while the others looked at him with curiosity in their eyes.
"Er, it must have been a last resort. Right sensei?" asked the bell girl for confirmation, not knowing what else to say.
"Huh, I rather not dwell on that. Anyway, from the announcements I heard from the ground, the kid's up here somewhere, right?" he asked.
Everyone present pointed him to the general direction. He gave them a salute and flew off, a trail of fire following behind.
"All right! Here comes another wave!" yelled Kotarou happily, eager to get back to his training. Everyone then turned their focus back to their task at hand.
Gamiya flew up the starboard side of the airship, taking care not to be seen by Negi and Chao, both who had started to take their fight to the air.
"Cancel," he muttered as he touched down on the balloon, turning off his flame form or from what he could garner from the manual, the Sword Form. He turned his attention to Satomi, who looked quite shocked, but was still in enough control to continue the spell chant.
"Stop the spell. It's over now. Even if Chao could even somehow defeat the kid, she still has to go through me after I take you out, Hakase," he told her. Her reply was to just shake her head and continue chanting. He sighed.
"You know, I'd hate to do this to one of my own students but it is what it is. I'll have to knock you out then," he said regretfully as he took a running leap at her.
Before he could reach her, however, something suddenly dug into his shoulders and side. Eyes wide open, he found himself being pulled back roughly and a rather hard object dug into his exposed back, pain shooting up his spine as he fell forward. He gasped in pain, trying to get control of his breathing and trying to figure out who else was on the blimp with him.
"New objective set: Protect Creator…"
He sighed. "I thought I took care of you down there," he groaned, recognizing the monotone voice. Getting to his feet, he spun round to face this new threat and paused. Its damaged face had been repaired, the silvery metallic shine evident as the night lights bounced of it. The neon green of its right eye had been replaced by an evil looking red light, both sides of its face contrasting greatly.
"Shield," the high priest muttered, his whole body transforming from flesh to metal in that instance.
"Operation Cwal initiated," it announced, the green glow spreading from the neck, downwards throughout its body.
The high priest made the first move with a running charge with his right arm cocked back and ready to strike. He needed to kick this robot off this airship immediately. He didn't want to waste any more time as he had to stop Satomi from helping Chao. He threw his punch, but to his surprise, the robot threw a counter punch. Both fists struck each other perfectly.
"Fast…"
That thought flashed in his head as the robot kicked him in the gut and followed with another kick to his head, sending him back to where he launched himself. Nimbly landing on his feet, he got an elbow to the face, courtesy of Tanaka. Reeling from that, he could feel the robot grabbing his throat and lifting him up. He had been in this kind of position once before. He didn't like it then, and he didn't like it now. Still, he had no idea what to do as the robot had a firm grip on him and there wasn't much he could do with his feet dangling in the air. It wasn't as if the tin can could feel any pain.
He was then suddenly roughly slammed down onto the balloon. This didn't prepare him for what happened next; the Tanaka then tossed him into the air and dished out a rocket punch, sending him higher. The shock still hadn't worn off during his free fall. His eyes widened even further as he plummeted headfirst; it was charging up another ball of lightning.
"Power Overwhelming…"
If the first time he felt it was akin to getting pins and needles shoved up to every single nerve ending he had, this time was a whole new level; the pins and needles were all red hot and they were being hammered into him while he was being roasted in a blacksmith's furnace. He was so close to blacking out, it wasn't funny. He felt quite weakened; though transformed, the pain he felt seemed to sap out his strength. He was blasted back when the move finished a few seconds later, his limp body stopping in a heap a few feet in front of the professor. Though badly shot up, he struggled to get on his hands and knees. He had a job to do and he can't do it lying down.
She wanted to gasp in horror at what happened, but Satomi kept up the chanting. She had promised her help to Chao and she intended to see it through.
"I made a promise," she reminded herself, "Besides, if her plan works, it will also help me quantify magic scientifically."
Still, doubt crept into her mind as she saw the assistant teacher's limp body skid to halt in front of her. There were electrical burns all over the front part of his torso, where he landed on that big ball of energy generated by the Tanaka unit. Yet, he rolled over and struggled to get on all fours.
"Please, sensei! Stay down! Please don't make it any worse," she mentally pleaded. She didn't want to see this. It was starting to get too much for her to see him get all beaten up trying to stop them.
"Target refuses to cease action… increasing power by fifty percent…" droned the robot, the green shine slowly being replaced by a yellow glow neck down. It signified that the battery inside the unit was overflowing with the powerful magic being cast many feet away by Chao and Negi. It opened its mouth and a gun barrel poked out, aimed at the high priest.
Her eyes widened, her heart suddenly filled with dread as the barrel started emitting a light yellow glow that grew stronger by the second.
"Damn that robot," she heard the assistant teacher say angrily. She almost stopped the chant when the man was somehow able to get to his feet. Then, a number of things happened in quick succession.
Negi Springfield's final spell was able to overpower Chao Lingshen, ending the magical battle with her loss.
Iroi Gamiya, still in his Shield form, leaped forward as high as he could. "Get over here!" he was heard shouting, a long chain with a spike suddenly erupting from his right palm. The spike embedded itself in the robot's shoulder. He pulled as hard as he could.
Hakase Satomi completed the chant and a pillar of light shot up from the center of the airship into the sky in confirmation.
The Tanaka unit, now flying up towards the high priest, had completed charging and was now ready to fire.
The high priest punched his left fist into the barrel, down the throat, all the way into the robot's chest cavity.
"MAGNUM BREAK!"
The shockwave from the resulting explosion crashed into the airship, forcing the bow to tilt forward and toppling over the professor. She was frantic, and as soon as the airship readjusted itself, she quickly got to her feet. She didn't know who to go after, with Chao and Negi falling one way and Iroi-sensei falling in the other. Seconds passed in her indecision and she caught sight of a flying tram carriage; the Chao Bao Zi cart was heading to intercept the falling duo. She got her answer. With determination etched on her face, she activated her jet pack, the stabilizer wings extending and ripping her cloak apart. Satomi fired up and flew speedily to the rapidly descending assistant teacher.
With much grunting and groaning, Gamiya opened his eyes. His head felt rattled and his eyesight blurred as it tried to adjust to the sudden influx of light. The last thing he remembered was punching the daylights, or at the current time, the night lights out of the Tanaka unit. He also got the impression he was… floating? He tried moving but a voice suddenly called out to him.
"Please, sensei. Trying to remain at this altitude is hard enough without you struggling," admonished Satomi softly.
He looked up and saw her holding on to his hand for dear life as she hovered overhead with her jet pack a t full blast.
"I think we can land right now, Hakase," he told her, a bit concerned and wondering if there was enough fuel in that pack of hers.
Getting a nod from her, she took a few seconds while he looked down. They then started their careful but speedy descent. All that took a few minutes and both of them were standing on the roof of a building with a bit of distance between them and the World Tree's plaza.
The high priest looked in its direction and his heart sank; the whole tree was glowing, as if the magic inside was activated.
"So… in the end… I failed…" he muttered in a rather somber tone.
"Actually, sensei, not quite," announced the professor as she called up a holographic console in front of her, "Chachamaru, what's the situation on your end?"
"Chisame was able to break through my firewall," said the familiar tone of the gynoid.
"Wow, that was quite unexpected," she replied as she widened the screen and called over the assistant teacher.
"Ah, sensei… Yes, Hakase, I have no excuse for what happened. But who would have thought that the moment Negi-sensei defeated Chao, the outcome of the battle was already decided?" she summarized.
"What? Wait a sec!" shouted Chisame as the screen split into two, showing both the gynoid and the secret internet idol, "What the hell is this about?"
The owner of the holo-screen sighed and said, "I told this to Chao before we began the operation. 'If you happen to lose to Negi-sensei in your battle, at that moment, accept defeat and retreat'. Be it her ego or something… she has got that stubbornness as a certain someone."
"Yes," agreed Chachamaru, "The moment Chao was defeated… we were too… because at that moment, the content of the forced recognition spell got changed into something harmless."
"What? So all this effort wasn't in vain?" asked the amazed high priest. It seems even he had underestimated the genius' strategy.
The gynoid nodded and explained, "The content of the wish wasn't 'the scattering of magic in the world' but 'so at least tomorrow, the world be in peace without hate or sadness'. That was the change that was automatically made."
"That kind of wish which lasted for two years is something you want to be granted after all," added Satomi, "Even though, I feel kind of embarrassed…"
Then, Chisame took a little bit of time to rant before calming down. "World peace," she scoffed, "I thought she was a realist without heart or tears but… she is a huge romantist after all… that girl…"
Gamiya lt out a sigh of relief and said with a grin, "So all in all, it was a good battle. I never really expected Chao to make such an evil robot for me to fight with."
"Er, sensei, what in the world happened to you? What's with the metal all over you?" asked Chisame, who now realized his presence.
He snapped his fingers, realizing he forgot to cancel his transformation.
"Abeat."
His whole body shined for a moment before whirling into a card that appeared in his hand.
"Master's contract?" queried Chachamaru, recognizing the item.
"Huh, after that entire ruckus about not using it, you used it? That's ironic," Chisame sneered. Then she caught the sight of his half dressed body and faintly blushed.
"Geh, whatever. After that stupid tin can literally burnt my other card to crisp, I had to use something, right?" he retorted, not catching on to her discomfort.
"I apologize for the actions of my brother, sensei," said the gynoid, "It was just that Chao believed that Tanaka Alpha had to be set on a more dangerous setting to be at least on par with your abilities."
He shook his head and said, "It's all right, Cat. Not much harm done anyway."
"Anyway, where are you all supposed to meet after this battle?" he suddenly asked, "I feel like I need a bit more explanations from the lady herself."
"Allow me to guide you, sensei," said the gynoid, "Let me meet you and Hakase at your current position first."
"Wha!" shouted Nodoka fearfully the moment she reappeared in the field.
"Nodoka! Thank God!" exclaimed Yue in relief.
"Yue!" her friend blurted out in frantic surprise, "Yue, Negi-sensei… Everybody! What happened!"
"Don't worry, everything's being taken care of," assured the bibliophile.
"Really! I'm glad I found you," she replied gratefully. Then, she asked, "So… where's Negi-sensei now?"
Yue paused for a while and then pointed to an area of ruin nearby, "There."
"Hello, girls," greeted someone behind them.
The two spun around to find the assistant teacher behind them, waving with a smile on his face. They stared at his half naked body for a moment before he started snapping his fingers in front of their faces.
"Yo, girls, enough with the staring… Ayase, can I have my stuff now?" he asked.
Blushing, said girl handed the robe and mace to him. The smile toned down, he quickly put on his robe and hefted the mace onto his shoulder.
"Right, time to see a genius about the situation," he muttered as he headed towards the ruins, with the two girls following wordlessly behind him. Negi was busy trying to persuade Chao into staying in the present. Satomi and Chachamaru had already arrived as well as Ku Fei and Satsuki. All six were standing on the shaven pillars of the small ruin.
"Then, Chao-san! You're going to stay and graduate with everyone?" asked the kid excitedly.
"No, I'm going home-ne," she replied with a smirk of finality, surprising everyone with the turn of events.
"Chao-san, why!" he asked with dismay.
She laughed and continued, "More importantly, are you sure it's alright to say something that sounds so much like a love confession to me?" She cupped his face closer and explained, "In the magic world, to aim to be a 'Magister Magi' together would be like being married for life-ne. Don't you think it's a bad idea to propose to someone who is blood-related to you like me, Negi-bouzu?"
Gamiya slowly walked up to the pillar amidst the brouhaha that followed and sat on a fallen pillar. Then, the genius continued the teasing and mentioned an ultimate weapon. He leaned back and looked up as she rummaged around for it. Finally, she displayed it for all to see; a book with the title 'Family Tree of the Chao Family'. Then she started talking about how the name of the person the kid was going to marry is inside the book as well. It all went downhill from there, as Haruna suddenly summoned some flying thing and snatched the book away. The general melee that followed was… degrading, with the only exceptions were those on the ruins and Yue herself, refrained from getting involved. The high priest let out a laugh and teleported up on the remaining standing pillar.
"Amusing. Your ultimate weapon wrecked this in less than a minute," he stated with a smirk.
"Fifty seven seconds to be exact, Iroi-sensei," corrected Chachamaru.
"Be that as it may, I think it's about time I go now-ne," announced Chao.
"Chao-san… do you really have to?" asked the kid sadly.
"Really… it has become a fun farewell-yo. You have my thanks, Negi-bouzu," she replied with a smile, "It's been great for me."
"But are you all right with this!" asked the kid again, "Chao-san, you haven't received a single…"
"No… Don't worry, Negi-bouzu. My wish has already been granted," she assured.
"Eh?" exclaimed Negi in disbelief, "What do you mean by…"
"My plan has disappeared," she explained as a beam of light fell on her, making her levitate, "My plan has disappeared but I am still alive. Then, I shall return to my own battlefield. Negi-bouzu, you stay here and fight on." A big box full of her presents and the big bust of her image flew into the air with her.
"Satsuki," she called out to her fellow Chao Bao Zi proprietor, "Take care of Chao Bao Zi. I leave everything to you-ne."
The young chef nodded with a smile.
The genius turned to her two comrades. "The two of you, good job and thank you," she said gratefully. To Satomi, she said, "Hakase, about what to do with the future technologies, it's just like what we agreed on. Also, about the data from the recent experiment that we didn't get to finish…"
"Everything is under control, Chao-san," the professor cut of with assurance.
To the gynoid, "Chachamaru… you are already an individual entity. Live your life as you like."
"Understood, thank you, Chao Lingshen," she replied.
The girl genius took a moment to glance skyward before looking at Ku Fei. To her, "Ku! One day, let us cross arms again-ne!"
"Yeah! For sure!" the Chinese fighter shouted with determination.
She then spared a look at the high priest. To him, "Well sensei, I guess this is it. Too bad I couldn't fight you myself."
"Heh, now that would have been a fight to remember. Time travel versus Teleport," he muttered with a smirk as he looked straight at her, "Don't worry too much about the present. If anyone gets out of line, I'll open a can on them."
She giggled and replied, "Well, I'll hold you to your word, sensei."
The beams of light intensified, causing the fighting to stop and everyone looked in awe at the display. Lingshen quickly shouted out, "So long, Negi-bouzu! Let us meet again! Zai jian!"
With a great flash, she and the other stuff floating around her disappeared.
The high priest looked the sky and smiled.
"Zai jian, Chao Lingshen."