Now that I think about it, I didn't really know the first thing about Ibiza. As far as I'm concerned, he was just Devil's Candidate who decided to pick on Miyabi, so we became enemies.
This seems like it would be the time where I learn more about him. Maybe a sad backstory that explains why he acts the way he does. At least, I could see this happening if this was a manga.
But this was no manga, and even if it was I could care less. Guess I'm not fit to be the cliché good guy protagonist.
Miyabi and Miyako, Rebecca, Maki who is still at the hospital, Albert. These are just the people I know and that fell victim to Ibiza.
Lizel-senpai once told me that mercy is a privilege of the strong. I have Cutting Connect now, but Ibiza is still stronger than me, not to mention I'm really hurt. So I'll fight with the intent to kill.
And, if I'm being honest, I don't really mind if I end up killing Ibiza. I could even say it's a desirable result. My rage has been building up a lot since Miyabi asked me to kill her. I've been worried about if it was right to want to kill him for so long it almost cost Miyabi's life.
The Devil King told me it would be hard to get Ibiza to pay for his crimes, that if I wanted him to face justice, I should do it myself. So be it. I'll kill him, even if I have to do it with my bare hands.
[Condition met. Characteristic Magic Infinite Lovers fully released.]
Better late than never, I suppose. But I guess we're still at the beginning of the Devil King War.
Should I activate it now? I might as well go at full power from the start, right?
[Recommendation. Continuous usage of Infinite Lovers for a prolonged amount of time could result in Yuuto's magic circuits overheating. It would be best if Yuuto can avoid using Infinite Lovers, or at least shorten the amount of time you use it.]
And here I thought I'd found a way to cheat having to mind my mana usage. Well, considering the method to increase my mana capacity, I can't really complain.
I think I've got… around 30-40% of my mana still. Cutting Connect took a big chunk, but I can still use it a little more.
"Yuuto, are you… using my family's Bloodline Magic?!"
"How did you…?"
"Ah, I'll explain later. For now, we need to free everyone of Ibiza's control."
The Arcana had told me how Ibiza's Characteristic Magic works after she talked with the Devil Arcana. And now that I've read Cutting Connect's formula, I understand even better.
Ibiza's magic, Psiconnect, works by putting that chained collar on someone's neck. Once he does, they'll have absolute loyalty to him. Think of it as maxing out a character's relationship in a game.
But it has a few weak spots. The first is the number of chains, 14, the same number as a Candidate can have Cards. The second problem is that it only works on devils. Even if he were to put a chain on me, Ibiza's magic wouldn't affect me.
And the last and biggest weakness is that loyalty is a strange thing. For some, it might mean unquestionable obedience, but for others maybe it means being more strict with the person you're loyal to so they grow even more, and there are many other forms of loyalty. And it also doesn't erase the already existing feelings.
That last point isn't a problem in most cases, but every now and again someone like Miyabi, who makes Ibiza "tie" with someone else, might show up. Now that I think of it, doesn't this mean Miyabi's feelings towards me are maxed?
A-anyway, Cutting Connect works in a similar fashion. With this magic, I can see many lines of different colors and thickness. The colors represent the emotion and the thickness the intensity. It also allows me to freely cut and make new lines.
For example, I could find a random girl and connect a thick line with the emotion of love to her. As far as the world is concerned, she would simply fall madly in love with me for no reason. It would take an obscene amount of mana to do it, but after that the cost is 0. Not that I'm planning to do that, I don't see value in such relationships, but it is a way Cutting Connect can be used.
By the way, the reason I'm going on in this big monologue is because I'm waiting for Ibiza's reinforcements to arrive. Like I said, Cutting Connect takes up an obscene amount of mana, so it's better if I do it in 1 go.
And it was a good amount of time to prepare anyway, so I won't complain about it.
Finally, after a good few minutes, Ibiza's friends and the people being controlled by him all arrived. This meant the fight was about to start.
"Hold the bitches and use them as shields! Even if Lovers cuts down my chains he doesn't have the balls to kill them to get to us."
"Miyabi, Miyako, I'll cut down the chains, so I'll need you 2 to save everyone without hurting them."
"Got it."
"Leave it to us."
My right arm is still broken, even though Rebecca healed me a bit right before I bit off a chunk of Ibiza's neck, and my mana is running a bit low. If I take into account the cost of using Stride to get close and then Cutting Connect and leave a little room for some other spells, I might just barely not go unconscious right away.
I know Miyako and especially Miyabi are also hurt, but we'll have to work together if we want to win here.
We dashed off. There were still 12 girls being controlled by Ibiza, around 20 people who were actually helping him of their own volition, and Ibiza himself.
Like he ordered them, Ibiza himself and a few of his friends took the girls as human shields. The ones who didn't get anyone simply prepared their spells.
Miyabi and Miyako delivered a punch to the first people they came across, and I continued on. Right now, my job isn't to fight but to break Ibiza's chains.
The place where they all came together the closest was near Ibiza himself, so that's where I went. I avoided the others as much as I could, but whenever I needed help Miyabi or Miyako would cover for me.
Ibiza tried to fire a Fizard against me, but I dodged out of the way. I was barely a meter ahead of him now, and the chains were right on my reach.
"Cut them down!"
"Bastard!"
I swiped my left hand and the chains were severed. Of course, this didn't mean the girls could escape. Some of them fell unconscious, some of them were being held by Ibiza's friends.
Miyabi and Miyako beat down whoever tried to hold them and guided them to where Rebecca was. They also carried those who were unconscious. In the end, they managed to clear mostly everyone.
"Mom, stay back with them. I'll help Yuuto save the last girl."
"Alright. Be careful."
Miyako retreated to where the girls were, which made Ibiza's friends hesitant to attack them.
This placed Miyabi herself between 2 groups of enemies, the ones who were trying to take back the hostages and the ones who were trying to help Ibiza, but she was taking care of herself pretty well.
Compared to that, I still have to finish my job. Because she was so close to Ibiza, I was unable to cut down the last girl's chain. I'll get to that now.
"Ibiza!"
I threw a punch his way. I didn't expect it to land, since I didn't put any magic to it, but that was fine.
Ibiza would have a hard time dodging while holding someone. Since I acted fast, he didn't have a lot of time to think so he threw the girl to be able to move better.
I took that chance and once again used Cutting Connect to break the chain. But Ibiza also knew how to take an opening.
"Fidezenon!"
I had my back turned towards Ibiza, there was no need to say that was a clear opening, basically inviting an attack. So Ibiza threw an Advanced Magic at me.
Even if I dodged, the girl would be hit. The positioning wasn't good for a Barricade, since it was hard to put one behind yourself, but there's no way around it. I'll have to do it.
"Barricade!"
I could tell it wouldn't hold, so I grabbed the girl and tried to flee. Luckily, we managed to get out of the way before the fire burned us.
But that didn't mean we were out of danger. Ibiza was ready to send another attack our way. And I was basically out of mana, any more spells and I'll be taking a nap.
"I won't let you, Ibiza!"
Our salvation came in the form of a right hook from Miyabi. I saw Ibiza's face deform for a second, and I have to say it got a chuckle out of me.
But there was no time for that. I had to get the girl out of here first of all.
"Go! Don't worry about those guys, Miyako will make sure you go past them."
"O-okay. Thank you."
The girl left. Now all that was left was to fight and defeat Ibiza.
And currently, Miyabi was in charge of that.
"Bitch, I'll make you regret having ever been freed!"
"Shut up! Now's the time I pay you back for everything."
Both Miyabi and Ibiza assumed their fighting positions. A second later, their clash began.
Miyabi used her usual Stride, Maximize and Armored combo to try and attack Ibiza, but he already knew Miyabi's preferred fighting style was close quarters. So he used magic to fly as he ran Fizards on her from above.
Even if Miyabi jumped, she wouldn't reach him. Rather, she had to keep using Barricade in order to avoid taking damage.
"Kahaha! In the end, you can't do anything against me, Miyabi! All you can do is depend on Lovers, but look at how beat up he is. In the end, I still win!"
"It's true I ended up not being able to unlock my Bloodline Magic, and somehow Yuuto got it. But even so, I'm not letting this end before I give you a few more punches!"
Miyabi assumed a position to send out another punch. She started gathering mana inside herself, but there was still the problem of reach.
"Oi, bitch, you can't be this dumb. You think your arm is going to stretch or somet-"
Miyabi shut him up before he could finish talking. Ibiza fell to the ground with a thud.
Of course, Miyabi's arm didn't stretch. That's not how she solved the problem of reach.
When we found out we needed the Devil Arcana's circuits to unlock Cutting Connect, we also found out a new Bloodline Magic was developing in Miyabi. The Arcana copied Cutting Connect's circuits into my body, and I figured she could also unlock Miyabi's new magic.
I noticed I was the only long ranged fighter here, but I would run out of mana sooner rather than later, so I remembered the time Miyabi misfired her new Bloodline Magic. Once the Arcana finished solving the formula for the new magic, I did a small Healing Lovers with Miyabi while we waited for everyone to arrive.
T-this means I ended up groping Miyabi's breast with Miyako watching, but let's not think about that. The Arcana did her thing, and now Miyabi has this new magic.
"What the hell was that?!"
"A gift from Yuuto. I think I'll name it… Galactic Strike, cause it makes you see stars, doesn't it?"
Miyabi once again prepared her new Bloodline Magic, the newly named Galactic Strike, and threw another punch Ibiza's way. Thankfully, her aim seems to be a lot better now.
Ibiza put up a Barricade, but it was useless. Galactic Strike doesn't lose to Advanced Magic in terms of power. A Barricade won't hold.
"Guh!"
Miyabi started breathing hard. It seems the mana consumption is no joke. I think she may be able to fire off 1 maybe 2 more times.
But things were starting to get dangerous. The first 2 chains I cut were almost regenerated. I don't know how long until they're back, but I know I don't have enough mana for another Cutting Connect.
On the other hand, things also weren't pretty for Ibiza. By now, Miyako had beaten down most if not all of his friends. Whatever he would do, he would have to do it alone.
"Damn it. You all better be thankful, I'll let you live for a day longer."
"What? Already over? No way! It was just getting good."
Without anyone noticing, someone else approached. The Devil King, Barbatos Gandou.
He was leisurely sitting on a beach chair while watching the fight. I hadn't even noticed him before.
"Considering everything that happened yesterday, I thought calling it a day early would be for the best. And what do you know, Yuuto and Ibiza were fighting. What better way to finish the Devil VS Lovers Festival than having Devil and Lovers fight to the death?"
"D-Devil King, y-you mean…?"
"There's no quitting. Yuuto, Ibiza, one of you dies now. If anyone tries to run, I'll kill them myself."
Ibiza couldn't believe the Devil King's words. I was also surprised, but this was convenient for me as well.
Also, I just noticed that there's people watching us. And it seems more people are coming. The Devil King really intends to make a show of us killing ourselves.
"Let's push through, Yuuto."
"Wait, Miyabi. I'll do it alone."
Needless to say, everyone was surprised. But of course, there was 1 person that seemed happy, Ibiza.
"Ah, that seems good. A 1 VS 1 to finish things off. You actually know how to make shit entertaining, Lovers."
Miyabi was worried, but I whispered my plan in her ear to calm her down. Convinced, she went to where her mother was.
So there was only Ibiza and I left in the impromptu ring. I was basically out of mana and with my arm broken, Ibiza was a little roughened up, but he might as well be in top form if compared to me.
Ibiza was confident I had dug my own grave. That was good. I didn't want him making any attempts at trying to escape. He won't try to leave if he thinks he can win.
It was a good idea to not have used Infinite Lovers until now. But now's the time to break it out.
The ground cracked under my feet. My body overflowed with infinite mana. Ibiza's confident grin was nowhere to be seen anymore. On the other hand, I noticed a very happy smile on the Devil King's face.
"B-bastard."
"Let's finish this, Ibizaa!"
"Fucker!"
I used Miyabi's combo to get closer to Ibiza. It seems he also activated his magic, but I was much faster. My fist clashed with his.
When the same spells compete against each other, the one who wins is the one with the most mana. And I don't need to say which of us was pouring in more mana, do I?
"Gaaah! Fuck, my hand!"
"I've heard you do much worse, so suck it up!"
"Guh!"
I kicked Ibiza's stomach. It was such a powerful kick Ibiza stayed in the air for a few seconds.
Once he fell to his knees, he started vomiting blood. The Arcana warned me to not use Infinite Lovers for too long, so I'll try to keep this short.
"G-go Lovers!"
"Win, Lovers!"
"Beat that bastard!"
Seems like the public is also enjoying this. Well, who knows how many of them suffered because of Ibiza? Even people who took the Devil team in the festival were cheering for me.
That being said, I don't particularly enjoy torturing someone… just a little more and I'll put an end to this.
"I'll give you a free shot. Come on."
"I'll kill you!"
Ibiza used the Advanced Magic Thundergia. The air itself trembled and electricity flew off everywhere.
Yet, I simply formed a few Barricades to protect myself and the people watching. My Barricades didn't even crack under Ibiza's spell.
"Now it's my turn."
I said as I prepared a spell I had learned a while ago, but hadn't actually used yet. The Advanced Magic Fidezenon.
The flames surged a few centimeters above my palm, but they were burning so high you could probably see them from a few kilometers away.
"W-what kind of magic is that?!"
"It's just Advanced fire magic. Also, could you guys please step out of there? I don't want to hit you by mistake."
The people who were standing behind Ibiza started running. Ibiza also tried to move, but I kept him in place with Blizzaia. He couldn't break the ice on his feet, so Ibiza couldn't escape my attack.
I waited for everyone to escape. Once I confirmed no one else would get hurt, I let my Fidezenon loose.
"Gaaaaaa!"
It looked more like a fire dragon as it burned the ground until it got to Ibiza. It might not be too impressive due to yesterday's Disaster, but I'm sure Ibiza was just about pissing his pants. He tried to protect himself, but it was useless.
The ice keeping Ibiza's feet in place melted and Ibiza was taken by the fire dragon. He was nowhere to be seen, but I highly doubt he survived that.
I… killed him. There's no way around it. Unlike that time with Haida, this time, I meant to do it.
But I don't feel bad or sick. Rather, I feel I should have done this a lot sooner if I could have spared everyone's suffering. I know I couldn't have defeated Ibiza back at the Unveiling or even when the Festival was announced, but still the thought did pass my head.
I wonder if this means I'm a bad person… nah. I don't think killing is good, I'm not about to go killing everyone who looks at me funny, but sometimes it can't be helped. Ibiza wouldn't have stopped even if I spared him and would have simply made more people suffer, so there's no reason to keep thinking about it.
Those were my thoughts as I canceled Infinite Lovers, bringing the fight with the Devil Candidate to an end.
/
Ibiza had been blown quite far away, but not entirely. In the physical sense, at least.
About half of his upper body was nowhere to be seen, completely evaporated by Yuuto's magic. However, there was no bleeding, since his wound had been immediately cauterized by that same magic.
"Fuck you, Lovers!"
Ibiza would keep repeating that until the last of his strength. It was all he could do now, curse Yuuto until his dying breath. Death was most certainly coming for him. But maybe not the way he expected.
Ibiza hit the ground with all his power with his remaining arm. Yet he felt something… wet? Some kind of goo.
Ibiza held his hand to where he could see it. There really was some sort of black goo on it. Where did this stuff come from?
"I'll make better use of your power than you did."
"What?!"
Ibiza felt something on his back, then his body started sinking. His hand also started to disappear, swallowed by the goo.
Ibiza's death may have come by Yuuto's hand, but…
Death wasn't done with Ibiza yet.
