There was a test recently in Ginsei Academy. It was only to review the subjects until now and show what's generally to expect from the actual exam.
Of course, I did my best in the test, so I wasn't too worried. Though I have to admit I did find it on the difficult side. I heard the results had been posted during lunchtime, so I asked Miyabi if she wanted to check it out. Her reply was:
"Nah, no way. Yuuto go check it and just tell me if I somehow showed up."
And so I was left to go alone to check the grades. It seems that only the top 100 of each grade are shown. I didn't really expect my name to show up, but I figured I'd check it out anyway.
I arrived at the bulletin where the grades were posted and sure enough my name was nowhere to be found. Miyabi's wasn't either.
Well this isn't anything worrying really. I don't need to be the best student, just need a passing grade.
Rather than that, I've been busy thinking about how to solve Reina's problem. Fleminar is making her new body and we got the new magic stone, but how do we pass Reina's soul over?
It seems that a soul is a fickle thing, even in the world of devils and magic. There are basically no spells that deal with it. So we've been stuck on that point.
"Yo, Yuuto. Here to check your grades?"
"Huh? Oh, Geld. I've already checked. I'm not on the list."
While I was busy thinking, Geld showed up. Maybe he'd also come to check his grades?
Not to judge a book by the cover, but there's no way Geld, with this bad boy appearance, is a top 100 ranker in the test. But at least there's a feeling of friendship between us, since neither of us made it.
"I see. We both need to try our best next time."
"Well, I don't particularly care about rankings. I'm good with a passing grade."
"Is that so? Personally, I find not even making it to the top 10 unacceptable. But maybe that's because I have the pressure of being the heir to the Shinkamaishi family and the business."
I found Geld's words a little strange. What I got from that is that he made it to the list but didn't make it to the top 10.
Sure enough, when I looked again, there he was. In 11th place, Geld Shinkamaishi, with 99/100 points.
I felt betrayed. This was treason! I'll have you executed!
Also, Geld really is from a noble family, huh. I mean, I guess it was obvious, since Ginsei Academy is generally a school for nobles, but it wasn't something I had ever thought about.
"Well, anyway, I'm going now. Talk to you later."
Geld said his goodbyes and left. Out of curiosity, I took a look at the top 10 rankers.
The difference between them was in the decimals, except for 1st place. And it was a name I recognized.
1st place in the mock test was Ruki Kouma, with 110/100 points. What even is this?! Where did the extra 10 points come from?!
As I was wondering that, someone else called out to me. It was the culprit himself, Ruki.
"Ooh, Yuuto-kun! Lucky me. Come here with me."
Ruki called out to me from the stairs. Curious about these mysterious 10 points, I decided to follow him.
Ruki climbed up the stairs before me, that meant I was on the bottom while he was on the top. What I mean to say is because of the angle I ended up looking up his skirt.
It would be a different story if it was a girl, but I'm not interested in looking up a guy's skirt. I only glanced for a second, but the image was burned into my eyes.
… Well, if I'm being sincere, I wouldn't even be able to tell it was a guy if I didn't know who it was. So really I'm just being overdramatic. But looking up a guy's skirt is still a traumatic experience.
We climbed to the rooftop. I guess there would be no point in keeping it locked with this something called flight magic, so it was just left open for anyone who wanted to enter.
"I have something important I want to discuss with Yuuto-kun."
"Ah, then can I talk first? My question isn't really important."
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Those extra 10 points on your test score, where did they come from?"
"Oh, that? Remember question 94? There was a little mistake in the formula there. You could solve it even with the mistake, but I pointed it out and solved it the right way, so I guess the teacher decided to give me extra points."
I remember that question. I thought there was something off about the formula, but honestly my brain was mush at that point. Who the hell thinks having such a big test is a good idea?
While I was mad at the educational system's current inefficiency, Ruki moved on to an actual important topic.
"Anyway, Yuuto-kun, have you heard about Candidates forming an alliance?"
"Eh? No. I've been busy recently, so I haven't heard anything."
But thinking about it, it made sense. I had no intention to fight Neith or Stella, since they're Lizel-senpai's friends, nor did I have anything against Ruki and I can also add Fleminar to that list now, not that I think I'd be able to defeat her anyway. If any of them asked, I wouldn't be against helping them if they needed my help.
Assuming other Candidates felt similarly to me, it wasn't strange for alliances to form, right? But then again, until the last Devil King War, everyone thought you had to kill each other to win, so maybe it's not something so common.
"That's great! It means Yuuto-kun doesn't have a team yet, right? I actually want to team up with Yuuto-kun."
Well that's convenient. I see no reason to refuse.
But would Lizel-senpai get mad at me if I made this decision without her? She said I should be more assertive if I'm going to be Devil King, so maybe I should make this decision on my own. But I would feel bad if I agreed and then Lizel-senpai said it wasn't a good idea.
"Of course, I don't mind it if Yuuto-kun says the condition for that is that I have to join your harem."
"A-aah, no, I'm fine without that."
"Eeh, and I was looking forward to it."
I'm not really looking to increase the number of men there. Also, do people really see it as a harem? I suppose I have to thank Lovers' past reputation for that.
Anyway, I was really considering just accepting Ruki's offer. I don't really see how it could go wrong.
"Alright. Let's work together, Ruk-"
Before I could finish, a new voice joined the conversation.
"I have a different proposal for you, Judgement."
A new guy showed up. His green hair was unkempt and his uniform was dirty with paint and other stuff.
Why do I feel like I've seen this guy? I don't really remember.
"As you've heard, there's an alliance being made. Our objective is to defeat the Triumph. I'm here to invite you to join, Ruki of Judgment."
This green haired guy was talking about the alliance Ruki just mentioned. And it seems he wanted Ruki to join them.
And it seems the alliance's objective is to defeat Triumph. So far, the only ones from Triumph I've met are Amon and Fleminar. They don't seem like bad people and I certainly wouldn't want to fight them.
"I see. Certainly, that seems to be the best way to deal with Triumph, but I'm afraid you arrived just a bit late, Candidate of Tower, Marios. I just agreed to ally myself with Yuuto, and I'm not going back on my word."
That's where I know this guy from! The Unveiling. He's Marios, Candidate of Tower Arcana. It's been a while and lots of things have happened, so I've forgotten basically everyone I only saw there.
Somehow, I feel a little awkward. It's like Marios had just come to confess his love for Ruki, but Ruki had confessed to me just a little before. It's like I'm a third wheel here.
Well, Ruki's a guy, and this isn't really a love confession, but you get the comparison.
"I see. Then it should be fine if Lovers die, right?"
Marios took out something from inside his clothes. It was… an action figure of some girl? I was expecting him to attack me.
He threw the figure to the air, it spun around and started shining. By the time I noticed, rather than an action figure, there was an actual girl standing there.
She was wearing ripped shorts, and her chest was covered only by a small shirt that barely seemed to do its job. Her hands were covered by what looked to be boxing gloves, and she was punching the air as if preparing herself.
Is she a character from some anime? I don't recognize her. Could Marios have created the figure himself?
"Yuuto-kun!"
"Woah!"
Ruki pushed me out of the way, and the fighter girl missed her punch. But just the air was enough to cut my cheek.
I didn't even manage to see her coming. How fast is she? And if she's as strong as she's fast, would I even have survived if Ruki hadn't pushed me out of the way?
"What's the big idea?!"
"I'm just going to show Judgement which side is best. That I get to be rid of the unknown element that is Lovers' Candidate is just an unexpected bonus."
Marios threw another action figure, this one was a mage that looked like an old man with a long beard. Just like the fighter girl before, he started shining and then became a real old man.
He pointed his staff at me. Various fireballs formed around him and started flying towards me.
[Warning, recommend dodging instead of defending.]
Yeah, these look really strong. I had to use Stride to get out of the way. But the old man wasn't just randomly attacking, he was making me go towards the fighter girl.
Luckily, I noticed his intention, so I was able to dodge her attack. But still, this girl is way too strong. Her punch left cracks on the floor, which is worth remembering is protected by magic. I'm not sure I can crack it without Infinite Lovers.
It seems fair to assume that this is Marios' Characteristic Magic. Maybe he can bring stuff like action figures to life? But that doesn't make much sense, why pick these characters rather than some well-known overpowered character?
Maybe there's something there. Like a limitation or whatever. Arcana, what do you think?
[Beginning analysis.]
"Marios, this is my only warning. Stop this."
Before I noticed, Ruki was right beside Marios, pointing his palm towards him. Electricity was covering Ruki's palm. It was clear Ruki intended to attack.
But that was strange. Marios seemed so defenseless, but there's no way someone like him has no way to defend himself. Whatever his power, he brought the figures thinking of a fight. There's no way he's just that open to an attack.
[No traces of magic were detected.]
Still, it's too dangerous. What if Ruki got hurt because of this?
"Wait, Ruki. Something's strange, don't attack!"
"Eh? I mean, I know it's strange for someone like Marios to be defenseless like this, but I don't feel any magic or anything, so I think it's fine, Yuuto-kun."
I know it seems crazy, but even I know I should always have a way to defend myself. It's one thing if I'm caught by surprise, but Marios came here with a plan, there's no way he'd risk his life.
Maybe he has a way to reflect back attacks, or maybe there's someone else protecting him. Whatever the case, this is just too suspicious.
"It seems I really won't be able to recruit you. So do you really want to go for an all or nothing bet?"
See? He must have something up his sleeve! Even Ruki was starting to be a little doubtful, but he wasn't backing down.
"… I will, to protect Yuuto-kun."
"Great! Just what I like to hear! Then let's see who can kill the other first!"
Marios' declaration was so immediate and unexpected that Ruki was stunned for a second, and that would be deadly.
The old man used some kind of spell to buff the fighter girl, who dashed towards Ruki. Her normal punch was already really strong, there was no way this powered-up version wouldn't kill Ruki.
Ruki could probably defeat Marios first, but that second of hesitation made it much more unlikely. But luckily, I'm here.
I couldn't just watch this happen. I activated Infinite Lovers and stood between Ruki and the fighter girl. She was fast, but I was faster if I fed infinite mana to Stride.
"Barricade!"
I made a wall in front of me. Either the girl didn't have enough reaction time to change her strategy, or she simply saw no need to do that.
She punched my Barricade. There wasn't even a sound, yet I felt myself being pushed back. Somehow, time seemed to slow down. Maybe because of the infinite mana, my brain was working in overdrive.
I was going to fly off. That would be the end of Ruki if they continued attacking. In that case, I might as well bring him with me.
"Eh?"
In a split second, I pulled Ruki close. I would have rather not hold a guy like this, but it can't be helped.
"Hold on."
I barely had time to say that before we were sent flying. I changed Barricade's formula so it formed a ball around us, rather than a wall in front.
Wow, now I get what Fleminar was talking about. Just this slight change already increased the mana cost and decreased the durability, what a scam!
Wait, but now isn't the time to be thinking about that. Just make it strong enough so we can crash through everything! You've got infinite mana for a bit, Yuuto!
Ruki and I crashed through a few buildings before we came to a stop. Since the building's protection magic could barely keep up with the girl's punches, my infinite mana Barricade had no problem crashing through.
But that wasn't really a good thing, since we ended up quite a ways away from where we originally were. Once we touched the ground, I changed Barricade from ball to wall shape again so we'd stop easier.
"Gaah!"
"Ouch!"
Still, Ruki and I were quite hurt. We crashed through a number of walls, and even the Barricade couldn't completely absorb all that impact. There were no wounds on us, but we were pretty battered.
Once we came to a stop, I deactivated Infinite Lovers. I still couldn't use it for too long, so it's best to not abuse it.
I ended up falling on top of Ruki. I know he's also a guy, and a devil on top of that, but he's pretty small. I hope I didn't hurt him.
"Y-Yuuto-kun, do you want to play with my chest?"
"What are you talking about?"
Sure, my face was buried on his chest and I did happen to touch it while getting up, but it's not like I meant to do it. Plus a guy's chest doesn't interest me.
But I have to admit, whatever Ruki puts in his bra to pass as breasts feels really realistic. I'd already known he wears a bra with the rest of his crossdressing, but I didn't think he went this far.
"We're really far from the roof. Think we can escape from Marios?"
"I hope so. I don't think my Characteristic Magic would work on the figures."
I wonder what kind of power is Ruki's Characteristic Magic? With a name like Judgement, maybe it's…
[Warning. Threat level 5 approaching.]
Before I even had time to think, the Arcana warned me. By the time I turned to look, all I heard was a loud boom and saw a cloud of dust.
The fighter girl had come all the way from the roof. Did she jump? It seems like that's the case.
If it was just her, Ruki and I could do something together. But then I felt some strange mana close to the girl.
The old man and Marios teleported there. They probably were using her to locate us before teleporting to wherever she was.
"Now then, shall we continue?"
I don't know why Marios came along, but this doesn't look good. It's clearly a losing fight. We have to find a way to escape.
"Stay close to me. I'm going to use Transite a few times in sequence to try and lose them."
"Is your mana going to be fine?"
"Yeah, no problem."
I remember when I teleported into Aspite's mansion to save Lizel-senpai. I almost fell unconscious just using this magic once.
But my mana capacity has increased a lot since then. With my current 100000 mana reserve, I can handle a few back-to-back Transites.
My plan was to let the old man and the girl attack first, that way we could catch them by surprise with our escape. Ruki and I stood with our shoulders touching.
But I wasn't able to execute my plan because of an unexpected arrival.
"Figa desu!"
A little girl with a sword bigger than she was tall came running toward us. She cast Figa on her sword to make it flaming. That was Reina.
Did we go all the way to the middle school building? I was relieved for a second, but then I remembered the doctor said Reina should avoid fighting, so the relief turned into worry.
Reina used her flaming sword to cut the old man. But there was no blood, instead he just started shining and then reverted back to a figure.
Except now the figure was destroyed. I'm guessing Marios can't use it anymore. Reina jumped backwards to stay right in front of me and Ruki.
"Is onii-chan hurt desu?"
"I'm fine. Rather than that, come here already, Reina!"
I can't let Reina fight. I can't risk her dying. I just have to take both her and Ruki away from here.
"Ah."
"Reina!"
But, just as Reina turned towards me, her eyes changed and she fell face-first to the ground.
No! This is like that time in the Palace. I have to quickly get Reina to a doctor, or maybe finding Fleminar would be faster.
I ran towards Reina. I grabbed her lifeless body. This seems different from that other time… no, don't think that, Yuuto.
"Yuuto-kun, she's-"
"Don't say it! Someone can bring her back. We were so close to saving her."
I can't let Reina die, not when we're so close to saving her, not when she finally found a family that loves her.
As soon as I grabbed Reina's body and got up, I felt a huge pain in my neck, but it only lasted for a second. But then my vision started spinning and it wasn't long before my head hit the ground.
What I saw was my own headless body, still carrying Reina, but beginning to fall down. Right in front of me was the fighter girl, in a pose as if she'd just punched something.
"Yuuto-kun!"
In the corner of my vision, I saw Ruki with his eyes wide open. I suppose he's as surprised as I am.
But my vision is starting to darken. So this is it… and I couldn't even save Reina and didn't even help Ruki escape. There was still so much I wanted to do, but I was surprisingly calm when my vision got dark.
And before I noticed, everything was back to normal. My head was back where it belonged, and Reina was right in front of me, still alive. The fighter girl was a little in front of Reina.
… Was it a dream just before? There's no way, right?
"Huh?" "Eh?"
"Yuuto-kun?!"
"Tsk."
Both Reina and I were very surprised, but it seemed Ruki was the one who expressed that the most. The one who seemed to know what was happening best was Marios, but I doubt he'd explain.
"Just kill them both again! Punch right through them!"
The fighter girl got back into fighting position with Marios' order. Reina was also about to get ready, but I couldn't let her.
I don't know what happened, but I know Reina will die if I let her fight again.
"Don't, Reina!"
"B-but, onii-chan."
I grabbed Pon-chan by the blade, it cut my hand, but I didn't care. Reina wasn't going to fight if she was going to hurt me in the process.
But I failed to account for something. The fighter girl was still coming to attack, and she could very easily kill us both.
"Trample!"
I heard a familiar voice, and then sphinxes stomped where the fighter girl had just been. She managed to dodge by retreating to where Marios was.
Neith got down from Top Runner, but she wasn't alone in her chariot. A pink haired girl was coming with her.
Her face isn't strange, who is she…? Wait, I remember. She's Lost's friend from the Unveiling. Her name is… right, it's Rinne.
She had a smile on her face, but it seemed… fake. It was almost eerie.
"What are you doing here, Rinne?"
"Stop this, Marios."
The one who asked was Marios, but Rinne quickly replied, never letting the smile disappear from her face.
Is she here to help me? Was she the one who brought me and Reina back to life?
Despite Rinne telling Marios to go, it didn't seem like he planned on backing down. Is he still going to fight?
"Heads up! Rikimaru-chan's coming!"
A new voice suddenly came up. Marios' fighter girl was the first to react. She threw a punch seemingly at the air, but it actually struck true.
Someone came flying in, her fist met the fighter girl's. Their clash made a loud boom sound and Marios was even blown off by it.
We also weren't unaffected. I grabbed onto Top Runner in order to avoid falling, and provided support to Rinne and Reina. Ruki grabbed onto me.
But their clash was really strong. I felt like I was about to be blown away.
However, there was a clear winner. The fighter girl's arm simply disintegrated into nothing. She lost the clash. Then she fell backwards and became a figure again.
"Eeeh? Rikimaru-chan thought that she was the owner of that powerful mana, but she was too weak for that."
"Y-you! Why did you do that?!"
"Hm? Who're you again?"
"Marios! Tower! At least remember who you're allied with!"
"Aah… nope, don't remember. Anyway, sorry I broke your toy. Maybe some glue will fix it?"
Who was this girl called Rikimaru? From what Marios said, it seems she's part of his alliance, but that doesn't really look to be the case. I mean, whatever her intentions, she just got in Marios' way and saved us.
Rikimaru wore her Ginsei Academy uniform, but the shirt was open, showing her sports bra. She wore a skirt, but I'm pretty sure I saw shorts under there. Her face also doesn't seem strange to me.
"Damn you. I'll remember this."
Marios used Transite and escaped. I'm glad that's over, though maybe a bigger problem showed up.
"Strange… Rikimaru-chan swears she felt a strong presence around here. Any of you know who it was?"
Maybe… she felt my mana from Infinite Lovers? If that is the case I'd rather avoid fighting. Rikimaru is clearly stronger than Marios and his figures.
Luckily, it seems everyone had the same idea. No one was telling her anything. Maybe we can avoid-
"Nee-sama, you felt Lovers' Candidate's mana. It's that boy over there."
Another girl showed up, she looked exactly like Rikimaru, except she wore her uniform properly.
Wait, twins… oh, the twin Candidates from the Unveiling. Rikimaru is the Devil King Candidate of Strength and this new girl is Seigi, Devil King Candidate of Justice. They stood out, so it was easy to remember them.
This is bad! I literally went from fighting a single Candidate from fighting 2! Can't we do a rollback?
"Ooh, as expected of Seigi-chan~ so smart. So you're the guy… you don't seem strong, but you're definitely human, so you should be Lovers. Meh, well, that's fine. Let's get along errm…"
"His name is Yuuto, nee-sama."
"Right! I remember, for sure. Anyway, let's get along, Yuuto, since our Cards are also friends."
Rikimaru took my hand and began shaking it. What is even going on now?
Let's try to regain my bearings. Going back to how this started, so let's begin with Rinne.
"Hum, Rinne, right? Were you the one who saved Reina?"
"Yes, that's my Characteristic Magic, Revival. But who I actually meant to save was you, I just figured I'd also help your Card since I had the chance. Ever since your fight with Devil, Lost asked me to keep an eye on you, in case something happened."
So it was Lost who sent Rinne, and it really was her who saved Reina and I. I'll have to remember to thank him when I have time. But for now, I'll say thanks to Rinne.
"Anyway, I'm really thankful. If not for you, both Reina and I would be dead."
"It's fine. Just think of it as an apology, since our ally picked a fight with you."
… Our ally? Wait, does that mean…?
"You might have heard rumors. Lost has been putting Devil King Candidates together to form a fighting force against the Triumph. I don't know why he didn't tell you about it though."
So Lost's the one who's making this alliance. And he's already got Wheel of Fortune, Strength, Justice and Tower, and that's just what I know.
It's certainly a fearsome fighting force. I'm not sure if there's anyone who can stand in their way.
Rinne once again apologized for Marios' behavior and left, Seigi and Rikimaru followed her. So this is Lost's alliance…
"By the way, Neith, how did you end up here?"
"I noticed someone was sent flying… I was going to come see who it was, but then that Rinne girl came up to me and asked me to bring her along… if I knew it was Yuuto-kun, I would have come faster."
"Aah, no it's fine. Neith already helped me a lot."
If Neith hadn't brought Rinne along, Reina and I would have died. It might have been just a series of coincidences that saved our lives, but I'm thankful for it anyway.
"And I'm thankful to Yuuto-kun. If Yuuto-kun hadn't helped me when he did, who knows what would have become of me? I'm really glad I made an alliance with Yuuto-kun."
"Alliance…?"
"Desu?"
Because of what Ruki said, I had to give a general explanation to Neith and Reina. I'll probably have to say the same thing again to Lizel-senpai and Miyabi later.
Which reminds me, Reina can't fight anymore. I might have sounded a little too stern when I told her that, but it was for the best. We already know how that would end up.
This was one hell of a lunch break, but it was coming to an end. Neith brought us back to our school buildings on her Top Runner.
But the thing that was taking up the most space on my mind was Reina's situation. We have to do something about it quickly. Her time's almost up.
