I was currently walking with an unusual group. With me were Hierophant's Queen Card, Hinata Hiraizumi, and the Candidates of Empress, Hermit and Wheel of Fortune's Arcanas, Hime Takizawa, Hisoka Kozukate and Rinne Shimokadzuma, respectively.
Together with me, Lovers' Candidate and also human to boot, this makes for quite an unusual group of people. But we all just kinda happened to meet each other and now we're walking together.
Somehow, I ended up at the lead of all these girls. That's because of the things I'm holding right now.
Chains, but no one else but me could see them. These chains were part of a Characteristic Magic called Psyconnect.
That Characteristic Magic belonged to Devil's Candidate, Ibiza. He used it to enslave Miyabi's friends, Rebecca and Maki, and make their lives into hell. I killed him a few months back. Though, looking back at it, I feel like I let him go too easily for how much he made people suffer.
Anyway, now Psyconnect belongs to Lost, a longtime friend of mine, and he had been using it on Rinne and Hisoka before I freed them. But Characteristic Magics don't just pass on like this.
From what Rinne told me, Lost has the ability to absorb other people and gain their powers, that's how he got Ibiza's Psyconnect. He probably also has many other abilities that I don't know of. Lost's goal seems to be to absorb as many people as possible and grow ever more powerful, though I don't know what he plans to do with all that power.
Years ago, Lost and I talked about our dreams for the future. He said he wanted to be strong to protect the people from his village. It's just a suspicion at the moment, but I think his place and Poran's are the same, and if so things clearly didn't end well.
So does Lost want power for revenge now? That was my first thought, but I feel like it's wrong. Rinne confirmed it to me when she told me Lost had already killed all the Golgothas, the people ruling the place his village used to be.
In any case, something has clearly happened with Lost between the last time we talked before my accident and now. I hadn't noticed it before because my memories were sealed, but it's clear as day to me now.
So my job is simple: find Lost, talk to him and set him straight again, even if I have to beat him to do it.
"You know, when I felt Psyconnect break, it felt a little familiar. That's when I knew it was Yuuto, and I knew you'd come to me."
We had finally gotten to a point where we could see Lost, and obviously he could see us as well. I had no need for these chains anymore, so I let them go and they returned to Lost.
"It's been a while, Lost. I'm starting to think you're a little different."
"Well, yeah. I went through a little upgrade recently. Right now, I'm as strong, if not stronger, than the Triumph."
The Triumph are the 6 Arcanas with the highest win rates of all the Devil King Wars, and also considered the strongest. Hierophant and Empress are part of it, along with Fool, Emperor, Priestess and Magician.
"Say, it's been at least a few years since we've had a proper talk, hasn't it? Let's talk."
"What do you want to talk about?"
"What happened with you between that day and the Unveiling?"
I didn't have to specify to Lost which day it was, Lost knew what I meant. He closed his eyes, as if deep in thought.
"Surely Rinne already ratted me out that much. I waited for my chance and killed the Golgothas. It was my first time using my ability to absorb others, and honestly I should have done that years before. There's really not much to tell."
"Did you never search for the people of your village? A while back, I met a girl called Poran, and some other mixed-blood devil children who came from Chevalleze, like you."
"Eeh, so there's still someone alive. These last few years must have been hell for them. It would have been better if they had just died."
Lost said, with all the care as if I had simply told him about a far-off accident I saw on the news.
Yup, that settles it, something's definitely wrong with Lost. I know he's gone through a lot, but I can't imagine he'd simply stop caring about the people from his village. While we were coming here, Rinne told me she thought that absorbing so many people was making Lost crazy, so maybe it's something like that.
"Speaking of the past, Yuuto, you did it, didn't you? You got both the girl you wanted as well as the harem you wanted. Hell, you're surrounded by girls even now. You're going to have to teach me a few things one of these days."
Lost suddenly spoke of what I mentioned to be my dream years ago. It's embarrassing, so obviously I didn't mention it to Rinne and the others while we were coming here, but their gazes felt heavy on my back.
"Say, Yuuto, do you want to make a deal? By the end of this game, I'll be as strong as the Devil King. No, even stronger. I'll be a god. Then, I'm going to completely destroy devil society. How about we share? I'll rule the Devil World, and you'll rule the Human World? And hey, I don't even mind if you take the girls."
Yeah, this really isn't the Lost I knew. Back then, Lost only cared about protecting the people he loved, even if the world was burning around him.
"Sorry, I can't take that offer."
"Oh well, no hard feelings. If you ever change your mind, just let me know. Now then…"
Lost started walking towards me and the girls. But, before he could pass me, I put my hand on his shoulder and stopped him.
"What are you doing?"
"Didn't you bring them as a meal for me? That's 3 Candidates, 1 even being from the Triumph, and a Triumph Card. That's almost irresistible for me. Oh, but if you say they're your women, then I'll give up. But you don't need to tease me like this."
"Lost, there's something wrong with you?"
"Did Rinne tell you that? It's true that a while back I was having trouble with all the voices in my head, but I already fixed that."
"Then you lost part of yourself in the process. I'm your friend, I'll set you straight, even if that means we'll have to fight."
Lost looked at me with surprise on his face, and then he started laughing.
"Hahaha! Look, Yuuto, I don't care how you survived or how you got your Arcana. Didn't you hear me say I'm going to become a god? What do you think a puny little human like you can do?"
"Only one way to find out."
I got into a position that clearly showed I meant to fight. We had already agreed on this beforehand, since these girls don't have a lot of fighting ability, they all took cover somewhere once they saw the fight was going to start.
Lost still looked like he didn't believe me, but he seemed to give up once he noticed I was serious.
"Alright. I'll try not to hurt you too much."
After he said that, Lost tried punching me.
Well, that's not exactly right. He did the motion, but didn't put any will behind it. Of course, I was able to dodge it no problem.
"Wow, Yuuto's really amazing. Now, let's stop this farc- geeh!"
When Lost stopped to talk, I tried attacking him myself. Unlike him, I moved faster than he expected and landed my attack.
"Oi, Yuuto, what the hell was that?"
"Did you figure out you're supposed to take this seriously?"
"… Alright, that was your free shot. Don't regret it later."
Looks like Lost is going to take things seriously now.
Yup, he's going fast. If I hadn't trained with Michael, I wouldn't be able to follow Lost's pace.
But right now, I'm able to dodge his attacks, even if only by a hair's breadth.
[Yuuto, I will begin my analysis.]
Yeah, I'm counting on you, Sein. Tell me if anything comes up.
"… Seems you've gotten strong, Yuuto."
"Yeah, I still plan to win this Devil King War, after all."
"So why don't you accept my offer? Seems like less work to achieve basically the same thing."
"Maybe so, but what kind of friend would I be if I just let you do as you please when I see you're going the wrong path? I'm getting tired of repeating this, so this is the last time, I'm going to beat you up and set you straight."
Lost and I both started another attack at the next moment. Once again, I dodged his attack and landed mine.
But, instead of the feel of a normal punch, it felt like I was punching water. My fist was going through Lost's face, but instead of blood, some black liquid was coming out.
"I told you that was your free shot. You're never going to land another punch again. Next time you try to touch me, I'll absorb Yuuto."
"Thanks for the heads up, I'll make sure to keep my distance."
There's no reason for me to stick close to Lost in this situation. It would only increase his chances of absorbing me.
I know he's serious, I could tell it from his voice. If I give him an opening, he's going to kill me.
But that's perfectly fine, it means he's taking the fight seriously. It might sound like a shounen manga's cliché, but I do think we'll get somewhere by actually fighting.
I took some distance from Lost. Fighting up close and personal is no good, but I can also try some spells to see how that works.
As Lost rushed towards me, I shot Fidezenons at him, but he just walked through them as if they were nothing. I waited until he got close and then froze him with Freeziar, but that was also no good.
Lost broke free of the ice prison in much less than a second, but I expected as much. As soon as he was free, I launched a Thundergia at him. For a second, I thought that had worked, but it seemed luck wasn't on my side.
"Sorry to say, but you're going to have a hard time using spells on me."
"I'm starting to think so as well."
Lost didn't give me even a second to think things over. I dodged his next attack, but the follow up almost got to me.
Right after I dodged, Lost's arm extended and became a claw. I knew I couldn't dodge it as I was, so I had to use Transite to get out of the way.
The place I teleported to was behind Lost. At the same time, I made a small dagger by changing the shape of Barricade and thrust it into Lost's back. The black liquid that made up his body tried expanding towards me, but I expected that and was able to dodge it.
"!"
Lost was turning in my direction, maybe to say something, but then he burst from the inside.
I put another spell inside that dagger I made with Barricade, a Destructshear. That's why Lost burst like a balloon.
Well, all the black liquid that flew around everywhere started gathering in one place, and before I knew it Lost was back up like nothing had happened.
"I'll admit, that one surprised me. Are you ready to give up now, Yuuto?"
"I'm just getting started. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."
While that's not a lie, I'd rather keep a few things up my sleeve still, so I'd like to solve this with just normal spells.
I learned a few things from these exchanges. Spells don't really work on Lost, but they're not entirely ineffective. He can be blown up with Destructshear, or frozen with Freeziar, and Barricade will stop the black liquid even if only for a millionth of a second. But using Fidezenon to burn him or Thundergia to shock him doesn't work, it just doesn't do anything.
What's the common point between all that? I can say that, to defend against Lost, I need speed and something in between us to give me a bit of an advantage. But how about attacking? Why do some things work and others don't?
[Yuuto, I have finished the analysis.]
Great, because it's looking like I'm not going to have more time to think.
Lost came at me again, even faster than before. He came at me from above, but I dodged him, and his fist made a small crater where I had just been.
But that wasn't the end of it. His leg extended in my direction and transformed into a spear. I also dodged that, but Lost didn't give me a second to rest.
His body flowed through his leg and then reformed itself next to me, but he had claws instead of hands now, and he was even faster than before.
"You're hard to kill, Yuuto!"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
At this point, I needed to use Stride or I wouldn't be able to move fast enough to dodge. And I also have to pay attention to Sein.
[The difference between the spells Lost absorbs easily and the ones it takes him a second are in how the spells manifest. The spells you used, Fidezenon and Thundergia, focused their area of effect, while your Freeziar affected more than just Lost. In all likelihood, the part of the spell that entered direct contact with Lost was absorbed, but it took him a little to break out of the remaining ice.]
That makes sense, it also explains why Destructshear worked. The spell's effect is the explosion. So if his absorption needs him to touch the spell, then by that point he'd already be dealing with the effects of the explosion.
It's also probably safe to assume he has some level of control over his body's attributes. My first punch landed, but none of the following did. And Rinne told me she has used her Characteristic Magic, Revival, on him before. So stuff can land on him.
[It is also worth pointing out that, while he does have a slightly harder time absorbing spells with more solid manifestations, such as Barricade, that does not seem like a reliable strategy. It is still best to keep your distance.]
Then I need a spell that allows me to hit him while keeping my distance, but that the mana is spread out enough that he can't just absorb it at once… wait, I think it's actually possible.
[Also, it is only a theory of mine, but there is something that should work against Lost.]
… That's interesting, and it's worth a try. I'll try it out together with my own idea.
I kept dodging Lost's attacks, since I needed some time to adjust some magic formulas. While dodging, I kept getting closer and closer to a wall.
"You messed up, Yuuto!"
Lost extended his palms towards me, and then his arms transformed into multiple lances, which all launched towards where I was.
But none of them pierced me, because I used Transite to teleport to the wall on the opposite side.
"Just give up already and I'll make it painl- gah!"
I shut Lost up with a punch, but I didn't move from where I was.
I used the Basic Magic Telek to punch him. It was a simple spell that let you grab things from far away, and it was the first spell my mom taught me years ago.
Well, that was the spell, but I altered the formula a bit. For all intents and purposes, you can imagine I grew giant arms made of mana.
I remember using it to spy on Lizel in the bathroom a few ti- I mean I don't know anything about that. It's a very innocent spell that was never used in any perverted situation and I also never used it to flip the skirts or grope the girls in my old school every now and then. That never happened.
A-anyway, Lost can, for lack of a better explanation, make his body liquid if he wants to. Or maybe he can turn it solid? I'm not sure which is the natural state.
But what matters is that he has to control it in order to attack and move the way he wants to. It's easy enough for him to tell when I'm going to punch him and turn his body liquid if we're close together, but what about when we're far away? And what's more, my mana hands I made with Telek are invisible, so it's even harder to know when an attack is coming..
Sure, the part that touches him has its mana absorbed, but I can easily just pour more mana in. This is a Basic Magic, so it doesn't take that much mana.
"What the hell was that?!"
"I said I had a few tricks up my sleeve."
And we haven't even gotten to the best part of this one.
Lost tried attacking me again, but I kept our distance and continued to punch him with Telek. And he also kept absorbing its mana.
After a few failed attempts, Lost got frustrated and got into liquid form. The next second, he became like a huge tsunami that was making his way towards me.
I tried holding his back with Telek, but it didn't work. At least I got him to absorb a lot of mana.
I waited until Lost got close to me and then I teleported above him. I used Fly to keep myself in the air. Lost quickly noticed where I was and was making himself into a tower to come up to me.
Since I had the chance, I figured I'd end this. Telek is normally used to grab things, but, for all intents and purposes, it can serve as an extension of any body part.
"Guaaah!"
In other words, I stopped down Lost as if I grew a giant leg. Because of the nature of my Telek pressing down on him, Lost wasn't able to absorb enough of its mana at once and he ended up being stomped like a bug.
Now it was my turn to make a crater on the ground, and Lost became a puddle of black water on that crater.
After a few seconds, I figured Lost wasn't getting up again, so I went down. Rinne and the others also came out of their hiding spot.
"What, did you do, Yuuto?"
"I purified the mana, since I knew you'd absorb it. It worked better than I thought."
That was Sein's suggestion. Purify is an Intermediate Magic that does exactly what the name says. If you were to get a cup of muddied water and use that spell on it, it would purify it. You could even use it to separate the mud from the water if you're skilled enough with it.
Well, the end result would be 100% pure water in most cases, so it might not be as useful as on first thought. But at least it's not false advertisement.
Still, why did it make Lost like this? It should have about as much effect as a light shower on living things. Unless there is something like a curse involved.
"Are you hurt, Yuuto?"
"A-ah, no, I'm fine."
"That's good, it's a relief."
Rinne and Hinana were looking over Lost and Hisoka was with them. Hime was the one who came to check on me. For some reason, I could feel myself blushing.
But, before I was able to fly off into dreamland, I saw a black arm come out of the black puddle. I guess Lost is trying to take solid form again.
"Damn it! What's with this, Yuuto?"
"Well, consider it revenge for Stella. Now that that's done, let's try talking again."
Now, Lost had his upper body formed, but he seemed really tired. He didn't even have any discernible features, just a black humanoid form. I don't think there's any immediate danger, but the girls took a step back.
Except for Rinne, that is.
"Lost, I know you're a victim as well, but this has to stop. You already got your revenge, and you can still go back. Poran and the other children from your village are waiting for you."
"What does that have to do with anything? Power! I need more power! I'll absorb everything in my way and become a being even greater than the Devil King. Why should I care about some fucking mixed-blood devils?!"
"You tell me. Do you remember the reason for your dream of becoming the strongest?"
"That was… so that my friends wouldn't worry about tomorrow's food, or if someone was going to take our homes from us…"
Lost has the look as if something clicked into place inside his head. Yeah, that's it.
"Lost has done a lot of bad things, but I also know you're not a bad person. If you just wanted to become stronger, it would have been easier to absorb me and Hisoka, instead of saving us. But Lost didn't do that. So please, listen to Yuuto."
Rinne said, continuing from where I left off. And then she continued talking.
"I don't know if it's all the people you've absorbed, or if it's something else, but I know it's not too late for Lost. You can go back to the people you loved and make up for what you did wrong."
"I…"
Lost seemed to be struggling. Maybe, he'd focused so much on his revenge and on getting stronger that he forgot why he was even doing it.
And then…
{Everyone, this is an emergency announcement. I'm suspending the bending of the space that made this into a labyrinth, you can now walk or fly about in Ginsei Academy like normal.}
That was the Devil King's voice. Everyone was surprised at this sudden announcement, including Lost.
{Listen well, the Labyrinth Battle Royale is officially suspended. A Disaster has happened in this world sensei put you all in. sensei will be there in a few minutes, so try to survive for as long as you can. If you see a black liquid, avoid it as much as possible.}
A Disaster. I remember seeing one, just once. It was back in the Athletic Festival. Back then, Ginsei Academy was suddenly engulfed by lava.
Of course, the mentioning of a black liquid made us all look at Lost, but he seemed about as lost about it as we were.
And it's not like we had time to ask anything. A black tentacle-thing suddenly burst through a school building, and on its tip was an eye. It was hard to tell, but it seemed to be looking at us.
"Everyone! Let's follow the Devil King's orders and find somewhere safe."
Hinana said, and she was right. We should, first of all, find somewhere safe. By the way, Arcana, how are the girls?
[Your Cards are safe. They are flying through the sky in VII's Top Runner.]
Yeah, getting high seems like a good option, since the liquid is spreading on the floor.
"Hold on."
"Eh?"
"Oh my."
I tightly held Hime and Hinana, then I took off with Fly. As much as I would like to enjoy the sensation of their bodies so close to mine, I quickly reached the rooftop and landed them there. Then, I jumped back down.
"Now it's you two."
"A-alright."
"W-waaa."
Now I did the same for Rinne and Hisoka. Once again, it was a shame I couldn't enjoy being so close with such beauties, but time is of the essence.
Once I left them with Hinata and Hime, I went back down again to get Lost. The black liquid was almost at us, so I pulled him out of the puddle.
"Come on, it's your turn now."
"By the way, I noticed you're treating me differently."
"Well, of course I prefer to carry around pretty girls."
Unlike with the girls, I wasn't holding Lost as close. Can anyone blame me?
As soon as I took off, the tentacle with an eye on its tip plunged down on the puddle Lost had been in previously.
It would have been fine if that was it, but then, when we were almost to the roof, some small tentacles shot out and grabbed Lost. No, I thought they were tentacles, but they were actually small hands.
"Woaaaaaaahh!"
Those hands pulled Lost away from me. It wasn't even a full second before he was pulled inside the rising black water.
Then, from where Lost had been pulled into, something appeared. A black egg? That's the best way I can think to describe this.
"Damn it! Lost!"
Was Lost inside the black egg? That's the only thing I can think of. If so, maybe I can still save him.
I'm a little tired, but it can't be helped. With some luck I…
"Wait."
Noticing I was going to go back down, Rinne stopped me. Then, I saw her take her knife and cut her own wrist. The next second, I felt as if I hadn't even fought, I was back to perfect condition.
That was Rinne's Revival. A healing magic so good it can even bring back the dead. Though it has a price that Rinne needs to hurt herself to use it, so I don't quite like it.
"A-also, this is so you get stronger, alright?!"
Then, Rinne grabbed the hem of her skirt and lifted it, showing me her panties.
The healing I get, but why the sudden panty flash? I'm not complaining though. Let's take a mental photo.
"Alright, I'm going to go save Lost now."
I pulled out my Arcana, which was secured to me as if it was a necklace. Since Rinne went through the trouble of healing me, I'll fight with all I got.
It's time to show off my third Characteristic Magic.
"Sein!"
