"Sein!"
I shouted, and then I extended my hand towards Lovers Arcana. A sword's handle was extending out from the Arcana.
Grabbing the handle, I pulled the sword out in one go. A single-edged silver sword with a curved blade and golden patterns engraved elegantly into it came out.
Named after the being residing in Lovers Arcana, that's my third and last Characteristic Magic. It really could be called Sein in sword form, given how beautiful it is.
Just pulling out the sword almost made me faint, after all it's a spell that requires 200000 mana, all that I have right now. That's why I also immediately activated Infinite Lovers, another Characteristic Magic of mine.
Right now, I should be able to continuously use Infinite Lovers for around a minute straight. Normally, using Infinite Lovers continuously would fry my magic circuits, and since my current magic circuits are the ones Lizel gave me, I can never let them get damaged. But my training with Michael also helped me extend the time I can use Infinite Lovers for.
I would like for it to be more than just a minute, but it can't be helped. I just have to get even stronger from here on.
"Huh?"
Maybe it was just in my head, but I felt as if the black liquid's attention was diverted onto me. The many tentacles took aim and then came at me.
They were clearly intent to kill, rather than to capture like before. But that's no problem.
Once they got in range, I swung Sein. It easily cleaved through however many black tentacles came at me. And, while I may have only sliced through the tip of each one, the tentacles all crumbled down into dust.
And that's because…
[Curse was purified.]
Yeah, I still don't know the origin behind this black liquid that makes up Lost's body, but there definitely seems to be some kind of curse at play here.
Also, while the tentacles might have crumbled into dust, by adding more black liquid to them, they were able to suppress the purification. Essentially, the tentacles were regenerating.
I'm willing to guess I could also use Sein to purify the black swamp currently flooding this Ginsei Academy, but I'm not planning on taking a dip just yet. So for now, I'll keep myself in the sky with Fly.
*crumble crumble*
I heard the sound of something breaking down, and it was coming from all around me. Before I noticed, more tentacles burst through Ginsei Academy's buildings, and even more were forming from the swamp.
Not only that, they were dividing, getting thinner, but growing in number. And something tells me they're still just as deadly.
This… is a problem. I'm not sure if I can defend against all of that if they all attack at once. And even if I can, I won't be able to advance and save Lost.
But luckily, I have friends I can count on.
"Yuuto-kun!"
"Yuuto! Don't worry about these things."
"We'll give you cover…"
Ruki, Lizel and Neith showed up. Ruki had her black and white wings exposed and Lizel and Neith were on Top Runner, the three of them flying in the sky.
Ruki used her light powers to shoot a gigantic blast at the thin black tentacles. It doesn't matter how thin they are, the area of effect was so big that there was no way they wouldn't be hit.
Meanwhile, Lizel was accurately sniping the tentacles. That's already impressive by itself, considering how fast Neith is making Top Runner move, but by now the tentacles are so thin I can't even see them anymore. Yet Lizel snipes them as if there was no way to miss.
"Thanks, I'll finish this soon."
I can't afford to waste their precious help or the precious time I have left with Infinite Lovers. I know this is dangerous, but I trust that they'll be safe.
I dash straight at the black egg. If Lost is inside there, then I'll just cut it open and pull him out.
As if guessing my intentions, the egg begins to move. You know, I'm only thinking this now, but Lost's ability to move through the black liquid is annoying.
I have no choice but to go after it. Maybe that's what it's thinking I'll do, but I have a different plan.
"Telek. And Purify for good measure."
Just like before, I used purified mana on the Telek magic formula, essentially working as an extension of my body. I held the egg in place and continued approaching it.
Because of the purified mana, the egg was shaking. This black thing really hates being purified.
With Infinite Lovers, I'm pretty sure I could just smash this thing, but my objective isn't to kill it. It's to rescue Lost.
I finally got close enough to the egg. Using Sein, I cut the outer shell. With some luck, I'll see Lost and be able to pull him out.
'!'
"Guaaah!"
What was that? It was like an inaudible scream. I felt like my head was going to burst.
I was able to cut off some of the egg's outer shell and peel it off. What I saw inside was a being made of this black liquid, but it wasn't Lost. It's face… even though all I could see were an eye and mouth, for some reason I felt fear as if I'd just seen the most horrible monster in existence.
[Yuuto, calm yourself.]
When I heard Sein's voice, I was able to begin calming down. It wasn't long before my breathing and heart rate returned to normal.
But I noticed a problem, I had let the egg go. But it hadn't escaped.
Instead, it once again closed itself, but it got smaller. I didn't even have time to wonder why, as the answer soon showed itself.
More black beings of all shapes and sizes showed up. Some had male shapes, others had female shapes. Some were tall, some were short.
Could these be… the people Lost absorbed?
'Kill him. Whoever can do it shall be freed.'
What was that? It wasn't a voice, yet I heard it. It was like it went directly into my head. Was it the thing inside the egg?
""""Waaaaaaaarrrr!""""
Now that was a voice, and it came from the people that just came from inside the egg. It seems that the previous thing was some kind of order to them.
But most of them simply rushed towards me. In that case, I simply slashed them with Sein. I don't have enough leeway to wonder if they were just some innocent victims or something. I don't even want to imagine what would happen to me if they touched me.
As I kept cutting through them, there was 1 I couldn't cut no matter what. It was like I hit something before I hit it. That was strange, but the feeling was familiar.
"Remember me, Lovers?!"
"Who the hell are you?"
He shouted just before he jumped at me, but I dodged with Transite.
Oh wait, I think I remember. Aspite's former Ace, I forgot his name. He attacked me at home once and again in the Unveiling, where I beat him. I figured I had killed him that time, but it looks like he was actually absorbed by Lost.
Right, that's it. And his Bloodline Magic was Keep Out, it's similar to barrier magic, but it actually messes with space. That's why I couldn't cut him.
He came at me again, and once again I tried to slice him with Sein, this time was a thrust.
And this time it worked.
"W-wha-? How?"
"I've leveled up a lot since then."
It sounds cool, but what I actually did was teleport Sein's blade into him. I don't even need to touch him. Of course, this would normally break the sword, but since it's a Characteristic Magic it simply regenerates with some mana.
By the way, Sein, this doesn't hurt you, right?
[It may have my name, but it is only a spell. Feel free to use the sword without worries.]
Because of Sein's purification, this guy started crumbling into dust. A few more people came at me, but I slashed them all the same.
I felt a strange heat on my back, but I didn't turn to look. Rather, I dodged out of instinct.
And that was the right choice. A huge firestorm passed where I had just been.
"Finally, I'll finally get my revenge against you! Lovers!"
"… Hey, I know you."
"Don't dare say you've forgotten about me! I should have killed you as soon as I had the chance!"
"You're Ibiza, right?"
Ibiza, Devil's Candidate that did horrible things to Rebecca and Maki, as well as many other people, and made Miyabi's life into hell for a while. It's funny, I was thinking I had let him off a bit easy back then.
Well, there is an idea I'd like to try. It's a bit too cruel so I didn't want to do it to these people who may be innocent, but if it's Ibiza then all the better that it's cruel.
I went backwards, as if trying to run from Ibiza, who gave chase. Even more people jumped at me, and then I simply slashed them with Sein. Are they endless or something?
Of course, since I slashed the people who got between me and Ibiza, it was only a matter of time before they became dust. But, once they did, I wasn't in Ibiza's line of sight anymore.
I had teleported behind him and tried to land a surprise attack, but as expected, he realized it and used Barricade to block it.
"Hah! I thought you had gotten stronger, but you still can't break through my Barricade."
"Well, I wasn't trying to."
If I wanted to, I could have done it, but I wanted to use Ibiza for my little experiment, so slashing him with Sein won't do.
I used Barricade, but not to protect myself. It was to trap Ibiza. Then, I compressed the Barricade enough that it became about the size of a basketball. Since I've got Infinite Lovers, I don't have to worry about the mana consumption from altering the shape and size.
"What the hell is this?! Why can't I break free?!"
"It seems you're not as strong as Lost. Then, it's time for the experiment."
"Gaaaah!"
I started pouring purification magic inside the Barricade Ibiza was in. If his scream was any indication, it must have hurt like hell.
I continued filling the ball until the point of bursting at the same time as I defended against the other black beings attacking me. When I thought the Barricade was about to burst, I threw the ball as high as possible.
And it wasn't long before it burst. It was as if it had started raining. The beings made of black liquid stopped, as if to admire the rain.
Then, they started becoming dust. And they seemed… rather peaceful. Come to think of it, some of them just kind of jumped at me, as if they wanted to be cut. Maybe this was a way to set them free.
The reason why I used Ibiza for this was because using Purify through some medium, even if it's just another spell, seems to be more effective than just casting Purify at this black liquid. But I figured I could use one of them as a source of purified rain.
I guess this marks the end of these people's suffering, and it's even getting rid of the black swamp a little.
Since I didn't know if it was safe for me, I set up a Barricade above me to protect me from the purified rain.
Now, all I have to do is-
"!"
Instinctively, I used Sein to protect my back. Before I even had time to think, I felt an impact. Someone, or something, had tried to punch me in the back.
The impact was so strong that, even though I blocked with Sein, I still felt like my bones would break. I was sent flying, but I was able to put a stop to myself fairly easily thanks to Fly.
'Nuisance. I will get rid of you myself.'
It was that thing from inside the egg. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling fear right now, but the adrenaline was helping me keep things together. It was clear this thing wanted to kill me.
It didn't seem to be fully formed yet. Its only distinguishing features were the eye and half a mouth I saw before. But it's absorbing the black swamp, probably to try and complete itself.
I only have about 10 seconds left with Infinite Lovers. It seems strong, but since it's not complete yet maybe I can-
[Yuuto, you will not win. Run!]
I didn't even have time to question Sein. That thing got closer to me faster than I could react. It already absorbed all of the black swamp?
Sein wouldn't be enough to block, so I used Barricade. Since I've still got Infinite Lovers, I figured I'd feed it the infinite mana. No, something inside me told me there was no other chance to survive.
A Barricade with infinite mana should be, for all intents and purposes, indestructible. Well, it was actually just so stupidly resistant that you'd need an unimaginable amount of power to break it. But even if it was somehow destroyed, it should recover faster than the rate it was destroyed.
Yet, it proved to be about as effective as a shield made of wet paper now. With basically instant reaction, I created another Barricade when the first one broke, then another and another.
Luckily, I had enough reaction time to dodge out of the way, though I'm pretty sure it was because time seemed to slow down severely when the thing's fist was almost touching me. I teleported to its blind spot and attacked with Sein.
All I managed to do was break the blade on its neck. But I didn't falter, I used Transite to teleport the broken blade inside the creature. The purifying effect should do something to it.
'Your efforts are futile. Who even are you to begin with?'
That's about as much reaction as I got. The creature began to move and time slowed down again. I needed to dodge again, but Infinite Lovers just ran out.
I can't dodge, I can't even move anymore. I can't-
"Thanks for keeping this guy busy, Yuuto. Sensei will take it from here."
That's all I heard before I felt a strong impact. I had just slammed into a wall with incredible force. Someone shoved me to the side with a lot of power, but that saved me from being killed by the thing.
It was the Devil King. After he shoved me out of the way, he grabbed Sein.
"Also, sensei is going to borrow this for a little bit. I've never been good with Lovers' power, so sensei wants to try this a little."
The Devil King was facing the black thing. When it was facing me, it barely seemed to pay attention, but against the Devil King, its full attention seemed to be focused on him.
'I remember you.'
"It's been a good while, hasn't it? But we're still not ready over here, so I'll have to ask you to leave."
The thing tried to punch the Devil King, but he caught his fist. He wasn't touching it to not be absorbed, but I could feel some kind of power coming from his hand.
"You seem weaker than back then."
'This vessel is both incomplete and not ideal.'
Does the Devil King know this thing? Because of the impact from before, I feel like I'm losing consciousness, but I force myself to stay awake.
I see them fighting, but I can't follow it. It's way too fast for me. All I can tell is that the Devil King is using Sein, but he's not really a swordsman. Meanwhile, the thing is using… all kinds of power.
It's not just limiting itself to punches. Transforming its body, attacking with magic, using… some other kind of power. It's doing all that, and the Devil King is keeping up.
But then, at some point, the Devil King stabbed it with Sein. Yet, it didn't seem to have any effect.
"Just needs some oomph."
The Devil King poured his mana into Sein, and then the creature fell backwards. Did it die? I somehow doubt it.
Then, it began to transform. I recognized that form, it was Lost. So he really was being taken over.
"Gaaah!"
I felt like my body was killing me, but I felt like I had to go to Lost. I don't think he'll survive with Sein stabbed onto him.
So at least, I want to hear his final words.
