VI
Chapter 35: The Wrong Path Taken
Blinking_in_the_Void
Part 1
September 3, 10:39 PM
After leaving Kyuchi with the sunglasses driver who would take her to the hospital, Hishiro headed back to District 3. With Asuka keeping track of the remnant, he could stay out of the conflict for the time being until they had another opportunity to recover it.
But for him, that just meant going back to the previous problem.
Among the many skyscrapers in the area near the south edge of the district, the boy had meticulously chosen the second smallest building to rent a room from. There was no logical reason behind it. It didn't help them keep hidden, nor the location made it any easier to escape in case of an emergency. It was just a whim… but the lack of a reasoning behind it meant no one could follow the same reasoning to get to them. Or at least that's what he kept telling himself as he waited in the elevator to reach the 5th floor.
This was a far cry from the many fancy private salons that were commonplace in that region, but being more simple made it give off more of a welcoming environment. Sometimes the students would choose to come to places like this simply because it reminded them of their home outside Academy City. Putting aside the morality behind these establishments preying on children's homesickness, Hishiro figured it would be the best place for Lilly to live in for the time being.
He thought she would be asleep at that time, but surprisingly, she was sitting on the sofa when he arrived, completely absorbed by some kind of magical girl anime airing on the TV. She didn't even turn her head when he placed down the plastic bag with a pizza box on the table, making the boy sigh.
What should I do here? I could just go and sleep without saying anything. It's not like we would talk much if I stayed up anyway. But is this okay? It doesn't feel right.
As Hishiro was having an internal debate over what to do, Lilly finally spoke up.
"Oh... I didn't see you coming in, Hishiro."
"H-hi." He was so distracted, he didn't notice when she had stopped paying attention to the show. "Was everything alright while I was out?"
"Yup." She gave him a smile and turned off the TV.
She... seems way more friendly than before. Maybe all that defensiveness was just her being alone in the streets, and now that she has food and a roof over her head, she feels more comfortable.
A few memories of his own past flashed on the boy's mind. After the project was cancelled and the orphanage closed, when he was left to fend for himself, the world became a cold and scary place, and he ended up isolating himself.
The difference between then and now is that he did it by choice, in order to find the truth behind the accident. But for her, it was unlikely to be the case. She didn't know where she came from, nor why she was wandering alone on the streets before Hishiro found her, and even less for how long. How a girl her age got that far in those circumstances was a mystery.
Although, if she was anything like the original Lilly, this was nothing but the expected outcome. That girl was just better than him in absolutely everything. If he survived in those harsh circumstances, she was more than capable of doing it.
No. I need to stop thinking like that. She is not the same as the original. The old Lilly is long gone. There's no reason to compare the two.
"I bet you're hungry. Do you like pizza?" He asked as he opened the box, revealing a plain cheese pizza.
Lilly's face lit up, but she quickly regained composure. "It looks so good!"
That wasn't the reaction Hishiro was expecting, but she at least seemed to like it. "Alright, then we should eat before it gets cold."
The two ate in absolute silence, but not because of the awkward situation. The girl was taken aback by the amazing taste and just couldn't contain her emotions. She even tried to hide her joy by holding her mouth with her hand.
"Mmmmnhh!" She blissfully let escape, but immediately covered her mouth again with an embarrassed expression.
Being an experiment, it's not surprising she is unfamiliar with something as common as a pizza... but it still bothers me for some reason.
What did the original think of it? He didn't remember. Over the years, his memories related to food from that time had completely left him. Maybe due to his over fixation in his search for answers, his brain deemed as irrelevant some memories which didn't hold the secret to the project. And realizing it now, it felt like he had lost a part of his past, alongside an important part of the original he held within him.
What did she liked to eat? What she disliked? What face she would make when tasting her favorite food? It was all gone. He would never know those things anymore. No, it was worse than that. They were going to be replaced by the scene he was witnessing just now. Even if he kept telling himself they weren't the same, their semblance was strong enough that his mind was starting to accept the replacement.
And he wasn't okay with that.
A strong wave of rejection overtook him and, for a split second, his hand almost reached for the gun in his pocket to get rid of the impostor right then and there.
"Hishiro?" Her voice broke his train of thought and snapped him back into reality. She was looking at him with an expression that mixed worry and curiosity, as if trying to guess his thoughts.
"Uhh... sorry. It's nothing, really." He looked down at the table. He couldn't bear to see her face anymore.
"Are you sure? You were making a scary face again... D-did I bother you?"
"No, it's not that. I'm just... tired, I guess. Yeah, that has to be it." The boy gulped down the rest of the slice he was eating and stood up. "Eat as much as you want, and just leave any leftovers here. I'm gonna shower and go to sleep."
"O-okay. Thank you." She replied with a slightly saddened tone, and the boy left without turning back.
After locking himself in the bathroom, Hishiro leaned his back against the door, staring at his trembling hands.
What the hell is wrong with me? I almost killed the most important clue I found my entire life! I was really about to shoot that child... for what?!
A strong urge to vomit struck him, with shivers running from the top of his head to the tip of his toe. A mix of the side effects of his own ability and some other emotion he wasn't particularly familiar with. Using all of his energy to suppress it, he let his body slide down the door and onto the floor while breathing hard. And only then he noticed one of his eyes was watering.
"Haha... what the fuck am I doing?" He couldn't tell if the tears were out of anger or frustration, or simply for him losing control like that. It was like something inside of him was screaming at him. Something he neglected and was demanding his attention. And even though it felt important, it was the source where the impulse earlier came from.
So Hishiro denied it. Rejected it. And it hurt to do so. The boy didn't understand why.
Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! I didn't come this far just to... breakdown like this. I'm not like the scum I fight against that let the dark side drown them. It's the other way around. I have it all in the palm of my hand. Everything is under my control. Asuka, Seria, Kyuchi, those stupid magicians, and whoever is behind the creation of this new Lilly... and even myself. I have all of them in check. I WILL have all of them in check. As long as I keep myself in control of the whole situation, I will never sink any deeper than I need to, and no one nor anything will drag me down. So, just... STOP IT!
After a moment, he took a deep breath, and the feeling finally died down. His shaking hands had stopped. No tears have fallen. The chilling aura of his own AIM fields was all that was left, and he embraced the familiar freezing discomfort it brought.
"That's right... this is not the time for shit like that. I have never been so close, and I can't lose this opportunity. What's important now is the next step to take."
Part 2
New Pointer may have stepped down from the chase for the time being, but the dark side as a whole was still boiling over it. At the moment, the ones on the lead were CLASS, who had quickly escaped with the Remnant into District 6 by using the monstrous powered suit's ability to make "walls" out of thin air to clear the path all the way there.
The rendezvous point was located at the parking lot behind a huge theater going trough renovations. Sumire emerged from the machine's hatch on top, throwing her hair back and pulling off the gas mask.
"Ugh, I hate this thing. Why do we still need to wear it? Daku was the only one that used those toxic chemicals, and he will probably not recover from that injury from the last battle."
"Yikes! You're so cruel, Sumire-chan!"
"I already told you to stop calling me that! And don't act like you care about him, Nokon."
The other member of CLASS who carried an electric guitar also removed his mask, revealing a face full of tattoos and scars, contrasting the girl's that looked youthful and spotless.
"I don't! But those masks are really cool!"
"They're annoying..."
"Sensei asked us to keep using them because-"
"I know, I get it. But I still hate it..."
Suddenly, they heard steps coming from within the theater. They belonged to the 4th and final member of CLASS.
"Don't be like that, Sumire. As an engineer yourself, you should know better than to complain about our tools. You are disrespecting the effort their creators put into them."
"Ah- I'm sorry, Kyrie-sensei. That was not my intention."
Takayama Kyrie. The genius mind behind the creation of the Five-Overs, currently on the run from the authorities after her masterpiece Modelcase Accelerator was trashed by Hishiro and Kihara Nayuuta, and that illegal research came to light. But she approached the two young adults in plain sight without a single care in the world. She no longer had her large round glasses, opting to use contact lenses instead, but her signature twin ponytails still tied her long black wore an unconventional dark grey lab coat over a black suit with a yellow tie, and also had a similar gas mask to the others' tied on the belt of her pants, pained in yellow with a white star on it.
"I am assuming the operation was a success." She said, looking at the silver suitcase carrying the District 23 logo on it.
"Kehehe, but of course! It was a Piece- Of- Cake- to take it from them! Those idiots were so busy wearing themselves out by fighting each other that they never saw us coming for the climax!" Nokon bragged while showing off a pose.
"We were lucky they were distracted." Sumire replied, annoyed by her partner's antics. "Really, the whole city is after this. If another crazy person like that pyromaniac esper from last time were to show up..." She hugged herself, trembling a little remembering that terrifying scene.
"Do not worry your cute little head over that." Kyrie tapped one of the legs of the massive machine Sumire had been riding. "We improved Beta to be able to deal specifically with scenarios like these. Speaking of which, how did it perform today?"
"Flawlessly! Beta put on a spectacular show!"
"Yeah, but today was nowhere near the stress test that was fighting that pyrokinesis girl." The girl in the green racing suit commented as she leaped down from the cockpit and onto the parking lot asphalt. "I'm still reluctant to consider the results as a proper replica of the true Dark Matter."
"Well, no wonder. This is still only the second version. Those things require many, many iterations, sweetie." The researcher explained, making her way closer to the giant machine and gently caressing the side of the hatch where the girl had jumped from. "We will get there eventually. But for now, let us focus on the matter at hand."
The two nodded in agreement, and Nokon asked while pointing at the suitcase.
"So... how are we bringing this bad boy out of the city, sensei?"
"Out of the city? No, we are bringing it to the lab."
"H-huh?" Both Sumire and Nokon looked confused. "But weren't we banding together with the anti-esper movement? They wanted this pretty badly..."
"We cooperated with them due to their larger numbers." Kyrie explained. "I assumed there was a high probability that they would be the ones taking the remnant in the end, in which case we would also have access to it if we were allies. But since we got it ourselves, there is no longer any need to associate ourselves with the likes of them."
"We are... double crossing them?!" Sumire asked in surprise. "But why?! Won't they come after us now?"
"Most likely. But there is no need to fear them. They are nothing but a front anyway. The true organisers just want to bring Academy City down, they don't care about espers and non espers in the slightest. All they do is use the anti-esper movement as their mouthpiece because they can't act openly without risking exposing their true identity. Meaning they can't go after us without taking risks, which they might not be willing to take."
"So... basically, they can't do shit!" Nokon sounded rather excited. "But what about the other groups in the dark side?"
"They lost. All of them. Sumire, take the contents of the remnant with us and leave the suitcase open here. It will serve as a declaration of victory, and it will be enough for at least some of the factions to give up pursuing it."
"I got it." The engineer went straight to work, forcing the suitcase open and...
"Uhh... sensei? Is this really the remnant?"
Kyrie turned to see what was the problem, and her eyes opened wide upon seeing the contents.
"No. No, it is not."
There was supposed to be a glass case containing the remaining parts of a supercomputer. But what they found instead was a huge old book, bound in red leather.
"The fuck is this?!"
"Language, Nokon." The teacher reprimanded as she approached the suitcase. "But it is indeed strange."
Out of curiosity, Sumire picked it up and opened it.
Opening it was the worst mistake of her life.
It didn't matter that it was written in a foreign language. Nor if she could read it or not. That book contained forbidden knowledge, originated on the opposite side of the supernatural, in complete opposition to science. That alone was enough to hurt any esper that came in contact with it, but on top of that, the contents were extremely toxic to the human mind, capable of causing deadly damage even if taking the proper preparations. The moment her brain recognized the book as "not belonging in her hands", it was already over.
Her eyes rolled back, and the young woman fell flat on the ground with blood leaking from her ears.
"SUMIRE!" Nokon yelled, running to her.
Kyrie, on the other hand, remained in place. "This... this can't be..." She was shaking, staring at the book, not daring to touch it.
"Sensei, what is this thing?! What did you make us steal?!"
"This isn't the remnant, that much is obvious. Did someone replace the contents? Or was the remnant never in this suitcase in the first place?" She took a deep breath. "Whatever the case, this is a problem. Take Sumire back inside Beta and drive back to the lab as fast as possible."
"W-why? What are you gonna do, sensei?"
"I need to find out what is happening, and who has the remnant." She answered before putting on her gas mask and rubber gloves. Then she carefully but quickly closed the book and returned it inside the suitcase, not without taking a photo with her phone first.
Nokon didn't question her and carried Sumire, laying her inside the cockpit of the powered suit, He closed the hatch and climbed to the top, then gave Kyrie a salute before riding the machine away, leaving her behind.
This was an unexpected development. But unexpected developments is what brought that researcher this far. Even though she was on the verge of losing the precious data about the experiments with the 20,000 clones stored in the remnant, she could not ignore the possibility that she had maybe stumbled upon something bigger, and the idea was almost too much for her to contain her excitement.
So she waited. She sat on top of the sealed suitcase and patiently waited. If this was just a scapegoat to hide the fact the Remnant was already taken, if it was just a poisoned book trying to trick people into looking more into a dead end lead, then no one would come for it. If someone did come for it, it would raise the possibility of something else.
Part 3
Shouta and Kumiko somehow managed to crawl their way back into the dusty room in the building they were in before. All they had to do was take the contents of the suitcase they had replaced and leave. That was all they needed, and they would have won. But...
"Gone... it's gone! Why isn't it here!" Kumiko panicked. "I left it here, wrapped in that cloth... where is it?!"
"Kumiko... the window."
Shouta was badly injured, but she was still the first one to notice the shoe marks on the wall of the broken window that weren't there before, implying someone else had come here after they left. Meaning that someone had beaten them at their own game.
"No... we can't let it end like this..." Kumiko started chewing on her nails and walking back and forth nervously. The boy had never seen her so distressed before.
"Kumiko, I think we should just drop it for now. I'm barely keeping myself up, and you're hurt too. We should regroup and think about our next step-"
His reasoning was suddenly interrupted by another voice.
"Ah... so you were the ones that did that."
Despite his condition, Shouta immediately jumped in between the girl and the source of the voice. There was someone in the corner of the room, hidden in the shadows.
It was a boy with dark brown skin, wearing oversized grey robes that hid the lower half of his face and messy medium black hair. His pit black eyes stared right into their souls, as if judging if they had the right to keep living or if they should be disposed of right there. But contrary to his threatening appearance, he started talking in a friendly tone. "Oh, thank the stars someone showed up. I would be in so much trouble if I had no lead to follow."
It all felt out of place. Like none of them should be there, occupying the same room at that specific time. Shouta lowered his guard a little despite all that, given how the other party was willing to talk this over. "Who... are you?"
"Seiza Oboshi. That's all I can tell you about me, otherwise you will be in danger." He warned. "Now, please return the tome you took to me, and then let's pretend none of this ever happened, okay? That thing is extremely dangerous."
Kumiko and Shouta exchanged glances before the girl started explaining the situation.
"S-sorry. But it's no longer with us. We... no, I put it inside the suitcase to replace the glass case... wait, don't tell me that you have it?!"
"You mean this?" Seiza took said case from behind him. It was exactly the same as the one the two of them had taken from the suitcase, and they couldn't hide their interest in it. "You can have it back as long as you help me recover the tome. It is of extreme importance that I take it back home with me."
That would mean having to walk back into the battlefield that was the dark side. But maybe it was better than try to take the remnant from Seiza by force. Something about this boy screamed danger, even though they couldn't point their finger on what exactly.
"Deal." Shouta extended his hand towards him for a handshake. Once we recover tomorrow, we will start-"
Seiza took his hand and started chanting something under his breath. At the same time, all the wounds in Shouta's body started healing on their own.
"What- wh-whaaaaaa?!"
"Sorry about that." The boy said once he finished chanting. "I shouldn't be doing this in the presence of anyone besides the seeds of doubt, but we have no time to waste. We're moving out right now.
Part 4
September 3, 11:55 PM - District 6
Kyrie's wait was worth it. Someone had really come for the suitcase. And not anyone either. It was a group of 4, of which she was only interested in the blond boy known in the dark side as the Grim Reaper and the #4 level 5 esper, Meltdowner.
"Oh dear. If they are sending such big shots after this little toy, it seems I hit the jackpot." The researcher snickered. She had no intention to confront those monsters. Their presence alone was enough of a confirmation for her.
She jumped off the suitcase, placing herself in front of it, as if to protect it. That was taken as a declaration of hostility, and the blond man was the first to react.
"Jackpot? Took the words right out of my mouth-nayh... Takayama Kyrie."
"You recognized me even though the mask? Really kills the point of a disguise, you know."
"Cut the chit chat." Mugino intervened. "I'm already sick of this cat and mouse game. Just hand it over to us and let's get this over with."
"Oh, so you really do want this." The woman lightly tapped the top of the case. "You're free to take it. With my current knowledge, I couldn't possibly have any use for this. But if you will allow me a little selfishness... could you explain to me WHAT IS this?"
"What do you mean, what is this?" Frenda tilted her head, looking both confused and annoying. "You took it not even knowing what it was?"
"I thought I knew, but it turned out not to be what I was looking for." She replied with a disappointed, yet deadly curious tone. "So I put myself at risk, waiting here and hoping for someone to give me the answers."
"Heh... well, I can give you one, alright." Frenda pulled an explosive from her skirt. "Your luck ran out, and now you're screwed!"
"Stop that, Frenda! You're super going to destroy the remnant!" Warned Kinuhata. "If she super wants to give it to us in exchange of information, then we could simply give her that, no?"
"And what's in it for you?" Mugino asked Kyrie. "We have no reason to believe you won't run away the second we answer your questions."
"Ah... sharper than expected for a brute like you, but not as sharp as me. I hate to admit I am no match for your little team." She handed it over to Mugino. "It's a shame that it has to end like this though. I will be leaving here without my answers in the end."
The members of ITEM looked at her in confusion. They didn't deny her request yet, but she already looked defeated. Why?
The answer was the last person there. The Grim Reapers, Tsuchimikado.
"I see... so that's how it is. I'm glad it appeared so soon, but this is quite a mess of a situation."
The blond boy took out his gun, and confidently made an absurd announcement. "Sorry, but none of you present here can escape this place alive."
"Tsk... backstabbing us already?" Mugino clicked her tongue, but she wasn't exactly annoyed by him, nor felt threatened at all. "But what do you expect to do against all of us?"
"I don't even need to. If you take this suitcase away, you will be dying regardless of what I do." His tone was cold, devoid of all of his usual playful facade.
All members of ITEM took a fighting stance against him. Mugino tried to pull the suitcase away, but he already had a hand on the handle, and neither could take it from the other.
"Why are you even stopping us?"
"Because I'm afraid the contents of this suitcase not only are not the remnant, but are also something extremely dangerous that should have never been taken inside this city of science."
"And you expect me to believe you?"
Their bickering was interrupted by the researcher's laughter. "Fufu... fuhahaha! I didn't even have to trick you, did I? You just spilled it all on your own."
Tsuchimikado's eyes narrowed behind his shades, realising the blunder. But then again, she had already seen the contents. She had taken a glance into the forbidden realm separated from science, even if a short one, and showed full intention of trying to pursue it. She was the kind of person that couldn't give up the search for a greater understanding, the kind that would not hesitate to do whatever was necessary, no matter the cost.
"As I thought... you're the one that needs to die the most, Takayama. And it is my job to execute those who overstep that boundary."
The title Grim Reaper was not just for show. Aside from his friend Kamijou Touma, who was a special case, each and every individual that had come across a certain kind of knowledge was destined to be killed by him. The peace between Science and Magic, even if weakened at the moment, hung on the non interference pact between those two sides, and the punishment for those that broke that balance was death.
And it was not only her either. Frenda also had taken that step over the boundary, even if unwillingly. So she understood right away that Tsuchimikado had just declared war on everyone present.
"M-Mugino! Maybe he is right and in the end, whatever is inside that suitcase is really dangerous! If the remnant is really not here, we can just leave and forget all about it!"
"Nonsense! That would make all our effort pointless. Not only that, but this guy is also lying. We're not leaving empty handed."
No one was backing down. Mugino would definitively fight for the suitcase. Kyrie was hell bent on escaping with this information and looking into it deeper, and Tsuchimikado had no intention of letting any of that happen. He was outnumbered, but... besides being a level zero esper he was also a magician. And there was no need to hide that from who was about to be executed anyway.
The sky had gotten cloudy, and a single drop of water fell, breaking the stand still. Hell was unleashed between all of them right after.
Between the Lines
VII - The Chariot.
A tarot card that held a heavy meaning for Myrin. A burden that gave that man a second magic name after his family fell apart due to a tragedy. The embodiment of his iron will to lead his sister Lillian towards the throne, his faith that she would make the lives of everyone better, including his one.
And for that, the card also embodied the power to accomplish it.
He did not have some unusual and unpredictable power like the other two pillars of the Golden Trinity had. He did not hold an infinite amount of knowledge like Ràzval. And even though he built the basis for the cabal's own unique magic system, he wasn't as skilled at using it as Liliam was. Yet, he was the leader of the cabal for a reason.
He reached out a hand for every single one of the members that lived in their mansion when the whole world had turned its back on them. And just like he carried each and every one of them out of their abyss, it also gave him power in return. Power that he never claimed as his own, but would make use of nonetheless.
Surrounding that man were countless bodies, members of the Down-Colored Sunlight. All still alive. All stuck to the floor, unable to move a single muscle, as if being crushed by an invisible weight.
There was no pain. There was no suffering. Only powerlessness. An overwhelming, unwavering sense of powerlessness as none stood a chance to do anything at all, to not even try and fight back. It was all in vain. They laid there cursing in frustration, as if gravity itself was multiplied by a thousand and no amount of effort, physical or magical, could overcome it.
The only one still standing in front of him was Livinia Birdway, leader of the opposing cabal, who stared in awe at the scene, but held no fear in her eyes.
She was playing the game on a larger scale here. Despite being pushed back, their losses were minimal. She trusted her victory was guaranteed in a battle of attrition. The power gap between the two sides meant nothing for her. It may have intimidated the others, but she knew that raw power could only take you so far. And such a great display of it had to have some sort of drawback.
"Your lack of experience in a battle between cabals is showing," She mocked. "Your tricks are pretty, but are nothing more than tricks. What's the point if you can't have all your numbers fighting as well? Even this little stupid spell of yours is a joke. You sell the idea of an overwhelming power, but there are only a dozen of us held down by it, all unharmed. The moment it runs out, you will be surrounded again."
"Hmmmmmm... I am fully aware of that." The reply was slow, and disinterested. "Fighting groups isn't my forte. There is no elegance in that."
"Hoh? So you disabled them temporarily just so you could fight all of us one by one?"
"Yes."
"Starting with me?"
"I hope some lose their will to fight after seeing their leader being defeated, yes."
"All while keeping this spell active?"
"Indeed."
The little girl didn't know if he was insane or stupid, but the absurdity of the situation got her pumped. She never intended to directly participate in this fight, seeing that an ambush on a port would mean certain victory for them eventually, but she wasn't going to turn down a challenge. She snapped her fingers, making the symbolic weapon on her hand swap forms.
A sword. A cup. A disk. And a wand.
Just like Lillian, she worked on the base of their magic system. The difference being that she mastered it to the utmost level, while his sister shaped it to her will. Regardless, he could tell that she was no ordinary foe. Even if Myrin was to try and crush her down with his weight spell, he had no confidence that it would stop hers from hitting him back. And a single hit would be all it would take.
So he decided to attack her seriously. Flipping the card upside down, he targeted himself with his next spell.
To release all weight and become boundless, instead of being crushed by the weight of the whole world and being restrained. Livinia couldn't quite read the inner workings of their bizarre magic system, but she had already seen enough to predict the outcome to some extent. Using the disc form, she launched her attack, making the ground crack open underneath them from where stone spikes rose towards the man, aiming to impale him.
But it didn't happen. Instead, the spike launched him in the air as if he was as light as a feather.
She followed up changing her weapon to the sword form, swinging it down and making a wind blade rush towards him. However, it didn't reach the target. Or rather, he was blown away by the air current before the attack could connect.
As he slowly fell down, Livinia swapped back to the wand, summoning a sea of fire covering the ground just where Myrin was about to land. But the hot air alone kept him floating, safe from the burning ground below.
It was as if he had no weight at all. And without weight, no attack that took any kind of physical form could touch him. That didn't mean he was completely invulnerable, but it was bad news for Levinia who mostly relied on the four elements in her spells.
Despite that, the girl was not distressed in the slightest. She didn't even seem annoyed. She was expecting that her opponent would at least put up that much of a fight.
Changing her tactics, she aimed her wand directly at him, and gathered just the right amount of Telesma so that it would not take any form, but enough to be able to blow anyone up to pieces. The magical arrow was fired, reaching the opposing magician almost instantly, and causing no reaction to the surroundings that he could use to avoid the attack.
But the mass of energy stopped just before reaching him. Or rather it was pulled back with the same amount of force that it was fired. Levinia felt the pressure, almost falling as if gravity changed direction diagonally and her attack returned to her as fast as she had sent it, forcing the girl to deflect it with a precise movement of her wand, sending it to explode in the distance.
"I see..." She said with a slight, yet cocky smile. "This looks like gravity manipulation, but it's not quite that. It's really about weight, but you're playing with the meaning of the word, aren't you? It's all about a mental state. That's why my subordinates are still stuck to the floor even after you were distanced from them, and why you were confident you could maintain the spell even while fighting me. Because they are maintaining it themselves. You made them succumb to the pressure of the battle, and turned it into a physical phenomena. And reversing the effect, you put yourself in a near meditation state, making your body as light and free as a theoretical pure soul."
There was no response. Myrin was not going to break his concentration no matter how much she tried to distract him, but that didn't stop her from continuing.
"This spell is a mockery to all magicians... no, to the entire humankind.'Carrying the weight of the whole world on your back', isn't it? And then, when pushing this burden onto your enemies, you believe you're stronger than anyone else for being free of those restraints after carrying it for so long. Are you messing with us? Who do you think you are to impose that your burdens are heavier than everyone else's?"
Still no response. Myrin simply blinked once, took a deep breath, and chanted while tightening the grip on his card.
"Regret - The nail that seals the coffin of the heart."
Hundreds of needles made of light translucent material appeared in the air around him. They only started moving towards Livinia once she felt the weird diagonal pressure once again, as if they were not affected by real gravity and only by the pull of his magic. But that posed a serious trouble for her, as the angled force disrupted her movement, making it impossible to dodge.
Clicking her tongue, her weapon took the form of a cup, and a ring of water as thick as her own body swirled around her, redirecting the income volley of needles just enough so that none would actually pierce through her. She came out unharmed, but that simple attack changed her perspective of the battle.
The seal of movement and aim of the attack were one and the same. It was impossible to avoid it, and continuously defending would wear her out over time. The only way to stop that barrage was to go on the offensive, but she would have to step beyond her comfort zone in order to find something that could really reach him.
"Interesting. I was not expecting to be pushed into a corner." She laughed, her grin revealing how excited she was.
Yes. There was no fear in her voice, no concern at all. As the leader of the Dawn-colored Sunlight, there were very few people in the world who could threaten her. And this was as close as it had gotten in a very long time, making her young heart rush with adrenaline.
"I recognize you as a worthy opponent, Golden Sage of the Next Aeon. I hope you don't disappoint me."
Hello once again. Gosh, how good it feels to finish this chapter. I started working on it just a week after the last one, but things kept happening one after the other and I had to delay it over and over again. To top it all off, my PC died and I couldn't get it fixed until earlier this year… thank you windows update for ruining my HD, much appreciated.
Okay, I won't blame it all on that. The first part of this chapter also held me back a lot. Turns out it's difficult to write complex emotional scenes. Who would have thought? I skipped it, did everything else, went back and kept staring at my screen wondering how the hell I was supposed to do this. In the end I only managed thanks to some unexpected help, and even then I'm not entirely sure if it had the impact I was looking for. So you guys will be the judge of that. Sorry if it ended up being lame, I tried my best.
Putting that aside… ah, I was so hyped to get to this part! First of all, bringing back Kyrie to the story is something I have been wanting to do forever, but it wouldn't hit as hard without some build up. That's why I made CLASS to set the stage for her reintroduction. She became a way more messed up villain than I planned, but it's more fun that way. Now we have the creator of Five Overs awakening an interest in magic. No doubt this will end up just fine for everyone involved.
Seriously, I cannot overstate how much I love the Remnant arc. It has so much room for all sorts of different angles, and it is really turning into my personal version of the battle royale. Just not as good and well crafted as the original one, but regardless, I'm having a lot of fun with it. And I hope you're having fun as well coming along on the ride (despite how inconsistent my update schedule is… but no, I'm not leaving this story unfinished).
Anyway, that's it for now. Thank you for your support and patience over the years, I really appreciate all of you.