Volume 2 23: Everybody’s Preparations
The shockwave that escaped from Aru’s dragon form muzzle turned the demons into a pile of something that was quite incomprehensible and difficult to describe.
「This way!」
「Shit!」
At his side, Mikoto pierced the attacking insect-like monster with a magic bolt from her wand.
The blast was so strong that even the hair on her tail and ears were fluttering in the wind.
The monsters were gone, but soon after another appeared in their place.
They weren’t that strong, and even Elvie could easily handle them, but, they were all exhausted from having to fight monsters and keeping the other students safe for a prolonged period of time like that.
They were glad that some finally managed to wake up and stand up on their own.
However, vast majority of students seemed to have had their magical power sucked out of them, because they were barely even able to walk.
But, they still had to buy them enough time to let them escape.
Since then, Elvie was forced to use another bullet and killed three monsters with it.
Now he had one more shot left.
Another two monsters appeared right in front of him.
Elvie yelled at Mikoto to be careful.
“Senpai, did you manage to escape!?” Aru’s voice can be heard.
「We certainly did!」
Hearing them say that, Aru felt slightly relieved.
“Aru, can you use magic? I mean, as a dragon? Not a human?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, Senpai.”
Was that something he would rather not want to say?
「I don’t get it.」
He felt like he was starting to have a headache.
That overwhelming pressure, the magical power that controlled the atmosphere all around.
He felt like he met that being somewhere before. The color was not the same as this beautiful flax. But he felt that this golden shine was exactly the same.
He felt as though he has forgotten something important.
So many things were happening at once, that he felt as though his mind was about to collapse.
But, he felt as though he might remember a little bit more.
「The contract ––––––」
While trying to remember more, Elvie felt a chilling sensation running somewhere at the back of his heart.
「El, behind you!」
Even though he heard Mikoto’s warning, Elvie was still blown away by the body slam of a monster that appeared out of the forest.
He bounced off the ground twice or thrice before finally stopping.
His sword flew away from him in the opposite direction.
He somehow managed to stay conscious, but he was unable to get back up on his feet.
This was bad, as his body wasn’t listening to him at all.
「El!」
Mikoto tried to rush towards him, but the two demons. One moth-like and the other insect-like were already approaching him.
Elvie’s thoughts were rushing like crazy, while the whole world slowed down and the boy could see the monsters opening their mouths in slow motion.
Finally, a really sad smile creeped its way on Elvie’s lips.
「...... Fucking shit.」
Elvie bites his teeth while grasping the ground in his hands.
It was then that the two demons disappeared with a bright flash of light and a loud roar.
The man who took down the demons stood right in front of Elvie, his staff in his hand and with threads of lightning dancing across its length.
Elvie looked up at the man, whose body was wrapped in an old-fashioned uniform.
He had dark-brown hair and sharp, blue eyes.
Elvie felt like he had seen that face somewhere before.
((Do you regret it?))
For a moment out there, Elvie was unable to understand what he heard.
It sounded like a normal voice, but was more like a way in which the spirits communicated, directly in his head.
But even though he was surprised, Elvie understood the voice’s question.
「I do not.」
Did he made it?
He answered to the man’s stare, and he nodded in satisfaction and stomped the ground.
Then the man got wrapped in lightning and disappeared inside of the forest.
But along with him, all of the demons were gone.
「El, that man, he brought down lightning and obliterated all of the monsters.」
Mikoto rushed to Elvie’s side and offered him her hand, and Elvie managed to awkwardly stand up on his feet.
「El?」
「...... Fucking show-off, don’t you think?」
Elvie said that more to himself than as an answer to Mikoto’s question, while also relating the news to Aru, who happened to flew in the same direction. Upon hearing the news, Aru simply said:
“If you are ever in trouble, Senpais, I will not hesitate to help!”
“If that’s really true, then I’m really counting on you.”
Right now, he wanted to scold himself for answering Aru that easily.
But at that moment, there was something else that he was angry about.
Was he really happy being saved like that?
Could he really say thank you to someone who was about to sacrifice himself for his sake?
He needed to decide what he wanted to do without being told by anyone.
Aru said ‘Goodbye’.
I other words, he was sure that they would never meet again after this.
「Aru, you huge idiot!」
You were so happy to go to school. You were so serious about the club activities.
But in the end you are going to throw it all away just so you can help us?
That’s the worst kind of idiot, straightforward and kind to a fault.
His sword is not broken yet. His gun still has one more shot let in in.
That’s more than enough.
「Mikoto, I’m sorry. I’m about to go wild here.」
「What?」
「I’m going to go where Aru is.」
It may have been too embarrassing for him to say “I’m going to help him” right in front of Mikoto.
However, if he didn’t go to him now, he felt as though they would never be able to meet each other again.
Hearing Elvie’s words, Mikoto’s tail and ears swayed.
「I’m going, too.」
She said, and in the next moment she was right at Elvie’s side.
Though it required much willpower, Elvie forced to move his body into a run and together with Mikoto they went inside the forest. He felt relieved knowing that she was right at his side.
*********
Barza was following closely behind Nectar, but since the concentration of magical particles became really dense around these parts, he was having trouble breathing.
「Are you okay?」
historical
「Honestly speaking, I didn’t think I would even get this far.」
Compared to Barza’s sweaty forehead and heavy moving chest, he was surprised to see that there was no change to Nectar’s complexion. Like, at all. Nectar stopped in his tracks and looked to the sky.
Barza looked to the sky as well, and saw a streak of bright lightning cutting across the sky, even though it was the middle of the day.
「That, that was one heck of a strange lightning.」
「Kyle......? Why though, isn’t it too early for you to turn into a spirit?」
Following his shocked voice, the look on his face changed into that of pure amazement.
Barza was worried seeing his expression like that, and so he asked:
「Is, is everything alright?」
「We must hurry.」
Then, then flex-color haired man broke into a run, and they proceeded forward just like that.
Soon, they have reached a wall of tremendous magical power, and once they passed it, Barza’s vision seem to be unclear, something strange is going on.
He never even knew that a place like that was only half a day’s walk from the Academy.
There was a cobblestone surrounded by a whole lot of columns, probably some kind of ancient artifacts, and the cobblestone itself had geometrical symbols engraved upon it...... Probably magical ones.
It seems that the magic was overflowing from there.
Every magician would be able to understand that in an instant, because the magical pressure was so intense that even someone like Barza was able to feel it.
He was looking at the columns with a shock painted on his face.
「Why is this place being repaired, no, restored like that......?」
After talking to himself for a while, Nectar rose his head towards the sky, as if he saw something there.
「Aru!?」
Screaming that name, the young man pressed his hand to his chest and for a moment looked as if he was focusing his attention on something.
Although Barza was unable to determine to who he was talking to, his eyes still remained opened wide with astonishment.
However, Barza was surprised to see Nectar going further and further into the colonnade one step at a time, that strange feeling in his eyes still intact.
「What are you going to do!?」
「I’m going to stop the flow of magic.」
He said that so naturally that Barza started to doubt the young man’s sanity.
「We have confirmed the location, so let’s leave the rest to the Magic Division of Signos Academy!! What can you possibly hope to accomplish by yourself!?」
「The magicians of Signos Academy can do something, but they can never hope to reach the leylines with their spells. This is something that only ancient dragons can hope to accomplish.」
For some strange reason, the young man spoke that last phrase with a lot of enthusiasm.
Even though the high concentration of magic particles in the air has brought Barza down to his knees, he could see that Nectar was still walking forward calmly.
As soon as he reached the center of the structure, he pulled a lush green staff from somewhere, and his hair started to tinge in a delicate shade of red.
Seeing those hair, and that staff, Barza knew them all too well. As well as the fact that the person who held these characteristic was far from being an ordinary human.
「However, I can still pay off this debt. No, I must pay off this debt.」
「The Great, Sage......」
Then, the youth hanging in the air finally noticed Barza, his appearance illuminated by the bright light of magical particles surrounding the atmosphere around him.
Barza stared into his eyes, which have begun to rapidly change colors, and felt more and more confused.
「What, are you.....?」
「That much of magical pressure would be too much for an ordinary human to handle. That’s why, please stay asleep. I’m sorry, but if you want to live your life in peace, it is best that you forget about me.」
While listening to the young man’s apologetic voice, Barza’s consciousness finally gave up on him and everything went dark.