Die – Part 03
The cemetery was as quiet as ever. The tombstones, polished smooth and gleaming, soaked up the summer heat like cotton pads, and the breeze rustling the tall trees added a touch of elegance.
Yeah, this place really did put me at ease.
Behind a grave marker was a girl with pigtails reaching down to her chest, face obscured by the shadows. She looked about middle school age, a bit taller than Haruna. Oh, crap. I had a thing for pigtails.
Well, not many people arranged to meet in a cemetery—unless they were zombies or Magiclad Girls—so I already figured she was Big Teach. Still, I asked just to be sure.
“You’re Big Teach, right?”
I expected her to cover her mouth, giggle, and say, “That’s meee!”
But instead, what she did was stab me.
“Wh-Why?”
It made no sense. What the hell did I do?
The bag of Kyoto-style tofu fell to the ground.
“Good evening, Aikawa,” she said with a sweet smile.
It wasn’t Big Teach. How did I know it wasn’t her? Because this was someone I knew—Kyouko.
“How many times do I have to kill you before you stay dead?”
Her eyes narrowed sharply. Mine widened in shock.
It was her. She did it.
You’re the one who killed me!
“Htaed fo regnibrah a tub gnimrahc dna ylevol!”
Kyouko recited words I recognized. Before my eyes, her clothes morphed into a cosplay outfit. The cast on her left hand vanished, and now she held a sword in her right and a wooden sword in her left. So, that wooden sword had a hidden blade.
The serial killer wasn’t a Vampire Ninja or a Megalo. It was a Magiclad Girl.
That explained why no one remembered the case. The neighbors’ memories had likely been altered so they wouldn’t notice anything weird.
As for why I didn’t forget, there was only one explanation. There was one type of person who could stand within the radius of a memory-wipe and still not be affected. Those who conducted memory wipes themselves. In other words, Magiclad Girls.
Which meant, as a Magiclad Girl myself, I was immune to memory alteration. So, what about when I was killed? The spell must’ve had a defined range. I had been at the cemetery then, outside the zone.
Haruna wasn’t supposed to be in Tokyo. So who was the real Magiclad Girl assigned to Tokyo?
Both Haruna and Kyouko looked like middle schoolers. Maybe all Magiclad Girls appeared that way.
“Is something wrong? Your face is red. Do you have a fever or something?”
Thinking back now, Kyouko’s behavior that time had been off. She might’ve touched my forehead to alter my memories, like Haruna did to Orito. But it didn’t work on me because I was a Magiclad Girl too.
First of all, she wanted to meet me out of nowhere. Wasn’t that suspicious in hindsight? Damn it. I kept telling myself I’d figure it out later or next time, and now look where that got me. I really was an idiot.
Just like before, my body refused to move. Same as when I was with the dog. And when I was killed.
“You intend to fight me with such a tiny amount of mana? Laughable. You can’t even move under a single barrier.”
It must be the same kind of barrier that Haruna used on Bluey during our fight.
Kyouko flashed a friendly smile again. “Miss Ariel is not coming. I gave her a task. Too bad for you.” Her round, cat-like eyes narrowed sharply. “All that’s left is to get rid of you.”
Just before the sword could pierce my heart, something hit me with the force of a rugby tackle. My head spun. Haruna clung to my waist, panic written all over her face.
“Ayumu! Ayumu!”
Was she worried because I couldn’t move? I wanted to thank her, but even my tongue wouldn’t work.
“Haruna… I see. So that’s why the memory spell didn’t work on you,” Kyouko said menacingly, but Haruna ignored her.
“A barrier, huh? Hup!” Haruna gave me a quick chop on the head, and suddenly I could move again.
“Huh? Where’d you learn how to destroy barriers?” Kyouko asked. “Weren’t you a flunker?”
“If you understand how to cast one, it’s not that hard to figure out how to break it. I’m a genius, after all.”
Kyouko’s face tensed slightly. “You’re as irritating as ever.”
“So, Ayumu. Who is she?”
She didn’t know her? Kyouko called her by name.
Kyouko didn’t even raise her guard. She just strolled forward with her sword in hand, swinging her arms like a student walking to school.
“She’s the Magiclad Girl who killed me,” I said, clenching my fists.
“An enemy of yours? Then she’s my enemy too.”
Haruna stepped between me and Kyouko, arms outstretched, glaring straight at her.
“Now this is interesting. Where’s Mystletainn? Planning to fight barehanded?”
Keeping the same angelic smile, Kyouko readjusted her stance.
“Don’t get too cocky!”
She sprang off the gravel-strewn ground. I grabbed Haruna and leapt away from the spot.
“You’re not getting away.”
Her voice was mellow, but her right hand moved with terrifying speed as she swung that slender blade. Cuts opened across my body. Then the wooden sword in her left hand, held in a reverse grip, slammed into my ribs and shattered them.
I knew how powerful a Magiclad Girl was. She eclipsed me in terms of strength and speed. There was no way I could take her on.
Then, I remembered what the dog had said, and guessed what his next words were supposed to be.
“Get out of here! You don’t stand a chance. They’re—”
“—not from this world.”
That would explain it. You don’t stand a chance made perfect sense now.
“It’s about time… you died!”
Kyouko lunged, driving her sword through my heart. Of course, I’d let go of Haruna just before that.
This was my only chance. That split second when she thought I was already dead. I would throw everything into one strike.
The moment I moved my right hand, she lopped it off. She was too fast for me to react.
She kicked me, and I slammed into a headstone. Haruna called my name as she ran toward me.
“My, my. Still moving? Hmm… what would it take to actually kill you? Maybe I should burn you to ash?”
Kyouko’s sword lit up with a red glow. A fireball appeared, growing larger by the second. A magic spell, obviously.
The fireball shot out at blinding speed. But just before it hit me, it hit an invisible wall and vanished. The ripple was familiar. Haruna’s barrier.
I darted across the gravestones to retrieve my severed right hand. Kyouko chased right after me, her lovely pigtails swaying as she closed the gap.
I had no choice. I switched to offense.
“Two-forty-six!”
Kyouko ducked low, and my roundhouse kick missed. Her sword came thrusting up, but I caught it. Blood spilled from my palm. Kyouko froze for just a split second. If I still had my right hand, I could’ve landed a solid blow. Damn shame.
I went for a hard kick to her side, but she blocked it with her wooden sword.
Still, I had momentum. I felt like I could finally land a critical hit. Yeah, no. A fireball slammed into me, and I tumbled across the ground, crashing into another headstone.
“Ayumu!” Haruna ran to my side.
Kyouko moved in to follow up, but the moment Haruna’s hands lit up with a ruby glow, she stopped in her tracks. Haruna must’ve put up a barrier.
“Listen, Ayumu. With the amount of mana I’ve got left, I can only put up one more barrier, so keep that in mind.”
Only one more shot. That was a problem. Because I was a zombie, fire attacks slowed down my regeneration. I had to rely on Haruna to block any more of that magic.
“Haruna, why are you even fighting with me? Aren’t you on her side?”
“I-I just… feel like it.”
For some reason, her face turned red. She looked so cute that I couldn’t help but grin.
“Just feel like it? You sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard?”
“Shut up! If you’ve got time to talk, go pick up your hand already. There’s no way I’m touching something that gross.”
Well, of course. Who would want to touch a severed hand? Girl or not, it’s just plain nasty.
While Kyouko was still at a distance, I ran to grab my hand. I could still make it.
Haruna held her hands out, ready to raise another barrier at a moment’s notice. I focused everything into a single decisive strike.
In an instant, and I mean in a split-second, Kyouko closed the gap.
Her blade danced. I jumped back, but she sliced clean from my chest to my side.
She kept coming. I dodged for my life while trying to counter too. She moved fast, but I’d fought opponents this fast before. She was just a little faster than them. Once I got used to it, I could manage.
Or so I thought, until she sliced me clean in half at the waist. Kyouko brought her sword down, aiming straight for my neck lying on the ground.
This is bad. Really bad. If she took off my head, that would be it.
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