Die – Part 05
“Aha, you finally showed up. I’ve been waiting.”
Kyouko stepped back half a pace and raised her sword again.
And right there in front of me was that familiar plate armor and gauntlet. Her long silver hair swayed gently in the breeze. She just stood there, blank-faced as always.
She never came to watch me fight. Maybe she realized how bad things were this time.
Anyway, Eu was here, a totally unexpected reinforcement. She had the power to turn me into a zombie. If she fought with me, we could take Kyouko down easily.
A crescent-shaped flame swept toward Eu, but she simply waved it away.
Yup, she was powerful, all right. Maybe I should just leave this to her.
Giggling, Kyouko charged straight at Eu while summoning a twister. Eu didn’t move a muscle. She just waved her hand like before.
Her silver hair billowed in the violent wind, and Kyouko’s sword came down in a heavy arc. Good. A huge opening. Perfect time to counter.
But Eu blocked it with her gauntlet. The blow was so strong her knees buckled, but she rose back up.
“Huh?”
Kyouko looked puzzled. She kicked Eu’s chestplate, and Eu staggered backward, holding the spot where she was hit.
I was confused. She could’ve dodged that attack easily. I mean, sure, Kyouko was probably baiting a dodge and setting up the next move, but Eu didn’t have to just stand there and take it.
“I see. That gauntlet nullifies magical power, doesn’t it? Impressive equipment. But the one wearing it is far too weak. What a waste of such tremendous mana.”
Kyouko shook her head slightly with a sigh.
Was Eu actually a bad fighter? All this time, was she not staying out of battles because she didn’t need to get involved, but because she couldn’t?
Eu snatched the chainsaw from Haruna and mumbled something under her breath.
No way. She wasn’t about to become a Magiclad Girl, was she?
My expectations got crushed in the next second, when her outfit transformed from one familiar cosplay to another. The gauntlet and armor stayed on, though.
When Haruna wore it, it was cute. When I wore it, it was disturbing. But when Eu wore it—with armor—it actually looked badass.
And right then, all kinds of words started flashing through my mind.
“Well, fine. I sense several signatures in the area. I’ll turn my hopes to those.”
Back then, the crawfish said it could sense other Magiclad Girls besides me.
“Who are you? A male Magiclad Girl? That’s rare. And your mana’s pretty weak. Are you really one of them?”
“Get out of here! You don’t stand a chance. They’re—”
“You intend to fight me with such a tiny amount of mana? Laughable. You can’t even move under a single barrier.”
Craw. The dog. Kyouko. Everyone who could sense magical power had said the same thing. That mine was puny.
“Who even are you?! Big Teach said that to steal every last drop of mana from a genius, pretty Demon Baroness like me, you’d need absolutely ridiculous levels of magical power.”
That’s what Haruna told me when I became a Magiclad Girl. I thought I’d drained her mana. Haruna probably thought so too. But we were wrong.
It was Eucliwood Hellscythe who had taken Haruna’s mana. I only became a Magiclad Girl because of Eu, didn’t I?
A few sharp clinks rang out, and Eu came flying toward us.
“Is that all you’ve got, even as a Magiclad Girl?” Kyouko sighed in disappointment, shaking her head.
Yeah, Eu really didn’t seem built for combat. Even so, we’d gained a fighter. That still meant something. I should join the front line too.
“All right, Eu. Let’s—”
Eu silently pointed at the ground. There were words carved into the gravel.
“Get away from here.”
Her mesmerizing cobalt blue eyes stared fixedly at me. Just like the first time we met.
There’s no way I’d run. I had to be the one to take her down.
Come on. You, me—heck, we throw in Haruna and Sera, we’ve got this.
“At least stay still. Do not move.”
“She has ten lives, you know? I’m gonna fight.”
Eu slapped me across the cheek. What the hell? She told me to read the message again.
I looked into those jewel eyes and gave her a nod.
That resolute, dignified gaze—just like Sera’s—left me completely speechless.
I was torn.
Eu and Kyouko had taken their fight toward a giant tree. I couldn’t get those blue eyes out of my head. Should I run to where the two of them were clashing in the shadows, or stay here and have faith in Eu?
“Ayumu.”
Sera had come to, but her face was pale. She was probably low on blood.
“Haruna, give her some blood,” I said.
“Geez… just this once, all right?”
I watched Sera lean in and kiss Haruna, then stood up. I couldn’t just sit here and leave everything to Eu. I didn’t know what kind of plan she had, but after seeing the way she fought earlier, I couldn’t stop worrying.
The moment I stepped forward, Sera grabbed my shirt.
“Wait.” Her expression was sharp, wiping her mouth with one hand.
“Wait for what?”
I shook her off and took another step. This time she grabbed my shoulder.
“You’ll just get in the way. Miss Hellscythe’s words carry immense power.”
“I already know that.”
Anyone who heard her words was forced to obey them. And using it caused her pain.
Wait.
“Anyone who hears them? So she can’t choose her target?”
“Exactly. Look.”
Sera pointed toward the giant tree. Kyouko was on her knees. She rose back up, only to collapse again. Meanwhile, Eu had let go of the chainsaw and clutched her head with both hands.
“Miss Hellscythe is currently telling her one thing: die.”
Just that one word could kill someone?
If I had rushed over there, and heard that word too, what would’ve happened to me? The only reason I don’t die is because of Eu’s power. But if I also got hit with her power, which effect would win out? That’s why Eu wouldn’t let me fight by her side.
If anyone nearby heard her say die, they would all die. That’s how heavy her words were.
“What’re you grinning for? Gross. Just die, you idiot!”
“Don’t throw that word around so lightly.”
“Eu, I appreciate the thought, but Haruna didn’t really mean it.”
“I did mean it. You should just die. Along with that negamancer.”
“Dying is painful.”
Her words back then, those tears. There was so much behind them.
A blinding light flashed through the graveyard. It was so bright I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I went limp. My body just couldn’t handle light.
Something fell from the sky. It was a girl in battered plate armor and broken gauntlets, her beautiful silver hair fanning out around her as she came down toward me.
I caught her in my arms. Her eyes were closed like she was only sleeping. There was no strength left in her body. Her head drooped, limp.
The clothes she wore faded into a soft, pale light and vanished. All that remained were the gauntlets and armor.
“You okay, Eu?! Hey! Eu!”
Even as I grew flustered at the sight of her milky, smooth skin being exposed, I didn’t stop calling her name.
“She’s not dead yet. I lured her out to steal her mana, after all.”
The pigtailed girl walked toward us, blood dripping from her ears, swords in hand. Her face was twisted with madness.
Did she destroy her own eardrums to counter Eu’s power? She’s insane.
Kyouko stabbed herself with her own sword. She was resetting her body, erasing the wounds she’d taken fighting Eu by dying and reviving again.
The blood that had been trickling from her ears vanished like someone wiped it away with an eraser, and her steps grew lighter.
“Now then. Let’s continue the party, shall we?”
I gently laid Eu down on the gravel, then clenched my fist, shaking with rage. I glared at her with all the hatred I could muster.
The smug little smile on her face was fucking irritating. Then, something appeared in my field of vision.
Haruna, holding a green sword, stepped in front of me.
“Haruna?”
Her pretty face turned toward me. The cowlick on top of her head flicked.
“Hey, Ayumu. What do you think this feeling is? I’ve never felt like this before. I couldn’t care less about the people of this world, but seeing the negamancer go down makes my chest burn, or something. I want to beat the shit out of her!”
“That’s probably because you care about Eu.”
“Yeah, you might be right. I barely even talked to her, but still.”
“Or maybe you just wanted to fight for me.”
Haruna’s face went beet red. “D-Don’t get the wrong idea!” she frantically protested. “I-It’s not like I’m doing this for you or anything!”
“Ayumu. Honestly, the wound in my leg still hasn’t healed. But I’ve come up with a new technique.”
Sera stood beside me, her sharp gaze fixed ahead. She glanced over at me for a second.
“When we get back home… will you help me name it?” A small smile tugged at her lips.
Strange. Lately, it felt like there were more and more things I couldn’t stand to lose.
Comment (0)