*
"!... Lilith! You're finally back~" (Hisa) Her smile shone brightly, expressing her joy so vividly that even an idiot could tell she was elated.
"... Welcome back." (Ivar) A contrast to Hisa's reaction, his tone was kept at a monotonous constant. However a slight smile could be observed, displaying his sincerity. His light brown hair swayed slightly, indicating a miniscule eagerness to greet.
Teleporting into the classroom, several cries of shock arrive in an array of pitches. Among those cries were the greetings of 2 previously close friends. There wasn't much interaction for Ivar, however the tournament allowed a deeper understanding to form, as trust was vital in a team battle. It was not necessarily related to emotions, and more so decision making. Mutual respect was successfully developed.
I spent break time catching up with Hisa on the happenings of the past year. Of course, the emotional aspects were mostly omitted out of embarrassment.
"Speaking of which, aren't you suffering from some unknown disease? You seem pretty fine despite..." (Hisa)
I guess I'll have to borrow your notes from now on. Especially for history... I can't exactly write anything. I could move my limbs and look normal with a skill, but delicate operations like writing is near impossible. > "I see~ So that's why you were fidgeting and panicking so much~ I'll try my best to help, though I can't guarantee the handwriting... Hahah!" (Hisa) As usual, the students broke into their little groups during break time. With my absence Hisa would have made a few more new friends, fortunately they were fine with my intrusion. In the year of my absence, they were able to bond and grow close to their little groups. With more interactions, the class gradually got noisier. I guess it was fine, as long as it doesn't affect lesson. "What's your disease called?" (Sari) One of her friends got curious and took the bite. In total there were 2 of them, it seemed that the other one and her were curious as well. Did they think it was a sensitive topic? "Huh... Really. How did you get it?" (Hisa) Her round eyes paired with her brown hair reminded me with that much of a cat. Was it concern? Or curiosity? I couldn't decipher why she would be interested in getting a disease, so I'll go with the latter for now. Will curiosity kill the cat? Or will she be left unscathed? For all anyone knew, she could be suddenly roped into this mess. Though, in the first place it was virtually impossible to get. You would have to use up your mana pool and start substituting it with your soul. People usually die during the first step, their organs thoroughly cooked beyond perfection. Unrecoverable, an instant charred stench permeating through a section of the cave. Many overzealous adventurers died by this method. Some, possibly using it as a form of suicide. Well... There isn't much of a problem due to it's nature of contraction anyway... To be more specific, the absurd Agility boost messed with my perception of time. As my mind grew faster than light, things didn't exactly work as usual in this erratic state. Everything slowed down to point it seemed like time had stopped, only... Gefald was still moving in slow motion. To be back on the topic, each time I sped up, the more time slowed down. This delayed even the effects of mana overuse, causing me to surpass my limit. [Demonic energy] An example would be the 2 swordsmasters from the cult, that I had fought slightly more than a year ago. Their combined use of skills only attained by reaching the top of the world, made a deadly combo that reflected anything. Even an authority could have been deflected, they made such a conceptual combined attack. [Demonic energy] "Huh... I see. That's interesting." (Hisa) We continued on our conversation with other every day topics until break time had ended. In a flash, the lessons had also passed by, leaving only the duel with Sakase left. The sky grew particularly dark as multiple tornadoes were unnaturally formed horizontally beneath the sky. A familiar dark haired young boy shone in my mind. He was getting way too excited for the duel. Then again, I had gone away for a year. I too would be this excited to fight a strong enemy that I've waited for for a year. Well, school had just ended. It was fine to be excited, I guess. Teleporting to the rooftop, his figure stood there. Still as a statue, a contradictory serene aura flooded out of his pores. He stared off into the horizon, at the edge of the building, the edge of the school rooftop. An obvious danger presented itself. He had confidence in his own resolve. He had confidence in his own heart. It seems, he had prepared for a year. It was reasonable to have developed his mental state this much. Or, he could just have developed chuunibyou. Who knows. Though I know one thing for sure. He has grown far stronger than last time. A zipping sound resounds, strange as it is, without an enclosed space to echo off of. Ah, I see. It was the tearing sound of my innards. Blurry clouds, it seemed space itself is shifting around. This must be his ability. To send cuts into space, has he perhaps learned spatial manipulation? Looking down, I attempted to make out the blurry image flashing into my eyes. Though it wasn't an image, it was reality. Space itself fell apart, messing with my vision heavily. The only reason I hadn't panic, was due to my large Vitality. It was unfortunate that I couldn't see... No it was unfortunate that I could see. Crimson fluid, covering a large surface. Enough to escape the limits of my faltering consciousness. It was just that, multiple large cuts had been embedded into my body. Blood was pouring out like a fountain, so much so that if it rained, it would still be obvious that it was blood even with a blurry vision. My Vitality was tanking it well. His attacks don't do much. However I still had to be careful, he might have more trump cards.