"Everyone, attack at once!" A guy with a better build than the others, which I think might be their boss, yelled out his orders.
"Haa!" All four of them started dashing towards me while uselessly yelling.
"Good, now you're more into it." I nodded at their determination.
Now, both my right and left, forward and back, are surrounded. Hmmm… Should I just hit all four of them with one last 'Super Augmentation'? I wondered to myself.
I finally muttered, "Let's do it." I started to consume the atmosphere mana around me once more, the multi-colored particles traveled to my brain and back to my whole body. Their color changed into a greyish one, and finally, green thundery ripples showered me.
After the four of them were within my hands' reach, I finally made my move.
"Hmph-" while spinning my upper body to my left, I jumped. Now with risen speed and muscle power, I also let my lower body follow, turning midair anticlockwise, without losing my speed and balance I managed to land a hit on all of them.
"Phew…" I let my breath out after landing with my forefoots on the hard asphalt of the road. "Hoh, the small gang leader is still standing huh?" I said a bit startled that this weak human could stand after being hit with a super augmented kick.
"You can use mana, can't you?" I asked him with a piercing look.
"Wha-?" a weird squeal slipped from his mouth after hearing my words.
Was he that surprised that I know about it?
"Could you by chance not know who I am?" I questioned the enemy, who was now finally back on his feet.
"Why would I answer that?" He growled at me mockingly.
"Well, why wouldn't you?" I whispered with a low tone. Now behind his back, I continued "Good night!"
"How--" he couldn't finish his words after being hit behind his neck with an outstretched hand of mine. As for how, I simply ran up behind him, with my Super Augmentation still activated.
I continued after a long sigh "Phew, that does it." Well, I gotta check up on Seren now.
"Hiya!" Seren let out a breath with her finishing attack on the sixth guy on her side.
"I'm done here!" I notified her.
She replied back, "Me too, as you can see now."
"Good job here, you only used martial arts to beat every single one out of their senses." I praised her.
The woman with refined facial features replied. "Thank you…I looked by your side sometimes… You looked cool there…"
Eh? Why is she getting a little red now? Now, this makes my face flush a little… I thought embarrassingly.
"Oh, uh, yeah. You looked beautiful." I complimented her too.
"Shall we go back home now?" She asked for my affirmation now.
"Yeah, let's go. I also let off quite some steam fighting these guys and um… I hope you can support me while going back home because... I used a lot of Transcendental Magic.
She agreed to help me, "Oh, yeah yeah, I'll help you."
"I'm going to deactivate my 'Super Augmentation' now, so my body might slack away."
"Go on, I'll even princess carry you back home!" She assured me determinedly.
"Wow… How manly *clap**clap**clap*." I said quietly and continued "Thank you for the offer, my one, and only detective partner, but just an arm to count on is enough!" I finished and deactivated the spell. My body went on cooldown mode as Seren offered to help me as she did on the first day of school.
She continued with her melodious voice to the ear, and an angelic smile to the eyes, "Let's go back now!"
***
Finally starting our walk home. The girl with the divine beauty to the eye and the limping me. I just wanted to thank her for helping me, "Yeah, thanks aga- huh?" I couldn't finish my sentence.
The reason for it was the colossal magic spell advancing toward me and her at an unthinkable speed.
How?! Where from?! I questioned myself… But the most I could do right now was to push Seren out of the way and try to guide the massive magic spell with my 'Super Augmentation' once more.
Shocked, wide-eyed, was the girl I loved with my whole heart. Looking all worried, more for me than herself. I did the best I could to form a gentle smile and say, "Sorry."
"No! Don't do this--Ghiya" She squealed after being pushed unexpectedly with a great amount of force.
I was gazing into her raven eyes as she kept trying to resist the wind spell I cast on her.
After confirming that the girl wouldn't get hurt, I finally continued the sentence I couldn't finish earlier, "Ever since we first met, I've always loved you…" She probably didn't hear me.
"Heh…" I scoffed, a pathetic smile showing on my face for my pathetic situation.
The spell closed in on me, four seconds after first seeing it for the first time "Gh-Ghh-Ghhiiaaaaaa!" I took the attack head-on with my arms and hands, trying to change its course and path. The spell itself was bigger than two cars combined, one upon another and as wide as six humans next to each other.
"Ghhh-hah" I kept trying to keep my breath under control but the discomfort from the pain of my hands being shattered from the attack was not giving me the time to consume as much oxygen as I needed.
"Elias!" I heard the sweet-sounding voice call out to me, full of worry. But this was for the best.
"Hurry the fuck up and move!" I barked out my complaints as the scorching from my hands was now reaching up to my arms and down to my legs.
"Huriiaahhh!" After one more struggle, the attack went upwards in the sky just like I parried the 'Duo Kamehameha', and again, I was blown off god knows how far from my location.
Ah damn it, why was I so carefree all the time in this world?
Now laying with my stomach on the ground, somewhere I have no idea "Ghue, hack khca!" I started coughing up blood, my world starting to get covered in shadows… Seren, I gotta protect Seren…
I opened my left temple. I was grazed all over my forehead, its blood covering my right eye.
I have to get up.
I pulled my left arm, clenched my fist, and sent force through it to push myself up.
I am going to get up!
I pulled my right arm, and tightened its fist too, to stand up.
I'm not finished yet!
I Pulled my legs now… Knees, and fists in contact with the ground. Just a little more.
I'm not going to let anyone endanger Seren! I finally gave my last attempt to get up.
"Ah…" Quietly, a lamenting sigh slipped from my mouth in the realization that my 'Super Augmentation' just deactivated.
"Huh?" I looked downwards at my body with the eye I could see right now.
My right arm was dislocated, and the fingers of both my hands were hazardously shaped. The tendons of some fingers were fully snapped, and the numbing pain hit me all over again now that my spell had come to a halt.
The backlash from the over-usage of a transcendental spell doubled the pain I already had, now spreading throughout my whole body, not just fingers and arms but the pain also attacked my brain with stings which made it harder for me to concentrate.
I let out my breath "Hah-" as my body fully gave off, which resulted in me laying on the ground yet again, this time for worse.
"B-but Seren…?" I called out the name of the woman I was visualizing in my head. I can't yell and even move my tongue properly now…
I started thinking to myself how pathetic I was… I kept going on and on earlier to those weak guys and here I am now.
The one laying in the cold and supporting snow was me, the lone guy who came from another world, with magic and knowledge of martial arts… It seems I've gotten too irresponsible…
My left eye got heavier to keep it open, suddenly exhaustion overcame me.
Maybe sleeping now isn't so bad. I'm not feeling cold… Well, I feel like it's a little hot here but, yeah, what can some hot air do to me… Yeah…I should just sleep…
I was finally letting my eyes rest, not thinking of anything… Or so I thought.
At that exact moment, I saw an unfocused silhouette approaching me. It was a woman's one.
Yeah, I was with Seren fighting here… What am I doing here while she's fighting!?
I could hear her calming voice from afar, assuring me that I'm going to live.
"Elias I'm coming so don't worry, you're going to live through this together, with me, right?" She seemed panicked, tears forming in her eyes.
"After all--Kghu…!" She stopped in place, her eyes widened as the red liquid called blood started trailing off her mouth.
"Khca!" She spat a mouthful of blood out, reddening the white snow beneath her feet.
She shifted her neck down, getting sight of the earthen spike that had impaled her from behind.
"Ah, ah no no-no this can't be happening. Ah, no please!"
Huh? What? What's going on? Huh? Ah, she's Seren, right? The girl I love, right? Then how is she stabbed like that? This can't be it, right?
What is this, I can't… No this isn't true!
"Ah, hah-hah-hah… No no, I-I you, I can't, how? Why? My fault… Ahh!" my insides are tightening, emotions are overflowing, and my throat is getting all parched up.
This can't be it! Ah, "Haha, khic khic, ahhh, aaagh, no why?! Why you, my only reason to keep on living in this world!?" I sniffed as my nose was getting runny.
I cried, I screamed, I wailed, I sobbed, I grieved, and I could only feel like I started to drown in an empty pit with nothing but darkness.
I was frustrated, frustrated at my weakness to protect the one and only person I truly love with my whole being, frustrated that I couldn't move to hold her, frustrated that she was about to die because of an outsider like me.
"I, Seren, Seren!!!" I kept calling out her nickname.
I thought to myself, finally bringing the dark thoughts to the surface of my mind.
If I knew it was going to turn like this then I would've rather died in her place…
"Elias, my name is, hah…" She was panting, barely raising her voice.
"Layla Serenity. In which 'Layla' means 'night', though I don't fancy the night… Hehe…I hope you like my name--." She puked blood this time, also blasting from her ears.
"Ah, no no, Ser-Layla, Layla don't leave me, stay with me, we were going to live through this together right?" I cried out her real name.
"Please don't do this…" My voice was all high-pitched as I hiccupped.
"I-I love you, Layla Serenity, so live through this together with me and let's get married in the future! Please, aaaaahh I need you my beloved angel--khca khca-" I let out all I had caged up in me…
She looked me in the eyes.
"Haha… I thought I was the only one feeling that way… I'm the happiest woman alive right now… Thanks, my prince." Her voice came out gurgling with blood as she laughed, and at the end tears, also started to stream through her face.
"It seems, this is the time where I leave the main cast huh." She started muttering weird words while looking at the night sky.
Snowflakes kept falling infinitely as her body became limper and limper…
She rested on the surface of the spike protruding from her back.
Darkness began covering my sight, "Ah, ah, no this isn't… Please, Layla… I need you…"