"Who's this kid with you, Yuna?" Stein asked, pointing his sword toward Yuna's direction.
"..."
She did not respond.
"He has that sinful energy that you and those others have. Perhaps you're trying to... "
[Cast: Steel Chains]
Yuna raised her hand, opening her balled fist to reveal her palms. Three chains flew out of her palm, shooting at Stein.
"..."
The chains wrapped around Stein, binding his arms tightly.
"Cherva!"
"Right!"
[Cast: Heat Trident]
Cherva stretched his arm back, chucking the trident at tremendous speeds. It pierced through Stein's chest, pinning him into a tree.
"Jeez... You were overreacting for no reason, Yuna. This guy is so weak..."
The dust cleared, and Stein was nowhere to be found.
"Huh?-"
"Keep your guard up!"
Clang!
Yuna stepped in front of Cherva, blocking Stein's attack.
"I originally came here to find that boy, but I never thought I would find you. Even after I spread out all of your body parts this time..."
Yuna kicked Stein off.
"Cherva, we have to get out of here-"
"No way I'm leaving! After seeing someone so strong? I have to fight him!"
[Cast: Blaze Step]
Yuna stepped back.
Cherva dashed toward Stein, striking his chest. He did not budge.
Stein grabbed Cherva by the back of the head.
"Clench hard."
Crck!
He kneed Cherva in the mouth.
"Ack!"
Cherva sprayed blood all over. He held his mouth tightly, trying to suppress the pain.
"Another attack is coming."
He raised his knee up.
[Cast: Steel Chains]
His knees were restricted from moving.
"So pesky. I'll just deal with you, then."
In an instant, he cleared the space between him and Yuna. It caught her off guard.
Psh!
He threw a punch at her gut. Reacting instinctively, she caught his fist.
"!"
She twisted her body, throwing him over her shoulder.
Slam!
[God Cast: Soul Blade]
Glowing white blades with strange patterns burst out of his body, almost like a porcupine. Yuna jumped off to avoid the swords.
He slowly got up, pulling one of the blades out of his body, the rest retracting.
[Cast: Flashstep]
[Cast: Flashstep]
They met in the middle of their distance, the two blades clashing.
"You're a retainer, yet you aren't using any of your retainer [casts]?"
"..."
"Or maybe... you can't use them anymore? It won't be long till that Gluttony leaves you then, right?"
Yuna pushed off, a little agitated.
She kept a low guard, getting close.
Slsh!
She slashed at his chest.
Stein backed up, barely avoiding the attack. It had cut through his shirt.
She changed her grip, holding the sword with two hands. She was going in for a lunge.
"You're incomplete. You can't win against me if you're incomplete."
As she approached him, he sliced the sword she was holding into several pieces.
"!"
The shards of metal dropped to the floor, with only the handle and hilt being left.
"..."
Stein pointed the sword at her neck.
"I guess this time, I have to spread your body parts across the world. It'll take much longer than a year. Or... should I just kill you completely, this time?"
"Don't even think about it!" Cherva yelled.
Stein turned his head.
Standing in front of Cherva with a sword pointed at her neck, was Evelyn.
You could very clearly see the white in his eyes.
"Hah! She's important to you, right? I'll end her life right now."
"..."
"Heheh..."
Blood dripped from his nose.
. . .
. .
.
(Julian)
The two boys behind Arum were around the same height, though a little taller. They appeared older.
The one on the right had black hair that fell to his shoulders dark brown eyes and circular glasses that rested on his cheeks.
The one on the right was the tallest of the trio by just a little bit. He had light green ears and pale skin, with black eyes. His ears were sharp. An elf.
"... It's nothing. Come on, guys."
They walked off. No apology, or anything?
"That was... weird. Did you know those guys?" Ceril asked, watching as they walked off, immediately engaging back in conversation.
"Some guys from my school. It's nothing."
"Hm..."
. . .
. .
.
I found myself alone in a busy town. Ceril said she had to go back home, so I was just stuck here, wandering alone.
I could go back to the dorms, and have some peace and quiet...
(---)
Bsh!
Julian bumped into someone, yet again.
"Agh... I'm getting-"
Julian looked up, to see a familiar face.
"Stein?!"
. . .
"What are you even doing here?"
"I'm here for no reason. There's really no experiments I've been doing, so I've just been wandering around."
The two were sitting out right next to a pond, skipping rocks.
"... And you just manage to reach this very specific kingdom, out of all the kingdoms in the world?"
"Yeah."
Julian sighed.
Stein threw another rock.
"25 skips. That's a new record."
"For someone as powerful and as presumably old as you, you have some quite... childish hobbies."
"What's so... childish about skipping rocks?"
"... Nothing. Nevermind."
"But, I also have something for you. You did get my letter, right?"
"Oh, right. You have a gift for me?"
Stein stood up from his squatting position. Julian followed, standing up as well.
"I do. Are you aware of what spirits are?"
"I've read about them. They're beings of mana or something like that."
"Seems you have a basic understanding. My gift to you is a synthetic spirit."
"Synthetic spirit?"
"Yes. My latest experiment. Spirits are born naturally. This spirit is not. It was made specifically for you. All you have to do is bond with it."
"Wait, wait. What does this spirit even do?"
"It substitutes for your lack of mana, and your inability to use casts. When you bond with it, it becomes you in a way, creating casts based on your subconscious will."
"Subconscious will... so I won't be able to directly choose the casts."
"Right. In fact, initially, it'll be hard, since you and the spirit aren't fully... merged, mentally. So it might have a lot of mistakes and accidents. But over time, you'll get it."
"Hm. Okay, I understand it now. How can I bond with this spirit?"
Stein lifted his hand up. Out of his palm, the spirit appeared.
It was dark and small, with bright red eyes, kind of like Julian. It had two curved horns, kind of like a demon.
"It looks a little... evil."
"Bonding with it will be simple. I already constructed it to bond with you, so all you really need to do is close your eyes and allow your mind to become vulnerable."
"... Okay."