Their visions were seared white. Unable to even see his opponent,
Oliver bundled the seven human-powered spells together and sent them
flying after the great thunderbolt.
Just as the barricade was about to collapse, a blinding bolt of lightning
surged up from within. Albright stared, mouth agape, as it enveloped over
half of the bee swarm.
"Wha—?!"
Burned to a crisp, the bees fell to the ground. Getting them to cluster
atop the barricade had been a trap, causing over 70 percent of the swarm to
be caught in the lightning strike. Albright realized the incense was an
opening move to set this up, so what really surprised him was something
else.
"A double incantation…?! Unbelievable! That's not possible for firstyears!"
His shock was understandable. Normally, first-years weren't able to use
double incantations. They magnified the effects of a spell but also took a
huge toll on the user's body if they were too young. Forcing past that limit
would result in the spell fizzling out, or at worst, exploding in the caster's
face and injuring them. It wouldn't be until the latter half of their second
year that their bodies would be able to withstand the strain—at least, that
was the widely accepted theory.
But this was the case only for humans. Naturally, it didn't apply to elves.
"Have at thee!"
There was no time to gawk. While the swarm of bees was in chaos, a
single figure shot out of the half-destroyed barricade. Albright tightened his
lips. An Azian girl riding a broomstick was flying straight toward him.
"B-bees! Strike her down!"
She was closing the distance fast. In order to break her momentum,
Albright ordered his surviving familiars to attack. The nearby bees quickly
charged her, but their jaws and stingers met only empty air. Nanao
maneuvered easily through their ranks, leaving them in the dust.
"You dodged them all?!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
With the bees behind her, there was no one to stop Nanao. Albright had
no time to prepare a spell—the bee he was sitting on split in two, cut at the
torso.
"Kh… Elletardus!"
His ride gone, he was flung into the air. He slowed his fall with a spell
and landed, then quickly raised his sword into position. Hot on his tail, the
samurai girl came rocketing down to him. She jumped off her broomstick,
landed, and glared at him.
"You finally deign to stand on the same plane as me."
"..."
"I have come to defeat you. Now draw your sword."
Nanao brought her blade in front of her eyes and beckoned him to do the
same. Albright looked to the sky on the off chance any of his bees had
survived—but she stopped him with a terse command.
"Look forward, not up! There is no one on this battlefield but you and
I!"
"…!"
"Only we shall decide victory! No one else shall steal it! Not family
rules nor even the gods themselves!"
She spoke confidently; no one would be able to interfere. Only two
opponents stood on this battlefield—nothing else. Her eyes were that of a
warrior, clear and pure. Bathed in their light, something within Albright
broke. The chains that had long bound him clattered as they fell from his
heart.
"…Ha—ha-ha!"
A strange laugh escaped him. Unconsciously taking a stance, he
wondered—how long had it been since he'd experienced such cheer? The
answer came to him immediately. Ah, that's right. This is what it always felt
like, playing chess with her.
"Have at you, samurai!"
"Yah!"
They roared and dashed forward into the one-step, one-spell distance
governed by sword arts and strategy. Their mana-infused blades clashed,
sending sparks everywhere.
"OHHHHHHHHH!"
"HAAAAAAAAH!"
The sounds of their raging battle echoed. It was terrifyingly fierce, yet
also joyous. They exchanged eight blows, neither retreating a step. One
athame clattered to the ground.
"'Twas an excellent battle."
Having delivered the final blow, Nanao stood with her sword still drawn
and spoke one last time. The pain of her diagonal swipe still fresh in his
mind, Albright nodded. It was a somewhat pleasant feeling.
"—Yeah."
The strength slipped from his body, and he fell on his back.
"Now I can finally experience it—an excellent loss."
He closed his eyes, his heart fulfilled. In his mind's eye, a chessboard
appeared. And on the other side, a familiar girl was smiling at him.
With the mage duels decided, the surviving bees returned to their hives, and
the vast room was finally at peace.
"Looks like we made it. Man, was I sweating!"
"I was so scared! Nanao, thank you! You did so well."
Guy heaved a sigh of relief and sat down next to the troll as Katie
welcomed Nanao back with an embrace.
Chela staggered from exhaustion. "That was…quite strenuous. Even if I
knew it would be."
"Hey, you okay?!"
Pete dashed over and caught her by the shoulder. As her friends jogged
over in concern, she smiled lightly to reassure them.
"Yes, don't worry. I've already tested whether I could perform a double
incantation while in this state. The sudden surge of mana has simply left my
body in a bit of shock."
Stacy studied her. "You…held back?" she asked.
"Huh?"
"I mean, you did, didn't you? You used that spell in our duel as well. I
was so surprised that you could manage a double incantation… If you'd
attacked with that from the start, we would have been powerless."
She sulked and turned away.
Chela smiled awkwardly. "I suppose I can't stop you from thinking that,
but I never intended to use this in a duel between first-years. There is
nothing to gain from winning battles by relying on an innate ability."
"…We're related, and yet I had no idea you were a morphling half-elf,"
Stacy muttered, somewhat forlorn.
There were many different types of elf and human mixes, also known as
half-elves: the actualized, who inherited many of the unique traits of elves;
the dormant, who were indistinguishable from humans; and the morphlings,
who displayed unique traits from both sides depending on the situation.
"I'd also hoped our battle could go on as long as possible," Chela added.
"That was our first real exchange since we were twelve."
"…Huh…?"
Stacy's eyebrows shot up.
Chela looked into her eyes as she began reminiscing. "I was always so
excited for our yearly visit. You were so good at making the flowers bloom
with magic, and we both had such fun. Do you remember making this?"
She took something out of her pocket: a small, old flower crown. It
hadn't been weaved from plucked flowers but instead grown into that shape
from seeds with magic.
Stacy stared, her mouth agape. "Y-you still have that? And you even
went to the trouble to preserve it…?"
"It's my memento of those times. Of course I wouldn't lose it."
Stacy stiffened, and Chela hugged the crown to her heart.
"I may not be able to call you my sister, but you are my family despite
the distance of our houses. It filled me with joy to see how you grew
between each of our rare visits. And so as to not embarrass you, I wanted to
show you my growth as well."
" "
"But that ended up hurting you. I'm sorry for not noticing—for never
understanding your pain."
As she apologized, she wrapped her hands around Stacy's right hand.
The gesture was full of unspoken feelings, and she made sure they would
not miss each other this time.
"Just let me say this: I have never thought of you as my replacement."
She stared into her half sister's eyes as she spoke, and great tears began
to fall from Stacy's.
"Waaaah…!"
Stacy started crying again, and Chela gently embraced her.
Oliver and Albright watched them from a distance.
"…You all won't be satisfied with just taking a medallion, will you?"
"You caught me. True."
Albright was seated on the ground, and next to him, Oliver grinned
wryly. He had no particular business with the boy, but now that the duel
with Nanao was over with, he felt the urge to say something.
"…Let's duel again, when we're stronger than today," Oliver muttered.
Albright grinned. "Ha-ha! Be careful what you wish for. I'll definitely
come back stronger than ever after tasting defeat."
"I'm getting chills just imagining it. But I can assure you, I'll be
stronger, too," Oliver stubbornly replied. Two years later, maybe three—it
wasn't difficult to imagine Albright becoming unbelievably powerful in that
time. If ever there came an opportunity for a rematch, he'd surely have to
prepare for a fight that eclipsed this one.
"Don't get complacent, Oliver Horn. I forget names quickly."
"Oh, I'll make sure you remember mine forever."
And with that, Oliver walked over to his friends. "Okay, let's pull out.
Did we miss any injuries?"
"All healed up here! Sorry you got hurt, Marco."
"It fine. I tough. Katie not hurt. Good."
Katie sighed after healing up her familiar. The troll had used its massive
body as a shield to protect her from the bees after they'd broken the
barricade from the inside with magic. Marco was pockmarked with bites
and stings, but he hardly made a fuss about it.
"Let us follow you guys up out of here. C'mon, Stace, stop crying."
Fay pulled Stacy by the hand and began walking. Oliver considered
extending the same invitation to Albright, but the boy had already turned
his back on them. He needn't have worried. Oliver stood at the front of the
group and led them out.
"Okay, let's go. Don't let down your guards when we return to the first
layer—"
He made to warn them about the return trip, then froze.
"…? What is it, Oliver? Aren't we leaving?" Guy asked.
"..."
That was Oliver's intention, of course, if something peculiar hadn't
tripped his mental alarms.
"What…the…?"
As Oliver continued to stare, something appeared out of the blue,
quaking the earth beneath his feet. Its great mass crawled across the ground,
and flesh-colored tentacles extended all over its body.
"Wha—?"
Albright, who was sitting slightly away from the group, was nearly faceto-face with this danger. His eyes widened in shock, and he quickly stood
up and drew his sword.
"Gah—?!"
But before he could cast a spell, the tentacles encircled him. With quick
instincts, he chopped one off, but the rest dragged him toward the creature's
body. The tentacles wrapped around his neck, preventing him from casting
any spells. Unable to fight back, Albright slid into the thing's enormous
frame.
" "
Oliver shivered at the sight, and the life-threatening danger kicked his
mind into a calm, analytic mode.
Most likely, this thing's base form was some sort of six-legged creature
that crawled on the ground. Its body was almost twenty feet long, but it was
difficult to make out any details due to the tentacles covering it. Some of
them seemed elastic, and it had the strength and intelligence to grab a target
over twenty yards away. To his knowledge, no magical beast matched this
description. The only thing he could think of was a chimera, a mixture of
multiple magical beasts.
"Don't fight it, Nanao!"
She had raised her sword in order to try and save Albright, but Oliver
firmly shouted at her to stop. It was suicide to approach an unknown
magical beast, but that wasn't the only reason he stopped her. What really
scared him was the horde of similar beasts that appeared from behind the
original. They seemed endless—first, there were four, then five, then six,
then seven…
Any thoughts of winning ceased there. Abandoning all semblance of
calm, Oliver roared:
"Run! Everyone, run!!"
The group snapped out of their stupor and fled. They dashed through the
open space and returned to the first layer, but the creatures kept chasing
them. As the path narrowed into a single upward slope, Chela spun around
and cast a spell.
"Magnus tonitrus!"
A roar split their ears. The lightning bolt that had wiped out the bee
swarm raced toward the mysterious beasts, which were unable to dodge.
Their skin burned from the electricity, and charred tentacles fell to the
ground. But the creatures didn't stop. They slowed for a few seconds but
then resumed chasing their prey with renewed vigor.
"Even that didn't stop them… They're resistant to electricity!"
Chela gritted her teeth and ran. Even with her elven heritage, she
couldn't fire off multiple shots at the same intensity. She was forced to
resort to single incantations to buy time when—
"Kuh?!"
"Fay!"
—a tentacle shot out and grabbed Fay's ankle. He quickly tried to cut it
off, but another tentacle grabbed his right arm, preventing him from
resisting any further.
"Run, Stace—!" he shouted.
Stacy tried to help, but he shoved her away. The next moment, the
tentacles dragged her partner down the hall, leaving Stacy behind. She
screamed in hysterics.
"Fay! FAY! NOOOOO!"
"Stop! It'll get you, too!"
Stacy tried to go after him, but Chela grabbed her hand, and Nanao
jumped in front of her.
"Pardon!"
Nanao hoisted up the crying girl. Desperately cutting back the oncoming
tentacles, they hurried up the slope.
"Huff! Huff!"
"Damn! How far are they gonna chase us?!"
"They can't fit in narrow halls at that size! Don't give up, everyone!"
It was their only hope. After running for what seemed like an eternity,
they finally arrived at a familiar crossroad. There were three paths
available, and Marco silently threw himself into the widest one on the left.
"Ah—?!"
"Let him go! We can meet up later!" Oliver shouted at Katie, silently
apologizing to the troll. Marco knew Katie wouldn't be able to escape down
a narrower path if he was with them, so he'd taken the initiative and split
off. Impressed by the depth of Marco's intelligence, Oliver and the others
raced down the narrowest path.
"All right! We should be safe!"
Oliver threw a glance over his shoulder as they ran. The moment he
thought they were out of harm's way and breathed a sigh of relief…
"Huh?"
…a flesh-colored tentacle latched onto the bespectacled boy behind him.
" "
Oliver instinctively reached out his left hand. His friends ahead of him
realized what was happening a second later as the tentacle dragged Pete
away.
"Ah—!"
"PEEEEEETE!"
His fingertips swiped air only an inch away from his friend. Oliver could
do nothing but watch as the boy was swallowed into the labyrinth's depths.
"Guh—!"
"Stop, Oliver!"
He instinctively made to charge back, but Chela grabbed his arm and
pulled with her whole body. Oliver tried to shake her off.
"You can't save him!" she pleaded. "You saw how strong they are. If
you go back, you'll just be caught yourself!"
"But—!"
"Oliver!" Chela shouted at him with surprising anger. Tears slid down
her face and hit the floor. The sight cooled his head and gnawed at his heart,
threatening to break it. He was helplessly aware that the best they could
manage in this situation was to call for help as soon as possible.
The six of them returned to the academy via the basin near their secret
workshop and flew down the halls, searching for the first upperclassman
they could find. Fortunately, their wish was soon granted.
"Oh, it's you guys."
They heard a familiar boy's voice. There stood Alvin Godfrey, leading
Carlos and a group of prefects.
Oliver explained the situation as quickly as he was able. "President
Godfrey, some strange, powerful magical beasts are out of control on the
first layer! They abducted Pete and two other first-years! Please help!"
Desperately trying to relax, Oliver prepared to answer the questions he
knew would come. But surprisingly, there were none.
"I know," Godfrey replied calmly. "So your friends got taken, too?"
Chela, sensing something was amiss, approached the upperclassman.
"Our friends, too? President Godfrey, what does that mean?"
As she sought confirmation, Oliver felt a sense of terror take hold of
him.
What Carlos said next settled it. "It means you aren't the first to bring
this up. We've got eight other reports of the same thing—over seventy firstand second-years have been abducted. And from the descriptions of the
beasts, we already know the cause…"
They paused, unable to continue. Godfrey finished the sentence for
them:
"Ophelia Salvadori has been consumed by the spell."
Everyone stiffened. The air froze, and a heavy silence fell over the hall.
" "
Oliver was the only one who recalled a certain memory. Ophelia's voice
came back to him vividly, as did the words she'd left him with after their
chat:
"Limit your adventures and stick to your studies in the academy—
especially for the next few months."
"Return to the dorms immediately. You are forbidden to step foot in the
labyrinth until the situation is resolved. On my authority as student body
president—this academy is now on high alert."
The words Godfrey spoke and the sternness of his tone made Oliver
realize that the situation was much darker and more sinister than they could
even imagine.