"I'm fine!"
Ayato shouted as the smoke from the explosion began to thin. He could be seen holding Kai in his arms. Kai was scorched, most of his uniform was burnt and he was unconscious.
"I can't say the same for Kai though!"
He frowned as he gently laid the boy on the ground.
"What happened?!"
Miyako rushed over and asked. Saya leant over and hovered her hands over Kai's chest.
"Healing!"
Kai was veiled in a warm, green light. It shrouded his entire body, healing his wounds, only that—
"It's not working..."
Saya muttered.
"Doesn't that mean that Kai was the source of the explosion?! Healing doesn't work on anything but external injuries. If it doesn't work then..."
Miyako cut herself off as she saw how worked up Retsuya had gotten.
"You mean this guy is a suicide bomber?! How cowardly is that?!"
He pumped his fists together and gritted his teeth.
'How simple-minded.'
Ayato thought.
"No, Retsuya, there's something more to it."
He said, taking hold of Kai's arm and leg.
Emika held the other side and at the same time, they flipped Kai over onto his chest. There was something peculiar engraved into his back.
"A tattoo?"
It was a large red tattoo covering his entire back. It was detailed and didn't seem to make sense to the naked eye.
"He's only 16 like us, right? Why does he have one?"
"That's because that's not a tattoo, Miyako."
Ayato corrected her, still inspecting it.
"Well, that's troublesome."
"What is it?"
Not a single one of Ayato's friends asked that. To everyone's surprise, Kiara walked into the cafeteria. They made way as she stood beside Ayato.
"What, you're here?"
"I'm the student council president, of course, I would be here."
"Wouldn't the president of the disciplinary committee be here?"
"No time for chit-chat, Ayato. What is it, this tattoo on his back?"
She demanded him. Ayato sighed and scratched his head.
"Well... It's a bit difficult to explain."
"Then the shorter story."
Kiara instantly replied. The boy racked his brain for a few seconds before he was able to explain it.
"Essentially, it's a magic circle."
"A magic circle?!"
"Yup and from the looks of it, it was forcibly applied. Not only can he not draw a magic circle on his back, but there's also the fact that he possesses traces of foreign mana in the magic circle."
In an attempt to track the foreign mana source, Kiara looked around the room. She had no luck.
"There's no point, Kiara. This wasn't planted recently. I doubt Kobayashi would know as well."
Ayato explained as he stood up.
"But didn't he detonate as you shook hands? Even if Kobayashi didn't know, that means that the real perpetrator is watching."
Retsuya also looked around. The girls did too. All of the students looked either frightened or intrigued. It was difficult to pinpoint the perpetrator.
"Stop it, you guys! You're wasting your energy."
He breathed.
"This wasn't a spell. Not even Ignite could do this much damage, even from a magic circle. Don't forget that Magic Seals exist. My guess is that whoever the magic circle brands turns into a bomb. A fatal bomb."
Kiara concurred, nodding her head.
"Come to the student council office. We'll talk about it more there. Two of you carry him there too."
·———·
They arrived at the student council office. Retsuya and Miyako carried Kai's body to the office.
"Why here? Why not the nurse's office?"
"Because the nurse is in the next room over right now. Go give him to her so that she can treat him."
"Sure."
The two of them carried the body into the next room. Kiara sat in her chair while Ayato sat in the seats by the wall.
"So, who do you think it could be?"
"Who, indeed?!"
Before Ayato could answer, the Kyouya Twins busted into the office. It wasn't exactly a good sight to see them.
"Viera, Reina, why are you here?"
"Sister Kiara, I have something for you to consider."
Reina said, glancing over at Ayato. She glared knives into him.
'Oh, scary...'
He sarcastically thought.
Kiara flicked her head, prompting Reina to continue.
"It's strange, isn't it? The student exploded but it only damaged himself."
The moment Reina began talking, it was clear what she was trying to do.
"Even though Ayato was so close to him, he's not damaged at all. In some cases, magic can't hurt the caster, isn't that right?"
"..."
"..."
There was a hanging silence in the room. Neither Kiara nor Ayato looked entertained. The twins both felt uncomfortable. They felt goosebumps.
"Before I talk, did you guys do it? If you admit to it, I won't give you a punishment."
"No, it wasn't us."
"We wouldn't do something so stupid."
They both gave answers. Kiara sighed and put her hand on her chin.
"Now, let me enlighten you two. You two are trying to kill Ayato because of the position of the heir, right?"
"Yes."
Once again, the twins glared at Ayato but he didn't even bat an eye. In fact, he yawned and put his hands on his head, sinking into the chair.
"You guys probably don't know this. Only Ayato and I, being the eldest children of his, know his true side. He isn't the proud figure you see him to be. He's horrid, twisted and sadist."
"You'd talk about our father like that?!"
"Shut up, you worthless scum. Remember that we may have the same father but I rank higher than you. You have no right to talk to me like that."
Viera shut his mouth instantly as Kiara snapped back. As the son of a concubine couldn't talk down to the eldest daughter.
"Anyways, 10 years ago, when our mother died, Father assigned Ayato as the heir of the Kyouya Family. For his own reason, he refused."
It looked like Reina wanted to comment but she kept her mouth shut, remembering Kiara's lecture.
"Because he refused, Father gave everyone in the Kyouya Family a mission. Whoever could kill Ayato would become the heir to the family. This would include the branch families too. Do you know why?"
Kiara laid her hand out as she asked. Viera thought back to what Yukina told him.
He scowled as he answered.
"Because he's the strongest magician..."
"You sound like you don't believe it. That's correct though. Ayato is the strongest magician, out of the youth, in our generation. Nobody his age in Japan could beat him. Now, do you believe someone like that would be easily damaged by that explosion?"
Both Viera and Reina shook their heads.
"So don't go inquiring about Ayato again."
As all of this was happening, Ayato was in his own dimension. He stood up as he realised something. A smile came to his face.
"That's it..."