After school, Ayato went to the library. When he was in the student council office, he left after saying something vague.
"That's it..."
He figured it out.
There was another piece of news that Ayato looked up. It was about magic circles that acted as landmines.
Rather than a piece of news, it was a report. The same ones were used in the disturbance in Ikebukuro. That's why he was able to guess what the magic circles were. They were from a Magic Seal rather than normal magic circles.
In the library, it was empty. More like there were scant present. In the morning, there were at least thirty people but there were less than ten.
"No irregularities here."
Ayato was special. That fact was already known. His eyes were something that the average magician did not possess.
Saya Kyouya, formerly Saya Asanagi, the mother of Ayato Kyouya. The Asanagi Family have unique genetics. Not the same as Magic Seals but similar. They possess extrasensory perception, in other words, a sixth sense for sensing mana.
His eyes are capable of picking up distortions in the mana particles in the air, as long as it's within his eyesight.
This was something he gained from his mother's side, even if she didn't possess it herself.
"Maybe I should borrow the Gravity Magic thesis while I'm at it."
Ayato moved to the shelf where the thesis lay. He searched for it on the shelves but had no luck. When he looked for it on the shelves opposite, he found it.
He went to the student at the desk and borrowed it before leaving the library.
"Okay, I guess I'll check the second year corridor now."
As Ayato walked down the corridor, he stopped. In front of him was a woman. Even if she wasn't tall enough to be called one, he could tell.
"Yo, Ayato Kyouya~!"
She grinned maniacally.
Half of her face was covered in a smiling jester mask. He recognised her. She was one of the jesters who caused a disturbance in Ikebukuro.
"Jester..."
"You know who I am, right?!"
The woman giggled.
"I'll introduce myself! I'm Greed and today, you'll be my playmate!"
Ayato winced as he placed the book down.
'She's definitely not a student nor a teacher. I don't recognise that voice. So... how did she get in here?'
There was a barrier placed around the school. Only authorised personnel could enter. The fact that she was able to get in meant either...
'She was able to break through the barrier. No, that's impossible. There would've been a red alert. Meaning that someone willingly let her through. That's also a possibility or...'
"...Or I used a Magic Seal to slip through the barrier? Nice try, but that's not it either."
Greed answered, as though she could hear Ayato's thoughts. The boy stood battle-ready.
"You read my mind."
"You're free to think whatever you want. I don't want to give you any advantages. I heard you're the strongest magician of this generation. If so, then show me!"
Like a javelin, she darted forward toward Ayato. In a single step, she was only an inch away from the boy.
"Woah!"
He dropped to the ground and flipped backwards in an attempt to kick the jester. His foot barely grazed her chin.
As he landed, Ayato faced the jester. He laid his hand out.
"Rupture."
Greed skipped to the side—the wall at the end of the corridor caved in.
"Oh, now that's a strange ability. Rupture, hm? You have the nature for destruction."
"Well, that is my Magic Seal..."
He muttered under his breath. Once again, she dashed at him. They exchanged blows. Greed fired a flurry of blows at him. Ayato calmly parried each one.
"As long as I stay close, you won't be able to use your Destruction! You can only use it in a straight line right?!"
'She fell for it.'
He internally laughed.
'Oh, I shouldn't get excited like that.'
Ayato calmed himself. He made sure not to lose himself in insanity. He didn't want to kill Greed. He needed information, after all.
"Ah!"
As Greed was going in for another punch, Ayato kicked her knee, causing her to lean forward. It was a soft kick, not a hard one. It was enough to disrupt her balance.
Ayato spun around and delivered a direct kick to her face. She banged her head against the wall.
"...the fuck?!"
Despite the power he put into it, Greed recovered. She feinted a kick and punched Ayato's arm. Before she could pull back, he grabbed her wrist.
"I got you now."
He smirked.
"Really?"
The jester also smiled.
She pulled her wrist, attempting to escape Ayato's grasp.
"It's no use, I have you—"
Ayato couldn't hold onto her wrist for much longer. She was going to break out.
'Did she... get stronger?'
Greed released her wrist and slammed Ayato in the solar plexus.
"Ouch..."
He whispered, pushing his hands forward. He blocked her punch in the nick of time, although, it felt like her blow reverberated throughout his entire body. His bones felt somewhat weak.
"You blocked that? Ahahaha! You're so much fun!"
"I can't say the same for you."
The boy quipped, jumping back. This was the first time, in a long time, that he felt slightly threatened in a physical fight.
It was far more difficult since he didn't want to hurt her badly. Ayato wanted information but Greed was surely looking to either kill him or badly hurt him.
That was when Ayato dropped his naive mindset.
"That's it. I'll just go for the kill."
Greed shivered, looking at Ayato's dead eyes. The aura around him was different but he wasn't emanating bloodlust. It gave her goosebumps.
"Now this is how it should be!"
She screamed.
For the final time, she ran toward Ayato. He laid his hand out in front of him, before slowly closing his hand into a fist.
"De—"
BOOM!
Between the two of them, there was a massive explosion, blowing both of them back. A man appeared in the smoke, taking ahold of Greed.
"Wrath! What're you doing?! Let me go!"
He held Greed between his arm, almost carrying her like a briefcase.
"You said I could fight him to my heart's content!"
"But dying isn't fighting, is it?"
He asked her, glancing over at the coughing boy.
"Huh?"
"If I hadn't interrupted there, you would've died without a single doubt. I could tell since it was the first time he took that fight seriously."
There was something about that which annoyed Greed. She glared at Ayato as he walked towards the two jesters.
"You're saying that he wasn't taking me seriously?"
She reluctantly asked.
"Yes. It was only at the end that he tried to fight to kill you."
"You're joking me... Don't fuck with me, you brat!"
She shouted at him.
"Who are you two?"
Ayato asked them, swatting at the smoke in his face. Wrath faced the boy and smiled earnestly.
"We are both jesters, merely looking to entertain the world."
"What does that—?!"
"You'll find out soon, Ayato Kyouya or, perhaps, the Magician of the Night."
The boy rushed toward them, ready to attack but Wrath fell into the hole that he made. He successfully escaped. As Ayato looked around, when the smoke thinned, they were nowhere to be found.
"Fuck..."