In the JR Tokyo General Hospital, Ayato was sitting beside Anastasia, who was in bed. It had been two days since then.
With no sleep at all, Ayato sat beside Anastasia. He wanted to see her awake. He couldn't bear leaving without knowing that she was okay.
The doctor said that she was in a critical condition. There was no need for surgery but she was bleeding too much from the wounds that she gained.
"Ngh..."
With faint groaning, not only Anastasia but Ayato came back to life. Although still tired, the colour came back to his face.
"Anastasia!"
"Hm... Master..."
She tilted her head over to Ayato. A smile appeared on her face. Tears couldn't be contained anymore. Ayato began crying as he took up her hand.
"I'm so glad... I'm so glad..."
"Don't cry, Master... Of course, I would be fine, I'm your servant, after all."
Anastasia gave a weak smile.
At this point, there was no one to hate. Ayato had already taken his revenge by killing Horobi and burning down the Kyouya Family House. He still felt hatred when seeing Anastasia at her weakest.
Ayato sighed.
There was no point in taking his anger out on someone uninvolved completely. His father would be a viable option but he didn't feel like it.
"You haven't slept, have you?"
She asked with a serious expression.
The bags under his eyes could be seen. Ayato smiled.
"I'm fine."
"No, Master, sleep. You were kept awake for my sake."
"Yes, and that was worth it. Don't worry about me. You focus on recovering."
Ayato said standing up.
He walked out of the room and sighed in relief.
"Man... I was so worried..."
The boy blurted out. As he left, he came across a doctor. Strangely enough, he wasn't the assigned doctor to Anastasia.
This corridor, that Ayato was in, was for VIPs. It was a horrible thing, buying your way into a better room for hospitality when there may be others who were injured far worse but it worked since healthcare was paid either way.
"Uhm, excuse me, what happened to Anastasia's doctor?"
Ayato asked the doctor.
'I should probably ask where the doctor is. I need to tell him that Anastasia woke up.'
The doctor slowly turned back.
"Oh, he took a leave for today. I'm the newly assigned doctor."
Something was wrong.
Ayato couldn't pinpoint the cause but he could tell. He used his Blue Eyes.
"...!"
That doctor was too perfect. Not in his looks or appearance but in his mana parameters. It was overwhelming. When Ayato looked at him using the Blue Eyes, it looked like a large blue flare surrounding the man.
No doctor should have that type of mana. No doctor could have that type of mana. The only overwhelming forces who could were...
"Who are you?"
Ayato asked.
"Your mana pool is too large to be a doctor. Any doctor would be a magician if they had that amount of mana. So, who are you?"
The doctor smiled. He turned fully, showing his face to Ayato.
The only overwhelming forces who could have a mana pool that large were World Magicians.
"The Mirage Magician..."
"I thought I was keeping myself discreet. The Blue Eyes, right? I guess not even my mirages can hide from them."
The doctor's outfit on Sora faded and turned into one of a magician. He wore a shirt and a navy blue and gold long coat. He had a top hat and a cane.
"What do you want with Anastasia?!"
Ayato asked, on guard.
'Fuck... I don't have Asteria with me.'
It would be hard for even Ayato to fight a World Magician. He probably could if he was fully rested but he wasn't. He was tired. His abilities from mana processing to mana expulsion would lack slightly.
Asteria was something that would give him a definite edge against World Magicians. An artificial Divine Tool made by the Kyouya Family—it was made by Saya Kyouya half a year before she died.
Divine Tools are ancient war weapons from the last century when magicians first appeared. They were weapons of mass destruction now either sealed away or held by World Magicians.
"Anastasia? I have business with you."
His figure faded into mist. The mist filled the corridor like fog. Ayato couldn't see a single thing in the thick fog.
'The Mirage Magician... The disadvantage to being a magician, especially being a famous one, was that your Magic Seal would be known. Maybe not to the public but to big families.'
Ayato thought while activating his Blue Eyes once more. His eye sockets felt strained from the lack of sleep. He continued to use them either way.
The Mirage Magican's Magic Seal was Illusion. Sora could make convincing illusions, sometimes even real ones, as long as they were within in fog.
In other words...
"The fog is my domain! You have nowhere to escape to! I'll kill you!"
'I'm at a disadvantage. If he wants to kill me, he'll come at me with no reserve. I've already summoned Asteria so I need to stall him for a few minutes.'
Ayato ducked as Sora sliced at him. He kicked him but it turned into mist.
"Tch..."
It would take time for Ayato to conjure a spell big enough to expel the fog. Not even a Wind Magic spell like Zephyr would be enough.
The fog was thick and was made by a Magic Seal. If a simple spell was enough to blow it away, then Sora would have never become a World Magician.
Ayato dodged most of the mirages that came at him but suffered a few scrapes.
It would be easy to use Deconstruction on the fog or building but he couldn't. The building housed many people who were hospitalised and he didn't know what compounds made up the fog.
Ayato was backed into a corner.
"Now, you'll face someone you dread."
"Huh?! Just get out here!"
Ayato shouted.
"I won't be fighting you."
Sora's voice echoed in the corridor. In front of the black-haired boy, a mirage formed. His heart dropped when he saw the face of the mirage. It grinned at him insidiously.
"Let's fight to the death, shall we, Ayato?"
"Mom..."
Sora made a mirage of Saya Kyouya. This was a part of his Magic Seal.
Infinite Nightmares. The person who the target cared about the most would fight him. The person made into a mirage would be dead.
Ayato was frozen in shock.