The day ended with Auralia currently in second place. Having Ayato in both Capture the Flag and the King of the Mountain helped them. Mami and Isamu helped him, to make sure that his weaknesses weren't revealed. Hortensia B was in first place.
The sixth day came around, the final event day. It was Orb Defence, this time.
Ayato was in his room. He was doing some maintenance on Asteria.
[Maintenance complete. There are no problems with Asteria.]
Shic said.
Ayato put his phone on the desk and began swinging Asteria.
"Seems like it is fine. Thanks, Shic."
He put Asteria in its sheath and put it on his bed. Ayato stretched and smiled.
"I guess I'll go watch the match. There's still time before King of the Mountain."
He left his room and descended the stairs. The boy was thinking about the girls in the medical area.
'Maybe I should visit them...'
He thought.
Ayato instantly reconsidered. He was worried about their health and wanted to know if they woke up or not, but he left this task to Kiara. He knew nothing would progress if he talked to them.
"I'm not thinking things through properly."
He murmured.
"Ah,"
The boy accidentally bumped into someone. It was a worker.
"Sorry,"
He was paying attention. So he didn't bump into her. She had bumped into him. Ayato disregarded that fact, however, and moved on.
"Ayato Kyouya. The Magician of the Night."
Ayato stopped and turned. He looked at the woman. Her hair was snow-white and she wore a company uniform. No one familiar to him. Nevertheless, he was hostile.
"In 5 seconds, the next building over will explode."
The woman turned to him and smiled.
"You aren't wasting any time."
"Who are—?!"
BOOM!
There was an explosion. Ayato ran over to the end of the corridor. He looked out of the window. The building opposite was on fire.
"Now, in 15 seconds, the arena will explode too. Do you know how many people are there?"
"Shic, alert Akari Chiori of bombs."
The woman had a thin smile. Her crimson eyes glowed profoundly as she wickedly smiled.
"I'll ask again—"
Ayato gritted his teeth, glaring at the woman.
"—who are you?"
·———·
In the arena, Akari Chiori was sitting in the commentator's room above the stands. Since it was the final event day, she was commentating alongside Miru.
Akari felt her pocket vibrate. She took out her phone.
"...!"
She read the message. Akari took it seriously. No matter how arrogantly Ayato acted, he wouldn't make such a thing a joke.
They had also felt a rumble just seconds before too.
"Everyone!"
She shouted. Since she was a commentator, everyone could hear her voice.
"Either put barriers up or run! There are bombs!"
The stands didn't understand quickly enough. Some people did put up barriers but most didn't.
It was too late.
BOOM!
A section of the stands blew up. People panicked at the sight of it. From the entrance of the stands, people wearing black came out with guns. They all aimed at the unprotected students and spectators.
A single man walked out after them.
"Hello, everyone! Those explosions were merely greeting!"
The scarred man shouted.
"I am Yuuji Kaido, the leader of NEXUS! Today, all of you are my hostages!"
He shouted with a smile. The man looked up at the commentator's room.
"Get down here or there'll be a bloodbath, Akari Chiori!"
Akari grimaced, looking down at the scarred man. She got up from her seat.
"W-wait, Akari, where are you going?!"
"Down there, of course. I can't let other people die because of my mistakes."
She said before leaving.
·———·
"Do you need help, Mage Killer?"
A woman walked toward Ayato and the mysterious woman. Ayato recognised her. He saw her frequently when collecting information from Akashic Records.
"The Black Magician of Silk..."
Ayato then processed what she said. He smiled with a fierce look in his eyes.
"So you're the Mage Killer. I've been wanting to meet you."
"Likewise, Ayato Kyouya."
It was 2v1. He could call upon Asteria but he wanted to save that for later if he was in a bind.
'The Mage Killer is a woman...? Perhaps it's a disguise.'
"You're different from what they say."
He said, analysing his situation. Ayato, no matter who he was, would have a disadvantage against two opponents.
The Black Magician of Silk, Asami, could control threads which could harden like steel. There was also the fact that they couldn't be seen as easily.
The visibility wasn't a problem for Ayato but rather the amount of thread.
If the Mage Killer was to attack at the same time as her, Asami wouldn't use multiple threads, worrying it would hit her.
Even though the Mage Killer possessed multiple Magic Seals, Asami was a bigger problem.
Heavy footsteps marched up the stairs. A group of black soldiers aimed guns at Yui, Asami and Ayato.
"Don't shoot the two on the left!"
A woman said. She walked through the group with her hand in the air. The woman glanced over at Ayato.
"The only target here is that boy on the right. Isn't that right, Mage Killer?"
"Yes,"
She answered.
All guns were aimed at the boy. If he moved even a little, they would shoot without hesitation.
"Asteria."
He said as a test.
They didn't shoot. That was simply because no one recognised the name of the spell. The Mage Killer walked toward him.
"What was that?"
"A test."
"It doesn't matter. Ayato Kyouya, for my cause and their grudge, you will die."
"Are you sure?"
Asteria busted out of his room and soared into his hand. They all noticed that he was now harmed. The NEXUS soldiers were the first ones to react. They aimed their guns at him.
The lady stuck her arm out to signal to fire. However, she felt fear. She lifted her gun.
"Midnight Aria."
Ayato unsheathed his blade, releasing a large slash at the NEXUS soldiers. The stairs broke and most of the NEXUS soldiers were injured. The squad's leader jumped forward, not falling with the rest of them.
"Oh, that was a surprise."
Asami said, onlooking from the back.
"Interesting, I guess he has more power than I expected."
Yui admitted.
"That isn't the problem. He lysed our forces almost instantly."
The blue-haired woman turned to the armed one.
"What's your name?"
"We talked yesterday! My name is Hana!"
She shouted.
"We just need to kill him. But, let's test his strength first."
Asami said, extending her finger. Ayato tightened his grip around Asteria, breaking into a cold sweat. Even as a World Magician, he faced complicated opponents.
·———·
"You're finally here, Akari Chiori."
Yuuji croaked with a thin smile. Akari walked down the stairs, analysing his options.
'My only choice is to do what he tells me. My mistake... I shouldn't have disregarded him all those years ago. It's come to bite back at me.'
She mentally regretted it.
"Now, let's talk about it, shall we? What you did 30 years ago."