"Now, Akari, let's see if these students deserve to be in the seven most prestigious magic schools, hm."
Yuuji said to her with a thin smile. Akari was wincing, clearly disgruntled. She didn't like Yuuji's actions.
Yuuji Kaido wasn't a problem by himself but with the other members of NEXUS and hostages, she couldn't do a single thing.
"Ah, let's see... you."
He pointed at a student from Astrantia. The boy panicked pathetically as a soldier jerked him with a gun.
"What happened 30 years ago? They should have World History at magic schools too."
"I-I don't know... I'm... a bad student..."
"Is that so? Kill him."
Yuuji nonchalantly said, turning away. Akari rushed toward the student.
"YUUJI!"
The sound of bullets rang out. The boy fell to the floor. The students screamed.
"Silence!"
The soldiers cocked their guns as a threat. Everyone quieted down, although, in a corner, there was a freshman who cried without stopping.
"Oi, shut up!"
A soldier pressed their gun against the girl's temple. She still wouldn't stop.
"YUUJI KAIDO, STOP!"
Akari could take out Yuuji Kaido if she wanted but NEXUS wasn't a mindless group. They could act by themselves. Knowing Yuuji Kaido, he probably told them to kill everyone if he died.
"Stop it, Ren, that's not fun."
He told the man. He took his gun off of her temple and aimed it elsewhere.
"Now, I'll choose another one. Someone else who isn't a failure at school. For example, like you, Asaka Fujina."
He pointed to the grey-haired girl with the Orchid uniform. She scowled at Yuuji. The scarred man smiled.
"What happened 30 years ago?"
"...World War III."
Asaka answered, fearing ending up like the boy on the opposite side of her. His split head and mashed brain matter perturbed her like everyone else.
"Exactly,"
He turned to the black-haired woman, who was silently seething.
"From 2075 to 2078 was World War III. A three-year war. You, Akari Chiori, killed your kinsman in that war. You slaughtered thousands of Japanese."
Yuuji said. The stands began gossiping but Akari instantly shut his statement down.
"They were traitors and that's proven. Even the US Federation has admitted that they hired Japanese spies. Besides, I don't plan to act innocent. Unlike you, who was a US spy and escaped only to cause even more trouble. Because they found out, they bombed the previous New City."
Akari said to him. Yuuji glared at her. He got his pistol out and aimed it at her forehead.
"Shut up."
"You hate magicians and yet you worked for a more magical society than Japan. The US are known for their monopoly of power. They have six magicians on the level of World Magicians but only three are officially titled. You only hate me because your sister was among the traitors."
"I said shut up!"
He cocked his gun.
"I won't say I'm good but you're not good either. Your hatred against magicians is half-hearted as it is."
"You—!"
She punched him, sending him flying down the stairs. Nine shadows jumped down from the roof of the stands. They all cast spells, knocking out the black soldiers. The one who was the most help was Kazuki.
He fired floating swords at them, stabbing them in vital points.
"Fir—What?! What are you doing?!"
There was a match of Orb Defence going on. The students there sensed that something was amiss after the explosion and saw black-suited people raid the stands.
They hid and waited for the perfect moment. Akari knew about this and waited.
"Yuuji Kaido. You've gathered too many people for your selfishness. You're under arrest."
She restrained him before he could get up. The man struggled as Akari impulsively broke his wrist.
"Argh!"
"If this were wartime, I would kill you for killing an innocent child, even if you didn't pull the trigger. That lost life will never come back."
"Y-you dare say that after killing my sister?!"
"Erina Kaido was a criminal and a deceitful woman. In my opinion, there hasn't been a woman more evil than her."
"You're wrong! You're wrong! You're..."
Akari narrowed her eyes.
"The only reason I missed killing at that time was because both you and I were young. I was naive. Letting a child escape for it only to bite back at me."
She muttered.
Akari Chiori's only regret.
·———·
[You better hurry it up there, Asami. The NEXUS soldiers sent to the arena have already been compromised. Hurry up and kill the boy.]
A voice said through Asami's Seeker. It was Hacker. Asami was focused, twiddling her fingers at intense speeds. She ignored the bullets flying from behind her toward the boy.
"We're seriously trying but he's slippery! I know what he's doing but... we can't stop him!"
Ayato was heavily injured. He had bullets in him and multiple wounds. Due to the blood dripping from his forehead, he couldn't see out of one eye. Even so, Ayato did his best to operate at full strength.
He deflected her threads as Yui dashed toward him. Ayato jumped backwards into a room—Asami and Hana couldn't see him now.
"He's skilled for a teenager."
Hana said, reloading her assault rifle.
"Shit! He's taking us on 1-on-1. Separating Yui from us and knocking her away before eventually—"
The wall beside Asami broke.
"—coming for us!"
Ayato's hand flickered.
"Moon Sickles."
Asami blocked the projectile with her threads while Hana jumped back, her assault rifle broke. One of the sickles slashed her shoulder and eyebrow, narrowly missing any vital organs.
"Why can't we kill him?!"
"Mini Vacuum Orbit!"
Yui fired a smaller version of Vacuum Orbit at Ayato to lower the risk of it hitting others.
Ayato slashed it with Asteria.
"...!"
More than half of the blade disappeared. It came for Ayato, however.
With the swipe of his left hand, the Vacuum Orbit disappeared. It was destroyed.
"Huh?! The aether was destroyed?!"
Yui stopped, shocked. The others also looked in surprise. Ayato exhaled.
"I haven't used my Magic Seal in a direct fight in a while."
Deconstruction and Reconstruction. With his left hand, things could be destroyed. With his right, things could be repaired. This would all depend on his knowledge of things.
He didn't need to touch people to use either but he could only use it at a distance in a straight line or at a circumference.
"Let's see where this gets me."
They all felt it. The cold aura that was directed at them. His bloodlust.