"Shirone..."
Amy held Shirone's hand with swollen eyes from crying. The teachers were also confused, so no one came to see them. No, perhaps they had already accepted the fact that Shirone was dead.
But Amy shook her head. She couldn't think of Shirone as dead. There were too many uncertainties to call it an obsession.
Neid offered words of comfort.
"Don't worry, miss. Shirone will return."
"That's right. It doesn't make sense. Why would he die? If he was going to die because he cast Mass Teleport, it shouldn't have activated in the first place. Something definitely strange happened to Shirone."
Eruki frowned disapprovingly. He had been watching Shirone all night, but there was nothing more foolish than confusing a dead person with a living one.
"If we follow that logic, Arcane should have survived too. Simply casting magic might be enough to kill someone."
"The situation is different with Arcane! Shirone fully activated the Immortal Function. That's a completely different matter from decreased brain function!"
"Anyway, exceeding capacity is the same. Humans can die due to any variable. What matters is whether he's alive or dead, not arguing about why he died."
Neid frowned. Even if it was true, there were things one could and couldn't say in front of a girlfriend. Just as he was about to reply, Amy approached Eruki with cold eyes.
"You haven't changed; you're still as unpleasant as ever."
Eruki looked at Amy with his chin resting on the table. His eyes burned red.
"It's the Karmis family. Well, if she has red eyes, she would be immune to mental magic."
Red eyes were a famous trait on the continent. The only thing that could invade their minds was Antimagic, so it was understandable that she escaped Abyss Nova. However, his thoughts didn't go further, and he looked away disinterestedly.
"It's not a good habit to blame others for your bad mood."
"No. You're the one ruining the atmosphere. Who are you? Are you really Shirone's friend? How can you think Shirone could be dead?"
"I didn't think he could be dead. I said he is dead."
"That's even worse! And you, from Class Five, how dare you use informal language?"
"If it bothers you, report it to the student council. I don't care about disciplinary measures."
Unable to contain herself, Amy approached him and grabbed Eruki's neck, lifting him using her power. Eruki's legs lifted off the ground.
"Say it again. But this time, you better say it right."
"Oh, how scary."
There was no emotion in Eruki's eyes. He just looked at Amy with his empty eyes. However, Amy was the kind of person who wouldn't hesitate to do anything if provoked.
"Repeat exactly what I say. Shirone isn't dead. If you don't, you'll end up lying next to him."
"Shirone is dead."
"Shirone isn't dead! Hurry up and repeat after me!"
"I said Shirone is dead."
Amy's crimson eyes blinked. Aiming at Eruki's third or fourth tooth with the precision designed from her self-image memory, she threw a punch. However, Eruki's expression didn't change. Seeing the slowdown, it was clear she intended to stop just in front of his face.
As expected, Amy halted her movement just before the hit. While her fist, filled with resentment, trembled, Eruki spoke indifferently.
"Ah, that's a relief."
"Don't joke! Miserable servant! You have no idea the significance of me stopping my fist, do you?"
Amy couldn't hit Eruki. No matter how much she hated him, he was still Shirone's friend.
"You stopped your fist, you mean. Did you just waste your energy?"
Sparks flew in Amy's eyes.
"So, with that broken mouth, are you saying Shirone is also dead? Do you know? Someone like you doesn't even deserve to have friends."
"Maybe. But do you deserve it?"
"What's your problem? You're really...!"
Amy tried to pull his neck again and raised her fist. Then, for the first time, Eruki frowned at her and grasped the hand holding his neck.
"Ouch, hey!"
While Amy stared at him while shaking her hands, Eruki approached the bed and pointed at Shirone.
"You're the pathetic ones. Do you really think he's alive? He's not breathing, and his heart has stopped! Yet, you keep babbling nonsense as if he's really alive or something strange happened. What kind of friends are you!"
"Then what do you want me to do! Shirone is in this situation, what do you want me to do!"
"That's why I'm telling you to think!"
Eruki shouted with an emotion not usually seen.
"Do you think a dead person will come back to life if you just believe he's alive? Instead of wasting your energy on such nonsense, try to think of a way to bring a dead person back to life!"
Unable to find an answer, Amy finally realized the truth and bowed her head. Eruki was right. Shirone was mathematically dead.
said Neid with a sad expression.
"I understand what you're saying. But, Eruki, how can we save him? There's no way to resurrect the dead... right?"
"Hmph, that's your limit."
Eruki slammed the door shut and left. Silence filled the infirmary. As Amy sat on a chair and covered her face, Neid tried to console her.
"Miss. Don't hate him too much. Eruki acts that way because he's frustrated."
"Forget it. I don't even want to bother with that guy. Thinking of a way to revive the dead? Why doesn't he understand that's a bigger wound?"
Neid couldn't answer that either. Though it might be typical of Eruki, on a day like this, he couldn't help but feel bitter towards such a friend.
After leaving the infirmary, Eruki frowned as he walked down the hallway. The last two people he wanted to see were waiting for him. Kanis was leaning against the wall, and Arin anxiously looked around, unable to find a place to settle his gaze.
As the one in charge of the situation, he had to strictly monitor them, but the current situation was not relaxed enough to pay attention to them.
Of course, it was the same as Eruki not having composure. If they had been determined to escape, they would have already done so. Even then, they wouldn't be able to escape the eyes of the Magic Association.
"Did you come to apologize or to pick a fight? Or perhaps both?"
Kanis pushed off from the wall with a shake.
"Both. I came to make a scene and to apologize. Dying in battle is one thing, but it's unsettling that Shirone was sacrificed for no reason. But it seems I chose the wrong time."
It seemed he had heard the sound of Amy's struggle from outside. Eruki scratched his head, annoyed at the thought of showing a bad impression, and said,
"You thought right. It won't be a pretty picture if you enter now. The girl from the infirmary will start by breaking your legs. Anyway, do your best. I'm leaving."
Kanis watched Eruki as he passed by.
"It doesn't matter. What's the point of choosing the wrong time when I missed the chance to apologize? What's the point of apologizing to someone who's already dead?"
Eruki, who had stopped walking, looked back at Kanis and widened his eyes terribly.
"What?"
"I completely agree with your opinion. Dead is dead. My desire to apologize has greatly diminished after seeing the fuss over a corpse."
Eruki thought for a moment and then burst into laughter.
"You talk well about dying and coming back to life. Whose idea was it? Yours? Or that shadow's?"
"...Are you suggesting we settle this here?"
"From my point of view, Shirone is a rather bothersome friend."
When Eruki brought up a sudden story, Kanis frowned.
"In fact, I'm a very strange and bad guy. So I decided to impose restrictions on myself. In a way, Shirone is like a lock to me."
"What a weak mindset."
"Is it? Well, maybe I wouldn't have thought that way if it weren't for Shirone. Anyway, now there's no Shirone. So be careful with your words in the future."
Feeling something from Eruki, Arin took a step back.
"That's because I'm different from Shirone. If I put my mind to it, I can do any madness. So it's best to pray for Shirone to definitely come back to life and stop me."
Eruki's eyes began to shine as he stared at Kanis. It was the spark generated in the brain, shining through the eyeballs.
"If Shirone ends up like this, I'll kill you first, no matter what it takes."
When Kanis' mental channel opened, Havist's brainwaves entered.
[Kanis, this is a level of alert. You've been targeted.]
[I know. I already knew he was a mage.]
[It's not just that. His calculation speed is incredibly fast. When calculated based on the movements of the Spiritual Zone, I estimate it's over 10,000 times faster than our mental channel.]
Kanis couldn't believe it. The exchange of opinions with Havist was faster than the speed of thought. The fact that it was 10,000 times faster was unimaginable in human common sense.
[What level is that?]
[It's the amount of information enough to analyze all the events happening in the city for 3 seconds. We need a special strategy to deal with him. But we are criminals. Causing an accident here has the potential to put us at a disadvantage.]
Kanis didn't want to back down. This stubbornness was the reason he was selected as Arcane's disciple, but the timing wasn't right. Arin intervened while Havist desperately tried to stop him.
"But doesn't that mean you also believe that Shirone isn't dead?"
Eruki's Spiritual Zone disappeared. Arin, who was observing through the Initial State, finally felt relieved. Eruki regained his composure. He had to be more rational than anyone. Letting emotions take over and making mistakes was enough for the fools in the infirmary.
"Shirone is dead. If you don't acknowledge the truth, you won't find a solution. I only think rationally."
"No. You believe Shirone is alive. Maybe even more than the two people in that room."
Eruki frowned. The Sage Syndrome was the most powerful ability to calculate the causality of an incident. There was no room for illogical emotions to interfere.
"What do you know about me to babble like that?"
"I have the ability called Initial State. I perceive everything as if seeing it for the first time. So I can remember the shape of things. They always seem different to me."
"And so what? What does that have to do with anything?"
"To my eyes, I can see your emotions. In a completely different way from how others see them."
"I'm fine. The dead are dead. There's no room for emotions to interfere."
"No, it's different." Arin shook her head.
"Because right now, you're crying with a very sad expression."
Eruki couldn't respond.
As Arin said, a hundred words were useless in the face of the Initial State.
That night.
The door to the infirmary opened slowly.
Amy was exhausted from crying and had collapsed on the makeshift bed, while Neid slept in a corner chair.
Eruki approached Shirone. Sleeping and dying were different from the start. Seeing Shirone's cold face, he felt his heart crumble.
In the morning, the teachers would come to check on Shirone. To hold a funeral, embalming would be done first, but then it had to be seen that there was no way to save Shirone by then.
Eruki managed to control his emotions and pulled out the hidden scalpel between his arms.
'I will definitely save you.'
He looked at Amy and Neid, but there were no signs of them waking up. Only then did Eruki plunge the scalpel.
The blade, reflected in the moonlight, cut through Shirone's skin and entered.