Amira, who stepped forward, encouraged the students.
"The academy must disclose all the details of this incident. Only by processing Director Alpeas can we secure the future of the magic academy!"
"Right! Alpeas must resign! Hold Shirone's funeral!"
Their loud cries reached Amy and her friends through the infirmary window. At that moment, the door opened, and Cerielle entered.
"Amy, we have a huge problem!"
"What happened? Why are they suddenly like this?"
Amy's confusion was understandable. She thought the student council meeting was about to end when suddenly they gathered and demanded Shirone's funeral.
"The graduating class is conspiring to accuse Director Alpeas. I thought we could at least protect Shirone, but Fermi, that bastard, is stirring things up..."
Amy could understand the situation without seeing it. Fermi was more than capable of causing such a mess. Ultimately, the student council seemed to have focused on the director's resignation. But it wasn't entirely their fault. If the academy's leader was morally flawed, it would be good for the future to address it.
However, it was too extreme. That's why Fermi's actions were so annoying. Though the lukewarm response from the teachers provoked the student council's anger, Fermi was the one who lit the fuse.
"That rotten kid. He himself survived thanks to Shirone."
"What do we do now, Amy?"
Amy spoke while biting her nails.
"What can we do? We just have to endure."
Alpeas had said they would take care of Shirone for the time being. It was a miracle that he, responsible for this incident, had convinced the teachers.
Neid, who had been looking out the window, spoke to Eruki.
"Are you satisfied now? There are guys with the same thoughts as you gathered in a group out there. Shouldn't you be with them?"
"Do you want me to do that?"
Eruki didn't back down either. Both had been uncomfortable since their fight that day.
Cerielle frowned and said, "Enough, both of you. Fighting among ourselves won't solve anything. Now is the time to unite."
"Hah! Do you think that bastard Eruki will unite? He's a guy without blood or tears."
"Enough already. And Eruki, you too, be careful. Things have become very serious. We don't know how public opinion can change with a word, so stay here for now."
"Either way, I have no intention of leaving."
Eruki buried his face in the table and fell into contemplation. It had been five days since Shirone's death. It was taking much longer than he had anticipated.
"If the student council has made a move, the teachers won't hold out much longer. Maybe about 48 hours..."
The atmosphere in the infirmary quickly chilled. Everyone was too sensitive due to the ongoing crisis.
Amy stroked Shirone's forehead. Logically, he should be considered dead. But was the current situation really normal, clinging to hope?
"Please, please come back, Shirone..."
Amy wasn't sure about Shirone's survival. However, with his heart stopped for five days, the realm of certainty had long passed. From now on, it was a matter of faith.
* * *
The woman watched carefully the red light emanating from Shirone's body. If based on the principle of emitting high energy to vibrate particles, it could destroy any object.
"Shirone, don't do this. That magic is very destructive. It doesn't suit your disposition."
"I don't want to fight either. But you want to keep me here. I can't allow that. I have to go back."
"Do you think you can win against me?"
Shirone shook her head. It was a sincere feeling. She was a being possessing powers as strong as to call herself a god, even in the same dimension. At the very least, she had to be considered on a higher level than Arcane, who was an Archmage.
Who was this woman, and where was this place?
Shirone stopped thinking. At least here was not where she was supposed to be.
"Please teach me how to return to the original world."
"Even if I teach you, it's impossible. It's an act that will lead you to death again."
"Even so, I think I should try."
The woman wasn't afraid of Shirone's magic. But the power of the laser wasn't something to take lightly. She had to avoid the destruction of this world at all costs.
"Fine. I'll let you do as you please. But promise me that if you can't return to your original world and come back here, you'll follow my will."
"What is the way back?"
"I can't commit any further. Will you still do it?"
As terrifying as the obstacles were, Shirone's determination did not waver.
"Fine. But I'll never give up."
"Your life is yours. Use it as you wish."
The woman created a crystal orb in front of Shirone, swirling inside with a dark obscurity.
"Shirone, to return to the original world, you must go through the process you followed to get here, but in reverse."
"I see."
"It's not a simple matter. It's the process of returning from a pure spirit to a human being. Humans are a collection of all kinds of unpleasant elements. If you can't accept it, you'll end up becoming a strange existence that's neither human nor anything."
The woman was convinced of Shirone's failure.
"The darkness you see now is a point that pierces through time and space. It's often called a black hole. You can return to your original world through this place."
As the crystal orb disappeared, a huge darkness appeared in front of Shirone.
"What should I do?"
"It's simple. You just have to enter. It's a place connected to your physical body."
"Thank you. I won't forget your kindness."
Shirone was sincere. Even though he was kidnapped, if it weren't for her, he wouldn't have had a chance to return to his original world.
"Don't thank me too soon. I don't think you'll make it. If you want to give up, come back here."
Would that situation really happen? If he died, he would never return, but as it was something he hadn't experienced yet, Shirone didn't draw conclusions in advance.
"Then I will try."
The woman said, squinting her eyes as if she were sleepy.
"Have a good trip."
Shirone took the first step towards the black hole. He felt the same as the first time he entered the place. As expected, Shirone couldn't find an exit. No matter how far he moved, nothing changed.
Unconsciously, Shirone looked back and was startled. The woman was still looking at him with sleepy eyes. Time didn't pass. He was trapped in an event horizon that only occurs in extreme gravity.
"I can't escape. It's absolutely impossible to escape from this place."
Shirone finally understood what the woman was saying. In a place where not even time could escape, there was nothing he could do.
As clever as he was, he soon faced reality. Shirone turned around with a miserable feeling. He had to go back to the woman. Isn't it better to live in a place with people than to be trapped in darkness forever?
'Wait. Perhaps...'
Shirone suddenly stopped walking. Time was eternally trapped in the event horizon. But he had the ability to generate time. It was his light magic.
Sub-luminal, near-luminal, luminal, and superluminal.
There were four categories of speed classified by light mages. Shirone calculated that he would need a superluminal speed, faster than light, to pass through the event horizon.
'Superluminal... Is it really possible?'
Shirone's level was at most sub-luminal speed. It seemed possible to reach a near-luminal speed with the addition of Divine Particles, but it was still far from superluminal.
Let's think.
Time wasn't a problem as a method had been found. After a long period of contemplation, his eyes changed. He could do it. Without a physical body, perhaps he could achieve superluminal speed.
'Immortal Function.'
Even at the speed of light, one cannot travel through the vast universe. However, the speed of infinite expansion is instantaneous. Perhaps the Immortal Function was the key to reaching superluminal speed.
In any case, returning was the priority. Shirone took a deep breath and cast the light magic while opening the Immortal Function.
The effect was immediate. The tremor that accelerated from sub-luminal to near-luminal and luminal was so strong that it threatened to destroy the Spiritual Zone.
"Ugh...!"
But he still couldn't reach superluminal speed. Casting magic through Omnipotence was impossible without understanding what it meant to be faster than time. All that remained was the full opening of the Immortal Function. Although he was venturing into another unknown world where he might vanish again, Shirone expanded his consciousness without hesitation.
The form that composed Shirone burst and disintegrated into particles. Finally, something faster than light began to run towards the light beyond the event horizon.
"I did it."
Shirone still maintained consciousness. Even after fully opening the Immortal Function, no particle was disrupted within the black hole. The exit was visible in the distance. His physical body awaited him there.
'There! I'm finally leaving!
Then, suddenly, he began to slow down. Unidentified particles began to adhere among Shirone's particles. The particles formed a meaning through union, and affected Shirone's mind like a voice.
- Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour.
- Breed. Breed. Breed. Breed. Breed. Race. Race. Race.
As the voices became heavier, Shirone saw the exit receding. The particles intertwined in a complex manner, evolving from simple meanings to meanings of higher dimensions.
- Ah, birth. The lowest existence.
- I don't want to die. The life of a mortal.
Shirone realized that he was going through the process of becoming human, as the woman had said. A being thrown into the world, full of both desire and fear.
Perhaps all humans had been hearing those voices inside their mother's womb?
"I won't give up! I will definitely return!"
- Where to? There is no place that will welcome you.
"To the world where I belong! To the place where my friends are waiting for me!"
- They will kill you. They will interfere with your devouring and your breeding. All that awaits you is a collision of desires, painful struggles, and an inevitable journey towards death.
"I don't hear anything! Nothing can stop me!"
Shirone shouted desperately. But as the union progressed, the floating voices grew louder.
After all, humans were beings formed by countless voices. Just as a solo performance is drowned out by a choir, Shirone eventually lost his own voice.
- Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour. Devour.
- Breed. Breed. Breed. Breed. Breed. Race. Race. Race.
* * *
The 7th day after Shirone's death.
The student council was still holding a sit-in. To be precise, they were the radicals who followed Amira.
In opposition, conservative students blocked the entrance and prevented access. There were also factions within the moderate party, which ended up doubling the number of protesters.
With most students gathered in front of the building, day and night, Shirone's friends who guarded it were on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Hold Shirone's funeral!"
"Represent! Perform it!"
"Alpeas must face the judgment of the Magic Association!"
"Face it! Confront it!"
Cerielle covered her ears. The sound wasn't loud because the windows were closed, but she couldn't bear to listen anymore.
"Isn't this too much? Why are they so impatient that they couldn't catch Shirone?"
Upon Cerielle's words, Amy, who had her face buried in the cot, lifted her head.
"They must have their own stances. Even those who didn't like Shirone before probably joined in."
"Is it Shirone's fault for being outstanding? They're just narrow-minded."
"All humans are like that. If there are people who recognize Shirone, surely there are people who reject him."