Villain and Justice
The flow of time slowed. The speed of the incoming magic projectiles dropped dramatically, and my perception sharpened to recognize each one crystal clear. I alone lived at the original speed of time. That meant acceleration. My footsteps, already far superior in speed, grew even faster.
—I slash through the air. My shoulder, moving a beat ahead, syncs perfectly with my feet racing through the void at ultra-high speed. Distance vanishes. Manipulating time equates to controlling space. Slash—!
The lightning bolt, fiercer than before, and the sharp steel beam split in half. Then the next, and the one after. I swing my dagger at the following projectile. I carve its body. I rend it. Clang! Boom! Clang! Once it becomes this effortless, it turns into mere repetition. Whether it's magic laced with physical force like this or disciplining a bratty little miss with a nasty temper.
"Oh dear, hit wrong and you'd kill someone? Have you completely lost the will to hold back?"
Slash! As I cleaved the spell in a single stroke and asked with genuine regret, Eris twitched her brow.
"...Lost the will to hold back?"
Golden chains sprouted from the rubble of the half-destroyed construction site, swayed by the mage's will. A binding spell akin to the 'Binding' incantation, designed to neutralize targets.
"Yeah, completely!"
But the spell, now brimming with the aura of a grand archmage, was utterly transformed in power. Infused with stellar energy, the magic's hierarchy leaped several levels. The mage herself was no different. The star mage Eris Betelgeuse declared, radiating brilliant golden mana.
"If you don't want to die right now, you'd better surrender!"
What arrogant words from such a novice.
"Huh? Why should I?"
I surged with the urge to draw my sword and turn her into a total mess, but I restrained myself and stuck to the original plan.
"I'm still way stronger, after all."
I shatter it with raw power.
"...You!"
I could almost hear her teeth grinding, but she was too young to worry about dental health yet. Ignoring it, I leaped beyond space and time. The chains overwhelming my vision in sheer volume lacked individual strength. Mere steel-level at best. Slash! I cut them down in one go. The dagger blade, flickering like a torch with dense mana, sliced and melted the magic. After repeating this dozens, hundreds of times, holes riddled what seemed an inescapable net.
"Hmm, looks like I need more training myself."
I spotted a flaw for self-reflection. Instead of flickering, my goal was a firm, sleek blade. Well, achieving that in just half a year demanded overly advanced mana control. Something to address later. For now, I kept slashing through the spells.
Rrrrip! Tearing the golden net apart, I charged the mage—only to find empty air. Eris Betelgeuse, face etched with bewilderment. Her combat title or whatever aside, the distance to this mage was nearly closed.
She thought she was stronger than protagonist Kenichi early in the episode, but she's falling short of expectations.
Judging her combat prowess from our exchange so far, she was below hype. As a mage, a backline character, I expected far greater firepower. Was this the gap between game and reality?
As I readjusted the dagger in my grip with such thoughts, a voice rang out.
"...With that kind of skill."
Eris Betelgeuse trembled from head to toe.
"Why do you live like that!"
Huh, what did that mean? I pondered briefly, but it was too philosophical, so I answered with conviction.
"Because it's obvious, isn't it!"
Before possession, sure, my hikikomori life was whatever. But afterward, my existence was pure grit. Even with cheat powers, surviving in a foreign land means suffering like hell. And this game's genre? Surface-level youthful school life, but the content was apocalyptic exorcism. How many urban monsters had I hunted? No one paid me for it. At least linking with the Shihei estate solved food and shelter perfectly, but the road ahead was daunting. A total shitshow game teeming with world-ending crises. Protagonist Kenichi needed diligent training, and the other three heroines too. The path was long, and Kenichi's growing complaints were worrisome, but what could I do? To survive, keep struggling. No one appreciated my sincerity—it was heartbreaking, tears welling up—but the sole reason I persisted was one.
"Because it's rewarding!"
To survive alongside the people here. Hunting monsters, mentoring Kenichi. We'd deviated from the main route, but I'd recruited Cento too. Thinking of the sweat poured in, it was a grueling path, yet fulfilling. No regrets.
I wonder if my heartfelt answer got through.
"...What? Rewarding?"
Eris's face quivered, as if moved to emotion.
Whether the opponent was a thug or the poster child for dim-witted swordsmen, I'd always believed there was room for negotiation. That I could capture and reform them. I'd thought so.
"Because it's rewarding!"
But Eris Betelgeuse realized the truth. Some people were congenital psychopaths who reveled in evil deeds.
"...What? Rewarding?"
Beating up classmates on the sports field was fun for him? Come to think of it, rumors said he dragged the class rep around after school lately. How many atrocities had he committed under unseen eyes? Her teeth chattered at the mounting anxious imaginings, her fists clenching in rage.
...That guy's a clear-cut villain.
An irredeemable villain. His thinking was utterly warped. Recalling how he'd insulted her parents, the mage reached her decision. She gazed at the airborne villain with detached calm.
"Fine, just die."
She infused her mana with killing intent. Crackle! Red mingled with the golden mana, and the enraged mage unleashed her spell at once.
"Deploy."
Wind magic. Air Hammer. No incantation, no chant. Hammers of wind materialized in the air. Crafted to crush any villain.
"...Hm?"
Ichimaru Shiki looked down in surprise, and the hammer struck. Crunch! From below upward, a powerful upward smash launched his body airborne. A normal person would be gravely injured. But Eris Betelgeuse didn't halt her will's manifestation for further spells.
"Deploy."
Lightning magic. Among them, a high-tier spell.
"Thunder Calling."
Rumble! The clear sky darkened in an instant, heralding the storm. Though it had a casting delay, Eris accelerated it with stellar power. As the star's conduit, she commanded.
"—Strike down."
Boom—! A pillar of lightning crashed from the dry sky. Not a single bolt, but destruction incarnate obliterating all in its path. Yet Eris knew her foe was a superhuman who could air-step and wield mana. Bloodshot eyes glaring, she clenched her fist. Continued manifesting will. Activated the spell.
"...Deploy."
Water magic. Aqua Tornado. A storm of water surged from the ground, enveloping the light pillar. Friction amplified the fierce currents and pressure. On top, Eris, holding a miniature sun in her palm, shouted.
"—Deploy!"
Fire magic. Explosion. Infused with the star's will, the sun swelled massively. She hurled it into the storm's heart.
And—BOOOOOOMMMMMM!
It detonated. The roar was followed by a whiteout. As scorching steam billowed outward, Eris hastily erected a barrier.
"...Hah, hah."
Amid the illusion of a bleached world, the young mage panted. Her brilliant golden mana had long dimmed. She'd overexerted. Eris Betelgeuse stared at her trembling hands. Feeling the impending bodily strain, she exhaled heavily.
...I just killed someone.
Her first murder. Dazed by the sensation, Eris squeezed her eyes shut. But beyond the physical toll, the anxiety and sorrow of killing were overshadowed by relief. She'd escaped. Finally survived that man.
...Was I scared of him?
Only after the battle did Eris realize it. Grimacing, she exhaled and thought: Yeah, it's over. She survived somehow. Wrapped in that relief, she murmured toward where the villain had stood.
"...At least I got him."
The final spell's incantation. The moment Eris finished speaking, something burst from the white steam. A leg shrouded in a mana barrier.
"...What?!"
Stunned briefly, Eris frantically reinforced her barrier.
"Oops, too late."
But the kick arrived faster than expected, shattering the barrier effortlessly. Shatter! Dozens of layers crumbled instantly, and the leg slammed into Eris's torso.
"...Guhk!"
Eris Betelgeuse's body floated into the air from the sudden impact, hurtling far away. Crash! For the first time in her life, she tumbled across the ground. After dozens of rolls, a surviving steel pillar halted her. Thud! The collision jarred her breathless.
A crisis of survival. Yet she wasted no time. No room even for steady breathing, she glared wide-eyed at the approaching villain. Clawing the dirt with fingers, struggling to rise.
"Ah, sorry. Daggers carry too much killing intent sometimes, hard to control. I'm still so immature, immature. Unexpectedly reflective today."
"...Kuhk!"
"Glad my feelings got through, at least. You know you died twice just now, right?"
"..."
Finally steadying herself, Eris Betelgeuse manifested will anew.
"—O stars!"
Whoosh—the steam cleared, golden radiance blanketing the world. Beyond her innate power, the stars' will to save their successor manifested. Thousands of golden chains covered earth and sky, plummeting toward one man. Transcendent magic. Constellation Chain.
Even in this desperate pinch, the fiend before her merely shrugged leisurely.
"Hmm, no third time."
So saying, Ichimaru Shiki reached into empty air with a grinning face. Drew the sword that had appeared there. Then stepped forward.
—Boom!
That mere stomp shattered all magic. The star chains blanketing heaven and earth vanished in an instant. Their fragments, brilliant starlight, rained from the lofty sky. As if blessing one victory. As if cursing another's defeat deeply.
"..."
Eris Betelgeuse stared blankly at the surreal, beautiful sight. In her mind, life's final moment. The end.
She'd lost. And would die. The thought dominated her mind, tears spilling unbidden down her cheeks. Feeling them trickle, the mage bit her lip and shut her eyes tight.
"Eek, crying?"
At the teasing voice, Eris snapped her eyes open. Ichimaru Shiki approached slowly, his usual sly grin intact. Unscathed. All her magic futile.
She burst into sobs, yelling.
"Shut up!"
"Hmm, nastier temper than expected."
"Quit yapping and just finish it! Sob, damn it! Damn it!"
"Well, ambition isn't bad. No, it's great!"
What the hell is this guy babbling? As she sobbed, wiping tears upon sensing her death, Ichimaru Shiki, now close, nodded satisfiedly.
"You pass, so I'll say it now. Eris Betelgeuse."
What? Eris Betelgeuse, face brimming with tears, stared at the fiend. He knelt to her level, half-prostrated on the ground, and grasped her hand with a smile.
Then spoke.
"Won't you join the side of justice with me?"
With the world's most insidious grin.
"...What?"
Eris Betelgeuse blinked, momentarily uncomprehending, and asked back.