A Brief Disturbance
Eline…
Why was she here? Nothing about it made sense at a glance, but there was no time to puzzle it out. Three opponents. The man who had been sprawled on the ground staggered back to his feet.
“Ghhk…”
The one who looked like their leader fixed his gaze on Eline. His eyes narrowed further as he loosened his stance.
“Watch yourselves. She’s no ordinary opponent.”
At the leader’s warning, the robed man behind him spoke carefully.
“Boss… that magic just now…”
“You secure our escape route from the rear. We’ve already wasted too much time on one of them.”
“…”
The man who received the order backed away and vanished into the darkness at once.
The man whose face was twisted by scars and burns faced Eline squarely. The one they had called boss. Even the air around him made it clear he was no ordinary foe.
“Looks like you’re a student, yet you’ve got this much mana.”
He eyed Eline with an expression of genuine amusement. Mana began to condense. A foul, filthy sensation of something being sucked in. His forearm twisted, the flesh writhing as if insects were boiling beneath the skin.
That.
Contamination Magic—something I had only ever heard about in words.
“Interesting. Ten seconds, was it? Feels like it’s already passed.”
Even under the leader’s blatant provocation, Eline remained rooted in place. When our eyes met, a faint light flickered in hers—nothing more. She turned her gaze back to the intruders. The leader smiled thinly.
“I know your type well. Brats who strut around like they’re something special just because they get a little recognition in a place full of snot-nosed kids.”
He clenched both fists tight. The writhing flesh burst open, and black orbs that looked like insects poured out in a swarm. I couldn’t say exactly what kind of magic it was, but it was clearly a dangerous sort. The leader cast at once and charged straight at Eline.
No…!
Even for her, that would have been tricky to handle. The moment I forced my body upright, a sharp sound cut through the air behind me again.
Tsk—
I dodged on pure reflex.
“Don’t be in such a hurry. I’ll send you after that bitch.”
The man Eline had sent flying earlier now held a dagger.
“Hoo… Body’s a bit stiff, but trash like you—”
Thud—!
“Ghk!”
I drove a kick straight into his gut while he was still rambling. A solid impact registered, and the man staggered once more.
“You little—!”
Veins stood out on his forehead as he readjusted his grip on the dagger.
“Hah.”
In that fleeting gap, I called up the strongest magic I could manage for a single decisive blow. The spell Valrod had tried to use before. Lightning. The same one I had used once to block Eline’s magic.
I began gathering a powerful charge in one hand. As much as I could, for as long as I could. The mana grew heavy, and a tingling numbness crept from my fingertips. My back ached and blood ran down my arm, but none of it mattered.
Eline is…
The instant I realized she was in danger, nothing else registered. The dagger-wielding man glanced at my hand, startled, then twisted a vicious smile and lunged.
Three steps.
Sharpen every sense…
Two steps.
I can’t miss. Just once…!
One ste—
KRAAANG—
Another thunderous roar rolled out, and a flash of light erupted. Kh! Caught off guard by the unexpected glare, I shielded my eyes with my elbow while still trying to keep the front in view.
Focus. Keep the vision as clear as possible…
Crash-thud-thud!
The sound of something large tumbling across the ground. Completely different from the man’s charge.
What? Another spell?
I opened my eyes and looked ahead. The very moment I swung my hand, ready to loose the magic—
“…Huh?”
The dagger man and I both froze at the same time. Between us, a man lay crumpled, folded at the waist. His eyes had rolled back, and he kept coughing as if he were about to retch.
“Ghh… uurrgh.”
The same man who, mere seconds ago, had strolled off to face Eline with such leisure. Their leader.
“…B-Boss?”
The dagger man and I whipped our heads around on instinct.
“What the hell…”
The dagger man muttered in pure disbelief at the sight before him. Several trees had been cleanly severed, and the black orbs that had swarmed as if to blanket the forest were vanishing without strength. And at the far end of it all—
“… ”
Eline was walking toward us. Not a single scratch on her. Spotless. Behind the magic circles she had deployed with both hands, even more spears were pouring forth anew. Spears far sharper and brighter than the ones she had fired during our spar.
“Wh… wh… what?”
The dagger man’s panic was plain.
“Hey! That big noise just now—you okay!?”
The other man, still drawing a magic circle in the rear, shouted. Eline’s eyes snapped toward the sound. I caught the motion of her hand. Her fingers shifted, ever so slightly, toward the depths of the forest.
Aim.
The scattered spears aligned in perfect formation, all locking onto a single point. Then she clenched her fist.
Fire.
The aimed spears arced in individual curves and slammed straight into the source of the voice.
Shhhhk—
Crack—
Rrrumble—
Trees shattered, earth scraped raw, roots snapped—all at once, blending into something like an explosion.
“Aaaagh!”
A man’s pitiful scream mixed in at the end. The sight of those glowing spears tearing through the darkness and obliterating the area was nothing short of horrific.
“… ”
The man facing me stared, dumbstruck. I didn’t waste the opening. I loosed the lightning I had been gathering in my hand.
Zzzt—
He realized too late and tried to twist away, but the attack was far too fast. He took it full-on and went flying.
“Ghk!”
A short death rattle, a few spasms as the current jolted through him, and the dagger slipped from his fingers as he collapsed where he stood.
…Haa.
Over. Had it really ended this cleanly? I turned my head and found Eline. The spears behind her dissolved as she started walking toward me. Her steps quickened, then broke into a run.
“Eline… how did you get—”
Before I could finish the question—
Whump—
She threw her arms around me.
“Uh…”
A warm yet anxious embrace. Her body was trembling like a leaf in the wind.
“Eline…?”
She only held me tighter, as if terrified of letting go, pouring every ounce of strength into the hug.
“……”
She said nothing, and that silence only made her feelings crash over me harder. Worry. I quietly reached up and patted her back.
“Eline, I’m fi—”
“Liar.”
Her voice shook as she slowly lifted her head.
“Don’t lie to me… You’re bleeding… from your back.”
Her eyes were trembling worse than I had ever seen them. I wanted to smile and tell her not to worry, that it didn’t hurt at all. But the tension draining out of me left my legs shaky and my head throbbing. The pain in my back was starting to bloom.
If I keep this up…
She would only worry more.
“Lean on me, hurry. I need to stop the bleeding…”
With her support I propped myself against a tree, and the moment the tension left me, every sensation came flooding back one by one. The first thing I felt was—
It hurts.
My body ached. The places the dagger had cut—arm and back—burned. And then Eline was already working on my back, keeping the blood from flowing any further.
…Is it over?
Feeling her warmth, I finally let myself breathe. A cold night wind brushed past, and my body shivered.
I had been studying when the professor called for me.
Intruders. Lakeside. Investigation.
I nodded. Professor Zygmunt kept bowing her head with a grateful expression. Outside, the atmosphere was restless. Not only the forest—student council members and the few remaining professors were moving all across the academy.
…
I followed Professor Zygmunt toward the lakeside. The same forest I had visited before. With darkness settled over it, the place felt even more tangled and disorienting. People were already at the lake when we arrived. Signs of a fierce struggle stood out at once.
Residue…
I could feel the lingering traces of mana, and a faint scorched smell still hung in the air.
“For now, let’s move to contain this before it spreads.”
“Until we hear from Professor Laen, we search while staying on standby as much as possible…”
The professors conferred while Eline helped them at the water’s edge, searching for any possible clue. No solid evidence turned up. But one thing was certain.
Contamination Magic.
That much, at least, was clear.
Boom—
A sudden commotion made every ear prick up. The professors and guards investigating alongside us all froze as one. The sound of magic detonating.
“Magic?”
“Close by…?”
The uneasy murmuring continued—until a flash of light erupted for an instant. Exactly as close as the earlier words had suggested.
“A flash?”
Guards snapped into defensive stances and professors barked hurried orders. That was when—
“Eline, just in case, wait here—”
Zygmunt started to tell her to stay put for safety, but—
“Eline…?”
The color drained from the face Zygmunt was looking at. That light. That sensation of mana. Far too familiar. Her feet moved before she knew it. Step by step, she began to pick up speed.
“Wait—wait a moment! Eline!”
Zygmunt’s frantic shout reached her, but Eline had no room to care. She locked the position of the light in her mind and sprinted into the forest.
No.
She pushed her pace even harder.
It can’t be.
He should be asleep by now. He should be lying down. She could only hope her senses were simply too sharp and she was mistaken. But her body was already reacting, already running. Yes—she told herself she was only racing toward a light because someone might need help.
She tore through the forest. Tracking residual mana was something she had always been better at than anyone. Through underbrush, over roots, straight toward where the light had been.
She skidded to a halt. Human silhouettes. Three men ahead of her—two mages, one whose mana presence was faint. And opposite them stood him. His hand twitched as if preparing to cast from a blind angle. His unwavering eyes were fixed on the three men.
Light from a fallen lantern spilled across him. Before she could even wonder why he was here, she saw him clearly. Grass clung to him as if he had rolled once; his breathing was rough. Blood was running down his back.
Crack—
Something snapped inside her head. Mana began to pour out in an explosive flood.
“…Ah.”
When her senses returned, Lutes filled her vision. Had the intruders been dealt with? It hardly mattered. Lutes was bleeding. From his back, from his arm—he was letting out faint groans as if he had taken a blow somewhere.
No.
Rationally, she knew. A person did not die from something like this. Light scrapes, blood that simply needed to be stopped. She had to calm her heart, cool her head.
Lutes isn’t going to die.
She repeated it over and over in her mind, yet her hands, her head, her legs refused to obey and kept trembling. She helped him lean against a tree.
“It’s all right, Lutes. People will be here soon.”
Her voice was shaking. She was the one who wasn’t hurt—he was.
“Eline… I’m… really fi—”
She shook her head.
“Don’t talk.”
The wounds mustn’t open. Please, don’t talk. She gripped both of his hands tightly. He wouldn’t die. She knew that perfectly well. Treat the wounds and it would be fine. The academy’s medical facilities were excellent; they could heal him quickly.
Even so, calming down was not easy. She didn’t want to imagine it. If she had been even a little later. If Lutes hadn’t set off the flash in time. If they had been just a bit more thorough… Once the dam cracked, the imaginings kept pouring out. She squeezed his hands harder.
…I hate this.
She had only just managed to stay by his side. She had only just gained this warmth. The mere thought of losing him again made everything go distant.
I hate it, please…
She was so terribly afraid. The man looking at her forced one hand up with difficulty.
“Lutes, stay st—”
Before she could finish, Lutes pulled her in. His thick, comforting scent, the sound of his heartbeat right against her ear. Warm, soft, broad—his embrace.
“Eline.”
He spoke slowly.
“… ”
“It’s okay. I’m really okay, so don’t worry. All right?”
A clumsy voice, flustered yet trying to soothe her. The anxious knot in her chest began to ease. His heartbeat and the gentle pats on her back slowly returned her reason. It was all right. She managed a nod.
“…Yeah.”
She finally quieted her emotions and let herself sink into his arms.
“Over here!”
“Everyone careful! Keep formation!”
The running footsteps of guards and the shouts of professors drifted closer from afar. When she collected herself and lifted her head, Lutes was breathing raggedly, eyes closed as if exhausted.
“… ”
Eline carefully slipped free of his embrace and rose to her feet. She needed to gather her feelings again and sort out the situation. Looking up, she saw the moon beginning its slow descent.