Do You Like Masks?
The blue tracksuit jacket stained crimson. The scent of blood, spreading silently, was instantly swept away by the ensuing gust of sandy wind, vanishing without a trace.
It was supposed to be nothing more than a tool to block the sun, yet its chilling sharpness was no different from a finely honed blade. Despite clashing with spears of rock in countless exchanges of offense and defense, the parasol showed not even a scratch, let alone any sign of breaking.
'Where on earth did a monster like this come from?'
Angelica suppressed her rising anger with cold, hard reason. This was not an opponent she could face while blinded by emotion. An anxiety that pierced from the crown of her skull down to her solar plexus. A sense of crisis warning her that if her concentration wavered for even a fraction of a second, her life would be forfeit. It had been a very long time since she last felt this sensation of her fingertips freezing over.
'If there was a supernatural user who had reached this level, I definitely would have heard rumors...'
Because she couldn't see the face behind the Red Fox Mask, it was difficult to judge her age. However, judging by her voice and demeanor, she seemed to be around the same age as the students of Class 1-A. Or perhaps even younger. A supernatural user with this level of skill at such a young age would inevitably have rumors whispered about them in the shadows. Yet, she had heard nothing. This was an unidentified powerhouse who had appeared out of thin air.
Could she be a secret weapon bred by the terrorist organization, the Family? No... if they had the capability to raise such a being, they wouldn't have remained a mere terrorist group. Moreover, the Family was an organization of supernatural supremacists. They referred to themselves as the "New Humanity" and condemned ordinary humans without abilities as the "Old Humanity." There was no reason for them to attack academy students. If anything, they would have tried to entice and recruit them with sweet words, not threaten their lives.
"Ahahahaha!"
The girl burst into laughter. Gripping the parasol with both hands as if it were a spear, she unleashed a rapid succession of thrusts. Angelica's lips twisted. A bizarre, snake-like trajectory that warped and disrupted her vision—it was unmistakably her own technique.
'She's growing. Even at this very moment, she's getting stronger. She's copying me to make up for her lack of experience.'
At first, she had held the parasol with one hand, swinging it like a sword. Those movements had been riddled with unnecessary openings and wasted flourishes. It was the clumsy flailing of a child who had never learned a day of swordsmanship in her life. That was why Angelica had been able to hold the upper hand in the beginning. But gradually, things began to change. As if mimicking the opponent before her, the girl started gripping the parasol with both hands, and from that moment on, her entire aura shifted.
The stance she took as she planted her feet. The precise application of force and proper breathing. The motion of thrusting, swinging, and retrieving the spear, along with the incredibly delicate control of her tempo. She was perfectly replicating everything that belonged to Angelica. It was a talent so absurd it bordered on terrifying. Just by clashing a few times and watching with her eyes, she was recreating her opponent's techniques.
'But it's still not enough. In the end, it's just an imitation. It's like wearing clothes that don't fit your frame.'
Angelica's spear techniques were uniquely forged and tailored to her own body. Even if one copied them by sight, they couldn't replicate her physical build. In fact, because the girl was blindly copying her, she was repeatedly exposing critical openings.
'Before she grows any further... I'll end this now!'
Using the ground as a launching pad, she fired a rapid barrage of improvised stone spears. Dozens of projectiles surged forward, leaving no blind spots. However, having already witnessed the technique several times, the masked girl easily deflected them, even humming a tune. With mere taps from the tip of her parasol, their trajectories were thrown off. Without exerting excessive force, using only the bare minimum of effort, she ensured that not a single one of the dozens of spears so much as grazed her.
But that didn't matter. The previous attack was merely a distraction to draw her gaze away.
The earth rippled. Not metaphorically, but literally surging like waves. As Angelica stamped her foot heavily to maintain her balance, a brilliant light shimmered in her eyes. She would show no mercy. She didn't have the luxury to. While she had no desire to harm a young child, judging by what the girl had shown so far, she was a calamity that could not be left unchecked.
"Benevolent King."
Heaven and earth trembled. Rocks surged upward. A boulder soaring high into the sky formed a single finger. A mountain was born on the flat ground. Five fingers. Next, a wrist. A solid forearm. A massive torso. Broad, majestic shoulders. A solemn, imposing, distorted face. A stone statue of the Benevolent King stood upon the earth. Though it was only the upper half of its body, the sheer fighting spirit radiating from it was enough to make one's skin tingle with awe.
"Oh...?"
A shadow fell. As if day had instantly turned to night, the light lost its place. The laughter vanished from the masked girl's face. She looked up blankly, staring at the towering stone statue as if she had forgotten she even needed to dodge.
"Vajra Warrior!"
Boom!
A hand strike capable of splitting even a great mountain triggered an earthquake. The statue of the Benevolent King struck down at the girl ruthlessly, as if crushing a bug. The earth split open and rippled like waves, erupting in a deafening explosion.
"Not yet!"
She didn't let her guard down for a single second. Among high-ranking monsters, there were tough bastards who could withstand a blow like that. The masked girl's full power was still unclear, but she was likely far stronger than a high-ranking monster. Moreover, she hadn't even revealed her supernatural ability yet. Carelessness was forbidden. She had to keep pressing her without giving her a moment to breathe—
"Ahaha."
A chilling shiver ran down her spine. A voice whispered right next to her ear. Warm breath tickled her ear canal.
"What—when did you...?!"
"I really like you, big sister."
The girl stood there, pristine, without a single speck of dust on her. How had she dodged? Angelica had clearly seen the blow land with her own two eyes! Though panicked, Angelica reacted calmly. To shake off the masked girl who had gotten close enough for her breath to touch, she lunged inward instead. Stamping her right foot, she slammed her shoulder forward.
Thud.
"……?!"
She didn't budge? Even though Angelica had amplified gravity to increase her own weight?
The girl slowly raised a finger. *Tsk, tsk.* She wagged her index finger side to side.
"I'm starting to see the bottom of your barrel. It was a deep well, so I couldn't see the bottom at first... but this is enough. Let's stop wasting time. You see, I'm actually a bit busy. I got so caught up in having fun with you that I wasted too much time."
"...!"
"Now that you've shown your hand, it's time to die, don't you think?"
A grin split across the girl's face beneath her mask. Catching the thrusting stone spear effortlessly with her left hand, the masked girl wrapped her arm around Angelica's waist. She swept her leg to break her balance. In an instant, Angelica was pulled into a position that looked almost like an embrace.
"...is what I was going to say. But, mhm, that thing just now was really cool. Benevolent King? What a fun name. Okay, I've decided."
"...Decided what?"
"It'd be such a waste to kill you. I've never seen a human as strong as you. So... I'm going to keep you."
"What?"
"Do you like masks?"
It was utter nonsense. Angelica turned the ground beneath them as soft and sticky as starch syrup. Seizing the brief window as the girl's ankles sank into the earth, she kicked her in the abdomen with all her might. Successfully breaking free, Angelica spun around and swung the handprint-laden stone spear in a wide horizontal arc.
"You're strong. Unlike those little fledglings of students, you're complete. You've drawn close to the very essence of 'Supernatural Ability'."
The parasol blocked the stone spear. Her obsidian-black hair fluttered like a flag in the wind pressure.
"But that's your limit. You can never step beyond it. Do you know why?"
"..."
"Because you're just an ordinary human. Because you weren't chosen by a 'God'."
"What on earth are you talking about..."
"If you weren't chosen by a 'God', then I'll choose you."
*Crack!*
The stone spear shattered in an instant. Blood splattered across her cheek. Though she had instinctively leaped backward to avoid being sliced in half, a deep, severe wound tore across her upper body.
"Ugh..."
"The others, you see~ they're all such cowards! They refuse to make a move. So stupid. They just shiver in fear, saying that acting rashly will only accelerate 'his' awakening. But if we do that, this loop will be ruined too~ I don't want to move on to the next loop yet~"
She hadn't even seen it. Despite having her senses pushed to their absolute limits, her reaction had been too slow. Cold sweat dripped down Angelica's pain-contorted face.
"It seems the 'me' from the last loop died... and the 'me' from the loop before that, and the loop before that too... I'm not some recurring extra destined to die, you know? Why do I keep dying? So I thought about it. If I gather a bunch of useful underlings, maybe I won't die this time? Yes, I'll collect strong people like you. Well... if I still die, there's nothing I can do, but I should at least try."
"...I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Have you lost your mind?"
"You don't need to understand right now. You'll find out eventually. Don't worry, this is a win-win. I get what I want, and you get power. Let's see... Ah, found it."
The masked girl pulled something out from under her parasol. A mask shaped like a red fox. It was identical to the one she was currently wearing.
"Let me ask you again. Do you like masks?"
As you go through life, there are occasionally moments like that. A sixth sense... or perhaps an intuition. A moment when you suddenly feel rushed for no apparent reason, gripped by an inexplicable sense of dread. Since I didn't have a skill like Arin's Crisis Detection, it could have easily been a mere misunderstanding. It wouldn't have been strange to brush it off. But this time, I didn't. When Arin warned of 'danger', I could hear an alarm bell ringing in my mind.
By the time I came to my senses, I was already running. Why was I doing this? Why was I in such a rush? I racked my brain as I sprinted with all my might. Then, a thought struck me, and a soft gasp escaped my lips.
Astaroth's mask. The Red Fox Mask. She possessed an intensely possessive personality—an immature girl who grew desperate to have anything that caught her fancy. She would present her mask as a gift to her chosen targets, forcing it onto their faces whether they wanted it or not. What if—just what if—Astaroth took a liking to Angelica?
I had seen her fighting somewhat evenly with Astaroth. But I knew better. Astaroth was just playing with her. She was merely humoring her without putting any real effort into it. Of course, Angelica was strong too. She was an awakened user, and the protagonist's homeroom teacher. The protagonist's mentor is always strong by default. But while she might stand a chance against a magic beast, she was no match for a Main.
Even if I ran there now, I doubted I could do much of anything, but I didn't stop. At the very least, I could act as a meat shield! I just needed to drag things out. I had to buy as much time as possible!
The Gods of the Four Seasons protected the world from otherworldly entities. Why did those otherworldly beings only send weak monsters instead of deploying transcendent entities like the Mains? Because the Gods were blocking them from invading. The larger the scale of an entity's existence, the more vigilant the Gods' defenses became. A divine net enveloped the world. While small existences could slip through the gaps of the net, massive ones could not. They would be filtered out, left with nothing but the ability to peer through from the other side.
That was why the Mains resorted to tricks. Spending three hundred years, they managed to deceive the eyes of the Gods and barely succeeded in infiltrating this world. But in the end, it was a shortcut. It was bound to come with various restrictions.
'How much active time does she have left? Is there still a lot?'
The Mains had a time limit for active operations in this world. Since they had smuggled themselves in while avoiding the eyes of the Gods, they had to tread carefully to avoid detection. The reason I had gone so far as to get my throat slit just to draw Astaroth's attention was to waste even a single second of her active time.
Right now, Angelica was the only one who could even hope to stand against Astaroth. If she died, or worse, fell under the control of the mask, it would be the end of everything. The entirety of Class 1-A would be slaughtered within seconds!
Whether she had intentionally lured her away to keep the students from getting caught in the crossfire, the battlefield where Angelica and Astaroth clashed was a considerable distance from where the bus had parked. It had suddenly gone quiet. They had been fighting fiercely just moments ago, even summoning a giant stone statue, but now... Where were Angelica and Astaroth? With the sounds of battle gone, it was hard to pinpoint their location. I ran while straining my ears to catch any sound. Faint voices carried over the wind. *This way!*
I picked up my pace, carefully navigating the ground which was so heavily fractured I couldn't even see the bottom of the cracks. One wrong step and I'd plunge into the abyss. I really don't want to be buried alive! At least not right now! Ugh, I really envy Leo's ability at times like this. I wish I could use Acceleration too.
Pushing through the thick, fog-like dust, human silhouettes finally came into view. Fortunately, I wasn't too late. I bit my lip as I spotted Angelica and Astaroth. I made it in time, but... what on earth are they talking about?
"The others, you see~ they're all such cowards! They refuse to make a move. So stupid. They just shiver in fear, saying that acting rashly will only accelerate 'his' awakening. But if we do that, this loop will be ruined too~ I don't want to move on to the next loop yet~"
...Excuse me? What did you just say?