No, I'm Telling You, It Actually Copies Itself. (6)

Mana swirled through the air.

Crackle—

With a sound like sparks flying off a live wire, it began to fill the space around me with a dense, shimmering haze of mana.

"…Sister, if you keep this up, I really will have to deduct points."

"I don't care, so dock as many as you like, Professor."

I do care, actually.

The person about to get slammed by that magic cares quite a bit, thank you very much.

"If you stop now, I won't take a single point. So why don't you stop?"

"Hm, is that so? Being an illusion, you certainly do talk a lot for a professor."

"No, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not an illusion—"

My protest went unfinished, but an answer came all the same. Though whether it counted as a proper answer was another matter entirely.

Crackle—

The mana pulsed with a violent wave, like an arc of electricity leaping through the air.

No.

Looking again, that wasn't mana anymore — that was genuinely sparks filling the air around us.

Lightning magic.

As far as I remembered, she'd only been able to handle fire and wind among the elemental schools back at the entrance ceremony. Had she picked up another one since then?

Unbelievable.

Lutz still seemed to be growing at his own meandering pace, but this girl — she grew fast. Damn fast.

Good for you. Really. Just wonderful.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I chanted the spell.

A protective barrier wrapped around my body.

The divinity flowing out from within me pushed the mana away. The bolts of lightning that had been surging upward with a crackle began to slowly die down. Under the sheer weight of my divinity, the mana that had filled the surroundings was steadily forced back.

And I shot the whole spectacle a sideways glance before addressing Bellatrix.

"…Sister, at this rate I won't be able to go easy on you in the next lecture either, you know."

"Save the theatrics. You certainly work hard enough at it every single time."

Bellatrix, far from heeding my warning, only smiled and readied her next spell.

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

Just as I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was bracing to receive her next attack, her voice reached me first.

"Hmm, was this how it went again?"

No. Whatever it is, don't. Stop it.

Divine incantations soon spilled from Bellatrix's lips.

"Ah, right. It does feel better to buff up first and then swing, Professor."

"Ah, um…. It's truly a fine thing to see a student applying her lessons so faithfully."

What I meant was: it would be very nice if the lesson material weren't me.

"Even by your own standard, Professor? Kind of you to say."

It was a compliment, technically — but not only a compliment, so a little sliver of remorse mixed in would have been appreciated.

Her divine incantation fired off without the slightest regard for that wish of mine.

Body reinforced with divinity, mana sheathing both hands, she came charging at me in a dead-straight line.

At this rate, the barrier would break.

It was a fist packed to bursting with both mana and divinity, driven by the earnest conviction that she was going to beat me senseless. So I chanted my own spells in turn.

Divinity settled into my body, and I drew out the mace once more. No matter how reinforced I was, taking mana-wreathed fists barehanded was sheer lunacy.

Her incantation finished right in front of me.

Her eyes gleamed. Mana-drenched irises rippled a deep blue, and as she dipped her head, their afterimage shimmered in the air.

I swung the mace toward the direction her fist was about to come from. Hoping for the best, I'd held back almost all of my strength — but this was, after all, a mace that had sent plenty of people to their graves, so I was a touch careful with it.

CLANG—

A sound like steel striking steel rang out. A crisp burst echoed through the air, and the magic detonated almost immediately after.

The very fireball she'd shown off during the sparring match — exploding at point-blank range.

For one instant, I genuinely wondered if this lovely woman might actually be insane.

What even was this. Was she trying to take me down with her?

She'd said she wanted to vent on an illusion, but was she really just a suicide bomber in disguise?

Even as the thought crossed my mind, I threw a barrier over her body — and what the explosion knocked flying wasn't her fist, but my mace.

"Sister, casting magic like that is going to get someone killed."

"I know. But I figured a professor would cast a barrier over me even if I were an illusion, so I wanted to test it."

"…"

"And you were exactly as kind as I expected, so I can afford to be bolder from here on."

Is she actually insane?

I stared at her in disbelief, but she only wore a thoroughly satisfied smile and came charging in again.

Maybe she'd genuinely put in the work at the Academy — or maybe the sheer desire to pummel me was drawing her latent talent out. Either way, she tried to torment me in a truly impressive variety of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ways.

She whipped up a gust to blind my vision. She closed to point-blank range like before and detonated a fireball. She ran currents of electricity along the ground to pin my legs — even now my toes were tingling. The current she'd slipped in while my sight was blocked had wormed straight through my divinity and finally reached my feet.

But still. Hold on.

"…Sister, weren't you a regular mage? You were definitely classified as a mage at admission, but I can't quite pinpoint when you converted into a battle mage."

Right up until the sparring match she'd stood in one place and beaten Lutz like a stray dog, so why was she waging all-out war on me?

"Oh, that's all thanks to your teaching, Professor. Landing enhancement buffs and striking directly has far better impact than slinging spells from a distance."

"…Ah, yes. How very grateful I am to hear that…"

Yes. A professor overjoyed to have such a passionate student. Wonderful that you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could put your lessons to practical use so thoroughly.

That was what I told myself as I waited, patiently, for Bellatrix's venting session to run its course. Even now, the smile hadn't left her face — surely once she'd gotten it out of her system, we could clear up this whole illusion misunderstanding too. The only problem was that quite a lot of time had already passed.

Then, suddenly, the forest wavered.

Not from mana or divinity — the hallucination itself was stirring, the first tremor before it fully woke. Little by little, a smell like blood on the breeze seemed to drift closer.

No. This was bad.

The hallucination was sharpening. The faint copper tang thickened, and the leaves overhead bled slowly red. From far in the distance, something squirmed, dragging itself upright.

Bellatrix, her attention locked on me, didn't seem to have noticed yet — but she'd catch on to a scene like this soon enough. And if she were to see my illusions, the only answer left was to end my life on the spot. The only alternative on the menu was a bright, hopeful future of torture at the Imperial Inspectorate.

Sweat beading down my back, I swept my eyes across our surroundings.

The illusions were multiplying. The blood-soaked figures shambled closer, legs dragging, mouths split into grins stretched past the point of breaking.

My life. Honestly.

And for whatever reason, Niger wasn't showing up either. Right now, I was utterly alone in dealing with this.

As if sensing the shift in me, Bellatrix began to turn her gaze toward the surroundings — and before I knew it, I had pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Professor…. And just what is this little performance supposed to be?"

"…Just stay like this for a moment."

I needed to finish off these illusions while I had the chance. Then I chanted the spell.

The spell sealed off her ears. The approaching illusions growled like beasts and giggled like madmen, after all — and I had no desire for her to hear the sound of skulls bursting against my mace, either.

With Bellatrix held against my chest, I began to swing.

Whether it was thanks to Niger's teachings, or simply the knowledge that these things were nothing but illusions, my movements carried no hesitation.

One by one, I smashed the skulls of the illusions as they closed in. Unlike with Bellatrix, I swung the mace with everything I had, and they splattered apart in bursts of blood, dissolving into nothing.

"Uuurgh…"

Even those vile groans were buried under my faithful mace. Blood sprayed, and the stench of it hung thick in the air. The more it seeped into me, the tighter I held Bellatrix — and though she'd struggled at first, at some point she had gone still and quiet in my arms.

How long did that go on?

When I finally caved in the last illusion's skull, the hallucination began to scatter, just as before. The darkened sky blazed bright again, and the bloodstains on the leaves and the droplets that had flecked my face vanished without a trace. The air filled once more with the faint bitterness of grass instead of copper.

So I let out a long breath and released my hold on Bellatrix.

And then — with a BOOM, I went flying and slammed into a tree, I suppose you could say.

Wow.

Unbelievable, that genuinely hurt like hell.

Wincing, I slumped at the base of the trunk and watched Bellatrix approach. Her face was flushed a shade I'd never seen on her before.

"Shameless."

"No, there were… circumstances."

"I'm dying to know what circumstances could possibly justify manhandling a woman when the two of you are alone."

"…"

It wasn't as if I could exactly explain, was it? What was I supposed to say about those blood-soaked figures that had appeared as illusions? If I claimed they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were villains I'd dispatched as a righteous hero, would she believe me?

While I was still wrestling with that, Bellatrix pressed on. Her face had gone redder than before, and the sly, furtive glint in her eyes was honestly adorable — but I couldn't exactly relax and enjoy the view.

"…Professor, I'm no saint, so you'd best not go committing any lecherous acts."

"Yes. I'm very sorry…"

Because that's what it looked like. I truly, honestly hadn't a single lecherous thought in my head.

Dammit. And I can't even explain myself.

My life. Honestly.

And so I walked out of the forest alongside Bellatrix. The mood was peaceful — just not peaceful in a way that did me any good.

"Oh, so the professor does know how to curse. What was it again? Ah, dammit?"

"…That was a slip of the tongue."

"Priests these days must have filthy mouths and peculiar tastes, I see. A truly admirable specimen of humanity. And embracing one's student however one pleases, too…"

Ah, dammit.

It galled me that even going through it point by point, I had no way to defend myself — but I couldn't exactly shout serial killer from the rooftops either, so all I could do was keep muttering apologies.

"Pfft. What a fine day it's been. An excellent test indeed, learning that the professor carries himself in such a state of disrepute."

"Yes. How wonderful for you…"

And she said it with an uncharacteristically sweet little smile on her face, no less.

Looking at that mischievous expression, I made a vow.

You. You're getting disqualified from the midterm for excessive mana usage.

Time passed, Bellatrix and I emerged from the forest, and the exam came to an end.

I called up the students of my Divine Studies course one by one and announced their grades on the spot. Someone got a perfect score. Someone got points docked. Someone got disqualified.

When Bellatrix's turn finally came, I looked at her and smiled.

"…Bellatrix Feltner, disqualified for excessive use of magic."

And for just a moment, it felt gloriously, deliciously satisfying.

"Hm, no matter. I feel refreshed enough to throw away a grade or two. If forfeiting one midterm score buys me the right to legally pummel my professor, this is a truly admirable academy."

Except her follow-up answer handed me a crushing defeat instead.

Why, you little—

I sighed at her response, and Bellatrix smiled back at the sight of me doing it.

And so the midterm came to a close.

Though as it turned out, Bellatrix wasn't the only one leaving me sighing.

"No, it was just too enviable! So I prayed really hard and tried to summon your illusion too, Professor, but it absolutely would not come out…. Such a shame."

The moment Elia — who had been grinning foolishly among the copies of the Niger illusion — laid eyes on me again, she started gushing about how it had been the happiest time of her life.

"Ah. Yes…"

"What do you mean, 'yes'? You got copied! I thought that forest was heaven itself!"

"Ah. Yes…"

Please stop.

"My illusion turned out to be this truly hideous man. It was so frightening I cut him down on the spot — though I suppose I should've chased him toward the students instead."

Stop hating on ugly people.

"Ah, I do hope you get copied again next semester, Professor."

Enough already.