Chapter 8: It's Honestly Infuriating When the Person You've Been Searching for Was Actually Nearby
It's Honestly Infuriating When the Person You've Been Searching for Was Actually Nearby
"One-eyed bastard. What the hell are you doing here?"
The Black Knight reacted with disbelief at Subaru's sudden appearance.
"..........That's my line."
Subaru glared at him with undisguised revulsion.
"Wait—!! Listen to me—!!"
Bella frantically tried to intervene, but...
Clank. Clank.
The Magic Dolls flanking her began advancing step by step.
"An outsider from a place called Maginova—somewhere I've never even heard of. According to this city's laws, you should have undergone a special screening before entering. Yet, there's no record of you doing so."
"Urk...!!"
Bella flinched at Subaru's pointed accusation.
"You'll have to come with me. And you too."
The Black Knight snorted dismissively at Subaru's demand.
"Tch. Like hell I'm going. It's obvious you're just taking me to her again."
"You will come."
Whoooosh—!!!
As the Magic Dolls lunged forward at blinding speed, Bella hastily raised both hands to cast a spell.
Vooooom—!!
"Whaaa—!!"
".........!!!!"
Subaru's eyes widened in shock.
The magic circle Bella conjured was unlike anything seen in Stardust—utterly alien.
Fwoosh—!!
In an instant, Subaru's Magic Doll vanished from the spot.
"Not bad."
It was the same spell that had teleported the Black Knight away earlier.
"Hey—!! Let's talk this out—!!"
Whoooosh...
"Huh?"
"Dodge, Bella—!!"
Subaru was already right in front of Bella's face.
("Too late...")
BOOM—!!!
Subaru's fist slammed into Bella, sending her flying backward with a shockwave that rippled through the air.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—CRASH!!
The overwhelming difference in experience.
That alone decided the fight in an instant.
"Take a nap. You're next, trash."
Fidget. Fidget.
The Black Knight ignored Subaru entirely, casually digging a finger into the earhole of his helmet.
"I thought you'd be in Plutoid... To think you were here all along... What a letdown."
"Is that bitch dead yet?"
The Black Knight callously brushed off Subaru's lament.
"......I don't understand. Why would the Headmistress need the help of someone like you?"
"Who said I'm helping?"
Clank. Clank. Clank.
The Black Knight strode toward Bella, who was now embedded in the wall like a broken doll.
Tap. Tap.
He lightly kicked her head with his foot.
"Dead or alive?"
"Ugh... Uuuh..."
"Please... Help Bella escape. I'll give you anything you want..."
Bella's groans and Siv's desperate plea reached him simultaneously.
"You dragged her into this. I've got no reason to fight her."
Swish.
Leaving Bella where she lay, the Black Knight turned toward the exit.
Clank. Clank.
Creeeak.
"Stop. You were told to come with me, weren't you?"
A Magic Doll blocked his path.
Thud.
The Black Knight halted. Subaru spoke quietly.
"Good. You have no choice. Come quietly, and no harm will come to you—"
Her words.
They were words the Black Knight had long forgotten.
"You have no choice, Hero."
A memory surfaced—someone had said those words to him once.
"You fucking maggot."
Swish.
"............!!!"
The moment the Black Knight turned his gaze from behind his visor, an aura of killing intent rippled outward like a shockwave.
An invisible pressure swallowed the entire building in an instant.
("What...?!!")
Subaru realized immediately.
She was no longer inside the building.
It was as if she had willingly stepped into the maw of a monstrous beast.
One wrong move, and she'd be torn apart.
"I want to rip you limb from limb right now. Every last one of you maggots—I want to wipe you all from this world. Eradicating magicians—that's my one and only wish."
Swish.
The Black Knight's deranged gaze fell upon the unconscious Bella.
"What kind of—"
His answer to Siv's plea.
And a warning to Subaru.
"......Are you insane?"
Subaru hesitated even to breathe.
Her heart pounded wildly, screaming at her to flee, but her body remained frozen like stone.
Subaru was a battle-hardened magician with countless fights under her belt.
She had faced all manner of powerful foes—
But this... was different.
No, he was unlike any opponent she had ever encountered.
("I can't bring him back.")
Unconsciously, she abandoned the mission Azaria had given her.
Crack.
As the Black Knight took a step toward her, the floor beneath them began to fracture.
Crack. Crack. Craaaack.
The very ground that supported his existence could no longer bear his presence—he had surpassed all limits.
"Go—!!"
Whoooosh—!!!
A Magic Doll behind the Black Knight swung twin blades materialized in its arms.
BOOM—!!!!
("Idiot...!!")
Shattered in a single strike.
With nothing more than a casual flick of his wrist, the shockwave obliterated not just the Magic Doll but everything behind it.
Rumble-rumble-rumble...
("Move...!")
Subaru fought against the terror seizing her body, forcing herself to act through sheer willpower.
THUD—!!!
But just as she broke free—
BOOM—!!!!
"................"
A hand moved faster than her eyes could follow.
The Black Knight's palm strike struck his own throat.
Thud... thump.
("What... is this thing...?")
Subaru despaired.
Her strongest attack hadn't even scratched him—instead, it had shattered against his neck.
CRUNCH—!!!
The Black Knight seized Subaru's throat with his right hand and lifted her effortlessly.
Creak. Creaaak...
"Gh... Hhk..."
Subaru didn't resist.
She had already given up.
The terror she felt was unlike anything she had ever known—the fight was over before it began.
What stood before her wasn't just a person.
It was a calamity with a will of its own.
A being beyond even a Disaster.
Crack. Craaack.
A little more pressure, and her neck would snap.
Without hesitation, the Black Knight prepared to—
"Do you hate magicians that much?"
"..............."
"Mom's a magician too. Do you hate her?"
"I don't know. I don't know what I'm thinking."
Pat.
A boy's hand rested on his head as he smiled.
"That hatred of yours—it's not just hatred. Something that powerful... There's always another feeling mixed in."
"That's impossible."
"Oh? Are you sure?"
Tap.
The memory faded...
Thud.
The Black Knight dropped Subaru to the floor.
"Tch... Why the hell did he pop into my head now?"
Disgusted with himself, the Black Knight clicked his tongue and turned away.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
Leaving the two unconscious figures behind, he stepped outside.
Swish.
("No need to dwell on the past anymore. Next time I see him, I'll just kill him.")
As he finished the thought and looked up at the sky—
FWOOOOOOSH—!!!
"What the hell? It's 1 AM."
A sun blazed in the sky, illuminating the entire city.
At an hour when the sun should never rise.
Murmur-murmur-murmur...
"Some magician's work?"
"Huh...? It's way too early for sunrise..."
"Is this magic...?!"
Confusion spread through the city at the anomaly.
___. ___
This was Orion Tower.
The heart of Stardust, the city's symbol.
A pristine white spire stretching hundreds of meters into the sky, its surface etched with glowing blue magic circuits that pulsed like veins, shimmering like starlight at night.
The top floor housed the mayor's office and residence. The middle floors held the city hall and administrative offices. The lower floors contained the central control room, overseeing the city's defenses and communications.
The people of Stardust often said:
"The mayor governs the city."
"But Orion Tower watches over it."
A tower that shone under the sun by day and glittered among the stars by night—
The heart of Stardust, where magic and modern civilization coexisted.
At the very peak of Orion Tower...
A woman with snow-white short hair and crimson eyes gazed out the window at the blood-red sky.
"A calamity unlike anything we've ever faced."
Clad in a black suit, she exuded an authority that left no doubt—she was someone of immense importance in this city.
BAM—!!
"M-M-M-M-MAYOR—!! S-S-S-SOMETHING TERRIBLE'S HAPPENING—!!!"
A small girl burst through the door, screaming.
"I can see that. Summon every S-rank Magician in the city. Now."
"Y-Y-YES MA'AM—!!"
THUD—!!
The girl scrambled out as ordered...
Tap.
Mia Tearmes, Mayor of Stardust, pressed a hand to her face and whispered:
"Can we... truly handle this calamity...?"
She knew.
This disaster would bring unprecedented devastation.
___. ___
Whoooosh...
A sky dyed crimson.
And within it—a sun casting blinding white light upon the earth.
From within that sun, a voice spoke, eyes opening as it declared:
"Ignorant humans. Today is the day you meet your end."
The end of mankind.