Sting fell behind Razel and stared at him fixedly with eyes full of hatred. Razel said to him:
"What the hell are you doing here? Do you want me to give you another beating?"
He took a step forward. And then...
Crack.
Razel heard the sound of glass breaking, accompanied by a strange momentary dizziness.
"What was that?" he said, leaning against the wall to keep from falling.
Sting got down from the dumpster and said words he did not understand.
"Welcome to my 'territory.' It's time to make you pay for everything you did to me."
Razel still felt unwell.
(This guy… I don't know what he did, but somehow he managed to weaken me. My breathing feels heavy, and all because of his immense magical power. Where did such a monstrous amount come from?)
Razel had difficulty breathing, as if losing oxygen, due to the immense amount of magical power emanating from Sting. Sting's magical power grew exponentially for no apparent reason.
But…
(I don't feel it's entirely magical power. Although it's hard for me to assimilate it, I can perceive a strange kind of energy there.)
"Enough talk! It's time for punishment!"
Sting lunged at Razel. He threw a kick and Razel covered himself, but something even stranger happened: he could feel his bones beginning to fracture, and he was sent flying against a house, destroying it as he fell. He was covered in debris, but he pushed it all aside.
"How does he have so much strength? That punch would be equivalent to a light blow from Desmond," Razel compared, thinking of the demon king's weakest attack.
He looked at his arm: there was a huge bruise that instantly cut off circulation.
(The only way a completely normal person could do that is… a capital sin!)
He remembered the bearers of the capital sins he had faced; all gained monstrous strength. Especially Zoroaster, a shadow of the empire whom Razel had defeated some time ago. But he had obtained immense power suddenly and surpassed him.
"Astraea, are you there? Confirm what sin he has…"
(None.)
Said the voice of the vampire queen, who saw through Razel's eyes what was happening outside.
(That guy doesn't have any sin inside. What's more, it's not even magical power he's using. It may seem like it, but it's not.)
"Then what is it?"
(I have no idea. But don't let him hit you. He's quite strong; I'd dare say I'd have to use my hand to defeat him, instead of just one finger.)
"Does that mean he's weaker than you, but stronger than me?"
(You're not as stupid as you look.)
"…"
(Whatever he's using as energy to boost his physical strength, it's something I've never seen. I don't even know if it can be from this world. Kill him quickly, because he's very dangerous.)
Razel was astonished: the queen of vampires, one of the most powerful enemies in the game, had told him that a nobody he had beaten twice was a threat.
Sting approached, showing his horse-like smile.
"What do you think of my strength? Once I enter my territory, I become invincible against any threat. My territory even expands as I walk. I am the strongest in the world!"
Razel left the house to attack him. Immediately after, Sting dodged him, even though he had used all his speed. Then he did something even stranger:
"Wuuuh! Oh, yeah!"
Sting began to dance on his own axis. As ridiculous as it seemed, Razel felt the pressure of being near him gradually increase.
(Could he be… increasing his power by dancing?)
Although the dance was ridiculous, Razel did not see it as a joke, but as a strange threat.
"Yeah, baby!"
Sting kept dancing, but threw a punch that sent Razel flying, slamming into the ground, creating cracks and rolling about twenty meters. Razel stopped rolling and, as he raised his face, saw that Sting was in front of him; he had closed a long distance in less than a blink.
"It's show time!"
Without warning, Sting unleashed a barrage of punches against Razel. He activated Raijin Phase 1 to flee, but it was useless. Despite using one of his best cards, Razel was cornered by Sting, who landed multiple punches without holding back.
"Wahahahaha! This is incredible! Truly incredible. In my whole life I never thought I'd fight like this. I feel like I could face that bastard Skull and Bermuda and smash both their faces with one hand."
Razel was being hit by the barrage of punches, even though he dodged them at a speed that should not be possible for a human to follow.
(This guy is surpassing me. His punches are stronger than mine, faster than me; he can even make me dizzy with his magical pressure, or whatever he does. He's the toughest opponent I've faced, only below the demon king. Damn it!)
Razel cursed his situation because of the indiscriminate beating Sting was giving him. He could do nothing to dodge it, only receive it. Whether he fled or not, he was against the ropes.
Sting threw a punch that destroyed his kidney and sent him flying against a building. The force and speed he carried were so high that he pierced the next two houses before crashing into a wall.
"Pwah!"
He spat out a considerable amount of blood. He fell to the ground and, as he got up, saw Sting approaching, laughing.
"Damn it… this is humiliating."
What he didn't know was that they were being watched by the rabbit from before, who murmured to himself:
"The test is going very well. The resonance rate is at 40%. But when it reaches 50% is where it will get interesting."
◇◇◇
While Razel fought against Sting, Briana's group prepared to face the assassins who would come. She went to the knights' quarters and ordered everyone to prepare. She changed her clothes and took a sword. She knew things would get difficult and decided to trust her subordinates. Cyril, who was with her, asked:
"Excuse me, where did the woman who was with you go?"
Briana turned around and reacted too late.
"No way. That idiot went off alone!"
◇◇◇
Leonora was on top of a building, watching through the window as Briana looked for her.
(What a foolish woman. Did you really think you'd have a chance alone against them? But you're lucky: I want to erase my sins and I won't let you or others die because of me.)
"So, shall we begin?" she said after turning around.
More than a dozen men and women dressed in black were in front of her. The leader looked at her with hostility.
"You could have used them as shields and run away. That would have bought you time, maybe three months free from us."
Leonora laughed.
"Once we finish with you, we'll go after your target, the one you couldn't eliminate. We'll earn ourselves a seat in the Phantom Troupe."
The laughter stopped and she looked at them coldly.
"You idiots can't beat me if you need to come all together. And you think you can beat him? Don't make me laugh, please."
She started laughing at them again. One woman got so angry she couldn't stand the mockery and went straight for her. With a slight movement, Leonora moved her fingers and the woman's head fell to the ground.
"A while ago he killed one of the Phantom Troupe's executives, and now he'll go take care of the other two. You idiots think you can beat him? First you'll have to kill me if you even plan to be at his feet!"
The assassins, angry, went straight after her. The leader noticed something strange: she wasn't moving, not even to flee. Then he realized that two of his members were beginning to be strangled. Everyone wondered what was happening to them, and then they fell to the ground. The leader saw a red stain floating in the air. He looked around and noticed something.
"No way."
Leonora, smiling, said to him:
"Bingo. You realized too late."
She had planted a large number of threads around her location. They were invisible and could not be detected by any means.
"You fell into such an obvious trap. Did you really think I'd be standing here like an idiot?"
The assassins looked scared, except the leader, who touched one of the threads.
"Who do you think taught you to use the Cutting Thread Style?"
The Cutting Thread Style is a martial art passed down through generations. The Serpents of Chaos share the same origin as the Black Crows of the Arklight Empire, created by the king to protect the country but abandoned when they were no longer useful. The leader taught his style to all his members, but only the one who would be the next leader was taught how to produce more of these threads.
"I taught you where to collect the materials: plants, animals, and ligaments of living beings. Do you think you can beat me? Eh!"
The leader touched the thread and it unraveled, causing all of them to break in a chain reaction.
"You can't do something like that without being prepared for it to be destroyed. Go after her."
The assassins nodded and went after Leonora. She had used all her threads for that trap; she only had a dagger left. The assassins attacked her and tried to cut her limbs, but she was lighter, faster, and dodged them all. However, they cut her skin slightly and there were too many. One of them sneaked up behind her and began to strangle her. To avoid dying, she had to free her hands. Two assassins went after her.
(Damn it, I'll die like this without being able to finish them all off.)
She prepared for the end.
But then one of them fell to the ground because an arrow pierced his brain; another was burned by a fireball. Leonora saw where those attacks came from. Her eyes opened in disbelief.
"So you were here, slippery woman."
Briana and several knights were on top of a nearby roof. They aimed their bows and arms to shoot arrows and magical attacks at them.
"Finish the enemy."
"Yes!"
Voices behind the leader sounded enraged, and a group of knights along with Cyril approached at great speed. Leonora kicked the one strangling her and then looked at Briana, who said with her eyes: "You'll pay for leaving me behind." Leonora nodded and, though she lowered her head, felt ashamed of something. She took advantage of the help given to her and resumed her battle against the leader.
◇◇◇
Zack and Gilbert were running at great speed toward the academy.
"How much further do we have to go?" asked Zack.
Gilbert replied:
"Not much, about fifty meters at most. Let's hurry. We don't know if they're already inside."
They first went to the theater to search there, since the students and teachers were supposed to be there. Iris and the princesses were not there. So they thought they must still be at the academy. They got closer and closer, and then a crash occurred. Greenish tentacles rose from between the walls. They heard a scream and quickened their pace. The tentacles were wrapping around the academy. They jumped to the outside of the wall and saw how the place was being surrounded by them.
"What the hell is this?" asked Zack, intrigued.
Gilbert didn't know how to react.
"I have no idea. Nor how such a monster could have arrived without anyone noticing."
Then Gilbert noticed something: Liddy was reaching out her hand to them from a dining hall window.
"Look, there's the maid of Lady Irisphylia. If she's there, that means Her Highnesses and the others…"
They both nodded and jumped to run at great speed. Liddy opened the window for them, and they jumped in before being touched by the tentacles. After jumping inside, the window was closed and a table was placed against it. Sharon and Jenna had put it there. The knights stood up and saw the group that was not inside the theater. Everyone had slight bruises on their bodies. The princesses as well.
"Your Highnesses and Lady Iris, I'm glad you're all right," said Zack, happy to see them.
Lillie approached him and, still excited, said:
"That's the least of it. You must defeat that thing as soon as possible."
Gilbert replied, intrigued:
"Do you know exactly what that thing is? It doesn't seem like an animal given its erratic behavior."
"It's not an animal," replied Lillie, clenching her bloodied fists. "That thing isn't a monster. It's a human. A human became that thing."
"What do you mean?" they both wondered.
Erica gave them more details after finishing bandaging Professor Connor.
"A tall, strange man came to the academy. He's a fugitive from justice and he attacked us. We all beat him up together, and then from his body came strange roots that grew like that. We've been locked in here for a few hours. We have no idea what it's like out there."
The knights understood the situation.
"Very well, we'll take care of it, but we need to get you out as soon as possible," said Gilbert, readying his sword, as did Zack.
Iris finally spoke.
"There's something more important you need to know. We don't know how, but his tentacles can locate us by sound. That's why we haven't made a single noise since we arrived."
"Is that true?"
The window behind them broke and Void entered, or rather, his upper half entered. His lower half had become one with the tentacles, looking like a strange octopus man. His eyes were yellow and he spoke to them with his tongue hanging out.
"I've been waiting for that young man to come so I could finish everyone together, but I'm tired of waiting. It's time for love to reach all of you."
Zack didn't understand what that strange half-man half-octopus was, but in a single move he used one of his sound attacks and cut off the upper part of his jaw upward. His head fell to the ground. Everyone celebrated their victory, but it didn't last long. With his tongue he kept speaking despite not having a head.
"That was an excellent attack, but it was useless. You lack Amore."
A new head emerged from where the other had been.
"You cannot defeat me. Amore gives me strength."
The knights felt he was a very powerful and dangerous enemy.
"Get out of here fast!"
The girls obeyed and fled inside the building. Zack and Gilbert stayed to fight.
"Sonic Slash!"
"Maximum Dose!"
They both shouted their attacks to eliminate him, and the result was null. Void kept regenerating and healing his wounds. The poison inside his body was easily spat out. The place collapsed and more tentacles entered, beginning to surround them.
"There's no escape. Amore is the deadliest weapon in this world," exclaimed Void as he trapped the knights.
◇◇◇
Razel fled at full speed from Sting.
"Damn it!"
"Come back here, coward! Don't you have any balls? Wahahaha!"
Sting mocked him as he chased him. Razel had activated Raijin Phase 2 and started running on all fours. And even then, going over 100 km/h, Sting could keep up; he was only half a meter away. Razel was beginning to get scared.
(Are all the executives of the Phantom Troupe this dangerous? This guy is on another level.)
Thanks to his rambling, he was able to deduce who Sting was, but he remembered Voldo and, although he was dangerous, he could defeat him. Sting was a completely unexpected case.
Razel created a smoke screen and hid behind a house that Sting had previously destroyed. They were going in circles because he didn't want to leave Iris alone. But at that moment it was more important to run away to think of how to finish him.
"Fuck! I can't get even a second of rest," he said, out of breath.
Even if he could run at great speed, he was still human and could get tired. Then he heard a crack. Razel didn't know what it was, but immediately jumped back. The wall came flying toward him entirely. It was a meter thick because it was attached to a refrigerator. Sting had kicked the refrigerator toward him and then began to beat it.
"Come on! come on! come on! come on! come on! come on! come on! come on!" shouted Sting as he punched that pure steel refrigerator barehanded.
Razel, while flying through the air, used all his strength to avoid being crushed. He also hit the wall to try to use it as a weapon. Both shouted as the wall shrank: Razel shouted with rage at feeling cornered by a nobody; Sting shouted with joy, for he had never felt so good in his life as now. He could experience what true strength was. But everything was in his favor.
Sting delivered the final blow and Razel went flying along with the steel cube. As he was propelled, Astraea gave him some words of help.
(Hey, I have an idea to defeat him. Do you want to hear it?)
"Please!"
Sting began to dance on his own axis.
"Oh, yes! This is what is known as power. I am the king of the world!"
He kept dancing and didn't notice the rabbit appear behind him until he turned around.
"Is that you? Thank you for everything."
"Don't get cocky. You're still human, even if you use my power."
"Of course not. I'm in my prime, at my absolute peak of power. No one can defeat me."
"You didn't listen to me. I said you're still human. You have your limits and you've already reached 50% resonance. From now on it's unknown territory for both of us."
"What do I care? I'm enjoying this."
"Even if you say that, that human hasn't died. All the blows you throw at him are useless. Are you sure you're using my power correctly?"
Then Sting stopped dancing.
"What do you mean? Are you saying I'm using it like a clown?"
"I didn't say that. I said it seems strange to me that he's still alive. But he certainly must have a more resistant body than yours."
Sting got so angry that he went straight for Razel, who was getting up.
"I'm no longer a weakling! I'm Dark Smile and I'm the champion of the underworld!"
He threw a series of punches that began to turn Razel's face into minced meat. Before he realized it, there was nothing left but a stain. He had done it: he had finished off Razel. Sting, seeing him dead, felt happy.
"I did it… I did it! I finished off this bastard! Yay! I'm the best in the world!"
Sting celebrated happily when he appeared.
"It was a wonderful job, Sting. I'm amazed by your skill."
"L-leader! What are you doing here?"
Ghost had appeared before him. He was congratulating him.
"Th-thank you for your words," he said, happy about what had happened.
"As a reward, I was going to promote you within the Swords, but I'll do something better. I'll make you leader."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Sting couldn't believe what he heard and saw. Ghost wasn't the only one to appear. Bermuda and Skull had also arrived.
"I regret everything I said to you. I'm an idiot. Please, let me serve you for all eternity."
"The same here, Sting-sama. I was a complete fool for looking down on you. I deserve your punishment, but as an apology, I brought you this."
Behind Skull were Iris and the other girls in their underwear. They all went to hug him, to give him affection.
"Wahaha! This is incredible. I can't believe it. It's almost like a dream."
The rabbit was standing on top of him.
"Hey."
"Wahahaha! Don't bother me. I'm living the best moment of my life."
"React."
"Wahaha, how happy I am. Everyone loves me for how great I am."
"I'm telling you to react or it'll be too late!"
"Eh?"
"Realize your situation already!"
After saying that, Sting opened his eyes.
"Eh? Where am I?"
Sting was lying on the ground. The rabbit was beside him.
"You reacted too late. Look over there."
He told him to turn around, and when he did, his eyes opened wide in disbelief at what he saw. Razel had him in a lock, strangling him. Then Sting remembered how it had happened.
"I lunged at him, he leaned back, with a jump he went under my legs and then… damn it!"
He realized too late. Razel's legs were crossed in such a way that he couldn't use his arms. He couldn't stand up either because Razel was using both arms to hold his head, preventing oxygen from reaching his brain. If Sting said he was invincible, he hadn't counted on needing oxygen. The rabbit itself told him again:
"I told you: you're still human."
Sting didn't understand how he could see himself, but his face was turning blue.
"My body…"
He looked at his hands and they were transparent. He understood too late.
"You already have one foot out of your body," the rabbit told him, acknowledging his defeat.
"Don't do it! Fight!" Sting shouted at his body.
His body momentarily stood up and began to hit itself against the wall, embedding Razel in an exposed pipe. But even that didn't leave him alone. In fact, Razel used his arms with more force, not to strangle him anymore but to break his neck.
"No… I don't want… I can't end like this!"
Sting began to run straight toward his body to try to enter it and break free. It seemed like an endless path, even though he was only half a meter away.
"This can't end like this! I still haven't achieved any of my ambitions! I…!"
The rabbit, in a dry and harsh tone, said to him:
"It's over now."
Those words were accompanied by a noise that echoed in the place: it was Sting's neck being fractured; now he was seeing his own back. After doing that, Razel let the body fall to the ground, at the same time that a weeping Sting —Frankie Tommyroad— vanished from this world. Victory went to Razel.
"Th-that was really exhausting. I can't believe a nobody left me this worn out."
(That means there are many strong and dangerous people out there,) Astraea replied.
"I doubt it…," answered Razel.
Immediately after, they heard a crash coming from the academy. Razel got up quickly and went there immediately. The rabbit watched him leave.
"Well, next time maybe I'll manage to reach 60%."
◇◇◇
Void was spreading his tentacles outside the academy. The wall that protected it was knocked down and they proceeded to surround the city. Since there was a festival in the neighboring city that day, most of the houses were empty, so despite the destruction, there was no one there. The people who came out to see what the noise was were horrified at the sight. They immediately ran to leave the city, including the theater students.
Meanwhile, Briana, who was fighting the Serpents of Chaos, noticed this.
"What's happening at the academy?" she wondered as she saw the tentacles coming out from there heading in her direction.
One of them tried to attack her, but was grabbed by a tentacle whose small roots detached and stuck into his leg. The assassin began to lose vitality until he ended up dry as wood. He wasn't the only one: the assassins, including their leader, who were closer to the tentacles, were grabbed and began to turn into mummies. Briana shouted to everyone:
"Don't touch those tentacles, just run!"
They quickly abandoned the place. Leonora ran alongside her.
"What is that thing?"
"I have no idea, but we have to get out of here."
The tentacles began to raze everything as they grew.
◇◇◇
Razel was heading to the academy. Tentacles were near him trying to catch him, but he dodged them all. In a short time he arrived and jumped straight onto the wall. He couldn't believe what he saw.
"You must be joking!"
In front of him was a sea of tentacles, they looked like serpents piled on top of each other. And standing out in the heights were bodies held by the tentacles: they were Iris and the others, who also looked like mummies. But unlike the Serpents of Chaos, who were drained to death, their draining was slower.
"Iris! Everyone! Damn it, what the hell is going on here?"
"Finally we meet, young elimination target."
A voice came from the back and Void emerged from there. He looked less and less human; now he had three heads. The left head was an old man with a beard, and the right head was a baby. Now he had triple eyelids and looked in all directions like a squid.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Void and I am…"
"I don't give a shit who you are! Release Iris and the others now!"
"You are rude, but it doesn't matter. Amore must reach everyone regardless of who they are."
"I don't want love from a man. You disgust me, you freak."
"That is very ill-mannered," he said and proceeded to attack him with his tentacles.
Unlike Sting, his speed was lighter. Razel kept Raijin Phase 2 activated, so dodging them was much easier: he jumped between the towers of the place, evading the tentacles. Then he used a pair of lightning spears to destroy the ones around him.
Void raised his hand, which now had sixteen fingers.
"Non, non, non. Every time you attack me, I regenerate using their life force. How do you think I grew so much?"
Razel watched Iris and the others suffer. They were getting drier and drier. Iris opened her eyes and looked at Razel, who opened his mouth slightly.
"Ra… zel…"
He understood that attacking him would only harm the others more. He had to save them and defeat him at the same time. Void understood his situation and began to cry.
"Your love for them is very intense, but mine is stronger."
"I already told you that a big ugly guy like you saying he loves me disgusts me! What a fucking disgust!"
Razel quickly lunged at him.
(I'll finish this with my best punch.)
"Impact!"
He got close and threw that punch. The tentacles stopped. Razel thought it was all over.
"Well."
Or so he thought, until he was grabbed by one of them and now hung upside down.
"It's really cute that you think you can defeat me like that. Tell me, do you think this is my original body? I'm sorry to tell you that this is just an extension. My real body is hidden somewhere in these tentacles. Right here, in fact."
The real Void emerged from the ground. He was completely human except for his lower part. The Void that Razel had been talking to turned into tentacles and returned to the ground. He stared at him.
"We'll see…," said Razel.
But the more he moved, the more the tentacle squeezed to suck out his life force.
"What… is… happening…?"
Little by little, Razel's vitality faded. His youth was being erased until he looked like an old man. Void took his head to make him look at him.
"I want you to know that you are responsible for this. If you hadn't messed with the organization, my Amore would not have reached you or your friends. Oh, poor soul. Let me tell you a story before you leave this world."
Void told him the same story he had told the girls, but with a small detail.
"I founded my church so that everyone could feel love. Amore, because their hearts were small and empty. Yes, that's why I am called that: because I want everyone to have love, but I cannot afford to love until everyone does. Don't you think it's sad? I have so much to love, but I cannot be happy because I love you all! Ah! Amore gave me his most difficult test, his faithful servant!"
While he spoke, Razel's mind faded.
◇
Damn it, I can't do anything. I'm going to die like this. I can't move my arms or legs. I have no idea how to stop this guy. He's sucking my life out and I can't stop it. Huh? Suction? Wait a minute, I said to myself.
I remembered a conversation I had with Evelyn a while ago. She always takes samples from my body — and when I say all, I mean all. She says it's to analyze my body and figure out how I don't die after falling from a great height. I can't tell her about Astraea and her vampire virus. But among all those exams, the only one that makes me happy, we had finished a little later than usual. I remember she was still getting dressed when she said to me:
"Razel-san, do you know why your blood is special?"
While pulling up my pants, I replied:
"I don't know. And I don't care."
"You should care."
She turned around — she had barely put on her bra — and came toward me.
"Your blood has another type of DNA that isn't yours. Maybe that's why you have that ability to heal your wounds, but it's still strange. Having two blood types makes the body incompatible, so it's absurd for something like that to happen."
She had come very close to the truth, but had no idea what was going on.
"M-maybe it's my own DNA but different."
"It must be."
I needed to change the subject quickly.
"By the way, Evelyn, what is that thing you were investigating earlier?"
"Oh, that thing."
She explained that when a metal dragon attacked her, she and the others used a new type of magic to defeat it.
"Explaining it is very difficult because it's still very experimental, but I think it will revolutionize magic as it's known. I call it 'Reverse Magic.' It means you can reverse magical power. For example, if someone used a fireball, you could reverse it until it's nothing but oxygen. Don't you think it's fascinating?"
She said as she leaned against me. She went on to explain more details that I didn't understand. But thanks to that, I thought of a way to finish him off. I only have one attempt, but I have to do it. I called Astraea to help me.
(Astraea, I need you.)
(What do you want?)
(I've thought of a way to get us out of here alive.)
(Really? It looks like the end to me.)
(I can't die now. I'll die when I'm old.)
(I can't die either until I've finished off that bastard Epstein. But your optimism and courage truly amaze me. What's the plan?)
(Evelyn explained to me how reverse magic works like this.)
I proceeded to explain it to her. Basically: using it is like a water current that has two channels, one above the other. So we must send my magical power and hers to achieve it; this would deactivate his magical power and thus eliminate the tentacles.
We tried. It didn't work.
(Why didn't it work?)
(I'm not going to say it's because you're stupid, but I will say that the explanation doesn't work for you. You can't deactivate this; his whole body is made of magical power. Cut it from one side and nothing will happen because it will regenerate. You must destroy everything, like a fire that destroys everything in its path.)
(How do I do that?)
I asked her, as she scratched her head, since she was inside my mind now. She raised her finger, shaking her long red hair.
(What if you do it like it's a storm?)
(A storm?)
(Yes. It's the same principle, but this wouldn't require you to do something you've never seen, but rather to do something you've seen hundreds of times, but together with me.)
(I see. Destroy it together.)
(Exactly.)
After that, I followed her advice. The first thing I did was visualize it: a storm like those seen on television, wild as described in movies, terrifying as seen from my bedroom window, and deadly as in high-seas video games.
To generate a storm you need two things: a current of hot air from one side and another of cold air from the other side. That clash creates storms. Therefore, Astraea will be the hot air.
(I'm ready.)
And I will be the cold air.
(Let's do it.)
Her magical power is red because of heat; mine is blue because of cold. I must join them, so I imagine a black background. Like a whirlpool seen from the surface, heat and cold come together forming a spiral that grows little by little. To do it I need a trigger. I raised my hand with all my strength and pointed it at his face.
"What are you doing?"
I ignored that guy and kept thinking. The current was growing until it surpassed the storms that hit Japan. Now it was a prehistoric storm, the kind that could flood the world. They are clashing. That magical power is mine and Astraea's. On my index finger is Astraea's magical power; on my thumb, my own magical power. To make them clash I need to imagine that my hand is a lit lighter.
I opened my eyes to look at him. He was staring at me with that stone face of his. Everything was ready; I could only do it once because I had no strength left. This will be the first time my magical power is not augmented by hers, but we will work together to attack our opponent.
"Try my new improvised attack."
I said the name of something I could never imagine in my life. A small typhoon in the palm of my hand that I can create myself, and I call it…
"Lightning Flash."
After saying those words, I rubbed my fingers together to activate the lighter, which was a mixture of the two currents of magical power. I saw how the red and blue magical power mixed to create a small violet energy ball that grew gradually. The energy ball grew at least twenty times its size and, before he could react, it shot out, piercing his body and crashing into the ground. But it didn't stop there: it kept growing and swept in a straight line, destroying the wall, the adjacent houses, and the distant tentacles. It didn't stop until it left the city.
I stared at him. He checked his side. His entire left side had disappeared. He tried to regenerate but couldn't. Small violet sparks were glowing. He began to spit blood from his mouth and, looking at me, said:
"Marvelous… your Amore to save them was stronger than mine… Congra... tulations."
Those were his last words before collapsing to the ground. The tentacles were drying up, but they served as a cushion for everyone to fall on. Little by little they regained their life force. I let out a big sigh after being able to breathe properly. I looked up at the sky: the sunlight was shining from afar. Iris and the others were coughing, and their bodies were returning to normal.
In one day I had finished off three members of the Phantom Troupe. It was a great achievement. From what I could understand from that guy, there are thirteen along with their leader; I have ten left to eliminate before reaching him. I hope it's quick, because time is against me.
I walked toward Iris to check how she was when, from the nearest tower, we all heard:
"It can't be—shiiiiiiii!"
A strange, high-pitched voice came from there. I raised my eyes and there was a strange little man. His clothing was black, like a ninja's. His orange hair was long and tied in a ponytail. His face was completely white and he had a huge mouth; his eyes looked like a fox's, half-closed, and he stared at me.
"You really did it, brat-shiiii! Not just one, but three of the thirteen executives you've defeated. This is a total declaration of war against the Phantom Troupe-shiii! Not just you; they will also be elimination targets. This whole country has become an enemy of the Phantom Troupe and now no one will be able to sleep…"
I was getting fed up, so I tried to kill him using several lightning spears. But he was too agile and dodged them all.
"What the hell are you doing while I'm talking-shi?"
"I don't give a shit about what you have to say!" I said, pointing at him. "I'm not afraid of them."
I raised my hand and showed him my middle finger.
"Tell your leader or leaders that they can come for me whenever they want. If it's today, even better. I'll kill you all and put an end to whatever you're planning."
He raised his tiny eyebrows and looked at me curiously.
"You know what we're planning, don't you?"
You just confirmed it, but yes.
"I have a hunch that you're up to something. Maybe a disease. No matter what you do, I'll defeat you and stop your plans."
The sun was already lighting up the place.
"Remember my name well: I am Freaks, the eleventh seat of the thirteen."
"Huh? Your name is Freaks? How pathetic. Hahaha!"
"Razel-san, please don't provoke him anymore," Iris asked me.
But it was better this way: that way they would focus their attention on me instead of her.
"Very well. I'm changing plans. I'll tell the leader that the top elimination priority is no longer that girl, just you."
"Tell your leader to come kiss my ass once and for all. I'll finish you all!"
The voices of the knights were approaching the place.
"See you later, brat. Enjoy what's left of your life."
He said that and disappeared when the sun hit our eyes.
It was a very long day. I want to sleep.
"Erica, are you okay?"
Briana had arrived along with Leonora. Everything was over and I could rest, even though the academy and the city seemed destroyed.
But well, it's not my fault.
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The fanservice is for the beautiful Briana.
https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/11452816