It was the morning after another long night of magic training. Asia and I were walking toward school, the sun already bright and cheery, in stark contrast to how dead I felt inside. My eyelids were heavy, and I could barely drag my feet across the pavement.
"You didn't sleep again, did you, Issei-san?" Asia's soft voice nudged at my weary thoughts. She looked up at me with concern as we passed the school gates. "You didn't even do the morning training today. Are you hurt?"
"No, not hurt," I muttered. "Just… trained too much. Akeno-senpai pushed me a bit too hard with the magic stuff."
That wasn't a lie. Since I knew the Riser Phenex engagement arc was fast approaching, I had thrown myself into training harder than ever. I wasn't about to lose an arm like in the original timeline. If I could help it, I wasn't going to lose anything.
Even my Sacred Gear, Ddraig, had warned me.
[The current you will die. If you want to fight Riser properly, then you must go beyond this version of yourself.]
So I did what any desperate guy would do—train like hell. And now? I was running on fumes.
Still, that didn't mean the world was going to slow down for me.
"Iseeeeeeeee!!"
I stopped in my tracks as the voice echoed through the hallway. A horrifyingly familiar scream.
Oh no.
From the far end of the corridor, Matsuda was charging at me like a crazed boar. His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression twisted with what I could only describe as pure emotional trauma.
Asia looked confused. I, however, knew exactly what this was about.
"Dieeeeeeeeeee!!"
He swung wildly at me. I dodged—barely. But just as I was about to catch my breath, I felt a sudden presence behind me.
"Found you!"
Motohama came from the opposite side, eyes blazing, hands outstretched like he was going to perform an RKO in the middle of school.
BAM!
Their combined attack landed—hard—on my shoulders, and my knees buckled. I dropped to the floor coughing and groaning.
"What the hell, you guys?!"
"You bastard! Do you even understand what you've done!?"
Motohama had me by the collar now, dragging me up like some villain in a crime drama.
"What are you even talking about?!"
"Don't play dumb!" Matsuda yelled, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "You sent us to hell!"
"Hell...?" I blinked.
Oh.
Oh no.
Mil-tan.
"You sent us into a goddamn battlefield filled with monsters in frilly skirts!" Motohama screamed.
"It was like a horror movie and a magical girl anime had a cursed child!" Matsuda added. "They surrounded us! All of them were buff, huge—and wearing skirts tighter than anything I've ever seen on a girl!"
"They weren't just like Mil-tan," Motohama shuddered. "They were Mil-tans. A whole goddamn species! Where the hell did you even find them?!"
"They called him 'Queen Mil-tan'! One of them said, 'Our Queen says you're friends. Come join the sparkling parade!'" Matsuda practically sobbed. "There were sparkles! Everywhere!"
"They had glitter in their eyebrows, Ise! EYEBROWS!"
I sighed, pried Motohama's hands off my shirt, and straightened my collar. "Look, I didn't send you there. You followed me, remember?"
"You didn't warn us properly!" they shouted in unison.
"I did warn you they were different!"
"Not that different!"
I rubbed my temple, wondering if I should just feign death and be done with it.
Asia, meanwhile, stood there looking like a confused angel, tilting her head as if trying to process everything. "Umm… Who is Mil-tan?"
"She's… someone I have a contract with," I muttered. "A good person. Or, well… a good soul."
"Good soul my ass!" Matsuda yelled. "She picked me up! With one hand! And twirled me around like I was a magical wand!"
"She called me her 'glitter bunny'," Motohama added, sounding spiritually broken.
Asia blinked. "That… sounds kind of cute."
The two idiots froze, staring at her as if she had just declared herself the villain in a psychological thriller.
"C-Cute!?"
Asia smiled nervously. "Well… everyone has things they like, right? Even if it's magical girl outfits and… sparkles."
"Asia, bless your kind soul," I whispered. "But please don't encourage them. They'll get nightmares."
Matsuda wiped his face with his sleeve. "I haven't slept since yesterday. Every time I close my eyes, I see lace."
Motohama looked pale. "I hear theme songs. One of them tried to teach me a transformation chant. I think I memorized it."
They staggered off after that, muttering about magical sparkle hell and bedazzled horrors.
Look like the mission was a success.
~~~
Bonus chapter for 100 power stone.
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