Kiyotaka wasn't able to stay conscious as he heard faint voices.
Rem: [... to give up? Is there no way to save...]
Betty: [...all, I suppose. You can do as you like with him now.]
Rem: [You put your life on the line for me. So I swear on my life. I'm going to save you.]
Kiyotaka woke up slowly, sitting up and saw Emilia asleep on a chair.
Kiyotaka: (I guess I made her worry.)
Kiyotaka looked around.
Kiyotaka: (Looks like Rem has already left.)
Kiyotaka sighed, slowly taking off the blankets.
Puck: [Oh, you're awake.]
Kiyotaka: [Yeah, I am. How are the kids?]
Puck: [Don't worry. Betty and I took care of them.]
Kiyotaka looked at his arm.
Kiyotaka: [The curse. It's still lingering on me, isn't it?]
Puck: [I'm sorry, but it is. There were so many curses from you getting bitten. They got tangled up, so it was impossible to remove them.]
Kiyotaka patted him on the head.
Kiyotaka: [It's not your fault.]
Kiyotaka then looked at Emilia.
Kiyotaka: [I guess she spent the night trying to heal me?]
Puck: [She used a lot of Mana. Luckily, you're pretty strong, so the damage wasn't too bad.]
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: [I'm going to get up and figure out my next step from here.]
Puck: [Are you sure? Your body only just got healed.]
Kiyotaka: [I'd feel bad to waste her efforts in healing me, but I need to take some steps forward. There's something important that I need to handle as soon as possible.]
Puck nodded hesitantly.
Puck: [Well, if you say so.]
Kiyotaka got up, exiting the building and slowly closing the door behind him so as not to wake up the sleeping Emilia.
Ram: [Ayanotaka...]
Kiyotaka: [Good morning, Ram.]
Ram did a curtsey.
Ram: [Ayanotaka. No. Kiyotaka. Thank you for protecting my sister last night.]
Kiyotaka: [It'll feel strange if you start saying my name properly.]
Ram: [That's not the right way to respond when receiving gratitude, Ayanotaka. 0 points for you.]
She said this with a soft smile, walking past him. Kiyotaka then saw Betty waiting as he walked over.
Kiyotaka: [I'm still cursed. How likely am I to survive?]
Betty: [Almost 0, I suppose.]
Kiyotaka: [I see. Can I make a guess?]
Betty: [Hm?]
Kiyotaka: [The reason I'm not dead isn't because the curse takes time to take effect. It's because the Ulgram haven't activated it right?]
Betty: [You are right in fact.]
Kiyotaka: [Then if they die. The curse is meaningless, correct?]
Betty: [You are correct, I suppose.]
Kiyotaka: [Ram. You need to hear this, so come down from there.]
Ram: [Ram is surprised you knew Ram was here.]
Kiyotaka: [We're going back into the forest.]
Ram: [I... alright. I'll help you hunt them down.]
Kiyotaka: [We're not going there for that. We're going there to rescue someone.]
Ram: [What? Who?]
Kiyotaka: [Your foolish sister.]
Ram's eyes widened as she began running towards the forest with Kiyotaka following behind her.
Kiyotaka: [Do you have a way of finding her?]
Ram: [My clairvoyance.]
Kiyotaka: [Clairvoyance? How good is your sight when using it?]
Ram: [I can see from the perspective of nearby animals.]
Kiyotaka: (That explains how she tracked me down before.)
Kiyotaka: [Alright. Let's go.]
The two rushed towards the forest when they were stopped by a villager.
Villager: [Where are you two going? You can't be going into the forest, could you?]
Petra and the other children walked over.
Petra: [Don't go back in there. It's dangerous.]
The other children seemed to agree.
Ram: [I don't have the energy to be kind. Move.]
The villager rushed into his house and came back out with a sword.
Villager: [At least take this!. It's a thank-you gift from all of us. And it should be useful to you in the forest.]
Kiyotaka: [A real sword... finally. Thank you. I'll take good care of it.]
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
They walked through the forest as Ram stopped for a second.
Ram: [Ayanotaka. I'm in range, so I'm going to use Clairvoyance.]
Kiyotaka nodded as Ram closed her eyes. Kiyotaka walked over to some bushes, unsheathing his sword.
Kiyotaka: (For a sword from a village, it's not bad. It'll last me a while at least.)
A Wolgarm jumped out as Kiyotaka cut it in two. Kiyotaka performed a Chiburui (A flick to remove blood from a sword) before taking out a handkerchief to wipe away any leftover blood before resheathing the blade.
Ram: [More are coming.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: (Just when I wiped the blood from my blade.)
Kiyotaka unsheathed his sword. One Wolgarm jumped at him as he backhanded it in the face and stabbed it in the neck. Another jumped at him as he pointed his finger at it.
Kiyotaka: [Dona!]
A shard of stone pierced it, giving Kiyotaka time to pull his sword out. He slashed another, cutting it in half. Meanwhile, Ram was killing Wolgarms using wind magic, slicing them up.
Kiyotaka: [Looks like that's all of them.]
Ram: [Yes. There aren't any more nearby.]
Kiyotaka performed another Chiburui and wiped his blade clean. He sheathed his blade when another Wolgarm jumped at him. He grabbed it by the throat as Ram sweated.
Ram: [I missed that one?]
Kiyotaka choked it to death, snapping its neck as he tossed its carcass to the side as they walked forward, causing Ram to seem surprised.
Kiyotaka: [Going in prepared and with knowledge of my opponents feels much better than going in blind.]
Ram nodded.
Ram: [That's very pragmatic of you, Ayanotaka. You get full marks for that.]
Kiyotaka: [Are we keeping score or is this a clean slate?]
Ram: [Minus 5 points for that question.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
They arrived at the spot, seeing Rem fighting the Wolgarm.
Kiyotaka: [Ram. Any chance we can get through to her while she's in that state?]
Ram: [I could, but the Mabeasts wouldn't allow me the opportunity. The best thing would be to get a good hit on her horn to knock some sense into her.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: (Then I need to distract her. Preoccupy her with something.)
Kiyotaka: [I'm going to throw you at her.]
Ram: [You're going to what?]
Kiyotaka: [She'll catch you, right?]
Ram: [Yes, I think so.]
Kiyotaka: [Then take my hands.]
Ram grabbed him by the hands as Kiyotaka got into a hammer-throw stance, spinning, building up momentum before throwing her at Rem.
Kiyotaka: (Catch her Rem.)
Ram extended her hands as Rem snapped out of it for a second, catching her sister, and Kiyotaka rushed in and swung his sword, hitting her horn.
Kiyotaka: [Now get out of here.]
Ram: [But you'll die!]
Kiyotaka: [I'll die if I don't kill these things anyway.]
Ram clicked her tongue.
Ram: [Ram hasn't had the opportunity to properly thank you, Ayanotaka. If you die, Ram will never forgive you.]
Kiyotaka made a finger gun with his hand.
Kiyotaka: [Dona!]
He killed a Wolgarm that jumped at them.
Kiyotaka: [Get out of here now!]
Ram rushed off with Rem in her arms. Kiyotaka began firing stone shards to cover their escape.
Kiyotaka: (They're never-ending, but the curses on my body are not never-ending. With every kill, I feel like a burden on my body is lightening.)
Kiyotaka's eyes widened as his next spell took longer to fire.
Kiyotaka: (Wait a second. Why is it getting harder to use the mana in the air?)
His eyes shifted as he saw the puppy Wolgarm using magic to lift the earth as Kyotaka dodged around.
Kiyotaka: (That damn thing is using up the mana in the air. Figures it would be better at taking mana from the air than an amateur like me.)
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: [Fine. I'm going to die one way or another, so I'd rather go out fighting.]
Kiyotaka rushed in, cutting down several Wolgarm as he did when the pup transformed into a huge Wolgarm.
Kiyotaka: (Gigantification!?)
It swung its paw at him as Kyotaka jumped back, avoiding it.
Kiyotaka: (If I miss, I'm dead.)
Kiyotaka threw his sword into the air as he pointed at the beast's eyes with both his hands.
Kiyotaka: (If drawing mana from he air is too slow, then I'll draw it from my body!)
Kiyotaka: [Dona!]
Kiyotaka winced.
Kiyotaka: (Even if my gate can't take it, I have to try.)
He fired two stone shards as they hit the Wolgarm in the eyes, causing it to howl in pain as Kiyotaka caught his sword and rushed in, slashing the Wolgarm in the neck and then stabbing it in the throat.
Kiyotaka: (Die!)
The Wolgarm fell to the ground dead as Kiyotaka breathed heavily, feeling a pain in his chest as his gate cracked.
Kiyotaka: (This pain! I've never experienced something like this!)
Kiyotaka fell to his knees as the other Wolgarm rushed at him from all around and Kiyotaka looked annoyed.
Kiyotaka: (Kill them already, you stupid clown.)
???: [Al Goa!]
A huge fireball hit the area surrounding Kiyotaka, and the Ulgarm died on impact as Roswaal floated down to the ground.
Roswaal: [What a teeerible situation you're in, Kiyotaka-Kuuun.]
Kiyotaka: (Fuck you, you sadistic clown.)
Kiyotaka fell unconscious.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Kiyotaka woke up to a familiar ceiling.
Kiyotaka: (I didn't die again, did I?)
Kiyotaka slowly sat up, seeing Rem and Ram sitting on chairs on each side of his bed.
Rem: [You're awake.]
Kiyotaka: [I am.]
Rem bowed her head.
Rem: [I'm so sorry. I was trying to help you, but I just became a burden again.]
Kiyotaka: [That's because you tried to do it all yourself.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: [You have amazing people around you. Depending on them doesn't mean you're worth any less. You have things unique to you.]
Rem: [But I can't even do a single thing for you or Sissy.]
Ram: [Ayanotaka is right Rem. Ram always told you that you should just be yourself.]
Rem started crying as Kiyotaka sighed, remembering Horikita.
Kiyotaka: (Many people try to emulate the ones they look up to. It's not a bad thing, but considering yourself beneath them is counterproductive. It makes it harder to catch up to the person you look up to and impossible to surpass them. Without the confidence to believe you're capable of standing beside them, your mind won't even allow you to imagine a future where you are walking in front of them. You won't be able to see that they are putting their hands on your back, pushing you forward.)
Kiyotaka imagined this same thing with Horikita.
Kiyotaka: (Come to think of it, when she overcame those thoughts, she caught up to her older brother.)
Kiyotaka smiled a little at this, shocking the sisters.
Rem: [You... smiled.]
Kiyotaka: [I did?]
Ram: [I'm surprised that you can Ayanotaka. Minus 15 points for tricking me into thinking you were incapable of it.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Rem: [Don't be like that Sissy.]
Ram: [But I'll give you those points back for having a good smile.]
She blushed slightly while saying this as Kiyotaka raised his eyebrow.
Kiyotaka: (Hang on. I had no intention of receiving this level of affection from her.)
Rem: [I will... do my best... to be myself.]
Kiyotaka patted Rem on the head.
Kiyotaka: [You did well. Thank you for your effort. It was reckless, but in the end, you did end up killing a lot of the Wolgarm. You made it easier for Ram, me and Roswaal. Just next time, wait for us because if we work together, it'll be that much easier.]
Ram smiled, patting her sister's head. Rem's tears coated her cheeks.
Rem: [I'm sorry for causing you trouble.]
Ram: [Ram already knows you're a handful, but Ram still loves you all the same.]
Kiyotaka: [And I have my own experience with a little sister who likes to cause trouble.]
Rem wipes away her tears, smiling.
Kiyotaka: [I think I'm going to go to sleep to rest.]
Ram: [Please excuse us then. Let's go, Rem.]
Kiyotaka: [But first, I'd like to talk to Emilia.]
They nodded, leaving, as a few minutes later, Emilia entered, having been informed by Ram and Rem.
Emilia: [I'm so glad you're okay.]
Kiyotaka: [I'm sorry.]
Emilia: [Huh? What for?]
Kiyotaka: [You put in a lot of effort healing me, but I just ended up getting hurt again.]
Emilia: [Kiyotaka... I'd rather hear you say thank you than sorry.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: [Thank you.]
Emilia: [See, isn't that better?]
Kiyotaka: [I... it is.]
Emilia: [You ended up helping me again. Kiyotaka. Thank you.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: [It's not a problem.]
Emilia: [Kiyotaka. We looked over you and your... your gate is cracked.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: [I thought something must have happened. I was forced to use more mana from my body than I was capable of.]
Emilia: [I see. Um. We'll find a way to heal you, okay?]
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: [Thank you.]
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Kiyotaka woke up the next day, and his body felt better than before.
Kiyotaka: (My body doesn't feel sore anymore.)
He got out of bed as he opened the door to his room, stepping outside when Ram was there.
Ram: [I was just coming to wake you. Roswaal-Sama is ready to begin training you in Spirit Arts.]
Kiyotaka: (Ah yes, the sadistic clown did promise me that in exchange for me working here.)
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: [I'll follow after you then.]
Ram bowed to him.
Ram: [I'm truly thankful to you, Ayanotaka.]
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: [It's fine. Let's go. I would hate to miss my first proper lesson in Spirit Arts.]
Ram nodded.
Ram: [Of course. Just follow me.]
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Part:
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