She lowered her eyes to the floor in disbelief.
"Yeah, the Fools agreed without exception to have you dead. So what makes you think I'll believe your words?"
Rakina fell quiet. Her thoughts churned like a stormy sea.
How could this happen to her? Her teacher wanted her dead? Did their relationship mean nothing? Was it so minuscule it could be discarded like dust?
The more she thought about it, the more surreal it felt. She forced herself to calm down, just enough to question it.
What if his words were nothing but lies?
She raised her head. The despair clouding her eyes faded, replaced by cold resolve.
"I'll meet her myself."
Zirgo's smile widened. "We won't let you."
Rakina began mapping out a plan to escape their grasp—and it had to be quick. Her mind flipped through every spell she remembered, but none suited what she needed.
What should I do? she contemplated, lost for a moment. Then she discarded the idea of a clever plan and considered going all out.
But that wasn't wise.
Then she remembered something. Her will stirred, and a message flickered before her eyes.
[Would you like to load new Data?]
She paused, pondering, before shaking her head.
No. Using His power would only lower her chance of survival. She didn't even know much about this new ability. It could easily spiral out of control.
Better safe than sorry.
With that decided, she realized she only had one option left—fight her way out.
She checked their levels compared to hers.
―――
[Zirgo – Lvl 40]
[Lucias – Lvl 40]
[Rakina – Lvl 48]
―――
All of them were in the Refinance stage. Rakina had a slight advantage in level, but not by much. They could still defeat her if they pushed seriously.
And with the artifacts and skills they likely carried, even a win would be tricky.
But winning wasn't the goal—escaping was.
It would still be difficult. These weren't amateurs.
Zirgo cast a firewall around himself and Lucias. The flames didn't spread chaotically—they stayed still, perfectly contained, obedient to his will, minimizing unnecessary collateral damage.
But the heat wasn't diminished. If anything, it was hotter than ordinary fire.
He's controlling the space itself, she noted.
Rakina didn't rush. She lightly tapped her blade against the floor, sending a ripple of cold air across the hallway. The heat pushed back, colliding with it and leaving faint steam. She noted carefully—the firewall didn't even flicker. It wasn't just a wall of flames; it was feeding from the ambient mana itself.
Zirgo smirked. "Not moving, are you? Got a cat stuck in your throat?"
Rakina didn't respond. Her eyes flicked to the quiet man beside Zirgo. He hadn't moved a single step. No magic cast. Just waiting. His stillness was… wrong.
She stepped sideways, circling slowly. Her fingers brushed the hallway railing as she moved. Frost crept along the metal in a faint, almost invisible sheen.
Zirgo noticed. "Trying to chill the air? Pointless."
He snapped his fingers.
The firewall compressed instantly, condensing into blazing spears that launched like homing missiles.
Prepared, Rakina flicked her wrist. Ice shards scattered in midair—not to block, but to redirect. The fiery spears curved off-course, slamming into the ceiling instead. Chunks of debris rained down.
A cloud of dust filled the hallway.
Good. Limited vision. He'll expect me to retreat.
But Rakina didn't retreat. Not yet. She closed the distance instead, her blade scraping lightly against the tiles. It siphoned the faint moisture left in the air, weaving a thin, invisible mist across the floor.
Zirgo squinted into the dust, raising his guard. But it was too late. The mist flash-froze beneath his feet, locking him in place.
But Rakina didn't strike. She froze.
A whisper of movement from Lucias.
Her instincts screamed.
She rolled to the side just in time. The space she occupied a moment ago split open silently, sliced apart by a void slash.
Lucias had moved without a sound. His magic—precise and deadly.
So that's his specialty. Space displacement… cutting magic.
Rakina exhaled slowly, her breath frosting midair. Her blade hovered in the stillness. Then—
She swung.
The air itself seemed to shiver, bending unnaturally as if reality hesitated to obey her.
When her blade brushed the rift and she snapped her fingers, the world answered.
A blizzard roared to life.
Ice bloomed across the walls, crawling like hungry veins. The windows clouded over instantly. The floor cracked and froze in an instant.
The cold bit so deeply it chewed through even Zirgo's flames. His firewall flickered, its power struggling.
"Damn it—!" He grit his teeth, pouring more mana into the fire. Steam hissed violently, choking the hallway in thick mist. Visibility dropped to almost nothing.
"She's… gone?" Zirgo spat. "No. Hiding. Stalking."
"Keep your eyes open!" he barked.
But Lucias didn't flinch. His fingers twitched slightly, as if feeling the shape of the space around them.
Half a minute passed. The storm died abruptly.
Zirgo scanned the ruined hallway—tiles shattered under frost, windows opaque with ice. No Rakina.
He clicked his tongue. "Tch. That chick got away."
"No," Lucias finally spoke, his voice low and calm. "She's already moving where she needs to be."
Zirgo frowned. "And where's that supposed to be?"
Lucias' lips curved faintly, but his eyes stayed cold as the frozen hallway.
"…To her mentor. To the Witch Association headquarters. Exactly where we want her."
---
The hospital room was quiet, lit only by moonlight seeping through the window.
A young man bowed respectfully before an old lady.
Shun lifted his head and smiled. "Thank you, Grandma."
After all the serious talk was out of the way, they drifted into meaningless, mundane things. Little stories. Small updates. Just catching up.
Yet to Shun, even gold couldn't compare. It had been years since they talked like this—and it might be the last time.
Sadness and joy mixed together. But Shun convinced himself to stay calm. There was no point drowning in melancholy.
He would carve this moment deep into memory and never forget it.
When it was time, he left the hospital, bidding farewell to the staff.
He walked down the quiet street. The broken streetlights flickered weakly. Distant, muffled arguments leaked from a nearby house. Dogs barked somewhere in the dark.
Shun stared at the sky.
The stars glimmered with quiet passion in the darkness. The moon hung still—not as ambitious as its peers, but somehow its light felt the gentlest.
As he lost himself in the heavens, movement flickered in the corner of his eye. He didn't react outwardly. He continued walking calmly, pretending he hadn't noticed.
Is it someone from earlier? Shun whispered inwardly.
He brought his gaze back to earth, already forming a plan to shake off the pursuit. He knew this neighborhood well.
When he reached an intersection, he turned right.
The stalker followed. But when they turned the corner, they saw nothing. Just an empty street with a garbage lot and a car illegally parked at the side.
They stood there for a moment, scanning the area, expecting Shun to be hiding somewhere.
But the truth was—Shun was already behind them, walking the opposite way.
His body glowed faintly with a soft yellow hue. He manipulated his aura, thinning his presence until it was barely noticeable.
Earlier, when he turned right, Shun had immediately climbed into someone's yard. He slipped quietly to the other side of the house and hopped back out, arriving ahead of his pursuer to the original street.
He didn't bother figuring out who was stalking him. Whoever they were, it didn't matter. He couldn't be bothered.
The timing wasn't right. There were more important things to prepare before entering the Tower.
Eventually, he reached a railroad crossing.
Across the road, he noticed a man with broad shoulders and a towering figure, easily two heads taller than most. He wore black clothes tucked neatly into white pants. A kendama hung casually from his waist.
He's huge, Shun couldn't help but comment inwardly.
They crossed paths. As they passed shoulder to shoulder, the man stopped.
"Hey, brat. Wait."