Mr. Watsukawa:
His gaze became calm—almost gentle—but behind it lay determination.
"I don't know why Kaede means so much to you... but I do know that no one should live in chains forever. I'll free both of you from your pasts. You, too, deserve a life without fear."
He slammed his fists together.
"A life without fear...?" Airi tilted her head, confused—then her expression twisted. "H-how—how is that supposed to work when other girls are near him?!"
She grabbed her face with both hands and stretched it. "Never! He's my hero! My one and only! He promised me! HE PROMISED ME!!"
Her voice didn't break from weakness, but from fury. Her eyes blazed. Four black portals tore open in the air at once—and with a howl, small, inconspicuous stones shot out from every direction.
Watsukawa reacted in a split second.
"Body Overload—Level 4!"
Lightning crackled around his body. The air shimmered. The next moment, he was gone.
"Where is he?!" Airi spun around—but too late. A fist rushed toward her.
"What the—?!"
She tore open five new portals—a chaotic defense system, purely instinctive. Five stones were fired—but Watsukawa stopped midair, caught one with his bare hand, and crushed it effortlessly to dust.
"Enough games. I won't hurt you. But you're going to behave now."
Airi recoiled in shock.
Before he could grab her, she let herself fall backward into a black portal and vanished.
Watsukawa stood still, took a deep breath, and looked up at the sky. "How troublesome."
Her voice echoed from the trees—lightly offended, but feigning innocence:
"How cruel. You really want to take my only dream away from me... You heartless, pedophilic brute."
Watsukawa ignored the provocation. His eyes shifted to her—Airi stood atop a branch, as innocent as at the beginning.
However, his gaze was dull; his time was running out.
"Airi..." A faint smile crossed his face. "Could it be that your second magic type... is acceleration magic—applied to objects?"
Airi froze. Her eyes widened—then she bit her lip. How did he—
"Thought so," he cut her off. "You're clever—too clever. But you showed your hand too early. And me... well, I've still got a few tricks left."
She didn't respond. Instead, she silently raised her hand.
Thirty black holes appeared at once in the air—a storm of portals, from which stones rained down from all directions.
"We've already done this. Where's your creativity, Airi?"
"Body Overload—Level 5."
Watsukawa vanished again—even faster than before.
He instantly realized: she had switched to defense. The stones encircled him, held together by a complex network of portals in an endless loop—faster and faster, deadlier and deadlier.
"Clever girl... you're creating a barrier that accelerates itself. Keep that up, and soon it'll be impossible to move."
He shouted aloud, "You get 100 points for that strategy!"
Airi laughed shrilly. "Finally! So you do realize how useless you are?" Her grin was confident.
Watsukawa grinned back. "Against most people, you'd probably win. But against me? Tough luck. Oh, and by the way—it was 306 stones. Not 300."
His aura thickened. The lightning grew stronger.
"Body Overload—Level 6."
The surroundings trembled. Bolts shot from the ground. His hair stood up, his body began to glow, and cracks formed in the earth.
Airi swallowed. For a brief moment, something flickered in her eyes. Was it... fear?
"He counted all the stones...?" she muttered, sweat running down her forehead.
But then she shook her head, forcing a faint smile.
"No matter how hard you try, my love for Kaede is stronger than any violence."
She hugged herself and blinked. But Watsukawa was gone.
"Wha—?"
A fist struck her straight in the face. It was as if her barrier wasn't even there. How... how is he bypassing it? No, impossible. I can see it—the yellow streak, moving back and forth... He's dodging them?!
Then another hit—harder, faster than before.
The world exploded in light and pain. Several portals collapsed at once.
"WHAT?!"
She stumbled, threw another portal to the side, and leapt through—barely escaping Watsukawa's next attack.
He stopped—just a few branches away, arms crossed.
"Your defense is crumbling," Mr. Watsukawa grinned.
"I think it's time to end this."
Airi gasped. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her pupils trembled.
"No... this isn't normal. He's not... human. I... I have to get out of here!"
She laughed nervously. "You know, I think... I'll postpone things with Kaede. Something's come up. I... I'll be going now!"
She jumped off the branch.
"You're trying to run?" Watsukawa leapt after her—caught one of the stones and hurled it at her with tremendous force, just before she could open a portal behind her.
"Shit—!"
She changed her aim, threw the portal in front of her, and barely managed to catch the stone.
But Watsukawa was already there. One well-aimed leap—and his punch hit her straight in the stomach.
She slammed against a tree trunk, slid down, and coughed blood.
"Th-that's... impossible... My love... was never supposed to lose." What kind of monster is he...?
She tried to stand. Her hand lifted, trembling—but Watsukawa grabbed her wrist, paralyzing her with a magical impulse.
"You don't have to be afraid. I won't hurt you."
"N-no... no... I can't lose... I... if I lose... Kaede will hate me... he... he'll leave me..."
She tried to crawl, but her legs gave out. Tears filled her eyes.
"Airi... calm down. I want to help you. But you need to tell me—how many of you are there? What are you planning?"
"I can't! If I do... I'll lose him... He rejected me once already... He'll do it again... I... I love him so much..."
She dug her fingers into the forest floor, trembling, gasping for air.
Watsukawa sighed. "She's completely gone. In this state, I can't get anything out of her."
Airi shook and stared at the ground while Mr. Watsukawa held her arm.
Wuä... wuä... wuä...
Suddenly she stopped trembling. Her shoulders went still; her voice turned childlike again.
Watsukawa, still on guard, watched her closely.
Slowly, Airi raised her head. Her eyes no longer shone with tears. A wide, distorted grin spread across her face. Hahahahahah...
"Well? That's what you thought, isn't it? That I'd react like this."
Her tone was ice-cold.
Watsukawa blinked, momentarily confused. Then he realized—he turned to move.
"Damn—"
Too late.
A stabbing pain tore through his back—brutal, precise, like a burning nail. His eyes widened.
His magic—
It didn't respond.