Chapter Seventy-one: Dinosaur-like women
Nighttime.
It was nighttime in Tengu City, where everything was peaceful.
At this hour, most people had already turned in.
11:29 P.M.
And yet, at this very moment, someone was still preparing for bed.
"...haah."
A short sigh escaped him as he stepped out of the bathroom.
A dry towel hung loosely over his head before he grabbed it, dragging it across his hair.
"Still haven't managed to complete it. It's harder than I thought."
As he muttered under his breath, the towel suddenly lifted into the air.
Morgan raised his index and middle fingers together.
Before his eyes, the towel floated back into the bathroom.
'At this point, there's really no difference between me and an Esper.'
Perhaps the only difference was—
Morgan's abilities weren't limited to a single path.
However, just as that thought crossed his mind—
"Well, well, seems like I came at the wrong time~"
Morgan's fingers froze mid-air as he turned toward his bed.
Sitting there provocatively, one leg crossed over the other, was her.
It wasn't that he hadn't expected her to visit eventually.
But a nightly visit was different.
'…Speak of the devil, and she appears.'
Morgan thought.
"It's been two weeks, Kurumi."
"Kihihihihi~ Two weeks and three days."
Morgan narrowed his eyes as she placed a finger on her lips and tilted her head upward.
She's mad.
He reached that conclusion instantly, despite the smile on her face.
"You seem to be enjoying your time a bit too leisurely."
"Mmm? What do you mean?"
"Itsuka Shidou's sister—and that little group of hers—already know everything about you~"
She said it with a knowing glance.
Kurumi shifted, adjusting one leg over the other as she leaned forward.
Resting her elbow on her thigh, she propped her chin on her hand.
"Well, that sucks. Guess leisurely school life won't be the same anymore."
Kurumi's eyes widened slightly.
Under these circumstances, this insane human was still thinking about enjoying school life?
As expected of her favorite person.
"It would've been fun leading him on."
"Kihihi. Yes, yes. A little fun never hurts anyone."
Morgan nodded in agreement.
After all, he also wanted to continue his school life.
Monotone as it was, it was still enjoyable.
Especially trolling Shidou or listening to the braindead ramblings of Tonomachi.
For a brief moment, he wondered how they were doing now.
Especially Shidou.
How was he managing Tohka and his overly clingy girlfriend, Origami?
Ironically, he might have set Shidou up for failure from the very beginning.
But speaking of him—
"How's the rest?"
Morgan asked, levitating a bottle of water from his PC desk toward himself.
Catching it, he took a long gulp before turning his gaze back to her.
"It was hard work, you know. But thanks to the gift you left me, it was easy."
"
"I see."
Morgan capped the bottle before telekinetically sending it back to the desk.
The rest of the Spirits, aside from the
However,
Originally, time travel was what resolved her issues, but—
Who knew what would happen this time?
Especially when the catalyst behind those time-travel shenanigans was now on his side.
…It wouldn't be easy for Shidou to manipulate the past.
Which meant that sooner or later,
"Well, it's good to see things are turning out well."
However—
"I don't think that's all you came for, right?"
At that moment, the light spilling into the room from outside was swallowed by a shadow.
Her lips curved into a sardonic grin as her crimson eyes glimmered faintly.
"Kihihihi~ Good guess, Sinclair~"
Morgan's brows furrowed, his eyes narrowing.
In the next instant, she raised her gun and fired.
A sharp bang echoed the confines of the room.
But..
Snap!
..at the same time, Morgan snapped his fingers.
Everything froze, ...everything except Morgan and Kurumi.
The room was normal still, as though nothing had been done.
Yet, it wasn't entirely so.
Instead of the usual forward trajectory of a bullet, why was it now behind Morgan when Kurumi shot it forward.
Is what anyone would think.
But the two standing apart from each other didn't look the slightest bit of worried or surprised.
If anything, behind him...
A small, golden, spherical glow encased her bullet shrouded in shadow.
"My~ It seems that despite all the fun you're having, your senses haven't dulled at all."
She said it with a smile.
But Morgan didn't see one.
…was she jealous?
As much as she tried to present herself as a femme fatale, that cute side of hers still showed through.
Kurumi was a serial tsundere.
Not just a serial killer, but a serial tsundere to boot.
Whenever someone called her kind, she would flip out.
She had almost killed hundreds of students just to prove otherwise.
And when Phantom said the same thing, her response had been a greeting shot.
Naturally, he felt the urge to tease her.
But he had a feeling the dinosaur-like woman shoot him again.
"Is this your 'thirteenth' bullet?"
Kurumi spread her fingers slightly, glancing to the side.
"A mere combination. I haven't assigned it yet."
Naturally, it was completely possible to modify her Angel to that extent.
Her other half—
White Queen had already demonstrated that after observing Kurumi's abilities.
But,
"..well, I guess I should help then?"
Kurumi blinked, though the smile never left her face as she murmured a casual, …"you're welcome."
Morgan nodded.
Then he made a sharp diagonal swipe toward the ground.
Kurumi's earlier bullet lapsed around him, floating directly in front of his eyes.
"Though I still haven't found the perfect solution, this should work for now."
He muttered that to himself as the golden glow surrounding the shadowed bullet dissipated.
Then it loosened into… threads.
"I'm not great at materialization, but weaving things is what I specialize in."
Having ascended and obtained the abilities of a true Wizard,
..gathering Mana into a single point was no longer difficult.
Since he no longer suffered backlash from deploying a Territory, he could gather Mana freely.
However, because of that..
Morgan lost the ability to derive elements like fire or water directly from Mana.
Since he could already project such things within his personal reality to the outside world.
It became redundant.
Still,
'…It's not like I can't outright rewrite what's inside her, but—'
"Let's do this instead."
The golden Mana threads wove together, forming a spherical shape.
Inside it, a golden liquid flowed slowly.
"Something I've also been working on."
Elixir.
Kurumi studied it carefully, rising from the bed and stepping closer.
Naturally, without her needing to ask, Morgan understood.
"How should I put this? …Ah, let's call it a substitution. Listen."
As should be clear by now.
Every Spirit possessing Reiryoku ultimately derived it from Mana.
The Mana of the universe itself was the source, and therefore.
All abilities originating from «Deus» eventually traced back to Mana.
Which meant that Mana, in a sense, was a superior form of energy to them.
And more importantly, it was compatible.
In short, Mana gathered in its purest form could greatly enhance a Spirit's capabilities.
"…And so, allow me to introduce—"
«Ideal Mana»
"A subspecies of Ideal Fluid. Well, for now, it's nothing more than a concept."
Condensing Mana and converting it into a liquid state was absurd by nature.
Even a single drop of this substance could kill a normal person.
Their body would be flooded with Mana beyond capacity, causing spontaneous combustion.
"Kekekekeke."
"This thing is basically poison to most people."
As one can see.
This wasn't an elixir, but poison to any normal person.
However… what about a Spirit?
"Then what's it meant for? Drinking?"
"Honestly, I don't even know."
Despite saying that, his gaze shifted from the orb to Kurumi.
The Mana within it had already mixed with her Reiryoku.
"Hey."
"...what?"
"Let me put this inside you."
For a moment, silence stretched between them as they stared at one another.
Kurumi tilted her head slightly, smiling as if to say,
Come again?
Morgan repeated himself, and this time, Kurumi's smile subtly changed.
"My, my. You certainly have strange tastes."
"Don't worry. It might actually benefit you."
"No, no, no~ No normal girl would want something weird entering her body."
"I'll be gentle."
Unfortunately for Maya, a few rooms away, she could discern any types of waves.
She heard muffled sounds and immediately activated her ability.
Through waves, she could make out the visages of Morgan and a girl.
She had a good impression of one of them.
'So, they were da…'
Maya stopped eavesdropping, but their strange conversation only continued.
"Treating your woman like a test subject, how inhumane."
"I mean, if you think of it as candy, or milk then—"
"That's a hand-sized golf ball, and what are those examples? Pity a delicate young girl."
Morgan's expression stiffened.
The conversation had clearly veered far from his original intent, and now turning into something else.
Just as he thought of backing up and forming another idea.
Kurumi beat him to it.
While she might have strongly rejected him forcing it into her or down her throat.
Pause.
She was curious about its effects, especially since he called it an elixir for Spirits.
And then, a teasing idea surfaced.
"Well… if you were to feed me the liquid instead, I might consider it."
Morgan froze.
"Huh?"
Kurumi's eyes glinted, got him, then she slowly licked her lips.
Something was sucked out of a certain someone that entire night.
Morning.
Shidou Itsuka
The past week had been hectic.
Especially the two weeks before.
Now, his ordinary daily life was returning, however, today had been different.
Shidou's consciousness came back after a dream.
Perhaps, a vision will do.
There, he saw many figures sprawled across the ground.
…gritting their teeth in powerlessness.
Among the unfamiliar silhouettes, he immediately recognized Kotori and Yoshino.
Their figures stood out.
But even weirder was...
She looked battered, her entire body trembling.
Before her was a crack in the air, revealing a void beyond it.
And in front of that stood three figures.
Two were clearly female, strangers to him. But the one in the center—
He knew them all too well.
However, that person he knew had their back turned to him.
Involuntarily, a primal scream tore from his lungs.
"Why!? Why are you doing this!?"
The familiar male figure glanced over his shoulder at Shidou.
«As expected, even to the very end, you're still the same…»
Guh!
His throat locked up.
Shidou had no response, but the male wasn't done; instead, he fully turned.
«Itsuka Shidou. From the moment you met
He stretched out his hand.
«..everything has been part of a grand play all for the sake of something I reject»
«Yes, right now, every factor is part of my plan»
As he said that, the three figures slowly began to rise, ascending toward the ruinous crack.
Despite this, Shidou reached forward as if to chase them.
But his hand never reached.
A loud echo tore from deep within him.
Finally, it was only then did his consciousness finally snap back.
He awoke on the wrong side of the bed after the dream.
Or rather, it was the right side in every sense, if one ignored a single detail.
He was suffocating.
Air refused to enter his nostrils.
Panicking, he tried to open his eyes, only for darkness to jumpscare him.
"Mmmph!"
The panic worsened as he tried to move his hands, only to feel them numb.
It was as if blood flow to his limbs had completely stopped.
"Mmmphm!"
Energy churned around his chest as he tried to force his mouth open to speak.
But something clogged it.
He couldn't even scream, but despite all that movement, it was the only thing that confirmed his 'alive' status.
It was none other than the warmth he felt.
As well as the faint fragrance drifting from that direction.
Now he recognized that scent better than anyone who knew this girl.
His girlfriend.
Yes, Shidou realized he'd been bound by her, a dinosaur-like woman with dinosaur-like strength.
Like a tuna, he began flailing across the bed in hopes she would wake up.
"…Shidou."
The girl only murmured groggily before tightening her arms around his body.
No good, he was losing consciousness…
His thoughts began to fade as his soul faintly felt like it was drifting upward when,
"Ohayo, Shidou~!"
Bang!
Dim and blurry, he heard a sound like that from the doorway, followed by an overly energetic voice.
T—Tohka!
I'm saved.
He thought that.
Then immediately realized how not saved, but utterly screwed he was.
"Origami! What are you doing on Shidou's bed?!"
Crash!
A loud impact echoed as the pressure in the room suddenly spiked.
"Hhick~ nngh… my head…"
"W–why are you naked!? And what is this?!"
Shidou felt something lift from his body, probably the blanket, but right now…
He didn't even need it.
"Mmmph!"
"See!? You're making Shidou uncomfortable!"
At that moment, he had a feeling she was pointing at him, and he was right.
"Nnngh! Tsk! Whatever happens between me and my boyfriend is none of your business."
Though her voice was sluggish, the anger behind it was unmistakable.
But someone else wasn't backing down. She swung her hand toward the white-haired girl.
"Nu! Shidou said he accepts me!"
"Well, he confessed to me. I accepted, and we're lovers."
Gah!
A lethal arrow struck the purple-haired girl as she clenched her teeth as her hair slowly rose.
Somehow, maybe it was just his imagination, but…
The ground itself seemed to tremble.
Crap, Tohka's going to lose it.
He thought as he struggled even harder, yet could only squirm helplessly.
And neither of the two locked in their confrontation paid him any attention.
But just as things were about to spiral completely out of control..
"Argh, mou, what's all this ruckus so early in the morning?"
It was Kotori entering the room, frowning as she rubbed her messy hair.
Mmm?
Her gaze drifted to Tohka and Origami, who looked like they were moments away from throwing hands.
"Ah, so? Knock yourself out."
With that, she slowly turned away, waving slightly, leaving the room to return to its previous chaos.
Kotori, on the other hand, walked toward the bathroom with a despondent expression.
In front of the mirror, she clutched her chest as visible flames curled around her.
Yes, this was something even the strongest Wizard hadn't accounted for.
No matter how much he tried to change the future, some things could not be altered.
'…am I almost out of time?'
Raising her head, she stared into the mirror and saw another version of herself.
One with two horns, wearing strange garments, a cloak of fire wrapped around her.
'…Onii-chan.'
She thought this quietly,
Then, sliding her hand into her pocket, she pulled out her mobile device.
With a flick of her finger, she unlocked it.
And on the screen, something caught her eye.
[Contact Information]
[Morgan Sinclair]
[Number: omitted]
'Guess it comes down to this, huh?'
Ever since Raizen High had broken down,
Students had transferred to schools across the city.
Some even moved to other regions, and a few went abroad.
Others simply abandoned school altogether.
There was no longer any structure left to rebuild Raizen High.
It had been reduced to rubble.
Shidou and his friends began attending Saito Senior High.
A private school with a university attached.
Most of Shidou's classmates had transferred there… all except Morgan.
But when they traced Morgan's records, they discovered something shocking.
World's Strongest Wizard.
And a new organization that was preparing to release new technologies—
…focused on Virtual and Augmented Reality for public, private and learning use.
Clocktower.
She would need to come in contact with that person.