[104] Vajrayana (4)
Iruki, who was lying face-down on the table, spoke.
"Did you finally come to your senses in the meantime? Yesterday you said you were going to chase them down and beat them up."
Amy didn't even have the energy to be angry. Iruki was probably the same. After a week of being harried, she didn't want to lift a finger.
She propped her chin on the bed and said, "After all this, I understand. Still, there are people fighting for Shirone now."
Nade, who had been watching the protest from the window, cut in.
"Even so, most of our side is either the lower division or the advanced division. The protesters are mostly the graduating class. If they actually storm in, we can't stop them."
Seriel said, "It should be okay for now. We have the faculty on our side. The principal, Shiina, and Etella are all with us."
"That's because you seniors don't know. Those guys… their behavior's been suspicious since yesterday."
"Hmm? In what way?"
Seriel turned to ask Nade, but Iruki answered instead.
"A few people seem to be missing. It's especially odd that Amira and Fermi are absent. At least one person should stay to stir things up."
Amy snapped, "Hey! Why do you use polite speech with Seriel but speak casually to me?"
Iruki averted his gaze as if annoyed. There was no special reason—he'd simply thought that Shirone's girlfriend ought to count as his friend too.
The infirmary door opened and Alpheas entered, escorting Shiina and Etella. The teachers' faces had been growing more drawn by the day from the student council's persistence.
"You've all been working hard. How's Shirone?"
"As you can see… the same."
"I see. Nothing to be done."
Alpheas couldn't help but feel puzzled. A week had already passed. If some absolute power appeared and declared Shirone would be revived, they could wait a year or ten. The problem was no one could prove Shirone would return. It was a race against time.
"You'll cast magic on Shirone, then."
Amy and Seriel stepped aside. Alpheas placed his hand on Shirone's chest and cast Slow magic—a preservative measure that didn't harm the body.
When Alpheas finished, he stepped back. Shirone could hold on for another day.
But until when? The teachers stood silently now, but as time went on, voices of discontent would inevitably rise.
Shiina stared at Shirone for a long moment, then stroked his head. The more she thought about it, the more unjust and bitter it felt. A promising mage's future snuffed out before his talents could blossom.
'I told them I should have stopped him,' she thought.
Shirone had survived the Overflow. The price, however, was repeated contact with the Immortal Function. At the time Etella had promised to take full responsibility. She had no interest in criticizing now. If anything happened to Shirone, she would spend her life mourning him.
"Teacher! This is serious!"
Seriel shouted. Amy and Nade peered out the window, fury on their faces. Shiina walked over. Amira and Fermi—who hadn't been seen until yesterday—were pressing documents toward the infirmary.
"On behalf of the students of Alpheas School of Magic, we will submit a complaint against all the teachers! Allow us to take custody of Principal Alpheas!"
Shiina felt a headache coming on. The feared outcome had come true. The student council had taken an extreme step. They intended not only to punish Alpheas but to press charges against other teachers as well.
If a complaint was filed, the situation would spiral out of control. If the students' families got involved, the school would collapse without a chance to recover.
When Shiina opened the window, the demonstrators quieted at once.
"What is this commotion? Is it the student council's job to incite students and shake the school?"
Amira walked to the window.
"This isn't incitement. We wouldn't want it to come to this either. That's why we haven't filed the complaint yet. But there are far too many questionable points. It's already been seven days since Shirone supposedly died. Yet not a single teacher is willing to make a public statement."
"Shirone isn't dead. He's just in a catatonic state."
"A catatonic state without a heartbeat is impossible. We can't accept the lack of decomposition either. Isn't the principal's magic enough to explain it?"
It seemed the student council had reached that conclusion. A reasonable inference.
But some things can't be judged by outcomes alone. The student council didn't understand why Shirone had to be preserved instead of buried.
The root cause was the Immortal Function. Even magic academy students knew nothing about reaching Nirvana, so their response was purely emotional.
"You're on the right track. Shirone's body is being preserved with Slow magic."
Shiina admitted it plainly. Both the student council and the kids blocking the entrance murmured.
"Are you admitting the allegation?"
"You're jumping the gun, Amira. That accusation would only apply if the teachers were using Shirone as a shield to escape responsibility."
"The teacher's point is valid. But we haven't seen any circumstantial evidence to make that judgment. The student council can't accept the faculty's actions."
"The faculty do not accept Shirone's death. Nor do we intend to flee. That's why we're asking for your understanding."
"Teacher, Shirone's passing is sad for us too. But the student council does not want our beloved school to collapse like this."
"I understand you can't trust the teachers right now. But we thought this through and made the best decision we could. Whether you believe it is your choice."
Amira considered Shiina's words. She couldn't rule out the possibility the teachers knew something she'd missed. People believe what they think is right.
Still, no matter how she turned it over, she couldn't accept it. Shirone was already dead. Or rather—dead or alive, the fact that every teacher was sheltering him made her uneasy.
'Is this the right path? Am I being rational? What if Shirone comes back? But that can't possibly happen…'
If not for her role as student council president, Amira wouldn't have pushed it to a complaint. But if she backed down, the students would pay the price.
Fermi, who had been watching, didn't like the way Amira wavered. Thinking the situation might collapse if they hesitated, he stepped forward.
"So there's no room for compromise. Then we'll use our final method."
Shiina looked at Fermi with displeasure. In four years of teaching she'd never encountered a student like him. He had great talent but was even more skilled at hiding it.
He worshipped deceit and enjoyed controlling situations with it. That might be useful for a mage, but it wasn't the kind of refinement a student should have.
"Hmph. File whatever complaint you want. In the end, you'll regret it."
"Fine. Let's do this! First we'll retrieve Shirone's body and then proceed with the complaint! Move out! We're taking Shirone back by force!"
Fermi led the seniors forward toward the infirmary. Caught in the crowd mentality, no one could stop them.
"Let's hold Shirone's funeral and indict the teachers! The school belongs to the students, not the teachers!"
"Wait! Stop this!"
Students loyal to Shirone, led by Maria, tried to block them. But their efforts failed and the path soon opened. Most of Fermi's side were seniors who looked down like gods. If they used force, numbers would decide the outcome.
"Aren't you going too far? This is still about the life of a fellow student!"
Mark stood his ground with his characteristic firmness. But to the seniors, a Class Seven junior wasn't worth the trouble of negotiation.
At that moment, glass on the third floor shattered. When shards fell, the crowd took a step back. Nade leapt from the building. The gust from his Fly magic blew the dust off the ground and the protesters scowled.
When Nade slowly raised his head, killing intent burned in his eyes.
"Everyone get out. Before I kill you all. No one touches Shirone."
With the situation at that point, even Amira abandoned deliberation and acted. The water had been spilled; if they lost momentum, public opinion could turn against them.
"What are you doing? Don't you know whining won't change anything? And saying you'll kill someone—where did you learn that kind of talk?"
Nade didn't hear any of it. All he could think of was protecting Shirone.
"Want to take Shirone? Then come on in. I can't guarantee you'll walk out alive."
A bluish bolt hovered over Nade's head and powerful lightning rained around him. It was Lightning magic. More terrifying, though, was the plasma seething from Nade himself.
Amira took a step back, startled.
'How can an advanced-class student do plasma...'
To cast plasma magic you must either build an ultra–high-temperature battery or manifest a virtual ultra–high temperature with Omnipotence.
The former method hasn't been developed, so plasma mages rely on the latter. It's not something you learn from theory—that's why it's such a difficult level to reach.
Iruki glared at Nade with a displeased look.
'You idiot. You've put up with this all this time.'
Iruki was the only one at the school who knew Nade's past. Five years ago, Nade had been a completely different person. He'd vowed never to show his face again and had worn a mask ever since. Now he had taken that mask off—only to protect Shirone.
'This actually makes me feel a little sorry.'
Iruki gave a bitter smile, turned, and slipped out of the infirmary as if he'd never been there.
The protesters were visibly unsettled. Even among the seniors there was someone called Lycan, the Electric Monster, so they knew how dangerous plasma was.
Nade glared at Amira. "This is your last warning. Get out."
"Why go this far? What does protecting a dead friend mean to you?"
"Shirone isn't dead."
Nade's eyes were wide as tears streamed down his face.
"What do you know? Don't spout off about Shirone like you know anything!"
Seeing Nade's tears, Amira felt some pity. Still, she wouldn't back down.
"If you want a physical fight, I won't stand by. I'll subdue you before any students get hurt."
Amira took a step back and brought her fists to her dantian. A smoky-gray cloud billowed around her. It was Cloud magic, a weather-type spell—excellent against electricity. At Amira's level she could charge Nade's electricity into the cloud and send it back at him.
"Seriously… why do something you can't handle the aftermath of?"
Iruki walked out from the entryway. Nade scowled. Was Iruki going to interfere again? But Iruki stopped beside Nade, not Amira.
"What? Don't interfere. This is my fight."
"But from now on it's my fight too."
"Weren't you on their side?"
Nade's tone was curt. There was no lingering grudge between them, but since Iruki had judged Shirone dead, there was no reason for him to join this fight—unless he hadn't really believed that after all.