Evangeline stared, her composure brittle. My slime had neutralized her ice arrows with an ease that clearly offended her. I didn't know much about this world yet, but given the laundry list of titles she'd claimed, she had to be a mage of immense power—even if most of that power was currently under lock and key.
"A mere slime, blocking my magic so effortlessly?" she muttered, her eyes narrowing. "And that... thing is far from any slime I've ever encountered."
She reached back into the depths of her cloak, producing several more beakers. She gripped them between her fingers like throwing knives.
"You blocked the arrows, but let's see how you handle this!"
She hurled the vials with a flick of her wrist. Amateur, I thought. Did she really think I'd fall for the same trick twice?
I commanded the slime to surge forward, catching the beakers mid-air before they could touch the pavement. The silver mass engulfed them instantly, neutralizing the glass and the liquids within.
But then I saw it. A sharp, predatory smirk tugged at the corner of Evangeline's mouth.
Shit.
My Telekinesis flared, a cold spike of alarm driving into my skull.
"Riku Raku Ra Rakku Lirac. Come, spirits of ice; burst, spirits of wind; shatter, frozen breath... Ice Blast!"
Impossible. The beakers were already inside the slime.
"Tch!"
I didn't wait to think. I threw myself backward, putting as much distance between us as possible. I was a fraction of a second too late. An explosion of jagged frost erupted, centered exactly where I had been standing a heartbeat ago. Shards of ice hissed through the air, one of them grazing my shoulder.
Clang!
The ice struck my jacket with the heavy ring of metal on metal, but I ignored the sound, focusing on the distance I'd put between myself and the vampire.
"...I caught the beakers," I ground out, my eyes fixed on her.
"Hmph. Surprised? It hardly seems fair that I'm the only one being caught off guard tonight." She glanced down at her own feet. "The explanation is simple: there's no rule saying a potion must be thrown at the enemy to be effective."
I looked down. At her feet lay the shattered remains of a different vial.
I see. She'd made a grand show of throwing the beakers to draw my attention—and the slime—away, while using the cover of the movement to drop the real catalyst at her own feet to trigger the spell's radius.
"You're more battle-hardened than you look," I admitted.
"Hah! And you, for a brat your age, look like you've survived more than your fair share of hell."
We stood there, measuring each other. My options were limited. My physical condition was still hovering somewhere between 'terrible' and 'catastrophic.' If I had another hour to recover, this would be a different conversation. As it stood, I had my spatial hangar, the slime, and my Telekinesis.
"Decided on a strategy yet?" she asked.
"Was about to ask you the same thing."
The tension between us reached a fever pitch.
"Hah!"
"Go!"
Evangeline's wires sang through the air again, weaving a lethal web. I countered with the slime, using it as both a shield and a lash, weaving through her threads while looking for an opening.
Mana-infused wire versus mercurial slime. Both were capable of a killing blow. But while the slime could sever the wires, the wires couldn't cut the slime. On paper, I had the advantage, but...
"Magic Archer—Seven Ice Arrows!"
The moment the words left her lips, I snapped the slime back into a defensive wall. The arrows shattered against it harmlessly.
That was the problem. Whenever I gained the upper hand in the wire-play, she'd disrupt my rhythm with a spell. We were stuck in a loop.
"A stalemate," I muttered.
"Hoh? For a foreigner, you're quite familiar with our terminology."
I wasn't about to explain that I was a reincarnated Japanese man.
"But I'm getting bored of this deadlock," she continued, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "The night is getting old. Let's settle this with the next blow. Give me everything you've got. I'd hate for you to have regrets."
She pulled several more vials from her cloak, twirling them between her fingers with a playful, arrogant grin.
"Fine by me," I replied. I needed to wrap this up anyway; I had no idea how long it would take for Lemon to find me, and I couldn't afford to be trapped here forever. "I'll take you up on that."
I pulled up the menu for my spatial hangar in my mind's eye, scrolling through the list until I found exactly what I needed.
"Then..."
"Now!"
In a blur of motion, I pulled my hands from the rift. I wasn't holding a sword or a spell. I was holding two submachine guns, scavenged from a terrorist cell months ago.
"What—?! Guns? Where did you—?!"
I didn't give her time to finish. I leveled the muzzles and squeezed the triggers.
With a Ranged stat pushing 300 and Gunfight Level 9, I didn't even need to aim. A hail of lead screamed toward her, a wall of kinetic energy that left no room for evasion.
"Tch!"
Evangeline moved to smash her beakers into the ground, but I was faster.
"Not this time!"
I slammed my Telekinesis into her, pinning her limbs in place with sheer psychic force. She froze, her eyes widening in genuine terror as the bullets reached her—
"Gousatsu Iai-ken—Killer Quick-Draw Fist!"
The shout echoed through the park. I reacted on instinct, throwing myself to the side.
BOOM!
A shockwave like a detonating bomb tore through the air between me and Evangeline. The force of the strike was so immense it physically swatted my bullets out of the sky, sending them spinning harmlessly into the trees.
"...Who's there?" I demanded.
For a moment, I thought it was Evangeline's trump card, but she was still frozen by my Telekinesis, her eyes darting toward the newcomer with a look of pure, unadulterated annoyance.
"Now, now. Let's call it a night, shall we?"
A middle-aged man stepped out of the smoke. He had a rough stubble, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and his hands were shoved casually into his pockets. He looked like any overworked salaryman you'd see on a train, but a normal man didn't just punch a hole in the air to stop a hail of bullets.
"Takahata T. Takamichi," he introduced himself. "I'm the homeroom teacher for Eva, Yukihiro, Naba, and Chachamaru."
"Teachers these days seem to require a high combat rating," I quipped, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Takahata gave a weary, self-deprecating laugh. "Well, the job has its challenges. Ayaka, Chizuru... are you two alright?"
"T-Takahata-sensei?!" Ayaka cried out from the ground, still held by Chachamaru.
"My, my," Chizuru added, seemingly unfazed.
"Chachamaru, would you mind letting them go?" Takahata asked.
The android looked at her master. "...Master?"
Evangeline didn't answer. She couldn't. She was still glaring at me, her body locked tight by my psychic grip.
"...Eva?" Takahata frowned, sensing something was wrong.
"Oh. Right." I realized I was still holding the trigger on my Telekinesis and released the pressure.
Evangeline stumbled as the invisible weight vanished. "You! What the hell was that just now?!"
I shrugged. It was clear from her reaction that psychics weren't common in this world—even if her teacher's "fist" was basically a superpower in its own right.
"Who knows? Do I look like the type to give away my secrets for free?"
"Tch... Takamichi! You always have the worst timing!" she barked at the teacher.
"Give me a break, Eva. If I hadn't stepped in, you'd be full of lead."
"Please. I'm a True Ancestor. You think a few bullets would kill me?"
"It's not a full moon, and your powers are sealed. It would have hurt, at the very least."
"...A True Ancestor?" I interjected.
The term was familiar. Too familiar.
"Hmph. That's right," Evangeline said, her fighting spirit seemingly spent. "I'm a True Ancestor Vampire. Though thanks to a certain curse, I'm currently stuck in this place."
I looked at her closely. "Do you... have a connection to the planet? Like, can you manifest Marble Phantasms? Do you struggle with a bloodlust you can't control?"
"Ha? What are you talking about?" she asked, looking at me like I was insane.
"No? Okay."
It wasn't Type-Moon. The mechanics of the vampires here were different.
"Sorry," I said, holstering the guns back into the spatial hangar. "That was rude. I'll explain my abilities to you later, if we get the chance."
Evangeline's eyes lit up. "Really? You promise? Then let's go to my house right now! Chachamaru, bring the girls!"
"Acknowledged."
"Wait a second, Eva," Takahata interrupted, stepping between us.
"What now?"
"You know the rules. We need to have a talk with him first." He turned to me. "What's your name, kid?"
"Axel. Axel Almar."
"Right. Well, Axel, the explanation of your powers can wait. First, we're going to see the Old Man."
The Old Man. The same person Evangeline wanted to "turn me over" to earlier.
"I'm not a prisoner," I said coldly.
"I know that," Takahata said. "But you aren't exactly in a position to just walk away, are you? It's better if you meet the Headmaster voluntarily. If you talk to him, we might be able to negotiate a way for Chizuru and Ayaka to keep their memories."
I went quiet. I could probably fight my way out of here, but that would make me a fugitive from whatever organization these people belonged to. And if I ran, the girls would suffer the consequences.
"Can I trust that this won't be a trap?" I asked.
"I give you my word," Takahata said. "The Headmaster can be a bit eccentric, but he's a fair man."
"The Headmaster?" Ayaka gasped. "You mean the man who runs Mahora Academy is the leader of the mages?!"
"In a nutshell, yes," Takahata replied. "We can discuss the details in his office. Axel, are you coming?"
I looked at Chizuru and Ayaka, then back at the "shabby" teacher.
"Yeah. It sounds like my best option."
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Axel Almar
Level: 38
PP: 625
Stats: Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272 | Defense: 272 | Evasion: 302 | Hit: 322
SP: 462
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Spend SP to increase Slime performance)
Spirit Commands: Accel (4), Effort (8), Focus (16), Strike (30), Zeal (32), Love (48)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9, SP Regen, Concentration)
Telekinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
Infight Lv.9
Morale Limit Break
Geass (Grey)
Magic (Fire)
Magic (Shadow)
Magic (Summoning)
Kills: 376
-------------------------------
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