Irina stood silent, without saying anything; everybody was waiting for her response…
"Care about someone? Are you joking? If he dies, I'll lose my source of mana and have to go through the trouble of finding another one."
In that instant, the spear Drastei had thrown earlier shot back toward Irina's head. The air seemed to tighten, carrying the faint metallic ring of the returning spear. She merely tilted her head slightly, letting it whistle past, and Drastei caught it with ease, smirking as he pointed it at her, ready for battle.
"This is the infamous Black Witch—heartless to the core, thinking only of herself. Today, we finish this!"
"Finally, something intelligent comes out of your mouth."
At the sight of the impending clash, both Sato and Kaito ducked behind cover, bracing themselves to witness the fight while Irina and Drastei hesitated for a second to let them get far enough.
While the two ducked behind cover, Irina waited, eyes narrowing. For a fleeting second, the rooftop of Sato's apartment flashed in her mind—a memory from hours earlier.
At Sato's apartment, Irina looked out the window to make sure they were far enough away, then turned into a flicker of flame and rose to the roof.
I can't believe he's so irresponsible. Instead of studying that book, he went out.
Following their trail, she reached the karaoke place where the boys had rented a private room. Outside, she emerged from her flame form right beside the wall where their room was and leaned against it with her arms crossed, listening to everything thanks to her magic.
"She's insufferable, she picks on me every chance…"
Irina listened closely to what Sato said about her, all that time, facing the dark floor of the alley.
"But although…"
Like the others, when Irina heard him, she raised her head.
"Although she can still be a pain, I don't want to give her up. Maybe…"
Irina waited for Sato to finish everything before saying under her breath…
"That fool…" she said, a little happy.
After they left the karaoke bar, she followed them to the restaurant where Sato managed to help Killa heal her wound.
He… was able to heal a relic wound. But how…?
Irina waited a little longer, listening as Killa asked Sato to let her be his exis. In that moment, a flame flared in Irina's hand, ready to intervene, until he refused.
"I'm sorry, I would have loved to be your exis, but at the same time I can't give up Irina. I…"
Once again, Irina listened to what Sato had to say and slowly closed her fist, letting the flame fade into the air.
Inside, Blueblade glanced toward the entrance and smiled, he recognized her mana but chose not to tell the others.
That rusty sword is sharp, he sensed my mana even when I suppressed it… and Sato…
Irina stayed silent after that, simply trailing Sato once he finished at the restaurant and revealing herself when Drastei showed himself.
Back in the fight, Irina locked her gaze on Drastei, the boys already far enough from danger. The breeze blew through their hair as both of them stood still, waiting to see who would make the first move.
With a swift dash, Drastei lunged forward, taking the initiative. Irina responded instantly, summoning a wall of violet flames in front of him, blocking his path.
Seeing the wall rise before him, he veered to the side, planning to go around it, but the flames suddenly expanded outward, forcing him to leap back in retreat.
Tsk…those flames are too damn troublesome. This is exactly why I didn't jump over that wall, she would've caught me mid-air, and I'd be done for. In this case it is time for another approach.
He tightened his grip on the spear and raised it above his shoulder, ready to throw. At first, he aimed straight at Irina.
Is he seriously planning to throw that stick again? That will never work.
But then, at the last moment, he shifted his aim upward and hurled it into the sky with full force. Once it reached a certain height, the spear began to glow before shattering into dozens of lights, each one taking the shape of a spear of its own.
Now, above Irina, a rain of spears was preparing to fall.
This is not good.
Seeing what was about to fall upon her, Irina quickly conjured a large dome of fire around herself.
"You really think those flames can stop my spears?!" Drastei roared, raising his hand toward the sky, then bringing it down sharply, commanding the spears to fall.
In an instant, they pierced straight through the dome with ease. A deafening crack echoed across the field as each spear embedded itself into the ground. The flames scattered into the air, fading into embers, while a thick cloud of dust rose from where the dome once stood, making it impossible to tell whether Irina was taken down.
The thick cloud of dust blanketed the field for a moment. Drastei stayed on guard, keeping his eyes fixed on the crater left by the impact. But as the smoke finally cleared, he realized Irina was nowhere near it.
A faint ripple of mana brushed past him, Irina. She had reappeared behind him, a flame already forming in her palm before she hurled it his way. Drastei dodged on instinct, but just as the flame passed by him, it suddenly flared brighter and twisted violently.
"Damn it!"
Drastei summoned his spear back in a flash, forcing it in front of him to block the imminent explosion.
The explosion went off with a deafening boom, hurling Drastei into a nearby building. He crashed down on his back, landing hard on the ground. Flames licked dangerously close to him as parts of the street around him caught fire.
"I never thought my flames would block your attack. I just knew you'd be dumb enough to assume I'd take it head-on," Irina said as she approached slowly, another flame burning in her hand.
"Huh… cunning witch," Drastei muttered, using his spear as support to push himself back up, weakened.
"Any last words?" Irina raised her hand, ready to end it.
Drastei glanced toward Kaito, who was staring back at him, not with fear, but with hope. The boy held his fingers crossed, whispering under his breath:
"You can do it."
"It's quite presumptuous of you to think this is over," Drastei said, turning his gaze back to Irina.
"Is that so?"
Irina raised her hand and, with a swift motion, hurled the flame at him. At the very last second, Drastei barely managed to slice it in two.
"So, you still have some fight left in you… Very well then. I haven't had a single decent fight until now, I'll entertain you a little longer."
Not that this even qualifies as a real fight… but whatever. I'll amuse myself for a bit.
Irina stepped back, putting some distance between them and allowing Drastei a moment to catch his breath.
"I want to ask you something before we continue. How did you get this strong so quickly? I didn't feel any change in your exis."
The attention shifted toward Sato, who was farther down the street, unaware of their conversation.
"I wonder… maybe it has something to do with the fact that I opened all of his mana circuits."
Drastei's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You what? How is that boy still alive?"
"Beats me. His heart even stopped for a while, but he just came back to life somehow."
"I never thought someone could be that crazy to try something like this."
"So, you're giving up?"
Drastei tightened his grip on his spear again and leveled it at her.
"Like hell I am."
Drastei charged at her again, closing the distance—but just as his foot landed, a glowing magic circle lit up beneath him. He immediately leapt back, and the moment his weight left it, the circle exploded.
"Pff. These little tricks again, just like last time."
"You know what they say, don't fix what isn't broken," Irina replied with a smile.
Damn witch… While I was recovering, she must've scattered these traps all over the place. I'm basically fighting in a minefield.
"Do you really think these puny tricks will work again?"
Once again, Drastei hurled his spear into the air. It fragmented into dozens of smaller spears that rained down across the field, setting off every trap Irina had placed.
That should be every mine she set. Now is my chance. She's wide open.
Drastei pushed himself forward once more, his breathing heavy, using the last of his strength to clear the remaining traps.
"Just a little further…"
His vision was starting to blur, and he didn't even realize the ground flashed beneath his foot, too late to react, stepping on a mine.
A small explosion went off, blasting Drastei only a short distance away—when a violet flame suddenly caught him mid-air.
"But… I thought I detonated all of those damn traps…" Drastei muttered weakly, his voice fading.
"You did, all the traps I didn't mask. The hidden ones were still there… and you walked right into one. You were predictable, Drastei."
With those words, Irina turned her back to him and walked toward Sato.
"Come on. We're leaving."
"But…"
"Don't worry. He's already finished." She didn't even bother to look back as she spoke, heading toward the apartment.
Sato glanced one last time at the spreading flames and at Kaito, who rushed to his fallen hero, before following after her.
As Kaito rushed toward Drastei, he reached out to grab him, but with the last of his strength, Drastei forced himself slightly back and raised a hand to stop him.
"Don't come any closer! If a single flame touches you, you're done."
"But…" Kaito's voice trembled as tears began to form.
"Listen, kid… it was fun while it lasted. Even if it wasn't for long, I'm glad I was your hero."
Kaito couldn't hold back anymore, tears streamed down his face.
"Promise me something, will ya?" Drastei lifted his fist, flames flickering around it.
"Promise me… you'll stop running away."
With shaking hands, Kaito raised his own fist. In one swift motion, they both struck their chests.
Drastei smiled, just as his body began to glow, he shattered into thousands of mana particles, dissolving into the air.
Kaito was left kneeling on the ground, hand still pressed to his chest, tears falling freely.
"Drastei!!!" he screamed with all his strength.
And just like that, the street fell silent. Only the fading embers remained, and a boy who had just lost his hero.