Chapter 33: ACT.2 "Enemy Sighting"

And then, she suddenly vanished from before my eyes.

No, it's impossible for her to simply vanish here—she's behind me!

"Gh-! Ah!"

I leap sideways.

Immediately after, her kick—Sion's kick—passed through the spot where I had been standing.

Fast! If I had turned to look behind me, I wouldn't have dodged in time.

She's not quite at the level of Arcueid or Ciel-senpai, but she's on par with Satsuki when she uses her vampire powers.

"The first strike failed. Adjusting calculations—here!"

Another move follows.

The distance to Sion is too great for a two-armed fight.

However, she attacks with an invisible certainty.

I swing my arm.

Faster than thinking, I swing my knife and cut through something.

Sion, who had previously shown no emotion, now wears an expression of shock.

Still, she continues the motion of manipulating something.

It's an action similar to cat's cradle or controlling threads.

This time, understanding that she is manipulating threads,

I again move my arm faster than thought, cutting and discarding them.

"...To cut Etherlite... How absurd."

Sion stares at me with a dumbfounded expression, having witnessed my action.

"I won't call it cheap just because you attack with something invisible, but it won't work on me."

Invisible threads are an easy opponent compared to monsters like Nrvnqsr and Roa.

After all, they don't possess the demonic dread or terror those two have.

"Oh, in that case, how about this?"

Her purple eyebrows rise at my provocation, and simultaneously,

She pulls a black object from her coat... Wait, a handgun! Ugh, it grazed me!?

"Damn it! That's a violation of the Swords and Firearms Control Law, you!"

"It's not a crime if you don't get caught!"

She fires again.

I narrowly dodge by running in a zigzag pattern.

Damn, resorting to a projectile weapon, a handgun no less, is underhanded!

"Tch!"

"What!? You dodged that!?"

And that's not all.

While using the handgun to keep me at bay, Sion's Etherlite—as she called the threads—is simultaneously attacking me, raising the difficulty of responding.

I'm utterly bewildered, as this is completely different from the occasional mock battles I have with Ciel-senpai, Arcueid, and Satsuki.

However, there is still a way to break through.

It's true that her fighting style is quite different from Ciel-senpai and Arcueid.

In terms of body movement, she is arguably more skilled than the purely power-reliant Satsuki.

Sion Eltham Atlasia is an opponent who must not be underestimated, as she is precise, like a mathematical equation,

continuously making her next move like a Tsume Shogi (checkmate puzzle).

However, for me, that makes her easier to read.

Arcueid, who fights purely on instinct, is paradoxically harder to predict.

"Hup!"

"He sensed Etherlite from outside his field of vision!?"

That's not the only thing.

The Etherlite Sion controls is certainly invisible.

But I have the skill to counter it.

Even without using my Mystic Eyes, I can cut it and discern its movement.

The only problem is the handgun bullet flying at the speed of sound.

I'm dodging by inferring from the direction of Sion's arm and her line of sight, but bullets don't always fly straight.

Rather, their trajectory constantly shifts due to air humidity, currents, and various other conditions.

Therefore, the likelihood of being hit, even if I try to dodge, is high.

And the biggest threat to me right now is only that handgun, which has nothing to do with Magecraft.

Sorry, Sion.

I'm going to destroy that weapon of yours---!!

"What's wrong? You might be able to rob me of my freedom if you shoot my leg, Sion!"

First, I provoke Sion to aim the handgun at me, specifically at a certain part of my body.

This trick would never work on the battle-hardened Ciel-senpai, but with her, I bet...

"~~~Very well!! If you insist, I shall crush that leg of yours."

She took the bait!

As she responds to my words, she lowers the handgun to aim at my leg, not my torso, which is the easiest target to hit.

The trajectory of the next bullet is easily predictable.

Even if she empties the clip, she will attempt to stop my movement by shooting through my leg.

And she will likely assume I will simply continue running across the ground to dodge, as I have been. But I will show her a slight trick here.

"I'll stop that leg of yours—Shiki Tohno!"

Immediately after, a continuous burst of fire.

All the released bullets head for my leg.

If I continued to run straight, my leg would be instantly shot through.

But trying to escape in a zigzag pattern is too slow—so I choose to leap into the air.

"Oooh!!"

I put force into my legs, stomping the ground as if to drive myself through it.

I bend my knees and lower my hips, mobilizing not just my legs but every muscle in my body.

My body groans under the strain of a full day's exhaustion combined with the overuse of my physique in this fight.

My body has been faulty since that day SHIKI killed me.

But the Nanaya blood flowing in me overrides that handicap; a mere leap is nothing!

Instantly, my body soars with a sense of floating.

The height must be about two stories off the ground; I run while kicking off the wall of the building.

Sion must have been completely surprised.

Her long, thin eyes widen, and she stares at me with an expression of shock.

She frantically attempts to re-aim at me and pull the trigger to fire again, but no bullet comes out.

That's because she emptied the entire clip by falling for my provocation just now.

She pulls a fresh clip from her coat and attempts to reload, but she won't be fast enough.

Because before she can, I land back on the ground,

and successfully snatch a piece of concrete debris created during the battle.

"Hah!"

I throw it.

The palm-sized piece of concrete is sucked toward the handgun Sion is holding, striking it directly and shattering it into pieces.

"Wha—"

Sion is speechless.

Her gaze is not on me,

but on the hand that was gripping the now-shattered handgun.

The only projectile weapon left is the Etherlite Sion mentioned.

And now, her attention is directed elsewhere.

The only choice is to close the distance immediately!

I take a breath.

I lean my center of gravity forward,

and store power from my toes to my fingertips.

Then, I exhale.

I release the stored power and dash toward Sion.

"Kuh!?"

This time, I thrust my knife out to destroy the Etherlite, but she narrowly dodges.

Sion tries to retreat and regain her composure, but I stick close to her.

"The performance of his martial arts is faster than calculated and predicted...

Etherlite won't make it in time... I will engage in hand-to-hand combat.

High-speed thought recalculation, limiter release, channeling magical energy into physical reinforcement!"

Unable to escape the knife I'm swinging, Sion abandons her retreat and opts for a head-on confrontation.

...Whoa, dangerous!

"!!"

A simple thrust.

But its sharpness exceeds my expectation.

Just a graze across my cheek sends a tingling sensation through me.

"Hah!"

Furthermore, utilizing the momentum of her punch,

she takes a step forward, immediately following up with a roundhouse kick flying toward me.

The moment I instinctively block it,

I hear a faint creak—the sound of my bones protesting.

If I take this squarely, my bones will shatter!

My body decided faster than I could think,

I jump backward, escaping just before the kick reaches its maximum impact.

"Kuh—haah!?"

But still, the pain remains in my arm.

Fortunately, I can still hold the knife,

but my physical fatigue is only increasing; my breath is ragged, and I feel like I need to rest immediately.

No matter how faulty my body is,

I pride myself on having a physique that wouldn't normally tire from a fight of this level.

However, because this battle is happening after a full day of walking around, the exhaustion is already setting in.

Conversely, she, Sion, appears to have energy to spare.

No, she seems to be recovering, and her power and movements seem to have improved compared to earlier.

I know the trick behind this.

Because this is what Satsuki learned and uses.

"Magecraft."

"That is correct, Shiki Tohno. Indeed, your technique is outside the scope of a normal person. However, we who learn Magecraft—Magi—are also outside the scope of normal people."

Sion affirms my whisper.

A Magus—borrowing the words of the novice Magus Satsuki—is a "lineage that endlessly passes down a curse-like tradition to their descendants, even knowing they will never reach the truth of this world."

The goal of a Magus is to reach the Truth of this world, the Root.

Their raison d'être is to continually research how to reach the Root.

However, it's a curious story.

Indeed, to borrow Arcueid's words, they are a "group of scoundrels who will use any means necessary for their research."

For example, Necromancy, by its nature, requires a large number of corpses, and apparently, they gleefully collected bodies every time a conflict or massacre occurred.

Also, they do not hesitate to sacrifice their relatives or others for the sake of their Magecraft research.

However, Ciel-senpai, who is on the side of eliminating Magi who have gone too far down the path of villainy,

had flatly stated that people would not willingly come to Misaki Town because of the presence of dangerous individuals like himself (a Demon killer) and the head vampire, Arcueid.

"Hey, you. Um, is it okay if I call you Sion?"

"Are you stalling for time? Unfortunately, the future where I defeat you will arrive before the Executor and the True Ancestor Princess do."

"Ah, no. That's not it.

Why did you specifically come here?

I know it's rich coming from me, but aren't you afraid of Ciel-senpai or Arcueid?"

"..................."

Because, no matter how much of a Magus one is, life is precious, and they supposedly wouldn't dare to take such a risk.

Yet, Sion.

Sion Eltham Atlasia came to Misaki Town despite knowing the danger.

Despite the high probability that her research results would be scattered, and she might die without passing on her achievements to her descendants.

And after a brief silence, Sion spoke plainly.

"...Either way, the time I have left is short. If I let him escape here, it will be several years before he appears again. By that time, the possibility of me retaining my sanity, of still being myself, is extremely low."

"The possibility of retaining your sanity is low?"

She has little time left,

and additionally, the possibility of retaining her sanity is low.

I've heard ominous words that exceed my expectations.

And from Sion's tone, the rumored vampire must be an adversary with a personal history.

I want to know what kind of relationship she has with the rumored vampire, and what is driving her to such urgency.

"Well, in that case—"

In that case, there's no point in fighting here.

My goal is just to find and defeat the vampire.

Sion's goal also appears to be to defeat a vampire.

So I put away my knife and extended my hand to her—

"That's right, you left the Atlas Institute for that reason. But it's futile. This time, I will complete the Sixth Magic."

A third person's voice was heard.

Sion and I turn toward the direction of the voice.

A long, silver-haired woman stood silhouetted against the moonlight.

Her skin was as white as snow, and her appearance was more like a doll than a human.

What's more, her eyes were the same vivid vermilion as Arcueid's.

The white coat she was wearing made her look like a snow spirit—a beautiful woman stood there.

But the blood flowing in my body is warning me despite the beauty before me.

I found myself holding my knife and my hand was already near my face to remove my glasses.

"Impossible! It's too soon for you to appear before me! This is completely outside the calculations, and what is the meaning of that form!!"

"Oh my, it seems my descendant is still immature. It is common knowledge that reality is like a constantly fluctuating random variable. Therefore, we of the Atlas must conduct our future measurements taking that into account."

The woman chuckles at the visibly emotional Sion.

However, I get an unsettling feeling that her inner self and her outward appearance don't match.

"Nonsense, guu—gaaah!!?"

"Sion!?"

Sion suddenly clutches her chest in pain.

Forgetting that we were just fighting, I rush to her side.

"Sion, hang in there! Sion!"

"A—"

I grab Sion's shoulder, who is crouched on the ground, enduring something, and forcefully pull her up.

Her face was terrible.

Sweat was pouring down, and her breathing was ragged.

Her eyes were unfocused and wavering.

Her refined face was trembling, seemingly about to be crushed by terror.

"Foolish. Did you really think you could remain sane in my presence?"

The silver-haired woman sneers at the sight of Sion.

"It will be easier if you just accept it, Sion."

Saying that, the silver-haired woman spreads her arms in a welcoming gesture.

I don't need to think to know that it is not for Sion's benefit.

So I stand up and point my knife at the woman.

"What is it? Are you going to interfere with me?"

"Huh, interfere? No way, vampire?"

The woman tilts her head.

No, given Sion's state, it's certain that the woman before me is a vampire.

In that case, what I need to do hasn't changed.

Rather, I can finally say I've returned to the starting point where I've spent the whole day.

"I'm just going to dismantle you—who is trying to do something awful to Sion."

"Heeh, what incredible killing intent for a human. I knew it, but you are truly amazing. Very well, an imaginary number is an unnecessary element always excluded from a real number. I will eliminate you here and begin the reenactment of that war—!!"

I run toward the sneering vampire before I can even complete my next sentence.