Volume 4 Chapter 6 - Trial of the Moon Part 1
“Hikaru-senpai, will doing this really quicken the magic power recovery?”
“Yeah. I heard about this somewhere before. When fellow Magica Stigma get into close contact with each other, their minds will increase their activity mutually and heighten their magic power recovery.”
On top of the bed in Kazuki’s room, the two took a seat and huddled their bodies together while Hikaru-senpai whispered.
Today is Sunday, the day after their date. Despite the semifinals match that was waiting for Kazuki on Monday, he had consumed a considerable amount of magic power in their date last night.
He could take a break this Sunday, but with only this much time, it would be hard to completely recover.
Thereupon Hikaru-senpai said something about a strange superstition. She came clinging to Kazuki’s side.
Until now, they had passed their time together for quite a while under the pretext of curing the male phobia. But since Hikaru-senpai had the male phobia they never stuck this close to each other meaninglessly like this.
“Senpai said somewhere, where exactly? How vague.” Kazuki murmured shyly.
“Your consumption of magic is my responsibility, so let us both pass this day clinging to each other like this!”
“It’s too late to say this but, can senpai stop looking like that if we are going to cling to each other like this? The truth is, I've been concerned for quite a while, but that appearance is a little lewd you know?”
Today too, senpai was in her usual thin and tightly sticking fit-wear appearance.
“…Actually I have noticed Kazuki is troubled over where to stare. But I’m really happy that you're being conscious of me as a girl.”
“So senpai is actually doing this intentionally!?”
“Yes. I was being obstinate and said that I’m a man, but deep inside I also felt that even though Kazuki was looking at me with that kind of eye…”
Senpai looked down with a red face, she did an unbelievable coming-out .
“…I, I was aroused.”
“Senpai…are you a closet pervert…”
Hikaru-senpai touched her fit-wear covered breasts pointedly to the area around Kazuki’s elbow. Kazuki spontaneously stiffened his body, making senpai peek at that expression with upturned eyes.
“Senpai, weren’t you also saying that you aren't very good on my bed? Right now, you're sitting on my bed though.”
“I was embarrassed so I said that, but actually, I don’t really hate the smell of a boy.”
Now that she mentioned it, senpai had never said that she hated the smell of the bed. She only said that her heart kept beating hard and she couldn’t calm down. Hikaru-senpai took Kazuki’s pillow in her hand and hugged it hard while burying her face in it.
“Rather this smell might become a habit…”
“Wa, please stop it senpai!”
Kazuki forcefully confiscated the pillow from Hikaru-senpai who kept sniffing it.
“I, became unable to understand my condition but…by some chance, do I look like I’m becoming a deviant?”
Senpai, whose pillow was confiscated, lowered her eyebrows and made an anxious face.
Was this so? For a long time, she had killed her feelings as a girl. Senpai, who for the first time had been liberated, now had her feelings completely running wild because she hadn’t found her balance as a girl.
“That's not true, I don’t think a beautiful person like senpai is a pervert at all.”
“Is that so? I’m glad! Then I have a request though, Kazuki. I wonder, could you take off your clothes?”
“…Eh?” Kazuki froze.
“Actually, I have an interest in how the shape of the symbol of a man would change when it got aroused…I was treated as a male but I didn’t have something like that attached to me…that’s why, I wonder if you could show it to me!”
“Senpai is a pervert! Pervert prince!!”
Against senpai, who was coming closer with a red face while trying to take off his clothes, Kazuki reflexively shouted.
“When you say it like that, for some reason, I get excited you know.”
“Please don’t be delighted when you're called a pervert!”
“Of course it’s a joke. By the way, I remembered just now, but I had also heard before about how entering the bathtub together would also stimulate magic power recovery. Why don't we enter together? Take off your clothes.”
“Senpai, you said magic power recovery, but from some time ago, you've just been saying really irresponsible things, right!?”
“How about playing games like usual for a bit then. The one who loses will take off one piece of clothing as the punishment game.”
“Please stop it with the undressing! Rather, if the senpai right now lost two times, then you'll become nude!”
“Whatever is fine. So come on, show me your penis?”
“Hey, use indirect expressions at the very least!”
Kazuki knocked Hikaru-senpai’s head with a snap. Hikaru-senpai said “Ahaha, it’s a joke, a joke” and laughed.
He had the feeling that half of it was serious.
From there, the breasts that kept poking at him from some time ago was pressed at him while Hikaru-senpai said “Breast attack!” and made fun of Kazuki. And then, wondering whether there was no change that happened at Kazuki’s lower half, she kept throwing glances downward. As a Hayashizaki swordsman, Kazuki had to resist by freeing himself from all worldly thoughts. The prince was a pervert in reality.
Heart marks kept flying at him without pause from Senpai, who had been liberated as a girl.
——————
May 20th―The day of the semifinals.
Now that he looked back once again, unexpectedly and also terrifyingly, Kaguya-senpai and Hikaru-senpai had been eliminated on the road to the semifinals.
The only one remaining from the Witch's Manor, who has the chance to grasp the championship, is Kazuki alone.
There was no more uncertainty left about the existence of a dark shadow of someone who was lurking in this battle election. On that subject, the investigation of the students who attacked Kazuki and Hikaru and had been recovered by the Knight Order was supposed to be performed steadily. But there was still no information that had been sent to Kazuki or Headmaster Amasaki.
It would be better if he could understand something but… In any case for now, he should concentrate on winning this semifinals match.
“I should have said it already! A sword without ideology is powerless!”
Going out from the waiting tent and entering the grounds, the moment they faced the opposing team, the Takasugi brothers came pouring disparagements on them.
“Looking at the cowardly face of a bastard like you, I can't see any meaning to your fight! From the very beginning, a bastard like you was a human who entered the Magic Division grudgingly just because an enigma appeared on your hand!”
―The purpose of his fight.
Since he enrolled into this Magic Division, he had the feeling that he kept continuing to think about such matters.
But then he noticed he had already naturally found what was important to him. Then in order to protect those important things, he entered many battles. Right now in this moment too, if he let these guys, Hayashi Shizuka and her partner do whatever they pleased, then his companions in this academy, possibly even a far greater number of people, would all fall into some great predicament; this is something that he understands.
The answer that Kazuki found was also Headmaster Amasaki, who spoke for him in the form of written opinion.
He had no more hesitation in battle. By no means was he fighting without possessing any purpose at all.
“My strength is not something so powerless, just so you know. Enough with the tedious talk, let’s decide that in the match.”
While thinking of his many bonds, Kazuki replied.
“…Fufufu, it’s just as you say. It’s troubling for my leader-dono to be big headed.”
Miyabi-senpai laughed with a low voice. Her fluffy, wavy, silver hair swayed behind her.
“There is no doubt in your strength. That has been proven in your battles until now. It is a different strength that had never existed until now in the Magic Division. However…I wonder about the strength of your heart?”
“…Heart?”
“I’m going to test the strength of your heart, okay? Prove the strength of your heart and make my heart go kyun-kyun too! …Shem ha MeforashI know thy name! Thy name is…Gremory! Become the moonlight that is affection! O goddess who puts a smile on the moon, light the bottom of the heart!”
While the long silver hair glittered and fluttered, Miyabi-senpai’s body was wrapped in light. What floated beside her was <the countess of hell Gremory>. However, she was once known as <the moon goddess Levana>, but it was said that in later years, her existence was repainted.
But as if proving that her essence was by no means stained, Gremory’s avatar floated a smile filled with affection and granted Miyabi-senpai a lovely Magic Dress.
What was created was a rare dress with little exposure rate as a Magic Dress. The Prima Materials that were forming it one by one were releasing spiritual silver light that shined like stars.
According to what he had heard from Kaguya-senpai, Gremory’s strong point was in mental attack and reinforcement magic.
“Shem ha MeforashI know thy name… Thy name is Marchosias. O gallant hell’s bombing beast, spread the contradicting wings on your back, display that longing.”
Miyabi-senpai’s twin little sister, the black wavy haired Shinobu-senpai also performed Access. What was floating beside her was the female wolf with wings made from red crystal Marchosias. The wolf pup that lost its mother and wandered the forest was picked up by Gremory, it was said that she was a beast that received that power and brought up by Gremory.
At first, she was nothing more than a mere wolf. Nevertheless for the sake of Gremory, who was swallowed in a war with the heavens, she built the war exploits of the greatest demon of the sixth realm with furious vigor, <the strongest Demon Beast>. She didn’t even heed king Solomon, only fighting for the sake of Gremory. It was reported in the mythology that her offensive power might be the strongest among Solomon's 72 Pillars.
The avatar of Marchosias granted her contractor, Shinobu-senpai, a Magic Dress consisting of armor that was constructed with mysterious red and blue metal decorated with fur that made the one seeing it think of a Demon Beast’s pelt.
As if to protect those two, the Takasugi brothers moved forward to form the Heaven and Earth Formation.
“Shem ha MeforashI know thy name…Thy name is [Phoenix]…Become a poet that is a magician! O singing bird that plays with reason with its sweet tongue, show that strength in accordance with my life!”
Kazuki’s trusted partner also wrapped her own body with Magic Dress.
As if to oppose the Takasugi brothers, Kohaku and Kazuha-senpai moved forward.
“Then without further ado…Semifinal match, begin!”
The referee teacher announced the start of the match loudly.
The swordsmen clashed against each other in two versus two at the very front. Kanae said before that the Takasugi brothers were nothing great. But even with a glance from Kazuki, he too knew that they were no match against Kohaku and Kazuha-senpai.
That was why the ones that Kazuki and Mio should be aware of were the Ryuutaki sisters.
“”Barrett!””
Kazuki and Mio matched their voices and invoked the attack magic that they were both most proficient in. Their aim was―Miyabi-senpai. In all their matches until now, this team was always using Miyabi-senpai’s [Lunatic Labyrinth] to fight. First, they had to make her unable to use this magic.
The flame bullet went past the Takasugi brothers, directly flying towards Miyabi-senpai.
Those lines of shots were predicted by Shinobu-senpai, who wedged herself in to block.
Shinobu-senpai covered Miyabi-senpai and blocked the bullets using Resist. With excellent Pyrokinesis and Psychokinesis, the heat and force of the flame bullets were killed and the damage reduced.
“Mio, one more shot at the same time!”
“Understood! …Barrett!”
“Glacier Wind!”
With an instant flash, Kazuki matched Mio’s timing and attacked with magic of cold this time.
Simultaneous attacks of flame and cold. …If it was like this, then Resist wouldn’t be able to be used. If she tried to steal the heat of the flame then the consequence was the power of the cold would be heightened.
Even if she chanted a defensive magic, she shouldn't be able to defend perfectly no matter what element she used!
However Shinobu-senpai chanted a defensive spell and invoked it.
“Thy wing granted from Belphegor, O <icicle of flame>! Cover and hide me, become an irrational wall of contradiction! Wings Fall of Flame and IceCross Conflict!!”
From Shinobu-senpai’s back, wings made of red crystal spread out widely, wrapping around herself and Miyabi-senpai. It was something impossible but―those wings emitted heat and cold at the same time.
The bullet of flame and the stream of cold were perfectly blocked at the same time.
While being protected by the wings of red crystal, inside it Miyabi-senpai was chanting her spell.
“Kazuki, if it’s me I can't break through that effectively!”
Reluctantly, Mio moved her target to the Takasugi brothers.
“Understood! …Lightning Line!”
Kazuki chose the magic of Hikaru-senpai which he became able to use recently.
The bow and arrow of lightning pierced the defensive wall of wings. The <electric heat> possessed by the lightning was erased completely by the power of cold owned by the wings. However the <electricity> that flowed through the wings and was transmitted to Miyabi-senpai couldn’t be blocked. On the other side of the wings, the blue light of defensive magic power could be seen.
However it couldn’t obstruct Miyabi-senpai’s chanting.
“Lunatic Labyrinth!!”
With a flash, a light so bright it dazzled the eyes flickered. The light didn’t permit any Resist, it invaded the heart of Kazuki and the others.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
…When he came back to his senses, Kazuki was in a world of pure white. Inside the light, countless images of himself were floating. He soon noticed that he was surrounded by countless mirrors.
He was surrounded by walls of mirrors in every direction.
The mental world of Miyabi-senpai where Kazuki and the others' hearts were dragged into―it was a <labyrinth of mirrors>.
The mirrors that surrounded him from four directions reflected the scenery, putting close-quarters combat out of the question. He couldn’t grasp at all whether in front of him, there was a wall of mirrors or a road to proceed forward.
There were none of his comrades around him. He could guess that the initial positioning of the allies and enemies in this alternate world was controlled by Miyabi-senpai to a certain degree. And then their attempts to regroup would be blocked by these walls of mirrors.
If he didn’t hurry to regroup with his comrades, they would be picked off one by one. This place was a labyrinth with a terrifying time limit.
Kazuki dashed with an impatient feeling, but his face immediately crashed against a mirror.
His current self should be a <spiritual body>, but it felt completely similar to his original flesh and blood body.
Even though it's a spiritual body, it doesn’t seem like he can make anything he likes using his imagination.
The flesh and blood body and the spirit were bound to each other at an atomic level. Something that couldn’t be done in the actual physical body wouldn’t be able to be performed in this spiritual body, both were tied with each other. …Magic should be able to be used just the same as usual too.
From afar―he could hear the scream of Kazuha-senpai.
“Kazuha-senpai!”
He spontaneously ran in the direction of the voice, but the direction where he was running to was a wall of mirrors which Kazuki crashed hard into with his face once more.
Even with the defensive magic power erased it didn’t mean it was painful but…how dare they look down on him with this child’s play!
Kazuki tottered for a step or two and looked around his surroundings, he discerned that this magic couldn’t be torn down with a feat of strength.
Then―with his own magic at hand, how would he break down the deception produced by the mirrors.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
At that time, Kazuha, who was abruptly summoned into this alternate dimension, suddenly found herself standing in front of the Takasugi brothers and Ryuutaki Shinobu, that was why she spontaneously raised a voice of terror. These three people in front of her were a group with scary faces after all.
During the moment when she still couldn’t even grasp the situation, the Takasugi brothers came slashing at Kazuha.
“Kuh…what cowards! Even though I’m not going to lose in one-on-one, to do this kind of thing!”
When Kazuha blocked the attack on one side, she got slashed on the other side. She immediately kept getting hit repeatedly. The mirror world reflected irregularly the blue light that Kazuha emitted from her defensive magic power.
At the same time, Shinobu was chanting a spell. To defend or the like against that was something that Kazuha couldn’t possibly do.
“O lonely wolf wandering the forest, thou art bestowed with moonlight from the goddess. That light is the power of soldiers…change the sharp fang into blade, show that valor! Twin Sword of Beast FangBlade Tusk!!”
At Shinobu’s side, the avatar of a female soldier holding swords in two swords style was floating.
It was said that Marchosias could also take the form of a human soldier.
The avatar of the female soldier vanished in a moment, with only the pair of swords remaining behind floating in the air. As if they were being manipulated by an unseen swordsman, both swords flew at Kazuha.
Counting the attacks by the Takasugi brothers, Kazuha was attacked by four swords in total. Her chance to defend against those swords didn’t exist.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
“Watch out! Kazuha-senpai!!”
With timing exactly on that verge of a desperate situation, Kazuki came running.
“O wisdom piled up in the history of the human race, become the armor that armored my body in many layers! Heavily, thickly, reject every brutality! Seusenhofer!!”
He immediately protected Kazuha-senpai with defensive magic that was effective against physical attacks.
The armor reliably repelled the four swords.
“Ha, Hayashizaki! Thank you!!” A heart mark came flying from Kazuha-senpai.
“…How, to arrive this fast.” Inside Shinobu-senpai’s expressionless face, a look of surprise was mixed.
Kazuki had his body covered with faint wind. It was [Storm Fort] with its output suppressed. The wind that spread and swirled around Kazuki was pushing the walls of mirrors and only flowed into one point of the surroundings.
The direction that the air current indicated―that was the path that the irregular reflection of the mirror masked.
Furthermore, with the help of Leme’s Magic Dress <Solomon’s Ring>, it not only showed the graph of his companion’s positivity level, but it was also equipped with a map function to display the coordinate of his companions that were a target of conquest.
With these two abilities, Kazuki headed to help Kazuha-senpai at full speed.
“We, we are retreating from here!”
“Ou Big Bro!”
He didn’t know which one was the big brother, but the Takasugi brothers quickly leaped into a mirror while raising pathetic voices. Both of them weren't colliding with the mirror, but instead they were absorbed and vanished.
Wordlessly Shinobu-senpai too followed them from behind and vanished as well.
“Kazuha-senpai, we are going to search for Mio and Kohaku and regroup!”
Kazuki took Kazuha-senpai’s hand. It was so they wouldn’t collide against the mirrors, that was all, he didn’t have any other intention. With a little shy expression, she grasped back that hand hesitantly.
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