“…Fujiwara-kun, it seems you don’t know much about the Hyuga family, but from my perspective, I have no choice but to call you lowborn.”
“I get that you want me to stay out of it. I’m an outsider, after all.”
“Glad you’re so understanding. So, will you accept my challenge?”
A challenge Hinata is certain to win—that’s what he must be implying.
Hinata, who has already racked up a substantial number of points, must think he can beat me easily at this rate.
“Calling it a challenge is strange, though. You’ll just stand there, doing nothing, while I hunt the monsters—Activate, Summoning Circle.”
Just to show the difference in our strength, Hinata chose that.
“…Kaito-sama… something about the magic circle’s color…”
“We’ve repeated this many times, haven’t we? Are you getting scared now? You really are…”
“—Abnormal reaction detected in the summoning trap. Please retreat immediately.”
Cipher’s warning. The magic circle behind Hinata shifted from red to a purplish hue—and with a grotesque screech, black liquid started bubbling up.
“A mere ‘Banshee’!”
Kaito spun around, swinging his sword. His magic-infused slash had just decapitated a monster in one blow—but now—
Oooon.
The entity that appeared, radiating pure malevolence, stopped Kaito’s sword with just two fingers.
“Unidentified monster detected…”
“A-ah…”
“What is this? This is different from anything we’ve encountered…!”
Kaito’s two attendants were thrown into a panic. Even Cipher’s voice seemed distorted, as if even this automaton was affected by fear.
It wore purple robes, a mask with an archaic smile like a jester’s, and carried a large scythe on its back—like a grim reaper.
“Guh… let… go… let go of me…”
“Drop your sword and run, Hyuga Hinata!”
“I… I can’t… allow myself to be defeated…!”
The masked jester held back Hinata’s sword with just two fingers of its left hand.
And then, without leaving a trace, its right hand shot out, piercing Kaito’s chest.
“Gwaaaaah… stop… don’t take it… that’s mine… my… aaahhh!”
Something was being drained from Hinata’s body through the jester’s right arm. Watching the scene, I recalled something from my past life—the attack of the most feared monster.
(Is this… Energy Drain…?)
Hinata’s life force, magic power, everything was being drained from him—even the magic in his sword faded away.
Monsters that use this kind of attack, which robs a person of years of effort and sometimes even their life, were said to be enemies to avoid at all costs.
No one could move. There was nothing anyone could do against an opponent that had taken down a Level 15 ‘Holy Knight’ with such ease—but still.
“Stop!”
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. Target’s spatial coordinates will be fixed in place.》
Facing the ‘Purple Balloon,’ I had learned that the skill’s range was broader than I had expected—it could reach the jester from this distance.
“Guh… I… can’t run away… I don’t need your help…!”
As the jester remained frozen, I ran, scooped up Hinata with the help of ‘Weightlifting,’ and carried him over to the magic circle for retreat.
“Both of you, take Hinata and get out of here!”
“But…”
“Just go! You’ll be killed!”
“R-right…”
One of the girls activated the retreat circle, and Hinata’s team disappeared. However, Nanami-san’s team wasn’t close enough to the magic circle, and the teachers wouldn’t arrive in time—I had to buy some time.
“Fujiwara-kun!”
As long as I was using ‘Fixation,’ the jester shouldn’t be able to move—at least, that was the assumption.
Nanami’s warning shattered that expectation. When I turned around, the jester was already right behind me.
(It moved… ‘Fixation’ doesn’t last forever…!)
“—Fire!”
The jester’s body trembled slightly—the single Normal Bullet didn’t do much, but it created a brief opening.
“’Restore’…!”
I reactivated ‘Fixation’ on the jester, tossed a granite boulder chip above its head, and restored it—a massive rock came crashing down with a thunderous roar.
“Kyaaa…!”
“Wh-what is this? Is this also the work of that monster…?!”
“Run, both of you! Get to the retreat circle… now!”
Among the three, only Nanami-san understood the situation—normally calm, she was raising her voice to help her teammates.
(How long will this boulder buy us? No, it’s no good. If I leave it, every student who comes here will be killed.)
—In a dungeon, don’t think about helping other parties.
—Everyone’s here of their own accord. Trying to save them would be arrogance.
That’s what Ryud and Angelica had said. Yet I once got seriously injured because I tried to help others.
—But I think it’s good that someone like Beck is here. Even in such a harsh world.
Sophia had affirmed me. Perhaps because she was a temple devotee who believed in showing love to all.
There is no clear answer.
But I know that, no matter how many times I face this situation, I will always make the same choice.
“Fujiwara-kun, don’t fight! Run!”
I have no intention of dying. There are still so many things I want to do—but if I say that, it might seal my fate.
“Cipher, we’re surviving this!”
“—Understood.”
I approached Cipher, standing at the ready, and checked my remaining magic.
Magic Power: 54/65
(I’ve grown quite a bit… defeating that ‘Purple Balloon’ gave me a lot of experience.)
But it’s still not enough. However—I’ll pour all my remaining magic into Cipher’s ‘Element Cannon.’
“—Starting magic charge. Level 1… 2… 3…”
Hundreds of lattice-like beams of light ran across the large boulder. As the rock shattered, the jester emerged unscathed.
“—Fire!”
“Level 10 Hyper Bullet, launching fire.”
A single shot with the power of ten Normal Bullets—a Hyper Bullet.
Just as it struck the jester, I saw something.
“…No way…”
“I-it’s no use… noooo…!”
The jester had, at some point, taken the scythe it had been carrying on its back into its right hand. A thin membrane of energy shielded its body—deflecting magical attacks.
With a shrill laugh, the jester closed the gap between us in the blink of an eye.
Nanami-san was calling out. Everything seemed to move in slow motion—the scythe was blocked by ‘Fixation,’ but the jester’s right arm continued to reach for me. Energy Drain.
Life Force: 3/60. Magic Power: 0/55.
My vision darkened. I had seen this kind of death before in a dream, and now, I was about to experience it again.
However, when using an Energy Drain attack, the jester doesn’t deploy its barrier.
If I can’t use ‘Restore,’ then I’ll just have to recover my magic—
Magic Power: 30/45.
I bit down on the orb hidden in my mouth. A small ‘Magic Power Recovery’ orb—just enough for my final move.
“…’Restore’…!”
《Void Blast x3 activated.》
If it gets blocked, it’s all over. But I knew the jester had no other emergency defenses besides its barrier.
And—three invisible strikes pierced through the jester from three directions.
Yet, before the light in the jester’s masked eyes faded—
Its right hand moved again, aiming to steal the last bit of life I had left.
