Chapter: 110. Fantasy Demon – Infinity (5k4)
The sunlight pouring down from the hollow above illuminated the grand underground city.
In the silent dungeon, the sound of scales scraping against the ground echoed through the magnificent and solemn corridors.
In a room at the end of the corridor.
A golden-haired little boy sat at a beautifully crafted table, seemingly writing something. The candle on the table flickered with colorful flames, casting a rainbow of colors on a thick, heavy book that the boy had spread open. The yellowed pages shimmered with an iridescent glow, appearing both magical and beautiful.
“Loki—are you still in the mood to send messages? That guy Infinity has gone to trouble the protagonist.” Naga hurriedly arrived in front of the writing Loki, her face filled with urgency.
Loki calmly set down the silver pen in his hand, maintaining his “flawless” smile.
“Well, since it’s something Infinity decided, there’s nothing I can do to stop it.” Loki shrugged, indicating his helplessness in the matter.
“However, perhaps we should give Infinity a bit more confidence? Their era came later than ours, and perhaps their abilities might surpass the protagonist.”
“Hah? Loki? Are you serious?” Naga exclaimed, her eyes wide in disbelief.
“Alright, that was just a courtesy.”
“That idiot, such actions will only increase the protagonist’s vigilance!”
“But maybe it’s better this way. Instead of us relaying the message, letting Infinity personally experience the ‘Thirteen Graces’ might make them more willing to get involved in our plans—” After speaking, Loki picked up the pen on the table again, a faint blue light emanating from the tip as he began to inscribe new words on the yellowed pages.
“Speaking of plans… when exactly should we start acting?”
“Well, in another half month, the female lead will be ready.” Loki smiled and said, “At that time, let’s go greet the protagonist again.”
————————————-
Time rewinds to earlier.
Ark Academy.
District 10, underground training ground.
Shizutou summoned his fantasy spirit equipment, a seemingly ordinary katana that matched perfectly with his unique power, making it his best weapon.
He then turned to the black-haired boy standing in front of him.
The boy’s eyes glowed with magic, while the silver ring on his right hand transformed, revealing a simple silver blade. It was a piece of artificial weaponry manufactured specifically for solo practitioners.
“Is that your weapon?” Shizutou raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but his voice remained taunting.
He had heard that the person who saved Ark Academy possessed claw-like weapons, completely unlike the silver blade held by the person before him.
—Is this just a misunderstanding?
—Or does he not deem me worthy of showing his true skills?
Thinking of this, Shizutou felt a surge of anger rising within him, yet he did not let this rage cloud his mind; instead, he channeled it to invigorate his magic.
He couldn’t quite remember when he discovered that his anger made his magic stronger.
To gain stronger power, he had always controlled his emotions, remaining on the edge of a potential outburst.
“Ahh, I still haven’t awakened my fantasy spirit equipment—” the boy responded while lifting the blade to his chest.
It was a very standard starting stance, indicating that he had learned the techniques of using the blade in a formal manner from someone.
But unfortunately, in today’s ability battles, such basic physical techniques were of extremely limited use.
“At this point, are you still unwilling to show your true abilities?”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“In that case… I’ll force you to use your full strength—” Shizutou raised his katana, its sharp blade reflecting a cold light in the overhead lights.
“Let the match begin—!”
With a word from the teacher nearby, the 5-minute simulation battle officially commenced.
From the very beginning, Shizutou intended to go all out.
The glow of magic flashed in his eyes—
【Acceleration — 3】
Shizutou’s body suddenly surged forward, becoming a blur that was impossible to perceive as he closed in on Kanade.
It wasn’t until the blade in his hand struck against the silver blade held by Kanade, sending sparks flying, that the audience below realized what had happened and gasped in surprise.
“What was that? Instant teleportation?!”
“Is this senior’s power in the space category?”
“No, I feel like it’s more like a physical enhancement, as if he suddenly boosted his agility…”
…
The newcomers immediately burst into excited debates.
Yukino eagerly asked Nagi beside her for her opinion: “Nagi-senpai, you’re an ability user too, right? Do you know what kind of ability this is?”
—Isn’t this a prejudice that all ability users can understand each other’s abilities?
—Does a computer major necessarily know how to fix computers?
Nagi secretly complained in her heart.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the clash between Shizutou and Kanade raged like a storm, the sound of metal clashing resonating alongside waves of shouts from the students.
More and more students overheard Yukino’s earlier comment and turned to Nagi with curious, expectant eyes.
Feeling overwhelmed by their gazes, Nagi could only pretend to be uncertain as she replied:
“Yeah… it feels like it has something to do with time…”
Shizutou Ryou.
The instant he unleashed his ability, Nagi discerned the essence of his power.
Quickly matching her memory of the power list from the original works of the “Star Pull” series, she immediately locked onto his ability—“Acceleration Blade.”
In terms of classification—control type, time control.
“Your intuition is quite sharp.” Leia, noticing Nagi’s reaction, turned her head to compliment her.
“Eh? Is that true? Did I guess right?” Nagi immediately feigned a natural expression, tilting her head.
Acceleration Blade.
At first glance, it seems like a physical enhancement ability, but in reality, its effect is not just to make one’s speed faster—it isn’t limited to merely ‘speeding things up’.
Its true function is to control the speed of the passage of time related to everything concerning oneself.
Speeding up, slowing down.
“Wow! Wh-what just happened? Why does it look like the other senior is being attacked by something invisible?!”
“C-could it be too fast to see?!”
…
The students’ gasps drew Nagi and Leia’s attention back to the battleground.
There stood Kanade, continuously raising his blade to resist Shizutou’s attacks, but even though he blocked the katana in Shizutou’s hand, the magic barrier around him weakened as it endured an unknown assault.
“Tsukimi Kanade, is this the extent of your abilities?” Shizutou revealed an arrogant grin, quickly creating distance during one of Kanade’s counters, while the katana in his hand slashed through the empty space behind him—
【Slow — 3】
With the distance widened, Shizutou’s posture opened up, revealing numerous vulnerabilities.
Seeing this, Kanade aimed to close the gap for a counter.
However, the moment he stepped towards Shizutou—
“!?”
The delayed slashes caught up with him then, effectively attacking and causing the glowing magic membrane around Kanade to flash with a dazzling light as its concentration rapidly decreased.
This exemplified the effect of Shizutou’s ability “Acceleration Blade.”
He could control the speed of concepts related to himself, allowing him to hasten the speed of his sprint or attack while also slowing down effects like slashes that had already been created, turning them into time bombs that could effectively attack targets.
He could even control how quickly his wounds healed, acting as a healing type, or slow down the rate at which he consumed stamina or magic, squeezing out infinite stamina or magic within a limited time frame.
It was a very convenient and powerful ability.
Truly deserving of the title of “archenemy.”
“How’s that? Has it finally pushed you to get serious? Tsukimi Kanade.” Shizutou proudly pointed the tip of his sword at Kanade.
“…Truly worthy of two-digit status…?” Kanade silently marveled within.
He then looked at the magic barrier on his hands; judging by its brightness, its concentration should only be around 75% remaining.
From the previous clashes, Kanade experienced a feeling completely different from the battles he had fought before.
Despite not using any abilities, he managed to block all of Shizutou’s superhuman attacks.
This gave Kanade a clear understanding of his current body—it was no longer human.
To become the nemesis of a creature like Chimera, his body had transformed into a monster to some extent.
The traces of the rewriting would permanently exist within him.
Even without using his abilities, he could not return to the way he was before the rewriting.
“I must avoid using rewriting as much as possible… otherwise my body…” Kanade felt grateful that the target of his first rewriting was Chimera. Thanks to Chimera’s incredibly strong overall combat power, aspects of his own body had improved, unlike when facing Nanjo Akane, where he was a lopsided student.
“After all, just playing defense won’t lead to a tie…” Kanade glanced at the timer over the battle arena.
Three and a half minutes remaining.
In this one and a half minutes, while he had blocked all of Shizutou’s accelerated attacks, he had eaten nearly all of the delayed strikes.
It seemed his ability to learn hadn’t improved merely because he countered Chimera.
Facing Shizutou once again, Kanade raised his blade.
“Well then, as you wish, I will show my true abilities.” A slight smile inexplicably crept onto Kanade’s face.
—For what’s next, it’s enough to make it seem like he has given his all and fought to a draw, right?
“Great! Show me your true strength!” Shizutou replied excitedly, preparing to attack again.
—So, what ability should I use?
Kanade initially thought about entering that instinctual state, but Kurokawa had strictly prohibited it beforehand.
It seemed when he entered this state, labeled by Kurokawa as “beast state,” his aura would change instantaneously, causing a large commotion.
—No choice, I guess I have to revert back?
【Acceleration — 3】
Shizutou accelerated his sprint speed once more.
Kanade’s eyes simultaneously shone with brilliant gold—
His consciousness arrived back in that white space.
【Rewind】
His perspective transformed instantly, shifting to an overhead third-party view.
From this angle, Shizutou’s attack became crystal clear.
Although it was the same speed as before.
This time, Kanade didn’t choose to raise his blade to block; instead, he merely tilted his body with the least motion, effortlessly dodging, and in return, striking Shizutou with a blade.
The magic membrane immediately flashed with light.
“Wow!!!”
The newcomers exclaimed in amazement as they witnessed this scene.
The same attack, yet after a declaration, yielded an entirely different outcome.
This satisfied their middle-schooler mentality.
—As expected, dodging looks cooler than blocking, right?
Kanade couldn’t help but think.
But Shizutou wasn’t surprised by this.
Rather, he had expected Kanade to demonstrate a completely different response.
【Acceleration — 5】
Shizutou’s eyes burst forth with the brightest light yet; this was the highest speed tuning he had mastered.
An attack, utterly different from before, rushed toward Kanade.
But the latter seemed unfazed by the varying speeds and raised his blade to block this strike.
Not dodging, but blocking.
This information was a good sign for Shizutou, proving that even with his utmost speed, the opponent could only barely keep up when showing their true abilities.
Next, he would disrupt the opponent’s rhythm—
Shizutou swung his katana again, but this time he didn’t just accelerate mindlessly.
【Acceleration — 5】
【Ultra Speed — 3】
【Slow — 2】
【Acceleration — 5】
【Slow — 5】
Constantly utilizing his powers, he transformed all his attacks into delayed slashes, thereby disrupting the opponent’s rhythm.
This was his commonly used tactic in battles; typically, no opponent engaged in close-quarters combat could withstand this set of delayed slashes.
At the same time, combined with the effect of his fantasy spirit equipment—
Ignoring contact, allowing his slashes to appear within any visual range of an 8-meter radius around himself.
As long as it was within the visible range and within 8 meters, he could hit without regard to distance.
“How’s that!? This is my full strength—”
Crack.
It sounded like something freezing.
“What?” Just as Kanade planned to dodge as best as possible and counterattack.
He suddenly noticed something strange around him.
Colors were fading away.
Everything around was slowly shrouded in a layer of gray.
At first, Kanade believed this was the effect of Shizutou’s ability.
But he quickly sensed a powerful magic fluctuation emerging behind him.
“Hehehe~ I found you, little fish~ little fish~”
A chilling voice accompanied by a dazzling white light came from behind.
It sounded like numerous voices overlapping, as if countless people were simultaneously saying one phrase.
“…A monster? How could that be?” Turning around, Kanade witnessed a bizarre scene.
There were countless rings floating in mid-air.
These glowing white rings were the only remaining color in this gray time, aside from himself.
The sensation of having confronted the pseudo-deity Bai Ling flooded back to him.
Before Kanade could comprehend how the fantasy demon could enter the Ark Academy, which was guarded by ACE.
The entity let out an incredibly horrifying laugh.
“Let me see your strength~” “Though no matter how you look at it, you’re just a little fish~” “Little fish, little fish~”…
Countless particles of light, like petals dancing in the wind, blew toward the seating area below—
“!?” Kanade turned abruptly.
There, he saw Nagi and Yukino, already part of the gray background.
In that instant.
Kanade’s mind flashed back to Ayako’s warning to him—
(“The female lead beside the protagonist will perish.”)
“Damn it—” Kanade instinctively rushed forward, but…
So fast!?
The speed of the light particles was beyond imagination; he couldn’t catch up even if he gave his all.
—Rewriting? No, there’s no time!
Kanade’s brain raced—
—A way, a way to counter this attack…no, wait!
—It’s the method to approach Nagi, got it!
“Rewind—” Time was too pressing, prompting Kanade to shout.
【Rewind】
【Mist’s Authority】
A white mist suddenly appeared before Nagi.
Kanade’s figure emerged from within, black flames morphing into massive claws, blocking all incoming light particles.
“Oh? You… possess quite an interesting power~” “Is that the starting point… a grace? Wow~~~ I didn’t expect—” “—someone would use it this way, puff hahah~ truly just a little fish!” “Little fish, little fish~~”…
The rings before him began to cackle wildly again.
But Kanade had no intention of paying them any mind; instead, he turned to confirm that Nagi and Yukino were safe.
“Eh? Ignoring us, huh?” “Just a little fish~~” “Annoying guys, you should vanish—” “Little fish, little fish~”…
The numerous rings couldn’t finish their words.
A black shadow flitted past them.
A silver blade ablaze with black flames sliced through nearly ten glowing figures.
“Shut up.” Kanade raised his golden eyes, filled with a beastly aura, and coldly declared.
“Who are you? What is your objective?”
Kanade raised his unarmed left hand, black flames coiling around his arm, transforming into another dark blade.
“Protagonist.” “Protagonist.” “Protagonist”…
In that moment, the rings echoed in unison, repeating this term.
This startled Kanade.
To dispel the unease in his heart, Kanade swung his dual blades at the rings before him once more.
Another dozen of rings were destroyed with that blow.
Indeed, Kanade sensed the satisfying feedback through the blades of his hands.
But he found it strange; these rings were exceedingly fragile, akin to soap bubbles.
Even a twig was sturdier than these rings.
Continuously swinging his blades, Kanade sliced through the remaining rings within his sight.
The process was remarkably smooth.
So smooth that Kanade felt he didn’t even need to rewrite this time.
He experienced no resistance or counterattack.
In the blink of an eye.
Countless rings dwindled down to just one remaining.
“Tell me, who are you—” Kanade raised his silver blade, pointing it directly at the ring in mid-air.
“Puff hahah! This expression, do you think you’ve won?” The last ring emitted a wild laughter.
“However, I can answer this question—”
“What?”
“I am the past—”
The ring suddenly began to blur.
No, it wasn’t blurring; it was suddenly splitting into countless new rings, overlapping with one another.
“Also the present—”
Each newly split ring repeated the action of splitting.
“Moreover the future—”
“I am—Infinity.”
“Regeneration… no, these rings are…” Kanade gazed at the countless rings once again appearing before him, arriving at an incredible conclusion.
“You… though you’re a fool, your intuition is quite good~” “Well, even so, you’re still just little fish~” “Little fish, little fish~”…
Kanade’s instincts told him that these rings partly belonged to the past, existing in each fleeting moment of that one minute, and another portion belonged to the future, existing in every moment of the upcoming minute.
Intermingled with black flames, the blade flashed once more.
A large number of rings perished in that strike.
Yet the total count of rings continued to rise.
Kanade killed every ring from each second, yet they would reappear every millisecond, endless—
Just as its name suggested—Infinity.
Fantasy Demon – Infinity.
“What can I do to defeat an enemy of infinity…” Kanade was momentarily at a loss for a solution, aside from the precious times of rewriting.
Meanwhile.
Countless rings simultaneously ignited with dazzling light particles, and the attack surged once more.
