Chapter: 38. Magic Nullification
“In less than one night, you managed to get closer to that Black Flame King, so intimately that you’re on a first-name basis… Truly, you are amazing, Miss Tainon…” Erika looked at her with admiration.
“So, it’s not as you imagine, Erika…”
With Erika’s support, Nagi-on was slowly walking out of the shelter, trailing behind other students who had come to seek refuge.
Along the way, the two lowered their voices to talk in a volume only they could hear.
Erika’s frequent exclamations and expressions of admiration made Nagi-on feel like she was some kind of romance expert who was skilled in playing with men’s emotions—
“It’s not what I think… Could it be that it wasn’t love at first sight!?”
Alright, let’s correct that; she was more like the top star of the escort industry.
Just as Nagi-on was about to make a teasing remark about Erika’s sudden realization, she was interrupted by the latter’s next statement.
“Could it be, has Miss Tainon already shared the same bed with him?”
“Wha—?”
Nagi-on was momentarily at a loss for words.
Hmm? It seems she really had shared a bed with Kanade…
“So… so it’s true! Has Miss Tainon already let him touch… touch her!?”
Erika seemed to have entered a gossip mode with a romantic mindset, her eyes sparkling.
“……”
Wait a minute… Why does it feel like I can’t refute this?
“Wah wah~~~” Erika excitedly whispered.
“That’s not what you think—”
As Nagi-on tried to explain, she was once again interrupted by Erika.
“So, that aloof and cold Black Flame King, is he also tough in bed? Or is he unexpectedly gentle?”
Tough?
Nagi-on couldn’t help but recall her experience when she was forcibly pushed onto Kanade while pretending to be asleep at Tsuki Academy…
Now that she thought about it, Kanade really was quite strong—no, no, why am I suddenly starting to think this seriously?
Nagi-on couldn’t help but shake her head, trying to dispel the images in her mind.
However, her flushed cheeks betrayed her current feelings.
This only intensified the admiration in Erika’s gaze.
It was as if she was saying, “Even though they’ve only known each other for less than an hour, they could talk their way to bed, truly amazing, Miss Tainon.”
“Anyway, you need to calm down first.” Finally seizing the opportunity, Nagi-on immediately adopted a serious expression.
“I was with Kanade the whole time from when we first met until the incident happened, right? There was no time for that sort of thing!”
“Ah, now that you mention it—” Hearing this, Erika seemed to finally come back to her senses.
Seeing that her explanation was effective, Nagi-on hurriedly pressed on.
In the end.
It took her quite a while.
To explain to Erika, this romance-obsessed girl, that her relationship with Kanade was neither “love at first sight” nor anything like that, especially not the latter.
……
……
When they followed the guidance of the upperclassmen from Hoshizuki Academy and finally exited the shelter.
The sea breeze carried the scent of scorched earth, momentarily making it hard to breathe.
The weakened Nagi-on squinted her eyes, shifting her vision from the dim underground passage to the bright outside world.
What greeted her was a familiar yet almost unfamiliar ruin.
The once neat campus avenue was now overrun with rubble and debris; the ground was cracked open with gaping wounds, like torn scars.
The once towering main teaching building now stood as nothing more than half a crumbling wall, swaying precariously in the flames, with twisted steel bars resembling a struggling spider web.
Flames danced beneath the pitch-black sky, with plumes of black smoke rising, obscuring the starry sky above.
The aftermath of this battle was even more devastating than she had anticipated.
Although much of the destruction was a result of Kanade unleashing his power, this might also be the most severe attack the Hoshizuki Academy had faced since its establishment.
—Alice, dd-chan, what exactly are you after…
Nagi-on couldn’t figure out their reason for taking Professor Amakaze; there was no such plot in the original “Hoshi Hikari 2,” so she was at a loss.
But what she knew for sure was that she must find Professor Amakaze as soon as possible to retrieve the fragments of his soul, as well as memories about the list.
Otherwise, when the “One” next descends, this world would be bound to surrender.
“Miss Tainon, let’s head back to the dormitory first.” Erika’s voice pulled Nagi-on’s attention back to reality.
“…Mm.”
Regarding her suggestion, Nagi-on could only obediently nod.
After all, she had temporarily lost her fighting capability and even needed assistance to walk normally.
—By the way, I wonder if Kanade is alright…
—————–
On the other side.
In the medical area of Hoshizuki Academy.
Inside the dim medical pod, the sounds of breathing and the quiet beeping of machines echoed.
Kanade slowly opened his eyes, the world before him momentarily blurry.
He tried to sit up, but felt his body was far heavier than usual, as if something had been drawn out from within him.
“Are you awake?”
A calm voice broke the silence.
When Kanade turned to look in the direction of the voice, he saw the figure of a man with gold-rimmed glasses standing at the edge of the pod, reviewing a holographic report in his hand.
……
……
“I privately had someone activate the medical pod; all the inspection reports about your body are here.”
After switching into the uniform of Tsuki Academy, the man with gold-rimmed glasses handed over the terminal he was holding.
“The device is not connected to the network; what you’re holding is the only copy,” he added.
As Kanade took the device and began to browse the report, his expression grew serious.
“Your magic power, and your abilities, seem to have temporarily vanished.”
The man with gold-rimmed glasses explained.
“Your body is currently in a special state of magic insulation.”
“Neither the magic inside you nor external extraordinary items can connect with you; this is not merely magical exhaustion, but rather resembles a structural disconnection.”
Hearing this, Kanade tried to raise his right hand, attempting to summon the Blade of Life.
But it seemed to validate the man’s claims; he felt no magic within him, nor did the Blade of Life respond to his call.
“The good news is, your body hasn’t been damaged—at least, there’s no immediate danger to your life.”
“The bad news is—you’re now just a plain ordinary person.”
The air grew thick for a moment.
Ordinary person.
How distant a term that was for Kanade.
Once, it was the identity he longed to return to.
But at this moment—this was the worst news.
“But don’t worry, according to this report, this should only be temporary—” The man with the gold-rimmed glasses hesitated as he tried to offer comfort, before finally saying softly in an almost declarative tone, “Just, I’m also not sure how long this ‘magic nullification’ state will last; it could be an hour, a day, or a week, a month, or even—”
He didn’t continue.
But Kanade understood what he wanted to express.
“…It must not be known to others.”
Kanade stared at the screen in his hand and fell silent for a long time before whispering.
If people found out he had now become an ordinary person, his support rate in the Special Circle SEMO and the three major academies would surely plummet; people would lose faith in him—this would effectively eliminate his chances of becoming that “One True Protagonist.”
“Ah, that’s why I told you that from the beginning.” The man with the gold-rimmed glasses seemed to see through Kanade’s reaction and nodded, “What you’re holding is the only report.”
“Thank you,” Kanade replied calmly, immediately deleting the report from the terminal before seriously discarding it.
“What did those invaders do to you?” The man with the gold-rimmed glasses didn’t stop him but instead asked with a concerned tone.
“Your current state is quite rare.”
“No… I will figure that out and report back to you.”
Kanade couldn’t forget the scene at that moment.
He had traced back the Kaurala Box and ended up plunging into endless darkness.
The Kaurala Box had completely failed, and he was struck by a bolt of black lightning, instantly losing all of his magic—
There was no doubt that it was the work of that “One” which the Kaurala Box had constantly emphasized.
But when he came back to his senses, he noticed that experience seemed to have vanished, though the influence of the black lightning still lingered in him.
The world line had traced back to before the darkness descended.
Clearly, the activation of the Kaurala Box’s trace had failed…
So then who traced back the world line?
In this world, aside from himself, the only one with the ability to trace world lines is—
Could it be!?
No, she clearly…
