Deep within the secluded quiet of Evangeline's mountain villa, I drew my breath and centered my consciousness.
I wasn't alone. Eva, Chachamaru, Chachazero, Ayaka, and Chizuru were all gathered, their eyes fixed on me, tracking every shift in my stance, every twitch of my fingers. The air felt heavy with their collective anticipation.
"Arianrhod! Purifying flame that consumes all, lord of destruction and sign of rebirth... dwell within my hand and devour my enemies! Crimson Blaze!"
I channeled my SP into the bracelet on my right wrist, taking painstaking care not to let the floodgates open too wide. If I poured too much of my "monstrous mana" into the device at once, the results would be catastrophic.
In an instant, a colossal inferno erupted around the target Eva had provided—a heavy suit of plate armor. The heat was blinding. In a matter of heartbeats, the steel didn't just glow; it liquified, vanishing into a molten pool beneath the sheer intensity of the spell.
"Hmph. Not bad."
I let out a long, weary sigh as Eva's impressed voice drifted over. Since I had finally set the activation keys for my first real foray into magic, she had taken a sudden interest, even going so far as to offer her villa as a testing ground.
"Well, Axel? How is the bracelet holding up?" she asked, drifting closer.
I glanced down at the silver band circling my wrist. "From what I can tell, there's no damage. It seems stable."
It made sense. This wasn't some cheap apprentice's wand that would shatter after one burst of power; this was a relic from Eva's personal treasury. Even against my absurd magical reserves—what Eva so eloquently called my 'idiot mana'—the craftsmanship held firm.
"Puhuhu! Naturally! It is a gift from me, after all," Eva declared, floating into the air with her hands on her hips. She let out a boisterous, haughty laugh. In that moment, with her chest puffed out and a smug grin on her face, it was impossible to see her as a six-hundred-year-old high-ancient vampire.
"Oh, Master. I am glad to see you in such high spirits," Chachamaru murmured. Though her face remained an expressionless porcelain mask, there was a faint warmth in her voice.
"My, my," Chizuru added with a gentle smile. "Evangeline, are you really that happy that Axel-kun's magic was a success?"
Eva flinched, her bravado crumbling into flustered indignation. "Wh-What is with those looks?! Why are you looking at me like I'm some sentimental child? Especially you, Naba Chizuru! Shouldn't you be focusing on whether you can use magic yet?!"
Her frantic shouting only served to deepen Chizuru's "Holy Mother" smile—a look that seemed to radiate a strangely suffocating benevolence.
"Ugh, you're all impossible," Eva grumbled, turning away to hide her reddening face. "Yukihiro Ayaka! What about you? How far have you progressed?"
Ayaka stepped forward, a confident, predatory smirk playing on her lips. She pulled a beginner's wand from her bag and closed her eyes, her focus sharpening into a fine point.
"Praktice, Bigi Naru... Bloom, O Flame!"
The moment the incantation left her lips, a small but unmistakable flicker of fire ignited at the tip of her wand.
"...What?" Eva blinked, stunned.
"Ho-ho-ho! This, Evangeline-san, is the sheer power of my love for Axel-kun!" Ayaka proclaimed triumphantly.
"Oh, Ayaka... you really are something," Chizuru giggled.
"Oi, oi... are you serious?" Chachazero piped up, her wooden eyes wide as she stared at Ayaka. As a doll who could only move within the villa's boundaries, she had seen plenty, but this was a shock. "It hasn't even been a month since she found out magic was real."
Eva went silent, her expression shifting into one of deep, analytical thought.
"Axel is one thing," Eva muttered. "He has enough raw power to force a spell into existence by sheer momentum, and he's a veteran of a thousand battlefields; he's used to the flow of energy. But Yukihiro Ayaka... she was a complete civilian until thirty days ago."
"Like I said, Evangeline-san," Chizuru offered, "it's the power of love."
"I refuse to accept that as an explanation!" Eva barked. "This isn't a comic book or a movie! You don't just leapfrog over your limits because of 'love' or 'friendship'—it's logically impossible!"
"But Master," Chachamaru interjected, "Miss Yukihiro is, in fact, using magic."
"I am telling you! It is a miracle wrought by my devotion to Axel-kun!" Ayaka insisted.
Personally, I had my doubts about the 'love' theory... but I couldn't deny the results. Even if it was just a basic apprentice spell, she had done it. I'd seen her practicing late at night in her room after Natsumi fell asleep; she was the most studious among us, devouring those introductory grimoires. Besides, aside from her... specific eccentricities, Ayaka was a "perfect" human being in almost every category. It wasn't that surprising that she had an innate talent for this.
"I can't let Ayaka leave me in the dust," Chizuru said, pulling out her own wand.
Eva watched her with a skeptical squint. "Wait. Don't tell me Naba Chizuru can use it too?"
"Praktice, Bigi Naru... Bloom, O Flame!"
Everyone held their breath. We waited. And waited. But unlike Ayaka's success, nothing happened. Not even a spark.
"Oh? Perhaps I still need more practice?" Chizuru tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled.
Eva let out a massive, audible sigh of relief. "Right. That is normal. Being able to use magic as easily as Axel or Yukihiro is what's weird."
"Heh. The Master had a hell of a time learning the basics herself, after all," Chachazero cackled.
"Shut up, Zero! I didn't have convenient 'Beginner's Guides' back then! It was a different era; of course it took time!"
As the master and doll bickered, my mind drifted to the news I'd heard earlier about the visitor arriving at Mahora Academy tomorrow.
"Eva," I interrupted, "I heard a certain apprentice mage is arriving at the academy tomorrow. Have you heard anything about it?"
"Hmm? Oh, that. I was right there when the old man told you about it. Why do you care?"
"The kid's full name... apparently, it's Negi Springfield. Does that ring a bell?"
Eva waved a hand dismissively. "Hmph. Why should I bother remembering the name of some bratty apprentice? Springfield? Wait. Spring... field... Springfield?!"
In a blur of speed that defied her "child-like" appearance, Eva was suddenly in my face. She grabbed my collar and began shaking me with frantic, violent strength.
"Springfield?! Is he—is he Nagi's kin?! Is he related to him?!"
"H-hey! Evangeline-san! Let go of Axel-kun this instant!" Ayaka cried out, rushing to intervene.
It wasn't just the lack of air; being rattled like a maraca made it impossible to get a word out. Realizing she was overreacting, Eva finally let go, looking slightly embarrassed as she smoothed out her dress.
"So," she cleared her throat, "the 'Springfield' boy?"
"Yeah," I coughed, adjusting my collar. "Just like you thought. He's Nagi Springfield's son."
Eva's face broke into a jagged, predatory grin. A low, dark chuckle bubbled up from her throat. "Heh... heh-heh... I see. Is that so? How very interesting. Oh, I'll give him a welcome he'll never forget! Welcome to Mahora, Negi Springfield!"
She was radiating a manic energy that rivaled even Ayaka's usual intensity. Ayaka looked on, bewildered.
"Axel-kun, what's wrong with her?"
"Well, remember how I told you Eva is essentially imprisoned at this school?"
"Yes."
"The mage who put that curse on her was Nagi Springfield. The kid coming tomorrow is his son."
"Exactly!" Eva shouted, her eyes gleaming. "The blood of the father flows in the son! With his blood, I can finally break this wretched curse! No more 'School-Going Hell' for me!"
"...'School-Going Hell'?" Ayaka repeated, sounding flat.
I shook my head. This world was constantly throwing weird magic and bizarre curses at me.
"Wait, Evangeline-san," Ayaka said, her voice dropping into a serious tone. "I heard the boy arriving tomorrow is just a child who only recently graduated. You wouldn't... you wouldn't do anything truly cruel to a small child, would you?"
"Kuku... who knows? After all, I am an evil mage."
Knowing Eva, she was mostly posturing. She wasn't the type to actually murder women or children, no matter how much she tried to act the villain.
"Kekeke! Play the villain all you want, but you're as easy to read as a picture book," Chachazero jeered, pointing a tiny knife at me. "Just like this guy."
"Sister," Chachamaru asked, "is the Master lying?"
"Little sister, you've still got a lot to learn about life."
"I suppose so. After all, I have only been 'alive' for a little over a year."
I spun around, staring at Chachamaru in genuine surprise. She simply tilted her head, meeting my gaze with a curious blink.
"Axel-san? Is something wrong?"
"...No. Nothing. I just forgot for a second."
Compared to someone like Echidna, Chachamaru's emotional range was still developing. But Echidna was the pinnacle of technology from the Super Robot Wars world—created by Lemon, one of the greatest minds in a hyper-advanced civilization. This world, by comparison, was technically primitive. The fact that they could create a being like Chachamaru with such "backwards" tech was a testament to the sheer cheat-code power of magic.
"In that sense, magic really is an incredible technology," I muttered.
Eva caught my whisper and looked at me curiously. "What was that?"
"Nothing. Anyway, about Negi Springfield... at least go easy on the kid, alright?"
"We'll see. It depends on my mood."
"Evangeline-san!" Ayaka barked.
"Now, now, Ayaka," Chizuru interjected smoothly. "I'm sure Evangeline-san wouldn't actually bully a child."
"Hey, Naba Chizuru! This isn't about 'bullying'! It's about breaking my curse—"
"Evangeline-san?" Chizuru's voice was sweet, but she began to radiate an invisible, crushing pressure as she stepped toward the vampire. "Surely a six-hundred-year-old vampire wouldn't dream of tormenting a boy who hasn't even hit puberty, right?"
Eva faltered. Even she wasn't immune to the "Chizuru Pressure." But this was her best chance in years to escape her confinement; she wasn't going to give up easily.
"Why don't you talk to the Dean?" I suggested. "He's an old fox. Maybe he can find a way to solve this that doesn't involve bloodletting."
Eva scoffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "Hah! Three years after I was cursed—when Nagi was supposed to return and free me—the old man tried everything. He brought in master mages, ritual specialists, magical artifacts... nothing could touch the power of the man they called the 'Thousand Master.' If they couldn't do it then, what makes you think they can do it now?"
"But Negi Springfield is important to the mages of this school, right? Probably more important than a sealed vampire."
Eva's face soured, looking like she'd just swallowed a lemon. She knew I was right. While the Dean and Takahata were friendly toward her, the rest of the magical community likely viewed her as a ticking time bomb.
"So? What's it going to be?"
"Fine," Eva grumbled. "For your sake, Axel, I'll grant the old man one audience to discuss terms. But that is the absolute limit of my patience."
"That's fair. Honestly... if my mana is truly greater than the Thousand Master's, I wish I could just break the curse for you myself."
"Impossible," Eva said flatly. "Your 'idiot mana' might be leagues beyond Nagi's, but you have zero finesse. You're swinging a sledgehammer when you need a needle. And besides, just like me, you have absolutely no aptitude for healing or restoration magic."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Aptitude usually mirrors personality. Look at yourself, Axel. Deep down, do you see yourself as someone meant to heal... or someone meant to destroy?"
I went silent. The logic was annoyingly sound. "If it's based on personality... then yeah. I'm built for the attack."
"Exactly. It's not a bad thing; I'm the same way. Now, take Naba Chizuru over there. She's clearly suited for healing and support rather than direct combat."
"That fits," I agreed. Chizuru had been hesitant about me learning offensive magic from the start. She was essentially a walking personification of maternal instinct.
"What about me? What is my aptitude?" Ayaka asked, leaning in with genuine curiosity.
Eva looked her up and down with a mischievous glint in her eye. "In my purely biased opinion? Yukihiro Ayaka... you're a 'Jack of all trades, master of none.' You can do a bit of everything, but you'll never be a specialist."
"'Master of none'?! I will not accept this! I refuse to be mediocre!" Ayaka shrieked, her voice echoing through the villa.
"I said it was biased!" Eva shouted back.
And so, the day before the arrival of Negi Springfield drew to a close, punctuated by the high-pitched screams of a girl refusing to be anything less than perfect.
Name: Axel Almar
Level: 38
PP: 625
Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272 | Defense: 272 | Evade: 302 | Hit: 322
SP: 462
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Enhance Slime performance via SP consumption)
Growth Type: All-Rounder / Special
Terrain: Air: S | Land: S | Sea: S | Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate (4 SP)
Effort (8 SP)
Focus (16 SP)
Direct Hit (30 SP)
Awaken (32 SP)
Love (48 SP)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9, SP Regen, Concentration)
Telekinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
Infight Lv.9
Will Limit Break
Geass (Gray)
Magic (Fire)
Magic (Shadow)
Magic (Summoning)
???
???
Total Kills: 376
-------------------------------
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