Chapter 212
Luna and Fabella's magical power had turned the surrounding forest area into a wasteland.
In that chaos, Fabella was the one standing firmly on two legs.
She leisurely brushed off the dirt and wood chips that had stuck to her during the battle. She looked more like someone who had been playing mischievously in the forest rather than having fought a battle.
Despite Luna pouring everything she had, she couldn't inflict even a scratch on Fabella.
Luna had exhausted all her mana and lost consciousness while leaning against a tree.
The numerous spirits that had been protecting her also vanished, unable to receive mana supply.
Fabella approached Luna with light steps, her hands behind her back.
She crouched down to meet Luna's eye level and looked at her face.
"..."
Fabella raised her hand. Soon, a blue light appeared in her hand, and a blade-like icicle formed in her grasp.
She slowly, slowly brought the icicle to Luna's neck. Her arm trembled.
"You... don't deserve to fill that empty space."
Luna's nape was pricked by the icicle, and beads of blood formed.
Fabella tightly closed her eyes. In that brief moment, dozens of waves crashed within her.
Her trembling arm finally dropped limply, unable to do anything.
Her desire constantly urged her on, but she couldn't follow through. She knew better than anyone what consequences this action would bring.
"Damian..."
She hung her head and became lost in thought.
***
When Damian's figure simply evaporated before his eyes, Louis immediately surveyed the surrounding terrain.
Irregularly jutting bizarre rocks. And clusters of weeds grown up to the waist. Uneven ground formed by rain and wind erosion. He quickly took in places where Damian might be hiding.
Yet Louis didn't take hasty action. There was no need to, given his advantageous position.
Louis smiled and raised both arms as if inviting an attack, then shouted loudly, "You resort to all sorts of tricks when at a disadvantage. Are we playing hide and seek now?"
There weren't many places where Damian was likely to be hiding.
The area was deathly quiet. Even if his stealth skills were excellent, it would be meaningless on this magic trap.
The magic trap tracks the mana of targets stepping on the ground. It couldn't be escaped through mere concealment.
No matter what Damian did, that magic trap would heat the stones of the earth like fire and make them stick to Damian like magnets.
That was why Louis didn't move hastily.
He just needed to watch where the fireballs were coming from.
And as expected, fireballs generated from the ground started shooting in one direction.
It was behind a huge cactus-like rock about thirty paces away.
Louis smirked. It was amusing to see him struggling with the fireballs, contrary to his confident words earlier.
Louis shouted towards the rock where Damian was hiding, "Isn't it time to stop playing around? What will change by doing this?"
There was still no answer.
Louis quietly walked forward with his blade raised, prepared for Damian to suddenly spring out.
As the distance closed, Louis leaped out at once behind the rock to confirm Damian's position.
"...?"
But Damian, who should have been behind the rock, was nowhere to be seen. Only an unidentified wooden sword was stuck in the ground.
Louis looked at it quizzically, then unconsciously grabbed and pulled out the wooden sword.
"...?!"
Surprised by the unpleasant sensation transmitted throughout his body, he dropped the wooden sword. He frowned and shook his hand as if he had touched something filthy.
"...What is this disgusting sword? What kind of trick is this?"
Just then, a capricious wind carrying a chill swept over the plateau.
With the silence, Louis felt strange and looked around. Damian was nowhere to be seen.
It was strange. Even the magic trap wasn't working, as if it couldn't find its target.
Louis took out pebbles to signal his companions and check if there was a problem, tapping them.
Soon after, his companions hidden in the mist responded by tapping pebbles.
No abnormalities.
Louis muttered irritably, "Stupid fools. Then what's the problem?"
Just then, he heard the sound of gravel being stepped on behind him and hurriedly turned around.
But there was only thick mist there, nothing visible.
It was undoubtedly Damian's presence.
The opponent's position was unknown, but his own position had been exposed. Damian had taken the initiative in the fight. Somehow, Damian was skillfully utilizing the mist as if it were his home.
Soon after, Damian rushed out from a blind spot, cutting through the mist.
Clang!
Louis was no easy opponent. He skillfully blocked Damian's sudden sword strike.
In that situation, with their swords locked, Louis said, "What's with that rootless swordsmanship? Did you perhaps learn swordsmanship from your mother?"
Although he provoked boldly, the impact transmitted to his palm and wrist from blocking the sword strike was so strong that Louis had to grit his teeth.
It was an astounding strength, regardless of what kind of life he had lived. It was on a completely different level from when their swords had clashed earlier.
Louis was pushed back step by step, losing in the contest of strength.
"...What did you do to Luna?"
"Are you trying to dig into our intimate private life?"
"Still haven't grasped the situation?"
"...What the hell?"
Damian extended his foot and kicked Louis' body hard.
Louis, who was pushed back and fell over, hurriedly got up and regained his posture.
And Damian once again concealed himself in the mist.
Louis shouted loudly, overcome with anger, "Come out! You bastard. I'll trample you so you never act up again."
At that moment, a dazzling radiance spread out from within the mist clouds.
The light was so blinding that he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, an unexpected explosion and shockwave engulfed Louis.
He was lifted into the air as if kicked by a giant and crashed to the ground, not knowing what was happening.
Only then realizing the situation, Louis shouted to his companions, "Magic, magic, it's magic! I thought that guy was suspicious, he was a magician! Attack immediately!"
Louis got up. His arms and legs were trembling like aspen leaves, crushed by an unknown pressure.
"W-what's happening to my body!"
He had no time to collect himself. His vision flashed once more, and the ground where he was standing exploded again.
"Aaaaagh!"
Louis was thrown and crashed into the ground once more.
His heart felt constricted as if wrapped tightly in iron chains. He couldn't breathe, and his vision blurred. It was impossible for him to understand why this was happening with his common sense.
Louis shouted to his companions with all his might, "Change of plans! Full attack! Full attack! Kill that bastard!"
Soon after, explosion sounds rang out from far away.
"Help me!"
"Aaaaagh!"
The screams of his companions echoed one after another.
Louis was too shocked to speak. The Drama Club trio was being mercilessly crushed by Damian without being able to offer even a single resistance.
"W-what, what is this."
Louis fell into a state of panic and couldn't take any action.
After several explosions, silence fell again. Only misty fog rippled before Louis's eyes.
Soon after, someone slowly walked out from there.
It was Damian.
When Louis tried to pick up the sword that had fallen beside him with trembling hands upon seeing this sight, Damian kicked Louis' arm away.
"Uwaaaaagh!"
Then Damian grabbed Louis's collar and swung his fist while standing over his body.
Thud!
"What on earth did you do."
Thud!
"For that gentle Luna."
Thud!
"To attack her own club member."
Thud!
Louis's face was covered in blood from his nose, and he could only flail his arms weakly.
"S-stop! I, I lost!"
Thud!
"I'll tell you everything. The investigation information we found out... and about L-Luna too."
Soon after, the shouts of Crude and Icarus, who had fled the battlefield in panic, were heard.
"S-senior!"
"Where are you? Where is that crazy bastard Damian!"
They came following the incessant sounds of impacts and turned pale upon witnessing Louis' miserable state.
"Senior!"
Damian was beating Louis without caring about the enemies appearing behind him.
"You c-crazy bastard!"
Icarus hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to attack or not. Although the fight seemed to be over, feeling like he should do something, he cast a spell towards the defenseless Damian.
Soon after, a fireball was created in the air and rushed towards Damian.
Damian turned his body, grabbing Louis' collar, without even visually confirming the trajectory.
Then he used Louis's body as a shield to block the fireball.
"Kuaaaaaaagh!"
Louis' scream, having taken a direct hit from the fireball, spread in all directions. A large hole was burned in Louis's clothes, and fire spread.
As Damian threw Louis aside and moved to face the remaining two, they slowly backed away.
"We lost, we've lost!"
The remaining Drama Club members completely lost their will to fight and surrendered.
Confirming that the fight was over, Damian calmed his fighting spirit, took a deep breath, and said,
"Where is Luna now?"
Icarus, shrinking as if frightened, fumbled in his pocket and handed him a stitch.
"T-this, if you ask our leader through this, you'll be able to find out."
***
As I approached slowly, muffling my footsteps so as not to startle her, Luna turned her head towards me.
She had already sensed my presence. Luna was so sensitive that I sometimes wondered if she had antennae to detect me.
Traces of a fierce battle remained in the surroundings. Broken tree trunks and uprooted rocks littered the area. It looked as if a typhoon had swept through.
"Damian..." Luna murmured my name as if welcoming me, despite her battered state.
I crouched in front of her and said, "What on earth happened... Was there a war or something?"
"Something like that... I thought I could win, but I guess it was too much."
"Who did you fight?"
Luna thought for a while and then refused to answer.
"...Damian doesn't need to know."
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"...No. I just lost consciousness for a moment because I ran out of strength. That's all."
"Where's your opponent?"
"When I came to my senses, they were gone."
I already knew who she had faced, having been informed by the Drama Club leader beforehand.
It was Fabella.
To overwhelm the most promising student in the Magic Department like this, how strong must Fabella be? For an ordinary second-year student in the Magic Department... her skills were suspiciously strong.
"If you want, I can get revenge for you."
Luna covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled weakly.
"It's okay. I'm not hurt. But..."
Luna opened her hand to show what she had been tightly gripping. There was a ribbon torn to shreds.
"This... was all torn up."
"What is it?"
"The one you used to tie my hair before."
"...As long as you're not hurt, it's fine. I'll buy you another ribbon... no, I'll make you one. Can you walk?"
"Yes."
She tried to get up. When I offered my hand, she timidly grasped just my index finger tightly.
Her legs seemed to have no strength, and she sat back down. It seemed she had exhausted all her energy. All my recovery potions were left in the carriage, and it didn't seem like she would be able to move around in a few hours just by resting.
I carefully asked Luna, "...Do you want to get on my back?"
Luna stared at my face blankly with wide eyes. Then, as if realizing something, she hurriedly shook her head.
"N-no, I'm not ready for that... yet..."
It seemed it was a difficult proposal. She was still uncomfortable even with a man's hand touching her, so having her whole body pressed against someone must be out of the question.
It was an awkward situation. I couldn't leave Luna behind in her exhausted state, but I couldn't wait until she recovered either.
"Then..."
"You can... leave me behind. Your companions are waiting for you..."
"My companions will be fine. However, your companions won't be able to come help you because I left them all half-dead."
The problem was that I had beaten to a pulp the Drama Club members who were supposed to take care of Luna.
If I left her behind, Luna would just be abandoned like this.
If I just left her in this situation, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.
"Right now, you're the most important thing to me."
Luna looked up at me blankly, her mouth slightly open. When our eyes met, she shyly turned her gaze away and fidgeted with her hands.
"Um... I, I also think Damian is i-important."
"How about getting a little more used to it this time?"
"...Huh?"
"We have to move together anyway. Let's try it as practice."
"I don't... think I can."
"Come on, get on my back."
I turned and presented my back to her.
Luna hesitated for a long time, seemingly conflicted inside.
Soon after, she carefully placed her hands on my shoulders and leaned her body against me.
I grabbed Luna's legs with both hands and immediately lifted her onto my back.
"Are you okay?"
"..."
There was no answer.
Had I made a rash suggestion?
Luna's whole body trembled. It was as if she had been thrown naked into a snowstorm.
She was preoccupied with fighting her inner fear.
I stood still, giving her time to adapt. Luna's rough breathing tickled my ear.
"Damian..."
"Yes?"
I thought she was going to ask to be put down, but breaking my expectation, she threw an unexpected question.
"Why... are you... being so nice to me?"
"Because we can fill what's lacking in each other."
"...Does Damian need me too?"
I was lost in thought for a moment.
I needed Luna too.
But I couldn't clearly explain why I needed her.
Perhaps I needed someone to project my past onto.
Wanting to deny the past where I helplessly lost the things I loved
Maybe I was looking for someone I needed to protect with my life to cover the endless nightmares that kept coming.
"Yes."
"..."
Luna's trembling gradually subsided.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and comfortably rested her head on my back.
"Where are we going?"
"After we regroup in a nearby village, I'm going to persuade both the Art Club and Drama Club to return to Eternia."
"...Why?"
Although all our efforts so far would be in vain, there was a reason why we had to do this.
***
In a corner not far from Luna.
Fabella was hiding behind a tree, leaning her body against it.
She waited, concealing even the faint mana emanating from her and erasing all traces.
Damian's presence passed far from Fabella and headed towards Luna.
She eavesdropped on the conversation between Damian and Luna.
"Does Damian need me too?"
"...Yes."
Upon hearing Damian's answer, Fabella slid down as if the strength had left her legs.
Her silver hair swayed silently in the gentle breeze.
She closed her eyes, resting her forehead on her knees as if suffering from a fever.
Hugging herself with both arms, she murmured, "Enough..."