Story ~Fading World -9~

《9》The edge of the sinking world

Hayato was confused.
That aura of Mukai's was undoubtedly the same quality as the
residue left at that scene.
Moreover, its intensity was overwhelmingly
incomparable to anyone he had seen before.

In the first place, ever since he became conscious of this "Insight,"
he had not yet properly seen a Mage.
Therefore, he did not even know the criteria for how much or what shape
something needed to be to be judged as a Mage.

Even so, Hayato felt something akin to certainty that Mukai was a Mage.
And at the same time—he also sensed that he was a being with a completely different vector than their own.

The first period was "World History Exploration" taught by Mukai.
At that time, he would check that "aura" again—
Hayato told himself, trying to calm his racing heart.

However, it was a different teacher who entered the classroom just before class.

“Regarding Mr. Mukai, he was standing at the school gate this morning, but
he complained of feeling unwell afterward and has taken the day off.
Therefore, I will be in charge of the first period.”

Hayato was stunned. —Did he notice?
No, that shouldn't be possible. No one knows that he can use "Insight."

Is he really feeling unwell?
Or... does that kind of aura appear when one is feeling unwell?

These were all just speculations.
He could just check another day—
Hayato, feeling as if he had been let down,
decided to stop thinking about it for now.

——Dismissal time.

The rain had intensified even further.
When he looked at his smartphone, a LINE message from Koharu had arrived.

“The rain is coming down hard, so why don't we study together at the library?”

It was an invitation he had received several times before.
Hayato replied with an "OK" and returned inside the school building.

The moment he finished climbing the stairs to the second-floor library, a sense of unease washed over him.

—That's it.

His intuition told him.
And at the same time, a slight chill ran through his entire body.

Hayato looked around.
It should have been the school building he was used to, but it wasn't.
Only his own footsteps echoed in the silent hallway.

His heart began to beat faster.
Is this an enemy's trap? Is it an ally?
In the first place—who is an ally to me?

His thoughts became chaotic, and his composure began to fade.

The next moment, I felt something strange behind me and reflexively dove forward.

Crack.

A dry sound echoed. However, Hayato was unharmed. But he felt a sensation of air passing through the area around his back.
He immediately regained his stance and looked at the shape that was beginning to fade.
Hayato recognized that magic.

--This magic is...

Sweat beaded on his forehead. If she were an enemy--
But he immediately realized that thought was a groundless fear.

Mukai was standing in front of the fallen Hayato.

"Nakamuraaa~"

Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked as if she had already lost her sanity.

"Teacher..."

The scenario he least wanted to happen had come to pass.
Hayato clicked his tongue in his mind.

Mukai opened her mouth, grinning.

"So, I hear you can see magic."

Hayato was shocked.
Only Sano, his father, and his mother should have known that.

"You have the look of someone wondering who the traitor is.
I wonder who it could be... Heh heh heh..."

Mukai continued, as if to stir up Hayato's heart.

"You know this space well, don't you?"

Spreading her arms, Mukai added more words with the expression of someone in a superior position.
Hayato retorted to the self-satisfied Mukai.

"Teacher... that vulgar way of laughing is for low-lifes."

He kept a poker face, and even managed to show a slight smile.

"You bastard!!"

Mukai's face turned bright red as he glared at Hayato.
Hayato clearly "saw" that change,
and ran toward Mukai, weaving through the spots where the magic was being triggered.

A series of "crack" sounds echoed behind him.
Passing through them, Hayato slammed his full-force punch into the tip of Mukai's nose.

"Gah!!"

Mukai was blown away by the unexpected counterattack, but
he quickly regained his stance and, this time, stared carefully at Hayato.

"Tch."

Hayato clicked his tongue.
If only it had ended with that—
no, it was a blow he had intended to finish it with.

Mukai stood up in silence, touched his nose, looked at his own blood, and then
with a "...whew,"
he appeared to steady his breathing for just a moment.

"To think that a brat who can barely even use magic
would inflict a wound on my body.
Don't you think that's a bit too rude...?"

Unlike his crazed tone from just moments ago,
Mukai's voice was now detached and calm.

"For people like you who 'have nothing' and 'can use nothing'
to raise a hand against chosen Mages like us...
don't you think you should know your place?"

The words themselves weighed heavily upon him.
Elitism—that is the kind of thing Mukai is talking about.
Is he approaching this situation with the mindset of a 'hunt' or something similar?

"Even those glasses-wearer and that woman, despite being Mages,
talking about protecting the peace of scum like you...
it's annoying."

Is he talking about Sano and Amamiya?
Hayato pictured their faces in his mind.

"Teacher... was it you who killed Amamiya-san?"

Mukai's eyes twitched for just a split second.

"Ah... that woman in the park... I suppose so. My—"

The moment he started to speak, a distortion in space appeared before Hayato's eyes.
Hayato reflexively leaned back and rolled backward to dodge.
An invisible fang of air grazed the tip of his nose. That magic. Hayato "saw" it once again.

"Tch, I skewered her with this magic of mine."

Mukai continued, casting a look of annoyance.

Hayato felt a surge of intense rage that made his vision turn red, but—
Stay calm—he repeated that to himself, pulling the reins on his own heart.

At this rate, I'm running out of options...
Is there really no limit to how many times magic can be used...?

A sense of impatience slowly spread.

A closed space.
The method of escape is unknown.
I have no weapons here.
If he keeps his distance and keeps firing magic, I'll be checkmated eventually.

A single bead of sweat trickled down his cheek.

"Are you finally starting to see reality?
If I just keep firing magic until you're exhausted,
you'll be skewered before long. Isn't this a simple game?
You're welcome to run, though there's no exit."

Mukai declared this with a smirk, his face showing the certainty of victory like a solved shogi puzzle.

At that moment, the ring on Hayato's right hand suddenly grew hot.

"Ouch..."

Hayato looked at his hand reflexively.
The ring was enveloped in a much brighter red aura than before.
Then, a voice was heard from behind Hayato.

"Too bad, but this is the end for you."

The next instant, Mukai's left leg was blown away.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Mukai let out a massive scream and collapsed.
Everything below his knee had vanished without a trace.

"Sorry for the delay."

Standing there were the three of them: Anekouji, Kizaki, and Sano.

"Eh..."

Hayato stared at the three of them in a daze.
Sano crouched down in front of Hayato and pressed a handkerchief to his cheek.

"Ow..."

It seemed that during the struggle, Hayato had been wounded without realizing it.

"I'm sorry.
We were relying on the ring we gave you...
but we didn't anticipate that you would be moved to a different dimension."

Sano spoke apologetically, yet with gentle eyes.

Kizaki opened his mouth while adjusting his glasses.

“Chief... considering the extent of the injuries sustained,
　I judge it highly likely that someone else is present,
　given that this space has not collapsed.”

Ayanokoji replied briefly to Kizaki's words.

“I know. You, hiding over there. You can come out now.”

Ayanokoji called out toward the other side of the struggling Mukai.
Then, the space distorted, shattered like broken glass, and a single figure appeared.

A blonde man stood there.
He wore piercings in his ears and lips, and tattoos were visible on both sides of his neck.

Even though Hayato thought it was out of place, he muttered in his heart, “What is that...”

“Hey kid, that's not cool. That.
　You're rude for someone I'm meeting for the first time.”

The man raised his voice with a smirk.
—How did he know what I was thinking? Hayato was deeply shocked.

“You two from Public Security, and was it Mr. Sano?
　Nice to meet you all too.
　I am, this guy... hey, what was your name again?”

He said that and looked toward Mukai.

“Amato-san... help me, my legs...”

Mukai, with a desperate look on his face, tried to crawl toward the man called Amato.
And the moment he reached out his hand to grab the man,

“Squelch.”

With a dull bursting sound, Mukai was shattered to pieces.
It was instantaneous. Hayato hadn't even seen the distortion.
And he instinctively looked away from the gruesome sight.

“Disgusting. Don't touch me.
　Though, I guess you can't hear me anymore.”

Saying that, he held his stomach and laughed.

It was different from when he faced Ayanokoji,
a different kind of chill gnawed at Hayato's entire body.
His teeth chattered, and he couldn't stop trembling.

“....
　Well, I've gathered enough data,
　so I'll be heading home for today.”

Amato wore a fearless smile on his lips,
and while waving his hand lightly, he vanished like mist.

At that moment, the surrounding scenery began to crumble.
Realizing he could return to the original world, Hayato finally let out a sigh of relief.