Chapter 6: Vol.1 Ch.6: Consumed by Flames

-Chapter 6-

            “Thank you for your hard work, take care on the way back to the dorms.” Kanna was seeing off the volunteer computer club members who were assisting with restoring the security camera’s network. Apparently, the big issue was a lot of missing and broken data on the computers, so it took a while to get everything back to how it was before. The computer club was skilled, but they weren’t exactly familiar with the structure of how the security programs were built, which is why it took most of the day to restore it.

            Regardless, hours of potential footage was lost because the cameras just weren’t operating at all after the program was broken. There was no recording for the timeframe when the patients would’ve disappeared. Regardless, Kanna was determined to stay and browse the existing footage for just a little longer to find any kind of clue she needed.

            “It seems the culprit has perfectly covered their tracks this time…” Kanna sighed, as she watched the screens. All kinds of footage played forwards and backwards at increased speeds, but without anything from the time of the incident, there likely wouldn’t be anything of note.

            “Hm? Hold on…” Kanna stopped one of the recordings. She thought nothing of it at first, but refocused on it to make sure. She rewound the footage and watched it play back.

            “What is that person doing… there?” Kanna was perplexed. Someone in the video was in a place that felt strange to her. But why?

            Kanna thought. With all of her might, she thought hard. What was that person doing in that place?

            “No, that is…” when Kanna saw what that person was carrying, a terrifying realization occurred to her. It was something she’d vaguely considered, but had prayed that she was wrong about.

            “But why…? What the hell… is this?!” Kanna slammed the desk with her fist.

            This was no time to be sitting around watching recordings. Kanna Kawagoe realized she would have to act fast to resolve this situation.

---

            “Ah, that must be Kanna.” Yuko muttered to herself, glancing over to the doorway. “Guess it’s time to head out.”

            Yuko had just recently finished eating dinner, and was spending some time browsing the school’s internet while she waited for Kanna to come get her for their patrol that night. It was a relatively relaxed evening for her, but things were about to take a turn.

            After closing the browser and shutting off the computer, Yuko got up and walked to the doorway. Opening the door, sure enough, Yuko found Kanna standing on the other side.

            “This is bad! We must move quickly!” Kanna urged quietly, trying not to make too much noise.

            “Wait, what? What happened? Did you get the cameras fixed?” Yuko was taken aback by the sudden urgency.

            “Yes, I shall explain on the way.” Kanna answered. “But more importantly, Chisa Ando is missing!”

            “What?!” Yuko was shocked.

            Realizing the gravity of the situation, Yuko quickly got ready and left the dorms with Kanna in a hurry. The two were now walking at a quick pace down the street as the moon above illuminated the dark sky.

            “So what’s going on?” Yuko asked. “What do you mean Chisa’s missing? She was with us when we came back to the dorm!”

            “When I returned to the dorm, I tried to find her to ask a question, but she was nowhere to be seen around the dorm facilities, nor was she in her room.” Kanna explained. “I checked the computer at the front desk, and there was a record of her leaving the dorm on her own. She must still be out here trying to search.”

            “But why would she…?” Yuko knew Chisa was concerned about the missing patients, but she was troubled that Chisa would go out like this when it’s dangerous. Then again, it’s not like most of students actually knew the truth behind the ‘animal attacks’ going on. Most didn’t particularly take the curfew seriously, even though they abode by it.

            “I do not know.” Kanna shook her head. “But if things have gotten truly bad, then we may find her at our destination.”

            “Wait, where are we going anyway?” Yuko suddenly realized she didn’t know where they were headed. She’d followed Kanna down the streets, but now they were heading east and had just gotten to some woodland trails near the foot of the mountain.

            “We are going to the secret location I mentioned this afternoon.” Kanna explained.

            “Oh, right! You did mention something like that.” Yuko recalled Kanna mentioning some secret place that hadn’t been searched yet earlier, and how it’d have troubling implications if the missing people were found there. “Are you sure we’ll find anything there, though?”

            “Before, I had only considered it a slight possibility, but...” Kanna grimaced. “Now, whether we find them there or not, I believe we are sure to find something there…”

            Yuko simply nodded in response.

            The two continued to follow the path of the mountain uphill. Eventually they left the main trail and were cutting through some bushes before arriving at a cliff-face. Kanna stopped in front of the stone wall.

            “Is this where we were going?” Yuko asked, somewhat confused.

            “Correct. This way.” Kanna slowly paced along the side of the stone wall before them. Yuko followed behind her.

            Soon, the two arrived at a strange dip in the face of the cliff, and turning into it at a certain angle, a small pathway leading inside was revealed. It was a cave. Slightly hidden from view, it would be difficult to notice from the outside.

            “Whoa, I didn’t know there was a cave out here.” Yuko was surprised. There had been times students would come out to these woodlands around the mountains, whether to relax, exercise, or camp. But she’d never heard of there being a cave anywhere around here.

            “The arrangement of the rocks makes this path difficult to notice. But once you know of it, it is not difficult to find.” Kanna slowly set foot into the cave.

            “You sure it’s safe down here?” Yuko asked, worried.

            “Rest assured. I know this area well.” Kanna replied.

            The two walked through the rough interior path in darkness until suddenly, after taking a few turns, they’d ended up in an area unlike anything in the cave up until then. The floor and walls were all paved, turning into a proper man-made walkway. The walls were adorned with torches, lighting the way.

            “Wait, what is this place?” Yuko realized this was no mere cave.

            “On the last day of every month, my partner and I come to this place.” Kanna started to explain. “As magic knights, it is our duty to regularly report on our activities in this world to the High Priest. This is the objective of our Special Task Force: to study and understand the way of life of the people in this world.”

            “So that’s what this is all about…” Yuko still had trouble wrapping her head around the whole ‘other world’ aspect of what she’s learned from Kanna. Still, she did her best to follow along and take Kanna at her word. “So that means this place is…”

            “Right.” Kanna nodded. “This underground chamber is where we materialize the Gate each month. It is like a doorway to our world, wherein we can communicate with the High Priest. Other than our monthly reports, we often exchange goods and letters from friends and family as well. Anything we require from our world, we make sure the High Priest can get to us. In turn, we offer up anything of interest from this world to them.”

            “I see…” Yuko began to understand. “But… why here, though? Why are you and your partner here at Starlight Academy? Compared to the world at large, this is a pretty closed-off community.”

            This was one of the main things Yuko had quietly wondered about ever since Kanna revealed her identity. Why here? The world is a big place, and the small closed-off community inside the school known as Starlight Academy was just a tiny part of it. In a sense, the place was like a glorified orphanage, but instead of being adopted and taken away, the children instead grow up independently in the school’s enclosed community, only leaving for the world at large once they reach adulthood and graduate.

            If the people of this other world were so keen to learn about this one, why send people to act as students in such a closed-off environment?

            “You are correct.” Kanna shrugged. “If I were to give a simple explanation, I would say this isolated community is advantageous. Like an easy stepping stone to understanding the basics of life in this world, without the risk of venturing out into larger society and inadvertently causing a large-scale disruption.”

            “I guess that makes sense.” Yuko thought, though still not entirely convinced.

            “Heh… Though, there is a simpler explanation.” Kanna gave a wry smirk. “The fact of the matter is, Akihito Hoshikage was the first person from this world to make contact with our world, Alviquan.”

            “Wait, you mean the founder of Starlight Academy?!” Yuko was surprised.

            “Correct.” Kanna nodded. “He and his four district managers are 100% aware of the existence of Alviquan. They are also the ones responsible for allowing my partner and I to enter this school for our mission. It is all just a convenient deal this school formed with the church and royal family in Alviquan.”

            The two had been walking rather slowly since Kanna began explaining the location and her relation to it, but both now stood before a large door at the end of the passage.

            “I am afraid our chat must end here.” Kanna grimaced. “If I am correct, the culprit is inside.”

            “Wh-what?!” Yuko tried to whisper. “Why would the culprit be here?”

            Kanna looked at the ground, clearly displeased.

            “Listen, Yuko Maeda…” Kanna looked Yuko in the eyes. “I really should not have brought you here, but considering both you, and perhaps your friend, are involved, I felt it only right.”

            “Kanna…” Yuko whispered, as Kanna placed her hand on Yuko’s shoulder.

            “I have chosen to believe in you, and the potential you hold inside.” Kanna’s eyes narrowed. “That means you too, the one inside. Please, believe in me as well.”

            “???” Yuko didn’t entirely understand what Kanna meant.

            But Kanna wasn’t speaking only to Yuko. She was speaking beyond Yuko Maeda, to the ‘other Yuko’ inside. It was a big risk. The last time the other Yuko surfaced, it had clearly declared its intention to kill Kanna. Even now, that motivation could still exist. Kanna knew this, yet she still chose to bring Yuko here.  Straight to where she believed the true culprit was hiding.

            Turning back toward the large door in front of them, Kanna slowly placed her hand on it, and began to push it open. Slowly, a large room on the other side came into view. Much like the hall, it was a clearly man-made space. A large round table circled by chairs was in the center of the room, and various boxes lay scattered along the walls. On the ceiling, a basic chandelier was lit, illuminating the room in light from above. But most noticeable of all was the large mirror fixed on the opposite side of the wall. The room gave off a rather grand vibe, despite there not being much inside.

            However, as the two set foot into the room, they both realized there was more inside than there first appeared. Five students lay against the right-side wall, all wrapped in vines. They seemed unconscious. And the person standing before them, magic crystals in hand, was a familiar person: the teacher, Karuto Taniguchi.

            “M-Mr. Taniguchi?!” Yuko was stunned. But just by seeing what was happening here, she realized what was going on. “Y-you’re the one behind all of this?!”

            “Oh dear.” the man with the cold glare turned toward Yuko. “So you’re here too, Maeda…”

            “Why… why are you doing this?” Yuko nervously asked, while glancing at her friend Chisa, who lay unconscious and wrapped in vines like the rest.

            “Hmph.” Taniguchi turned his attention away from Yuko, as if he didn’t care to even talk to her, instead directing his gaze at Kanna. “You truly are reckless, Crygahl... bringing that girl to a place like this.”

            “Wait, that name is…” Yuko gasped, looking over to Kanna as well.

            “… What is the meaning of this?” Kanna asked quietly, her fist trembling.

            “Hmph. I don’t expect a mere dog of the royal family like yourself to understand my reasoning at all.” the indifferent teacher merely shrugged her off.

            “I asked… WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, KURT TORKALV?!” Kanna shouted in an angry fury.

            Between her anger, and the sudden mentioning of the name ‘Kurt Torkalv’, Yuko put the pieces together and realized what was going on here.

            “Wait, is Mr. Taniguchi… that partner you always mentioned, Kanna?” she asked.

            “Yes.” Kanna began moving toward him, step by step. “This man is, or rather, is supposed to be, a magic knight for the kingdom of Alviquan, just like myself. So I ask once more… What are you doing?!”

            “Hehehe.” Taniguchi laughed in response. “This is simply an experiment, Crygahl. Must I explain myself?”

            “You know damn well that revealing our power to outsiders is prohibited. Let alone whatever this is!” Kanna took another step toward her traitorous partner, pointing at the five victims lying against the wall.

            “Furthermore…” After a few more steps, Kanna now stood directly in front of him. “What is a wood magician like yourself doing making use of magic beasts like some kind of beast tamer?”

            “Hehehehe…” the man’s cold face warped into a grin as he continued laughing. “Why, I could answer you in words… But I prefer to lead by example.”

            “Wha-?!”

            It happened in an instant. Kanna soon found herself flung to the ground after a punch landed directly in her face.

            “Huh?!” Yuko was baffled by what she’d just seen.

            The one who punched Kanna was not the scheming teacher in front of her. It was one of the five patients. A male student was on his feet, standing still right after punching Kanna. But his face, rather, his eyes… were completely blank.

            “What… the hell?” Kanna was baffled. Placing her hand on her cheek, she looked back at the dazed boy who punched her.

            “Amazing, isn’t it?” the smirking teacher asked. “A wonderful result, if I do say so myself. I’ll admit, I was worried for a while.”

            “Damn it…” Kanna once more rose to her feet. “What did you do to them?!”

            “They’ve become prototypes for the perfect soldier...” Taniguchi’s voice grew cold. “Perfect for eventually taking down the royal family.”

            “Taking down the… Wait, are you saying you…?!” Kanna gasped.

            “The beasts must’ve given it away, right?”

            “So this is the work of the rebel army…” Kanna grimaced.

            “What does that mean, Kanna?” asked Yuko, who was starting to get confused by the direction of the conversation.

            “It is a long story…” Kanna sighed. “But the short of it is that Alviquan has a number of enemies, both outside and within. Needless to say, the rebel army is an enemy from within.”

            “How kind of you to include us as ‘within’ in your explanation… Even though you spoiled nobility clearly don’t see us that way!” Taniguchi shouted.

            “I do not understand, Torkalv. Why are you working with them? You are an elite magic knight just like myself!” Kanna shouted, before turning back to Yuko. “Listen, the rebel army is a movement formed by those whose magic power lacks higher potential. This is why so many in their ranks are beast tamers: magic users who use their magic to control animals. It is a skill they master because their own magic lacks the capacity to fully utilize the element of their affinity.”

            “I think I get it…” Yuko nodded. She still didn’t grasp the specifics, but Yuko understood at this point that Alviquan magic users tended to have an elemental specialty. If there were people who couldn’t adequately tap into their element, then it stands to reason they’d try to find some other application for what magic they could use.

            “So, why then…?” Kanna turned back toward the teacher. “Why is someone as skilled in wood magic as you working with them?!”

            “Nothing special…” Taniguchi’s face became blank once more. “Just simple revenge.”

            With the snap of his finger, three of the four remaining students against the wall all rose and began to move. Only Chisa remained slumped on the ground. Before Kanna could do anything, she found herself surrounded. And Yuko…

            “Ahhh!” Yuko cried as a girl, who happened to be Honda, pinned her from behind.

            “Yuko!” cried Kanna, who couldn’t go to her aid due to the three students keeping her from moving.

            “Do you understand the results now, Crygahl?” Taniguchi asked. “The pathetic humans in this world who have no capacity for magic at all are no different than animals. Using magic beasts like the Razor Wolves, whose fangs and claws secrete magic power, it’s easy to introduce magic into their body, and then use modified beast-taming techniques to control them. It was a theory the leaders came up with not long after I reported to them about how different the humans of this world are.”

            “So you’ve been a spy for the rebels this entire time…” Kanna glared at her former partner.

            “Correct! Hehehehe.” Taniguchi laughed. “So what now, Crygahl? Will you strike down these innocent students to try and stop me? Surely that won’t go over well with the Head Priest. Hahahaha!”

            Kanna had found herself caught in a conundrum. Taniguchi was using innocent students as a shield to keep her from stopping him with force. It was a bit of a gamble, but he knew that Kanna likely wouldn’t attack anyone she knew was innocent and unrelated to the situation. Taniguchi began thinking to himself, preparing for the next stage of his plan.

            Excellent. I’ve got us locked in the perfect stalemate. Just as planned. Now, I can use what’s here to open the Gate early, tweak the coordinates with the instructions I received, and get myself and these prototypes out of here. Sorry Crygahl, you’re already too late to stop me! Hehehe…

            It was at this moment, when Taniguchi had planned out his escape, that something unexpected happened.

            “Kanna!” it was a shout from Yuko. Taniguchi had completely taken his attention off of her once he made sure one of the puppeted students had restrained her, and yet…

            “Wait, why is she free?!” Taniguchi was shocked to see Yuko wasn’t restrained at all. And the body of the student who restrained her, Honda… was laying limp on the floor.

            “Take this!” Yuko shouted, as she tossed something to Kanna.

            “Wait, that’s…!” Taniguchi realized what it was. A purple gem stone flew through the air.

            That’s right… it was the crystal from the magic beast.

---

            Earlier that day, when Yuko and Kanna had gone off to search the woods on their own during the missing patients incident, the two merely spoke briefly about the situation before returning back. But on the way back, Yuko had remembered to bring something up to Kanna.

            “Hey Kanna, I just remembered… Do you know what this is?” Yuko asked, pulling the purple gem from her pocket.

            “Ah, that is the life gem of a magic beast!” Kanna exclaimed. “What are you doing with such a thing?”

            “I don’t know. I just found it in my bag early on Tuesday morning… I meant to bring it up to you sooner but kind of forgot about it for a while.”

            “I see…” Kanna pondered. She realized that the ‘other Yuko’ must’ve decided to take it with her after killing the magic beast on Monday night.

            “Does this do anything special?” asked Yuko. “You know, like those crystals you used on me before.”

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            The two looked away from one another briefly, blushing as they recalled how exactly those other crystals were used.

            “Well…” Kanna began. “Those life gems are typically what help a magic beast regulate the flow of magic within their body. A creature having one of those on its body is the sign that they are a magic beast, and not any ordinary animal.”

            “I see…” Yuko looked at the gem curiously.

            “Because they channel the type of magic flowing within a magic beast, they are sometimes used to drain the magic from an opposing magic beast. That method is not particularly effective in a dangerous situation though, so it is not often employed.”

            “Wow, neat.” Yuko nodded along. “Hey, can I hold on to it?”

            “I suppose there is no harm in letting you do so for now.” Kanna shrugged.

            It was a simple, brief exchange as the two walked back to the security building. Neither knew how useful this exchange of information would be just a few hours later…

---

            “Take this!” Yuko shouted, tossing the magic beast’s life gem to Kanna, who was still surrounded by the puppeted students.

            Kanna immediately realized what had just happened: Yuko still had the life gem with her. When Honda had restrained her, Yuko may not have been able to use her strength to break free, but she was able to grab the gem in her pocket and suck the magic out of Honda’s body. After all, the only magic inside her would be that which the magic beast secreted into her body through her injuries. Since the gem could drain that same type of magic energy, it’s the perfect object for countering these students who were being controlled due to that very same magic.

            “Wait, that’s…!” Taniguchi, the one who created this whole elaborate means of controlling people, realized this one flaw, and was shocked to see that Yuko of all people had not only figured it out, but even happened to have the gem with her to use. He figured the one gem he’d lost track of was likely in her possession, but he never expected her to be carrying it around.

            “Got it!” Kanna snatched the gem from the air, and swiftly pressed it against one of the students surrounding her. “Hah!”

            In a matter of moments, the student’s body began convulsing before dropping to the floor, just like Honda’s. Kanna quickly followed this up by pressing it against the other two, who also collapsed in no time.

            “Tch…” Taniguchi was shaken. “Damn prototypes…”

            “Heh.” Kanna smirked. “It appears your perfect prototypes were not so perfect after all.”

            Without these students effectively serving as hostages between them, Kanna no longer had any reason to hold back.

            “You shall not go unpunished, Kurt Torkalv!” Kanna shouted, before materializing her staff and unleashing her magic power.

            Kanna’s body glowed a bright white, flooding the dim room with light. Moments later, Kanna stepped forward as the brightness dimmed. She now donned her magic armor, the knightly armor covered with frilly adornments. The tip of her staff had already formed its blade made of ice, and Kanna held it at the ready.

            “Damn it…” muttered Taniguchi, frustrated. “I wanted to get through this without fighting you, but I guess at this point I have no choice…”

            “Nn!” Kanna quickly realized what he had planned. “Not so fast!” Kanna tried to rush forward to stop him, but was too late.

            “Garden of Thorns!” Taniguchi had pressed his hand to the ground quickly and activated his magic zone. The dim room they were just in vanished in an instant, and a purple sky with a red moon hung overhead. They were now in the middle of a courtyard filled with rosebushes. In the distance, many sharp, jagged trees stood tall along the horizon.

            “Hah!” Taniguchi jumped into the air and quickly materialized a small wand. From the tip of the wand, a large wood-like whip emerged as Taniguchi glowed. After a burst of light, Taniguchi also donned a bizarre armor in place of his clothes. Chainmail covered his abdomen and thighs beneath his armor, while long gloves went up to his bare shoulders and small steel gauntlets adorned his wrists.

            “What on earth…?” Yuko was stunned by the sudden change in scenery and fell to her knees. She looked around, and it seems the other unconscious students weren’t brought into this place. It was just the three of them.

            “Get back, Yuko Maeda.” Kanna warned, as she too rose into the air to face her opponent. “From here on, it is a battle between us magic users.”

            “R-right…” Yuko clutched her chest. She started to feel a strange burning sensation inside. Still, she rose to her feet once more, and moved to make some distance between herself and the two armored combatants.

            “Perish!” Taniguchi shouted, as he swung his glowing whip in the air. All of a sudden, vines shot out from the rosebushes below, aiming straight at Kanna.

            “Deep freeze!” Kanna pointed her glowing spear their way, and the vines all froze with ice before making contact. “You must be a fool to think I would let myself be caught so easily!” Kanna dashed forward through the air, shattering the frozen vines, and aimed her spear toward Taniguchi.

            “Kh!” the teacher grunted as he blocked the thrust with his whip, growing an extensive tangle of branches from its base to act as a shield. He swiftly dashed away before swinging the now awkwardly-shaped whip at Kanna. With that swing, however, the tangled branches broke free and shot toward Kanna like bullets.

            “Gh!” Kanna quickly tried to dash out of the way. However, some of the branches did land, causing some scrapes from the impact. “You must do better than that!” Kanna shouted, dashing straight at Taniguchi after the flurry of branches had passed.

            Unable to block, Taniguchi decided to plummet downward in order to dodge. Just as Kanna’s strike missed, he swung his newly formed whip, and this time it wrapped itself firmly around Kanna’s waist.

            “I got you!” he shouted. Stopping in midair and turning quickly, he used the force to pull Kanna and launch her straight into a pit of thorny rosebushes.

            “Gaah!!” Kanna shouted as the prickly thorns punctured her skin.

            “Don’t underestimate me, Crygahl!” Taniguchi gloated from above. “I’ve been making sure to stay prepared for our eventual confrontation! I knew this battle would happen someday!”

            “Indeed…” Kanna grunted as she pulled her body up from the thorned plants. “You seem far more prepared to counter my fighting style than I had expected.”

            Kanna hovered up, free from the rosebush. Her outfit was torn in places, her skin was scratched up all over, and she was bleeding from numerous wounds. Thankfully, Kanna’s armor had been able to shield a lot of her body from harm, but the pain was still getting to her and her stamina was draining fast. She realized the thorns likely had some sort of poisonous properties.

            This is going to be difficult. Ordinarily, the advantage would be mine, but since he activated his magic zone first, he has the advantage of terrain…

            In a battle between magic users, it’s said that whoever activates their magic zone first has the advantage. After all, in a magic zone, the user has access to all kinds of things related to their element, which they’re free to manipulate. In this case, Taniguchi can use all of the greenery in his Garden of Thorns magic zone to his advantage. In comparison, Kanna could only fight with the magic she could conjure up at any given moment, with no advantageous terrain to make use of like the pillars of ice from her own magic zone, the Ice Planet.

            “However, I shall not waver!” Kanna shouted, lifting her spear up high. “Deep Freeze: Excess! Hyaaah!!” with that, the ice blade of her spear shattered and Kanna tossed the staff to the ground.

            Landing upright, a burst of light exploded from the staff as the ground all around it froze over.  Soon, the freezing reached the various rosebushes, and they all began to freeze over.

            “I shall not let you have the advantage!” Kanna declared, now channeling magic into her hands, as small ice daggers formed in her grip. With that, Kanna dashed through the air towards Taniguchi once more.

            “Grr!” Taniguchi quickly tried to block the swing of her dagger with his wooden whip, but the blade of the dagger cut right through. The teacher continued to retreat backwards from there, narrowly dodging each of Kanna’s swings. With the rosebushes below getting frozen over, he couldn’t send any vines up to hold her back.

            “Gyaaagh!” Taniguchi screamed in pain. Kanna got a solid hit in on his arm, giving him a deep cut as his blood stained her dagger of ice. Bearing the pain, Taniguchi swiftly flipped his body and kicked Kanna away.

            Managing to take the brunt of the hit with a quick block, Kanna landed firmly on her feet on the ground, before buckling down on one knee.

            “Curse those blades of yours…” Taniguchi grunted. “You knew close combat was a weakness of mine.”

            “Of course…” spat Kanna, breathing heavily. She was really starting to feel the effects of the poison now. “Years may have passed, but I remember our sparring matches during the magic knight training exercises…”

            “Unfortunately… that won’t save you!” shouted Taniguchi, when suddenly, the pavement on the ground surrounding Kanna caved in.

            “What?!” Kanna was startled. Large, thick branches erupted from the earth beneath the pavement and wrapped themselves around Kanna’s limbs. She’s been totally taken off guard.

            “Aaauugh!!” Kanna screamed in pain as the hard wood squeezed her body. She was totally stuck, and her arms and legs were being crushed.

            “Hahaha! My Garden of Thorns is more than just a depository of roses and vines, my dear! Large tree appendages lay in the Earth beneath the pavement, ready for me to use anytime! It’s the ultimate secret weapon of my magic zone, which I never even used in training!” Taniguchi gloated, while Kanna continued screaming in agony.

            “Oh no… oh no…”

            Meanwhile, Yuko was seeing everything unfold from some distance away. Feeling weakened from the burning inside, Yuko’s breathing was ragged as she watched the two powerful magic users go at it. But now… things were looking difficult for Kanna. Yuko feared what was coming.

            What would happen if Kanna lost? What would happen to her? What would happen to the other five students? What would happen… to me?

            Yuko’s body began to shake as panic set in. The echo of Kanna’s agonized screams were all she could hear in this bizarre, cold garden. This whole time, Yuko had only been relying on Kanna. She was the expert. She knew what was going on better than anyone, and she promised to protect Yuko. And yet…

            “Kanna… no…” Yuko slowly rose to her feet, and tried desperately to go to where Kanna was. However, the ground was slippery with ice due to Kanna’s earlier spell, and Yuko ended up slipping and falling down on her face.

            Something’s… burning…

            Despite the cold floor beneath her, Yuko was burning up inside. But even as she was falling apart, Yuko could only focus on the situation before her.

            “I’m… so helpless…” Yuko mumbled, trying to rise to her feet once more. “Kanna fought… so hard… But I… couldn’t do… anything…”

            Yuko was now on her feet again, barely trudging along. Kanna’s hoarse voice sounded about ready to give out.

            “Is this the end… for Kanna?” Yuko coughed as she took another step. “Is this the end… for me?”

            No.

            Yuko suddenly heard a voice from within her own mind. She blinked, unable to understand what she’d just heard.

            We will survive.

            After hearing those words within her mind, Yuko Maeda lost consciousness.

---

            The kingdom of Alviquan was a large, prosperous nation that occupied the northern part of a small continent. This kingdom was an aristocracy defined by magic, where the higher-class and nobility tended to carry higher affinity for magic usage. The outskirts of the kingdom were home to many small villages, all mostly run by people whose magic power was unrefined. Finding a magic user skilled in one of the core elements was rare in these parts. As a result, they were often discriminated against by the magically skilled upper class. Despite this, those who lived their lives in those border villages would often do their best to live, day by day, regardless.

            Representatives of the kingdom’s magic knights would sometimes scout for individuals skilled in magic from these backwoods villages, usually offering their family an enticing compensation to allow them to take these skilled individuals in as new recruits. Such was the case of a young boy skilled in wood magic named Kurt Torkalv.

            From a young age, Kurt’s parents adored him, and the magic he was able to harness was of amazing benefit to their work on the farms. When he was finally recruited by the magic knights, the whole village cheered for him. He was an icon they could be proud of, as they never imagined someone from their small village could ever become a magic knight.

            What is the goal of a magic knight? In simple terms, it is to protect the kingdom of Alviquan. By nature, this means that there must be something to protect them from. In this case, that would be the vampires: intelligent monsters that have their own civilizations on the south side of the continent. Alviquan’s magic users have been at war with the vampires for generations. It was a widely-known struggle across the lands. Skirmishes between the sides would break out from time to time in various locations.

            Kurt was, of course, proud of his role as a magic knight. He trained hard every day refining his wood magic, and swore to protect all citizens of Alviquan from the threat of the vampires. One day, however, tragedy struck as Kurt heard a peculiar rumor.

            “A certain village in the backwoods is becoming infested with vampires.”

            Upon learning that this certain village was his home town, Kurt immediately tried to make his way back home. However, by the time he arrived, the kingdom’s ‘solution’ to the problem has already been enacted...

            Kurt arrived home only to find the village ablaze. His parents, his friends, everyone in the village who was dear to him. In an instant, all of them were gone. Not just because of an infestation of vampires, but because the kingdom thought so little of the village’s people, that burning the whole place to the ground was the option chosen.

            Is this what it means… to protect the people of Alviquan?

            A rage built up inside Kurt that day. A fury and resentment for the very society he had lived in. Anger at the hypocrisy that the nobles preached. One could say he was never the same following that day.

            It wasn’t too long since then that Kurt heard from a relative who lived in a different village. It was his uncle; the brother of his late mother. It was during a memorial service being held for the lost villagers when Kurt was taken aside by his uncle.

            “You understand, right? How awful this kingdom really is? We can’t let them get away with this.”

            Easily swayed by this simple sentiment, Kurt found himself being introduced to the rebel army by his uncle. This renegade group aimed to overthrow the kingdom and its royal family. Their speeches and philosophies truly resonated with Kurt, who was still hurting over the loss of his family and home. The group, which comprised mostly of beast tamers: magic users who managed to train their unrefined magic in order to control animals, were happy to welcome in an authentic magic user like Kurt. After all, he was not only skilled in wood magic, but also had formal training as a magic knight. He became the perfect ‘spy’ for their activities.

            Kurt’s teenage years and early adult life saw him living the life of an average magic knight in the capitol, while sharing secrets and working with the rebel army whenever he’d visit his uncle during his time off. One day, however, Kurt found himself becoming part of a special mission: to blend in and investigate life in an alternate world.

            Kurt was at first frustrated by the selection. Being a part of this mission would mean he’d have to spend 3 years away from Alviquan, in this bizarre alternate world they’d somehow discovered. Despite his hesitation, the rebel army saw it as an opportunity. After all, if Alviquan was still learning about this world, then they could find some way to use it for their purposes as well. Kurt would still be able to exchange monthly letters and gifts from family during the operation, so consistent contact with his uncle was still possible. The two made sure to establish a secret code for their messages that only they could understand.

            And thus, along with his partner, a newer knight named Canah Crygahl, Kurt began to live in this strange other world, disguised as a school math teacher named Karuto Taniguchi.

            Living in another world felt alienating. Within Starlight Academy’s small community especially, he knew that he and Canah stood out. He worried about the viability of the mission. But then, something strange happened. The other students eventually began to open up to Canah. Kurt was shocked by the turn of events, though he kept it to himself. Deep inside, perhaps he also longed to make such connections. However, his reserved, serious-minded personality stopped him from trying to approach anyone earnestly.

            Plus… he was still fixated on finding a way to use this place against the royal family. The monthly letters with his uncle, where they’d discuss potential ideas in code, were all he could think of much of the time. Eventually, after a couple of years, a plan was settled on: try using magic-emitting magic beasts such as the Ravor Wolf to experiment on some students, and see how viable it is to control them with beast tamer magic by introducing the beasts’ magic into their body.

            It was a fascinating theory: Using the magicless humans of this world like animals, and creating an army of them to help overthrow the royal family back home. To go with this plan, Kurt did his best to kill any empathy in his heart for the people of this world. They were nothing. If they had no magic at all, did they even classify as ‘human’? These are the excuses he tried to tell himself, bolstered even further by the distance between him and everyone else.

            Eventually, he received the experiment’s instructions in a letter from his uncle, along with the magic capsules for a couple of Razor Wolves. The capsules were hidden within what looked on the surface to be simple pastries from a family member. Although gifts were usually inspected, confections and other foods generally weren’t looked over in any great detail.

            And so, while working in secret behind the back of his partner Canah, Kurt began to release the magic beasts into the wild in order to secure some test subjects. When the time was right, he began his test. Channeling his magic through a bouquet of flowers he left nearby, he turned the injured students into walking puppets, and guided them to the room with the Gate. His uncle had secured a magic formula Kurt could use to hijack the Gate and allow Kurt to return to Alviquan in secret. Everything was going according to plan, Kurt just had to take out Canah first. However, a certain anomaly in the whole ordeal had been bothering him, and until the end, he never accounted for it.

            He never accounted for the appearance of Yuko Maeda.

---

            Burning.

            It was all burning.

            Just like the flames he saw the day his home was turned to ash, Karuto Taniguchi could only watch in despair as his entire magic zone, Garden of Thorns, was set ablaze.

            In the center of the fire, a lone girl stood. A powerful aura surrounding her, her hair danced in the air. In her arms, she carried the limp, barely conscious body of Kanna Kawagoe.

            This was indeed the other, darker personality that resided within Yuko Maeda. The burning garden in which they stood was all the result of a sudden outburst of her fire magic.

            “Dammit… no…! This wasn’t supposed to happen!” frustrated, Taniguchi shouted in disdain at the girl with the cold glare standing before him.

            “Yu… ko…” Kanna muttered, looking up at the other Yuko’s cold expression. After glancing at Kanna’s face, this Yuko set her down on the ground away from the fire, and began to approach Taniguchi alone.

            “I won’t be stopped here!” Taniguchi materialized a new whip from his wand and with a mighty swing, tried to strike the other Yuko with it. However, the whip, with its properties made of wood, merely burned up when confronted by the burning aura surrounding Yuko’s body.

            “No… no…!” Taniguchi stumbled backwards to the ground. He had heard from Kanna that Yuko’s strange other personality had seemingly used fire magic before, and even that Yuko herself bizarrely had an affinity for it, despite being a human from this world, but he never expected her magic to be this powerful. Naturally, as a wood magician, fire was a critical weakness of his.

            As the garden around him burned, causing his composure to collapse as he recalled his trauma, Taniguchi was overcome by only one emotion: fear.

            The cold, ruthless girl of the flames now stood before him.

            “P-please, spare me! I-it wasn’t even my idea! I was just... just…!” Now fearing for his life, Taniguchi tried to plead, using the last bit of reason he had left.

            You see, this entire time, in the very back of his mind, one aspect of this plan had always rubbed Taniguchi the wrong way. Just like everything else, for the sake of his revenge, he ignored it. He ignored everything, to make himself believe he was in the right.

            But when given time to really think about their plan: turning the lesser, magicless humans of this world into mindless slaves for battle. One thought had always popped up in the back of Taniguchi’s mind:

            Doesn’t this make us no different from the vampires, creatures who turn our world’s humans into their servants with a mere bite?

            Ignoring this core contradiction, Taniguchi went forward with the reckless plan anyway. After forcing himself to accept the necessity of his actions for a long, long time, finally as the plan crumbled around him, Taniguchi could only feel regret for ever agreeing to carry this out. Perhaps, he began to regret many other choices he’d made since the day his home burned down as well.

            Alas, “Die.” was the only word Taniguchi got to hear from the lips of the other Yuko, before his body was consumed by flames.

---

            “Mnngh…. Huh?” muttered Chisa Ando, who was slowly starting to regain consciousness. Slowly, her eyes opened just a bit. She was in a strange, stone room she didn’t recognize. Looking around, she saw various other people on the ground some ways away. One of them was Honda.

            “Hon… da…” Chisa started to blink. Next, in the center of the room she noticed her friend Yuko and the student council president Kanna, both standing together. The two turned to her, noticing the noise she was making.

            “Huh…?” Chisa, whose mind was still fuzzy, felt confused. Certainly, her friend Yuko was standing there… But she’d never seen that kind of expression on her face. It felt… so cold. Having just barely processed that incongruity, Kanna moved toward Chisa, inadvertently blocking her view of Yuko.

            “It is not yet time to awaken, Chisa Ando. Please, continue to sleep just a bit longer.” Kanna spoke to her softly.

            “Right… okay…” Chisa replied in a daze, before slowly drifting off to sleep once more.

            Before letting her consciousness return to the land of dreams, Chisa took note of something in the back of her mind.

            What an odd scent… like something was burnt…

[Chapter 6 END]

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