"Ladies and gentlemen, this is long overdue!　This is the first Teito General Martial Arts Tournament, and now the time for the final is finally here!

　The host's voice echoes through the air.

'The first of the strong warriors to face the prestigious final, the first of which is - the family name of Lamplogue is not honorable!　How many drawers does this boy, who has yet to show the bottom, have!　Seika Lamploog, the shrewdest of the Imperial Magic Academy, Seika Lamploog!

　Amidst the cheers that welled up, I went up on stage.
　The stage was clean, even though we had destroyed it so loudly in the morning.
　I'm sure the show couldn't have allowed any more delays. It's only a stopgap measure since the foundation was smashed, but at least it doesn't seem to be a hindrance for now.

''Next, the second one is - this swordsman who is different, different and most unusual!　What the hell is he!　Where did this come from?　The Hidden Sphere of the LeGrook Chamber of Commerce, Kyle the Evil Eye Murderer!

　A grey-haired boy appeared on stage, climbing the stairs.
　In his right hand, he held a slender, drawn sword. The half-opened eyes of different colors on either side. The ghostly atmosphere is unchanged.
　I'm not even sure if they recognized my appearance.

Hi.

　I talk to Kyle.

"I'm sorry. I'm not your sister. Mabel lost to me in the semifinals.
Mabel...?

　The boy muttered in an unexpectedly high voice.

'Mabel, Mabel ... ah,'
　
　Both eyes widen just a little bit ... and then he says

'Oh boy that's not the plan. Is that boy alive?
Yeah.
Yeah. Good.

　Kyle says in a dreamy voice.

'Then I can kill that boy properly.

　I let out a breath and say, "I'm your sister.

"That's your sister.
Yeah, he's the last remaining member of my family.

　Kyle tells me in a voice with no emotion in it.

'I've been told to kill the people I care about, you know.
I know your situation, but I still don't understand it.

　I ask, "What do you do with your life?

"What do you do with your life?　Isn't that what makes you happy?　Does killing your precious sister contribute to the achievement of that goal?　I don't think they're even robbing you of your logical thinking with surgery to use you as a soldier.
What does it mean to live for happiness?
....
'Happiness is about living, isn't it?　To carry on with life into tomorrow. That's what it was for me, and for everyone at the nursery. It's all about being strong and following the stronger ones. I was the strongest so I could have the operation. But the Chamber of Commerce is stronger than me, so I still follow them. To live. Is there something wrong with me?
...you would sacrifice your family to survive.
'Yes. Yes, because happiness is a way of life. You're just a stranger to your family.
'I'm sure you once weren't. Have you forgotten all that?
'Sure, I remember. But right now, it just feels right this way.
Even worse. Mabel will be sad.
I don't know.

　"I don't want you to think that I had anything to do with Mabel," Kyle told me in his weightless voice.

"My affairs and Mabel's affairs have nothing to do with you. Why do you keep telling me what's going on between us?
'Why...?　That's obvious.

　I tell him, smiling.

"Because you don't like me," I tell her, smiling. You have to respect your own sister. I'm told that you obey the strongest person in the room, don't you?　Then, after losing this game, I'll ask Mabel to say a few words of apology.
I still don't get it.

　Kyle snapped his sword in his right hand slightly.

"How could I lose to you?

'Come on, it's time to settle up!　''The first Teito Comprehensive Martial Arts Tournament final match is about to begin!

　A whistle rang out.

　Kyle's eyes widened in both of them.

　But before the evil eye could take effect.
　I had already finished opening the door.

《Ombonoyasu, the nighttime curtain

　The thick fog drawn out of the phase covered the arena in the blink of an eye.

''Oh, is this Seika's magic?　I can't see the stage at all!'

This is....
You can't rely on those eyes.

　I catch Kyle in front of me, blurred by the fog, and show him a smile.

　Ombonoyan is a foggy specter that I caught deep in the mountains of Emishi.
　This demon has the ability to lead people astray and lead them into trouble. The effect is only to make it impossible to find the way back or to distinguish the faces of those who are nearby, but for an evil eye user who exercises spells with sight, it would be the worst match.

　Well, the reason I brought this guy out was to hide from the eyes of the audience.
　If it's an evil eye of that level, it seems to be able to resist normally.

　A squirming sound.
　It was like Kyle took a step forward.
　The footprints carved with each step and another step are unnaturally deep.

'Hmph.'
"The Fire and Earth Phase - Demon Fire Technique.

　A blue-white fireball hits Kyle, but the boy doesn't seem to take it into account. The phosphorus flames that play around him don't even burn into his clothes.
　It looks like the gravity magic is weighing a lot, after all.

''Then what is this?''
Corrosive Mercury (Corrosive Mercury)

　Blackish vines erupt from beneath Kyle's feet.
　The heavy, mercury-laden tendrils wrapped around and restrained the boy, who was completely unrestrained.

　For a moment, I thought that was the end of it.
　But then.
　Kyle's shadow, which had been dimmed by the fog, suddenly turned black and began to move gingerly.
　The shadow crawled up to the boy's body.
　And in the next moment, it tore through the restraining tendrils from within.
　The shadows that have returned to the ground then branch off and crawl across the ground to rush to me.

　The tip of the vine raised its sickle-neck. It attacked, trying to pierce me, but that was it.
　But that's as far as it goes. But that's as far as it goes. The shadows fail to penetrate the wards and disappear in a blink of an eye.

　And....
　It's as if there is no such offense or defense.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
　There is no color of emotion there.

　I sighed.
　It's sad that there's been no reaction so far.

　I guess Kyle doesn't have any battle excitement, tension, or fear left in him.
　It can't be helped, let's just go along with the original plan.

　I take out a single Hitogata and open the door to phase.

《Vocation----Ushioni

　What emerged from the distortion of space was ------ a demon with a bull's head.
　A muscular physique with black skin. It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get a good look at it.

　I turn to Kyle and ask, "What do you see now that you've lost your emotions?

Do you think you're a perfect soldier, now that you've lost your emotions?

　Dragging the thick gold rod, the cow demon took a step toward Kyle.
　There, the boy's feet stopped.

''Minotaur...?''

　For the first time, Kyle's voice had a hint of confusion in it, albeit only slightly.
　The shadows beneath his feet began to growl and groan, and he attacked the cow demon.

　The cow demon did nothing.
　But nonetheless, the shadow couldn't penetrate the cow demon. It was blocked by something invisible and only crawled on the surface of its black body.

''........!''
I don't think it's bad to be afraid.

　The cow demon took another step toward the boy.
　At that moment, Kyle took a big step as if he was in a hurry.

　He swung his drawn one-handed sword and slashed at the cow demon.
　Perhaps that sword was also quite heavy due to the magic of gravity.

　However.

　The bull demon was just a swing of his arm.
　He smashed that sword.

　Behind the fog, there was a sign of Kyle gasping for breath.
　The bull demon raised his golden stick in a careless manner.

'Didn't you feel anything when you looked at that guy?

　Then the gold bar swung into a horizontal cleave - and blew Kyle away.
　The boy rolled all the way off the stage and stopped moving.
　There was no offense or defense, it was an overwhelming difference in power.

It's not like that guy is in a class with you. He's not someone who can pass gravity magic or shadow magic or any of those little tricks.

　I look at him and mutter to myself, "If I had any fear left, I wouldn't have tried to fight so recklessly.

"If I had any fear left in me, I wouldn't have tried to fight so recklessly.


****


　He came briskly back and I said to him, "Hey, I hope you took it easy on him.

"Hey, I hope you took it easy on him.

　The bullhead nodded tacitly.
　A brusque fellow as always.

　Although the cow demon is not as powerful as a 蛟(izuuchi), it is the more powerful demon I have now.
　It's easy to handle and I used it often in my previous life and it did well this time. By the way, his face is scary, but it's not that he's angry.

　When I returned the cow demon to phase, I ran to Kyle, who was lying on his back.
　He seems to be fainting, but he's still breathing. It seems that he is not badly injured.

You're really going to keep him alive, aren't you?

　I nod at Yuki's voice.

"Oh, well. Is it sweet?
'It's sweet. But.........Yuki is starting to feel like this is the way to go.

　Well, let's see where we go from here.
　For now, we'll sneak him out and then it's really up to him to decide. If he insists on returning to the Chamber of Commerce, I can't stop him.
　However, if you have the desire to be free you will surely be able to achieve that. With a strength as strong as Kyle's, it's not as difficult as being an adventurer or sneaking into some merchant corps (caravan) as an escort and living under cover of your identity.

　Even emotions can come back.
　Just as a blind person becomes acutely aware of sound, the human body tries to compensate for its lost functions. If you live a normal life, where emotions are required, different parts of the brain may make up for it.

　Well, more than the future.
　I think it's time to take you to see Mabel.

Seika-sama!

　I was taken aback by Yuki's sharp voice.
　Kyle's head.
　Radiating from there, a black pattern erodes into his face and body.

　This is........a spell mark?

Huh...!

　Immediately, he draws in the human gadget and sets up a ward.
　The pattern stops eroding and eventually fades away.

　The relief was short-lived as Kyle's body began to tremble violently.
　I opened my eyes. The warding must be working. I'm not going to be able to get rid of it.

　But........I don't know the details of the damage. There's not enough time to prepare a replacement for Minoshiro from now on.
　We'll never make it in time.

May, this is for Belle...

　Kyle's eyes opened thinly.
　He tells her in a scratchy voice.



　And then I heard the boy's last words.

I heard his last words...

　Kyle's entire body is drained of strength.
　There is no breath. Even from those eyes, which are different colors on the left and right, the light has already been lost.
　The evil-eyed swordsman was out of things.

''Seika, sir. This is.........''

　Yuki muttered in astonishment.

　He had an idea of what the curse was.
　Perhaps this was something the LeGrouk Chamber of Commerce had applied during the surgery.
　So that he would not become a prisoner and spit out information. Or so that the details of the surgery would not be known.
　A muzzling curse that is triggered when defeated.

Cursed by...

　By itself, the spell power seeped into his voice.
　I drew in all the human bodies I could find that were flying around me.

"Do you think you can outsmart me by cursing me?　He's going to do a licking imitation....

　Kyle's corpse. The human gadgets are arranged around it in three dimensions.
　Each one is connected by a line of spell power, and eventually a magic circle of mysticism is completed.

'Lo_913म् अपाकरोति पदारोति पदार्थ समुद्दिशति आधुनिक इष्टका----'　

　Chanting the mantra, he forms a sign with both hands and builds up the art.

　If you curse a person, there are two holes.
　The sorcerer who performed this cannot be allowed to die for free.
　I'll have you prepare for at least the lives of the people who were around you when you cursed and all of your immediate family members.

　But first, this way.

　It'll be okay. It'll be OK.
　This one just died.
　The last timestamp of his soul structure should tell us enough to read it.
　The vessel isn't as damaged as I thought. We can use the money to fix it, too.

　I know.
　I was the strongest in my previous life.
　I wouldn't be able to do this.

　I'd never bring a dead man back to life.

The 'tis a good time to be alive.　No, Seika!　That's too much!

　Yuki's impatient voice.
　I stopped cursing.

　You said it yourself!

You said it yourself!　That's dangerous!　Have you forgotten why you were reincarnated!
.........
'Please reconsider this once, please!　That person is someone to whom Seika-sama is so indebted and righteous that he has to go that far!

　I lowered my hands from my crossed fingers.
　The human claws scatter around me.
　The line of spell power breaks and the magic circle collapses.

　I stand voicelessly in front of the boy's corpse.

I understand how you feel.

　Only Yuki's caring voice echoed.

'Because I know Yuki. You know that Seika-sama is the kindest person of all...