Chapter 79: The Strange Man

—"The Cruel Spirit Master" is taking hostile action.

—Either kill him or force him to surrender.

Swallowed by light... when I looked around again, the room was in ruins.

As soon as my vision returned, I gripped my sword, but the figure of flame was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed he had vanished immediately after delivering a single blow.

"……Damn it!"

What the hell is going on here...?

Takeda and Akechi both rise to their feet.

Having become "slaves," they've gained the skill of "Skin Reinforcement," so their injuries appear minor.

But what's worse is...

"...Nori!"

Akechi rushes toward her, shouting her name.

"U-... uuu..."

Her name is Nori—apparently a third or fourth grader, she had sustained severe injuries, likely because she was standing by the window.

Frantically sending a telepathic message to Hayana.

(Hayana!)

—Yes, yes, I’m here…

(Just borrow the "Healing Magic" from "Messiah"!)

—Huh? Oh, right.

Receiving the skill from Amamiya and quickly raising both hands toward Nori’s body.

"——《Healing Magic III》"

At the same time, my arms were enveloped in a green glow.

Hmm, not entirely sure what it is, but it feels like healing.

When I applied it to Nori’s body, her wounds quickly began to close.

"What is this... amazing"

Shinoda gasped in awe.

"Is Nori going to be alright?"

"I'll save her."

At that moment—

"Hey hey, hey! It's Hayato-san, your big sister!"

A cheerful voice rang out.

(Hey, could you read the room a bit? Just for a second?)

—Yeah, so you don’t need to reply. From the way things were going a moment ago, it seemed like someone took a serious injury? There’s a chance even Cure Magic III might not be enough, so right now, take Cure Magic IV—message from Messiah. And since I’m not planning to use magic myself, you can hold onto it for a while.

(Great job! Please pass that along.)

—Got it, understood!

I'll gladly make use of it.

"——《Healing Magic IV》"

Suddenly, the glow from both my arms intensified, enveloping not only me but also the bodies of both Oda-san and Akechi-san present there.

"...W-what's going on..."

They both looked uneasy,

"It's alright. I'm just healing your wounds."

Hearing those words, they seemed to reluctantly accept it.

After confirming that the burn marks had completely vanished from Yoshida-san's body, I stood up.

"Just to be sure, I'll ask again. Both of you saw that pale blue flame for the first time, right?"

"First time or not, that thing wasn't one of your allies, was it?"

Nobunaga looked at me with a startled expression.

"Unlikely... If it were one of ours, it wouldn't have attacked."

Mitsuhisa made a bitter face.

I see.

In other words, that 'spirit user' wasn't one of the people here at all.

At that moment, a tremendous explosion shook the ground.

"——huh"

Akira peered out the window.

"Trouble. That's a building storing weapons."

Immediately afterward, fires began erupting across various parts of the university campus.

Then came the screams of people.

Looking up, blinding blue flames were spreading across the night sky, spiraling widely.

"What... is this..."

With clenched teeth, Akechi stares helplessly as his own kingdom burns before his eyes.

"Both of you, get everyone to safety."

"That's fine, but what about you?"

"I... "

He grimaces, then replies.

"I will find whoever created this situation... and settle it once and for all."

Akechi and Oda exchange a glance, then nod in agreement.

Kicking open the blackened door, we burst out of the room.

▼

"Everyone calm down! Head to the central plaza once! Keep your belongings to a minimum! Those with weapons, guard the entrances!"

Under Akechi's guidance, we start organizing the panicked crowd.

Pushing through people running as if on fire,

"Big sis! What in the world is going on here, anyway!"

Saya-chan bounced over to us, her eyes wide with worry.

"I don't know. But the spirit user doesn't seem to be from around here."

"Not from around here? What do you mean by that?"

"Somebody... someone who has a reason to attack this place."

"Someone? Who?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be struggling....Any ideas come to mind?"

"Hmmmm...?"

Saya-chan's expression was unusually serious.

"No! Not at all!"

...Yeah, that makes sense.

"But I've got a great idea!"

"Let's hear it."

"Keep searching hard!"

"Yeah...!"

That's right. A brilliant idea.

At that moment, the sound of an automatic rifle echoed—tatatatataan.

And immediately afterward, the familiar flash appeared three times in succession.

"Over there!"

Before I could even react, Saya-chan dashed off at a speed far beyond my reach.

"Hold on, please!"

I hurriedly chased after her back.

The very spot where I had just dispatched the unknown girl's "zombie."

Near the main gate of "Ichihon Art University," the man was there.

Even from a distance, it was clear he was no ordinary person—his figure covered in blood.

At first glance, he appeared to be a young boy.

His stature was so short that he seemed almost like a child, and his eyes held a certain pure gleam.

Yet, despite this, his hair was heavily streaked with white, and his face looked oddly aged.

He looked neither like a teenager nor a young adult—perhaps even like a man in his forties, an odd and peculiar figure.

He was intently driving a knife into an old man with a pirate-like beard who stood guard.

He seemed to be muttering something quietly, under his breath.

If you strained your ears, you could just make out his murmurs:

"Kill the one, kill the one, kill the one, kill the one, kill the one, kill the one."

Indeed, it sounded just like he was saying that.

The guard's uncle was clearly dead—his body, face, arms, and legs all riddled with slashes.

Saiha-chan stood trembling, as if she'd just learned how babies are made for the first time,

"What... what is he doing...? Why...?"

Her voice trembled.

そこでその男は、ナイフを突き立てる手を止め、立ち上がり、儀式めいた雰囲気で、奇妙な真似を始めました。

めった刺しにしたおじさんの死体に、おしっこをかけ始めたのです。

そりゃもう、盛大な勢いで。

じょじょじょじょ～っと。

「あーあ、……あ、あ、あ、あ、あ、あ、あ、あ、あ……」

なんて、恍惚の声を上げながら。

うわぁ。友達になれなさそう。

誰得だよこの絵面。

I understand why someone might end up a little crazy in a world like this.

I wonder what kind of experience would drive someone to go this far off the deep end.

For now, let's check my skills.

Job: Spirit Summoner

Level: 29

Skills: [Madness (Medium)], [Natural Healing (Strong)], [Skin Reinforcement], [Bone Reinforcement], [Hunger Resistance (Strong)], [Fire Magic I–V], [Healing Magic I–V], [Spirit Summoning V], [Spirit Presence I], [Will-o'-the-Wisp], [Fairy], [Ghost]

Ugh.

Pretty strong.

Wait—where the heck did this person come from?

Introduce yourself, please.