Chapter 21

“Is that true…?”

A low, raspy voice echoed through the sub-dimensional space that served as the fiends’ lair.

The fiend on the throne was receiving a report from one of his low-level subordinates.

The information brought to him was the death of Fiend Orochi.

Fiend Orochi was a fiend of the strongest class he had ever created, brought to life by the fiend on the throne for the sole purpose of killing the mysterious man who had defeated Fiend Venom and Fiend Gotees.

Its power was greater than that of Fiend Venom and Fiend Gotees combined.

The fiend on the throne had been certain that Fiend Orochi would be able to kill the mysterious, magic-wielding man.

But the assault had failed.

Fiend Orochi and four other fiends had engaged the mysterious man and five magical girls inside a shopping mall, and all contact was lost.

While he had anticipated that the four fiends besides Orochi might be defeated, the fall of Orochi, the most powerful fiend he had ever created, was entirely unexpected.

The fiend on the throne had been convinced that Fiend Orochi would kill the mysterious man without fail.

Who is he, this man…?

A hint of confusion crept into the enthroned fiend’s voice.

Why did this mysterious man possess such immense power? What was his relationship to the magical girls? Everything was shrouded in mystery.

“L-Lord Orochi has vanished… He was likely defeated by the man in question… However, we did have a successful harvest… We have identified the mysterious man’s name and whereabouts.”

“Oh?”

The fiend on the throne’s voice was filled with interest.

“Speak. Who is this man who defeats the fiends of my creation one after another?”

“According to information obtained by capturing and torturing a member of the Magical Girl Training Academy… the man who defeated Lord Orochi is named Reiya Toujou. He is a student enrolled at the Magical Girl Training Academy.”

Hearing this, the single eye of the fiend on the throne shot wide open.

“What did you say? The man attends a school for magical girls?”

“It would appear so. He transferred in just a few days ago and is apparently now attending classes with the magical girls.”

“Does that mean this man is a magical girl?”

“No, he is not. He can use magic, but his gender is male. It seems he was given special permission to attend the Magical Girl Training Academy.”

“…A man who can use magic. Reiya Toujou, is it…?”

The fiend on the throne rose to his feet.

His entire body trembled with the joy of finally having uncovered the identity of his nemesis, and a murderous aura emanated from him.

“What will you do…?”

“Obviously, I will kill that man… kill Toujou.”

“Will you be creating another fiend?”

“No. I am done creating fiends,” the enthroned fiend said, his voice laced with bloodlust.

“I will kill Reiya Toujou myself.”

“B-But, that is…”

“I will go myself and kill Reiya Toujou in person. I will snuff out his life without fail. Do you understand?”

“As you command…”

“Kukuku… Just you wait, Reiya Toujou. I’m coming to repay the debt you owe for killing my fiends. Heheheh… Mwahahahahahaha!”

The laughter of the fiend on the throne echoed throughout the sub-dimensional space.

◆

“Help me, Onii-chan…”

I was dreaming.

It was a dream of the great disaster that struck the city several years ago.

That disaster was caused by a single fiend.

The city was destroyed, and many people were sacrificed.

I lost my precious family in the cataclysm brought on by that fiend.

My beloved parents died, and my little sister vanished.

I’ve been alone ever since.

All that was left to me was the power of magic.

With that power, I searched for my sister while fighting fiends.

My sister, who must still be waiting for help somewhere.

I kept searching, believing she was surely still alive.

But no matter how many fiends I defeated, I couldn’t find a single clue that would lead me to my missing sister.

Help me… Onii-chan…

My memory of the disaster is hazy.

But even now, I can clearly remember the sound of my sister’s voice, calling out to me for help.

Shiori… Wait… Wait, Shiori…

I call out my sister’s name.

I swear I’ll save you… Your big brother will absolutely come and save you… So until then…

Onii-chan… Onii-chan… Reiya-onii-chan!

My sister’s voice calls my name.

I reach my hand out toward her.

And a warm sensation met the hand that always grasps at empty air.

My consciousness surfaced from the haze of sleep.

“Takanashi…?”

When I opened my eyelids, a familiar face was right in front of me.

“Are you okay, Toujou-kun?”

Yuki Takanashi was peering at my face, looking concerned.

I looked down and saw that my outstretched hand was held firmly in hers.

It seemed the hand I thought I’d grabbed in my dream was Takanashi’s.

“Why are you… here?”

I sat up and looked around.

This was a room in the dorms.

The faint light of dawn was streaming through the window.

“I’m sorry, you seemed to be having a nightmare… I used magic to unlock the door and let myself in…”

“I see…”

The door I was sure I had closed was now open.

Apparently, Takanashi had used magic to unlock it.

“I came by early to thank you for yesterday, you know… but I could hear you groaning all the way through the door… I got worried and used magic to come in… I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t worry about it.”

“You’re covered in sweat. Are you really okay?”

Takanashi took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from my brow.

“My bad, Takanashi. I got your handkerchief dirty.”

“N-No, it’s fine.”

“Thank me for yesterday?”

“W-Well… you saved me yesterday, right, Toujou-kun? I mean, you literally saved my life, didn’t you? So, I wanted to properly thank you again…”

“Is that all? You didn’t have to come all the way to my room for that.”

“No, I really wanted to thank you properly. You, Toujou-kun. Thank you so much for yesterday. If you hadn’t been there, that fiend would have killed me. Thank you so, so much for saving me.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re safe too, Takanashi.”

“Ehehe. To be honest, I’d already accepted I was going to die when I lied to the Student Council President and stayed on that floor. So when you came to save me, Toujou-kun, I was really surprised, and even more than that, I was just so happy.”

“I see…”

It was only yesterday that five fiends had attacked the shopping mall, and Takanashi had nearly been killed by one of them, Fiend Orochi.

Back then, Takanashi had lied to us, intending to sacrifice herself.

But I saw through her lie and saved her.

If I hadn’t been able to see through her lie, Takanashi would have been killed by Fiend Orochi.

“Is your body okay now, Takanashi?”

“Yeah. I received treatment. I’m perfectly fine now.”

“I see…”

“Hey, Toujou-kun. You seemed to be having a really bad nightmare. Are you okay?”

“Was I?”

“Yeah. You looked like you were in a lot of pain, calling someone’s name over and over again.”

“…How embarrassing. You heard me?”

“Sorry… I did…”

Takanashi looked down guiltily.

“No, it’s fine. It’s not a big deal. I was just having the usual dream.”

“A dream? What kind of dream?”

“It’s like a nightmare I have all the time.”

“Will you… tell me about it?”

Takanashi gently moved closer.

I hesitated for a moment, then began to speak, haltingly.

“Do you remember the great disaster that hit this city four years ago?”

“The great disaster? You mean the one with Fiend X?”

“That’s the one.”

Four years ago, a certain fiend attacked this city.

That single fiend ravaged the city and killed a great number of people.

That fiend is now called X, and even after four years, it still hasn’t been found.

The scars of the great disaster still remain all over the city.

“In that disaster… I lost my parents. My little sister also vanished somewhere.”

“Toujou-kun… you were a victim of that disaster…?”

“Yeah. I was.”

I nodded.

“From that day on, I awakened to my magical power. And I started tracking my sister’s traces while defeating fiends. But I still haven’t found her. I still have dreams about that time.”

“…So that’s what happened.”

“Sorry for dumping such a dark story on you.”

The air had grown heavy, and I apologized to Takanashi.

But Takanashi just shook her head and looked at me with serious eyes.

“Thank you for telling me. I’m glad I was able to learn about your past, Toujou-kun.”

“…Sorry for making you be so considerate.”

“No. It’s not about being considerate. What I just said was from the heart.”

“…Thanks.”

“Um, Toujou-kun. If it’s not too much to ask… would you let me help you search for your sister?”

“Eh…?”

I looked up, surprised.

Takanashi was staring straight into my eyes.

“I want to be useful to you, Toujou-kun. If possible, I’d like to help you find your sister. There might be something I can do.”

“Are you sure…?”

“Yeah. I want you to let me search for your sister with you.”

“I mean, I’d be grateful for the help… but why would you do something like that for me?”

“W-Well, that’s…”

Takanashi looked down, poking her index fingers together shyly.

“W-We’re both members of the student council, right? So I think we should, uh, help each other out… Besides, you saved my life… so, I was hoping I could do something to repay you…”

“I see… In that case, can I take you up on that?”

“Yeah. Leave it to me,” she said, scratching her cheek, looking embarrassed.

“I’m pretty good with search magic and other spells useful for finding people… so just let me know anytime there’s something I can do.”