Volume 4 Chapter 100: A Game

“Manager, can I ask you something?”

“Hm? What is it?”

The manager nodded casually, deflecting Noel’s relentless attacks with one hand while holding me firmly in the other. Noel, draped in a crimson dress reminiscent of blood, attacked with a force and frequency that could only be described as terrifying. Yet, the manager seemed unfazed—enjoying himself, even.

The powerful winds generated by her punches and kicks swept past me, but strangely enough, I stayed calm.

Haha, Noel is incredible. Her attacks are like a raging storm. Just one hit from her would probably kill me instantly. What the hell is going on?

She seems to be aiming carefully enough to avoid hitting me, but it’s clear I shouldn’t move unnecessarily. Not that I can move at all, held as tightly as I am by the manager.

“Why are you being targeted?”

Seriously, what did you do to make three people want to kill you? Maybe this is just a game to you, but every single one of Noel’s attacks is dripping with murderous intent. Do you even realize that? Oh, you do? Great.

“Well, you see…”

The manager caught one of Noel’s vicious kicks, which came dangerously close to his face, with ease—as if stopping a child’s playful swing. The force of the blow sent a gust of wind through my hair.

What a terrifyingly brutal kick. If that had landed on me, my face and probably every bone in my body would have been obliterated.

I doubt there are many people who could engage Noel in close combat right now. The manager could have chosen to fight from the air using Longing Sky, but instead, he chose to stay on the ground. Honestly, there’s something fundamentally wrong with him. Not that it matters to him.

“I told them if they managed to land even one hit on me, I’d give them the Desire Mirror.”

…What?

“The Desire Mirror? What’s that?”

The moment I thought that, Noel twisted her body violently. The motion was so intense that an awful tearing sound echoed, like flesh ripping apart. She wrenched herself free from the manager’s grip.

“Oh-ho, impressive.”

“Ugh…”

The manager sounded impressed, but I was horrified. Noel, now at a distance, stood with one of her ankles visibly torn and blood pouring from the wound.

No, no, no… That has to hurt so much.

This kind of reckless fighting isn’t something I can accept as Noel’s friend. She’s completely lost her sense of reason. There’s no way this is normal. She’s completely unhinged. I can’t just stand here anymore.

“Don’t worry.”

“Wait—”

As I moved to intervene, the manager stopped me. Smiling, he flooded my body with mana, locking me in place. I couldn’t even speak. My head was the only part of me that could still move.

“I’ll heal her wounds later.”

Of course, you will. But that’s not the point!

Just stop the fight already! Please, I’m begging you!

The manager patted my head as if to comfort me, but his words did nothing to ease my growing sense of dread.

“I won’t kill her.”

That’s not the issue! The fact that you even have to say that means it’s already gone too far!

“Besides, they all knew what they were getting into. I made sure of it beforehand. This is just a game.”

This isn’t a game!

It looks like a life-or-death struggle to me. Am I the only one seeing this? Do you even know what a game is? It’s supposed to be fun! Let’s do something fun instead. Please, I’m begging you.

“But… this is starting to get interesting.”

“Hahaha!”

Ah, great. They’re enjoying this.

They’re both insane.

The manager smirked as Noel let out a high-pitched laugh, propelling herself forward once again. All I could do was watch.

In the blink of an eye, Noel closed the gap and threw a powerful punch. The manager dodged effortlessly with a slight tilt of his head. His pure white hair fluttered gracefully in the gust generated by her strike.

Noel didn’t hesitate. She twisted her body and followed up with a backhand strike, her movements wild yet astonishingly fast.

It didn’t matter. The manager stopped the destructive blow with a single finger. The force of her attack created yet another gust of wind that tousled my hair.

Unbelievable, right? He’s doing all this while holding me in one arm. Is he even human?

Well, I suppose Noel’s attacks are somewhat limited because she’s trying to avoid hitting me, but still… Is he even human?

“Ahaha! Die!”

Noel, whose attack had been blocked, quickly pulled back her arm to readjust her stance, letting out that terrifyingly straightforward shout before unleashing a flurry of strikes like a raging storm.

Dodging and parrying every one of her vicious punches and kicks, the Manager spoke to Noel in a casual tone, as though sipping tea.

“Fumu, copying Bloodstained Ball (Blood Party) is quite intriguing. You’ve successfully incorporated the trait of increased abilities upon absorbing blood, and you’ve refined it nicely. The fact that you managed to create that Magis Gear on the fly is commendable. Your body’s learned the sensation after just one use, it seems.”

What the heck is Bloodstained Ball supposed to be?

Why would Noel take inspiration from something with such a dangerous name?

And what about the Desire Mirror? Is it really worth creating a Magis Gear like this just to land a single hit on the Manager? Why does everyone know about it except me?

“However, recreating the part that affects the mind was a mistake. With that level of speed and power—just mindless violence with no technique—it poses no threat. The next challenge is learning to control that Magis Gear. You’ll need to ingrain the moves into your body so you can still use proper techniques, even when madness takes hold.”

That’s hardcore.

So you’re still pushing Noel in some weird direction, huh? Give her a break already. Please don’t drag her any further down this path.

Well, I guess it’s true—Noel’s movements are all over the place.

She’s lost her sense of reason and is just lashing out. It looks like she’s being tossed around by the power itself.

Her physical abilities are almost unbelievable, but the way she moves is full of wasteful motion, to the point it could be called clumsy.

The Manager’s claim that she’s not a threat is disturbing, yet watching Noel now makes me realize how impressive Mina’s combat skills and instincts really were.

Since I fought Mina directly and could almost match her speed, I can sense the stark difference in their actual fighting power. Even if Noel challenged her now, she’d stand no chance.

But that’s inevitable. Their practical combat experience isn’t even close. The difference in their backgrounds and everything else is too big. Gaining sudden power doesn’t mean you can immediately stand shoulder to shoulder with the truly strong.

I, on the other hand, got surpassed in one leap.

So, maybe Noel should stop using that Magis Gear from now on?

Not because I’m scared or anything.

It’s just—it doesn’t suit her, you know?

Though I do think she looks good in a dress.

So let’s just skip any more training with the Manager, okay?

Wouldn’t it be better to spend time fishing with me somewhere peaceful?

“Well, Noel should be fine handling this much now.”

While I was thinking that, the Manager dodged one of Noel’s wide swings—and tossed me into the air.

“Uwaai! What are you doing?”

“Noi—”

“There, you’re wide open.”

In that brief moment when Noel’s eyes followed me, the Manager dashed in close. With Noel’s guard completely down, she landed a palm strike to her midsection.

It looked like a light tap, but it sent Noel flying far into the distance.

At the same time, I fell back into the Manager’s arms.

The blood-like dress Noel had been wearing vanished the moment she hit the ground. Freed from the Magis Gear, she was left for some reason in white underwear, and I quickly looked away in a panic.

Since the Manager decided she’d be okay with an attack of that level, she’s probably just unconscious. But her outfit is definitely a problem.

Between Fiona and now Noel, why isn’t anyone wearing clothes?

Even from a distance, seeing her there in her underwear while unconscious makes me feel super guilty.

“One down… Hm? Ah, you’re bothered that Noel and Fiona aren’t wearing anything, huh?”

Yeah.

But could you not pick up on things only when it’s awkward?

The Manager peered into my face with a bright smile, making me feel unbelievably uncomfortable. It’s not easy being a guy at a time like this.

“They said they didn’t want to get their clothes dirty. After all, they got them from Noil.”

Who cares if those clothes get dirty?

There’s no problem if they do.

“Naturally, I’m the same way.”

Ah… right.

“But… I don’t get dirty, even while wearing clothes.”

The Manager declared this with an air of confidence, turning around to face Fiona, who knelt on one knee with her short gun aimed at us. He smiled at her, seemingly unbothered by the tension.

Whether they were unfamiliar with teamwork or simply too consumed by their desire to claim the Desire Mirror, it seemed they intended to fight the Manager one at a time. Well, it’s better than them turning on each other like before, I suppose.

And for reasons I can’t even begin to fathom, Sierra, standing at a distance, noticed my gaze and started taking off her clothes. What is she doing? I’m worried about you, little sister.

“Next up is Fiona, I see.”

“Don’t think you can keep acting so confident forever.”

“Oh? I look forward to seeing what you’ve got.”

“Senpai, I’ll rescue you now.”

…Sure, thanks?

Am I the helpless guy captured by a villain being saved by a hero in an awful outfit? This is a bizarre scene. The “hero” is in underwear, wearing a collar and oversized goggles with wings—a look that’s way too niche.

Rather than saving me, maybe… just stop fighting? That’d be the most helpful thing, really.

It feels like I’m some damsel in distress here, but if they’d just quit fighting, I think I’d be freed pretty quickly. Am I wrong?

“〈Piercing Shot〉.”

“Oh?”

Though I couldn’t look directly because of her overly provocative appearance, I saw something fire from Fiona’s short gun. The Manager let out a curious hum, flicking away the high-speed projectile with his fingers.

It was a tiny bullet resembling a plant seed. The halted shot released a small flame before dissipating in front of us.

“An interesting technique, but for me—”

“〈Disorder Bloom〉!”

Before the Manager could finish, Fiona’s voice rang out. The stopped bullet, which should’ve been falling to the ground, suddenly surged toward him again.

And not just that—countless more magic bullets erupted from her short gun in rapid succession.

“Oho!”

The Manager let out a gleeful exclamation, dodging the onslaught with an almost joyful expression. Carrying me in one arm, he danced through the storm of bullets as if performing, gracefully avoiding every single shot.

I gawked at the spectacle, my mouth hanging open. He moved with such absurd agility that even as I was being held, I felt no strain whatsoever. It wasn’t just dodging—he was still considerate enough to ensure I wasn’t jostled around.

I can’t wrap my head around this at all. If you’re this considerate, could you maybe be like that all the time?

“〈Eternal Flower〉!”

Even in the face of the Manager’s insane movements, Fiona didn’t falter. She stood up and pointed a hand in our direction.

“I anticipated this much. But let’s see how long you can keep dodging.”

“Hm?”

At this point, I don’t understand what anyone’s doing anymore. My head’s going to explode.

“I have more mana than you. I’ll slowly wear you down until you die.”

“I see.”

Wait… is Fiona the villain here?

It appeared she was aiming for a battle of attrition. Even the Manager couldn’t keep up his movements forever if his mana ran out. Fiona seemed confident she could sustain this attack until that happened.

But then—

“How about this?”

To my disbelief, the Manager started advancing toward Fiona while dodging the bullets. Is there anything he can’t do?

Sure, getting close would mean dragging Fiona into the bullet storm too, but still—what the hell?

“I expected that.”

You did? Seriously?

I thought as I watched Fiona leap into the air.

“Hm, troublesome.”

Even the Manager didn’t seem inclined to chase her into an aerial battle. He stopped his approach.

And then—

“Well, let’s end this, shall we?”

“Wha…?”

In an instant, countless magic needles appeared around the Manager. They all launched at once, shooting down Fiona’s bullets mid-flight.

Fiona gasped, her voice filled with disbelief.

“Why are you so surprised? If chasing or dodging becomes difficult, the natural course is to shoot them down, no?”

“Th-That’s… impossible…! Not even you could so easily deal with 〈Piercing Shot〉!”

The Manager looked up at the visibly shaken Fiona, his face alight with amusement.

“It’s true that such highly condensed magic bullets have almost no flaws. However… the wind magic controlling them is still crude. And…”

“Ah…”

“The activation time is too slow.”

The moment the Manager raised a hand toward her, countless magic needles shot toward Fiona. Her attention was drawn to them—and—

“It’s fine when you have allies.”

“Ah…”

“But when you’re alone, this tactic is hard to pull off.”

Appearing behind her in an instant, the Manager caught her off guard and flooded her with mana. Fiona collapsed unconscious, a pained expression of regret etched on her face.

She didn’t even stand a chance. Even I, cradled in his arms, couldn’t fully grasp what had just happened—just that he’d moved at an insane speed.

“Now, all that’s left is Sierra.”

Holding both Fiona and me, the Manager slowly descended from Longing Sky to the ground.

Seeing Sierra waiting there, dressed inexplicably in black underwear, I couldn’t help but silently plead with her to run.