Silence gripped the escaping helicopter, heavy with unspoken tension. But they couldn't stay mute forever.
"Still can't believe it happened to me," Isori muttered.
"What happened? How's this even possible?" Kirihara asked, bewildered. Koharu nodded silently.
"I'd buy it being a hallucination," Leo said.
"But it wasn't," Mikihiko countered. "You, Hirakawa-senpai, and I nearly died. Your leg was gone, Isori. That's fact."
"As Mikihiko-kun said," Chikara added. "I was dying. Kirihara-kun's leg was severed, Isori-kun's back shredded. No denying it."
Silence returned, heavier now, as grim reality sank in.
"Shiba, tell us one thing," Mari said, breaking the quiet, addressing Miyuki.
"What?" Miyuki's tone was calm, but her expression was rigid—deliberately so, perhaps.
"How long does Tatsuya-kun's magic last?" Mari asked.
Healing magic was temporary, requiring repeated casts to fool the world into permanence. Miyuki's answer, meant for the healed trio, was deliberate.
"Permanent. No repeated casting needed. No restrictions. Full recovery to normal life."
"Possible?" Mari pressed, skeptical.
"You doubt it?" Miyuki asked.
"Not doubting, but…" Mari trailed off.
Kanon, grateful for Isori's life, still found the explanation lacking. "I'm thankful for Kei, but a one-shot healing magic? That defies the system. Is it even healing? What did Tatsuya-kun do?"
"Kanon-chan, calm down," Mayumi soothed. "She's just worried about Isori-kun, Miyuki-san."
"I understand. No offense taken," Miyuki said, offering a faint smile.
"But what was it, if not healing?" Mari persisted.
"Mari! Prying into others' spells is rude!" Mayumi snapped.
Miyuki intervened. "Thank you, Saegusa-senpai. But it's fine. It's natural to wonder. Onii-sama would allow me to share this much."
She meant: keep it secret. If they couldn't, the conversation ended here.
"No leaks," Mari vowed.
"Won't tell," Kanon added.
"Understood," Airi agreed.
Others echoed their pledges.
"Everything from here is confidential, including for Nagura-san's team," Miyuki said.
"It's not that dramatic," Mayumi murmured, knowing the Saegusa would hear regardless. Hiding it was pointless—it couldn't be replicated.
"It's not healing magic," Miyuki began, her poised demeanor commanding attention. "It's called Regrowth. It traces Eidos changes up to twenty-four hours, fully copies the pre-injury Eidos, and overwrites the current one. Internal changes, like brainwashing, can be traced indefinitely. The target is restored to its pre-damage state."
Sayaka's shocked expression hinted at recognition. Miyuki nodded, continuing.
"Why is magic temporary? Eidos has a restorative force, reverting to its original state. But Regrowth's copied Eidos is the target's own past self. It doesn't revert to damage—it's as if the injury never happened, time progressing unmarred."
"So Tatsuya can erase any injury instantly?" Mikihiko asked, incredulous.
"Not instantly," Miyuki corrected, her smile both amused and sad. "In a moment. And not just people—machines too."
Mikihiko froze, jaw dropped.
"This magic consumes his capacity," Miyuki said. "It occupies his magical domain, leaving no room for other spells."
"Then my mistake…" Chikara whispered, realizing her misconceptions.
"That explains his imbalance," Mari mused.
"No wonder other magic's blocked," Isori added.
Miyuki hid half the truth, letting their assumptions stand, her smile tinged with sorrow.
Kanon, breaking the heavy mood, blurted, "That's incredible! Any injury within twenty-four hours, gone?"
"Exactly," Isori said, fervent. "In disasters or field hospitals, it could save thousands, millions."
"It's heroic," Kanon exclaimed. "Why hide it? Saving lives, not taking them—that's a true hero!"
"You think such power comes without cost?" Miyuki's voice was icy, her gaze piercing Kanon.
Mari, Mayumi, Airi, and Kanon saw it—Miyuki's rage, frozen to maintain calm. She grieved and burned, furious at herself for asking Tatsuya to use Regrowth.
"To copy Eidos, he reads all its data, including pain—not as knowledge, but as raw sensation, flooding his nerves directly. No brain filter."
Someone coughed, a reflex from stifled breath.
"For Isori-senpai," Miyuki continued, "thirty seconds passed from injury to Regrowth. Tatsuya read that in 0.2 seconds, enduring your pain condensed 150 times over."
"150 times…" Isori groaned, unable to fathom it.
"Longer injuries mean denser pain. An hour-old wound? Ten thousand times the agony."
Miyuki looked away from Kanon, restraining her fury.
"Every time he heals, he pays this price. Yet you say he should use it for others?"
Her anger was quiet, aimed inward for begging Tatsuya to act.
"So… Shizuku's story about you dying three years ago…" Honoka ventured.
"You heard," Miyuki said. "Yes, Onii-sama used Regrowth on me. That's why I 'should've died.'"
Silence fell. The heli flew on toward escape.
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