"Whoa, whoa, whoa… you didn't actually go and kill an immortal vampire, did you?"
The lightning spell Negi unleashed carried far more destructive power than I'd anticipated. It had been a direct hit. For a split second, I genuinely wondered if… but then the air cleared.
"Why are you naked?"
As the smoke from the impact dissipated, Evangeline stood there, inexplicably stripped of every stitch of clothing. Had the final surge of Negi's magic been some kind of Disarming Wind or clothes-rending spell?
"Heh… not bad, boy," Eva smirked, her voice steady despite her state. "But this isn't over yet—"
She began to leap across the bridge, but I decided the situation had escalated far enough for a mere training exercise. I stepped toward the center of the battlefield, clapping my hands to draw everyone's attention.
"Give it a rest, Eva. It's obvious you're pushing yourself. There's no point going this far for a simple mock battle."
"Tch. Axel?" Eva shot a sharp, irritated glare my way. "I don't care if it's a mock battle or the end of the world—a fight isn't over until it's over. The audience should keep their mouths shut and stay off the stage."
"Wait, wait, wait," Asuna interrupted, her voice rising in confusion. "What do you mean, 'mock battle'?"
"A mock battle?" Kamo added, scratching his head. "Now that you mention it, the 'Gospel of Dark' was struggling a lot more than usual against the kid..."
Asuna and Kamo were reeling, but Negi looked at me with a spark of realization and a hint of relief in his eyes.
"Since it was a mock battle… hm?"
I started to elaborate, but the words died in my throat. Suddenly, lights flickered to life in a nearby building. Like a chain reaction, the darkness of Mahora Academy was chased away as the power grid surged back to life across the entire campus.
"The blackout is over," I noted. "Time's up, Eva."
"Oh no! The restoration is seven minutes ahead of schedule!" Chachamaru cried out. "Master!"
"What?! …Kyaa?!"
Eva let out a sharp gasp as a visible shock ran through her. She had been hovering just off the edge of the bridge; as her power vanished, she didn't fall toward the safety of the stone—she plummeted toward the river below.
"Dammit! Accel!"
Reacting on instinct, I triggered my mental command. With a surge of supernatural speed, I blurred across the bridge, kicked off the railing, and lunged into the empty air, catching Eva's hand mid-fall.
"Axel?!"
Ignoring her cry of surprise, I focused my SP into my feet. Using the principles of Shundo, I struck the air itself—the advanced technique, Void Shundo. My success rate with it was barely fifty percent, but lady luck was on my side this time.
"Just hang on!"
I kicked off the vacuum of space, aiming for the bridge. We were short. I needed one more jump. I focused my mana again, bracing to kick the air—
"What?!"
Instead of finding purchase, my foot slipped through the air as if stepping into a hole. My balance shattered. Dammit, a failure?!
"Slime—"
I started to open my Spatial Warehouse to deploy a slime cushion, but the word never left my lips. Chachamaru, her thrusters glowing bright, swept in and caught both of us in a firm embrace. Beside her, Negi hovered on the staff that had supposedly been tossed into the river.
I still haven't mastered flight magic. Maybe I should put that on the to-do list. Negi uses his staff as a focus, but what would I use? Flying around on a set of bracers? The mental image was… surreal, to say the least.
I glanced at the unit on my right arm and offered a wry smile. Eva, safely held in my arms, looked up at me with an expression of pure exasperation.
"Honestly. Jumping off a bridge when you can't even fly?"
"I had Void Shundo under control."
"...It hardly counts as 'under control' if the activation fails. Fine. Consider this my thanks for today: I'll oversee your training. We'll work on that technique until you stop making such pathetic mistakes."
She flashed a smile that bordered on sadistic. I couldn't help but chuckle.
She really can't just be honest, can she? If Chizuru were here, she'd have a field day with this.
"Master," Chachamaru's monotone voice broke the air. "Your tsundere is showing. That's a 'GG'."
"...Wait, Chachamaru, you too?!"
The tension of the magical duel had evaporated, replaced by our usual chaotic banter. Chachamaru touched down gently on the bridge.
"Axel-san. Thank you for saving Master," she said, bowing her head politely as she let me go. Beside her, Eva had produced a black cloak from somewhere and wrapped it around herself, looking away with a pout.
"So… I guess everyone is safe? Both Eva-chan and Axel?" Asuna asked, catching her breath.
"Yeah," I replied. "A fall from that height into the water might have bruised a few things, but Chachamaru had our backs."
"Phew… well, that's good. WAIT, NO!" Asuna's relief vanished in an instant. "Forget that! What the hell was that about a mock battle?!"
"Yeah! This is news to me!" Kamo chimed in.
Their indignant shouting was exactly what I expected. I couldn't suppress a grin.
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