The young man stood crouched upon his spear, with brown eyes, tousled blue hair, and a navy-blue outfit.
For a second, he eyed Sato, but after teasing him a little, he turned his gaze to the real deal.
Irina stood about three meters away, her retreat perfectly timed to avoid the spear's impact.
"I never thought I would see the famous Black Witch here,"
He said this sarcastically, knowing from the start who she was and who he was facing.
The mysterious hero got off his spear and, with a single pull, lifted his weapon.
Irina didn't say anything, in a single motion just lifting her right arm, manifesting a purple flame in it.
"Ohh, scary. The famous Undying Flame, a single hit and I am done for, am I right?"
The mysterious hero stood on guard, ready for whatever would come his way.
Both locked eyes on each other, ready to see who will make the first move.
Sato in the meantime retreated further from the fight that was about to happen.
"Are they really planning to fight in broad daylight?"
Sato was still trembling a little from the shock of hitting the ground with some light wounds on his body.
Stomping heavily onto the asphalt, the hero who wielded the spear moved to close the gap between him and Irina.
Without moving from her spot, Irina lifted her hand into the air. In that brief moment, spheres of flame flared to life behind her, forming a blazing circle, whirling around like a fiery halo, their heat distorting the air.
With a swift motion, she lowered her hand, commanding the flames to hit their target, the hero who rushed forward recklessly.
Observing how the flames came at him, he realized something. The flames… were slow.
At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to challenge her, but once I took a look at her exis I knew it would be a waste not to take a little gamble.
Stopping abruptly, he brought his spear up in front of him, spinning it in a continuous motion.
As the fireballs clashed against the spear, they deflected with a sharp flare, streaking away in every direction.
"I didn't want to believe that The Great Witch would step so low, but it seems that even you get desperate. Your exis is weak, isn't he?"
Irina kept her distance and sighed.
"And what if he is? Even without one, I would be more than capable of beating someone like you."
It seems that I piqued her curiosity now that I discovered her weakness. But I need to say, the rumours that she is also an ice queen were not wrong.
"Defeat me without an exis? Ha, such confidence for someone standing at the edge of defeat."
"And such arrogance, giving a mage time to prepare."
With a short move of her hand like pulling a string, beneath the hero a magic circle appeared that started to glow.
"Fuck…"
The ground erupted in a deafening roar, flames licking at the air as shards of asphalt rained down.
Sato, standing next to a corner, watched as the explosion took place with his hand against his chest, watching closely.
"Is it over?"
From the cloud of dust someone jumped quickly, a flash of steel sliced through the dust cloud, the figure bursting upward in a single, fluid leap.
"Be ready, witch, I won't back down now!"
In the air, the mysterious hero dashed toward Irina at full speed, spear poised to strike.
At the moment of impact, Irina stepped back slightly, but the hero pressed the attack relentlessly, giving her no time to breathe.
His spear thrusts came in rapid succession, each one narrowly missing, though the relentless assault still managed to nick her arms and shoulders as she dodged.
This is where I want to be, as long as I don't give her any opening, this fight will be mine.
Irina was backing down calmly, with the same cold expression like she was having everything under control.
At one point, she took a larger step back, the hero ready to pursue her, but just before moving, he noticed the magic circle beneath his foot.
"...When did she?"
Another explosion erupted, the hero backing away from the smoke screen, scratched and with light wounds.
I barely managed to dodge the flames. One hit and I would've been done for…well I guess she is not called a genius for nothing.
In the distance, sirens wailed, slicing through the air. Their chaos seemed to stir the neighborhood into unease.
"I would say this is a good moment to stop, wouldn't you?"
With the spear pointing at the wounds he had caused her.
Irina remained silent again, her cold gaze fixed elsewhere, offering him nothing. The hero scoffed, shaking his head.
"And when I thought we are getting closer, you are showing me the cold shoulder…Very well then, until we meet again."
With two fingers to his temple, he gave her a quick salute, then leaped into the air, vanishing moments later.
Now that everything had calmed down, Sato rushed to Irina.
Beside her, Sato could see her chest rising with heavy breaths. Cuts ran across her body, her robe torn from the evasive dodges, and dark blood smeared her arms.
She is exhausted from the battle, and it sounds like the cops are getting closer, we should retreat for now.
"Should we go home?"
Sato reached out a hand to her, but even in her weakened state she refused, brushing past him and slipped into a dark alley to avoid attention.
"…I don't know what I was expecting…"
By the time the cops arrived, the street was already in ruins, completely deserted. From around the corner, a silhouette lingered in the shadows, watching it all.
At the apartment, Irina seemed to have recovered a little from the battle.
At my full power, that fool wouldn't have touched me. I should've known better… He's weak. Pathetic. But this is what I chose, and it's not like I didn't know how useless he is. Yet, I still haven't found anyone more fitting.
"Are you alright Irina?"
She stayed silent the whole way back. I know she can be a pain, but at the end of the day, she's still a person, and those wounds, even if light, still hurt.
Irina showed no sign of wanting to talk to him, going into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.
So she's still not interested in talking to me. Well, I can't say I'm surprised. From her point of view, I must seem useless. And honestly, I can't blame her… I couldn't help her with anything. Not after everything I said.
He got up from the couch and walked to the bedroom door. He knocked once, but there was no response. Realizing it was pointless to wait, he slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Irina sat on the bed, with her eyes closed, concentrating, her wounds recovering slowly.
Sato said nothing as he moved next to the bed, sitting beside her in silence, waiting for her to finish.
"What do you want?"
After a short while, she was done. Her eyes shifted to Sato, who was still sitting there, calmly.
"Look, I know you see me as a nobody. But I want to prove I can be more. And to do that, I need help. Right now, you're the only one I know who understands magic… so, if you could, would you teach me?"
So he wants to understand magic when he doesn't even know what mana is in the first place. He's really a lost cause… But at the same time, I can think of a way for him to prove himself.
"There is a way. But it will put your life at risk. Do you still want to go through with it?"
"Yes!"
This is everything I have asked for, a chance to prove myself. No matter what it is I am gonna pull through.
"Good. Lie down on the bed. I'll explain everything from there."
Lying down, Sato listened as Irina began to explain how it all worked.
"Mana flows through every living being, just like blood runs through our veins. But instead of veins, it travels through circuits. The three main ones are the physical, the mind, and the spiritual circuits. For mana to flow freely within the body, these circuits must first be opened."
"And how are you planning to open them?"
With a flick of her wrist, glowing shackles of purple flame formed in the air, snapping tightly around Sato's wrists. The chains bound him in place, their heat biting into his skin as Irina prepared to force his mana circuits open.
"I will force them open of course."
"Are these really necessary?"
"Indeed, it seems like something is missing," she said, looking around the room.
"...So it's going to hurt?"
These shackles alone hurt a lot. They're very tight, and they burn… not enough to scorch my skin, but it still hurts…and she seems to have a lot of fun…
"Normally, circuits are opened one at a time, over the course of a year. But since we don't have that luxury, we'll open them consecutively. So yes, if you need confirmation, it's going to hurt a lot."
Irina took a book from the shelf, then walked over to Sato with it in hand.
"Open wide."
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he muttered.
"You can't even imagine," she replied with a faint smirk.
As Sato opened his mouth, Irina forced the book between his teeth. The bitter taste of the old book filled his tongue as he bit down, jaw clenched to stifle a scream.
Irina sat down beside him and placed two fingers on his forehead.
"Are you ready?"