The afternoon sunbeams struck the window of a homely house adjacent to the church.
In the second-floor room, through the white curtains that let the light pass, a girl sat on her bed.
A lost expression reflected her mental state.
Her arms loosely wrapped around her legs, as she seemed to reflect on everything that had happened the previous night.
She couldn't help but recall the despair she felt when she thought all was lost.
How she nearly blamed Kusaka Shinka and her sister for her misfortune, for having abandoned her and left her at the devil's mercy.
She buried her face in her knees, only to try to forget the pain.
But her mind didn't stop.
It mercilessly kept attacking her.
She remembered the strength Shizumi had shown. Who, even with her dominant arm broken, even with wounds all over her body, managed to decapitate the devil in a single slash with overwhelming force.
And not just her.
Kusaka, who was an ordinary, common human until two weeks ago, had surpassed her by a wide margin. His quality as a purely human mage, without faction backing, spoke for itself.
She felt her position had been relegated.
Now, her own father communicated directly with someone who once intended to kill the entire family.
All of this made her feel useless.
That the nine years of training at the Vatican had been in vain.
Neither she nor her sister were outstanding warriors. They didn't graduate with honors. Their intelligence was slightly above average.
The only thing notable about them was their strength thanks to arduous training, but what for?
Even her mental training seemed to vanish the moment she tasted death stalking her neck for the first time.
Even when she and Shinka were enemies and tried to kill each other, she never felt death as close as that cold night.
'Why...?'
She couldn't help but question.
'Why must I risk my life for this...?'
Facing beings more powerful than her, exposing her life to constant danger, for what reason?
To show superiority to beings and races who didn't hold her in their eyes?
To save lives that would never know her effort?
For blind faith in a deity?
'Maybe... I should leave all this.' Her grip on herself loosened.
For a moment, she felt that the burden on her back could truly be left to someone else.
. . .
In the adjacent room, Shizumi sat at her desk.
She held a pencil in her hand, appearing to write things in her notebook. But it was far from homework.
She was scribbling what seemed to be a magic circle vivid in her memories.
In Latin, quite a few complex things were written around the circle.
(σ0)
M = η ⋅ V ⋅ ____ ⋅ ek ⋅ (1−L)
(Δσ)
It was a magical formula that gave functionality to the circle.
Beside the drawing, there were other annotations.
M = Required Mana. (MP, like rpg games!)
η = Magical-biological coupling constant (Human average: 1.2 MP/L)???
V = Volume of tissue to reinforce (L).
Δσ/σ0 = Desired increase in specific maximum tension (Ex: 1.0 = +100%).
ek⋅(1−L) = Flexibility Commitment Factor.
The girl put a hand to her head reading what she herself had written.
'I don't understand anything! And you're supposed to calculate how much mana to use based on the density you need to achieve for a strength increase without compromising the maximum density your body can withstand and elasticity at the same time while fighting?!'
Her eyes started to spin, as if she were truly dizzy from the knowledge.
'Does Dad and Kusaka-san do the formula every time they want to use reinforcement?'
Anyone would think you'd only have to do the formula once and the problem would be permanently solved, but no.
Muscles are overexerted to the limit once you find the right combination, causing them to tire faster, so you have to dynamically regulate your own energy to avoid permanently damaging them.
Of course, the per-second consumption of having the ability active was an issue that seemed to be outside the equation made by Shinka.
Shizumi imagined it was a matter of the boy having stored so much mana and she would only need to land a quick strike, so he didn't worry about regulating the adjustment of the amount of mana used.
'Magic is really complicated... But I can't give up. I need to become stronger... I need to be useful.' In her eyes existed the flame of determination and self-imposed expectation.
. . .
On the ground floor of the house.
Knock, knock...
A light tap on the door made Raymond start.
He came out of the kitchen wearing a pink apron and an oven mitt on his left hand.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw a teenager with a serious expression.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite student? What miracle brings you here?"
"Can I come in?"
"Go ahead. My house is your house."
The boy entered, and as usual, sat at the table thoughtfully.
"So, which path of life brought you here?"
"The path where I'm worried about who has the town in their crosshairs, and the path where I want more power."
Raymond didn't seem surprised by the answer, but still remained thoughtful.
'Seems yesterday's fight really made those three grow up a bit more.'
The priest sat down beside the boy.
"So what do you have in mind?"
"From what you told me about the devil world and from what I've read, they have a marked power structure and hierarchy. I can't imagine why there's some devil doing this or the exact purpose. When they want to venture into the human world, they do it in the most logical way possible, but this..." Shinka shared his concerns.
"Yes. It doesn't seem logical to me either. Takido has nothing important or interesting. The only thing I can think of is that it's near Kuoh, which is like a cradle of rich kids in a way."
"So you're saying it might be someone wanting to enter the high spheres of the devil world?"
"Maybe. Perhaps some ambitious but stupid individual wants to create their own Kuoh here."
"Still, it still doesn't make much sense. I mean, the families that can afford to do such things are numerous, but none would need to create a second Kuoh; they could simply go there and command as they please."
"It's not that simple, Shinka. In Kuoh, there's the Sitri clan and the Gremory clan. They're allied clans. And while I'm not sure, most clans in the underworld have good relations with the Gremory and Sitri. It could be someone aiming for them, and we're just collateral damage."
"Or we could be victims of a new caste trying to imitate royalty?"
"That's also a possibility. From what I know, there were 72 pillars in the underworld, but perhaps they're in the process of reforming noble titles and many families are vying for a position. Maybe it's a vassal family that acquired some power and now they're haughty and eager to conquer everything... We don't have much more information to be sure of anything."
"Well, be that as it may, regardless of the possibility, it's clear I need to increase my power." The boy looked at his own hand.
"I thought you were satisfied with your current level. Besides, I told you to rest."
"I don't want to increase my physical strength until the right moment. But my arsenal is very poor. I know learning many magics without mastering the ones I already know is counterproductive, but I need something long-range, something stupidly powerful."
"I can see you have something in mind."
Instead of answering with words, Shinka slightly raised his hand.
Bzzt!
Bzzt!
Some incandescent sparks of intense blue tried to materialize, but ultimately gave up.
"Well, magic to light a cigarette... Hadn't thought of that!"
An expression of irritation appeared on the boy's face.
"It's supposed to be magic to create a magic lance, but I don't know how to transform my mana into solid matter like concrete or such."
"I understand, but why would you need to transform your mana into matter? You're already capable of solidifying mana using shields, why not use the same principle?"
"Well, they don't follow the same principle. When I create a mana shield, I always do it keeping in mind that the size I create it with must have certain dimensions to absorb impact efficiently. That's why they're rectangles or thick square shapes. If I used the same principle, I think the lance would break upon hitting anything if I use the correct dimensions."
"Shinka, do you know why knives that don't move don't cut, even if you touch the edge?"
"Because there's no force pushing the edge against something to cause damage?"
"Yes. And under that principle, anything with an angular surface can cause damage with sufficient acceleration. The shields you create are made to absorb impact and break once they've fulfilled their function. Well, do the same with the lance."
"I mean, it's not that I hadn't thought of it, but to penetrate certain hides, like that of the stray devil yesterday, it would be difficult to reach the necessary speed to pierce through it."
Both were silent for a few moments.
"How difficult is it to create an explosion using mana?" When Shinka heard this, he realized.
'An explosion to maximize speed in a short period of time and space... I could even make it explode again upon impact with the target. Then my destructive and offensive capacity would rise enormously...'
He wanted to try making a magic lance right then, even before creating an explosive magic, however, the footsteps on the stairs pulled him from his thoughts.
Kaede, dressed in a panda bear pajama, came down the stairs, focusing her red eyes on the living room.
'Kusaka is here too? Well, it doesn't matter.'
"Father."
She said with great seriousness.
Even Shinka raised an eyebrow.
"I want to..."
'Don't tell me...!' The boy could see the resolve in her eyes.
"I want to quit being an exorcist!"