Hikaru ran as fast as she could. She only had one goal in mind. To make it to the very highest peak of Theta Magic Academy. As high as she could possibly get, anyways.
After leaving Shindo to battle against the crazed man in the black suit, Hikaru had mulled over any way she could make herself useful.
She didn't want to appear to make a Suprise appearance and got caught off guard in the middle of a battle, which would only end up making whatever situation she intervened in worse. But she also needed to interrupt all of the battles going on, simultaneously.
According to the information that Raiden had given, the likelihood that the P.A. system and all of the missing students were inside Greed's vault was pretty much 100%. Hikaru didn't have time to question where he had gotten that info from, or what had happened to his eye, or why he seemed to be fighting an internal battle against his own body, but those questions lingered in the back of her head.
At the moment, she turned her attention to getting as high as she could, as quickly as possible. Until Shindo could defeat Greed, they would not have access to the P.A system. Meaning if Hikaru didn't move now, the entirety of the Magic Academy would Remain in the dark as to the situation surrounding them.
Undouble, the fact that they didn't know what was going on would hang in the back of their mind, like an itch you couldn't scratch. It would end up distracting them, weighing on them, and worsening their mood and will to fight, and survive.
So, Hikaru took it upon herself to alleviate that pressure from them, even if it was only slightly. After all, she knew that it was something her father would have agreed with. More than anything, she wanted to honor him, and the message he left behind for her.
Bursting through the third-floor door that led to interconnected glass skywalks, Hikaru decided to take a quick shortcut. It was risky, considering the fact that it was raining so hard you could barely see in front of you, but it was a risk she was willing to take.
Jumping form one skywalk to another, she got close to a wall, and jumped unto it, transforming the mana around her feet into spikes that latched onto the wall, allowing her to stand vertically. She then began to run up the wall.
Once she arrived at the first peak, she took a look around, only to find out that it was damn near impossible to see any of the other peaks.
She was simply staring into a void of darkness.
A lightning bolt flashed, briefly illuminating the area for a moment. If there was anyone else here, they would've had definitely seen the light bulb flash on above Hikaru's head.
She activated a lightning spell of her ow, before tossing it in a random direction. She waited a moment, watching the path it illuminated. When it flew into the distance and collided with the barrier, she crossed off that direction from her mental map.
She did this a few more times, in a 360-degree radius. When she was done, she had built a rough mental map of the area around her, with the center being the peak she currently standing on. With that mental image built, Hikaru began to jump from Skywalk to wall, on a path that took her upwards, until she reached the next peak. Once she was there, she once again did the same thing.
Rinse and Repeat. Within a few minutes, Hikaru had managed to build her-self a fairly accurate mental map of the roof of Theta magic Academy.
She cross referenced that with the map that she was forced to study by Yuri. It was part of their role as the special defense committee. They were completely required to know the layout of the school like the back of their hands.
Because of the fact that Hikaru had appeared in a world of dark, in order to be 100 percent sure of where she was headed, she made use of the lightning bolt strategy, and rebuilt the map from what she could see, and filled in those blanks with what she already knew.
Because of that, Hikaru had managed to maneuver herself to one of the highest peaks she possibly could.
It was quick and clever thinking from her, and she gave herself a small pat on the back for it.
The peak she was currently standing on was the same one that Shindo had been standing on when he had first appeared in front of everyone.
It was only because Hikaru had been there, that she had decided it this specific pillar. Not only did it have a nice view of the area around, but it was also not blocked off by any other structures.
Had Hikaru not been present they day Shindo appeared, she would have taken much longer to consider heading to this area specifically.
Thank goodness she was, because time was of the essence right now.
That whole intrusion by the special defense committee, had also come at the hands of one of Hikaru's innocent schemes.
During the time when they should have been having a meeting regarding their role as the defense committee, Hikaru had decided to suggest that they should head to Theta Magic Academy.
Yuri immediately shot they idea down, saying that it wasn't necessary, as they already had multiple maps with the exact same layout they could study.
Hikaru argued back, saying it wouldn't be as effective as the real thing, and besides, there was nobody doing anything important there, right?
That question had been calculated, and the reaction Yuri gave was more than enough of a payoff.
He sat in a bit of silence for a moment.
At that moment, Hikaru pressed her advantage.
"Unless you're hiding something from us? We can't exactly have trust if there's something you're purposely hiding from us. It would lead us to doubt everything you've already told us."
With that final accusation, and the fact he was facing the pressuring gazes from the entire special defense force committee, Yuri had no choice but to resign, and lead them to the Theta magic academy, explaining everything about the castle of dreams along the way.
She'd have to apologies for forcing Yuri to break an agreement he must have made with Suijin and lie to her on top of it. But her ploy only had benefits. More hands were on deck for putting up and building decorations, and now, she had saved time in finding a spot to execute her idea.
She had two main reasons for coming up her. First, was the fact it provided a wide ranged arial view of everything below her. although at the moment, it was raining to heavily to see anything.
Hikaru had a plan to counter that, though. Clasping both of her hands together in front of her chest, she closed her eyes and focused every last part of her into her mana sense.
Immediately, the dark world burst into color, as she could see the mana signatures of a massive amount of people battling. As quickly as she could, she sifted through the info, trying to get an understanding of what was going on.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
In the front yard, students were fighting in an all-out battle against unknown enemies. From what she could sense, it was still evenly matched, however the enemy side did possess one extremely powerful enemy.
In the sky, directly above the front courtyard, Hikaru sensed four signatures inside a castle constructed of ice. Two of them were extremely powerful. One she recognized as Suijin. The other, most have been an enemy, and the two weaker ones must have belonged to allies of Suijin.
Inside of the lobby, two students were facing off against Wrath. One of them was Masayoshi, and Hikaru could recognize the other as Yuri.
Shindo ad Greed were still battling fiercely inside of the student council room.
She could sense two people fighting a 2 v 4 along the roof tops a few meters away from her.
And finally, she sensed two people upon a peak almost across the entire distance of the school. It was distant, but one of them was familiar and one wasn't. Somebody was on the verge of being captured by the enemy.
With this information having been gathered, Hikaru moved unto the second part of her whole plan.
The second reason she had chosen to come up here was so that she could have an open space where her voice would carry as far as possible.
Gathering her mana, Hikaru activated a voice amplification magic sequence.
It involved first strengthening her vocal cords with mana and applying a spell that boosted the range of sound waves (A combination of wind and mana to strengthen the reach and power of the longitudinal waves). She then layered that with a wind spell and acceleration spell. This created a sequence that would allow her to not only speak louder but would also allow the sound waves to travel with much more power, for longer distances, without losing volume.
With that done, she began to yell, her voice carrying through the entire magic academy.
"EVERYONE! LISTEN CLOSLEY! THERE ARE 5 MAJOR ATTACKERS, AS WELL AS A SMALL FORCE OF UNKOWN AFFILIATION. ONE OF THE FIVE IS IN THE LOBBY. ONE IS IN THE FRONT COURTYARD. ONE IS IN THE STUDENT COUNCIL ROOM. ONE TWO ARE IN THE HIGHEST FLOORS OF THE MAGIC."
Hikaru needed to end her message quickly, as her vocal cords were staring to pick up damage.
"FINALLY, DONT GIVE UP!"
With that, she deactivated the spell, and fell to her knees, caressing her throat. She hadn't managed to be very specific, but hopefully this had an effect. Hopefully it could help take people's minds off of worrying about the state of the rest of the magic academy.
Hikaru took a moment to catch her breath. She wasn't done yet. She turned in the direction of where she had sensed the two other mana signatures. She needed to get there.
Without a doubt, that was where Raiden was.
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I could hear someone shouting. A voice yelling. The voice sounded beautiful, even while screaming. It was like the voice of an angel.
I couldn't hear what the voice was saying though. I guess that was fitting.
■■■■■: No angels calling for you, huh?
She had returned.
Yeah, your right. But I guess they had never been calling for me. From the moment I was born.
■■■■■: Really? Is that what you think?
Yes.
■■■■■: Even when your mom would sing to you.
My mind paused, as it dredged up that memory. Another result of the fact that I didn't suffer from infantile amnesia. I could remember, my mom holding me, singing different lullabies.
■■■■■: She sounded like an angel, didn't she? How can you really say what you just did?
That was a lifetime ago.
■■■■■: You consider 15 years a lifetime?
I didn't respond. What was even the point in continuing this conversation?
In the real world, Eve continued to hold me closely, stroking my hair.
"Tell me Raiden, do you think I'm pretty?"
What an odd question. Beauty was pretty objective, and without a doubt, she fit societies standard of beauty.
"Yeah." I spoke, in a breathy voice that I didn't even recognize as my own.
Eve giggled. "That flatters me. Really. But that still doesn't explain why...." She entered deep thought, leaving that though unfinished.
■■■■■: Raiden, do you, give up?
I didn't even hesitate in the answer.
Yes.
■■■■■: You find no point in your existence?
No.
■■■■■: You believe that you only hurt those around you?
Yes.
■■■■■: You believe that you're not even worthy to stand by the side of the friends you've made?
Yes.
■■■■■: And without a doubt, You believe that even as just a weapon, your worthless?
Yes.
■■■■■: Are those thoughts, your fathers, or are they what you truly believe?
What kind of question is that. Of course these are my thoughts. Without a single doubt. It took me 15 years of life to finally come to the realization that my father had come to as soon as I was born. A failure! Thats It! Thats all I am! A failure of a brother! Of A son! Of a friend! Of a person-
■■■■■: Can you even hear yourself? All of this has no justification.
I could feel my blood begin to boil.
No justification? Of course this is all justified! I've lived through way to many examples to believe anything else! What Yuri said! Kami's bruise! What happened at the Chisaki estate! I know me better than anyone!
■■■■■: No. You don't. You have zero idea who Raiden Chisaki is. What his existence means.
Don't try and lecture me about me! I came to this conclusion myself! Because, because-
■■■■■: You didn't come to a single one of these conclusions yourself. All of it. All of it is your fathers voice speaking for you. You've internalized it so much, that you can't even tell the difference. You only know what your father has said. According to him, your below human. But what about what others think?
Why should I take anything you say seriously! I don't know you! You don't know me! You don't care!
■■■■■: Is that the excuse that you use? You push people away, so that when they challenge that hollow self-perception of yours, you can hide behind the excuse that they don't truly know you, that they don't anything about you, so their words can't be true?
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I'm empty!
Memories of everything that happened with Kami, the fact that I couldn't help her, that I pushed her away when she tried to help me, the fact that she turned to Suijin for help.
I'm Shameless!
Memories of what Eve had done, the fact that there was a part of me that enjoyed it. The fact a part of me longed to feel warmth like that again.
I'm just a stupid, cowardly, worthless existence. That is the truth behind Raiden Chisaki!
■■■■■: Your adamant in the idea that Raiden Chisaki is worthless. But in truth, you have no idea who Raiden is. You treat me like an imposter, but what if you are the imposter? Takeru.
Don't call me by that name!
■■■■■: With how much you spew his words, I'd be surprised if you weren't him. Tell me, what does your Heart want?
There again, the same question Suijin had asked me. Once again, I didn't have an answer. It felt like every word that was exchange between me and ■■■■■ just further opened up the gap in my identity.
Takeru.
■■■■■:
Raiden.
Which one was it. Who's will was out on top?
Which one was right?
Which one was I?
If I were to take a gander into my heart, what would I see there?
Who was me?
The idea of finding out the answer to that question, it scared me. I didn't want to figure out that possibility.
I couldn't take it.
I would be completely ripped apart. My mind would be shattered.
Who was I? Who was I?Who was I? Who was I? Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?Who was I?
I hated it. Unconsciously, I grasped out for the same thing I always used to justify myself.
My mission. I had to protect Kami. Put my life on the line for her.
But even that, was gone.
I was drowning.
Drowning.
■■■■■: Don't get things twisted. You and me, we are one in the same. I know you pain. You're suffering. Your strong Raiden. Anyone would have to be strong to put with what you did. However, being strong doesn't mean you have to handle everything alone. Isn't that what you were trying to tell Suijin. Help. You need to ask for help. To ask for someone to carry that burden for you.
■■■■■: At the moment, you hung back by chains of an identity you can't find. Questions you can't answer. But you should just throw those away. After all, all of these questions you have about your identity, it's all an illusion. A mirror, that reflects what you want to see, and not the truth. Destroy the mirror Raiden.
And then my reality was shattered by a bright flash of light.
I felt myself crash into the ground with stupefying force.
Opening my eyes, I was back in the real world.
I was laying in the dirt of the arena.
A few meters in front of me, was Eve's security guard. Lightning flowing off of his body.
"Thor! Take it easy on Raiden, would you? He is my husband after all. I just want you to test him."
Slowly getting to my feet, I picked up my blade, wielding it in the wrong hand.
Looking at my opponent, I held my blade in front of me.
However, there was no purpose in the movement.
My will to fight, where was it?
In a flash of light, I was blindsided by another blow.
And another.
And another.
And another.
"Help me." I muttered under my breath.