“Where did you get this strap?” Max woke up the knocked-out assailant, holding the man’s head in his arms. He and Jin had moved the man to the faculty entrance, where they now stood waiting for Mashima.

After Max had searched the man and retrieved the strap, he was having quite a lot of difficulty staying focused, so he just decided to ask the guy what he could while he and Jin, who stood alongside him, still had the man in their grasp.

“Answer me!”

Itsuda Yamori was lying on the floor and looked up at the late afternoon sky in confusion. He was slightly disoriented, but soon it became clear to him what had happened.

He lost.

After all that he had been promised, he lost the fight.

He had failed both himself and his sister, who was now undoubtedly gonna kill him for how badly he screwed up.

He looked up at his interrogator with a frightened expression.

“He said you’d be weaker,” he whimpered. “He said you’d all be weaker.”

“Who? Who said that?” Jin demanded.

Itsuda’s frightened whimper contorted into a maniacal smile. He realised that he still had a chance. He still had the upper hand. They needed him for the intel that he had. He considered for a moment how far he could stretch this advantage.

“They didn’t give me a name, and even if they did, I’d rather die than prostrate myself to a lowly gaijin like you.”

Max let the man go, dropping his head to the floor quite callously.

“Will you not act so carelessly?” Jin asked.

“Fuck him,” Max retorted. “He deserves as much.”

He looked around to see that Natsuno was still unconscious. At the entrance, he saw the rest of the class still watching the scene. Hitomi and Shida had gotten more comfortable, sitting on the floor in front of the rest of the students. Daichi Kazuhiro was still missing from the crowd.

“Are you all okay?” Max asked.

Hitomi was taken aback at the weird sincerity he was showing.

|“I want to go home and I do not want to come back. Ever.”|

|“I second that notion.”|

|“Cowards! You’re all cowards! I’m so sick of your cowardice that I would rather be home than to sit among the lot of you…”|

“Everyone is fine,” Mashima responded above all the chatter. “I apologise for not coming out to help you three earlier. I knocked my head pretty hard.”

She looked at Max’s arm and assessed their torn, dirt-stained clothes.

“Are you two okay? Looks like you’ve both been through the wringer.”

Max seemed to only just notice the actively bleeding cut on his arm.

“Don’t worry about us. Just make sure you take care of those two,” he nodded at Shida and Hitomi. “We’ll check on this one.”

He made his way to Natsuno, kneeling next to her unconscious body and looking at her arm, which was still bleeding. Jin stayed near the attacker, making sure he didn’t make a run for it.

“What do we do about this now?” Max pointed at the assailant.

Jin looked at Mashima expectantly.

“I guess we gotta let the school deal with it,” he said. “Maybe they can get some answers from him.”

“You’ll get nothing from me,” the assailant smiled, spitting out blood on the floor next to him.

Jin bent over and put two fingers to the man’s forehead. He sent out a light electric current which rendered the man unconscious.

“We’ll see about that,” Jin said upon rising to his feet.

He looked up to see Mashima casually strolling down the stairs and meeting him next to the assailant’s unconscious body. She assessed the man and saw the amulet sticking out of his pocket. Bending down to pick it up and analyse the markings, she closed her eyes for a moment too long before putting it in her own pocket.

It was suddenly very clear to Max and Jin, who had both taken a keen interest in her reaction, that she knew something. Whether she would share what she knew or not was anyone’s guess.

“Mr Tenebri, I’m beginning to think you’re a lot more trouble than you’re worth,” she smiled scornfully at him.

“Hey,” Max held his hands stretched out to the scene around him. “Did I not take care of the issue?”

“No, Mr Akira took care of the issue,” Mashima folded her arms. “If we left it to you, this entire university would have been nothing but a crater in the ground. Do you know the hassle it's gonna take to explain all this to the Chancellor?”

“Isn’t this his problem too?” Max asked sternly.

“I agree,” Jin added. “How did this man know where to find us? Even if he knew what school we were from, this faculty is extremely secluded. And most of us didn’t even know that the courtyard existed until today.”

Mashima said nothing for a moment.

“We’ll have to have this investigated.” She unfolded her arms and knelt next to the man. “For now, all of you get back inside and stay there till the Chancellor and authorities arrive. We need to ensure everyone is safe and healed.”

Max and Jin shared a glance, Jin nodding to reassure him to let things be for the moment.

Max looked down at Natsuno. He didn’t notice her arm getting struck by the ice earlier. He knelt once more and put a hand on her non-injured shoulder.

“Dude?” he called out. “Duuuuuude?”

He gave her a light push. She didn’t respond.

Max put a hand to her mouth, which fazed Jin somewhat. He looked down at her lips, and blushed a little. Max was rather cavalier in the way he treated Natsuno, despite how much she clearly hated him. Jin hoped she didn’t wake up while Max’s hand was so close to her face.

“She’s still breathing,” Max confirmed.

“The fight must have taken a toll on her,” Jin chimed in. “Sensei, we need to get her to the infirmary.”

“One of you, go get the doctor,” Mashima called out.

“Don’t bother,” Max was already hovering his hands above her bleeding arm.

A dark purple glow emanated from his hands. Her blood began to retract back into her arm, and the torn skin at both the entry and exit wound repaired itself, the tissue appearing to weave itself together seamlessly.

Mashima closed her eyes and smiled.

He improved the spell that quickly, huh? she thought.

Once he was done healing Natsuno, he stood up and faced Jin.

“Alright, help me get her up.”

“What? I don’t think she’d appreciate that,” Jin deflected nervously.

“Dude, we really don’t have time to play coy. We need to get her inside.”

“It would be better if we asked one of the female students,” Jin insisted.

“Oh, forget it!”

Max knelt down and gently picked her up, cradling her in his arms. Once again, Jin was somewhat taken aback by how thoughtlessly Max was acting. It was highly likely that beyond the issue of being carried in such a manner, she would kill Max simply for the fact that it was he who carried her, which was something that didn’t seem to cross Max’s mind.

“Let’s hurry inside,” Max said. “She’s kind of heavy for such a skinny chick.”

He took only a few steps before she opened her eyes.

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“Oh now you wake up,” Max stopped and looked down at her.

“Wha…” she mumbled softly. “What’s going on? Max!?”

He gave her a slightly awkward expression. It was the first time she used his name and he wasn’t sure he liked the sound of it coming from her lips. She was woozy, but that seemed to fade quite quickly when she realised what was going on.

“Foul creature!” she cried.

Max nodded with a sardonic smile.

That's more like it.

“What do you think you’re doing? Watch where you’re touching!” Her cheeks brightened up in a blush as she squirmed in his arms.

Jin sighed, though it was a slightly amusing scene, so he couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.

Max shook his head, annoyed.

“Will you relax? I’m sorry, but for now I’ll need you to spare me your modesty. I’m helping you here, you ungrateful twit,” Max said curtly. “You were shot through the arm. I healed it, but if Jin’s shitty performance is anything to go by–”

“Hey! It wasn’t my choice to not go to the infirmary!” Jin retorted.

“–I don’t think that’s enough,” Max went on, ignoring him. “We’re taking you to the doctor.”

“You… what?” she went quiet as he started walking with her again, completely ignoring her replies as well.

Hitomi shook her head disapprovingly as they came closer.

“I should have known you were a sketchy creeper too,” she mocked him scathingly.

“Will you shut up? I have no problem dropping her on you,” Max retorted annoyedly.

“Please don’t,” Jin shook his head.

“Can I…” Natsuno started, stopping Max in his tracks. “Can I at least walk by myself?” she asked softly.

Max looked at her for a moment, then turned his head back to see Jin nod.

“Alright, but be careful. Jin, will you come give me a hand?” He slowly dropped her feet to the floor. She leaned on him as they walked, and Jin pulled up to her other side.

“I don’t need–” she started.

“Will you just let them help you out already? No need to be so stubborn,” Hitomi cut her off. “It won’t kill you to accept some help.”

Natsuno reluctantly put her arm on Jin’s shoulder. Both she and Jin started blushing as they made their way up, one step at a time. Natsuno noticed the cut on Max’s arm. The fresh blood from the wound mixed oddly with the dried up blood from their battle earlier. She looked up at him and he didn’t seem bothered by the pain.

She was dead wrong though. Ever since he noticed the cut, it was burning like the last circle of Hell. He did his best to keep a strong face, but he couldn’t deny how much he just wanted to drop her and scream, “FUUUUUUUCK, THAT BURNS LIKE A BITCH!” He managed to maintain his composure, and no one seemed to notice the slightest drops of tears that had started welling up in his eyes.

They reached the steps that led up into the faculty building, when some of the students started calling out and pointing behind them.

|“Sensei!”|

|“Oh no!”|

“Look out!” Shida and Hitomi yelled.

The man, having woken up, pushed Mashima aside.

“I won’t let them take me!” the assailant screamed, raising a hand and shooting out a desperate orb of fire.

Max turned to look back, as the orb made its way directly towards him. Dropping Natsuno onto Jin, he raised a defensive hand towards the man.

Instead of dissipating like he had intended, however, the orb was deflected, sending it flying back at the man who was just wobbling to his feet. It shot out with a newfound speed, and it hit with devastating consequences, exploding on contact.

The assailant fell dead to the floor, burned and bloodied.

His shoulder, or, what was left of it, had been torn to pieces by the explosion, which also tore apart much of his torso. His face had been scorched, and much of what would have been pieces of dead skin hanging from his now gaping shoulder and neck had been cauterised by the heat of the explosion. Nonetheless, what was visible was a horrible sight.

His eyes remained open in a dreadful stare, giving clear signs to the absence of life that had been in them just a moment ago. His mouth agape in silent horror, screaming eternally at a pitch that the living could no longer hear.

Max stood at the steps aghast, completely dumbstruck at the violent scene before him. A scene more violent than he’d ever seen in his life.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT! his mind raced.

It was something he didn’t think was even possible. None of the heroes of Mahō No Gakusei killed anyone. Not ever. Not even the ones they hated. Did he want the man to die? He was certain that the orb was supposed to disappear. He meant for it to disappear. Did he subconsciously decide that the man was too dangerous to live?

He turned to see the horrified faces of the whole Scion class. Natsuno and Jin didn’t say anything. Their faces were blank. Max couldn’t tell what went through their minds. Did they blame him for this? Why weren’t they saying anything?

Hitomi covered her mouth in shock, wanting to scream, but nothing was coming out. There was this sudden knot in her throat that choked out whatever noise she had intended to make. Shida looked to the floor in defeat. There was an undeniable weight of anguish in the air. An air of uncertainty, guilt and despair. No one was sure of what to say, or what to think.

Max fell to his knees and fought back the need to vomit. The hope was sapped from every facet of his being. The authorities would no longer come for the assailant. They would come for him. He wouldn’t be able to save Jane, who he just learned was closer than he had ever imagined. This thought scared him more than anything had ever scared him in his life.

He took out the strap he’d retrieved from the assailant, and stared at it in horror. At no point did he ever feel like more of a failure to her than he did in that moment. He dropped it to the floor and stayed there on his knees, his mind oscillating between despair and overwhelming anger. At himself. At this man. At whatever had brought him to this world. At the foolish notion that he could actually control this twisted magic that he had been gifted with.

Mashima walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said calmly. “But if you didn’t stop that blast, it could have been you, or anyone else that got hit. You saved your friends’ lives.”

She squeezed reassuringly, but he stayed where he was, feeling the nausea rise up further as he opened his mouth to possibly respond. Nothing came out. Neither vomit, nor speech.

Why was this Mahō No Gakusei character attempting to admonish him of guilt? He had killed someone. He was no better than the villains. Why was she okay with this? It was murder, wasn’t it? Anime characters should hold people accountable for their crimes. People should always be held accountable for the things they do. That was one thing Max had always believed. So was he not accountable?

If nothing had convinced him before, he was certain in that moment, beyond all doubt, that he was in the real world. There was nothing separating his reality from the one that he was in now, save for some ‘gate’. It felt like that was the only way to accept that this person, who he only ever knew as a character – an animated sprite who stood for nothing more than the whims of a story – was willing to accept that such a heinous and violent crime had taken place, and still admonish him of the guilt he was sure he deserved.

Jin looked around them and finally came to his senses.

“Max, we need to get inside,” he said calmly. “We can’t stay here.”

|“Get up, Mr Tenebri. This is starting to look bad…”|

|“This is gonna be a problem…”|

|“Everyone, ignore them. Let's just go.”|

It wasn’t clear when they had got there, or how long they had been watching, but around the Scion faculty building, other bystanders were standing close and watching. Among them were lecturers, students, possibly even what must have been campus security. An eyewitness crowd was beginning to form, and it was clear what it looked like. The ’secretive Scion class’, which many of those who were watching were likely completely unaware of, had a murderer in its ranks.

Max stayed kneeling for a while longer. He didn’t know who had reached out first, or whose hands it was that surrounded him, but when he looked, he saw that the Scions were helping him up to his feet.

|“Come on, we can’t stay here.”|

|“Things will only get worse if we linger much longer…”|

As the students practically carried Max into the faculty, Jin looked at the strap on the floor. He picked it up and saw the words ‘Spidey’s Girl Forever’ etched into the inside. He looked at Max curiously, and put it in his pocket. He turned to help Natsuno up the stairs, but she politely rejected his help and made her own way into the building with the rest of the class.

Max, walking on his own, mindlessly walked past the lecture hall, instead making for the courtyard, where he could be alone and think. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but to be surrounded by a bunch of people who he was sure would condemn him was something he wanted to do even less. Jin had a feeling he wouldn’t wanna be surrounded by the other students for much longer either, and silently walked along with him.

Hitomi and Shida shared a curious glance, and both decided to follow as well. Behind them, and to Hitomi’s surprise, Natsuno trailed along slowly, rather than going up to the doctor like she probably should have. The rest of the students, some watching the group walk their own way, but deciding to stay out of the way, returned to the lecture hall. Dr Mashima, who definitely wanted to have a word with Akira and Tenebri, noticed their absence a little too late to say anything in protest.

The two ‘heroes’ took a seat in the pavilions, and Jin looked up, surprised to see the others following behind them. An especially surprising arrival was Natsuno, but he decided it was probably better to let her be considering all that had just happened.

Max didn’t look up to notice all those who came along with him, nor did he seem to care. He was completely lost in his own mind. They all looked at him, taking in his sullen, dire expression and equally decided it was better to not prod in any way for a while. Instead, they all remained silent for a long time as the early evening slowly approached, and the sun began to set behind the large campus walls in the back of the courtyard.

Natsuno didn’t know why she followed them. She just felt drawn to their group for some reason. Perhaps it was curiosity, the desire to learn about what led to the situation that took place that afternoon. The moment she took a seat among the group, however, she immediately felt out of place, and wished for once that she’d kept her nose out of Max and Jin’s business.

“Max,” Jin finally broke the silence and took out the strap. Max’s sullen face looked up from the floor to the accessory he had bought what felt like a lifetime ago.

“Is this yours?”

Max faintly nodded his head and took the strap. He looked at it for a moment, reading the etching. Finally, he decided to put it on his arm.

“Where did it come from?”

“The gu– uh, the man… He… he had it,” Max answered sullenly. “He said it was a message.”

Jin eyed the strap curiously.

“Mind if I ask what it means? The message, I mean.”

The group all looked at Max attentively, who didn’t say anything for a long time.

“I could honestly feel it in my gut. I mean, she just disappears into thin air, and then I end up here? It didn’t make sense for it to just happen to me. Why did I even try to fool myself into thinking that she was back home? Because what? It was safer there? I was so goddamn naive! She was practically under our noses this whole fucking time!”

“Max, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, whoever sent this,” Max pointed at the strap, “has Jane.”

He looked up to face Jin. His expression was grim, his tone coated in a dense layer of fear.

“It means she’s here. Jane is here… in this world.”