"Tch!"
My body moved on instinct. I triggered Instant Movement (Shundo) to intercept the spell, but at this distance, even that was too slow.
Fine. I just need more speed.
"Accel!"
I stacked the Spirit Command "Accel" on top of my Shundo. The effect was staggering. I covered three hundred meters in a heartbeat, reducing the distance to zero instantly. Given that a standard Shundo covers about seven or eight meters, the synergy between the Spirit Command and the martial art was terrifying.
"Axel?!" Negi cried out in shock as I materialized in front of Chachamaru.
The light arrows were already inches away. For a split second, I considered using the Slime, but the bracelet on my wrist pulsed with a sudden, violent rhythm. It felt as if it were asserting itself, demanding to be used. I focused my mana into the artifact.
"Decem Hastae Umbrae!" (Ten Spears of Shadow!)
Between my heightened focus and the bracelet's insatiable thirst for my SP, I completed the spell without a formal incantation. Ten spears of darkness lunged forward, meeting the light arrows mid-air.
It wasn't a clash. It was an erasure. Like butter hitting a white-hot skillet, the light arrows vanished the moment they touched the shadows.
"No way... the kid's magic got snuffed out just like that?" Chamo's voice trembled.
It wasn't necessarily a difference in skill. It was a raw, undeniable gap in the quantity of mana poured into the spells.
"A-Axel! Boss!" Chamo snapped out of his daze and started shouting. "What are you doing?! Why did you interfere?!"
"I see. So this little 'ambush' was your idea," I said coldly.
"Axel-san..."
I heard a quiet voice behind me. Chachamaru was looking at me, her artificial eyes filled with something that looked remarkably like concern.
"Go back to Evangeline," I told her. "I'll handle it from here."
"But..."
"It's fine. Go."
"...Understood. Thank you." She gave a stiff but polite bow, ignited her thrusters, and took to the sky. I watched her until she was a speck in the distance before turning my gaze to Negi.
"Well? Do you understand why I stopped you?"
Negi stayed silent, his head down.
"If those arrows had hit, Chachamaru would have been destroyed. In human terms... she would be dead."
Knowing Negi, he might have adjusted his aim at the last second to miss her, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he had used a lethal offensive spell against a classmate in the heat of the moment.
"Wait a minute, Axel!" Chamo interjected. "That Chachamaru girl is just a robot, right?"
"She is," I countered. "But she is also a being with a clearly established ego. If a soul resides in the shell, is she not a living thing? Negi... if you had killed her today, could you have carried that weight for the rest of your life?"
"I... I..." Negi stammered.
"If you can tell me, right now, that you are prepared to carry the burden of taking a life, then my interference was nothing more than an annoyance. But if you aren't..."
Honestly, coming from a man who had killed as many as I had, this was the height of hypocrisy. But I knew that the Negi standing before me—a boy who still saw the world in shades of light—wasn't ready for the darkness of a killer.
"I... I'm..."
"Negi," Asuna said softly, stepping forward to rest a hand on his head. "I think it's a good thing Axel stopped us. No matter if she's a robot, Chachamaru has been our classmate for two years."
"Asuna-san..."
For someone who claimed to hate "brats," she was doing a damn fine job of being a big sister.
"Go home for today," I said, my voice softening slightly. "Think about what I said. Really think about it."
"I... I will," Negi said, bowing his head. "And... thank you for stopping me."
That one sentence told me everything I needed to know.
"Axel... thanks. From me too," Asuna added. She looked a little embarrassed, her cheeks flushing as she gave a quick nod before chasing after Negi.
Chamo remained on Negi's shoulder, already whispering tactical advice or excuses. I shook my head. Chamo cared for Negi, but he was too impulsive, too focused on the immediate win to see the long-term cost.
"Better let the old man know about this," I muttered.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the Headmaster's number.
Status Window
Name: Axel Almar
Level: 38
PP: 625
Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272 | Defense: 272 | Evade: 302 | Hit: 322
SP: 462
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to enhance Slime performance)
Growth Type: All-Rounder / Special
Terrain: Air: S | Land: S | Sea: S | Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accel (SP 4)
Effort (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 30)
Awaken (SP 32)
Love (SP 48)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9, SP Regen, Concentration)
Telekinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
In-fight Lv.9
Morale Limit Break
Geass (Gray)
Magic (Fire, Shadow, Summon)
???
???
Kills: 376
-------------------------------
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