When her consciousness returned to her body, Ultear felt like someone had stuffed a magic-powered train into her skull—heavy, pounding, and painful.
"Ugh…"
She let out a hoarse groan and slowly sat up.
One hand cradled her throbbing head; the other instinctively pressed against her lower abdomen.
Her memories from when Nirvana affected her were a blur. She only remembered launching a crazed attack at Shane, and then—
That bastard dropped her with two shots like she was nothing, and finished by hammering her in the gut with several brutal punches.
"...Tch—" As her mind cleared, the lingering dull ache in her stomach made her suck in a sharp breath.
She gently kneaded the sore spot, teeth grinding.
"Yeah, I asked for it… but that bastard really doesn't know what 'holding back' means."
Ultear quietly filed it away as a debt. Someday, when she got the chance, she'd plant a punch straight into Shane's stomach.
Let him feel that "my organs just shifted" kind of pain.
"You awake?"
That familiar, irritating voice came from nearby.
Ultear turned her head. Shane was squatting on a patch of flat ground, holding a small stick and drawing tic-tac-toe grids in the dirt.
It looked like he was playing against himself—left hand versus right—and the match was a massacre.
One side had already lost four rounds in a row.
When he saw she was awake, Shane tossed the stick aside and walked over, waving his palm in front of her face.
"How you feeling? Head clear yet?"
"My head hurts. And I'm irritated."
Ultear slapped his hand away and rubbed her temple.
Then, as if something suddenly occurred to her, she stiffened and looked at him anxiously.
"Wait—did I do anything… weird just now?"
"Pfft."
Seeing her stare like she was facing a firing squad, Shane couldn't help laughing.
He clearly knew what she was afraid of. He patted her narrow shoulder with zero sympathy.
"Relax. Your attitude toward me was as awful as ever. You looked like you wanted to grind me into dust."
"Hah…"
Ultear let out a quiet breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"But—"
Shane deliberately dragged out the word, grinning.
"Your Ice Make is really strong."
He recalled that impossibly refined, beautiful ice rose she'd produced, and couldn't help snickering.
"That level of detail and structure isn't something you can explain away with just 'talent.'"
He leaned closer, like he'd discovered a world-shaking secret.
"So what is it? You run your mouth about hating your mom's magic, swearing you'll never use it… but behind the scenes you've obviously been grinding practice like crazy?"
His grin widened.
"What do we call that? Tsundere?"
…
Ultear's expression froze for a heartbeat.
Like someone had shoved a hand into the deepest, most hidden corner of her mind, shame surged up all at once.
Her already pale cheeks flushed red in an instant.
She tried to snap back, but through the haze of broken memory, she could vaguely see herself forming ice with a flick of her hand.
"I… used Ice Make?"
Her words stumbled out in panic.
"I only did it because Nirvana affected me—and it was your fault! You forced me!"
The moment anything touched on her mother, her emotions went unstable.
She turned abruptly, not wanting to argue with Shane about it for even a second longer.
"Let's go."
"We're leaving already?" Shane blinked, genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected her to actually follow through on "just taking a look."
Ultear didn't even look back.
"Yeah. Nirvana's useless to me. I've extracted the information I needed. There's no reason to stay."
She walked toward the cave exit without slowing.
That "wish" of hers couldn't be fulfilled, so she snapped back into her usual cold, rational operating mode.
Shane shrugged and followed.
They reached the mouth of the cave. The sunlight outside was still harsh.
Just as Shane was about to leave, Ultear stopped.
She turned back and looked into the dark, bottomless cavern for a long moment, then raised her hands and formed seals.
Complex spell patterns flared into existence at the entrance, then became an invisible barrier. Even the surrounding terrain subtly shifted under the spell's influence.
Unless someone examined the area closely, they'd never realize there was anything hidden here at all.
"What are you doing?" Shane asked, curious.
"Hiding it," Ultear replied flatly. "This magic is too dangerous. Its nature is unstable. If someone malicious finds it and uses it, it'll create unnecessary trouble."
That actually caught Shane off guard.
He looked her up and down like he'd just met her for the first time.
"You're… the type who thinks about that? I figured you'd either not care, or just blow it up."
He rubbed his chin, thinking.
Nirvana flips light and dark.
Ultear had been flipped into "pure malice," which meant her usual state was somewhere in the middle—maybe even leaning toward a rational, "lawful" side.
And now she was choosing to seal a dangerous source.
That meant—
"So this is your choice," Shane said bluntly, eyes narrowed in thought.
"Looks like Nirvana dragged out the part of you you keep hidden. So… you're actually a good woman?"
"Shut up."
Ultear shot him a sideways glance—strangely alluring in a way that made her look even more dangerous.
There was embarrassed anger in that look, the irritation of being seen through… and a faint, unrecognized lightness she didn't seem aware of herself.
Then she stopped entertaining his teasing and finished placing the final spell nodes.
"All done. We can go."
She dusted off her hands and walked to Shane, who already had his dragon-like wings spread.
Shane nodded and reached for her waist—
Only for Ultear to frown and slip away.
"Do you seriously not have a more dignified way to fly?"
She eyed his huge wings, brows knitting.
"Being carried like a sack is uncomfortable."
Shane blinked. "Dignified?"
He thought for a second.
"But I have wings. If I carry you on my back it'll block them… How about you grab my leg?"
Ultear opened her mouth, desperately wanting to ask if the word "hold" simply didn't exist in his brain.
Yesterday he'd carried Erza like it was the most natural thing in the world. But for her, it was "grab my leg"?
Still—she genuinely weighed the options.
Which was more humiliating: being hauled like luggage, or clinging to his leg?
…At least the second one let her stretch out instead of being folded.
Before she could decide, Shane flapped once and rose two meters off the ground, hovering in midair.
"Hurry up and jump on. If we wait, it'll be dark!"
Ultear sighed. Then, following his instruction on reflex, she ran two steps and grabbed his lower leg.
The moment she actually did it, she regretted everything.
"WOO—!"
Shane shot upward.
A violent high-altitude gale hit her instantly.
And the protective airflow barrier around Shane just so happened to cover everything above her neck.
Which meant Ultear, hanging off his leg, became a human kite getting violently shaken in a storm.
Her hair whipped everywhere, lashes and strands slashing across her face. She could barely open her eyes.
She clung to Shane's leg for dear life just to avoid getting flung off.
"SHANE!!"
Slow—down!!
But the wind shredded her voice into nonsense.
Up above, Shane was having the time of his life.
Someone clinging to his pant leg while he flew made him feel like some ancient pterosaur cruising his territory with prey in its talons.
It was absurdly awesome.
He was about to head for the station when Ultear forced herself to scream again, fighting the wind with everything she had:
"Don't—go that way—!!"
"Search—around here—!!"
"I read from the seal's imprint—there should be a caretaker family nearby—one that's guarded this place for generations!!"
"I have questions—I need to ask them!!"
"Oh? A caretaker?"
Shane glanced down at the girl flailing like she'd been thrown into a spinning dryer, grinned, and answered in an annoyingly cheerful voice.
"No problem! Hold tight!"
~~~
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