episode_0059

A few minutes before declaring war on Martina, I was sitting in a hospital room chair, checking on Daphne’s condition.

She lay comfortably on the bed with a peaceful expression. The soft lines of her face were smooth, without a single distorted wrinkle. Were it not for her pale complexion and the bandage on her forehead, she would have looked as if she were simply asleep.

“…I’m sorry.”

The doctor said it was a mild concussion. A fragment had grazed her head, but her life wasn’t in danger. It might have been dangerous for an ordinary person, but since she was an Awakened, it ended up being just that.

There was another reason she fell into a coma. According to the doctor’s explanation, it was as follows.

“It’s shock due to the effects of intense mana usage. The injury is one thing, but she forcibly drew out power while her mana was insufficient at the end.”

My mind grew troubled.

“Has the cleanup been finished?”

“…It’s done. I threw it out far away. Considering their injuries, they won’t be able to return to school for a while. Minor issues between Awakened are not handled by the police here, so there’s no need to worry about being reported.”

I should have done this sooner.

I did a lot of things overnight. All personal items belonging to the gang that attacked us were recovered and sent to our accommodation in the central region. Passwords were no obstacle. All photos were deleted. The security issue was more important than the shame. If my face were to spread, it would hinder my activities.

In addition, after several conversations, some of which involved a hammer, I was able to confirm the address of the Perian siblings’ house. They were commuters, but I confirmed they were renting an entire house, perhaps because they had a lot of money. I don’t know what kind of people they are.

Unfortunately, when we broke in at dawn, the older sister was nowhere to be found, and only the blond delinquent younger brother was there.

“What! You… How did you get here… Argh! Stop! Argh!!”

When I questioned his crimes, he remained brazen, and we, having lost our reason, minced him like a hamburger steak. We didn’t kill him, but it wasn’t a pretty sight.

If it had gone according to the original plan, both siblings should have been properly disciplined, but that wasn’t possible.

If it had gone according to the original plan, both siblings should have been killed, which is a shame.

Seeing Daphne quietly asleep, rage surged within me again.

This was the first time I had ever been this angry. Why? Murderous intent kept rising.

At whom? At the gang members who did this? At the president of the student council who ordered this from behind? Yes. I hate them all. They all must be eliminated.

But most of all, I was furious with myself.

I shouldn’t have left any lingering threats. From the beginning, when I saw that Martin guy, I should have minced him or disciplined him so he couldn’t touch me. If I had decided to attend this chaotic academy, I should have recognized some level of danger. I thought about it too complacently. I didn’t know something like this would happen? No. I just looked away.

Or, from the moment I confirmed the kidnapping, I could have acted a bit more rationally and calmly. I should have solved the problem more logically and cleanly.

I continuously blamed and lamented myself, chewing on my thoughts. Then, seeing the bandage peeking through her shimmering silver hair, I realized I had forgotten the most important fact.

I don’t die.

My clones get injured, break, and get damaged, but they simply revive. Even the terrible pain of having limbs severed, being burned, or having my body melt away can be passed on to other versions of me. And after regenerating, I can just smile again.

That way, my sense of crisis disappeared.

If I lose in a game, I just need to press until I win. Then I’ll win someday.

But what about other people? If other people get hurt or die once, that’s it. There’s no second or third chance for them like there is for me. Not at all!

And the most horrible part was that, at some point, those other people had entered my life, my heart, beyond a certain point.

To me, Kalia was a comrade-in-arms, an ally, who escaped the research lab with me. Then what is Daphne to me? Just a roommate?

Daphne was still lying comfortably, breathing softly. I unconsciously took her soft hand. It was warm.

If I had blocked incorrectly, if the magic’s power had been just a little stronger, she could have died. Because she had been surrounded by the gang and beaten for hours while deploying a shield, in a situation where her mana was already low.

“…Violet.”

Irene opened the door and entered. Thanks to Irene’s help when I was flustered last night, Daphne was admitted to a private room. It feels like I only ever receive help.

“Absolutely not! You must not let them get away with it. I will definitely…”

“Thank you. But I have something in mind. It’s also a way to achieve your goal at the same time.”

I cut her off mid-sentence as she indignantly elaborated. Her help was appreciated, but I already had something in mind.

“What are you going to do?”

“A duel. I’m going to challenge Martina to a duel. Irene is strong, and she has her parents’ name, so everyone avoids duels with her out of fear of losing, right? So, I’ll challenge her to a duel and crush her. If a freshman they’ve never seen before suddenly challenges them, wouldn’t they accept? I’ll also include the dissolution of the student council as a duel condition.”

There’s one problem that arises because I’m multiple people. On one hand, there’s a me who is deeply saddened, enraged, and wailing, but in another place, I find myself rationally calculating the gains, losses, and countermeasures from this incident even amidst all that. Sometimes I get chills from what ‘we’ are.

Irene, hearing my words, recoiled in shock.

“Wait, Violet? Are you out of your mind? Martina isn’t one of those seniors who only boast about their age and grade that you’ve seen so far! That woman is…”

“Irene, thank you for worrying. But I already did it.”

“What?”

It was too late to stop me. Ordinary people like Irene couldn’t understand the spatiotemporal simultaneity that we Violets possess. While talking with her, I had long since finished provoking that blond ponytail bitch in the student council room.

“…What did you do to my sibling!”

“…A duel, you goddamn bitch.”

Let’s smash her. Let’s utterly humiliate her.

Of course, a duel alone wasn’t enough. The option of scheming outside school still remained, so even if I imposed harsh conditions and humiliated her, it wouldn’t be enough. More, even harsher measures were needed.

Of course, I have to cut off their limbs and throw them into the sewer! As the saying goes, “cut the grass and pull out the roots” [a proverb meaning to eliminate the source of trouble]. I have to pull out the roots.

An unknown murderous intent surged up from the depths of my chest.

***

Martina, who had grabbed my glove, stared at me with a dazed expression for a moment, then showed a violent chemical reaction as if magnesium had been dropped into water.

“You, what did you just say? A duel?”

In the blink of an eye, she grabbed me by the collar, pulled me close to her nose, and snarled. I met her viciously furrowed eyes head-on, but felt nothing.

“You bitch who should be torn to death by magic. If it weren’t for school rules, you’d already be torn in two. Do you know that?”

“Why? Going to kill me? Too bad.”

She must be truly furious. I understand.

I completely beat up her sibling and even set fire to their house. I feel a little sorry for the landlord.

“You, I don’t know what kind of bitch you are, but I’ll show you exactly what a hellish academy life is like. How about you quit now? Your parents would weep tears of blood, but…”

“Tears of blood? It’s fine, my mom’s dead. I beat her to death myself!”

“…?”

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll send you to be with my mom too!”

While Martina was stunned by my words, I shrugged my shoulders and calmly elaborated, just to provoke her further.

“About your sibling, I’m sorry. When I broke into the house, only Martin was there. So I made his limbs as soft as octopus tentacles. Do they consider what’s between the legs as a limb too? Anyway, I hit him hard until he shouted ‘Sis! Help me!’ and then passed out. You should have been there too!”

“This crazy bitch, seriously!”

She raised her fist, intending to strike me. As her fist was raised, Martina sensed something amiss, quickly let go of my collar, and leapt back. It was at that very moment that the Violets, who had been ambushed in the room, ran out with their weapons.

I had intended to encircle her, but her reaction speed was faster than expected.

The moment the Violets immediately aimed their spears and crossbows, she reached for the sword at her side.

-Clang!

“…!”

“Our weapons! I didn’t see it!”

Several flashes of light bounced in the air, and the Violets’ weapons nearby were split in two and fell to the ground. Startled, I deployed four more clones on the spot and retreated.

“…Clone technique? This is my first time seeing it in person. Are you the main body?”

“Who knows! What if I am the main body? Someone like you can be crushed by numbers anytime!”

Although her enraged expression remained, she aimed her sword at us and faced us with a slightly calmer demeanor.

Wait a minute, that sword. It’s a weapon I’ve seen a lot somewhere.

No, this isn’t the time to worry about that. Martina’s momentum was fiercer than expected.

We aimed our weapons at her, threatening her. After a few minutes of standoff, Martina was the one who retreated first. She sheathed her sword and turned her back.

“At this level…it’s absurd…”

“Hey! Where are you going?”

Her contemptuous gaze swept past us. For some reason, she was sneering. It was as if something was ridiculous. Was she looking down on us?

“Alright, a duel?… Fine. Follow me. You said your name was Violet, right? I’ll make you regret being born.”

She just talks too much.

***

This was my third visit to the dueling arena. Once, when I pushed away the guy who was bullying Levi, twice when I went to watch Irene crush the student council executives, and this is the third time.

Since everyone knew the duel procedures, it proceeded like lightning.

The condition Martina set was very simple. To literally obey everything she commanded. Meaning, to become her slave.

“Then I too! I’ll make that condition. You don’t mind, do you?”

“…Do as you please.”

Since it was the most certain way to get revenge, I also set that condition. On top of that, I added the dissolution of the student council as a bonus.

“You’re crazy, aren’t you? Do you think that’s possible?”

“So, you said we’d duel, didn’t you? Are you not going to do it?”

“…Fine, whatever. Add that too.”

The girl who had been furious just moments ago replied with her arms crossed and an arrogant posture. What on earth was she so confident about?

Other minor conditions were also agreed upon. A lot of complicated discussion went back and forth, but let’s skip it.

When the disciplinary committee saw the list of weapons I proposed, they were puzzled, but Martina casually dismissed it, so it was ultimately agreed upon. While I would be using all sorts of weapons, including spears, swords, axes, and crossbows, her armament was merely a single sword.

That sword, I’ve really seen it a lot somewhere… I can’t quite remember.

Still, with this, I can win.

“…The duel is tomorrow at 3 PM. Does everyone agree?”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Right!”

As I left after completing all the procedures, Irene, who had rushed from the hospital, first saw Martina leaving, then saw me following behind, and turned pale with shock.

“Violet! Don’t tell me… already… Are you crazy? Cancel it right now! I, I’ll do it instead!”

“I’ve already signed it, Don’t worry. I can win!”

Martina, seeing Irene clinging to me, snorted and left. That obnoxious bitch. I’ll utterly smash her face in.

Whatever happens, it’s fine.

We Violets will surely win!