C100
"Shirone...."
Amy held Shirone's hand with her eyes swollen from crying. The teachers were also in a state of confusion, so no one came to see them. No, perhaps they had already accepted the fact that Shirone was dead.
But Amy shook her head in denial. She couldn't think of Shirone as dead. There were too many uncertainties to call it an obsession.
Nade offered words of comfort.
"Don't worry, senior. Shirone will come back."
"That's right. It doesn't make sense logically. Why would he die? If he was going to die because he cast Mass Teleport, it shouldn't have activated in the first place. Something strange definitely happened to Shirone."
Iruki frowned in disapproval. He had been watching over Shirone all night, but there was nothing more foolish than mistaking a dead person for a living one.
"If we go by that logic, Arcane should have survived too. Just casting magic can be enough to kill someone."
"The situation is different with Arcane! Shirone completely opened the Immortal Function. That's a completely different issue from the decline of brain function!"
"Either way, exceeding capacity is the same. Humans can die from any variable. What's important is whether he's dead or alive, not arguing about why he died."
Nade frowned. Even if it were true, there were things you could say and things you shouldn't say in front of a girlfriend. Just as he was about to retort, Amy approached Iruki with cold eyes..
"You haven't changed; you're still as unpleasant as ever."
Iruki looked at Amy with his chin resting on the table. Her eyes were burning red.
'It's the Karmis family. Well, if she has red eyes, she would be immune to mental magic.'
Red eyes were a famous trait on the continent. The only thing that could invade their minds would be Anti-Magic, so it was understandable that she escaped the Abyss Nova. However, his thoughts went no further, and he turned his gaze away with a lack of interest..
"It's not a good habit to blame others for your bad mood."
"No. You're the one ruining the atmosphere. What are you? Are you really Shirone's friend? How can you think that Shirone might be dead?"
"I didn't think he might be dead. I said he's dead."
"That's even worse! And you, as a Class Five, how dare you use informal speech?"
"If it bothers you, report it to the student council. I don't care about disciplinary action."
Unable to hold back, Amy approached him, grabbed Iruki's collar, and lifted him up using Schema's power. Iruki's legs were lifted off the ground.
"Say it again. But this time, you better say it right."
"Oh, scary."
There was no emotion in Iruki's eyes. He just stared down at Amy with his empty eyes. However, Amy was the kind of person who would not hesitate to do anything if she turned inside out as well.
"Repeat after me. Shirone isn't dead. If you don't, you'll end up lying next to him."
"Shirone is dead."
"Shirone isn't dead! Hurry up and repeat after me!"
"I said Shirone is dead."
Amy's crimson eyes flickered. Aiming for Iruki's third or fourth tooth with the accuracy designed from her self-image memory, she threw a punch. However, Iruki's expression didn't change. Seeing the speed decrease, it was clear that she intended to stop right in front of his lips.
As expected, Amy stopped her movement just before the strike. As her fist, filled with resentment, trembled, Iruki spoke indifferently.
"Ah, that's a relief."
"Don't laugh! You're such an annoying Savant. Someone like you wouldn't even understand why I stopped my fist."
Amy couldn't hit Iruki. No matter how much she hated him, he was still Shirone's friend.
"Stopped your fist, you mean. Just wasted your energy?"
Sparks flew in Amy's eyes.
"So, with that busted mouth, you're saying Shirone is dead too? Do you know? Someone like you doesn't even deserve to have friends."
"Maybe so. But do you deserve it?"
"What's your problem? You’re really...!"
Amy pulled his collar again and raised her fist. Then, Iruki frowned at her for the first time and shook her hand that was holding his collar.
"Ouch, hey!"
As Amy looked at him while shaking her hands, Iruki walked over to the bed and pointed at Shirone.
"You guys are the pathetic ones. Does this really look alive to you? He doesn't breathe and his heart has stopped! And yet, you guys are still babbling nonsense like he's actually alive, or something strange happened. What kind of friends are you!"
"So what do you want me to do! Shirone is in this situation, what do you want me to do!"
"That's why I'm telling you to think!"
Iruki shouted with an excited expression that was not usually seen.
"Do you think a dead person will come back to life if you just believe they're alive? Instead of wasting your energy on such nonsense, try thinking of a way to bring a dead person back to life!"
Unable to find a response, Amy finally realized the truth and hung her head. Iruki was right. Shirone was mathematically dead.
Nade said with a sad expression.
"I understand what you're saying. But, Iruki, how can we save him? There's no way to bring back the dead... right?"
“Hmph, that’s your limit.”
Iruki slammed the door and went outside. Silence filled the infirmary. As Amy sat down in a chair and covered her face, Nade comforted her.
"Seniors. Don't hate him too much. Iruki is also doing that because he is frustrated.”
"Forget it. I don't even want to care about that kid. Think of a way to revive the dead? Why doesn't he understand that it's a bigger wound?"
Nade couldn't respond to that either. Although it might be typical of Iruki, on a day like this, he couldn't help but feel bitter towards such a friend.
After leaving the infirmary, Iruki frowned as he walked down the hallway. The last two people he wanted to see were waiting for him. Canis was leaning against the wall, and Arin was anxiously looking around, unable to find a place to rest her gaze.
As the person who led this situation, they have to strictly monitor them, but the problem was that the current situation was not relaxed enough to pay attention to them.
Of course, it was the same that Iruki didn't have any composure. If they had been determined to escape, they would have done so already. Even then, they wouldn't be able to escape the eyes of the Magic Association.
“Did you come to put salt on the wound? Or are you going to apologize now?”
Canis pushed off the wall with a jolt..
"Both. I came to cause a scene and to apologize. It's one thing to die in battle, but it's unsettling that Shirone was sacrificed for a meaningless reason. But it seems like I chose the wrong time."
It seemed that he had heard the sound of Amy fighting from outside. Iruki scratched his head annoyedly at the thought that he had shown a bad appearance and said.
"You thought right. It won't be a pretty sight if you go in now. The girl in the infirmary will start by breaking your legs. Anyway, give it your best shot. I'm going."
Canis followed Iruki, who passed by, with his gaze.
“It doesn't matter. What’s the meaning choosing the wrong time when I've lost the opportunity to apologize. What's the point of apologizing to someone who's already dead?”
Iruki, who stopped walking, looked back at Canis and widened his eyes terribly.
"What?"
"I completely agree with your opinion. Dead is dead. My desire to apologize has dropped sharply seeing the fuss made over a corpse."
Iruki thought for a moment, then burst out laughing.
“You speak well on the subject of dying and coming back to life. Who's idea is that? you? Or that shadow?”
"...Are you suggesting we settle this here?"
"From my perspective, Shirone is a pretty annoying friend."
When Iruki brought up a sudden story, Canis's forehead crumpled.
"In fact, I'm a really strange and bad guy. So I decided to impose restrictions on myself. In a way, Shirone is like a lock for me."
"Heh. What a weak mindset.”
"Is it? Well, I might not have thought this way if it weren't for Shirone. Anyway, there's no Shirone now. So be careful with your words in the future."
Sensing something from Iruki, Arin took a step back.
"That's because I'm different from Shirone. If I put my mind to it, I can do any crazy thing. So it's best to pray that Shirone will definitely come back to life and stop me."
Iruki's eyes began to shine as he glared at Canis. It was the spark generated in the cerebrum, shining through the eyeballs.
"If Shirone ends up like this, I'll kill you first, no matter what it takes."
As Canis' mental channel opened, Harvest's brainwaves came through.
- Canis, this is a warning level. You've been targeted.
- I know. I already knew he was s Savant.
- It's not just that. His calculation speed is incredibly fast. When calculated based on the movements of the Spirit Zone, it is estimated to be more than 10,000 times faster than our psychic channel.
Canis couldn't believe it. The exchange of opinions with Harvist was faster than the speed of thought. The fact that it was 10,000 times faster was unimaginable in human common sense.
- What level is that?
- This is the amount of information enough to analyze all events that occur in the city for 3 seconds. We need a special strategy to deal with it. But we are criminals. Causing an accident here has the potential to put things at a disadvantage.
Canis didn't want to back down. This stubbornness was the reason he was selected as Arcane's disciple, but the timing was not good. Arin intervened while Harvest desperately tried to stop him.
"But doesn't that mean you also believe Shirone is not dead?"
Iruki's Spirit Zone disappeared. Arin, who was watching through Initial State, finally felt relieved. Iruki composed himself. He had to be more rational than anyone. Being swayed by emotions and making mistakes was enough for the fools in the infirmary.
“Shirone is dead. If you don't acknowledge the truth, you can't find a solution. I'm just thinking rationally."
"No. You believe Shirone is alive. Maybe even more than the two people in that room."
Iruki frowned. Savant Syndrome was the most powerful ability to calculate the causality of an incident. There was no room for non-logical emotions to interfere.
"What do you know about me to babble about?"
"I have the ability called Initial State. I perceive everything as if I'm seeing it for the first time. So I can't remember the shape of things. They always look different to me."
"So what? What does that have to do with anything?"
"To my eyes, I can see your emotions. In a completely different form than what others see."
"I'm fine. The dead are dead. There's no room for emotions to interfere."
"No, it's different." Arin shook her head.
“Because you are crying with a very sad expression right now.”
Iruki couldn't answer.
As Arin said, a hundred words were useless in front of Initial State.
That night.
The door to the infirmary slowly opened.
Amy was exhausted from crying and had collapsed on the makeshift bed, while Nade was napping in a chair in the corner.
Iruki approached Shirone. Sleeping and dying are different from the beginning. Seeing Shirone's cold face, he felt his heart crumble.
In the morning, the teachers would come to check on Shirone. To hold a funeral, embalming would be done first, but then it had to be seen that there was no way to save Shirone anymore by then.
Iruki managed to control his emotions and took out the scalpel hidden in his arms.
'I will definitely save you.'
He looked at Amy and Nade, but there was no signs of waking up. It was only natural, as they had been under extreme stress for two days. Only then did Iruki plunge the scalpel.
The blade, reflected in the moonlight, cut through Shirone's skin and entered.
---
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
