C105
“You’re not a kid, but you taking a sides now? I am sincere too. I don't want them to take Shirone away."
Amira made a puzzled expression. She understood their desire to protect their friend, but they were just advanced students. There was no way they could fight against a group mostly consisting of seniors.
"Do you think you're really great just because I'm going easy on you? You think you can win against us?"
Starting with Amira, the entire protest group entered their Spirit Zone. The powerful zones of the senior students were conveyed to Nade and Iruki's synesthesia.
'Kekeke. Kekekeke.'
Watching their confrontation, Fermi secretly shook his shoulders. The current situation was ridiculous and to the point of death.
'Yes, fight, fight. Break yourselves to your heart's content.'
Fermi knew that all profits are created from chaos and confrontation. In that sense, war was the ultimate blue ocean. Accumulation of wealth was impossible without a minority of winners exploiting a majority of losers.
Fermi knew how to win a war. It was all about inciting emotions. Human weaknesses were ultimately emotions. Those who exploit the emotions of others dominate the world.
'Mourn, be angry, and shout that you are right. That's how you raise the stakes. Of course, I'll take all the stakes.'
Sienna, who was monitoring the situation in the infirmary, caught Fermi in her eyes.
'It's all your doing, isn't it? You're such a despicable guy.'
She was angry, but she couldn't criticize him. Fermi's philosophy was not shabby. Maybe he was even exploiting the situation Shirone in.
Alpheas approached Sienna.
"We can't do anything about it now."
"Principal."
"It seems this is as far as it goes. We'll have to accept the student council's demands."
Amy shouted.
"Principal! No! What about Shirone?"
"Amy, I'm sorry."
"How can you do this! You know, Principal! You know that Shirone isn't dead yet!"
"No. Actually, I don't know.”
Shocked, Amy froze. Alpheas put his hand on her shoulder and said.
"Amy, no one knows Shirone's condition. We only believe. I also believe that Shirone will return."
“But why….”
"But look. Now even unrelated kids are fighting, right? It doesn't matter why this happened. I can't ignore the situation where my students are fighting any longer."
The other students were as precious to Alpheas as Shirone. Such students were now spreading the Spirit Zone to kill each other. In this situation, prioritizing only Shirone was a selfish act.
"I'll go down and tell them myself. I'll inform Shirone's parents and proceed with the funeral arrangements. We'll discuss disciplinary matters later."
Amy slumped weakly in her chair. Cerielle approached with tears in her eyes.
"Amy, what do we do? Shirone, Shirone is..."
Amy's heart was no different. In the end, Shirone never returned. The moment Alpheas acknowledged it, it felt like Shirone had disappeared from her heart.
“Shirone….”
The atmosphere in front of the building was on the verge of exploding. Everyone had their Spirit Zones unfolded, and anyone could use lethal magic if they made a decision.
Amira felt a sense of doubt again. Was this really the right way? Could casting murderous magic at each other with their Spirit Zones expanded among fellow students make any sense?
She gnawed her lips and looked back and forth between Nade and Iruki. Nade was already ready for battle, but Iruki seemed open to conversation.
"You're Iruki, right? A Savant."
Iruki didn't answer.
"Do we really have to do this? Your friend is too emotional. But you're different, right?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm emotional right now."
"Liar. No, it doesn't matter even if that's true. You know, don't you? Do you really think your friend is alive? Is that the conclusion you've come to?"
"Hmm, a conclusion. If that's the case, there's only one answer."
Iruki, who lowered his eyes and was lost in thought, glared at Amira and said.
“Shirone is not dead.”
Nade looked back at Iruki with a surprised expression. He couldn't understand why Iruki, who had been insisting that Shirone was dead while they were in the infirmary, had suddenly changed his mind.
“Iruki, you….”
Iruki continued to stare straight ahead. Amira's disappointment grew. She had pinned her hopes on the person considered the most rational in the school, but he turned out to be just another kid in advanced class.
"If you really think that, then you must have some logic to convince us?"
"Of course."
Amira blinked for a moment. t was an unbelievable situation until she heard it.
"Then tell me the evidence. Why do you think Shirone is alive?"
"Because it's 4 o'clock now... Should I say?"
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
The bell rang in the clock tower.
Iruki, being a Savant, was able to measure time without looking at the clock. The method was simple: count one second at a time from a certain point.
Nade realized why Iruki's talkativeness had decreased lately.
'He was counting seconds. But when did he start?'
Amira stared blankly at the clock tower. Then she turned her head, realizing something.
"I get it now. You're just crazy. What does the time have to do with Shirone's death?"
Iruki didn't answer. He thought there might be a slight error, but it was taking much longer than expected.
'4:07. 8 seconds. 9 seconds. What on earth are they doing?'
Amira decided her judgment was correct. It was futile to try having a conversation with the emotional Nade and the crazy Iruki..
"We'll take Shirone. Let's see how long you can hold out against the graduating class."
Nade's eyes were filled with murderous intent from the energy emitted by the best students in the magic school. Suddenly, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice was heard.
"Looks like you guys are having fun. How about letting me join in? This is my specialty, after all."
Everyone looked around, but they couldn't see the source of the voice. Then, two figures emerged from the shadows cast by the building – It was Canis and Arin.
Sparks flew in Amira's eyes.
"You! How dare you guys appear in is this place! I'll have you arrested immediately!"
"If you can, go ahead. I don't plan on running away anyway."
Canis responded with a snort and approached Iruki.
Iruki frowned as if annoyed.
"You guys too late."
"You said to come by 4 o'clock, didn't you?"
"You're 27 seconds late."
Canis was upset, but he tried to calm down. In any case, the first thing to do was to end the bad relationship.
"Here it is, the document you requested."
Iruki quickly accepted the documents Canis handed him and turned the pages. Only then did Nade, feeling curious, look at the documents and ask.
“Iruki, what is that?”
"A document of the Dragon Thunder's opinion. I had collected a sample of Shirone's tissue and sent it."
“What? When? No, more than that, how can you come from the capital in five days?”
It was a distance that would take four days even by carriage. In addition, it took time to analyze the sample, which meant the round trip had to be completed within 48 hours.
"I asked Canis for help. He had sharp sense abut Bashka's geography."
Canis recalled the hardships of the journey. He managed to make it on time, but it was a journey made with a willingness to face death. He rode a carriage during the day and used Dark Port for transportation at night. Her speed was faster at night, but it wasn't once or twice that he lost consciousness due to exhausting his magical power to the limit.
"Anyway, with this, I have no more debt to Shirone."
Canis didn't feel particularly sorry for Shirone's death. However, he did feel a sense of responsibility as a disciple for the fact that Shirone was sacrificed due to the misdeeds of the Arcane.
"Well, that's not my concern. Anyway, I'll tell Shirone that much."
As the situation went awry, Amira became anxious. Especially since the Dragon Thunder was the kingdom's top organization, led by Iruki's father.
"What kind of trick are you playing? Just because it’s Merkodain, do you think we'll back off?"
Merkodain's name would undoubtedly be intimidating, but the families of the students gathered here were not weak either. In terms of numbers, it was a power struggle worth trying.
"Don't worry about that. I used a pseudonym. If my name is on it, that old man might play some tricks. What's more important is the content written in this document, isn't it?"
"Hmph! Are you saying there's a passage like a spell to bring the dead back to life?"
Iruki opened the document and read it from the beginning.
"Title: A Report on Immortal Function and the Cessation of Biological Activity."
Upon hearing the title, protesters flinched and shut their mouths. The people on the third-floor infirmary also perked up their ears to Iruki's continuing words.
"Analysis of the subject's tissue cell samples: Non-mechanical suspended animation. No organic transformation specific to living organisms is detected in samples collected 24 hours after death. Data attached."
Iruki moved on to the next chapter.
"Based on the above data, it can be inferred that the subject's biological activity has ceased, but it is difficult to extend this state to the cessation of function, i.e., the absence of life."
Iruki emphasized this part as if it were an important part.
"Dragon Thunder classifies cardiac arrest into three cases: First, the heart function has stopped. Second, the heart function has temporarily stopped. Third, the heart has not stopped, but it appears to have stopped phenomenally."
Amira exclaimed with a dumbfounded expression.
"What nonsense is that? I understand the first case, but the rest don't make sense!"
As if he had expected that, Iruki turned to the next chapter.
"Case explanation: In the state where the heart function has stopped, the living organism is considered dead, but in the case of the Immortal Function, two new cases may occur."
In the solemn atmosphere, Iruki's voice grew louder.
“Case 1. When mental expansion is delayed due to a particular event, it is possible that the body temporarily ceases to function until the conclusion of the mind is reached. Report attached.”
Iruki nodded in agreement and read the next chapter.
"Case 2: Even if mental expansion is complete, there is a possibility that the observer's time may change, meaning that life activity is normal, but due to the barrier of space-time, the activity cannot be confirmed from the outside. Report attached."
Iruki didn't feel the need to read any further and flipped through the pages until he reached the end.
"Based on the above magical findings, the subject, who is currently lying in the infirmary..."
The Dragon Thunder report was presented before the protestors.
“Arian Shirone cannot be considered dead."
All the protesters who had made so many noises remained silent. They also know because they are mage. There was no one who could refute the opinion analyzed by Dragon Thunder.
“Iruki. Since when did you....”
Iruki looked back at Nade, who was making a blank expression, and smiled.
"How about it? The way I found to bring the dead back to life."
Nade hesitantly pursed his lips. There really was a way to bring the dead back to life. While everyone was immersed in sorrow and harboring futile hope, Iruki had been fighting alone.
“Now, see for yourself."
Iruki handed the report to Amira. She silently took it, and the first thing she looked at was the first page of the report. The seal of Dragon Thunder was clearly stamped.
Further struggle was pointless. The kingdom's top academic institution was proving that the teachers' judgment was correct. Even if they filed a lawsuit, the court was likely to side with the school.
“You have suffered a lot, Amira.”
Alpheas appeared at the entrance of the building.
"Principal."
---
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
