Shindo and Phi looked at the destruction around them, the clear signs of a battle that they had just barely missed. The wall of the Luncheon had been caved in completely, with the imprint of someone's body inside of the large crater.
All around, the ground was overturned and destroyed, scarred by flames and lightning. Shindo walked over to a strip of ground in which there were flames still burning. He crouched down and analyzed it for a few moments before turning back to Phi.
"This is where the mana signatures we sensed came from. Seems like we just barely missed them." They had been steadily making their way to the tower at the top of the magic academy when they took notice of four mana signatures gathered in close proximity. Two of the signatures were completely off the charts, and the sound of a fierce battle ensued.
Thinking quickly, they decided to see if they could make it in time to see what was going on; however, they were too late, only seeing the aftermath of what had happened. Phi looked from the crater in the wall of the luncheon to the scars on the ground. She remained in deep thought for a brief moment before finally saying,
"Despite there being so much destruction, there isn't any sign that anybody was wounded during this battle." As she said that, Shindo looked around and noticed that she was right. There was no blood anywhere to be found, and that would be expected for a battle this violent.
"Whoever was involved in this battle was definitely strong. Judging by these flames and the scars on the ground, they were using a bunch of grade A spells and up without any discrimination. It was probably a 3v1 battle of sorts." Shindo spoke all of the things that he could deduce from the scene in front of him aloud and continued to analyze the situation.
Phi began to walk towards the crater, staring at it closely. After a few moments she said,
"I think I know the identity of who they were fighting." She said slowly, as her eyes shifted from the crater back towards the destroyed ground. Shindo turned to her with an expectant gaze.
"Really?"
Phi nodded. "From what you said, if this was a three-on-one battle in which the three fighters were constantly shooting out powerful grade A spells, then there's no way any regular opponent would have been able to come out unscathed. But just look around; the only sign that this person was injured in even the slightest is this massive crater in the wall that doesn't even have any blood inside of it."
Phi looked Shindo in the eyes. "There's only one person, from what I've seen, that could withstand such an onslaught."
"So you think it was that man with the white suit that you and Aura came across?" Shindo asked as sudden realization dawned over his features.
As Phi nodded, the gears in Shindo's brain began to turn.
"That means after he moved that tower to the top of the magic academy, he left it and got caught up in a battle." Shindo immediately snapped his head towards the tower. "That means he's left where the headmaster is trapped completely undefended." He muttered to himself.
Turning back to Phi, he shouted. "Phi! We need to go right now! If he's being held up in a fight, that means the path to the headmaster is clear!" However, Phi was standing inside of the crater, analyzing it closely.
"Phi!" Shindo walked until he was standing under the crater and shouted up at her once again. "We don't have much time! We need to go, like now!" Still, it seemed like Phi was too caught up in her own thoughts to actually hear him. Shindo could see the gears turning in her brain and knew that his words wouldn't be successful in reaching her right now.
He turned around to face the massive tower atop the magic academy that was now clearly visible due to the rain being completely cleared away. He began to contemplate whether or not he should just go alone and leave Phi to catch up to him.
We need to get there as soon as possible. If we can free the headmaster, we guarantee our victory in this battle. It should have been an easy decision for him to make; however, he couldn't. For some reason, he hesitated.
But wouldn't it be better to have more numbers? There's no knowing what sort of traps and things are going to be up there. Still, the right decision was probably for him to just go alone and deal with things as they came.
However, as Shindo was contemplating what he should do, he could hear Phi begin to speak.
"Still, there's something about this that's a bit odd, don't you think?" Her eyes never left the crater, and more specifically, the imprint of the body of the person who had been smashed into it.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait! Right now we need to focus on getting the headmaster free!" Shindo's patience was running thin. However, Phi just ignored him and continued to speak.
"I mean, if someone was smashed into the wall so violently that they left such a large crater, you'd expect to see some blood or any other sign of injury, but there's nothing." Phi pointed at the crater. "Look at the rocks and other pieces that should have cut up skin or cloth. Yet not even pieces of their clothes that should have been torn are there."
Realizing that Phi wasn't going to listen to him, Shindo began to listen to her instead, taking note of everything that she said. And he noticed that she was right. No blood, no torn clothes, nothing that you would expect from such a violent collision.
Phi then began to run her hand along the actual imprint of the body of the person who had been smashed into the wall. "And the mark that their body left inside of the crater is a bit too perfect, don't you think?" And that's when Shindo's eyes widened.
"Normally, it would be deeper where the part of their body that hit the wall first hit; however, the imprint is the same depth all the way around." He said.
"Almost as if the person who was hit into this wall didn't actually interact with it, and instead it was an interaction between what should have been there." Phi said as she finally turned back to Shindo.
"Someone who is impervious to attacks and doesn't even let a single speck of dirt touch them." Phi continued listing all of the man's attributes.
Shindo's blood ran cold.
"Almost as if he isn't even on the same plane as us altogether."
As Phi said that, the gears in Shindo's brain began to turn. And in that moment, a small suspicion gripped him. He had yet to see the man, so he couldn't be sure, but his natural instincts told him that if he were to come across this man, he would not be able to find the weakness of his ability, even while using [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception].
How the hell do you beat someone who's in a different fucking realm?
Just then, a massive explosion erupted in the sky. Shindo snapped his eyes upwards to see flames and lightning crackling in the air, as well as violent wind magic. From the explosion erupted a beam of mana that seemed to shatter the air. It took the shape of a cross, and it reached out high into the sky.
Phi stared at it momentarily before saying,
"Let's go."
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Neither Hikaru nor Aura could make sense of what they were currently looking at.
They had been steadily making their way towards the tower that stood unnaturally at the top of the magic academy because that's where they believed Phi was headed.
Aura, who understood Phi more than anyone, said that most likely, she would still try to make a play, even if she was suffering from a grievous injury.
Hikaru had agreed because even if she wasn't up there, there had to be something important there if their enemies felt the need to move the tower to the highest peak of the academy.
It was on their journey there that they came across...it.
They currently were standing atop one of the many glass skywalks, and this one was right next to the roof, which would lead them to the very top where the tower stood.
All they needed to do was climb the wall in front of them. However, that was exactly the problem.
The wall in front of them was covered in an unknown entity. Like the vines of the tree, a metallic thing hung from the walls. It was protruding from the base of the tower that stood at the top, and it cascaded down the wall. However, some looked like regular wood or even roots.
The metallic limbs were spiky, and the same thing went for the roots and wood that hung along the wall. They were so densely packed together that they covered every inch of the wall. However, they were unmoving.
Not knowing what this was, both Hikaru and Aura were apprehensive, and neither of them wanted to approach the walls.
"Have you ever seen anything like it before?" Hikaru asked Aura, to which she shook her head.
"Even from the small memories I do have of my hometown in Europe, I can't recall anything like this...."
Despite the fact that it was just a wall of odd-looking spiky vines, there was something about it that gave off a foreboding aura. Something about this was unsettling. So much so that both girls survival instincts were telling them to not get any closer.
"We don't know what's going on anymore, so we can't waste any time." Aura took a step and was about to jump from the skywalk to the wall when suddenly, a massive explosion ripped through the sky, not far from where they were.
Turning their heads to look, they saw a massive cloud of smoke and flame hanging in the air, with lightning flickering around it. In the same instance, a massive beam of mana was shot out from the explosion towards them.
The mana was so powerful that the air around it seemed to crack under the pressure.
Aura grabbed Hikaru, pushing her out of the way. They turned to see the beam of cross-shaped mana heading directly for the wall. As soon as it got too close, the wall suddenly moved.
In an instant, the vines that had been hanging motionlessly off of the wall suddenly snapped to life. They snapped towards the beam of mana at an insane speed, like a Venus flytrap, and they created an insane amount of chains that latched onto the mana instantly.
A myriad of chain-like restraints were formed around the mana, neutralizing it immediately. The mana faded instantaneously, leaving only the metallic and wood vines standing in the chain-like formation they had taken up.
Hikaru and Aura stared up in absolute horror at what they were seeing. The chains were large and small, long and short, and they extended from the wall out towards the sky. The chains were spiked, and they even emitted a low growling sound as they seemed to literally shift. The spikes that lined the chains began to extend, and they seemed to sniff the air as if searching for something.
Hikaru and Aura were frozen in fear and shock as they looked at what they had originally thought to be a plant move on its own.
Their survival instincts in that moment told them to suppress their mana as much as possible. As they did, the spikes/appendages stretched away from the root and towards the two girls. The chains began to literally feel out the air around them.
They came inches away from the two girls before finally snapping back towards the root.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
The two girls who thought they were alone gasped as they heard someone speak.
Landing on the glass skywalk from above, a man dressed in all white stood with a smile on his face. His hair blew in the wind.
"It's such a fascinating creature and existence, don't you think?" He said, as he looked down at the two shell-shocked girls.
"They come from Antarctica. Despite the fact that they are sentient, they are without a doubt autotrophs. With the ability to seal mana completely. They even take on the form of chains."
With a snap of his fingers, the chains of the plants suddenly extended, grabbing onto the girls by their hands and legs.
"AHAHAHAH!" They both screamed at the same time, trying to struggle and get free.
"It really makes you wonder. About the world that we haven't seen."
Hikaru tried to use magic to break free; however, it didn't work. Instead, she could feel the chains that restrained her beginning to slowly absorb the mana that she was releasing, as well as the mana in her body.
The man in white smiled as he watched the two girls struggle. "It's all in vain. This feeling of helplessness that's currently encroaching on you?"
He leaned in, a sadistic expression on his face.
"Is how you feel in the face of an apex predator."