Infinite Mage

Chapter 100: Meeting God (1)

"Amy..."

Amy, her eyes swollen from crying, clutched Shirone's hand. The teachers were out of their minds and nobody had come to visit. Or maybe they had already accepted the fact that Shirone was dead.

But Amy shook her head in denial. She couldn't believe that Shirone was dead. There were too many unconvincing aspects to simply label it as an obsession.

Nade offered words of comfort.

"Don't worry, senior. Shirone will come back."

"Right. It doesn't make sense logically. Why would he die just from casting Mass Teleport? If that was lethal, it wouldn't have activated in the first place. Something strange definitely happened to Shirone."

Yiruki frowned in dissatisfaction. He too had been watching over him all night, but he believed that thinking a dead person was alive was the most foolish thing in the world.

"If that's the logic, Arcane should have lived too. Just casting magic is enough to die."

"It's different with Arcane! Shirone fully unleashed the Immortal Function. That's completely unrelated to a decline in brain function!"

"Anyway, it's the same as exceeding the capacity. Humans can die from any variable. It's important whether he's dead or alive, not why he died."

Nade scowled. Even if it was true, there were things you shouldn't say in front of a girlfriend. Just as he was about to retort, Amy approached Yiruki with cold eyes.

"You, always as unpleasant as ever."

Yiruki, resting his chin on the table, looked at Amy. Her eyes were burning red.

'Karmis family, huh. Well, if she has red eyes, she must be immune to mental magic.'

Red eyes were a famous trait on the continent. The only thing that could penetrate their minds was probably Anti-Magic, so it made sense she escaped Abyss Nova. But that was as far as his interest went, and he turned away, saying disinterestedly.

"It's a bad habit to blame others just because you're upset."

"No. You're the one spoiling the mood. What are you? Are you really Shirone's friend? How can you think he's dead?"

"I didn't think he might be dead. I said he is dead."

"That's even worse! And you, a Class Five, how dare you use informal language?"

"If you're upset, report me to the student council. I don't care about disciplinary actions."

Unable to hold back, Amy approached and grabbed Yiruki by the collar, lifting him up with the power of Schema. Yiruki's legs dangled off the ground.

"Say it again. But this time, say it properly."

"Oh, how scary."

There was no emotion in Yiruki's eyes. He just looked down at Amy with empty eyes. But Amy, too, was known for her recklessness when angered.

"Repeat after me. Shirone is not dead. Or else you'll end up lying next to him."

"Shirone is dead."

"Shirone is not dead! Say it now!"

"Shirone is dead."

Amy's red eyes flickered. She had designed the accuracy of her punch using self-remembered memories, aiming for Yiruki's third and fourth teeth. But Yiruki's expression didn't change. Seeing the deceleration, it seemed she planned to stop just before reaching the lips.

As expected, Amy stopped her punch just before it landed. Watching her trembling fist, Yiruki commented dryly.

"Ah, that's fortunate."

"Don't joke around! Frickin annoying savant. You don't even understand why I stopped my fist."

Amy couldn't hit Yiruki. No matter how much she hated him, he was Shirone's friend.

"What was the meaning of stopping your fist? Wanting to waste energy, are you?"

Fire sparked in Amy's eyes.

"So, are you saying Shirone is dead with that torn mouth of yours? Do you know? Someone like you doesn't deserve to have friends."

"Maybe so. But do you have the right?"

"What's wrong? This is really..."

Amy pulled his collar again, raising her fist. That's when Yiruki grimaced for the first time, shaking off her hand.

"Ah, damn!"

As Amy looked on, shaking her hand, Yiruki walked to the bed and pointed at Shirone.

"It's you who are pathetic. Does this really look alive to you? Hes not breathing and his heart stopped! But you keep saying he might be alive, or there's some strange problem, such nonsense! What kind of friends are you!"

"What should I do then! Shirone's like this, what do you want me to do!"

"That's why I'm saying, think!"

Yiruki shouted, more agitated than usual.

"Thinking he's alive will bring a dead person back to life? If you have the mind to spout such nonsense, better think of a way to revive the dead!"

Amy bit her lip, searching for words, and finally hung her head in dejection. Yiruki was right. Mathematically, Shirone was dead.

Nade spoke with a sad expression.

"I get what you're saying. But Yiruki, how do we revive him? There's no way to revive the dead..."

"Hmph, that's just your limit."

Yiruki slammed the door as he left. Silence fell in the infirmary. Amy sat down, covering her face, as Nade consoled her.

"Senior, don't hate him too much. Yiruki is just frustrated."

"It's okay. I don't want to bother with that guy. Telling us to think of a way to revive the dead? Doesn't he understand that's an even greater wound?"

Nade had no answer to that. It was typical Yiruki behavior, but today, even he felt hurt by such a friend.

Yiruki, leaving the infirmary, frowned as he walked down the corridor. The last two people he wanted to see were waiting for him. Canis leaned against the wall, while Arin looked anxious, unable to find a place to rest her gaze.

Given their central role in the recent crisis, they should be strictly monitored, but the current situation didn't allow for such attention.

Yiruki was no exception in lacking peace of mind. If they had intended to flee, they would have done so already. But even then, escaping the Magic Association's watchful eye would be impossible.

"Here to gloat? Or perhaps you've come to apologize?"

Canis pushed off from the wall.

"Both. I came to gloat and to apologize. It's one thing to die in battle, but Shirone's sacrifice for something meaningless bothers me. But it seems I've chosen a bad time."

He must have heard the argument with Amy from outside. Yiruki, annoyed at having shown such a sight, scratched his head irritably.

"Good thinking. Entering now would only show you an ugly scene. The girl in the infirmary would start by breaking your legs. Anyway, do your best. I'm leaving."

Canis followed Yiruki with his eyes as he passed.

"That doesn't matter. Choosing a bad time means even the opportunity to apologize is gone. What's the use of apologizing to someone who's already dead?"

Yiruki stopped, turning to Canis with a fierce glare.

"What?"

"I completely agree with your opinion. Dead is dead. The sight of them making a fuss over a corpse makes me lose any desire to apologize."

Yiruki paused, thinking, then chuckled.

"Well said for someone who's been resurrected. Whose thoughts are those? Yours? Or the shadow's?"

"...Do you want to fight?"

"Shirone, you know, is quite irritating from my perspective."

Canis frowned as Yiruki brought up an unexpected topic.

"Actually, I'm a very strange and bad person. That's why I decided to impose restrictions on myself. In a way, Shirone is like a lock to me."

"Hmph. That's a weak concept."

"Is it? Maybe I wouldn't have thought this way if it weren't for Shirone. Anyway, now that Shirone is gone, I'd appreciate it if you'd be careful with your words."

Arin, sensing something from Yiruki, stepped back.

"Because I'm different from Shirone. If I set my mind to it, I can do any crazy thing. So pray that Shirone comes back alive to stop me."

Yiruki's eyes began to sparkle fiercely, reflecting sparks originating from his brain through his eyes.

"If Shirone ends like this, I'll find a way to kill you first."

Canis's mental channel opened, and Harvest's brainwaves were transmitted.

-Canis, this is a warning level. You've been targeted.

-I know. I knew he was a savant.

-It's more than that. His calculation speed is incredibly fast. By Spirit Zone movements, it's estimated to be more than ten thousand times faster than our mental channel.

Canis couldn't believe it. His exchanges with Harvest were faster than thoughts. A speed ten thousand times faster was unimaginable.

-How significant is that?

-Enough to analyze every event in a city within three seconds. To deal with him, a special strategy is needed. But we're criminals. Causing trouble here would only worsen our situation.

Canis didn't want to back down. Such stubbornness was why he was chosen as Arcane's disciple, but the timing wasn't right. Amidst Harvest's desperate dissuasion, Arin interjected.

"But that means you also believe Shirone isn't dead, right?"

Yiruki's Spirit Zone disappeared. Arin, observing through her first awakening, finally felt a sense of relief. Yiruki calmed himself. He needed to be more rational than anyone. Getting swept away by emotions was for the fools in the infirmary.

"Shirone is dead. Denying reality won't produce a solution. I'm just thinking rationally."

"No. You believe Shirone is alive. Maybe even more than the two in that room."

Yiruki scowled. As a savant, his strength lay in calculating the cause and effect of events. Illogical emotions had no place in it.

"What do you know to talk about me?"

"I have the ability of first awakening. I perceive everything as if seeing it for the first time. That's why I can't remember the shape of objects. They always appear different to me."

"And? What's your point?"

"I can see your emotions. In a completely different form than others see."

"I'm not affected. Dead is dead. There's no room for emotions."

"No. It's different."

Arin shook her head.

"Because right now, you're crying with such a sad expression."

Yiruki didn't respond.

True to Arin's words, a hundred words were futile before the first awakening.

That night.

The infirmary door slowly opened.

Amy lay exhausted on a cot from crying, and Nade was dozing off in a chair in the corner.

Yiruki approached Shirone. Sleeping and dead had different feelings. Seeing Shirone's cold, lifeless face felt like his heart was crumbling.

By morning, the teachers would come to check on Shirone. They would probably begin embalming for the funeral, but once that started, reviving Shirone would be impossible.

Yiruki composed himself and took out a hidden scalpel.

'I'll definitely save you.'

He checked Amy and Nade, but they showed no signs of waking up. Two days of extreme stress had taken their toll. Finally, Yiruki brought the scalpel close.

The blade, reflecting the moonlight, cut into Shirone's skin.

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