To Become a King and a Magician

For Ayaka, this night was undoubtedly a catastrophe.

A true disaster.

It didn't just mean her peaceful life had been shattered to pieces, but also the collapse of her worldview over the past 16 years.

Fire, raging winds, stone, ferocious waves—the four elements that formed the world transformed one by one into natural disasters at the hands of that man, mercilessly destroying everything around them.

Fear, horror, dread, trembling… These emotions flooded Ayaka's heart, and even after completely overtaking it, they continued to grow, gradually seizing her entire body and mind, leaving her too terrified to move, too terrified to think, only able to stand in place like a foolish puppet.

Under normal circumstances, she should've been caught in the aftermath and died. Even a Magus couldn't possibly escape such a situation. Magecraft, after all, was merely something humans could achieve, but no matter how much humans could do, in the face of true natural disasters, they would only appear weak and powerless.

It was the wrath of the planet, the punishment of the planet.

Yet now, she was still alive, not having lost her life to the natural disasters, not burned by fire, not drowned, not buried underground, nor flung into the air to her death.

Ayaka was perfectly fine, and this wasn't due to her own abilities, but because someone was protecting her.

Be it fire or raging winds.

Be it stone or waves.

Whatever natural disaster came, the man before Ayaka always managed to destroy it or rush her to safety as quickly as possible, even if it meant suffering lethal injuries himself, prioritizing her safety above all.

"Naoki…"

Ayaka softly murmured the name of the figure shielding her from everything.

[Why are you doing this? Why are you risking your life to protect me? Why don't you run?]—Questions like these surfaced one by one in her mind. Ayaka desperately wanted to know, but she couldn't ask now, couldn't distract Naoki, who was wholly focused on protecting her.

All she could do was trust him completely.

(Naoki, please…)

*BOOM!*

A thunderous crash interrupted Ayaka's thoughts. Accompanied by a terrifying impact and a storm that nearly swept her away, the two figures at the center of the catastrophe, clashing relentlessly, finally parted momentarily.

Shaking his broken hands, [Naoki] panted: "Tough guy, you're like a cockroach. It'd be easier to just die by my hand than keep enduring this torture."

"I'm not planning to make Merry a widow, and it'd be too embarrassing to die at the hands of a weaker version of myself."

"Hah? Who're you calling weaker than you? Did I bash your head too hard?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Naoki laughed. "Though we're both me, compared to me, you're missing three crucial things. You must know, the reason I'm so strong isn't just Summoning Magecraft."

Summoning Magecraft was only part of Naoki's power. Arcueid's power, Arthur's power, and the Soul Eater Mystic Eyes—these three were far greater than Summoning Magecraft. If anything, Summoning Magecraft was merely the foundation.

And due to the unique nature of these three, replication was impossible, so [Naoki] couldn't use them.

"By the way, the reason I can use Summoning Magecraft limitlessly largely depends on the Mana regeneration speed from the Dragon's Heart. But you can't possibly have a Dragon's Heart, so theoretically, your 'rampage' should be nearing its end."

"You really think so?" [Naoki] sneered. "Then try me! See if I've run out of steam and can't fight anymore!"

No need to try.

[Naoki]'s Mana source was likely Tokyo's entire leyline. After all, Manaka created him. To ensure he could always unleash his full power, an ample Mana supply was a must, and the leyline was the natural choice.

"But honestly, I'm curious about one thing."

"Hah? Curious about what?"

"Why do you exist?" Naoki asked. "Frankly, I have almost no connection with the person behind you. I haven't caused her any trouble or bothered her in the slightest. Why would she target me like this?"

Oh, that.

"I don't care about that woman's thoughts, and I'm too lazy to ask. I've never even interacted with her. After creating me, she gave me one order and never showed up again."

"Oh? One order? Specifically?"

"To kill you—specific enough, original?"

The unmasked killing intent made Naoki sigh in resignation.

He understood the Manaka sealed in his body. Her goal was simply to break the seal this way, or at the very least, to make things difficult for him, to make him suffer.

But the Manaka here—did she only want to kill him?

"You don't know either?"

"For me, whatever that stinking girl wants doesn't matter. I just need to kill you. Maybe she saw I wanted to do it and gave me that order. If our interests align, I don't mind her using me as a weapon—"

[Not using you as a weapon.]

Suddenly, as if projected directly into their minds, a voice familiar to all three, including Ayaka, rang out.

The next moment, accompanied by a few feathers drifting into view, Naoki suddenly noticed a slightly blurred figure appearing before him.

"You are…"

"Big sister?"

Ayaka stared at the figure in disbelief. Though heavily blurred, like covered in thick mosaic, she couldn't mistake that form—it was her own sister.

As if a bit resigned, the figure seemed to give a wry smile.

[Even like this, you recognized me right away. Ayaka, you're amazing.]

"Sister… Is it really you? You—"

"Hey! What are you doing here, blondie!" Before the heartfelt sibling reunion could unfold, [Naoki] shouted angrily: "Don't interfere! Don't get in the way of my fight with the original—"

[In front of Ayaka, quiet down. She doesn't like noisy people.]

Without moving an inch, the figure merely said this, and [Naoki]'s mouth seemed sewn shut. No matter how he tried, he couldn't utter a word, and his body was locked in place.

Without glancing at [Naoki] at all, the figure looked at Ayaka, gave a faint smile, then turned to face Naoki.