Misjudged Flame

Dust and small debris rained down around the hall on the first floor. All around the school shook and groaned in fear of the fighting from above. It seemed almost a foregone conclusion that the entire thing would collapse. Yet somehow it managed to hold itself together. How long it lasted seemed to be the question.

Collapse or not, it was the least of the concerns for either of them. In a silent standoff, they gave no reaction to the destruction around them. Both just stared watching each other for a move. When it became clear that Haruo intended to confront Fumiko, she dropped any interest in the rest of the group.

Threads of magic dragged through the air leading to the magic circles. They stood primed, but unspent still. “You planning to fight me? I thought you were a pacifist.”

‘So they still maintain their sense of self. Is this really mind control? What would be the point of taking control of someone, but allowing them to keep their identity?’ Haruo agreed that the theory Yuki had was a possibility, but he didn’t rule out other options yet. There were still a lot of unknowns and variables that didn’t fit well into the theory. He didn’t question it when they brought it up. The clear signs of hope that it granted wasn’t something that could be ignored. Hiroshi needed something to get people to fight again. Even if it was a false hope, it was still something to fight on. That much he understood well enough.

It still didn’t stop him from thinking through the theory. ‘The truth of it is that I haven’t really seen many of those part of Takako’s side in this conflict. The assault on the their base has been my only real introduction. I knew something was wrong after I returned, just didn’t expect something like this.’ What amounted to his home had been abandoned by nearly everything. He couldn’t even sense the small source of life in the area. The animals instinctually seemed to know it wasn’t safe. All the humans had likely been dragged off by Takako’s army or killed, as he later put together. Any that escaped that fate were probably in Hiroshi’s group, not that he saw any familiar faces.

Fumiko had been his only real piece of data to work with given everything happening. Unfortunately, his first encounter with her turned out to prove less than fruitful. All the destruction, he had to protect those unable to fight rather than confront her. ‘Now I can find out if Yuki is right, even though I don’t know why he feels so certain about it. There’s barely any evidence to support the theory at the moment. He has even less time with these people to understand the situation, yet he is already convinced. I must know why. I must know what is going on.’

“Sticking to your usual silent, stoic nature, huh? My magic might be able to do something about that.” The magic circles no longer held passive. Flames quickly gathered at the center of each of the circles. “You’re going to regret thinking you can take me on.”

Chapter 322 – Misjudged Flame

Watching the fire build before it was released, Haruo gained a good amount of information on Fumiko. He had never actually seen her use her powers before, in person anyway, barring their last fight which he wasn’t too focused on. They spent enough time together that he already knew roughly what she was capable of. Their brief fight gave him his only taste and it wasn’t a time he gave his full analytical attention to solving.

This time was different though. He already knew that he had to fight Fumiko. Like she said, his preference made him on outward appearance look like a pacifist, though it wasn’t a completely accurate picture. He would still fight like now.

A fight on his hands meant he needed to give it his full attention rather than just protecting or keeping damage down. Such a change in outlook, meant that he dodged the flames shot at him with great ease. ‘The attacks have a two second delay before even being thrown. With people like us, that is a very disadvantageous delay.’ When he moved to his next position, he already noticed that she had more incoming from a different source, her hand. ‘Meaning, she’ll need to anticipate my movement and have counterattacks set up.’

Haruo was quick on his feet despite his size. He certainly didn’t have the speed of the others due to his size, but he was still not as slow as it might have appeared. It helped a lot that he could see what Fumiko was doing and planning. Such information made it very easy to stay one step ahead. Unfortunately, that was about all she afforded him.

‘She’s much more thoughtful in combat and tactics than I would have thought. As far as I know from overhearing conversations, she was the President of the Literature Club. Unless she read military books, which Yuki said her interest was fantasy, it seems unlikely she gained her understanding from reading. Which can only mean that it was all gained from her experiences since needing to fight. That was all in Atlantis though, she only had a few fights. It seems strange for her to have already grown that accustomed to combat.’

Continuing to dodge, Haruo kept absorbing everything he could learn about Fumiko’s methods. She was making it easy on him to figure her out. Despite the apparent talent, she was very straightforward about it all. He had yet to see her try to hide or disguise anything. ‘Finding a way to end this is going to take more time though… The power in her magic is stronger than my animals. I can’t waste my energy…’

Suddenly, when he was in mid dodge, a red light grew brightly from his right side. It came from a direction that Fumiko didn’t stand or even her circles. But he immediately knew what it was. Flames burst through the wall of one of the classrooms.

Haruo barely ducked out of it without losing his head. He still felt the heat from the flames pass over. Unlike the others, this had been a stream rather than a burst like a ball. ‘She has even more types she can do, but how did she set up a trap from inside the classroom?’ He had to dodge several more traps that came from even more unexpected corners.

Once he came to a rest with the traps exhausted, Haruo glanced back towards Fumiko. ‘So she was just lulling me into a false impression… Very dangerous…’ His hand patting down an ember that he realized got caught up in the attacks. He barely came out of that trap.

“Looks like you’re actually starting to look serious about this finally.” Fumiko reached behind her and retrieved her staff. The shaft popped out and extended to a full length of two meters. “You’ve been underestimating me, Haruo. Unlike the rest of you, I didn’t waste my time once we found peace in Atlantis. I kept working to improve the power I was given.”

A curious statement to be sure for Haruo. “You foresaw trouble back in Japan?” He rose to his feet as the break in the fighting allowed him some recovery.

“So the wall talks? And yes. Given what happened, it was inevitable that there would be more happening once we got home. You’d have to be a naïve idiot to think nothing would happen.”

“True. I predicted some sort of response would occur. Though this all exceeds my estimates.”

“Yes, Takako’s touch couldn’t be planned for. But thanks to her, I’ve been able to test out what I’ve managed to hone.”

“You wish to be part of this?”

“That’s right! I’ve been given the freedom to do as I please. I’ve been liberated. It’s quite refreshing.”

‘This is certainly troubling. Mind control seems less likely, more like brainwashing. I don’t believe the Fumiko Terauchi we know is the same as the one before me. There is definitely something at work, but I’m guessing the only solution at this point is Takako now. All I can do is end this fight and get to Takako.’ He started to find his resolve for the fight.

Fumiko smiled looking pleased. “That’s the sort of look I want to see. Ever since fighting the Titans, I haven’t had any challenges. I want to see what the silent wall has to offer.”

‘She definitely doesn’t seem to be acting like I know. However, can I succeed?’ He didn’t have much time to think too hard about his question as Fumiko resumed her attacks. Now that she introduced her latest ability, the dislocated flames, she had complete control of the field. Dodging and evading was all he could do just to keep from being seared by the flames.

He hadn’t even the chance to summon his pets with the way she kept the assault up. So Haruo made the decision to ram through one of the walls of the classroom. He hoped to free himself up for a moment and also learn a little of how Fumiko managed to make attacks without being near, which seemed to go against what he had seen so far from her.

However, that move was a mistake. He discovered something he didn’t expect to find in his school. Several students he recalled in passing completely laid out dead. All of their organs laid spread out around them, some even still attached. He had never seen such a violent murder before. “What is this…” Not even he could hold his silence.

“Everyone handles it differently. The freedom Takako grants.”

Haruo turned about to see Fumiko standing in the doorway. “I’m starting to question your idea of freedom.”

“They consented to it, if that’s what’s bothering you.”

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“It does here.”

Haruo thought he had a good read of Fumiko before, but the longer they talked the more it became clear he knew nothing. It wasn’t even about not knowing the person in front of him. This went beyond that. He was quite certain she wasn’t even close to herself anymore. She seemed like a completely different person. ‘Is this what insanity looks like? I’m really starting to be in favor of the brainwashing. Nothing else really makes any sense anymore. Not the way she is acting.’

The smile on Fumiko’s face grew larger until it threatened to split her head. She began stalking forward, tapping her staff against the wood flooring. “Are you the selfish type? Someone that just takes and is unwilling to give a little of yourself?”

‘There’s not going to be any point in talking to her. I just need to focus on stopping her now.’ Fortunately, thanks to Fumiko’s little chat that pulled him away from the horror movie scene, he used the time to start preparing for his move.

A flash of light flew at Fumiko blinding her just long enough before a fireball destroyed it. The distraction was enough to get Haruo back out into the hall. He quickly scattered his pets out before Fumiko could react. ‘This’ll give me the coverage I need.’

Per his expectations, she popped back out into the hall with flames already launching at him. He dodged it with ease. The remote spells she cast started to go off again like before. However, he could see better now. ‘As my eyes, I can see where the spells are coming from. Doesn’t stop them, but I can manage to stay ahead of her more until I figure out how she is doing the remote casting, something that should not be possible for her.’ It was the only piece that he really knew about her spells. What small conversations before Fumiko grew distant from the group revealed that much. They all talked about their powers a little to each other. ‘Fumiko admitted before that she could only create her spells through interactions with her hands, a gesture. Has her powers evolved from her training?’

He hoped his answers would come out soon from the extra eyes that he gained. ‘She’s got a tactical advantage hiding her attacks in the classrooms, but due to all of the obscured areas. She doesn’t know about all of the animals I’ve released. It’s a lot of extra effort to manage everything I’m seeing through their eyes, but it’s the only way I can stay ahead of her.’

Tapping her staff against the wood, Fumiko began moving towards Haruo. With each attack she made, she pushed him further back in the hall. “Is that all you can do, Haruo? You’re going to die at this rate.” At that moment, a large wolf burst through a damaged part of the wall. It pinned Fumiko down to the ground with its mouth clamped down over her arm.

‘This should disable most of her attacks. The rest will just be knocking her out.’ Haruo began to approach slowly, keeping an eye out for any traps that she might still be using. However, she had gone silent after the wolf jumped in.

A small bit of laughter came out from behind the wolf. Fumiko seemed to find something funny. It made Haruo pause to see what her plan was now.

“You seem to be working under a false impression of me.”

Suddenly flames erupted from all side of the hallway completely surrounding Haruo. He had no exits. ‘She set up another trap… She planned this as well?’ Everything engulfed him, trapping in him a giant sphere of flames.

The wolf disappeared from atop her leaving behind only a small piece of rumble from the school. Fumiko picked herself back up ignoring the blood that dripped down her arm. “I no longer require my arm to cast my spells. I’ve advanced beyond such simple means. You were very disappointing Haruo. I expected more from you.”