The Yearning

"Empress of the Cold, what a cringe title

"

Ayako said as she moved a piece.

"Well, I beg to disagree. Aside from her, you're the only ice user to dominate last year's competition."

"My sister, hmm?"

"Yes. Last year's match was a blast."

"Certainly is. However, It would be better if I won that match."

"There's still this year, Ayako."

"I know. I will get revenge on my sister."

"So Kyouko, what are you standing there for? Take a seat."

Ryujin said as he offered a seat beside him.

"So, how was your first test?"

Ayako said,

"It finished so quickly. My partner was one of a kind."

"I see. Would you mind telling me that person's name?"

"Cezina Laura."

"Oh, that student who transferred from that middle school."

"Yes, Ayako-sama."

"Please drop the "sama", you're making me look old."

"I apologize."

She said as she took a seat.

"So, who's Ryo's partner?"

Ryujin said with a complicated look as he moved another chess piece.

"Eri Aoki..."

"Hmm, I've heard the name before. Could you tell me more about her?"

"She's a product of the Nigishimaya laboratory. That's what's written on Stella-san's data."

Ryujin's face turned into a shocked one as he resigned from the game.

"On the second thought, I really can't win against you."

Ryujin said with a chuckle as he offered a handshake.

"Already? That's boring."

Ayako responded as she took up on the handshake.

"I'll be back for another round,"

"A Nigishimaya product piqued your interest? Hmm?"

"You can say that. Haha. Anyway, Kyouko,"

He turns his gaze to Kyouko with a serious expression on his face,

"Let's go out for a walk, shall we?"

"Just don't do anything stupid."

She agreed and both of them walked outside.

...

It's finally our turn on the exam. The others have done quite well, and all have received 100 marks. 

We made our towards the now-rebuilt building, with Eri seemingly gleaming with excitement. 

Then, we opened the door and made our way inside. 

Greeting us was the simultaneous smell of rotten eggs and rotting wood. It hits my nose like a hammer, causing my head to spin.

"That's a wild s-smell."

Eri mumbled as her knees weakened and she held on to one of the walls beside her. 

I don't know how they completed this quickly but all of them did a very good job.

"I-I think for now, let's explore the place," Eri suggested, as she took a look around.

I nodded and I went towards the stairs, up into the second floor.

There, I was met with a hallway with several doors facing each other. And at the end of that

hallway, was a door. I'm guessing that's where the action will start.

I looked around as I slowly walked towards the door, the unnerving sound of the wood creaking following my footsteps. 

Then, as I arrived, I opened the doorknob and inside was,

"A person?!"

A girl was tied to the chair with a thick rope all around her. She's unconscious. 

I looked all around the room to establish a plan to save her. I'm certain that I can't just save her unscathed. There must be traps or CCTV even around here.

I noticed a string of steel shining all around. Perhaps it was a trap. Detonating the trap would be devastating as it would not only affect the girl but also the fragile building.

I peeked my head inside and looked around. 

There were six doors around. Perhaps the criminal is hiding inside. How should I make them come out...?

Just then,

"About 6 people are waiting for us, with a gun in hand. They are aware of our presence."

She said as she walked towards me, now doing better. 

"What do you plan to do??"

I asked,

"We need to knock them out whilst not detonating the trap. This is the only door leading up to this room, so with our given abilities, I don't think there's a chance for ambush. Then to make it worse, we need to bring them back unscathed and safe. To be honest, I'm quite clueless." She said as she shrugged off her shoulders.

"Well, I don't really know your abilities, so, I can't think of anything."

"I guess I'll tell you. I have two."

Two?

"One, I can detect someone's position and location based on the sound they make. In the littlest sounds as heartbeats to their footsteps. In short, I have a heightened hearing ability.

Secondly, I can do anything."

"What do you mean, anything?"

"I mean literally, any magic you want me to do. After all, I'm a prodigy."

She said while looking directly at my eyes with such shining yet creepy eyes, accompanied by an eerie, yet playful smile that sent shivers down my spine.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

She said as she summoned a black liquid all over her hand.

It's like she's looking through my soul.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so petrified? She said as she drew her face near mine.

"Nothing. I don't get your definition of anything. Can you turn invisible and take care of them all at once?"

"W-Well, no."

"Then, can you please be specific?"

Just then, a voice through a speaker echoed throughout the whole building.

"3 Minutes before self-destruction mode."

"Oh my, what a surprise."

She said in a rather calm and "enjoying the moment" tone.

"What should we do, I have no clue~".

...

Eri was not afraid to fail this test. To her, learning her opponent's skills is a much more valuable reward than a mere hundred points.

Moreover, this is a chance to see another layer of Ryo's power.

A cramped and fragile building, with traps right in front of the target, with the given requirements of unscathed and unhurt kidnappers and hostages, yet having an amplitude of destruction.

She thought to herself as she looked intensely at Ryo's eyes, which made him feel uneasy.

Using this power that was given to me by those I resent, I'll overturn every one of them. I'll achieve my goal, no matter what the obstacle is. After all, I'm the so-called limitless magician.

...

"Then, she must be extraordinary."

Kyouko said as she walked along the quiet hallways with Ryujin.

"She is. Though, I don't have a full background on her. The deepest info we know is that she's from the Nigishimaya Laboratory."

"Nigishimaya Laboratory, named after Nigishimaya Shori, That's the Leading Scientific Magical Laboratory dedicated to discovering new paths to magic. I think that's also where the black fluid amplitude was made."

"About that, I have my suspicions about Aoki Eri. When I first saw each amplitude, all of them were almost normal until it was Eri and Laura's turn. They both used something I haven't seen in my whole life."

"Then, this year must be quite the competition then."

"Looks like it. Train well, Kyouko, so that you can keep your seat."

"I know."

"Start with beating Ryo first."

...

2 minutes remaining.

"Then, tell me where all of them are."

Ryo said as he got his sword in front of him

Eri tells him all about their precise location.

Then, after taking a deep breath, he held his sword tightly and slowly walked deeper inside.

Then, he carefully made his way through all the traps before reaching the girl. And in a single slice, he removed all of the ropes binding her.

When suddenly, all of the kidnappers rushed out all at once before firing a series of anti-magic bullets towards Ryo.

"I guess this is my time to shine!".

Eri, from behind, launched a wide, fluid-like attack that swiftly crawled to the ground and latched all around the kidnappers, paralyzing them.

Then, in a precise and accurate series of slashes that cuts all the bullets in half without triggering the bomb or wounding the people.

Then, in a single slash, he freed the girl inside, before grabbing her and noticing that the wall behind them was fragile. However, this would mean that there is a chance that the kidnappers would get crushed by the debris.

He turned around and gave Eri a look of "Take care of everything." before looking back in front of him. He doesn't want to trust anybody, but, time is ticking. He knows that in this case, he can't do anything by himself. Moreover, he knows that Eri is quite capable. He plans to use his fire to destroy the wall in front of him.

Accurate slashes, quite the sharp eye.

Eri smiled before she sneakily summoned magic behind her back. A light blue ball appeared in the palm of her hands behind her.

Then, once Ryo released his fire, Eri activated that blue magic behind her.

That's one down. One major threat, down.