Chapter 08 Watching History Repeat Itself

The moment Mirai was out of sight, Enji was on the move. 

"Oi, damn Ultra Extra! How dare you run away with your tail between your legs back there! And now you're even hiding behind your girl's skirt? How much of a coward can you get? Aaaahh?"

Shota didn't even look up.

"Oi! Say something, you damn trash extra! Or is this whole 'gloom' shit all you're good at? Aaaahh? Don't think you're some hot stuff just because you hide behind the Number One's daughter's back!"

Shota finally lifted his gaze. His eyes were empty pools, reflecting Enji's furious face but showing no reaction to his words. He opened his mouth to speak, his voice as flat and lifeless as ever.

But the words never came.

 "EVERYONE, GET DOWN!"

Then, the world turned white.

A blinding flash was followed by a concussive shockwave that ripped through the clearing, tearing trees from their roots and hurling students through the air. On pure, desperate instinct, Shota moved. He didn't think—he lunged forward, shoving a stunned Enji aside and throwing his hands up.

A pale blue barrier snapped into existence around him just as the full force of the blast hit.

BOOM.

When the dust and smoke cleared, the scene was one of devastation. His classmates were scattered across the ground, groaning but alive. And in the center of it all, hovering in the air, was a creature of nightmare. It was a humanoid form woven from thick, shifting black shadow, its eyes burning with white light. In one clawed hand, it held Instructor Arata by the neck, the man's body limp and bleeding.

Shota’s blood ran cold.

"No... no, no... It's happening again."

The explosion. The screaming. The dust. The pro wizard, helpless.

He was six years old, standing in the toy store, watching the Witch Queen fall. The static in his vision intensified, buzzing and crawling at the edges of his sight until the world was a grey, fuzzy nightmare. A high-pitched ringing screamed in his ears, drowning out all other sound. He looked down at his hands, drenched in blood of the cashier, the blood of his classmates, the blood of the Witch Queen.

He was frozen. Paralyzed by a fear so deep it had become a part of his soul. All he could do was stare from inside his barrier, watching history repeat itself.

The creature tightened its grip on Instructor Arata's neck.

"This was... easier than I was told. The great pro wizards of Tokyo... supposed to be so strong. But this? This is trash. And the barrier... they said you couldn't pass through. That it was absolute. But I did. It wasn't that hard. I've been sneaking around this city all day... and only one pro wizard showed up. That's not what I was told. That is... strange."

Its gaze fell on the terrified students, then back to the limp form in its hand, as if deciding he was no longer worth the effort.

"Disappointing."

With a casual, brutal swing, it slammed Instructor into the ground. The impact blew a crater in the earth, tossing soil and rock into the air. Arata lay motionless at the bottom, not getting up.

As the creature's gaze swept over them, a desperate counterattack launched.

From the treeline, thorny vines—Himura's work—shot out and wrapped around the creature's legs and torso, attempting to bind it in place. At the same instant, a shadowy tendril—Yami's magic—lashed out from the ground, coiling around its shadowy arms to try and pin it.

"NOW!" Himura yelled.

Tetsuo roared as he unleashed a massive, invisible blast of pure force—his strongest kinetic punch—directly at the creature's chest.

"TETSUO PUNCH!"

The force blast hit dead-on.

The creature didn't even stumble. It simply glanced down at the vines, then at Tetsuo.

"Pathetic insects!"

It flexed. The thorny vines and the shadowy tendril shattered into nothing. The kinetic force dispersed against its chest like a gentle breeze. 

The creature didn't even bother with a spell. It simply swiped its claw through the air in a casual, dismissive gesture.

Three massive, scything arcs of pure dark energy ripped forth. They tore through the space where the three students stood, blasting apart the ground in furrows of destruction.

Himura, Yami, and Tetsuo were hurled backward, their bodies crashing into trees and tumbling across the dirt. 

Enji pushed himself up on his elbows, his body trembling not from fear, but from a white-hot, all-consuming rage. The thought that followed was more terrifying to him than the shadow creature.

"He... he saved me. That damn Extra... pushed me out of the way. He put his barrier around in front of ME. The great me... was saved by him? By the Ultimate Extra? Who... ME? THE GREAT ME?! No. No, no, NO! This isn't right! I'm the main character here! Not him! Not some background trash! I'm the one who's supposed to be saving people! I'm the one who's going to be Number One! The Great Heatobursto-sama! And you telling me I was saved by this trash Ultra Extra?!"

He slammed a fist into the cracked ground. Sparks jumped from his knuckles.

“I’m Heatobursto! Enji Kagari! I’m supposed to burn brighter than anyone! I’m the one who saves people— not some background nobody! I’ll show them. I’ll show everyone. The great Heatobursto doesn’t get saved… by trash!"

Enji slammed his palm to the ground; the dirt sizzled and peeled away in a ring of heat. He pushed himself to his feet with a grin. Flames crawled up his arms like living tattoos, bright and furious.

“OI! YOU SMALL FRY! YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHADOW TRASH!”

The creature’s head slowly turned, its eyes narrowing at the shouting boy.

“DON’T GET COCKY JUST BECAUSE YOU WIPED OUT A BUNCH OF BACKGROUND CHARACTERS! THE REAL DEAL IS RIGHT HERE, STARING YOU IN YOUR UGLY FACE! I’M THE ONE WHO’S GONNA WIPE THAT SMIRK RIGHT OFF IT! YOU’RE NOTHING! A SPEEDBUMP ON MY ROAD TO THE TOP! THE GREAT HEATOBURSTO-SAMA IS ON THE STAGE, GOD DAMN IT! YOU THINK I'D LET SOME VILLAINOUS EXTRA LIKE YOU SHOW ME UP?! I'M THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO BE THE NUMBER ONE WIZARD, YOU DAMN SHADOW! I'LL BLAST YOU STRAIGHT BACK TO HELL! NOW BURN!”

Mana surged from his core, fueled by pure, unadulterated rage. His entire arm glowed with rising heat.

"HEY, TRASH! YOU THINK A LITTLE DARKNESS CAN STOP THE SUN?! I'LL SHOW YOU THE MEANING OF EXPLOSIVE POWER! BLUE FLAME... FIREBALL! HEATOOOOOOOOO! BURSTOOOOOOOOOO!"

This fireball was a comet. A screaming, spiraling sphere of blue fury that tore through the air. The shadow creature's eyes opened wide in shock. Its smug smile vanished, replaced by panic.

"WH-WH-WH-WHAT?! You can use Blue Flame?! A mare brat! A child!? This can't be! Impossible! How could someone use a Blue Flame?! What will I do?! This is it for me! It's too fast! Too powerful! I can't dodge it! It's going to hit me! OH NOOOOOOOOOO! WRAAAAAAAA!"

A perfect, silent sphere of blue energy expanded from the point of impact for a single, weightless moment, swallowing all sound. 

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Then came the sound—deep and shrieking all at once—followed by the small flash like stars were being born. A single blast of light ripped upward, twisting the air into liquid heat. The ground buckled, blue embers rising in sheets.

A pillar of blue energy tore through the ravine, devouring rock, flame, and shadow in a spiral. Fragments of the cliffside lifted, spinning in slow motion, glowing from the inside like shards of molten glass.

Wind punched outward, bending trees flat, scattering debris across the valley floor. The shockwave rolled down the gorge in waves of pressure, each one booming louder than thunder.

At the center of it all, the blast flowered—petals of fire unfurling in impossible symmetry, streaked with electric blue veins that danced through the red. The sky above turned white for a blink, then bled into deep scarlet.

The comet struck the shadow creature dead-center, engulfing it in roaring blue hellfire.

"OH NO! THE FLAME! THE BLUE FLAME! MY ONE AND ONLY WEAKNESS!" 

 It flailed its arms wildly in the air, dancing and stumbling as if being consumed.

 "THIS IS IT FOR ME! HE GOT ME! SO STRONG! SO FAST! IT HURTS SO MUCH! IT BURNS SO HOT! I'M MELTING! I'M BURNING! I'M...! I'M...!"