Piece (1)

"Stop!"

I shouted out as I activated the mana inside my body, forcing myself to move faster in hopes of reaching the girl before she jumped.

But the girl did not want to be stopped.

She ignored my voice and took a step forward, letting gravity do its job.

I felt my vision slowing down as I saw the girl falling to her eventual death.

But just then, a voice reached my ears.

"Wind, reach."

Lily extended her hand and a magic circle appeared on her palm. The leaves of the plants in the garden rustled as a gust of wind blew against the falling girl, suspending her in the air briefly.

I was surprised by Lily's intervention, but my movements did not stop. I squeezed the mana inside my body to move even slightly faster, even circulating the lightning inside my lightning seed around my body to try to get a bit more speed.

Thanks to that, I managed to reach the girl before the effects of Lily's magic ended.

I grabbed the sleeve of her shirt and pulled her toward me with as much strength as I could. The girl fell into my arms, and the momentum sent the two of us rolling on the ground.

When we stopped, I felt the muscles in my arms crying in pain.

"Ugh. Are you alright?" I asked the girl while grimacing in pain.

I girl stared at me expressionless before her face contorted in pain.

"… Why…"

"H-Hey?"

"W-Why did you stop me?" She asked while shivering.

I fell silent.

Suddenly, the girl pushed me away and stood up, rushing toward the fence again.

"Stop!" I reacted quickly and hugged her, but the girl started to struggle in my arms.

"Don't stop me! Let me jump! Bastard! Let go of me!"

"H-Hey, calm down!"

"LET GO OF ME!"

Screaming, she released a wave of mana that struck the surroundings indiscriminately.

I instinctively reinforced my body with mana to withstand her outburst, but her mana was denser than I expected. I was caught unprepared and let go of her.

The girl used this opportunity to rush toward the fence again.

"This crazy...!"

Cursing, I rushed after her again, but the girl turned around and released a shockwave before I could reach her, stopping me in my tracks.

Fortunately, Lily's voice sounded again.

"Restraint."

With a soft chant, a magic circle appeared in her palm. The mana in the surroundings reacted to the magic circle, creating two translucid vines entwined around the girl's waist.

"Why are you stopping me!?" The girl shouted like crazy. Her shout was followed by another surge of mana that broke one of the vines.

But before she could break the second one, I jumped on her and pressed her against the ground.

"Let me go!"

I grimaced and held her firmly. Even so, the girl continued struggling violently, her body twitching like she was demonized.

Seeing that she was about to use mana again, I clicked my tongue and released a surge of lightning from my arms.

The amount of lightning I released was too small to injure her, but it was enough to stop her actions for a brief instant.

In that instant, I used my right hand as a knife and hit her nape.

Almost immediately, the girl's struggle stopped.

I sighed tiredly and stood up while checking the breathing of the girl and confirming that she was unconscious.

At that moment, Lily, Hyacinth, and the other eblors approached us.

"Is she alright?" Hyacinth asked.

I nodded.

"She is only unconscious now. But I will have to take her to the infirmary to make sure everything is alright. By the way, thank you for your help before, Miss Lily."

"Don't worry about that. I did not do much. Hey, Jane, do you know her?"

"I don't." I shook my head. It was my first time seeing this girl, and I did not have any impression of her.

"Then you don't know why she wanted to commit suicide?"

I smiled wryly, indicating I didn't.

"It looks like I won't be able to continue accompanying you. Sorry, but I must take her to the infirmary."

"Don't worry. We will head back to the student assembly's office and tell them about the situation here."

"Thank you." I nodded and carried the girl in my arms while observing her carefully.

Something is wrong with this girl…

[Am I right, demon?]

[Hmm?]

[I would have not noticed that she was about to commit suicide if you don't tell me, but you definitively are not the kind to care if a girl jumps to her death.] I replied. [In other words, there is a reason why you told me about her, right?]

The demon chuckled softly.

[Quite sharp of you, boy. Indeed, there is something odd with this girl.]

[Then–]

[But she should not be the problem.]

I was startled.

[Then, what is it?]

The demon fell silent for several seconds, but I could feel that he was observing the girl carefully.

After almost one minute, he spoke again.

[That is the problem.]

[Huh?]

[I'm sure that something is wrong with this girl, but I don't know where the problem is.]

What is that supposed to mean?

Seeing my confusion, the demon glanced at the girl again.

I could not help but become solemn. It was my first time seeing the demon showing such seriousness.

I suddenly got a bad feeling.

[Boy, you should get ready.]

And it seemed that my feeling was coming true.

[I fear that we came into contact with a 'piece'.]