Aiden vs Maika (2)

Coming out of the classroom hadn't helped at all, the unbearable humming sound was still there stuck in his ears.

—Just give up, don't make it harder for me!

—Then can't you make it easier for me too?! —Was Aiden's response. He tried to run again, but his sense of balance was affected by the humming sound, so he slipped, falling face first, with the last moment he was able to cover his face.

Even his thoughts were all scrambled, he couldn't think of any more ways to escape. This is definitely the end, thought Aiden, but when he thought all was lost, like a ray of hope, an idea descended from somewhere in his mind. He quickly surveyed his surroundings and with that last idea in mind, that hope, he devised a plan.

«In that case, as soon as I'm close enough, that will be my only chance!»

Aiden couldn't help but think, after seeing that creature, that homunculus as Maika called it, and the astounding things she did, that something as ridiculous, incomprehensible, and bizarre as magic does exist.

He had no idea how magic works, in fact, he did not understand anything about the subject. But he also did not doubt the monster from earlier either, with his own eyes he had seen how Maika defeated it. Not understanding it did not mean that something was invincible, so he decided to bet on the only chance his hands could reach at that moment.

A series of old memories flooded Aiden's mind. After so much intervention from the only reasonable medium that supposedly possessed all the truth, science, and not obtaining any results about his hallucinations, he had sought an answer to his problem in the occult on his own. Even as a child, he didn't believe in magic, but he was certainly interested in the subject, and he constantly investigated the paranormal and related areas on the internet and in books. Whether true or not, of the things that can be found on the internet, he had learned some.

Maika began to walk towards Aiden, who was on the floor and couldn't even stand. She didn't look surprised at all because the spell she had just cast had that purpose, it was natural that he couldn't stand when his world was literally shaking. And when she was less than a meter away from the defenseless boy, she started counting down in her head.

«10… 9… 8… No matter if she's a mage or something, 6… she's still human!»

According to the little knowledge that Aiden gained from the internet and other sources of doubtful origin, to perform a spell that alters your surroundings, you always need a protection mechanism against it. That was always a constant. Some type of magic circle or object must be preventing her from also being affected by the sound of vibrations, Aiden bet everything on that information that he found by chance once on the internet.

«There must be a trick, something that's preventing that damn noise from affecting her!»

It never occurred to him that she might be wearing earplugs, or that she might be immune, but as his thoughts and concentration were hazy because of the noise, he didn't think of that obvious possibility.

Aiden had made his bet. The bullets in the revolver were already loaded, like in a game of Russian roulette, the chamber containing Aiden's only hope spun and he pulled the trigger.

He counted 3 with his heart, if this was within his reach or not, he would jump over Maika.

Up to that moment he had his eyes closed, pretending to suffer uncontrollably; although it wasn't necessary to pretend, he was really suffering with the buzzing.

«If it were me, I wouldn't keep it in plain sight, but I wouldn't hide it too far away from where I can protect it, even if it's someone like me who doesn't know anything about magic; so… it has to be in the suitcase! 1!»

He gathered the courage to make his move at the last second. With the bit of strength, he had been saving, he jumped, in the style of a football tackle, over Maika. Both of them fell to the ground about a meter away from each other after the impact. Deep down, he felt bad for doing this to a girl, but it was either that or suffer who knows what later. The girl, upon receiving the sudden impact, dropped her schoolbag, and by pure coincidence, it flew right to where Aiden was.

He didn't think for a second that he had achieved his goal, but he didn't have time to check, he only had a few seconds. Aiden emptied the suitcase and looked for the most suspicious items, only to find that everything in the spilled content was suspicious.

—Why the hell do you go to school if you don't bring a single book!?

He thought he was going to explode, he thought about shouting, then about crying, then about setting everything on fire, but he didn't have a single match or lighter. He thought all of that in less than a second.

—Whatever. It'll be up to luck!

Maika was still in the process of getting up when Aiden took something that looked like an oval piece of glass wrapped in a green scarf. Why? Because it looked like the easiest to break. And as if a God smiled at him at that moment, his intuition was correct. The moment he held it, constant vibration could be felt coming out of the glass.

There had to be a relationship with the buzzing, Aiden was sure of it and didn't waste any more time. He threw the glass to the ground with all the strength he could gather, to be sure. The sound of glass breaking gave him an immense sense of satisfaction right after.

—KYAAAAA…! Aghh! —A loud feminine scream ended Aiden's short feeling of tranquility, but in exchange, the annoying sound of vibrations disappeared a second later.

—Did I do it?

The cards scattered on the floor and walls detached themselves and before touching the ground, they turned into ash, leaving a cloud of dust in the environment.

It was probably another security device to prevent the user from being affected more, but those details didn't matter to Aiden. Finally, he could relax, knowing that his head didn't feel like it was going to explode. That's what he thought, but things weren't over yet for him.

—… Son of a bitch!

At some point, a silver gun appeared in Maika's hand and aimed at Aiden. The first shot passed a few centimeters from his right cheek. She had deliberately missed; Aiden was sure of that. Even though the vibrations also influenced her a bit, missing at that distance would be impossible for an expert.

The most incredible thing happened after the bullet crashed against the wall a few meters behind Aiden. A wall of fire flooded the hallway, blocking the only chance of escape.