Deus Ex Machina

"You are on your own."

At these cold words, Jane looks up to the man she has been working her ass for. She feels an enormous sense of betrayal. To discard her like this so easily, and so offhandedly. Does she mean nothing to this man?

"W-why do you have to say it like that?"

Hans squats lower, leveling his eyes with Jane's.

"You are angry, right? Maybe to me. Maybe to whatever has caused this…" Hans spread his hand and pointed to the devastated flattened land. Only the hallways where the two have a foothold remain from the apartment.

From where the two at, they see the full spectacle of the devastation through the door from where Hans makes a tackle. It is like a portrait painting, but except for a face, what they have is a landscape. A pretty ironic thing to see.

Hans pulls Jane and seats her by the ledge of the door. He similarly seat by the ledge.

"I am at third circle mage. I used a special drug to amplify my power to the archmage level for a short period of time. I am lucky to get away with a crippled magic circle. Being unable to advance is a too-light penalty."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I know where you can find another special drug like the one I ingested."

"…"

Hans is having a fun life lately. He thinks that maybe 'fate' won't screw him now. But Murphy's Law, man, Murphy's Law is such a bitch.

"I don't know who caused this… magic… But at least I will be able to give you a fighting chance, right?" Hans adds.

"Go on."

"Academy of Magic. After you passed the exams, there will be three houses you can choose from— Scholar, Seeker, and Seer— respectively black, gold, and white. Choose Seeker, and on the first day of class, make sure you are early. The first table from the left has an Archmagus Boosting Pill hiding on the compartment of the wood on the left side under the table."

"That is… quite specific."

Jane looks at Hans for a second longer, then her gaze returns to the devastated scenery from the door. Disbelief in her eyes is still apparent and it will take her a long time to heal.

Hans is similarly in disbelief. He knows what a magical fight looks like for he witnessed one, but this is different. There is no fight. Just a sudden wham. Hans doesn't understand the motive of the attack either just like the many others who land their eyes on this curious destruction.

Like what Hans has predetermined for a long time already, he is not all-knowing.

There is another self-correcting element at work here. From what Hans know is that Jane Loweigh has a tragic background story, which causes her to lose her family… If Han is to interpret the information in front of him now. This 'family' that Hans knows must be the 'orphanage' which makes sense.

Hans stands up, and worried look, he starts thinking about his future. He is no longer the 'author' of this world. And it seems, it looks like he is just another character in the novel now. The thought makes him laugh.

At first, it is a cough. But slowly, it accumulates, until it becomes a guffaw.

"Ha~!"

Jane looks at him. Her sad teary eyes feel so disgusting to Hans now.

"Ha ha ha ha~!"

Hans explodes into laughter as he hugs himself in mania… and pain. He feels his stomach hurting because of too much laughter. For some reason, Jane joins the laughter into a chorus.

The laughter of one man and woman echoes in the dreary silence of the devastation.

After an hour or so, quick rescue finally arrived. They come from near city polis like City H, City J, and City O. The various hooligan who people discriminates against also join in the rescue effort.

A local Magic Police helps Hans and Jane from the hallway. They interview both of them individually. It appears Jane needs more medical assistance as she is suffering from magic reflux because of too much shock from what occurred.

Hans finds himself with free time, and with this, he visits the restroom carrying a stolen helmet from one of the rescuers. Hans still has a candle on his shorts. It should work with this. Using the helmet as a substitute for the basin and what remains of the candle that he burns with magic, Hans proceeds with the familiar divination ritual of asking the self.

"Am I in a novel?"

To this question, Hans receives a Yes.

Hans tries not to laugh. There is nothing funny about it, but Hans finds it just ridiculous.

"Stoobid! Of course, I am in a novel! It is a stupid question, after all, it is obvious enough, my bad…"

Hans repeats the ritual with his burning candle in hand.

"Am I an extra of the novel?"

"No."

"How about a simple nobody?"

"No."

"Am I the villain then? An antagonist?"

"No. No."

"Ah~ What a relief… Am I the protagonist then?"

"No."

"Ok… This is getting difficult…"

Hans tries to guess his 'role' in this novel by throwing random jargon when it comes to writing.

"Am I Plot Armor? Fuck. That was stupid as well…"

"Am I a setting? Oh lord… What if I am?"

"Am I… the audience? Uhh… No?"

Apparently, all of Hans's query meets a no.

Until.

"Am I a Deus Ex Machina?"

"Yes."

Of all the plot devices there to exist, why does it have to be a Deus Ex Machina?

Hans lightly laughs at his increasingly troublesome situation.

According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, Deus Ex Machina is a person or thing (as in fiction or drama) that appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty.

No wonder Hans has two Geasses and is able to lightly get away from ingesting an Archmage Boosting Pill with broken magic circles that only renders advancement impossible… which is yeah, a pretty big deal if one is a Deus Ex Machina.

"How in the world am I to function now?" He self-depreciatingly thought about his role as a Deus Ex Machina.

*Knock~ *Kncok~!

"Hans, don't leave me! We need to talk!"

Hans opens the door of the restroom and waiting for him from the outside is none other than Jane.