True, Lifetime and Magi

─I'm going to be in the shed, if you need me for something, knock on the door first, okay?

─Good luck with what you're going to do, Amano.

What if I told you guys that everything you've read up to this point is nothing more than a facade to hide the true meaning behind it all?

What if I told you that I don't hate women or that I'm not even being blackmailed?

Surely with my behavior they would believe that everything is true, right?

Well... I am not at all lying in having contempt for women. Most of them are manipulative bitches who only love you out of interest and not out of love.

Not the case with Kunikida Misaki, at least.

I have dressed in warm clothes, ensuring that nothing is missing in my backpack, there are a considerable number of books in there, all are books of complex fundamentals for ordinary people to understand.

To be completely honest... I don't understand my father's actions in deciding to marry a [Normal], that old man must have been having fun since he left town to leave me in charge of things.

I'm just a high school student...

The name "Amano Kazuki" unfortunately, it is only a facade to keep the lie of everything.

To be blunt, "Amano Kazuki" is a non-existent name. It's just the name they gave me as a civilian so I can have a normal life.

I had to weave a false life to occupy it from the screen to my real life behind the scenes.

But hey, that's the way it is. My father never wanted to be overly responsible with our family's affairs, at least not as much as I have wanted to be.

My true personality... I don't even know it myself.

That is why I have to do my best to fulfill my tasks, to see how far I can go as one person or the other.

Once a week, I have to take care of releasing the [Magic Energy] put under the pressure of the [Barrier Lock]. This way I can replenish the [Magic Energy] in the [Gaia Attribute] within the city and not set a [Mystic Overload].

Here's a great list of new terms, right?

You wonder why someone who looks as serious as me ended up falling into second-degree syndrome and wrote a stupid book that I call the [Canon of Adolescence]. Probably because I was only fourteen when it all started.

My real name is... Hedrick van Helsing, current head of [The Brotherhood], a select group of individuals dedicated to the hunt of what we call [Beasts], they have human form, they live among us as such but in their Most are a threat by not being fully able to retain their instincts.

During the [Dark Ages], a period of time between the [Middle Ages], the [Beasts] ruled every corner of darkness and that is where the man nicknamed [The Greatest Hunter in History] grew up, the one found as our image to follow, my ancestor, Abraham van Helsing.

Our numbers are close to the thousands, and we are, above all, the peacekeepers in this section of the [World Tree] - [Yggsdrasil]. We are the ones in charge of protecting [Midgar] from all those who try to harm humans. Both from inside and outside of our [Yggsdrasil] section.

Since I was little I had to create a facade. At the same time that Hedrick van Helsing was born, so was Amano Kazuki. The records match perfectly and there is no question about it.

What surprises me is that my father was willing to marry his false last name. Likewise, the surname "Amano" is also very well recognized within the history of Japan. We will not have a mansion or a fortune like the "Amano" lineage, however, we do have relationships with the other four main families.

For my part, I have an obligation to protect Tokyo from any supernatural activity that could endanger those who inhabit here.

Normally, humans would be no match for the [Beasts], nor for those who are climbing [Yggsdrasil]. However, there is an advantage that all of [The Brotherhood] have, that apart from our notorious physical abilities and those of manipulating people, we have the [Einhenjar] with us.

[Einhenjar] is the name of two things:

1. Those warriors taken by the [Goddess of Fertility] - Freya, to train and thus fight the arrival of [Ragnarök].

2. Weapons of deified categories and proportions that allow killing [Beasts] and whom we call [Jörmundgander] - those who scale [Yggsdrasil].

There are [Einhenjar] of different ranks depending on their functions, the best of which we have is the [Salisbury Sanskrit], a mythical book that is credited with the destruction of [Atlantis] and was the first weapon in the hands of a man with the power to annihilate the [Beasts].

To succeed in the battle against the [Beasts], it is more than obvious that we need much more than just the [Einhenjar]. Ordinary humans who do not have a [Special Blood] would die bearing an [Einhenjar], and even those who do still have difficulty wielding weapons of such powerful magnitude.

For this reason, we must have two prerequisites before joining [The Brotherhood].

1. Have the ability to produce magic.

2. Possess the [Family Crest] of our (or other) family. If this requirement is not met but the previous one is met, an exception can be made if the individual shows compatibility with at least one [Einhenjar].

Ignoring the requirements, once you enter [The Brotherhood], then you will receive the [Mark of God], an additional crest that recognizes you as a member and which is, above all, the union between the [Mortals] and the gods].

We receive the support of the [Nordic Gods], and in exchange for us bringing peace to [Midgar], they provide us with the [Blood of God] that comes directly from the [Goddess of Fertility] - Freya. What it is, essentially what [Mark of God] is made of.

Through the control and mastery of [Magic Energy], those of us who are [Magic] users divide ourselves into two ranks.

[Sorcerers] and [Magicians].

There are many titles here and there, so if you ask me about mine...

[Archimedes] is the most recognized nickname I have, the reason I was given that title is because I managed to master [True Magic] at the young age of ten. A point where normal [Wizards] long to be.

Certainly, there are twelve [Magi], of which, there are another four who have the title of [Great Magus], although probably the one that stands out the most among all the [Magi], it is not another person other than the [Magus King]. But of course, I don't have any of those gallant titles in the world of [Magic].

I only became [Magician] at a young age, nothing more than that. It was in the process of becoming [Magician] that I received the wound that caused the scar on my shoulder.

My mother actually died in battle (that's I prefer say about her, not the reality). She also belonged to [The Brotherhood], for that very reason.

But hey, I suppose the details of my mother's death are necessary to move forward.

─My name is [Archimedes] ─[Einhenjar]─. And I declare under the rights that [Gaia], [Midgar] and [Yggsdrasil] have given me to appease the [Lagoon] that protects this enclosure. Thank you for all the service you have given.

With the [Magic Energy] hovering around the shed right now, I could cast a great spell, but in the process I could end up erasing the progress I've made on the [Barrier] since eight years ago that I raised it to protect the city. , greatly limiting the use of [Magic] or [Sorcery] and reducing the rate of increase of [Mystic Energy].

I pour a bit of my [Magic Energy] into the first [Magic Thread] in my body that made contact with the entrance of the [Gaia Attribute] around me. Then I reverse the flow of this same [Magic Energy] and in the next instant, I apply my [Magic] to the area.

Suddenly, all the [Magic Energy] is sent to the [Gaia Attribute], returning to the filtering cycle that moves perpetually without stopping even once.

- - -

● All [Corrections] were successfully applied in the use of [Magic].

● [Fix] has successfully removed excess [Mystic Energy] residual.

- - -

A mechanical voice that I am used to sounds in my head.

As I am a [Magician], there is a [Magic] that is unique to my use. [Fix] is one of the two things that put me at the top of a group as large as [The Brotherhood] is, as it has two effects.

The first is to perfectly correct any interaction I have with [Magic Energy], which easily turned me from apprentice to adept in one step, skipping many, many steps on the way to [Magic].

The second is probably the best I can do, which is to safely nullify any adverse effects to the use of the other [Magic] and to them.

They are insane effects, but they are very useful to tell the truth.

But anyway...

I guess it's time to put on the Amano Kazuki mask again to continue having a quiet life until next week.

✁╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴

The next morning, I woke up with a slight headache.

Ugh...

It's pretty annoying if I'm telling the truth.

I think it was a bad idea to stay up late playing video games with Kunikida...

What woke me up was the sound of the house bell being rung repeatedly.

Who the fuck can it be at this hour...?

I shake Kunikida off of me so I can stand up to answer the door. Without even washing my face first thing in the morning, I unlock the door and open it.

─...

─Good morning again, Kazu-chan! Your older sister, Shiori has come to visit you!

─Ah.

Shit.

If there's one person I can't show disgust or distance to, it's probably just this particular person.

Let me introduce it.

She is the eldest daughter of my father and my mother. As there were two children within the Amano family, my mother took the girl, leaving me with my father.

Her name is Amano Shiori, and she is my older blood sister (she really is). Despite the distance we had several years ago, she still comes to visit me from time to time (not to say that her visits bring a bad omen).

─Mm, Amano... Who is she?

Kunikida, who seems to have heard our voices, got up and came to check who she was.

Shiori looks at her... with a flash of light in her eyes.

With the playful attitude that she has an older sister, she immediately starts teasing me.

─Kazu-chan, you are quite a womanizer, playing with the heart of your beautiful older sister and bringing your girlfriend to live here!

─She's not my girlfriend.

─So why does she dress so carelessly as if she was in her own house?!

─Dad remarried.

─...

Shiori's expression froze right there.

She saw Kunikida again, and then me, several times.

But she quickly comes to the proper conclusion.

─I HAVE A LITTLE SISTER, YES! TO THE DEVIL MY YOUNGER BROTHER, I ALWAYS WANTED A LITTLE SISTER!

Shiori quickly pushed me out of her way and lifted Kunikida into her arms.

The poor antisocial girl didn't know how to react to this and she just let herself get up again and again while my older sister is making a fuss about her.

I don't know how to feel about her sending me to hell as soon as she found out that she has a younger sister now.

Well. The best thing I can do at the moment is take my sister's things to my room.

A few hours passed before my sister stopped bothering our mutual stepsister. Kunikida is currently making the food, so we can... finally have a serious talk.

I corner my older sister inside my room.

We stare at each other...

─Kazu-chan, you've... become more daring...

─Shut up, Anna.

My older sister obeys from the moment I call her by her real name.

I separate myself from Anna then... putting a hand to my face, to convince myself to step into the role that I need to be in right now.

There is an issue that is much more important to attend to right now.

The only reason my sister would come to this house is for the most sensitive subject to be dealt with when it comes to our family.

─Misaki-chan, she's not your sister but... she seems like you like her more than me.

─You are a witch, Anna. You show up when she damn well comes to you and you always bug me... but, I want to ask you now.

─What thing, Hedrick?

There is only one thing I should ask this woman.

The only thing that that woman who has in her hands the power to [Kill God] would have to answer me.

The [Mark of God] brings much more than just a higher definition to ordinary humanity. This same one, grants [Statistics] and [Skills] to all those who possess it, as well as [Levels].

We know from [Levels] the pressing result from the toughest battles under the accumulation of [Experience Points]. We have to break our limits over and over again without stopping, taking a place in battles with the worst possible enemies.

It is an immense advantage for those of us in charge of the defense of [Midgar].

But of course, everything has its cost.

─Anna... if you really are my sister, please tell me, how long to live do I have to spare?

─Hedrick... don't ask me difficult questions to answer...

─Just tell me, how much do I have left? The last time you said I was forty, but that was before fighting Astaroth, I had very difficult injuries to treat that time.

Unique Skill: [Prediction].

It is one of the three abilities that my older sister has, what she does is allow her to see the [Life Time] in a person.

Anna looks away...

She begins to point out.

I lost eight years acquiring the [Family Crest].

I spent fourteen years during my battle against the [Jörmundgander] - Astaroth who came from Helheim.

In my recovery, I lost another five years.

After a [Level Up] I gained one and a half.

The contract with my [Einhenjar] takes one week away from me per month. What in eight years, turned into a loss of about two whole years.

And the list goes on and on and on.

Additions and subtractions of years of life are in that list.

But my sister's final words frighten me far more than anything else.

─In short, you have less than a year to live. Now that I've told you this, I guess you're going to do everything you can not to lose your life, right?

...

And do you still ask?

It's obvious what I'll do.

I give my older sister a hug.

She, although she seems uncomfortable, responds to me in the same way.

She lends me her shoulder, so that I silently begin to cry, hiding my tears in her embrace.

We don't get along great and all that.

But there is still one thing I can say.

─I'm scared, Onee-chan...

─I know... I have it too... I don't want to lose you, Kazuki.

The disparate brothers cry in silence, to drown our sorrows as best we can.