Unlimited Ambition

Chapter Twenty-One: Wild Laughter

"This is impossible!!!" Aureos roared, veins bulging on his face. His eyes were bloodshot, bearing a striking resemblance to the delinquent priest Stiyl from a few days ago.

Because they're all pretty much the same.

I clutched my stomach, which was aching from laughing. I wiped away the tears from the corners of my eyes. Then I thought of another way to further provoke him.

After that, I didn't tell him the truth—Lola's lie. Instead, I looked at him with the same gaze one would give a lowly weed, and then said, "I am the prince of Jerusalem. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I stand at the pinnacle of the entire magical realm."

Similarly, the power of the state church in Jerusalem is far beyond the reach of those hypocrites in Rome. That problem that has troubled you for years... I can solve it in a matter of minutes—

Moreover, Index is completely alone now! She even said herself that she couldn't live without me! She said it herself! And you, this tragic man, have long been forgotten by her. Poor weed! Ahahahaha, ahahahahahahaha…”

During the time I was speaking, Aureolus's face had become completely contorted and distorted. Halfway through my sentence, Aureolus completely lost his mind, roaring, "Die! You bastard!!"

He began attacking me frantically, laughing maniacally and weeping all the while. Of course, all those alchemical attacks were blocked by the light shield. They caused me no harm whatsoever.

He had devoted himself entirely to this, even betraying his own sect, completely losing his morality and humanity—the girl he so desperately wanted to save had already been saved by someone else. She no longer needed him?! She had long since forgotten him, he had become someone else's possession…

The man who saved her, the man now standing before her—he had saved the girl with almost no effort. The miracle that she had painstakingly planned and struggled to achieve was utterly worthless in this man's eyes.

It felt like someone had played a cruel joke on me. My efforts, my value, and even myself had been completely negated.

He was rejected by the person in front of him, the prince of this holy land.

"I, I, I actually..." Aureos knelt down, clutching his head, and wept uncontrollably. "What... what have I done... what am I to you?!"

He cried so bitterly that it even stirred the heart of the girl behind him, who shed tears alongside him. I, however, merely watched him with interest, continuing my merciless sarcasm: "Let me tell you what you are—a perfect example of failure, you are remarkably successful."

Then, I burst into laughter again.

Aureolus stopped crying. Aureolus stood up. Aureolus went mad.

"Fall down, intruder!"

He roared hoarsely, and at the same time pulled out a thin gold needle, which he plunged into his own neck in a frenzied manner.

Hundreds of times the pressure of atmospheric pressure were applied to me in an instant. It almost bent my back.

Damn it, looks like I've gone too far. I cursed inwardly. Then, I mustered all my strength to stay upright and drew my sword again, aiming it at him.

"Why?! Why didn't you fall down?!" Seeing my body swaying precariously, yet not collapsing as he had predicted, Aureos was filled with doubt and surprise.

"I'm not that fragile!" I roared, then broke free from the pressure: "And I hate being ordered around!!!"

Under pressure hundreds of times that of atmospheric pressure, my speed was severely limited. I couldn't use techniques like Shrinking the Earth to an Inch or the Big Dipper Immortal Trail. I could only run at a speed similar to that of an ordinary person.

However, this is fast enough. The distance between me and Aureolus is only a few dozen meters, and I can reach him in about ten seconds. At that time, the situation will be reversed again!

"No!" At that moment, the girl standing behind him suddenly cried out, stepping in front of Aureos. It looked like she was trying to save him?

At this moment, Aureos launched his next attack: "Intruder, die!!!"

This is a very good option.

Compared to physical, magical, or mental attacks, this option was both unusually vague and unusually clear. His goal was simply to kill me, nothing more.

However, the alchemist was destined for disappointment. No one in this world could control my life, not even myself—that mad Grim Reaper had made me her personal toy. No one was allowed to touch me.

The girl hailed as the strongest Grim Reaper across countless planes—I don't know if she truly lives up to her claims. However, compared to the magic created by a mere mortal within a single plane, her power is incomparable.

Naturally, as Aureolus finished speaking, I was unharmed. Aureolus, however, vanished in an instant.

He vanished, utterly vanished, along with his soul and all traces of his existence. There is nothing left in this world to prove his existence.

The instant he disappeared, I heard a long-lost laugh: "Meow hahaha... My toy, you owe me a favor."

I was struck dumb. I froze on the spot.

She's been watching me! She's been watching me!! She's right next to me, watching me!!! In her presence, I'm like a microorganism under a microscope; eliminating me requires absolutely no effort—Aureos vanishes completely before my eyes!!!

I'm not some prince from a holy land; I'm just a toy to her.

The thought flashed through my mind, then amplified infinitely, relentlessly gnawing at my heart. It made me feel like a complete clown.

Thinking of this, I knelt on the ground, just like Aureos had done before, banging my head on the ground and wailing in pain.

"What a joke! What a huge joke! It turns out I'm the real biggest joke!!! Hahahahahahaha!!! The biggest joke in the world!!! The biggest joke in the entire multiverse!!!! And the biggest joke is that I'm still so self-righteous, still thinking I'm so great! What a joke!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

In that instant, my soul suffered a tremendous blow. Blood tears immediately streamed from my eyes. Then blood flowed from my seven orifices, a truly gruesome sight.

At this moment, the nun, who had completely forgotten about Aureos, looked around with some confusion, wondering why she was standing there.

Immediately afterward, the kind nun saw me. Despite the pitiful state I was in, the girl wasn't afraid or ran away. Instead, she rushed over, anxiously helping me up, and asked, "What happened to you?! Are you sick? Should we call an ambulance?!"

At that moment, in a state of extreme mental confusion, I suddenly turned my head, and my face covered in blood and tears startled her.

"Death God?!" At this moment, the image of the priestess overlapped with that of the Death God girl in my mind.

"What are you saying? Don't scare me! Hang in there, I'll call an ambulance right away!" The kind-hearted witch heard me shout the word "Death." She had encountered many supernatural things and thought I was about to die, which was why she was seeing the vision of Death. She was anxious, but then she remembered that she didn't have a cell phone or anything like that with her.

"Wait here for a moment! I'll find someone to help right away!" the priestess said, and then she started to get up.

"Death!" However, having already mistaken her for Death, I didn't want her to leave so easily, and grabbed her wrist.

Although I was severely injured, I was not a weak woman who could easily resist. The priestess's eyes flashed with ferocity as she looked at me. Seeing that I still possessed considerable strength and didn't seem like someone near death, she began to feel afraid and started to struggle and fight back.

"What do you want to do?! Let me go right now!" the girl screamed in terror.

"Death!!!!" I roared, shoving her to the ground and biting and kissing her face. The girl struggled fiercely, but she was no match for me. Soon, she was stripped naked…

※※※

After what seemed like an eternity of madness, the girl and I both fell into a deep sleep. Both of us had tear tracks on our eyes, untouched.

And so, after a period of sleep, it was the girl who woke up first.

Feeling a tearing pain in her lower body, the girl silently shed tears. A hint of hatred flickered in her eyes as she looked at me. Then, she slowly removed her hairpin, clasped it in both hands, and aimed it at my chest.

Just then, I groaned in pain in my sleep, as if I were having a nightmare, and tears streamed down my face again.

The girl froze for a moment. Then, the hairpin in her hand fell to the ground and broke into several pieces. Large tears fell down her cheeks.

After that, the girl tidied her clothes, hesitated for a moment, found paper and pen, wrote a letter, and placed it beside me. Enduring the pain, she slowly left.

I don't know how much time passed. I suddenly woke up from the nightmare, drenched in sweat. Then I noticed a stain of blood on the torn clothes beside me. All the absurd things I had done yesterday suddenly came flooding back.

I froze for a moment, then slapped myself. I immediately stood up. I wanted to shout, but realized I didn't even know the girl's name. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a letter on the ground.

I held my breath, as if awaiting the end of the world, and picked it up. I studied it carefully.

It was a short message written in a girl's delicate handwriting. Several parts of the paper were soaked with tears. It was so blurry that it took me a long time to make out what it was.

After a long while, I sighed softly. Then I carefully folded the letter and tucked it into my pocket.

"Himegami Akisa..." I murmured the name, my heart filled with extremely complex emotions.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Awakening

First and foremost, I need to find Qiusha. Regardless of whether she forgives me… no, I absolutely must get her forgiveness. My mind was a complete mess at the time, and I did this against my will. I believe she will understand… probably.

But how can I find her? I got dressed, snapped my fingers, and the tear I'd made last night quickly healed. Perfectly healed.

Immediately, I ran outside. Looking at the white expanse of the street, I felt completely lost. Academy City wasn't particularly large, but it wasn't small either. It had a population of several million. Searching aimlessly was clearly not a solution.

"So... Your Highness, you want me to help you find that girl named Himegami Akisa?" I don't know if it was just my imagination, but although Aleister was still speaking in a synthesized voice, I couldn't help but feel a subtle sarcasm in his tone.

I was already in a bad mood, so naturally I wasn't going to give him a friendly look: "That's right, name your price. As long as you can help me find her, you don't need to worry about anything else."

“No problem, it’s a small matter. It won’t take much time.” Aleister readily agreed.

"So, how much compensation do you need?" I asked.

“No need, it’s free,” Aleister replied.

“I once heard someone say that free things are actually the most expensive.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to owe you a favor.” Then, I took out a jade pendant from my waist and tossed it to Aleister.

The jade tablet vanished the instant it approached Aleister. I detected a faint spatial fluctuation. He must have put it away.

“If you need anything, bring that jade pendant to me, and I’ll grant you one request—don’t go too far.” I told him this, then turned to leave.

"Your Highness's intentions are understood. Once the girl is found, I will send someone to Jerusalem to inform you." Perhaps it was just my imagination. His voice sounded rather smug? Was he gloating?

"No need for all that trouble. I'll stay in Academy City for the time being. I'll leave only when I find her." I even gave a soft snort after saying that. It was a threat, in a way.

"...There are no hotels in Academy City." Aleister rarely made a sarcastic remark. It seems he doesn't really want me to stay.

"You don't need to worry about that," I chuckled. Then, there was another spatial fluctuation, and it disappeared.

"...Has his power awakened?" Aleister stared intently at the spot where I had disappeared. He said this.

"Although it's still very faint, this way of moving... it's definitely him." Aphra's voice came from the void.

So I called Jerusalem again, telling them I was on the path to love and didn't know when I'd be back. I told them not to worry—but then someone grabbed the phone. Immediately afterward, a deafeningly loud voice, exceeding 220 decibels, came through the line: "Wright!!!!!" It almost deafened me.

I didn't dare say another word. I hung up the phone immediately. Rubbing my ear, I thought to myself, "Tsk, is Index really a clergyman?"

Index seems really angry... Oh well, I'll ask the kitchen to make her a Chinese meal when I get back. That should calm her down.

And so, I wandered aimlessly through the streets again, wondering if I could find a place to stay that night. I felt a little regretful; why had I put on such a tough act in front of Aleister? Perhaps I could have just been a little unreasonable and gotten him to arrange a place for me. Sleeping in the car all the time was unbearable.

After that, I went through everyone I knew in Academy City. It seemed like most of them were girls. The only boy I knew was Kamijou. But last time we met, I practically had a falling out with him. We haven't been in touch for so long. It's practically the same as not knowing him at all.

Speaking of which, lately when I talk to those girls on the phone, Mikoto always seems listless. But Ruiko is incredibly excited. She even said she'd show off something to me next time we meet.

What exactly is it?

Thinking of this, I subconsciously pulled out my phone. I figured I should invite them out for a get-together. Maybe I could ask someone to arrange a place for me to stay.

So, I called Mikoto first, but it took ages for someone to answer, and they seemed listless. When they heard I'd invited her to the same ice cream shop as last time, Mikoto forced a smile and said she wasn't feeling well. Luckily, Kuroko was in the same dorm as her, so she could put in a good word for her.

I was a little confused. She was perfectly fine just a few days ago, so how did she suddenly get sick? I wanted her to explain more clearly: "Eh? Mikoto, are you sick? Is it serious? Can't you regulate your own electrical current or something? I haven't seen you for a while, and I've missed you a bit."

As a result, Mikoto stammered and couldn't give a coherent answer. As long as I leave her alone.

"Is that so...? Then please call Kuroko out for me." And so, I chatted with Mikoto for a little while longer. Then Kuroko answered the phone.

"Onii-chan?! You're asking Kuroko and Onee-sama out?! What's going on?! Is it a threesome?! It's daytime! Onii-chan, really~"

Then the phone went dead. She was probably affected by Mikoto's electric shock. But don't worry, with that perverted masochist's regenerative abilities, she'll be back in front of me perfectly fine in no time.

Sure enough, a few tens of minutes later, just as I was idly blowing bubbles with the drink that was brought to me, Hei Zi appeared. As soon as we met, he started yelling and jumped into my arms.

I'm not Mikoto, so naturally I wouldn't refuse such a good thing that's been handed to me. I used the head-patting technique that I'd been diligently studying to gently stroke Kuroko's little head.