Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond

Chapter 226: One Man Army

Prota stepped out into the light.

Immediately, the crowd went silent. Of course, it wasn’t perfectly quiet. There were the sounds of the shuffling of feet, heavy breath, or clanking armour. But the fact that this one girl, looking so ordinary in nature, could command such a crowd…

It was, in short, unbelievable.

She looked around, scanning the crowd for any menacing opponents. There was a teacher’s assistant she recognized. Otherwise, it was all students. The two girls she’d taught a lesson to were present, looking rather confident.

Well, this was manageable.

“Start.”

Her voice was quiet, but there wasn’t a single soul who missed it.

Immediately, the battleground erupted into pandemonium. Dozens of spells flew at her, while the fighters of the group rushed forward, the ground shaking with the force of their footsteps.

Prota stared at them, her heart jumping for a moment, but then she remembered who she was.

This was nothing.

“Palace of Ice.”

It wasn’t her strongest domain. But if she needed such a spell for children, she should just give up here and now.

Immediately, a giant structure of ice formed, the floors and walls shining in the light as if made of pure crystal. Half the fighters slipped on the unexpected new flooring, while the other half had to slow down to readjust to the lack of friction. Moreover, the sudden reflection of light and distorted surfaces disoriented the enemies, momentarily blinding them and giving a mild sense of confusion to their senses.

A giant dome of ice formed above Prota, blocking almost every single spell. A few made their way through, but Prota was already moving, not away, but toward the fighters.

As she did so, there was a sudden outcry among those who didn’t use ice magic.

“What the- my chant isn’t working!”

“Where’s my fireball?”

“Why can’t I cast anything?”

A domain. Would these children even know what this was?

It didn’t matter.

Prota leapt forward, a hail of icicles forming above her like a storm, the spells appearing instantaneously. She pointed at the crowd, and the spells began raining down like a natural disaster.

There were cries of pain as the spells pierced through whatever mana reinforcement the casters had set up. But the cries were audible.

Not a single spell was lethal in nature.

The fighters who hadn’t slipped up had made their way toward Prota. Most of the remaining crowd consisted of third and fourth-year students. Any injured participants had been removed. Prota hadn’t been paying attention, but it seemed like Lupin and Leora had been taking them out themselves.

Good. One less distraction.

Suddenly, there were dozens of people in her face, swords and spears swinging about. There was no need to back off, though. Using the frictionless surface, Prota began to weave through like an expert skater, dodging most of the attacks with ease.

It was the downside of the crowd.

While an army was usually useful, there was no point in converging on a single enemy. In fact, they were getting in each other’s way more than they were helping each other. Sword swings could be precise, but the existence of length could not be ignored. It was impossible to get proper leverage while ignoring everybody else’s weapons, no matter how good you were.

As such, there was a clear path Prota could take to avoid everyone’s attacks.

Her eyes flashed again, and two Blossoms formed in her hands. She leapt up, spinning as she threw them down, and there was a flash as they scattered, taking out yet another wave of enemies.

She could feel the strain on her mind and mana core. Her staff was slowly draining.

But this was nowhere near enough to take her out.

In her current state, she could likely stall out Elder Kang Loy. Her mana core and the capacity of her staff were large enough that such a task was possible.

So fighting against children was a fight she couldn’t lose.

“What are we doing?” someone yelled. “Get her!”

That couldn’t happen. Prota raised her hand as a rain of Ice Arrows formed, a volley fire of second-circle spells.

But not just any second-circle spells.

Just as Prota’s icicles couldn’t be compared to the average first-circle spell, Icicle, her arrows weren’t just a standard spell.

Each arrow was fashioned like a true arrow. Incredibly sharp tip. Perfectly aligned body that allowed the weapon to fly straight and true. And a solid foundation of ice that wouldn’t shatter unless hit properly.

Over fifty of these were headed straight for the group charging at her.

“B-block! Now!”

It was too late. Leora and Lupin were already jumping in, saving the students who couldn’t block or dodge in time. About half the crowd was immediately removed. Half of those remaining were injured, and the rest managed to evade damage.

That would have been bad if something like this were Prota’s last attack. Once upon a time, it had been a finisher of sorts. A spell that had taken her over a minute to prepare.

But now, it was just another weapon in an arsenal of spells.

At this point, those who were left were somewhat wary. Their numbers advantage had thinned out considerably, and it was obvious this wasn’t just another first year student.

This was a monster.

At this point, nobody here was involved in the rumours that she was a demon. Even if that rumour had spread to the other years, those with this much strength wouldn’t buy something like that so easily. After all, only those who could be considered geniuses, or those who had put in extraordinary work, could have survived thus far. And both of those personalities would not believe in such a ridiculous lie.

But now, they were considering her a demon in a different way. Not a demon, as in the race.

But a demon, as in a being impossible to defeat.

If they had been provided with time to plan and regroup, it may have been possible for them to deal some damage. These were, after all, skilled students, and most of Prota’s techniques were designed and tailored toward fighting one or two opponents. Crowds of enemies was something she wasn’t quite used to.

But as long as they couldn’t use their co-ordination to their advantage, she would not be defeated.

A platform of ice was formed, and Prota immediately sprinted up, footholds forming underneath her feet, propelling her upward. A few students threw spells at her, but perfectly placed barriers blocked the spells, minimizing her mana usage. In mere seconds, she had made her way over the crowd. Leaping up, the structure shattered, placing her perfectly above the group of enemies.

Suddenly, she dismissed the domain. There was a collective gasp as the palace was dismantled, but that was fine.

Prota planned on ending things here, anyway.

Time slowed down. She didn’t need to enhance her perception to cast this spell, but with how quickly she was falling, she did need the accelerated thought right now.

In one hand, blue fire.

In the other, crystalline ice.

Slowly, they began to intertwine, curling and snaking around her body.

This would drain the rest of her mana. It would also drain the rest of her stamina. If it didn’t work, she would definitely lose here, and since she hadn’t set any restrictions, she didn’t know if the others would do anything.

But she didn’t think she would lose, anyway. So that line of thought flew out the window.

“Dragon of Fire and Ice.”

Time rushed back to normal. Instantly, the fierce blue light of the fire dragon lit up the crystalline structure of the ice dragon, the flames dancing beautifully alongside the shards of ice.

A spell of beauty.

The two dragons spun forward, their bodies snaking together as they charged downward, faster than Prota could fall. Half a second. That was the time it would take to reach the students. The spell didn’t look like it would hit everyone, but with the amount of mana imbued in the spell, it most definitely would.

For a fleeting moment, Prota was afraid she’d gone overboard.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Then, a giant stone barrier arose, blocking the spell. There was a massive explosion as the two spells made contact, shaking the building itself, but the barrier held.

Prota fell down, stumbling upon her landing, but remaining secure otherwise. She watched as the barrier opened up, revealing the scared expression of the remaining students inside.

“Woa- woahhh!!!”

There was a loud cheer from the students, nearly knocking Prota over. What was going on? Why were they cheering? Was it because they’d won? Indeed, Prota couldn’t keep going, not after that.

Suddenly, Leora leapt down, hands clasped behind her back.

“Students. I believe the victor is obvious.”

The cheering continued, and this time, Prota could hear what some of the students were saying.

“That was crazy!”

“Did you see her casting sped?”

“That movement- is she a battle mage? I didn’t know those actually existed!”

“No, she never actually hit us… but is that really the movement of a caster?”

Prota’s eyes widened. They were… complimenting her?

“And, I believe the purpose of this demonstration has been cleared. There was no demonic mana signatures to be found at any point in this fight. I will not comment any further… but I hope my statement makes things clear,” Leora announced, glancing at Prota with a nod.

Right. The teachers were observant, even if they didn’t directly interfere.

Prota glanced at Sofya, who spared her a quick smile.

Perhaps she’d revealed more than she should’ve.

“Sly old hag,” Anta muttered. “Well… I guess it worked out in the end.”

Pulling her last reserves of energy, Prota stood up, looking at the group of students who had tried to challenge her. None of them were looking at her with animosity. Well, that wasn’t true. Some definitely were. But if she looked carefully, those were the ones who had been spreading the rumours.

The rest seemed to have nothing but admiration.

“Very well! Students! Please return to your rooms! There are still classes tomorrow!”

There was a series of grumbles, but the crowd slowly dispersed. Prota watched, feeling very tired. She wouldn’t be doing anything like this again. If she was going to fight a crowd, she’d rather have the ability to kill. A good barrage of Blossoms would have done the trick, but that kind of attack wasn’t something Prota was sure she could control.

“Prota Char.”

She flinched upon hearing her name. Before her were the three legendary beings she’d interacted with most during her time at Scholaris.

“That was… impressive. However, I believe a discussion is in order.”

“...discussion?”

The three glanced at each other before sighing.

“There are… suspicions surrounding your existence. If you could just answer some questions, that would be all we need.”

Prota wanted to refuse, but it wasn’t like she could say no at the moment.

“...ok.”

~~~

Thankfully, she was given an opportunity to rest. It really seemed that the professors weren’t looking to strain the girl or give her a grilling interrogation, for which she was grateful.

However, that didn’t stop the fact that she found herself in Sofya’s office one more time the following day.

“Are you comfortable? Would you like a beverage?” Sofya said, pouring three cups of tea. “If you are feeling nervous, it is said that goldenrose tea has a calming effect.”

Prota shook her head. She wasn’t feeling nervous. Just uncomfortable.

Anta had already told her the strategy. Prota hated the strategy, but then again, Anta’s plans had never really failed, just like John. And since Prota wasn’t a plotter herself, she had no choice but to follow.

But this time, she was getting a really bad feeling about this. She wasn’t sure why. Given the nature of the people before her, everything should go well.

Still, she felt uneasy nonetheless.

“I will start,” Prota said, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Or, more accurately, I will.”

Anta floated out of Prota’s body, hovering right next to her like a guardian angel. Of course, guardian angels shouldn’t have devilish smiles and cunning expressions, but there could always be exceptions.

Expectedly, the two Mystics in the room reacted a little violently. Even Sofya, who was aware of Anta’s existence, seemed a little surprised.

“Hello. I am Anta. Put simply, I’m Prota soul. It’s good to meet you all.”

“A- a- a- a soul?” Leora stammered. “But- the implications of our theories, the-”

“Before you keep rambling on, I’m going to cut you off there. I know you called us here, but unfortunately, I’m going to have to commandeer this conversation.”

“...interesting,” Sofya said quietly. “Why did you not expose yourself prior to this event? Why use the physical body?”

“Because I hate being like this,” Anta grumbled. “There’s another guy who’s more than happy to be nothing more than an observer, but I’m different. I want to do things. This version of me makes it feel like I’m just a bystander. But that’s not important.”

Her dismissive tone vanished, replaced by a rather serious one.

“I am about to reveal everything. I may be answering some questions you didn’t have to begin with. And that means potentially revealing secrets you did not want revealed. So, if you have something you think you need to hide from the others in this room, please leave now.”

A juicy bait.

It seemed like a warning at a simple glance. But to beings like those present, it was nothing more than an irresistible statement. This soul was saying that she had things they, Mystics and dragons, might not be aware of.

And for a reward like that, a secret revealed was nothing.

“Good. Miss Dawn, if you could silence the surroundings…”

Leora nodded, her hair glowing for a moment. When the light faded, she looked back up.

“It is done.”

“Good. Then, I’ll explain from the start. Do you all understand the concept of regression?”

She was truly explaining from the start.

For beings like these, even a small lack of detail would be a glaring hole that would only raise more questions. So Anta had to explain everything.

She started with the basics. Prota had lived this life once before. She’d been abandoned in Solaris, found by a man named John, who had taken her in and restored her health. They’d gone to the Town of Beginnings, where they’d saved the village, and then moved to Scholaris to teach Prota magic.

“So your techniques… they really are our techniques,” Leora muttered.

“Ah. Is that what you were going to ask?”

“Indeed. For a caster to use mana reinforcement that way… it was odd,” Lupin said gruffily. “Was that mentioned in your previous life as well?”

“It was,” Anta smiled. “By you, as well. Although, it wasn’t us who figured it out.”

“Then… this John boy?”

“I’ll get back to him later.”

Anta vaguely continued, leaving out details regarding cultists. This was questioned, of course, but Anta merely explained that the butterfly effect was too potentially strong.

“There are some very strong enemies,” Anta said quietly. “But I can guarantee that we will not lose lives to this. If we veer off track… I can no longer make this guarantee.”

The divine beings nodded.

“Then, the difficult part. I will explain what this is all about after, but… you two, first.”

The Mystics sat up a little straighter.

“Quaesitor Veritatis. That is the group you belong to, correct?”

“That- well, if you regressed, then… you are correct.”

“Good. I was gonna stop if you were dishonest. Now, the one who first taught Prota magic is Jinae.”

“The lea- that Jinae?” Lupin exclaimed. “Then, her special magic-”

“That is not what caused the rumours. I will explain that in a bit. However, for now… well, to be honest, there isn’t much involving you. However, since it was told to you in the past life, I will explain it again.”

There was a moment of silence. The Mystics were visibly on edge, but Anta wasn’t just trying to be cinematic.

She was just hesitating. Because, even for her, once this went through…

There was no going back.

Well, she’d told everything to the king and Haze. This was fine. Probably.

“John… that man was someone who knew the ‘truth.’ That man… maybe it would be best to call him the literal embodiment of that goal you so desperately seek.”

“Then, you-”

“I’m not going to say it. Because it will break you. I’m sorry, but… it’s true. It isn’t something you can handle.”

The Mystics nodded. They were a lot more composed than Anta had expected. Well, that was what made them Mystics.

“Sofya. You… Prota. Maybe it’s better if you say this,” Anta sighed. “I’m not good at being genuine.”

Prota nodded, turning to Sofya. She had her sleepy expression as usual, but something in her eyes…

There was a new sense of resolve.

“Um… your daughter.”

Sofya’s eyes widened.

“I’m sorry. This body… is your daughter’s.”

“I… I told you… about my-”

“You died. Last time. And you told me what happened,” Prota said sadly. “Later… I learned. I am not normal. I was made. By the man in Town of Beginnings. I had a bad time because of that. But I learned that he used her body… to make me. So… I’m sorry.”

For a moment, there was silence. Even the Mystics didn’t know what to say. Sofya hung her head, hiding her expression, but there was the sound of a single drop of water splashing on the table.

“...it’s not your fault. The fault… is mine-”

“It’s not your fault.”

Sofya looked up in surprise. Prota’s small hand was resting on hers.

“You… helped a lot of kids. You did all this. And your spell… you kept it. For your daughter. I said it last time, too.”

Prota stared deeply into Sofya’s puffy eyes.

“Your daughter… also. She thinks you are a good person.”

“...thank you, Prota.”

There was a gentle moment of silence.

“A- Ahem!” Anta awkwardly cleared her throat. “I hate to, you know, break up this moment, but we do need to keep going. I will say, though… Sofya. You did a lot for Prota. And if you wanted to atone for your sins… well, you might have failed to save one child. But this one… you saved her, in a way.”

“I… very well. You are right. Let us continue.”

“Alright. For context, you died in our past life. The reason is that energy you should have received. So, we’re going to-”

“Energy?”

Anta flinched. “Wait, you didn’t receive an orb? Small red orb full of unknown energy? You weren’t told that you could resurrect your daughter?”

“No,” Sofya frowned. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“Oh. Oh, no, no, I…”

Prota suddenly realized what was going on as well.

In their past life, Diaboli had needed her body. The power that resided within her was needed to stop John. However, due to the deal Diaboli and John had made, she couldn’t touch Prota directly.

But if the idea of Prota were removed, that rule would no longer apply. And if Diaboli could recover the energy, then that was all that mattered.

In this life, though, John had yet to appear as a threat. Or, at least, he wasn’t travelling with Prota, meaning there was no reason for Diaboli to use Sofya as a means to remove Prota from the body she resided in.

Then, the whole incident surrounding Scholaris wouldn’t take place.

“But… structure-wise, it has to be here somewhere,” Anta muttered nervously. “If not… has the entire world shifted?”

“I’m sorry, but… what are you talking about?”

“That man, John. Do you remember how I said he knew the ‘truth?’ That’s everything. The reason we came back. The reason we regressed. It’s because of him.”

“That… man?” Lupin said, frowning.

“He doesn’t have mana. Instead, he wields a conceptual energy. That’s the best way I can explain it. In the past, you, Sofya, acquired some of that energy. It was a plan that I won’t explain anymore, but the point was that it had the ability to bring your daughter back to life.”

“...such an ability would be incredible,” Sofya muttered. “The power to regress… to revive the dead…”

“There’s some details I won’t go into. However, you’ll notice that John is no longer with us, despite what he did for us in our past life.”

“Alright. I vaguely understand,” Sofya said cautiously. “But then… if you are so strong, if you’re capable of this much, what is your purpose here? Why even come to Scholaris? Was it just for the energy?”

“Somewhat, yes. There’s some other stuff for us to do here, but yeah.”

“But for what reason? To rule the world? Do you want revenge?”

Anta looked at Prota, who looked back with a soft expression.

“I…”

~~~

“Scholaris. You’ve gotta be shitting me. It’s a school called Scholaris.”

“I’m not having this discussion again.”

A man stared at the remains of an inn. A dozen bodies were scattered around, blood coating the floors. The man didn’t care, though. He just sighed.

“And not one of them had an application letter… Hey. You.”

The bartender, who’d been cowering behind the bar, yelped as he was brought into the conversation.

“You have an application letter?”

“N-no! They’re rare! Incredibly rare! And I don’t have children, so there’s no promising talent I could even offer!” the bartender stammered, trying to save his life.

“Haah… seriously, this fucking sucks. I did all this work for nothing, then. Seriously, dealing with murder charges is a pain in the ass…”

There was a flash as a metal tool came out, and with a loud bang, the man slumped over as a bullet was put into his head.

“This whole thing is a chore… At this point, I might as well just break in.”

“You can’t do that. Do you know how many people would come after you?”

“I can just-”

“You don’t have the manpower to deal with the entire world. Not in your current state. You’ll have to give up on this one for the time being. I’ll give you a hint for the next one when the times comes.”

“For fuck’s sakes…”

The gentle ring of a bell announced the man’s departure, a long red scarf trailing behind.

~~~

“I… am going to save the world.”

Prota stared definitely as she declared those words.

“Save… the world?”

“Yes. If it doesn’t work… the world will disappear. So I… will save this world.”

She clenched her fists, feeling the fire, which had once grown faint, grow strong once again.

“That is my goal.”

“But… but why? And from what? Is this really something you’re going to take on yourself? Something you’ll deal with on your own? You could rule the world with that power. Why do all this work?”

Prota shook her head.

“A promise. I made… a promise.”