Chapter 141: What now?

My fingers pressed on the stones. Held tightly by my palm, those fruits of magical ingenuity and technical expertise came to life. 

In each of my hands, I held three stones. The types of those tools also matched. And with my own energy serving as the additional supply for the spells ingrained in those gems, an apocalypse came.

But this time, not for the humans.

Instantly veiled with a sea of flames, the monsters couldn"t react at all. In less than a second, several soccer fields worth of monster"s army got scorched, turning into a veil of ash. 

This effect could be achieved thanks to exactly three different stones. 

While I was out exploring the dungeon and setting the entire show there, Sander didn"t slack of. With most of his initial ideas confirmed, he hired a huge group of fellow craftsmen to bother with the necessary groundwork. 

In his freed time, Sander moved to more abstract uses of the stones. Spending hours deciphering the markings within the book from Ayda"s world, he would come up with new kinds of complex spells. Those, in turn, would be claimed by a huge department of programmers, tasked to figure out potential uses for the new elements of the magical algorithm.

In short words, the entire production of magic stones divided into three groups. First, were the simple craftsmen, laying the foundations and providing the raw material. Then, Sanders would carve out the pieces. And those, the IT group would put together into a puzzle. 

The first stone brought forward entropy. In the dense atmosphere of the earth, the hastened particles in the air instantly heated up the air. Then, the second stone came into play. A whirlwind made sure that an ample amount of fresh oxygen would be provided to the congregation of the mana. Lastly, the third stone, liquify. By turning the raging inferno of burning air into its denser form, it turned a simple explosion into a literal sea of fire. 

For a moment, I felt an urge to scratch my heat. The ringing of my system exploded along with an overwhelming bout of headache. Even though most of the energy for the spell was within the stones, I still ended up overexerting myself. 

"Let"s clear them up!"

Before even a single moment would pa.s.s unused, Ayda already jumped into the next stage of the battle. While my spell managed to curb a huge number of the monsters out of the picture, the scale of their army was simply too great for a single spell to wipe it all out. At least, I wasn"t anywhere close to being capable of unleashing the inferno of this magnitude.

Due to my own naivety, I believed that a witch like Ayda would have a more stationary fighting style. From throwing curses, through using the actual witchcraft, what I imagined was greatly different to what I saw now. 

Slashing the nearest enemy with her sword, Ayda didn"t let her momentum go to waste, using it to execute another attack. Slaying the monsters left and right as she walked, she constantly kept an eye on her pupil, trying to replicate the deeds of his master.

What seemed like a huge threat to the entire city, soon become a feasting grounds for people hungry for achievements and riches. As soon as a rumour went around that some of those monsters were bound to have magic stones in them, all the experts on the field suddenly regained their energy. 

Soon, the rest of the troops reached the advanced position cleared out by the three of us. With the battle practically over, all that was left was for the weaker but fresh troops to cull out all the monsters that escaped the exodus. But something like that didn"t require my or Ayda"s presence any longer.

"Why did you finish it so quickly…" 

Instead of a warm welcome, Ayda angrily whispered as soon as I approached her.

"If we stalled this battle for an entire day…" Still whispering, the girl suddenly turned her head around only for a devilish expression of wrath to appear on her face. "... the h.e.l.l do you think you are doing? Kill them all!"

Shouting at the poor Penne, Ayda showed a face that I have never seen to this point. Even though it certainly wasn"t a pleasant sight, I still couldn"t help but enjoy this new side of her a bit.

"Ah, sorry." 

Shaking myself awake from the daze, I apologised. As soon as she voiced her complaint up, I realised what I did wrong. Given how I already saw what this fragile girl is capable of back in her world, there was absolutely no reason for me to worry about her. And given how she held back from just wiping most of the monster"s army herself, there had to be some purpose behind this decision of hers.

And it didn"t take a genius to figure it out from just looking at how she was treating the poor Penne.

"Well, I don"t really mind it but…" Sending me a long glance, Ayda turned her head around. As much as I didn"t want to start a fight with her, she seemed to misunderstand something about the situation this world was in.

"Dear, it"s not like I wanted to uproot your efforts. You alone know how much I do appreciate them!" Reaching for Ayda"s hands, I brought them close to my lips before placing a gentle kiss on top. 

"But first, I didn"t know what you were doing in advance. But what"s even more important, the people around you…" Spreading my arms wide as if to embrace the entire world, I looked seriously right into the depths of Ayda"s eyes. "They are weak. For you or me, wiping out those monsters might be a walk in the park, but for them…" Turning my head down, I shook it for a moment before raising it back again. "For them, even for the best of them, those monsters are at least a worthy opponent, if not a deadly threat."

This wasn"t something that I wanted to hide from Ayda, but something that I never really found the time to talk about. For the girl, seeing me appearing with all sorts of weapons, treating me like some kind of chosen one… It was no wonder her idea of the general level of power of this world was broken. 

"I see…" Listening attentively to me, Ayda clearly calmed down, before shaking her head as well.

"Well, let"s drop the matter. After all, " stabbing her sword directly into the ground, Ayda snuck her way into my arms before whispering, "it"s been a while since we last saw each other."

Without any thinking or intention on my end, my hands moved to the back of the girl"s head, only to gently pat her hair as I relaxed upon feeling her softness in my embrace. Even though we were killing monsters left and right just a moment ago, now I was enjoying how perfectly well Ayda fitted in my arms.

"Yeah, I was already getting restless."

Gently pressing the girl"s fragile body with my hands, I felt like not letting go ever again. For a moment, I imagined the possibility of just spending the rest of my days in this loving embrace, only focused on each other. Sadly, this unrealistic mirage quickly disappeared, forced away by the mundane reality of life. 

"Well, let"s keep it for when we will get back home." 

No matter how much I hated to do it, I had no other choice. Putting my hands on the girl"s small shoulders, I pushed her away. Letting go of my torso with great hesitation and the longing look in her eyes, Ayda clearly wasn"t happy with this sudden development either.

"On the side note, how did you managed to get him so strong so quickly? Didn"t you say that I was some kind of special case? It"s making me uneasy when he is progressing even faster than I did…" 

Looking into the distance where Penne rushed after the escaping monsters after just a single Ayda"s order, I somehow figured out what could be behind his sudden progress. Turning my head to the side, I cast a quick glance at the face of my flame, only to notice a hint of viciousness deep in her pupils.

"You are too important to go through this kind of training. Additionally, there was no point for you to go through it. Right now, your power is limited only by your imagination and control, while he will reach his limit rather quickly."

Speaking out the words that could easily break Penne"s heart, Ayda didn"t even flinch. When it came to dealing with others, there was no sign of this innate gentleness that she displayed when interacting with me.

"Either way, " Turning my head back to face Ayda properly, only with the utmost effort from my sheer will do I managed not to get enchanted by her profile bathed in the sunlight. As if some G.o.ddess, she just stood there, allowing her grace to brighten my day. 

In a bout of emotion, I raised my arm, only to caress Ayda"s cheek with the outer part of my hand. For a moment, nothing appeared to be more precious than the gentle smile of affection glued to her face.

"What now?" As if asking for me to finish my sentence, Ayda came one step closer before resting her forehead against my chest. Not even hugging, I placed my right palm on her head, rustling my fingers through her silky hair.

"Now, we win."