'Well, isn't this something?'
Akari had outsmarted him—something Ken never could have expected.
'Did she catch on to my soul weapon?'
A Soul Weapon was the manifestation of one's soul, weaponized. Its abilities depended on the user's temperament.
Ken was never a true fighter. He was a scientist at heart, and his soul weapon reflected that.
The gloves on his hands were thin, transparent, yet durable—exactly how he saw himself. Someone who could fade into the noise, yet remain untouched by it.
Through them, he could connect everything he considered his creations.
The speakers spread throughout the prison were one such example. His voice flowed through them freely, as though he were holding a microphone wherever he stood.
And Akari had noticed.
She suspected his soul weapon was tied to the prison's technology, which meant she couldn't trust anything—not even the remote. For all she knew, it could have been a trap.
Still, she also knew he'd let his guard down if the remote was in his hand.
She had bet everything on that assumption.
Now it was time to cash out.
"Well, today will be quite bloody…"
Ken extended his hand toward Ranni.
Akari's head snapped in the same direction, then back to Ken, her eyes locking onto the mana swelling in his arm. It was dense—too dense. She couldn't tell what kind of spell it was forming.
This was her first time seeing magic like this.
"Earth snare."
The mana hardened instantly.
"Ranni, dodge!"
Too late.
The ground surged upward, stone encasing Ranni's body until only her head remained exposed. Pressure clamped down around her neck, stealing her voice.
She could breathe—but barely.
She couldn't even cough.
She was completely trapped.
Akari couldn't tell what Ken intended. Was he trying to kill her—or simply restrain her?
If it was the latter, then why?
She wanted to ask, but before she could act, guards flooded the courtyard, surrounding the children in an instant. Red eyes fixed on them, waiting for a command.
"Do you see what you've done?" Ken said calmly. "Everyone here must die now."
Akari looked around.
Some children stared back in terror. Others looked lost, confused, unable to process what was happening.
If she attacked Ken, the guards would slaughter them. Could she trust the others to hold them off?
Everything was moving too fast.
But not everyone froze.
"This is our chance! Let's get out of here!!"
Sylvia's voice rang across the courtyard as her soul weapon manifested above her head.
A brilliant golden scale hovered in the air, a yellow orb on one side and an emerald on the other.
The scale was already tilted toward the green orbs' side.
'She already made a bet? On what?'
Sylvia's soul weapon allowed her to gamble on outcomes. If she was right, the scales granted her a boon.
The last time she used it, she gained the ability to bypass her mana-sealing bracelet.
But the reward didn't always have to be physical.
This time, her words themselves carried power.
Each syllable struck with unnatural conviction, weaving through the crowd like a spell. The children straightened. Fear wavered.
Morale surged.
And light flooded the courtyard.
Those who had unlocked their soul weapons summoned them instinctively. Those who hadn't felt mana surge through their veins for the first time in ages.
"Amazing…"
Even Akari could see its effects—adrenaline flooded her body, her soul weapon gleaming brighter.
The guards hesitated.
Then the children attacked.
Chains snapped forward. Whips cracked. Blades swung. Ice, fire, wind—every basic spell imaginable flew at the guards. Individually weak, but relentless in number.
Smoke blanketed the stage, pale and glowing. The mist converged, shaping itself into a woman with six radiant wings.
Xtsy—Evvls' soul weapon.
The angel ascended, gazing down upon the battlefield.
A translucent light washed over the children, amplifying their attacks even further.
Hope swelled in Akari's chest.
The guards were being overwhelmed. The children fought without fear now—whether it came from Sylvia's words or Xtsy's blessing, she couldn't tell.
Maybe both.
None of that mattered.
They could escape. All of them.
That was all she thought about—
Until something coiled around her neck.
It felt like being strangled by a snake.
What terrified her wasn't the sensation—but the fact that she felt it at all.
Normally, Akari couldn't feel her body. Ever since coming to this world, it was as if her nerves simply didn't work.
But this—
This sensation crawled through her very being.
It wasn't her body that was being touched.
It was her soul.
'A mental attack?'
Her head snapped toward the source.
Ken stood behind her, the snake rising from his neck.
His eyes, once yellow like Ranni's, had turned green—as though man and beast had become one.
He raised his gun.
"Well," he said, "while this is quite entertaining to watch, you are destroying my property. I can't allow that."
Akari tried to move.
She couldn't.
An invisible chain held her in place.
Before Ken could fire, Evvls lunged, swinging Xtsy at his neck.
The strike was simple—a normal sword swing. Most of the blade's power was still in the sky, blessing the others.
Still, what happened next stunned them both.
Vesper caught the blade mid-swing.
The violet snake's fangs sank into the steel as though its fangs were made of iron.
Even then, Akari didn't hesitate.
She rushed forward, mana flooding her veins unhindered.
"Sylvia, save Ranni!"
Akari punched Ken.
Yet he didn't move.
He caught her fist effortlessly and pressed the barrel of his gun into her stomach.
Akari looked down, forcing all of her active mana into her torso, shaping the strongest shield she could.
But the mana inside the gun was wrong.
It resembled fire—but moved far too fast. Structured. Violent.
'Lightning?'
The shot fired instantly.
Lightning tore through her defenses.
Her gut was pierced. Blood filled her mouth as her legs gave out.
'Not good—I need to heal.'
She activated a regenerative aura. Her hand drifted to her stomach, fingers brushing the hole in her body.
She couldn't tell if it was working.
Then she realized—
It wasn't closing.
Her heart dropped.
"Lightning magic is difficult to heal," Ken said. "I'm sure you're wondering why."
This time, his voice came directly from him—not the speakers.
Akari looked up, coughing blood.
"It lingers," he continued. "A skilled mage's lightning keeps attacking even after the spell ends."
His gun rose to her head.
Blue light gathered in the barrel.
That same gun—
The one that shattered Akio's barrier at the tournament—
Was about to kill her.
She clenched her fist, trying to stand.
Her legs refused.
There was no escape.
The lightning that pierced her stomach would pierce her brain next.
Her heart raced.
Her thoughts scrambled.
Then she understood.
She couldn't do anything.
She was going to die.
Again.
Her eyes dimmed. Her soul weapon deactivated.
Despair settled in—
Until Ken was suddenly thrown back by something invisible, yet familiar.
"Akari, you okay?"
Akatsuke stepped in front of her.
Akio stood beside him.
"I… can't heal," Akari whispered.
Akio nodded calmly. "Lightning only lingers. Wait a moment—you'll recover. Let us handle him. Go help Evvls."
Akatsuke grinned, cracking his knuckles as they advanced.
It hadn't been Akatsuke who saved her.
It was Akio.
His barrier had pushed Ken away just in time.
Now the two of them faced the warden together.
Akari turned toward Evvls.
Her eyes widened—then narrowed.
'I forgot it could do that…'
Vesper had left Ken's neck.
The snake had grown massive—larger than before, scales like armor.
Evvls struck again and again, sparks flying from each blow. No damage.
He needed help.
But her wound still wasn't closing.
Akari shut her eyes and reactivated her soul weapon.
She began thinking about how mana, magic, and spells worked.
Magic, to her, had always been about structure, intent, and control. She'd never had a teacher—only instinct and imitation.
A three step process, each step having steps of its own.
To draw out her mana, move it, and shape it. That made up its structure.
To think about what she wanted to do, to manifest something that shouldn't happen. That was magic.
And spells were her actualizing this process, to bring forth the impossible to reality.
Healing magic had a loose structure. The intent was obvious. The difficulty lay in control.
Watching Ataki had helped—but she'd only been copying.
That wasn't enough anymore.
It was time to stop mimicking.
Instead of keeping the spell loose, she condensed it—rigid, controlled, like earth magic.
She focused on one thing.
Reverting her body to what it was minutes ago.
A dense green aura covered her stomach, and her fingers moved, signalling that the hole was finally closing.
Her eyes snapped open, blazing with the light of her soul weapon.
"Evvls," she shouted, grinning with a bloody mouth, "I'm on my way!"