Magic Academy Mayhem: A Class Full of Maniacs - Chapter 42

Cynthia was certain this was the same place she had entered in her dream before dawn.

So was it a dream, or a space of consciousness?

The general paths of the runes in the two magic circles were similar, but she had paid particular attention to the finer details. She should not have made a mistake.

Then again, some held that a space of consciousness and a dreamscape could occasionally merge, becoming both a dream and a projection of the mind.

Since she was already here, she might as well find out who the person she had failed to see yesterday was.

The curiosity that had nearly faded rose again at this coincidence—more fiercely than before, perhaps because yesterday had already laid the groundwork.

Cynthia followed yesterday’s route. She crossed through the gate of light and entered without incident into the nest of vengeful ghosts, a place like the deepest abyss of hell.

Yesterday, the ghosts had not attacked. It was as if they could not sense her at all.

This time, perhaps because she had entered deep into the consciousness, countless ghosts went mad the instant she passed through the gate. They lunged to tear at her with teeth and claws.

Cynthia frowned and tried to use a skill.

Unfortunately, it was the same as yesterday. Her magic seemed sealed. She could use neither skills nor spells. At most, she could summon her Spirit Weapon and use her Sequence’s transformation ability.

Which was barely different from fighting with her bare hands.

Her Spirit Weapon became a scythe. Cynthia cut the first ghost cleanly in two.

The absurd part was that these monstrous things could not die. Even a fatal wound did not destroy them for good.

They dissolved into viscous black liquid, then spent a dozen minutes healing before congealing into shape again.

At first, Cynthia had simply wanted to see with her own eyes who the boy was—the one imprisoned in chains with bone-piercing nails driven through his body.

But the longer she fought, the more the creatures annoyed her. Soon she was fighting for the slaughter itself.

Numberless ghosts surrounded her. Cynthia did not know whether injuries inflicted within a space of consciousness would affect her body in reality.

Fighting while burdened with that concern only turned the concern itself into a weakness.

Teeth ripped a ghastly chunk from her arm. A ghost swallowed her flesh, and pain invaded her entire body in an instant.

It was twice as intense as pain in the waking world.

Pain made most people irritable. Cynthia was no exception.

Killing intent poured from her. Every swing of her scythe became more decisive.

She stopped caring whether the damage would carry over to her real body. She surrendered to the urge to kill.

*

The sounds of slaughter were gratingly loud in that dead and empty void.

Atop a boundless mound of bones, the chained boy languidly raised his eyes. His bloodred gaze swept with idle indifference toward the intruder who apparently did not know how to value her life.

There was no ripple of feeling in those eyes. Only the calm of stagnant water.

Hollow. Numb. Almost mocking in their detached scrutiny.

Perhaps because he had not seen a living creature in so long, a rare trace of interest stirred within him.

His gaze settled on the intruder and moved with her.

When a ghost tore a piece of flesh from her arm, the boy’s crimson lips curved. A dark, uncanny smile appeared on his face.

He flicked a glance at the ghosts currently chewing on his own body.

There were half as many as usual.

Perhaps he ought to thank his uninvited guest.

The boy’s stare sharpened into something predatory. As he watched blood stream from the girl’s wounds, a sudden curiosity took hold.

What would blood that red taste like?

Sweet, surely—the boy supplied his own answer.

How might he get a taste?

The instant the thought arose, his teeth began to itch.

Desire gnawed at his heart, giving rise to an unbearable restlessness he had not experienced in years.

The chains and the soul-devouring nails driven through his bones sensed the fluctuation in his emotions. Mistaking the agitation for a desire to break free, they moved to suppress it. Electricity burst from the nails in wave after wave. Denser ranks of spikes sprouted from the Soul-Eating Chain and punched bloody holes through his flesh.

Pain struck body and soul alike, as if determined to grind everything within him to pieces.

The boy remained indifferent, utterly unconcerned.

His bloodred eyes clung to the girl. He did not so much as blink, not until the raging tide of ghosts swallowed her and her figure vanished entirely.

Deprived of their target, the ghosts immediately turned back. They engulfed him once more, claws raking through flesh while growls rose one after another.

The boy had long since grown accustomed to it. He allowed them to feast on him without the slightest change in emotion.

But today, for the first time in an age, something new had entered that hollow heart.

Curiosity.

—

In reality, Cynthia woke with a start.

She immediately examined her body.

Not a single wound.

The pain of claws and teeth ripping into her felt like nothing more than the fading illusion of a nightmare…

But the smoldering frustration in her chest told her everything had truly happened. None of it had been false.

Cynthia pushed herself upright on the sofa. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

Perhaps because she had used the Spirit-Submergence Magic Circle rather than the Dream-Entering Magic Circle this time, her memories were much clearer.

And what good did that do? The first time, she had at least seen a pair of eyes. The second time, she had not caught so much as a shadow.

How was she supposed to accept that?

Those damned ghosts…

Cynthia was a vindictive creature. Muttering dark complaints to herself, she left the dorm and headed for the library.

Entering both the dream and consciousness of the same person had been a random coincidence. She had no guarantee that practicing these magic circles again would take her back to that same person’s dream or mind.

Still, if she did end up there again, it would be better to know why she could not use magic in a dream or consciousness space.

She had no desire to remain restricted forever.

*

In a corner of the library’s second floor, dozens of books had piled up beside Cynthia.

She finally found an answer in the fifteenth.

There were two reasons a person might be unable to use magic after entering someone else’s dream or consciousness.

First: the owner’s subconscious rejection.

Second: the magic circle was too low-level to sustain the connection between the physical body, the consciousness, and their Magic Element.

If subconscious rejection was the cause, the solution was as follows.

While drawing the magic circle, the caster had to inscribe memory-sealing magic upon their own consciousness.

Once they entered the other person’s dream or consciousness, they would then blend fully into that world and become part of it.

Naturally, the world would no longer reject them.

According to the book, the sealed memories would recover after waking.

Of course, there remained a chance of forgetting them entirely or recovering only a portion.

This method was generally used only when the caster already knew whose dream or consciousness they had chosen to enter.

Otherwise, sealing one’s memories before entering a dream would also mean forgetting one’s original purpose.

Cynthia, for example, wanted to return to that space to exterminate the ghosts and see the face of the boy atop the mound of bones. If she used memory-sealing magic, then even if chance carried her into his consciousness again, she would forget why she had come.

Whichever way she considered it, the method seemed thoroughly unnecessary.

Personally, Cynthia did not think the failure to use magic on either occasion had been caused by the other person’s rejection.

The magic circles were probably simply too low-level.

After all, she had drawn only elementary circles, and they could be maintained for very little time. It was perfectly reasonable that her consciousness could not establish a connection with the Magic Element in her body…