The House Noctear mansion.
Yuka walked slowly down the silent corridor at night. Faint moonlight filtered through the windows, casting pale glows across the floor. The rest of the household had already long since retired, leaving the halls hushed and still.
"..."
She couldn't get the encounter from earlier that day out of her mind. That man they had met in the city. And then—
"It's disgusting."
Fia’s voice, whispering those words behind her.
Yuka stopped in front of the door to the servant's quarters and gave a light knock.
"Fia, are you still awake?"
"...Yes," a quiet voice answered from within.
Yuka opened the door. Inside the small room, Fia sat by the window. Bathed in the moonlight, her pink hair seemed to glow with a soft radiance. Yuka stood there for a moment before speaking.
"There is something I would like to ask you."
Fia turned toward her.
"That man from earlier," Yuka began. "You said he felt 'disgusting,' didn't you?"
Silence fell between them for a few seconds. Fia lowered her gaze.
"Yes."
"I got the impression there was a specific reason for that."
Fia considered the question, placing a small hand over her heart.
"His magical power... it was strange."
Yuka narrowed her eyes. "Strange how?"
"Very strange." Fia tilted her head, searching for the right words. "It wasn't normal."
"Not normal?"
"Magical power usually has a flow," Fia said, staring at her own fingertips as if visualizing the energy. "Like water, flowing quietly. But..."
She trailed off. Yuka waited patiently for her to continue. Finally, Fia exhaled a small, shaky breath.
"That person... he was muddy."
"Muddy?"
"Yes." Fia’s voice dropped an octave. "It was a magical power that felt like it was burning, yet it was cold and rotten at the same time."
Yuka’s expression sharpened. "Does such a magical power even exist?"
Fia shook her head slightly. "Everyone else is different. I’ve never seen anything like it before." She turned back to the window, murmuring to herself. "Or maybe... I saw it once, a long time ago."
"..."
"Grandpa told me that sort of thing was a Forbidden Art."
The air in the room grew heavy at the mention of the word. Yuka spoke up, her voice steady.
"Would that... be a threat to Luka-sama?"
Fia answered without a moment's hesitation. "A big one."
Silence reclaimed the room, save for the distant sound of the night wind rustling the trees.
"Are you not going to tell Master?" Fia asked softly.
"No."
"Even though it might be dangerous?"
Yuka’s expression turned stern. "I will not tell him."
Fia tilted her head curiously. "Why?"
"Luka-sama always prioritizes others over himself," Yuka said quietly. "If he knows, he will try to protect us. It may end up being us who are shielded once again."
Yuka fell silent for a few moments before standing up to leave.
"We will handle this ourselves without informing him. I will report the details to Tarinuka."
Fia nodded in understanding. As Yuka reached for the door handle, Fia called out to her.
"Yuka."
"What is it?"
Fia looked genuinely unsettled. "If that person comes back... I feel like something terrible is going to happen."
Yuka paused for a heartbeat, then spoke with icy resolve.
"I see. In that case, I will simply process him before he has the chance to arrive."
With that, she stepped out and closed the door. In the renewed silence of the room, Fia looked up at the night sky again. Her chest felt tight with unease. That magical power... it was like ash smoldering in the dark.
"...What a disgusting color," she whispered.
The Academy Garden was blanketed in a quiet, snowy landscape. I walked slowly along the stone path, my breath coming out in white puffs.
"...It's freezing."
The mist from my breath vanished as quickly as it appeared. I was killing time between classes, wandering through the academy grounds for no particular reason. I actually found moments like this quite pleasant. Most of the students were huddled inside the warm school buildings, so the gardens were practically deserted.
"I guess this isn't so bad every once in a while," I muttered.
Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks.
"Hm?"
My eyes were drawn to a corner of the courtyard. The snow there was heaped up in a slightly unnatural way. It didn't look like a drift formed by the wind; it looked like someone had intentionally buried something.
I furrowed my brows. "What is that? I really want to kick it."
Unable to resist my curiosity, I walked over and crouched down. I brushed the snow away with my gloved hand. As the white powder fell away, my eyes widened.
"...Wait, what?"
I cleared more of the snow, revealing something on the ground. It was a circle composed of complex, intertwined lines.
"This is..."
Oh, man. I've gone and done it. I’m going to have to apologize to the creator of this thing.
It was a magic circle. No doubt about it. It looked suspiciously like the kind of things I used to draw back in my dark past... Oof, just looking at it was dealing me psychic damage.
It was fairly large, too—maybe three meters in diameter—and carved directly into the stone. I glanced around. The garden remained silent and empty.
"A magic circle right in the middle of the Academy... I see."
They weren't exactly rare in this world, but there was no reason to hide one under the snow like this. I looked at the design again.
"The format is totally unfamiliar. Just as I suspected..."
Having learned the basics of magic circle theory at the Academy, I could tell what this was. This was a classic symptom of a Chunibyo Outbreak—specifically, Wizard Syndrome. It’s a tragic ailment where the person feels the urge to chant incantations at random times, draw magic circles on every available surface, or start meditating the second they’re alone.
What a troublesome disease. I felt truly sorry for the person. I mean, this clearly wasn't functional. There were far too many lines; it was impossible to tell what the intended effect was even supposed to be.
Besides...
"The center is empty."
The very middle of the circle was a total blank. There was nothing carved there at all. Normally, the center is the most important part of the array. The fact that it was a gaping hole only made the "chunibyo prank" theory more likely.
I pulled off my glove and touched the lines with my fingertip. At first, it just felt like cold stone. But then...
A jolt of pure dread raced down my spine.
"Kh...!"
I yanked my hand back reflexively.
"What was that just now?"
For a split second, I felt something. It was like a flame, but... there was something grotesque and eerie about the sensation. The person who drew this must have poured a lot of resentment into it. If they’d just talked to me, I would have tried to comfort them.
I stood up and surveyed the area again. Snow continued to fall softly over the quiet campus.
"..."
I had a bad feeling about it, even if I couldn't put my finger on why. I had accidentally excavated a hidden magic circle, so I figured I should probably bury it again out of a sense of responsibility.
The distant sound of the bell signaled the start of the next period. I looked down at the array one last time.
"I'll have to warn Yuka about this later. Chunibyo types can be dangerous."
I kicked a bit of snow back over the circle. It wasn't perfectly hidden, but it was less conspicuous than it had been after I’d dug it up. Consider this my petty revenge against the circle for making me late for class.
I turned on my heel and headed toward the school building, leaving a trail of footprints in the fresh snow.
After I left, the snow began to accumulate once more in the silent garden. But for a fleeting moment, a faint gray light flickered in the empty center of the magic circle.
It was as if it were waiting for something.
"Enclose, enclose, O Flame of Ruin."