My name is Haiko. And despite knowing I should've tried to push back against the weird sensation rising inside me, I saw Tailia fighting which distracted me. Adding that along with the fact that the magic circle had reached completion, I could feel power beginning to flow into me at a rapid rate.

  And as my consciousness faded away, I struggled to keep my vision focused.

  That was until I saw it.

  Talia was stuck to the ground and my father was about to chop her head off.

  Using all the will I could muster, I pointed my hand toward my father and shot a beam of light through his chest.

  I didn’t know what the beam did, but since it got him away from Talia I didn’t care.

  Feeling satisfied with that, I closed my eyes and a few moments later, everything went dark.

  “HAIKO!” Talia screamed as bright white light surrounded Haiko’s body.

  “Heheh. Haha! Yes! This is the power I was searching for! This is the power my client wishes to defeat!” Shouted Mr. Ariyama.

  Ignoring his words, all Talia could do was watch in terror as what was left of Haiko vanished and all that was left standing was a strange white figure in her shape.

  Paying no mind to the ones watching her, the being that was once Haiko began to think.

  “Surivive…Survive…Survive…”

  That was all it uttered in a raspy voice as it held out its hands.

  Upon it doing so, the paper-like tiles on the walls began coming apart and bending in unnatural ways.

  Using what was safe to assume its power, the being began producing paper machete creatures that surrounded it like guard dogs.

  From dinosaurs, wolves, and lions, to other dangerous animals formed to protect her.

  Along with those, it surrounded itself in extensively long panels and manipulated them as if they were tentacles it had full control over.

  With these measures in place, the creature, which didn’t have any facial features, somehow made an eerie crimson-red smile.

  As she watched what was in front of her, tears began welling up in Talia's eyes before she slammed her hand onto the ground.

  “Dammit. In the end, I couldn’t protect her.”

  Muttering those words under her breath, Talia thought back to when she met Haiko as a kid as tears flowed from her eyes.

  It all began eleven years ago.

  A young Talia was sent off by her parents to the party of some girl of high status with the hopes of making connections Talia’s family could use in the future.

  However, with all the other boys and girls surrounding the previously mentioned girl of higher status, Talia just walked off to a snack table and helped herself to some of the food.

  Upon doing so, however, she noticed another girl with short white hair keeping to herself under a nearby tree.

  Talia saw she looked rather nervous about something and decided maybe she should try introducing herself.

  “Um…Hello there. What’s your name?”

  Seemly startled by Talia’s voice, the girl jumped to her feet and took a few steps back.

  Tilting her head in confusion, it was then that Talia noticed the girl seemed to have bandages all over her body for some reason.

  “W…Who are you?”

  As the girl asked that question, Talia stood up straight and replied with the introduction she’d been taught by her parents on multiple occasions.

  “My name is Talia Yergonu. May I ask what your name is?”

  On edge, the girl responded so quietly Talia almost couldn’t hear her.

  “Haiko…Haiko Ariyama.”

  “Haiko huh? Nice to meet you.”

  Holding out her hand, Talia had hoped Haiko would shake it. However, all she did was take another step back.

  “Hm? Is something wrong?”

  Talia found the way Haiko acted to be rather odd for a noble.

  “Is she just shy or something?”

  This was the first thought that came across Talia’s mind.

  Keeping her hand out, Talia waited for Haiko to shake it only for her to continue standing still.

  Beginning to grow frustrated by her hesitation, Talia reached down and grabbed Haiko's hand.

  Startled, Haiko tried to pull away only for Talia to grip her hand tightly.

  “Relax. This is just how nobles greet each other. At least that’s what my mother told me,” said Tailia.

  Still nervous, Haiko tried her best to gulp down her fear by clenching her dress as she shook Talia’s hand.

  On that day, Talia and Haiko had met for the first time.

  After that day, Talia and Haiko began hanging out whenever they could. Well, while that may sound like it happened often, it actually only occurred once or twice every few months as Haiko always seemed to be busy with something or other.

  Growing tired of her friend's lack of time, Talia decided she would surprise Haiko by taking a trip to her house and hanging out with her there.

  She hadn’t ever been to Haiko’s house before, so her sense of excitement only continued to grow as her carriage arrived at Haiko’s home.

  Since she wanted it to be a surprise, she used a sky carriage that dropped her off at the front door while no one was looking.

  The person driving said carriage said they would be back to pick her up in an hour and then took off.

  Talia looked up at the house in front of her.

  It wasn’t as big as her home, but it definitely wasn’t small.

  In order to ensure her safety, one of Talia’s most skilled butlers was by her side.

  The butler was a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties. She had long blonde hair and wore a black tuxedo.

  She was one of the few female butlers Talia’s family had and she was also one of their best.

  Her name was Riana Forey.

  With her sense of excitement unwavering, Talia knocked on the door. Then she waited…and waited…and waited.

  Confused, she knocked a few more times, but no one came to the door.

  “Hm. They must not be home. Come on my lady. Let’s signal the carriage and get back.”

  Offering this suggestion, Riana began to walk away when she noticed Talia didn’t move.

  “My Lady?”

  Suddenly, Talia pulled on the doorknob and walked inside.

  “My Lady!?”

  Rushing over to Talia, Riana only slammed into the door as Talia closed it behind herself.

  By the time Riana managed to open the door and get inside, Talia was nowhere to be seen.

  Groaning in frustration, Riana began making her way through the house.

  “My Lady? Where are you, my lady?”

  Meanwhile, Talia was exploring in the completely opposite direction Riana was searching through.

  “Whoa. What’s up with this place? It’s like nobody’s lived in ages. Is this really Haiko’s house?” Talia asked herself.

  Not wanting to give up on her surprise visit, Talia began exploring.

  As she walked around, she noticed how desolate this place felt.

  Even though there was food in the pantries, and a few beds that looked like they'd been slept in, most of the place felt completely empty with dust gathering all over the place.

  About thirty minutes of searching later, Talia finally felt like giving up on searching for Haiko and was about to return to the front door.

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  However, just as she made this decision, she came to a realization.

  “Uh…Where am I?”

  Talia was completely lost.

  Another twenty minutes later, Talia still couldn’t find the front door and felt like she was about to start panicking.

  It was then that she noticed a creepy passage that looked old and rusted which led toward a tunnel with a bright light at the end of it.

  “Maybe this is the way out?” Talia thought.

  Walking through the passage, Talia made her way down the dark tunnel. Before long, the light began to grow brighter and brighter as she got closer to it.

  However, rather than any sense of relief, Talia started feeling a strange fear crawl down her spine.

  And when she reached the end of the tunnel, she understood why.

  “Hm…Subject appears to be stable. Should we put in another dose?”

  “Sure. Maybe add two more just to be safe.”

  “Understood.”

  In a dimly lit room were two people injecting strange liquids into someone Talia knew all too well.

  “Haiko!”

  Putting her hand on her mouth, Talia tried her best not to throw up at the sight in front of her.

  Lying there completely naked save for her undergarments, Haiko was covered in stitches from head to toe with a cloth in her mouth to muffle her screams.

  “Alright. I got the doses ready. Are you sure she’ll survive having more of these being put in her body?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Even if she dies, we can always make a new one.”

  After hearing that, Talia’s fear turned to rage.

  Without a moment's hesitation, she dashed forward and tackled one of the people's feet.

  “Ack! What the-!?”

  Unable to keep their balance, the person fell backward and they slammed their head on the counter behind them. Getting knocked out instantly.

  “Grr! Who the hell are you!? You damn brat!”

  Holding out their hand, the other person began chanting a spell.

  “Block this ones escape. Ice Prison!”

  Before Talia could react, an icy cell began forming around her.

  “Bring forth the ball of flame to protect thy self! Fireball!”

  Suddenly, a fireball came flying in out of nowhere and stopped the prison from forming. Standing where Talia had been moments ago, Riana let out a sigh of relief at making it in time.

  “What!?”

  While the person stared at her dumbfounded, Talia dashed over to Haiko and began untying the restraints that were on her arms and legs.

  “T…Talia?”

  Haiko clearly didn’t understand what was going on. Even so, Talia couldn’t leave her here like this.

  Once she was free, Talia lifted Haiko’s arm over her shoulder and began carrying her out of the room.

  “Hey! Where do you think you’re going you damn brat!?” shouted the enemy.

  Holding up their hand once more, the person tried shooting at Talia to appear before them.

  “Don’t you dare think of harming my lady!”

  Riana held up a pre-made fireball and slammed it into the person’s face.

  The person was instantly sent flying backward before crashing into a wall.

  Not giving them a chance to recover, Riana cupped both Talia and Haiko under her arms and ran out of the room.

  “Riana!”

  “I’m here my lady. So please don’t go running off again.”

  As if she already memorized the house, Riana dashed toward the front door and burst outside just as the carriage arrived.

  “Wah-!?”

  Confused, the carriage coachmen was about to start asking questions but Riana shut him up.

  “Don’t ask anything! Just drive!”

  Paying heed to her words, the coachmen rode away just as the person who tried to trap Talia earlier burst out of the house and glared at the carriage as it rode away. This person, of course, was Mr. Ariyama. Haiko’s father. And as he cursed the carriage, it rode off. With his test subject along with it.

  The next day, Mr. Ariyama had disappeared while his wife who was his partner in the experiments was taken to prison.

  Haiko moved in with her grandparents who happily took her in and promised to watch over her as if she was their own, and Talia spent as much time with her best friend as she could.

  The two grew so close, that there were even talks that maybe the two of them should just marry each other rather than finding spouses.

  But both Haiko and Talia rejected that idea instantly.

  All in all though, it looked like things were finally starting to change for the better. And one fateful afternoon, after Haiko and Talia had just finished playing, they found themselves talking about the future while lying in the grassy field behind Haiko’s new home.

  “Say, can I ask you something?”

  Hearing Haiko say that Talia turned to look at her.

  “Sure. What is it?”

  “Do you think…we’ll be able to stay like this forever?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean…What if my parents come back somehow? And what if they pick up right where they left off with experimenting on me?”

  Despite Haiko’s face becoming almost completely emotionless thanks to the experiments, Talia could tell there was a sense of fear in her eyes.

  Wanting to reassure her friend, Talia sat up and grabbed Haiko’s hand.

  “Hm?”

  “If you truly feel that way, then how about we make a promise?”

  “A promise?”

  Talia nodded.

  “Yeah. A promise that will make sure nothing like that happens to you ever again.”

  “Um…I guess that would make me feel better.”

  Hearing that, Talia smiled and stood on her feet.

  “Then I’ll say it right here right now. I, Talia Yergonu promise to protect you from those horrible people as long as I live. No matter what I have to go through, I’ll never let you be turned into an experiment ever again!”

  Upon hearing those words, the faintest of smiles spread across Haiko’s face a her eyes began to form small tears of joy. Seeing how much her words impacted her friend, Talia’s smile couldn’t help but grow bigger.

  “But in the end, I couldn’t keep that promise.”

  Defeated, Talia could do nothing but watch as, after all these years, her best friend was experimented on once more. And now she’s transformed into something not even Talia was sure she could save.

  Upset at herself for being so weak, tears flowed down Talia’s eyes as she slammed her fist into the ground over and over again.

  “Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!”

  These words echoed within Talia’s head. Her weakness caused this to happen. She didn’t protect Haiko when she needed it most. It was clear to her now that she wouldn’t be able to save her.

  With no other options left, there was only one thing Talia could do.

  “Someone…help her.”

  Her voice was hoarse. She seemed to be more exhausted than she realized.

  “Someone…please help her.”

  She knew no one could hear her. It was a hopeless struggle. Still, she would keep doing it for as long as she could.

  “Someone help her! Please!”

  She could tell her voice was on the verge of breaking. Even so, she couldn’t stop.

  “Someone…”

  At least that’s what she thought. But as it stood now, she could no longer project her voice.

  Angry at her own weakness once more, tears continued flowing down her cheeks and she clenched her teeth in frustration.

  It looked like there was really nothing she could do. No one she could call. There was no hope left for her to turn to.

  …Or so she thought.

  “Geez. Just when I think I’m done with all the student council and disciplinary committee stuff, this happens. What a pain.”

  Hearing a voice next to her, Talia looked to find a boy with sharp greyish-white hair standing there in a tuxedo.

  He looked at the being that was once Haiko with a frustrated expression.

  “Savoncho?”

  That was the only word Talia’s voice could project. Pretending as if he just noticed her, the man named Axel Savoncho grinned.

  “Hm? Hey there Princess Asshole. I gotta say, this whole thing sure has escalated quickly. Here I thought it would be a simple going away party, and now here we are standing in front of Freaky Magee. Talk about a twist.”

  Talia wanted to say something about his rather casual banter, but her voice was too dry to say anything.

  “Yeah. I guess you’re right. But it’s not like I can do much about her condition.”

  All of a sudden, Axel started talking to himself. Or to be more precise, he started talking with Nia who had told him "Well it's not like that girl wanted this to happen. Besides, she's been fighting for her life! Can't you heal her up a bit?"

  With a sigh, Axel walked to Talia.

  Without chanting a single word, Axel formed a fireball and freed Talia from the ice before creating a ball of water that she drank slowly.

  “Sorry. This is the best I can do. I’m not exactly good at healing spells.”

  After having a drink, Talia managed to find her voice again.

  “Savoncho…That thing you talked about before is Haiko. Her father used some kind of ancient spell that transformed her into something he referred to as equal to a god in terms of power.

  Axel turned to look at the being once more.

  “That thing’s meant to be on the same level as a god? Please. That thing couldn’t even beat an average wizard.”

  Talia couldn’t believe what Axel had just said.

  “How could you say something like that?”

  “I’m just saying how it is. Anyway, you wanted someone to save her right? Just leave it to us.”

  Talia tilted her head in confusion.

  “Us?”

  At that moment, Talia realized Axel wasn’t the only one there.

  She was also surrounded by not just the disciplinary committee, but the student council, as well as the participating clubs that were there at the party she’d been at a little over an hour ago.

  “How…Why are you all here?”

  “It’s simple. They’re here to save their student council president...and you as well. I trust that’s not a problem?”

  For some reason, there was a certain cockiness in Axel's voice as he said this.

  That question left Talia completely dumbfounded.

  Finding the look on her face amusing, Axel chuckled lightly before giving orders to those around him.

  “Alright, guys! It seems like Haiko’s part of whatever that thing is in front of us. I should be able to return her to her senses if I can get close. So while I’m doing that, make sure to keep the monsters off my back. Understood?”

  “Right!”

  Everyone shouted in unison at Axel’s command.

  “Alright then! Charge!”

  On that order, everyone pushed forward and attacked the monsters surrounding the being in control of Haiko’s body.

  With her dumbfounded look remaining on her face, Talia turned to look at Axel.

  “How did you get them to follow your orders? I thought they all hated you?”

  Axel let out a frustrated sigh.

  “It wasn’t easy I’ll tell you that much. However, it’s probably best if I tell you after the battle. So for now, leave things to us. We’ll get her back no matter what.”

  With those words, Axel charged off toward the being in control of Haiko’s body and left Talia behind to recover her strength.

  And as Axel ran off, Talia kept her eyes on him for a few more moments.

  “Axel Savoncho. You’re truly a strange individual. However, I don’t think it’s a bad thing anymore.”

  With those words, Talia laid down on the ground and let her body recover.