Infinite Rebirths as Mages – Now We Seek the Truth Behind Our Feud

Realm Emberium

Celeste's scythe meets Ryusaki's sword with a clash that shakes the square. The impact splits the ground— cracks race beneath the fountain and shatter it into a thousand pieces. Celeste flips backward, boots skidding across the stone, while Ryusaki dashes back with a grin.

A transformed clan member turns black; a writhing, organic mass shoots toward the school at breakneck speed.

Johnny whispers "Wh—th—br—ak.". A single radiant arrow materializes, drills into the darkness, and detonates in blinding light. The spell splinters but oily fragments slither onward to the academy, seeping through the walls like acid.

Sena's voice lifts in alarm. "That blast will hit civilians!"

"We moved most." Jarkata answers, swinging down from the colonnade, "Some were left behind. I hope nothing happened!"

Ryusaki claps. "You're stronger than I expected." he admits.

Celeste only smiles— and drowsiness coils around him like smoke.

From the Academy steps, Sena intones, "Ur is—no ll." Violet mist billows out, clinging to Ryusaki's wings.

Jarkata leaps into the air, his gauntlets sparkling .

His counterspell snaps out— "Se ta vi—an ul!"— but the haze refuses to disperse.

Akai's roar cuts through the fog. "Se ta vi—jo ka ta." Fallen clan members rise like puppets, hollow-eyed, staggering toward the violet cloud.

Then his second incantation: "Pl od." The corpses crumble into red dust and erupt— crimson particles seething into the fog, thinning it.

Kibo's lips twitch in grim approval. "Good— blood dust to disperse the sleeping spell."

On the rooftop, Johnny shoots another silent arrow; spectral bolts rain upon the Clan guard.

Sena raises her staff once more. "Ur i a—ze ro." A fresh coil of violet vapor descends from the sky.

Kibo slams the butt of his odachi into broken stone. "Se la si—et ie es!" A dome of white sigils flares outward, trying to shred the incoming cloud..

Jarkata hangs in mid-air, gauntlets blazing. "It wasn't a debuff to shred— it was a buff! BO RE — AU REALI UM!"

He plummets like a meteor, slamming into Ryusaki's vanguard behind Kibo and Akai. One defender tries to block and is pulverized on impact. The shockwave shatters Kibo's white sigils and kills two more clan mages where they stand.

Yet when the dust clears, the bodies are gone— teleported. A heartbeat later, those same mages reappear on the Academy rooftop with Akai.

Kibo laughs, wiping blood from his lip. "Teleportation is exhausting but he was loyal. Spent every drop of mana to save the team. You crushed him. His name was Jousaki. At least the 'annoying-range' nonsense ends here."

High above, Akai rests his katana on one shoulder. Four mages unsheathe their swords and fan out behind him.

Ryusaki streaks toward Celeste, transcendent, beating sparks from the air.

"FA FN IR—APOKALYPTUS!"

She answers with a hissed incantation of her own. "DEATH—BRINGER."

Sword meets scythe. The clash births a storm of black dust. Skeletal hands burst from the paving stones, clawing for Ryusaki's ankles, while his blade ignites in pitch-black flame. Celeste parries but Ryusaki's backswing scythes through the Academy wall. A single stroke— and the building's foundation cracks, glass and marble collapsing in an avalanche.

She glances over her shoulder, breath catching at the devastation wrought by one casual slash.

The bony hands tighten their grip, but Ryusaki merely stomps, shattering the spell to ash.

Celeste bites back a curse. 

"Mephisto, I need you— I need every drop of MANA!"

Mephisto's voice coils through her mind— silken and eager. All of it?

Yes, she answers. Or I lose.

Your entire power, then.

EVERYTHING.

Crimson glyphs flare along her arms as the pact unlocks.

Rooftop

Akai says arrogantly, "Who wants to die first?"

Sena slips a dagger from the sheath at her thigh, her pink robe snapping in the updraft.

Johnny fires another invisible arrow— Akai cleaves it mid-flight. The severed mana disperses like frost.

Johnny only chuckles, eyes narrowing with murderous delight.

His laugh is low and taunting. "You really think we didn't plan for this?"

Sena's eyes gleam. "You walked right into our trap."

They snap their fingers in unison.

Runic sigils flare beneath the tiles. A deafening blast engulfs the rooftop— heat, light, and shrapnel shred the four clan warriors in a single heartbeat. When the smoke thins, only Akai remains, his coat scorched, fury blazing in his crimson gaze.

"What have you done?" he roars.

Sena steps through drifting embers, expression almost playful. "They were fine mages, but your methods are baffling. Reckless teleportation, self-sacrifice? A battle mage exists to kill and complete the mission— nothing else."

The smile she offers is all teeth. Akai's hands tremble on his sword hilt, rage leaking through every breath.

Johnny lifts his spectral bow. "He's still young— clings to that samurai delusion of honor. Honor doesn't exist up here, boy. Die learning that lesson."

"Quiet!" Akai snarls. "I'm going to kill every last one of you. Enjoy the seconds you have left."

Sena traces a sigil in the air. "An ar—d o t."

Emerald vapor coils around Akai. He sways, but his voice booms defiantly, echoing across broken tiles. "Deadly gas? I'm long past fear! Poisons don't work!"

He counters with a slash of incandescent steel. "Se ra vi—co nf!"

The blade blazes, cutting a clean path through the poison. Akai lunges— fast as lightning.

Johnny reacts, shooting an invisible arrow. It punches into Akai's shoulder but he doesn't slow. Sword meets Sena's dagger in a ringing clash. Her image flickers.

"Johnny!" she shouts— too late.

Akai disappears, reappears behind the archer with a silent step. Steel arcs— air whistles— Sena's illusion dissolves.

The real Sena staggers as Akai's blade slices her cleanly in two.

She falls with a soft smile. "Sorry, Johnny… Celeste— finish them."

Johnny stares. "How—"

Sena's body crumples, lifeless.

Akai turns, blood and smoke swirling around him. "So emotions hurt, do they?"

His sword drips fresh blood. His voice is a growl of triumph. "Now watch everything you love disappear."

Johnny's gaze turns cold, the smirk gone from his lips.

"So." he says flatly, "You were channeling a huge amount of mana. Used it to cast a specialized buff. Then redirected more into your eyes to break my illusion."

Akai's breath catches. He hadn't realized Johnny had tracked every thread of his movement.

"That much mana." Johnny continues, "wasted on instinct. Unpredictable— but now I know what I need to do. All or nothing, right, young man?"

Akai's stance falters. "She was your teammate. How could you—?"

"Emotions in battle make you weak." Johnny replied coldly. "Sena was the best debuffer in the Union but we made a mistake and you punished it. I underestimated you. That won't happen again."

He raises his hand and releases an arrow skyward. It vanishes into the clouds, silent.

"Enigma—release your power. Give me your bow."

The sky darkens, shifting into a deep celestial blue. Light bursts from Johnny's hand as his weapon changes—the bow has silver wings, string turns to radiant light. A longbow forged of starlight pulses in his grip.

"Celestial Shot."

A massive beam tears from the sky, a glowing arrow hurtling toward the Academy. It hits like divine judgment— silent, immediate, unrelenting.

"I want a better battlefield." Johnny whispers.

"Realm of the Ancients—Celestial Garden!"

The energy spreads. The blast envelops both him and Akai in an instant.

Akai's scream echoes. "YOU MADMAN! THAT SPELL COULD KILL Y—"

But the light devours everything. In a blink, the Academy is gone.

On the Ground

A crater smolders where the Academy once stood. The air trembles. Winds scatter glowing embers across fractured marble and shattered glass.

Jarkata stands beside Kibo, expression tight. "Johnny… you really gave everything."

Kibo steps forward, mouth open, voice raw. "Akai! Brother!"

Rage twists across his face. He rounds on Jarkata. "You let him—!"

But Ryusaki's roar cuts through the grief. "He was my son!"

Celeste answers, "And now he's gone—like many of us will be."

She raises her head, eyes burning. "Don't spit hypocrisy now, Ryusaki. We all knew the price. This ends when the last mage stands. That is the resolution."

Her voice crescendos, echoing through the realm.

"MEPHISTO—DEATH'S DOOR!"

A dark chill grips the battlefield as Celeste's scythe slices through the void. Behind her, a towering reaper materializes—its form ancient, faceless, impossibly tall. The apparition fades, but not before her scythe transforms. Bones coil along the shaft; veins of darkness pulse beneath the blade; her red eye ignites with eerie crimson light.

She swings the weapon with precision.

The arc of her strike turns the very air to death. The atmosphere itself dies.

Ryusaki meets it head-on.

He steps into the death weapon— and strives.

"I don't care about it!" he roars, voice like a crashing wave. "Learn your place, girl!"

The ground trembles beneath his steps as he pushes forward through the cursed air.

"I will not die. I will lead the society of mages. I BEAR THE BLOOD OF FAFNIR!"

His veins rupture with red heat. The transcendent wings on his back shift— scales harden into obsidian armor, black flames curl along his arms, and wings emerge, fully dragon-formed. His eyes blaze with something not quite human.

Celeste grits her teeth and shouts "Mephisto—Unhollowed!"

Her scythe radiates pure necrotic force. Red sigils spin in the air, and death thickens like fog.

Kibo and Jarkata, watching, feel the shift— an overwhelming pressure collapses the sky above them.

They leap back without hesitation.

Realm of the Ancients | Celestial Garden

Night drapes the sky in deep velvet. The academy stands ruined at its heart— walls melted by acid, roof gone, moonlight pouring into the training yard. Ethereal flowers shimmer across the grass, glowing gently, untouched by war.

Johnny stands at the center of the training grounds, his bow gleaming with radiant light. Akai faces him from afar, blood already dripping from his shoulder.

Johnny tilts his head. "You're rough."

Akai narrows his gaze. "A domain inside a domain… what's the condition to escape?"

Johnny laughs, deep and unrestrained. "No condition. That's the joke. If you can't break the domain, you die here. Simple."

He draws his bow once more.

"I know this is my last moment. After what you did to Sena— there's no returning from that but I'm not bitter. I'll give you everything I've got."

He lowers his voice, sincere now. "Don't hold back. If you don't finish me, you'll be stuck here. Trapped. Your body will fade, and all that's left will be bones. Forgotten. Wait— even if you finish me, you're still stuck!"

Akai's eyes shift—disturbed, then steady. "So this is your final resort… a PRISON!"

Akai slices across his palm. Blood splatters onto his blade. The sword hums— as if awakened.

"I'll kill you." Akai says, voice low "And then I'll find a way out. I don't believe in closed cages."

Johnny smiles. "If you do that— and escape— then I'll have no shame dying to a true magic master."

He lifts the celestial bow.

Akai steps forward.

Their eyes meet.

Battle ready— until death.