Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is purely a fanfic for enjoyment.
Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.
The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.
"Speech"
Time*
Chapter 64: Mood Changes
An hour later*
So far, I had come up empty-handed in my attempts to devise a ritual aligned with Amaterasu. No matter how much I sifted through concepts of solar divinity, divine radiance, and primordial fire, nothing felt stable enough to be invoked safely. With that line of thought reaching a dead end, at least for now, I allowed the chatter of the two women nearby to fade into background noise.
Instead, I turned my focus toward a far more unorthodox solution. Something that, by all proper rules of mysticism and logic, should be utterly impossible—yet in my case, was effortless. Teleportation Charm had been proof enough of that.
I bring up a ring to my eyes, the finished product of a Beyonder Item. One infused with the spell-like ability drawn from the Fool Pathway. Specifically, the power of Damage Transfer from Sequence 7: Magician, elevated to the level of Sequence 5: Marionettist.
The principle was simple: to divert mortal wounds elsewhere on the body, transforming fatal strikes into survivable, almost trivial injuries.
The Ring of Damage Transfer could be used 5 times before the Spirituality within disappears. And should it remain unused, then it will last for a year. Naturally, there were negative effects. Whoever wore this ring would find fortune skewed sharply against them, more likely to be struck in battle, to bruise, to trip, to slam their toes against merciless corners and table legs.
Crude? Yes.
Effective: Absolutely.
And, most importantly: Life-saving for when there is no other way to treat fatal wounds.
Honestly, it would have been an excellent Beyonder Item... If I didn't already have the Immortality Marble Glove, that could do the same and so much more and better. No negative effects either.
I flicked the Ring of Damage Transfer towards Momoyo with a casual motion. She snatched it out of the air without even looking, her hand moving on pure instinct. Then she actually looked at what she caught, and blinked. Her expression snapped from boredom to wide-eyed shock, like she couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh, swear, or demand whether I had lost my mind.
Even Ryoko froze mid-sentence, staring at me as though I had handed Momoyo a live grenade or something similar. She definitely hadn't expected this.
I gave Momoyo a brief summary of what the ring could do. How it worked. How to use it. No fancy trigger word, just drag the finger bearing the ring over the wounded area while willing the damage elsewhere on the body, and the injury would shift. Of course, I also warned her: wearing it came with unpleasant luck tax, more injuries, clumsier fate, etc. Carrying it was safe; wearing it was the gamble.
Momoyo grinned slowly, a manic spark lighting her eyes. Great.
Ryoko leaned forward, envy tinting her voice. "Could you make something like that for me?"
"Maybe." I replied casually, already setting up the foundation for another ritual to create another Beyonder Item.
And then, I stop.
My Spirituality screamed. A sharp surge of danger flooded through me, instinct clawing at my nerves. Something was coming, something hostile, and something deadly to me.
I didn't hesitate. I swept my materials into my backpack, hand closing around the silver ritual knife as I removed the assembled wall of Spirituality.
"Hey, what's wrong? Aren't we staying here tonight, Chikao?" Momoyo asked, though she didn't bother putting on the Ring of Damage Transfer, instead slipping it casually into her pocket like it was just another accessory and not something that could cheat death.
"Nope! And I am a fool for thinking we should stay here!" I grab both Momoyo and Ryoko by the arm. With my left hand already gripping the Teleportation Charm, I chanted the trigger word, channeling Spirituality into it. Reality changed, and in the blink of an eye, we were gone.
We reappeared inside Momoyo's bedroom. Ryoko staggered slightly; Momoyo blinked twice, stunned.
"Wait, you could have done that this whole time?" Momoyo looks at me speechlessly.
"Yup." I released them and immediately reached into my backpack, retrieving another Teleportation Charm. I tucked it into my left pocket. "And now, take Mrs. Ryoko here to your grandfather. After what we just went through, you need to have a talk with him."
Momoyo looks like she wants to argue, but I didn't give her the chance.
"I have something to check on." I vanish again with another Teleportation Charm I pulled out from my backpack.
I reappeared in a familiar hallway. I continued walking as the spatial displacement finished, setting around me.
"Greeting, Angelina. Bye, Angelina." I passed the woman I was technically supposed to protect; however, I had to quit and leave. Although it didn't seem much had changed when I left, as the room is spotless and orderly. The private nurse had clearly been doing her job well in taking care of the place and Angelina, too.
Now, onto creating more Beyonder Items and restocking on Teleportation Charms. Maybe fix Angelina as payment for using her place for the rituals and causing her to end up like this.
The next day*
I let out a long, groggy yawn, rubbing at my eyes as consciousness reluctantly returned.
My brief nap had taken the edge off the exhaustion, though fatigue still clung to me.
I stretched once before dragging myself toward the desk, where the fruits of my labor were neatly arranged.
5 Teleportation Charms, adding a grand total of 7.
At this rate, I may have to figure out a way to advance to Sequence 5: Traveler of the Door Pathway within a year just for the Traveler's Door ability alone. Because of how often I'm going to use the Teleportation Charms, I will run out of materials soon, and the time I would need to convert mundane materials into Spirituality-infused materials would take up more of my free time.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead.
As I debate asking Momoyo's grandfather for resources or just going to hunt them down for myself, doing so would waste more time, and not to mention, I have to deal with the mission from the Order with Sakamoto and Rion at Ishiyama High School.
I crack my neck, then use a Teleportation Charm. Space folded with the familiar lurch of displacement, and I reappeared atop Ishiyama High School's rooftop—the chill morning air brushing against my face like a silent greeting.
"Too damn useful…" I muttered, hands sliding into my pockets as my gaze drifted over the quiet campus.
Then I stopped. Blinked once. And slapped my forehead hard enough to sting.
"I'm an idiot."
All this time, crafting Teleportation Charms like a desperate rat hoarding crumbs—when I could've simply made a Beyonder Item using the Traveler's Door ability, just like I had with the Ring of Damage Transfer.
I check the time: still an hour until school officially starts. Staff were already trickling in—janitors, teachers, the occasional assistant, but none of them ever bothered coming up here unless a student got creative with truancy or rooftop brawls. Plus, I'm just the school nurse with barely anything to do, especially in this high school filled with delinquents. So I got plenty of time to make a Beyonder Item of the Traveler's Door.
I just hope I have enough materials.
A few hours later*
I grin at the glove fitted snugly around my right hand—the Right Glove of Traveling. Best Beyonder Item to have currently. Except for one tiny side effect: I now have absolutely no sense of direction.
I almost wanted to rename this Beyonder Item to Zoro's Traveling. Either way, the Right Glove of Traveling will last half a year, which is plenty of time before I have another set of Spirituality-infused materials to make a new one.
Now, as for the 6 remaining Teleportation Charms. Emergency uses only. Or maybe I should give them to Mai and Osaragi; those two would get more use out of them right now than I would.
ackpack slung over my shoulder, I pushed open the rooftop door and started down the stairs toward the infirmary.
And I begin to blink as I walk into one of the ground-floor bathrooms.
Students froze mid-cigarette, in a squat, and their bravado evaporated the moment they registered me.
"Who the—GAH!"
I stomped the one who tried to speak face-first into the tile. Reflex. Bad habit. Same thing, really.
"I sincerely hope you're all smart enough not to start a fight." I said calmly, still pinning the poor bastard's skull with my foot.
"We didn't even do anything!" One yelped, voice cracking.
"We're just smoking, man!" Another added in pure panic.
I paused. Hm. Yes. Overreaction. Hard to break out of habits.
"…Right. I'll, uh, take this one to the infirmary for treatment." I said matter-of-factly, removing my foot and grabbing the student by the ankle. He whimpered. Understandable.
No one tried to stop me as I dragged him through the hallway. Students stared, teachers pretended blindness.
Which is how I suddenly found myself sliding open Momoyo's classroom door instead of the infirmary's.
"Chikao?" Momoyo blinked, stunned as I noticed she and her classmates just sat down.
"Hello, Momoyo, sorry, wrong room." I slide the door closed, then continue walking to find the school infirmary, until I realize the problem and look around before removing the Right Glove of Traveling.
And in no time, I finally made it to the school infirmary.
I tossed the injured delinquent onto a bed, handed him painkillers, then smacked him unconscious for good measure. Medical professionalism at its finest.
Once that's taken care of, I put the Right Glove of Traveling back on.
I opened the infirmary window, eyes drifting over the campus below as my thoughts slipped back to yesterday. The sudden danger spike in that abandoned town. The Sefirot: City of Calamity, acting up without reason, mutating the bodyguards like reality had hiccupped.
"Holy shit, why am I in a school filled with people?" I mutter in shock as I realize I am a walking disaster.
"Yeah, why are you here?" Someone spoke up as a flash of silver light, a dagger streaked toward my left eye.
However, before it could get closer, I snatched the dagger from the attacker's hand, then plucked the attacker's eyeballs while shoving the dagger into their throat at the same time. All done within a second.
The corpse dropped like a puppet with cut strings. Screams erupted below the window.
I toss the eyeballs to the side.
"These guys really don't really know how to stop, huh." I sighed aloud, then glanced to my right to see Sakamoto leaning against the wall, arms folded, looking at me like I'd just executed a mosquito instead of a human.
Then, I glance to my left to see Rion sitting on my rolling stool, spinning slightly, legs crossed like she was watching morning entertainment.