… Well, the previous duel was pretty one-sided if you’d ask him. Because of his eager spirit and underestimation of the magic world, Hyōen suffered his very first defeat in the hands of another magician. Now, the defeat was to be expected, and already before the battle, he could tell by the intimidating sources of magic power within the cat man that he would most likely lose, but now that he actually went through it and lost, it felt much more… painful than he anticipated. And I thought that it would be fun, no matter the outcome… it sure isn’t fun losing, eh?, he thought for himself, while his exhausted feet walked through the shrubbery to reach downtown again. Struggling to arrive there, he remembered that he also didn’t bother renting a room or anything yet, a fact that really backfired him at this moment. What the hell was he thinking?

His feet stopped when he stood before a large log in front of him. He had made it to an opening in the forest with some tall grass surrounding him, while the night sky glittered with dots of stars towards him. His eyes were a little heavy now, because Hyōen hadn’t slept the entire night, and if you focused your eyes on the horizon to the right, then you would be able to see beams of the sun travelling through. When he looked at the log, he felt that he hadn’t made it that far after all when it came to magic. … How far can I really go? Coda was flying around the sky above him, feeling the confusion that began rooting within his heart. However, as a while passed, feathers began descending from Coda’s plumage and down on Hyōen’s head. It took a second for him to spot the dark feathers slide down his face as he picked one up. Despite having lived the majority of his life alongside the feathery companion, her wings inspired him more than anything else could. “…” His silence covered the plane for a while now, until he rose one of his arms up. Comparing it to the feather, he began feeling heat erupting from the skin around his right arm which soon triggered nothing else than a magic circle beneath his feet. “…?!” He wasn’t quick enough to react properly to the situation, but as he compared his arm to the feather, he also focused on making his arm look like Coda’s plumage. That must’ve caused the magic to suddenly react to that as heat launched off his arms like needles… or rather, the fire was more like very small knives.

His eyes blank quickly by the scene, but perhaps this was a sign. Lifting up his arm again, he proceeded to activate the same thing that he did a moment earlier, and as soon as he felt the very small outbursts of fire, he swung the side of his arm towards the air around him. He saw the fierce tracks of heat cut itself on the very space that he moved his arms across like cuts on the air itself, before the heat cooled and faded away. “… I’m beginning to look like a bird every day that passes,” he mumbled to himself in silence. The fire that grew out of his arms from the side in a symmetrical manner resembled feathers on a bird’s wings. Not alone did it feel hot and stingy, but also tough and sharp. If he could make a spell like that… then it would surely give back the spirit of life. “… Hey, Coda! Come back down here, girl..!” he called for his feathery friend, who quickly made it to his shoulder.

After whispering to the bird about his idea, Coda made it back on her wings and began flying around Hyōen. His eyes followed hers as a circle could be fathomed due to Coda’s orbit. Then, wihtout warning, the bird launched a gust of wind towards him, covering the very area around Hyōen with wind blades. Being exhausted already, combined with the damages that he suffered today, it would’ve been stupid to inflict more on yourself, but this was a good chance to see just how strong that this spell would be. Whilst covering his face with his arms to avoid getting cut by the wind, he focused his magic power around his arms as the magic circle appeared beneath his feet. With a single move, he cut through the wind blades and waved the gust in all directions apart, leaving himself fainted due to the idiotic plan…