Magical Tournament Volume Four Chapter Five: Strecke (Road) – What they didn’t expect

Aleksander Here!

Hello people! Sorry for the late update, I had trouble with my pc. Also I had a beautiful two chapter worth-work but then this shit failed and lost all the progress.

I had to start from zero so if it seems sloppy, sorry.

Really, really… I’m sorry.
The last part was written when I recovered so it’s slightly better. I bet you’ll notice.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter. Thanks for reading.

PS: Cynical-Kouhai-Kun was unaviable so this is an unedited chapter.

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Chapter Five: Strecke (Road) – What they didn’t expect

Teil Ein.

“Engel, do you remember the [Enchatments] back in our world? Don’t yout think they are kind of simmilar to the [Scripture Magic]?” Asked Lene to Engel. It was noon and they were walking towards the Royal Garden in the palace.

“Yeah… They are similar yet different.” Replied Engel while seriously thinking in the similarities and differences of the two of them.

“So, I was thinking that maybe it was possible to meld the two magics and create a new one!” Said Lene while being pumped up.

“Yeah… You’re right! And also I’ve just tought about something interesting right now…” Replied Engel.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Haven’t you thought about using [Scripture Magic] in living beings?” Added Engel.

And this is when the idea of using [Scripture Magic] on themselves was born.

This happened a while ago.

Then, going back to the present time, Lene and Engel decided to teach Izaak to use both [Enchantments] and [Scripture Magic].

It was so Izaak could implement it in his creations… And also to use his knowledge of smithing to upgrade everyone’s equipment.

After a week or more, they started to do so.

Day and night they worked on them. Of course they also attended the lectures they had promised to give.

By the way, Engel didn’t let Izaak to upgrade Seara and Avalon whom he had taken with him; namely [Phobos] and [Demos]. Also he did by himself the upgrade of his very first weapons; [Stak] the shortsword and [Crystal] the dagger. He implemented the [Divine] and [Ice] elements in the shortsword and he used traces of [Antimagic] and [Devil] element on it. He also made it that they could suck mana from people and the environment around them.

Not to mention, he also increased their sharpness and resistance.

After that, admist the upgrading, Isold noticed something.

Something that even worried Izaak.

Engel had not slept since they arrived to that world.

Since the very first day he hadn’t sleep a bit.

She noticed that because one day she woke up at midnight and found Engel still working on the upgrades.

She noticed he was really pale and had dark bags under his eyes; also the shine of his hair was lost.

By a mere moment, Isold thought she had seen a ghost that time.

Somehow he found the way to conceal this in the daytime.

So, after some days, they decided to confront him.

“Where’s Lilya?” Asked Krestin while looking around her.

“She just left to make a midnight snack for Engel.” Said Izaak as they moved stealthy in the palace.

“””AAAHHHHHHH!!!”””

“EEH??? WHAAT?!”

Shouted everyone. After Lilya left, Isold, Izaak and Krestin forcibly entered the room that they had been given to work in their upgrades.

There, they saw a very zombie-like Engel.

“Wha-What are you doing here?!” Exclaimed Engel.

“That’s our line you know!” Said Izaak.

“I’m working in the upgrades of the equipment, what else would I be doing here?” Replied Engel.

“Yeah, but we know that you haven’t sleep since we arrived here! What’s going on with you?” Suddenly blurted out Krestin.

Engel then after a face of shock, made a sad face and in the blink of an eye teleported away.

“Follow him?” Asked Isold, suggesting that they should give pursuit.

“No. That’s not possible. Engel is an [Assasin], so if he truly wants us to not to find him… It would be utterly pointless to search for him.” Declared Krestin.

“Yeah, that’s totally true. I could find him tho’, but he would just teleport away again.” Voiced someone inside the room.

It was Lene.

She was reading an old book while lying in a bed prepared for them to take naps while working.

“Lene… What are you doing here?” Asked Krestin with a complicated expression.

“Well, I was in the middle of my break. I was here helping Engel with the upgrades and then yousuddenly made him run away.” She said in a carefree way while she placed the book next to her.

(Why is she here? I could have helped too…) Though Krestin while feeling a little dejected and her head flooded with excuses to what Lene was asked instead of her.

“Anyways, do you know what happening with Engel? We know that he hasn’t sleep for a long time.” Declared Krestin.

“Yeah, I do. But, I think you are looking at this the wrong way. It’s not that he doesn’t want to sleep… He can’t… And now that I think about it a normal person would be already done for; after not sleeping for a month…” Replied Lene while muttering the last sentence she said as she corrected her posture in the bed.

“What do you mean by that?!” Exclaimed Krestin to Lene while feeling an ache in her chest. It was due to the fact that Lene knew something about Engel that she didn’t know.

“Who knows… Ask Lilya if you want to know about it.” Said Lene as she took the book.

While saying “I’ll take my leave here.”, she left the place while she stopped the time so no one would catch up to her.

Leaving everyone with the great doubt, they waited for Lilya to come back so they could ask her everything.

In less than a minute she arrived to the room.

Meanwhile-

“Halo halo” Said Lene as she walked towards Engel. She had a bowl in her hands full of salted, baked potatoes with butter.

She was eating a potato.

“How did you find me?” Asked Engel. Right now, he was stargazing.

“I know that you like to stargaze. Everytime things goes hard or you are in trouble, or when you had a good day too… Or you just simply want to do it… You stargaze. I know that very well, so in this moment I thought of the most suitable answer, the highest place in the palace. In fact, back in our world you’d go almost every night to the training grounds with the highest roof just to see the night sky.” Replied Lene to Engel’s question while she sat next to him.

“Am I that predictable?” Said Engel with a half-smile.

“Not that much I think… It’s because we are best pals. I know you really well.” She said with a strange feeling in her heart as she said those words.

“And… You didn’t tell them right; About that. Why?” Asked Lene with full concern about him.

“There… It’s just that there are things I don’t want them to know. Actually It’s a miracle that you get to know about this. Besides you, the only ones that know are Yozora, Alize and Lilya.” Replied Engel with his characteristical half-smile.

He also had a sad expression all over his face.

“Isn’t it because we are the best pals that I know about it? You prick…” Declared Lene while a strong sting in her heart was felt. She didn’t know the cause… But she felt it was not only strange, but it was hard to bear with.

“Well… That’s not the case you know. I am best friend with Adrian, but with you… I don’t know what we are. We are comrade but…. I don’t know what to feel about you. Oh, but don’t think wrong of it. You know, in cases like Yozora and Krestin, I know what I feel for them I love them. That goes as well for Lilya. Also I know about Ekaterina, Flora and Alke…. I just see them as friends and nothing more. But… Then there’s you. I don’t know what you are. Sometimes there’s this feeling of reief knowing that I have you as a best friend and a great comrade… But sometimes when I see you I have this feeling of happinerss… Or I don’t know what kind of feeling this is. It’s like the one I have with Yozora… but sometimes it just gets stronger… Oh crap… Maybe the avoiding to sleep is making me spit out the soup… but who cares…. I’ll just finish it. Lene, I absolutely don’t know how to feel about you. Clearly saying it, I am glad to have you as my best friend, but it also hurts because I can’t be anything more. It’s like I like you and sometimes when I see you, you steal my heart…. I don’t know how to express this right but… The thing is that I’ve fallen for you.”

He said with a straightforward expression melded with one of sleepiness. His face was also really red of embarassment.

Lene’s face was as red as Engel’s. She was happy from the bottom of her heart after hearing such words that she remained in silence for a while.

“Also give me the bowl, you may drop it, you food dumbass.”

Added Engel as he took the potato bowl from Lene’s side.
Teil Zwei.

And now going back to the room everyone was-

“So, Lilya, can you tell us what’s happening to Engel?” Aked Krestin as she sat in a chair. Lilya sat in the bed as the others also took a chair.

Then Lilya made a thinking pose with her left hand while tilting her head.

“Sorry. I can’t tell things that Master Engel has asked me to keep in secret.” She said.

As everyone felt dejected, she kept talking.

“But… Master Engel didn’t forbid me to talk this aloud with myself. If by any chance someone were to evaesdrop… It wouldn’t be my fault.” Added Lilya with a slight smile in her face.

Suddenly everyone corrected their postures and listened attentively to what she had to “say to herself”.

“Anyways… This isn’t a laughing matter so I should get serious fromn now on.” She said with a strong expression.

“So, what is going on with Engel? Why he can’t sleep?” Asked Izaak.

“Well… Actually he has some kind of illness… I don’t know much about it, but he called it PTS.”

“Post-Traumatic Stress.”

Added Krestin to what Lilya replied.

“Yes. Usually, the PTS that makes him unable to sleep is “blocked” with some help of Yozora. Actually, not her, but something she gave to him.” Explained Lilya.

“Blocked by something she gave to him?” Asked Izaak with a great doubt.

“Yes. Do you remember the pink ribbon Master Engel always wears? That is a “present” she gave to him after some predicaments and it blocks the PTS.” Said Lilya.

“I see! Actually, that ribbon is almost what makes Engel. It doesn’t matter what he dresses, how dractically changes his looks, that’s the only thing that remains within him! His hair can change as well his expresion and the color of his eyes… But that ribbon is always there.”

Blurted out Krestin. She knew because he never took it off even when they were fighting. He always wore the pink ribbon in his hair.

“It’s true now that I think about it.” Said Izaak.

“Ribbon. Gone.” Said Isold while recalling that since they arrived to this world, she hadn’t seen him with it.

“Is as Isold says. He doesn’t have his ribbon now, and that makes him unable to sleep.” Added Krestin.

“Yeah but… In the first place, what is the very cause of the PTS?” Voiced Izaak.

Suddenly, Lilya’s expresion darkened. She then showed a sad and rageful face.

“Engel. Strong will.” Said Isold.

“That’s it. It’s really weird that he suffers about something like PTS. Engel is not only strong physically, but mentally too. He is mature, takes responsability for his mistakes and also has a strong will. His mind is like a fortress. Even I acknowledge that.” Replied Izaak.

“I KNOW!… I know… Everyone has a great image of my Master, but… Have you ever thought of him before being a [God Of War]. Who was Engel Falsch before ingesting the [Skyfall Tear]… Have you asked youselves about such Engel? YOu know very well that half of the strong will an resolution you muster comes from the [Skyfall Tear]. So, let’s talk a little about who you were before ingesting it. And now imagine him before it too.” Said Lilya with a trembling voice.

Everyone thought about their past selves and honestly, understood that they were totally diferent, and that the same could be said of Engel.

“Now, this is something really private about my Master. Once you hear it… I want you to not change the way you are with my Master. Please.” Said Lilya with her eyes in the verge of tears.

“””Alright”””

The three said as the resolved themselves to hear Engel’s past.

She also cleared that everything was told to her by Yozora.

And then she started to tell everything.

Starting with how he was killed several times in a strange ritual, how he had to deal with the pressure of the other kids that were trapped with him and how he spent there weeks just to be killed again and again.

How he even then helped Yozora to ecape he imprisionment.

Then how he was abducted by Surtr and unfortunately handed over to [The Scientist] and killes even more times than in the ritual and in many more bizarre ways just for the sake of the mad man to research his body and finally how he had to cofront himself with his past full of bullying and bad experiences under the brother complex of his sister.

She told them everything in detail. She didn’t let out any single detail out. Just as Yozora told it to her.

She finished the story with the event of Yozora killing [The Scientist] and freeing Engel.

After Lilya ended to narrate the story, Krestin was facing the floor while covering her mouth, trying to not to puke with all her will.

Once and twice and thrice and more times sherepeated all the story in her head while trying to understand how such a person as Engel was able to remain sane after such trial.

Izaak was silent. He didn’t say anything and just thought of how strong he must be for being able to handle all that.

In Isold’s case, she barely ever made any facial expressions, but this time it was an spectacle. She cried and also felt anger for the ones who made all that to him. Then she felt happy for him to be able to overcome all that.

In a way, she was the only one that has a positive feeling in the room.

Then, Lilya resumed her talk. She wanted to finish the story as fast as possible.

“After Yozora killed [The Scientist], they discovered the black box where I was “sealed”, then I was summoned and became my Master’s servant. Then he conquered the [Kerker] and allied with [Loki]. After that Alize joined us in our travel towards [Nanatsu].”

She said.

“I-I see.” Said Izaak. He barely could talk, and as for Krestin, she was crying. She did cry before, but it seemed that her tears wouldn’t stop flowing.

“And… W-Who are the people who knows about this?” Asked Izaak.

“Besides Yozora and Me…. Including the people that are in [Bereich]; they are [Loki], [Surtr], [Hakuhyou-Joou], Ms. Cole, Alize, Adrian and Lene.” Replies Lilya.

Then Krestin reacted to the last name she mentioned.

“W-Wa…….. Wait a minute… How come Lene knew about this?” She asked.

It was not due to jealousy, but because she was in a similar position as them. They didn’t know be she did. Why?

Everyone else was somehow involved with the events… But why Lene?

She couldn’t understand that.

Also Adrian and Alize didn’t fit in the story but she didn’t voiced it.

“Well… You could say it was a mere accident. One day they both stayed until late night watching something… Anime was it?; Well, the first one in falling aseleep was my Master. Then Lene noticed that the ribbon was a little uncomfortable for him, so she took it of.

After a while, my Master started to move strange, as if he was being attacked, then the PTS attacked…

Well, that’s how she says it happened.”

Explained Lilya.

“My Master passed a bad night, and then Lene talked with him about it. Then he felt the obligation to tell her the truth. It happened before everyone attended the Academy, like a week after we all got our apartment.” She added.

Honetly, Krestin felt regretful about all that because she did not even cared about it, yet Lene was a step ahead of her.

Whether she liked him or not, Krestin felt frustrated. Then she recalled all the time She and Engel spent together in the Academy. You could say that even more than Lilya, the dragons and Adrian… She was the one he spent the most time with.

(How couls she act like this after hearing such story?) She asked to herself.

Her heart ached. Ached so much she felt dying.

She didn’t knew either how to face him after this.
Part Three.

Engel and Lene were stargazing. They say anything after that. They just ate the potatoes and looked to the night sky.

A pair of times Lene choked with what she ate and also let a lot of crumbs.

Engel smiled about that every time.

Then after some minutes, Lene decided to talk.

“Lilya… would have ended telling them everything, right?” She said.

“Yeah… How do you think they’d react?” Asked Engel.

“Well, Adrian and Me are oddballs, so I don’t know how they would end after hearing everything. Probably they’d be so shocked the wouldn’t say a word.” Theorized Lene.

She was right on the money.

“Yeah… Well, I just hope they don’t force themselves.” Said Engel woth a slight lonesome eyes.

“Don’t feel like that. You still have me.” Said Lene while blushing,

“Yeah. I do have you….” He added.

“Say… I’ve just confessed to you, right?” Voiced Engel with a complicated expression.

“Ye-Yeah. Kind of.” Replied Lene.

“And… What’s you answer?” He said straighforwardly.

“Ca-Can you give me some time to think… A-After all I’ve just had a strange rush of feelings.” Said Lene wholeheartedly.

“Alright. I’ll wait until you’re prepared.” Said Engel while going back to his business.

Then they remained silent for a while when Lene talked again.

“Now that I think about it…. Engel, why do you cling so much to that ribbon?” She asked.

“Because my feelings for Yozora…” He said in a slight embarassed voice.

“S-Say… If you really feel what you said to me… Wouldn’t also work the ribbons I tied to you hair?”

“WAIT WHA??!..!!………………………………………………………………..”

Suddenly, as if it was an instant effect anesthesic, Engel’s subconscient turned off all the lights for him and as a log he fell aselep right there.

*Snore*

It was so unexpected the result of a couple of words that not even she would predict that… But at the end she just brushed away the unnecessary toughts and just felt glad he was able to sleep again.

(Cute…) Thought Lene while she looked at his sleeping face, slightly brushed Engel’s hair with her hand and smiled.

She had understood at last… That she had fallen for him too.

(I really don’t get how this happened… But I’m glad it did…) She said to herself while feeling lovestruck.

Then-

“???!!!”

Suddenly she felt a presence behing her and inmediatelly turned around.

It was a shadow. A person’s shadow.

Not only that; it was full of bloosthrirst and killing intent.

(An Assasin??!) Thought Lene as she saw the dagger aiming for her.

(What a fool!!) She shouted in her mind as she stopped time and knocked out the assasin.

(I’ll have to infrom this inmediately; I’ll handle it with the others so we won’t need to wake him up…) Declared Lene as she resumed the time and lifted in her shoulders the misterious assasin.