My mind is racing. It feels like time is slowing down as I work my amorphous brain to its maximum potential to find a way out of this situation. Kamii and Hestia are surrounded by teachers, eight of them, all of whom I can believe are masters in their own rights. They're wielding staves with embedded crystals, and I can tell by their approximate colors what their elements are. I spot Basarab among them standing close to Kamii, but he doesn't seem to wield a catalyst. Thorvadis is holding a small wand encrusted with crystal dust, which rests in his relaxed hand, as if he doesn't have a care in the world. In one word, he's very self-assured and understands that this situation is clearly to his advantage.

Senka is lying on her bed unmoving, most likely waiting for me to give a signal or for an opportune moment to jump up and help me. I have to assume that Vitalis is still in the bathroom, but judging from how much time has passed, she might actually have gathered herself and left for her own room. In either case, these two are not my immediate priorities, as neither of them are in any danger even when I'm not around. Well, I'm sure Senka will be angry with me if I leave her behind, so I'll try my best.

There is no aggression in the air just yet, but some teachers are looking at me in obvious hostility. None are making the first move so I think I shouldn't either. In any case, Arcelia is not among them, so at least that danger is out of the way. The cunning old man's eyes are looking at me without even a hint of fear, but also no anger or hatred; either he thinks I'm not a threat at all and simply doesn't harbor such feelings for what he may perceive a lesser being, or he's actually still opting for a peaceful solution to all this.

I weigh my options under the current circumstances: Now that I can teleport, I could jump into their middle, pull Kamii, Hestia and Senka inside me and then jump out. Although there's a barrier surrounding the academy, I broke through it before, and even if it sends me to a random place in the world, anywhere is better than here. Another choice would be to try and talk things out, but I think Mithra obviously informed Thorvadis of my actions at the demon castle. If I waste time, they may prepare spells under their breaths and throw really big ones at me somewhere down the conversation. The best chance I have is to act quickly, since casting something big takes time.

There's also the fact that nobody here should know that I have the ability to shoot multiple spirit spears at once. At least I think it's something that shouldn't be possible normally, so I have that going for a surprise factor. I don't know how strong my light barrier is, since I never had the chance to test it against someone's spells. Damn, this is really bad timing. I still haven't learned enough magic to know how magic battles are fought.

My physical mass isn't enough for me to pull something off like maou-mama did against Mithra in the throne room. But I think against anything other than space magic, that's probably the most effective move to fight mages. Acting at a speed that doesn't give them time to chant is the best way to shut them down, no matter how strong they are. After all, I think Mithra should be at an incredibly high level, if he could be employed as the court magician of the previous demon lord, and remained so even under maou-mama.

Still, I want to see what they intend to do with me, and if it's to eliminate me, what will happen to Kamii and Hestia afterwards.

"My, what a surprise to see so many teachers in my room so early in the morning." I say with a sarcastic smile while lifting my hands in a peaceful gesture , showing off my empty palms. I've already transferred the transportation circle imprint to a different spot on my body, so I can teleport at any time.

"I was notified of the fact that you have learned about the plan to bring down the demon lord two nights ago, but that you chose to have your memories erased and not to join the endeavor." He speaks in a friendly tone, as if chatting with a friend about the weather. "I am really interested to know how you were able to resist Basarab's magic." It's like he doesn't feel any tension in our standoff - as it can't be described as anything else - and is really curious. Everyone in the room knows that I don't require any catalyst to cast magic, and that my destructiveness is on an unprecedented level. I could be throwing a spell at them at any moment, but this old man must be really sure of his superiority.

"You will find that I am full of surprises, Master Eklundstrom." I smile mischievously while saying this, but I'm prepared to teleport the moment things go sour. "But please, why do we not go to your office and sit down for a talk, instead of standing around here?" I'd prefer it if he actually took me up on that offer.

"Unfortunately, I will have to decline." He shrugs his shoulders. "Without these two, I fear you would not hesitate to-"

"If you touch them, I will not hesitate to kill every last one of you." My expression changes immediately when he suggests that Kamii and Hestia are his hostages. I glare at the gathered teachers with a murderous expression, and I can see some of them falter. But unsurprisingly, Thorvadis doesn't seem fazed in the least. What kind of trick does he have up his sleeve that he can be so confident of himself?

"Onee-sama, do not worry about us, save yourse-" Hestia begins, but a male teacher I don't know slaps her face to shut her up. He must have been acting under the impression that I was just barking without any bite to back it up, and he just sealed his death warrant.

Without even giving anyone an indication of what I'm about to do, I teleport into their midst, most specifically right behind the man who dared to raise his hand against Hestia. I hug him and pull him inside my body; I'll make sure to give him a slow and painful death, and dissolve him over as long a period as I can keep him alive.

Then all staves are pointed at me and several shout out incantations. Please consider the time and place for your actions. I'm right in your middle, so if you shoot something at me, you'll hit each other even if I don't dodge. But obviously I won't give them any time to chant. Hedgehog Mode, full activation! With more mass to work with, I explosively expand into a ball of spikes in all directions, making sure not to hit my two protégés in the process.

Several teachers are able to put up barriers, but two were unlucky or possibly incapable of casting any protective magic, as they're pierced to death by countless spikes. I see surprise in Thorvadis' expression for the first time when he turns around and creates a barrier to defend against my attack.

I retract the spikes, turn my arms into their real forms and add blades to every individual tentacle. There will be no time for you to chant your spells, I won't let you get out a single word! Swinging them around wildly and seemingly randomly, I keep everyone occupied with casting defensive spells. But I see that they're grouping together, so that one can keep up the shield while another can cast offensive magic.

"Kamii, Hestia!" I call out to them to come to my side. I don't know if the transportation circle on my body is enough to teleport several people, so it's better to pull them inside to be sure.

"Exacuere!" A teacher yells the chant for a low level wind blade spell and it cuts through the air between my two girls and I. Don't interfere with our reunion!

"Spirit Spears!" I didn't really want to show my hand here, but I don't have any other directional spell with a short incantation at my disposal that has the power to punch through their shields. A whole bunch of them appear above my head and I see several teachers looking at me dumbfounded, interrupting their incantations in the process.

"Do not try to defend against them, dodge!" Thorvadis shouts as he swings around his wand. "Eterna Spaco Krei Malliberejo Gustatempe!" He chants quickly as my spears shoot out in every direction. One teacher is too slow to react and get out of the way, while another trips over Senka's bed. The former is pierced through his chest as his barrier is completely ignored, and he dies on the spot. The latter is less fortunate, as the spear, aimed at his chest, grazes his face instead and practically melts it away without killing him immediately. He rolls around on the bed with cries of pain, knocking Senka off of it. The others all manage to dodge in time.

Then I feel like the world around me distorting, with the voices of the teachers sounding like a tape being sped up. Hestia jumps into my arms at normal speed and I immediately pull her inside my body. But I watch in horror as someone grabs Kamii and speeds away before my tentacles can reach them. This must be the spell Thorvadis just chanted! It must have slowed down time in the area around me. In the next moment, it returns to normal.

Kamii was taken by Thorvadis himself, who is pointing his wand at her as she struggles weakly to get to me. She must have forgotten what she's capable of in the direness of the situation, but I can't blame her. I'll shoot another rounds of spirit spears and-

"-La Malamikon!" Basarab seems to finish a chant and I see the tip of his staff burst out into a cross-shaped energy blade made of pure darkness, which he prepares to swing down on me. It's clear that this is a big spell, and I have no idea what effect it has, other than looking very dangerous.

"-Viajn Brakojn." Another teacher finishes his chant at almost the same time and the ground around me forms pillars that reach all the way up to the ceiling, surrounding me like bars in a cage. This won't hold m-

The pillars suddenly come closer at a crushing speed. I see Basarab's blade coming down at me at the same time as the pillars completely fill my vision. There's no way around it, I'll teleport right behind Thorvadis and take Kamii back. When I reappear, I'm greeted by Basarab standing only centimeters in front of me, his eyes locked onto mine. When did he have the time to-

"You shall forget-" He speaks in a commanding tone and my mind blanks out for a moment. When I gather my thoughts again, I find that I must have taken a few steps back in shock. I can see that Thorvadis has his wand at the ready, while Basarab is taking care of Kamii now, grabbing her crab arm and twisting it behind her back. She looks like she's hurting, and at the sight anger overtakes my thoughts.

"How dare you!" I consolidate my tentacles into arms again, swing my right around and grow it longer explosively, aiming it at the teacher with the mesmerizing voice. I like that voice, but I will crush his throat, if that's what it takes to get Kamii back.

"Exacuere!" The same teacher as the one who previously used that spell chants again and a blade of wind hits my arm, causing it to veer off course. The spell only leaves a deep cut rather than sever my arm, and the wound quickly closes itself without even bleeding, but it means that I can't use the same technique again immediately, as I have to retract my arm. That leaves me with magic, since my balance is awkward now.

"Cereus-" Thorvadis begins to chant, but whatever spell that is, mine is faster!

"Spirit Spears!" I shout again and summon even more spears this time - I will saturate the whole room with them and leave no space to dodge.

"- Iste Horribilis." He finishes and my spell just vanishes.

I look around me blankly. What did he just do? Don't tell me he has an ability to erase spells! That's cheating! Then I'll use my final resort and expand my body to its limits, to fill out the entire room and swallow everyone at the same time.

"Goodbye, Miss Marcott." Thorvadis suddenly states and waves his wand at the ground upon which I stand. I realize only when it's too late; there's a transportation circle drawn under my feet, which begins to glow. If I get teleported out of here, I won't be able to get back. I haven't learned any space magic at this academy yet!

"Kamiiiiiiii!!!" I scream, but my surroundings disappear in a stream of light.