Code Magi Lyrical Rider Negima!

Chapter 1: The Darkness Reborn

"So...this is hell, huh?"

A single man was floating in the darkness. He had pale white skin and was wearing a pure white tux with white slacks and a white hat. Even his hair was white. One could have thought the man was a holy being...but he knew better. He was white because he was black. He dressed within the light because he was the darkness.

The Darkness of the Book of Darkness, NachtWal.

The Eternal Rider.

The Destroyer of Worlds.

The Origin and Omega of Materials.

The Zero.

Those were his names and titles and he bore them all with pride without a single bit of remorse.

"But...if this is hell...it certainly is boring," he sighed as he spun around in the space. "How can I enjoy it if there is nothing there."

"It's too early to give up," a voice called out to him.

"Who's giving up? Is giving up and acceptance really the same thing? I wanted this. This is my hell. For the crimes of the Book. For the crimes Mother, the Knight Programs, and my cute little sisters committed, I am willing to bear them all. Just like how my Original gathered all the hate of the world and died along with them, I gathered all the grief and darkness of the newborn Tome and the Grief outputted by Kaname Madoka's wish...and died with them. What's there to be sad about?"

"If that is true...then why are you crying?"

"Because there is nothing happening. Nothing to do but to talk to a voice in my head. I am crying of boredom. What happened to the eternity of torture for sinners that some human tome talks about? I feel a little ripped off."

"Even though you've been suffering all this time...you wish to suffer even more?"

"What are you supposed to be anyway? A criminal's conscious? Oh, I get it now. I have to listen to you for all eternity! That's my punishment! Great..."

"Jeez...it's not like that!"

Suddenly, the darkness vanished as the man's spinning came to a halt and he started falling. He then landed on the ground with a dull thud and started rolling on the ground, holding onto the back of his head in pain.

"Ah, I'm sorry!"

The man stopped rolling around for a moment when he heard a woman's voice. He then tilted his head up while still keeping his hands on the back of it.

"You..." he spoke, recognizing the woman instantly. "But..."

"Hmm...not exactly 'me' per se," the woman said, holding a finger to her cheek. "But close. You know how it is don't you? Seeing as you have a copy of his memories."

"Parallels..."

"Correct. You win!"

"That was a quiz?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And what you win is a new chance at life!"

"What?"

The man stared dumbly at the woman in front of him as she pulled out what looked like a map of some sorts and hung it up in mid air as she looked it over.

"Hmm...but where should I put you?" she wondered. "I can't put you in any of the dimensions that the Bureau exists or else I would cause a massive paradox that could blow everything up again..."

"Wait a minute, I don't want to go back!" the man said quickly. "There's no point if...if..."

"If you can't see your family?" the woman finished for him, causing him to look away. "If that's the case, then wouldn't staying in this space be the same punishment, only worse due to the fact that you cannot see or speak with anyone at all?"

"On the contrary. Being limited to none is far more acceptable than being limited to many with exception. What is the point of being able to do something when the thing you wish for the most is our of your grasp? It would simply be an empty void."

"I suppose you're right," the woman nodded, looking somewhat...wistful as she looked over at an empty spot in the world as if she could see something there. "If you are able to have everything but the thing you wish for the most, then what's the point of having anything at all."

"So you understand?" the man asked. "So leave me be."

"I can't do that," the woman replied. "Just leaving you in here is too sad. At the very least, I can give you a new life for your hard work...ah, and I know just the perfect spot."

"Oi, wait a moment! If you do that, there's a chance that I'll..."

"Good luck out there, Zero-san," the woman said with a wave.

"Wait a minute!" Zero said as he felt himself being pulled by an invisible force. "Wait a minute here!"

"I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to," Ultimate Madoka said with a smile. "That child needs your help. He needs a kindhearted male role model in his life after all."

"But if I go like this...the darkness will..."

"Then you should try had to make sure you don't lose to that darkness. You are a copy of the the man of miracles. Therefore, you should make your own miracle once more."

"Maaaadoookaaaa!"

But it was too late as the former Darkness of the Book of Darkness was pulled into the red and black vortex behind him.

Zero landed with a heavy thud on his back.

Though the pain was negligible, it was still disorientating and he had to wait a moment before he could sit up again.

"Damn it..." he groaned, placing a hand over his eye. "Where am I?"

As his senses came back to him, he opened his eyes...

And saw destruction.

A large town in front of him was burning.

He had thought it was high noon due to the heat against his body or at least sunset due to the color of the sky.

However, the heat and color came from the flames in front of him.

The cause of which was obvious. Hundreds of black winged creatures were flying over head, casting various magics down on the buildings and people below.

"What...is..." he began as a sharp pain struck his left eye, causing him to fall over and press a hand against his eye again. "What's going..."

And the scene in front of him became distorted.

Visions of hundreds of other cities and civilizations became superimposed over the natural scene in front of him.

People, animals, buildings, trees...all life burned and crumbled into dust.

And above it all...a sorrowful figure with black wings watching it all.

"Like that time...like all the other times..." he growled as he pushed himself up to his feet, his hand still covering his eye as a deep red fluid began falling down his cheek. "Can I continue to do nothing but watch worlds burn? No...I am not a program any longer..."

The blood on his face began to flow faster as he lowered his hand down, his vision slowly being tinted in red.

"Our name is Material-O!" Zero roared as blood red and black wings sprouted from his back. "O for Origin! Omega the End! Zero the Demon King! I will show you...the power to destroy worlds! The power of NachtWal!"

And in a flash, he lunged forward toward one of the larger black monsters.

The monster turned its head toward him as he saw Zero pass by him. The next instant, half of its face disappeared, leaving melted flesh and bone in its place, causing it to slump over and crumble to dust.

"W-what was-" another monster asked before the entire left side of its body was also melted off.

"Over there!"

One of the monsters pointed toward Omega, who was in the middle of the city square, crouched over with two large chunks of flesh in his Soul Wings.

"What I seek is beyond the Soul..." he muttered as his hand-like wings dropped the chunks of black and red onto the ground, allowing it to crumble away as he lunged forward again toward another monster, plunging his hand into a small window that had opened up in its chest. "I bring forth what it is that I sought from beyond the Soul. Come...my Blood Flame Sword."

Pulling away from the monster, Zero pulled a large red pillar, nearly three times his size, with golden linings out of its chest. Blood red energy was swirling around the so-called "Sword" as he held it in its hand and it across across the monster's chest, utterly ripping it to shreds along with the building behind it in a torrent of red energy.

"W-what the hell is that guy?"

"He ain't any demon I know!"

"Demon?" Zero asked as he flung the sword like a javelin at another of the larger monsters in the middle of the pack, causing it to quickly raise its hands up and cast a barrier of sorts an block it.

The sword was held in place as it continued to try and pierce through the demon's barrier. The barrier held for a split second before Zero flew forward and kicked the end of the sword, causing it to pierce the barrier, shatter the demon's hands and impale it in the chest.

"You all are nothing but rats before my eyes. Erupt...Ancient Matrix."

Kicking off the sword, Zero flew to a safe place as the sword erupted in a torrent of red and black energy, ripping the demon and countless others around it to shreds.

"Next up is..." Zero muttered as he turned around. "Wha..."

In front of him were countless people frozen in place in a battle pose.

It wasn't a voluntary freeze however as their bodies had been turned into stone.

"What is this magic...?" he asked as he walked up to one of them. "Petrification? Is it reversible...?"

A small gasp reached his ears amongst the torrent of flames, causing him to spin around with one of his wings lunged forward...only to stop as his eyes met that of a tiny boy.

"A child...?"

"A...ahhh..." the boy whimpered as he slowly started backing away, his eyes turning from Zero to the statues behind him.

"W-wait a minute," Zero said quickly. "I didn't do-"

But the boy had already run off, deeper into the flames.

"Wait a minute! It's dangerous over-" Zero shouted as he rushed after the boy, his eyes catching sight of a mirror on display in one of the buildings, allowing him to see his reflection.

He was dressed in only a pair of white pants that seemed to poof out and sag around his legs. His torso was covered in dozens of small pulsing red lines emanating from his chest. His left eye was glowing a blood red color while his right was glowing yellow. Lastly, his hear was spiked and ragged, extending from the back of his head down to his waist.

Basically, he did not really look like something that a young boy should come to for safety.

"Even so..." Zero muttered as his wings roared to life. "I can't just ignore him."

Turning back toward the direction the boy ran off, he let out a burst of magic and chased after him.

He found the boy a few seconds later, standing behind a man wearing flowing white robes with his hand stretched out to stop a giant demon from crushing the both of them.

"Who is..." Zero began as the man pushed the demon away before sending out dozens of lightning bolts down on the demon, destroying it. "Amazing..."

Zero was quickly shaken out of his stupor when a large mob of demons came out of the ground and lunged at the two of them.

Speeding forward, he flew up into the air for a moment before slamming himself down behind the man and the boy and sent one of his wings out toward a demon and crushed it within his grasp.

Zero turned around to see that the man was looking at him strangely before turning his back toward him and punching a demon in the chest, knocking it up into the air before kicking it back into its fellows and blowing them aside. Not to be outdone, Zero formed his wings into sharp burning blades and swept it across the demons in his area, cleaving several of them in two.

Both men then pulled their hands back as they quickly chanted another spell.

"Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!"

"Diabolic Emission!"

A large pillar of lightning shot forward from the robed man, blasting away all the demons in his path while a large black sphere formed above Zero which he threw forward and crushed the demons in front of him into dust.

As the dust died down, Zero turned around to see the robed man holding one of the demons by the neck as he glared at him.

"I see...you're that..." the demon began before letting out a laugh. "At that power...it's hard to tell which one of us is the monster..."

The man simply responded by breaking the demon's neck and letting it drop to the ground.

"The demon knew him...?" Zero muttered. "What exactly is..."

A shuffling behind Zero caught his attention and he turned to see the boy running away in fear.

"Oi!" Zero called out as he and the man made a move to stop the boy, only for even more demons to appear behind them. "Pretentious insects...!"

Zero made a move to turn back around and burn them all to ash when the man held his arm out in front of Zero to stop him.

"Go after the boy," he said as he stepped toward the demons.

"You're trusting something like me with a kid?" Zero asked.

"You're fighting against the demons and haven't tried to attack either of us. At the very least, you aren't an enemy. Now hurry! I'll catch up!"

"Tch...fine. I'll leave this in your hands then!" Zero nodded as he ran after the boy, leaving the man to fight the demons alone. Judging from the sounds of lightning and explosions behind him, he would be just fine.

Zero found the boy just a few meters away and not a moment too soon as a spiral horned demon landed on the rubble of a nearby building and opened its mouth to blast some sort of spell at the boy.

"I won't make it!" Zero cursed.

But he didn't have to as two people, a young woman and an old man, stepped in front of the boy with their hands stretched forward.

Immediately, their bodies began to turn to stone, starting from their legs.

"The petrification spell!" Zero realized as he quickly inserted himself between the three of them and the demon.

"Wha-" the old man gasped as Zero held out a wing in front of him to take the full blast of the spell.

His eyes widened as he saw that the spell was actually even turning his wing and arm into stone.

"Kyaah!"

"Akane!"

A loud scream came out behind him, causing him to look behind him and saw that the woman's legs had snapped, causing her to fall to the ground. However, he also saw that her body had stopped turning into stone.

Without hesitating for a second, Zero rose his right arm up and slammed it into the stone arm and severed it from his body, halting the spread of the spell. He then turned his attention toward the old man and swung his arm it at his legs, shattering them as well.

The old man let out a grunt of pain as he hit the ground, but it seemed the spell had stopped as well.

The demon landed on the ground in front of Zero, summoning what looked like a blob of shadows out of the ground and directed it to jump at Zero.

"Don't underestimate...me!" Zero shouted as dozens of red and black orbs of lightning appeared in front of him. "Photon Lancer! Genocide Shift!"

The orbs all flew out at once, smashing into the demons, destroying the smaller one but only managing to push the bigger one back and knocking it to the ground.

"What kind of spell...?" the old man muttered behind Zero but he ignored him as he raised his hand up into the air.

"In an ancient land, sink into the darkness!" Zero chanted as the same black mass from before expanded into the sky before being compressed into a small black orb in his hand. Before the demon could regain itself, Zero struck. Leaping forward, he slammed the compressed ball of magic into the demon's chest. "Diabolic Emission...BRUST!"

The sphere erupted in front of Zero and engulfed the demon.

The black sphere ate away at its body as well as the ground below him, leaving nothing but a large crater with Zero flying above and looking down at it with contempt.

"Who are you?"

The words snapped Zero back to earth as he turned around and saw that the old man had imposed himself between Zero and the young woman and the boy.

Zero looked at the woman's and old man's legs as well as his own shoulder for a moment before saying, "A friend...I suppose..."

The old man looked at him for a little longer before sighing.

"I suppose you did help us," he nodded as he pointed at Zero's shoulder. " The spell may have been stopped temporarily but it will continue if we don't get it checked. Do you know if any of the healers-"

His words were cut off when someone landed on the ground behind him.

Zero and the old man turned toward the newcomer and Zero recognized him as the man who was fighting the crowd of demons earlier.

"You're late," Zero said simply as he rubbed his stump of an arm.

"Sorry," the robed man said. "Are these three the only ones left?"

"Probably."

"Y-you!" the old man gasped as he looked up at the robed man. "When did you..."

"Hahaha...hanging in there, Old man?"

"Where have you been all these years?" the old man shouted. "Do you know how long...nrgh..."

The old man winced as he grabbed his leg.

"You should probably take care of that first before scolding me, old man..."

"Shut up!" the old man snapped as the robed man chanted a spell on the old man's and girl's legs as well as Zero's arm. "Just wait right there and I'll give you a piece of my mind!"

"As much as I look forward to that...I'm already out of time..."

"What are you talking about?" the old man continued. "Wait a moment, Nagi!"

"Na...gi...?" the boy asked as he looked at the old man before turning toward the robed man. "Father?"

"Father?" the robed man asked as he turned to the boy. "Oh...are you...Negi?"

The robed man knelt down and patted the boy on the head.

"Hahaha...you've grown up haven't you?" he said before turning toward the staff in his hand. "Oh, I know! Why don't you take this staff as a memento?"

"Huh?" the boy asked as he took the staff, only for its head to clink down onto the grass. "Auuh...!"

"Hahaha, still too heavy huh?"

"Nagi!" the old man shouted again as the man called Nagi rose up into the air.

"Sorry old man, time's up," Nagi said with a wry smile. "Sorry I can't do anything more...but thanks for raising the kid for me. Hey, fire boy!"

"Me?" Zero asked, startled at being suddenly addressed.

"Since you helped out here, you mind making sure these three get to safety?" Nagi asked.

"...Sure..."

"Father!" Negi shouted as he ran after Nagi.

"Sorry Negi..." Nagi said as he began to disappear. "I know I don't really have a right to say it but...grow up well."

"Father!" Negi cried as he slipped and fell flat on his face. When the boy looked up again, Nagi was already gone. "Fa...ther..."

"Just what has that man gotten himself into now...?" the old man asked as Negi started crying. He then turned toward Zero. "Do you know anything?"

"No," Zero replied. "I only met him a few minutes ago and was fighting the demons."

"The demons huh...you sure you're not one yourself?"

"Who can say..." Zero replied, looking at his remaining hand. "I may not be human, but at the very least I can say that I am no demon, not in the literal sense anyway. Nor do I mean you any harm."

"Fair enough," the old man nodded. "You helped us when you have no connection to us so I'll let it go for now. May I perchance ask you for another favor?"

"What is it?"

"There's another town not too far from here," the old man said, pulling out an amulet from under his robe. "Show them this and tell them what has happened here. Tell them that Stan sent you. Might want to find a robe or something before you go, lest you want them to attack you on sight."

"...Fine..." Zero nodded as he looked down at himself. With a snap of his fingers, a white robe with a red and black flame design at its hem appeared around him and he pulled on the hood to shield his eyes "Will you be okay by yourselves?"

"That Nagi wouldn't come here if he hadn't taken care of the rest of the demons," Stan said waving his hand. "It should be safe for now. But 'd appreciate it if you'd hurry."

"Understood," Zero nodded as he gave one last look at the crying boy just a little bit away. "Male role model...was it?"

He then turned toward the direction Stan pointed out for him and took to the sky, with the wind blowing against the armless sleeve.

"I wonder what will happen now..."

Over the next few days, after Zero managed to find and convince the town to send a rescue party to the village where Stan and Negi were, he found himself locked in a spartan room with several magic seals around it to keep him inside.

He had expected it of course, having fully admitted to not being human, and due to his different magic and looks, but it didn't mean he had to like it.

On the other hand, he was fed twice a day, a bowl of soup and some bread, and had a roof over his head so he couldn't really complain. It would be nice if they would at least give him a window or something.

On the tenth day, his cell door actually opened.

Sitting up from his bed, he saw Stan and the woman from the other day come in and lit the candle beside the door.

"They didn't seem to have treat you too well," the old man said as he rubbed his beard. "Didn't even bother giving you a new arm either I see..."

Zero noted Stan was looking at his left sleeve and simply shrugged his shoulders at the "older" man.

"On the other hand," Zero began. "It seems you two have recovered. Congratulations."

"It's thanks to you," the young woman said. "My name is Nekane Springfield. I wish to thank you for the other day."

"It's no problem," Zero shrugged. "But that can't be the only reason why you two are here."

"Indeed," Stan nodded. "We came to find out what exactly are you. You are clearly magical, but you don't fit in any of the known magical species. I'd still say you're a demon, but a demon of your power would certainly have some sort of record. But there's nothing about a gold and red-eyed demon that can cast wide area spells in seconds."

"I am what I am," Zero replied. "I don't know what you would call me. For all I know, perhaps I am the first of my kind."

"You are not really being helpful, are you?"

"Then...how about we start at the beginning?" Nekane asked. "Before you came to the town, what were you doing?"

"I was..." Zero began as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Floating...I think."

"Floating?"

"I do not know how to describe it. I was just there. In the middle of empty space, drifting along without a destination. Then, the next thing I knew, a portal of some kind opened up and spat me out along the edges of your town where I saw the flames. Then, I started killing any of those so-called demons I could find before I came across you two and the kid...how is he by the way?"

"Apart from asking about his father, Negi is fine," Nekane replied as Stan scoffed.

"Making us believe he was dead for years only to show up out of the blue like that and disappearing just as quickly..." Stan muttered. "You sure you know nothing about that?"

"I do not," Zero shook his head.

"Do you think perhaps it was Nagi who summoned you here?" Nekane asked.

"I doubt it," Zero replied. "He seemed surprised to see me when we met so I don't think it was him."

"Hmm...how troubling..." Stan sighed. "I wonder...perhaps you managed to hitch a ride with the demons when they were summoned and came to our world like that."

"Perhaps so..."

"So...you're a contract summon without a contract or a purpose..." Nekane muttered as she held her chin in her hand. "All summoned creatures have to use their own magic to remain in this world unless they have a contract. You should have returned back to wherever you came from when your magic ran out. Unless..."

"Unless you have a ridiculously stupid amount of magic," Stan said as he pointed his staff at Zero, who simply shrugged again. "From just what I've seen, casting several dozen shooting spells, flying, those magic wings of fire, casting a wide area spell before compressing it and expanding it all in a matter of seconds...just how much magic do you have to keep on remaining here?"

"I suppose the only truthful answer I can give is, 'Enough.'"

"You're a cheeky one, aren't you?" Stan sighed.

"What do you plan to do now?" Nekane asked.

"Provided that you people let me out?" Zero asked, raising an eyebrow. "I have nothing I feel like doing. I have no needs or wants. I'd probably just stay here even if you people do let me out. If not, then I'll probably just disappear into the mountains or something. It wasn't as if I willing answered a summoning or wanted to be summoned."

"Then...would you like to stay here?" Nekane asked, causing Zero to stare at her.

"Nekane?" Stan asked as he too, stared at the woman.

"We still have no idea who summoned those demons or why," Nekane explained. "There is also no telling if they will try again. If they do, wouldn't it be better to have someone around to take care of them in the event it happens?"

The two males in the room looked at each other as if silently asking the other if the woman was serious before turning back to her.

"I am serious," Nekane said, answering their silent question.

"Are you sure?" Zero asked. "I'm not exactly...human."

"Yes, I am definitely sure," Nekane said. "Especially considering the fact that you have been nothing but cooperative with us the entire time. I believe you are trustworthy. So? Instead of wandering the world, why don't you make a contract with me and stay here?"

"N-Nekane?" Stan asked as he turned toward her. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," the woman nodded before turning back to Zero. "Well?"

"Very well," Zero nodded. "I'll accept your contract, Nekane Springfield."

"Good. Then, Stan? Can you draw us a Pactio Circle?"

"Very well..." Stan sighed. "It's your funeral."

A few minutes later, Stan finished drawing up an elaborate circle on the floor of the cell.

"Well then," Nekane said as she stepped inside. "Please step inside...oh dear. Not that I think about it. We never received your name."

"My name..." Zero began. "I have many names. I am NachtWal. Material-O. O for Origin. Omega the End. But...I remember being called Zero...by my family."

"Zero then..." Nekane said with a smile.

"Humph..." Nevertheless, Zero stepped inside the circle and stood in front of Nekane. "So what do I need to do?"

"Huhuhu...just leave it to me," Nekane said as the circle activated beneath them.

Immediately, Zero felt magic enter his body and began circulating as he stared at Nekane in front of him. The girl's face was slowly turning read as she brought her face closer to his.

Zero's widened in shock as he figured out what she was trying to do but was too late to stop it as she pressed her lips against his.

The light grew even brighter and stronger before finally fading, causing Zero to stumble backward and cover his mouth.

"W-what was...?" he began only to quiet down when he saw two strange cards appear in front of Nekane before falling into her hands.

"It's a Pactio," Nekane said as she looked down at the cards before turning back up to him. "Oh my, it's a gold card an... you certainly look dashing."

"Huh?"

Zero turned from Nekane toward Stan who let out a small cough and waved his staff, conjuring a mirror in the air and held it up in front of Zero.

Glancing into the mirror, he saw that he more or less looked like he did before coming to this world. His hear was short again and the red lines across his body had rescinded and disappeared. His eyes had also stop glowing, but the left eye was still...wrong for lack of a better word.

His Sclera was blood red while his iris was still pitch black.

"Not completely back to normal...huh?" he muttered as he covered his left eye. "So what exactly are those cards?"

"It's the symbol of our contract," Nekane replied. "Here. This one is for you."

"A contract sealed with a kiss...huh?" the Material sighed as he looked down on the card.

The yellow card depicted him in a black suit with matching black gloves and several different colored rings hanging from his waist along with a ring with a hand emblem on his right hand, matching the emblem on his belt. The strangest part was that it was depicting him with his left arm still intact which had a yellow ring on it.

On the very top left of the card, there was the letter N. At the very top were the words "Charta Minister" and on the top right were the words "Aurum et Niger tonus." At the base of his image was the word "Zero" over the word "NachtWal" which itself was over the phrase "Omega Veneficus."

Then at the bottom left were the words "astralitas" and Saturn which bordered Saturn's symbol. At the bottom center of the card from top to bottom were the words: virtus, decorum, directio, and occidens. The bottom right of the card also had the letter N on it too.

"You still have your left arm..." Stan noted as well. "Are you hiding something?"

"I wonder," Zero replied vaguely as flapped his empty sleeve.

"Perhaps when you call upon the contract, your arm is restored?" Nekane suggested. "Try saying, 'Adeat' at the card."

"Adeat!" Zero shouted and the card vanished in a flash of light. When the light died, he was wearing the rings and the coat depicted on the card. He also had his arm back. Rolling up his sleeve, he saw that there was nothing actually there and that the glove was connected by a transparent form of an arm "What do you know..."

"I see..." Nekane muttered as she walked over and pressed a finger on the fake arm and looked up at Zero. "I can touch it but can you feel it?"

"Not at all," the Material replied as he flexed his left hand. "It will take some getting use to but I believe I can manage this. How do I dispel it?"

"Simply say, 'Abeat' when you are done," Nekane replied.

And with that, the rings and the suit vanished, leaving him back in his prison robes with an empty sleeve hanging useless at his side.

"This...is really strange..." Zero muttered tapping the sleeve. "I have never heard of such magic before. This world is certainly interesting."

"I'm glad you think so," Nekane said with a giggle. "Now then, let's leave this cell behind us."

"So what does a Pactio entail?" Zero asked as he followed Nekane out with Stan excusing himself.

"Hmm...the 'Pactio' system is a contract system commonly used among Western Mages. It has two components comprising it: The 'Magistra Magi,' which in our case is me, and the 'Minister Magi,' you."

"The 'Master of Magic' and the 'Servant of Magic?' I see..."

"Right," Nekane nodded. "The traditional purpose to this system is to give the Magister a kind of support during battle. Normally, the Minister's duty is to protect the Magistra with physical abilities and his artifact, your card, while the Magister is given time and space to cast offensive and defensive spells. One might compare the Minister like infantry, while the Magistra is like the long-range artillery."

"So...I'm more or less a Knight Program?"

"Program?" Nekane repeated.

"It's nothing," Zero replied, shaking his head. "I understand the basics now. Is there anything else important to note about the Pactio?"

"Just...one thing," Nekane began slowly. "A Pactio's power becomes useless if the Magistra dies.."

"Makes sense," Zero nodded as Nekane continued walking forward before spinning around to look back at him. "The power vanishes when the one who gave the power ceases to exist."

"So please take good care of us from now on, Zero," she said with a smile.

Chapter's End Corner:

Harouki: Another idea that popped into my head to deal with the end of Material O/NachtWal as it were with the new name that the A's movie game the Corrupted Defense Program. Just writing it out for plot bunnies and not really expecting it to go anywhere.