Chapter 5 - Hero
"Ooh!"
Tohka, whose dazzling semblance was spectacularly ameliorated by the phenomenal mirage-matches, broadened her two twinkling eyes as she studied the interior of the palace's exhibitory special-purpose hall. She wasn't alone, as the Yamai sisters and Yoshino also vividly exposed their ardent enthusiasms while they inspected the gallery- like court in enthrallment.
Of course, that couldn't be helped. Shidou and the other Spirits were currently located inside the lavishly sumptuous party hall within the royal castle - a place which only existed within imaginary fairy tales.
The crystal chandelier which sparkled in glorious splendor like rare diamonds perfectly complemented the velvety vermillion carpet that impeccably bore no flaws. Even the marble pillars and the lofty stairways were designed with an exquisite avant-garde touch which put even the most refined aristocratic mansions to shame. Atop the grand oak table, that could easily be mistaken by peasantry commoners to be a ceremonial article used for holy rituals, were luxurious culinary delicacies and exotic gourmet food.
The majority of the people who gathered there were mostly from families of noble lineage or descendants of renowned craftsmen and scholars. Everyone attending the ball was wearing classy, à la mode attires and was playfully bantering with each other in eloquent miens.
Shidou and the others had heavily relied on Kotori's sudden inspiration and finally succeeded in surmounting the guard of the castle's gate. Despite this, the guard was still profoundly befuddled when he saw them. They were a group of shabbily-dressed people that suddenly re-appeared in distinguished formal clothing out of nowhere. A modicum of doubt and suspicion did arise, especially since the guard had memorized their facial features obliquely, but that was all.
"Ah everyone, I understand your state of minds, but don't wander too far. If you go out of the flame's range, your true self will be revealed. Especially you, Tohka. You'll turn into Japan's number one in an instant. Before that, bringing a katana to a VIP party is anything but reassuring."
Kotori informed them as she raised the emergency torch. "Umu! Understood!"
Tohka replied with plenty of vitality.
However, a few seconds later, next to Tohka, the Yamai sisters defiantly charged out of the flame's limited range instead.
"Uohh?!"
"Predicament. How unfortunate."
Kaguya's and Yuzuru's beautiful dresses instantly reverted back to the ragged patchy clothing that their representative characters had worn. The two let out unusual yells of bewilderment and speedily swayed their bodies like trained gymnasts, coordinately leaping backwards afterwards.
In spite of the fact that a few participants had their utmost attentions unimaginably evoked by the Yamai sisters' elicited yelps, Hansel and Gretel were not witnessed by any of them owing to the brevity of the two's evanescent affair. Observing the volatile scene from afar, Kotori sighed in a rather derogatory manner.
"Really, didn't I say to be careful? It wasn't easy for us to sneak in here." "S-Sorry…"
"Apology. I will exercise caution hereafter."
Disheartened, both of them reverently lowered their heads to express their remorseful regrets. Kotori could only shrug her shoulders helplessly.
"Alright… anyway, where's the said mermaid princess?" "Uu… I can't see anything like that around here."
Just as Shidou keenly glanced around the expansive hall, an anonymous figure could be seen conceitedly approaching him out of the corner of his eyes.
"——Good evening, pretty Miss." "Ah?"
The unexpected salutation caused Shidou to turn his line of sight towards the source. Before his eyes was a confident youth wearing a swallow-tailed coat, carrying himself with ease and natural poise.
"May I have this dance?"
The youth gently smiled and extended his hand deferentially. Seeing this, Shidou looked towards Kotori instead.
"Haha, he's asking you out. You're rather well-received Kotori. Onii-chan is jealous."
Yet the youth unfathomably shook his head and gazed directly into Shidou's eyes while opening his mouth once again.
"N-Not the little lady over there, I'm referring to you." ". Ah?"
Hearing the youth's words, Shidou grimaced in perplexity. But he promptly recalled that his current appearance had been transformed into the cute Shiori-chan through of
Kotori's matches. However, Shidou had absolutely no interest in partaking in a dance with another male. Moreover, if he accidentally went out of the match's reach during the waltz like dance, he would immediately return to his original male self. This kind of matter couldn't even happen to Cinderella.
"..... Not her?"
Shidou, in cold sweat, pointed to Kotori, to which the youth shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'you're joking'.
"Such a humorous Miss, but that pitiful little lady over there will feel bad. See that tasty cake on the table there? Why don't you go eat a slice or two?"
The youth ludicrously ridiculed Kotori, as if he was coaxing an upset child. In a split second, blue veins could be seen popping out of her temples angrily.
"W-What did you say?!"
"H-Hey calm down, Kotori."
Not wanting to trigger any tumultuous disturbances there, Shidou hurriedly restrained his furious sister's shoulders. Just in time, a woman who appeared to be the Master of Ceremonies emerged on the grand stage situated inside the room, verbosely making a speech to all the guests present.
"——May I have your attention please. In a moment, we shall be given the privilege to witness, in person, a seldom seen mermaid princess' enchanting serenade!"
Hearing the statement, the entire assembly hall vehemently flared up with ebullient exuberance. Even the youth who had invited Shidou just now was zestfully viewing the raised platform in high spirits.
"L-Let's go, Kotori. There's our objective, we should look for a better position." "Hmph, fine. Let's go, everyone."
Kotori did not hesitate to blatantly show a resentful expression as she beckoned everyone else to head for an advantageous stead. Following closely, the curtains on the stage slowly unfolded left and right, little by little. Instantly, the vast hall was enveloped by noisy excitement and passionate sighs.
"Wow…"
"A real mermaid!" "So beautiful…"
Perhaps the theatrical scenery served to imitate the coastal seaside. The stage was nicely decorated with water and a beach, along with some large sandy stones scattered here and there. Atop one of the rocks sat a lovable young girl whose body had the exterior appearance of a fish from waist down. She possessed slightly wet hair and a swimsuit made out of polished shells; brightly smooth skin and a moist pair of eyes. It was self-explanatory; she was the very epitome of the fairy-tale Mermaid Princess.
However.
"Kyaa—?! Where is this place—! Where's Darling!? Where did everyone go—?!"
She was the Spirit who also got swallowed into that oneiric world along with Shidou and the others, Miku.
Miku haphazardly flicked her tail fin while cacophonously shrieking with a loud, blood- curdling scream. She was undoubtedly unparalleled in beauty, yet utterly spoiled in many ways.
"Quiet down, you have an audience." "Even if you say that…"
Miku puckered up her eyebrows with indignation and embarrassedly said so. The emcee then continued whispering into Miku's ear.
"Now now, struggling is useless since you've been purchased by our generous King. You should serve the King by singing a song. I heard that mermaids have very pleasant voices, so let these honored guests who've come from distant lands indulge in your mellifluous singing."
"I refuse! Although my voice is the best, I didn't agree to serve some company producer or some King that I don't know! I don't work for things that have nothing to do with me!!"
Miku yelled as she arbitrarily turned her head to one side.
Miku's defiant rebuttal caused a rather confused uproar among the populous crowd in the hall. The emcee, who thought that it wasn't too encouraging to allow such a rebellious attitude towards the King to be seen in public, put on an incisive look and fiercely glared at Miku.
"You're the castle's property now. If you aren't obedient, the King will not be pleased." "Hmph! I don't care!"
"Well can't do anything about it. A mermaid that won't sing is good for nothing. Go be tomorrow's soup stock then."
"Waa! Miku likes to sing!"
Dreading being stewed into fish soup, Miku made an effort to smile obsequiously. Watching the whole argument, Shidou feebly forced a wry laugh.
"Captured again huh… Miku."
"Un. Looks like she was sucked into the fairy tale, Mermaid Princess…. Is this how the story goes though?"
Kotori was utterly flummoxed by the unorthodox turn of events, replying to Shidou while inclining her head to one side.
In any case, they weren't going to let Miku become the soup stock just like that, she was already miserably pitiful to be compelled to sing unwillingly so Shidou and the others advanced a few steps forward towards the stage. At that time, Miku finally noticed their striking presence and opened her eyes, filled with hope.
"...Darling! Everyone! Are you okay…"
"Yeah, we're fine. We heard that there was a mermaid princess in the castle so we came to visit…"
"Ah….! Where did you find such fancy dresses! And Darling is Shiori-san!? Ah! Ah! I wanna listen to the detailed development!!!! Did you record any notes?!"
She resembled a stranded fish put back into the water. Miku's eyes glistened rather lustfully as she flapped her tail fin on the water surface nonstop. Although her vivacity wasn't detrimental, the whole matter wouldn't be settled so easily. Shidou spread out his arms in order to sober up Miku.
"C-Calm down… Anyway, how did you end up like that?" Shidou asked sweat oozed out from his forehead.
"I was already like this when I woke up in the sea. When I was searching for everyone, a wicked witch approached me and offered to turn me human in exchange for my voice."
"Oh, so that's how it is."
Shidou advertently nodded his head in acknowledgement towards Miku's case. Indeed, her featured story did vaguely adhere to the plot of the fairy tale, Mermaid Princess. Impression-wise, however, the mermaid princess was supposed to fall in love at first sight with a handsome prince on land and seek the witch for a forbidden method to become human. At least, that's how the storyline develops. 1
"But if you're still mermaid that means…"
"That's right. Hard to believe that witch tried to steal my voice. When I declined and wanted to leave, she even kept bugging me to death! So I smashed her with my tail once and she ran away."
Miku said this with a grin.
Shidou could only go with the flow and laugh along *ahaha* at Miku's coup de théâtre. Although the witch didn't know inside information, the deal she unknowingly proposed was simply too foolish. Miku was a popular idol and simultaneously a talented vocalist; therefore, her voice equaled her life. There was no way that she'd accept the trade.
"But… when I tried to find you guys in this state, I got caught by some fishermen on the shore…"
Shidou comprehended her situation and nodded acquiescently. True, her appearance was rather conspicuous and had made it difficult for her to flee on land. As he and Miku talked, the emcee that had been glaring at Shidou and the others from the beginning raised an objection.
"...Monsieur, is there a problem with this mermaid?"
"Ah it's like this. She's actually our friend, can you release her?" requested Shidou bluntly.
"Friend…the mermaid? I find that hard to believe. Even if that is true, she already belongs to the King. I cannot accept your demand, so please give up.
The woman replied back in a stern tone.
"H-How can you be so unreasonable? What about Miku's free will?"
"It doesn't matter with that kind of creature. She doesn't need a will since the King owns her."
The cheerless host warned them in a desolate manner, causing the Spirits behind Shidou to take offence from her deliberate wordings and expose penetrating gazes.
"Uu… you don't need to be so rude."
"E-Exactly…! Miku-san isn't something for display!"
"Ah but, a line like 'You're mine, you don't have the right to refuse' has an air of a Shōjo manga. Touching, right? In my opinion, it depends on the speaker. Boy, try saying that."
"...Don't make things complicated, shut up Nia,"
Natsumi said so half-heartedly, causing a chuckle from Nia. ". "
The host pursed her eyebrows in annoyance towards their refusal to comply, and clapped her hands a few times.
"Guards! These ladies shall be going now. Please see them off prudently."
Immediately afterwards, a number of armored guards responded to her call and surrounded the group, making a clamor as they resonated throughout the hall.
"Wha….!"
"Heh? Dare you disrupt peace?" "Challenge. We will be forced to use force."
The Yamai sisters' expressions morphed into merciless frowns. The two adopted an offensive stance, slightly leaning forward as if ready to kill at any moment. The wary guards were alerted in response and assumed an encirclement formation.
"Haha, you have quite the nerve. Very well, those that feign fearlessness towards Death, bring it on! Even without our angels we won't lose to scum like you!"
"Request. Allow Yuzuru and Kaguya to slaughter open a bloody path. We'll leave Miku to Shidou and the others."
Shidou let out a bitter look. He was against the obligatory usage of violence, but now that the state of affairs had deteriorated to such an irreversible extent, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Uh… I guess we don't have a choice. Everyone!" "Ooh!"
"Alright!"
The Spirits collectively shouted a courageous war cry. Tohka unsheathed her blade from its scabbard and Nia skillfully reloaded her dual pistols. However, through Kotori's magical matches, those deadly weapons took on the deceptive façade of being mere bouquets of harmless flowers. Nevertheless, both factions entered their respective battle formations and the scene brimmed with tension on the verge of eruption. If another turning point were to decisively reoccur, a fight would undoubtedly break out.
On the contrary, someone else spoke at that time. ". What's the meaning of all this raucous disorder?"
An austere voice reverberated throughout the combat-stricken ambience from the spiraling flight of stairs leading to the upper levels.
".....!"
As the unyielding voice reached the emcee's ears, she inconceivably widened her now startled eyes in a flustered manner. Meanwhile, all the stares and gazes in the hall converged at the source of the articulate enunciation.
"H-Hey…" "Isn't that——"
"It can't be… how lucky am I to be granted the opportunity to witness with my own eyes…!"
All the party participants gave out amazed yells of overwhelming surprise while the host could only lower her head in deep veneration towards the revered voice, as if she was suffocated by the intoxicating utterance.
"Forgive my impertinence, Your Majesty. Some uncouth commoners have come to wrest away Your mermaid, that is fully Yours in all entirety. My humble self wishes to banish them, and banish them I shall, with immediacy."
"Your Majesty?!"
Shidou abruptly lifted his head in shock towards the woman's words, moreover her completely disparate attitude. That was to be expected. The King was the master of the castle. That meant that every guard there obeyed the King, and that the King was Miku's owner - lucky. If they could persuade the King, then perhaps they could somehow subdue the escalating dispute.
"A-About that! We are… the mermaid's friends! So….. eh?
Shidou argumentatively debated as if he was pouring out his innermost grievances, only to brusquely cease his speech halfway through. The reason was simple. The King looked extremely familiar to him.
"O-Origami?!"
Shidou couldn't help but shout loudly. Before his eyes stood Origami, who was wearing a high-grade loose red overcoat and a jeweled royal crown on her head.
"——Shidou."
Origami declared tranquilly while observing the condition of the hall. She nodded with keen insight of the circumstances, and let her overcoat flutter leisurely in the wind.
The next moment, Shidou and all the Spirits widened their eyes with shuddering shoulders, except for Miku who exclaimed an *ahh*. It couldn't be helped. After all, under the red overcoat, Origami didn't have a single stitch of clothing on. Yet she showed no trace of bashfulness or embarrassment on her face and even unhurriedly descended the stairs with a complacent expression.
"I-Is that the rumored…?"
"Y-Yeah… What a fantastic dress!" "E-Exactly! Simply mystifying!"
Quite a stir was once again created in the room, but the dialogues seemed rather forced compared to before, almost in sarcastic manner. Origami didn't have the slightest care about the satirical uproar and merely forged ahead towards the raised platform. She exaggeratedly swayed her overcoat as if issuing a manifesto.
"They are my guests. No harm towards them is permitted. Return to your respective posts."
"B-But…."
"Do I have to repeat myself?"
Origami distorted her countenance as she glared fixedly into the self-deprecating host's eyes, causing the woman's body to shiver in fear.
"Uh…! M-My deepest apologies!"
The host deeply bowed her head once again and withdrew together with the guards. After intently seeing them leave, Origami shifted her vision towards Shidou and the others.
"Shidou, everyone, good to see you're okay." "Y-Yeah… are you… uh… fine as well?"
Shidou didn't know where to look as his eyes frantically darted everywhere. Origami naively tilted her head, unaware of what Shidou was ambiguously hinting at.
"I don't understand what you mean."
"Ah… you didn't encounter any… plunderers, did you?"
Just as Shidou was measuring his words tactfully, Tohka bolted upright and pointed at Origami straightforwardly.
"O-Origami! What happened to your clothes?! You aren't wearing anything!"
The next moment, a storm of protest brewed inside the hall. "That lass… how dare she say something so audacious!"
"Talking ill of the King's clothes like that… she'll be hanged for sure!"
Frightening utterances and suchlike could be heard from all four quarters of the crowded room, far and near. What kind of tyrannical, despotic rule did Origami ruthlessly implement to inflict such terrified veneration and fearful reverence upon the hearts of her subservient followers? However, that was presumably a nontrivial matter of which was caused by the storyline that Origami was intermingled with, and she wasn't necessarily responsible for the outcome. Nevertheless, Origami didn't even look like she detested Tohka's impudent statement in any way. On the contrary, Origami barefacedly shook her head as if she was sympathizing with poor Tohka.
"This was purchased from a travelling tailor. My clothes are invisible to those who do not love Shidou. If you are unable to see it, then that means, Tohka… you…"
"Wha…!? W-Wait a moment!"
Tohka objected in a hurry as she glued her eyes onto Origami's body. "U-Uun… this is… a beautiful skin colored outfit!"
"You don't need to force yourself, Tohka."
Kotori consoled her while gently patting Tohka's shoulders.
"Origami, you've been fooled. No matter how you look at it, those are The Emperor's New Clothes."
"....."
Origami remained motionless for a short period of time, and then closely tightened the front of her overcoat afterwards. On a side note, Miku was bawling, 'Ahh let me see some more!'
The Emperor's New Clothes. The emperor was fraudulently tricked into buying 'clothes that fools cannot see' by a couple of dressmakers, making a fool of himself instead. It
was a rather well-known fairy tale that even Japanese people would have definitely heard of, however.
"I didn't notice at all,"
Origami muttered in an emotionless tone. "Don't you guys think it's quite passable?"
"They told me that people who cannot understand love cannot see it, so I bought it in advance."
"I-Is that so…? Scary how a wizard's imagination is."
Kotori grimaced while subconsciously wiping sweat off her forehead.
"Well, now that we've found everyone, it's about time we look for a way out of this world. Although our perceptions of time are different from the external world, a rather long period of time has passed since we came here."
Kotori sequentially shifted her gaze towards Miku and Origami as she continued explaining the elaborate intricacies of the Adjacent World to them, roughly summarized of course, and posed a doubtful query.
"The both of you were transported to two different locations, right? Up until that point, did you encounter any characters that might be able to escape this world or maybe any items that could have the same effect?"
Origami and Miku briefly faced each other for a short moment, and strongly shook their heads in denial afterwards.
"Nothing special."
"I didn't see anyone too, ah except for the witch and fishermen." "I see…"
She didn't expect anything bright or outstanding, but Kotori couldn't help but sigh regrettably with disappointment. The next moment, a narrow window of hope unraveled as Origami continued her speech.
"Currently, I am the ruler of this country, and can issue a nationwide announcement. I should be able to order the citizens to search for something similar to that."
"Good idea, power in numbers huh. This way is far more efficient than us looking everywhere. I'll leave it to you then."
"Understood. But what should we search for, specifically?"
Origami inquired, to which Nia was the one who answered this time.
"Uu—Yeah, this world is pretty open to broad interpretations in the first place, so I think relics or treasures which grant wishes exist here. Like Aladdin's magic lamp or One-Inch Boy's little hammer. Even though both manga and video games have dimension- transcending espers, the former's more popular so we should have a higher chance." 2
"Alright then. I'll immediately——"
At that very moment, the moment Origami responded.
A deafening resonance of shattering glass loudly echoed throughout the filled hall as a gigantic wolf vigorously collided with the castle's fragile window casements, crashing the entire party in a rampage.
"H-Hyaaaaa!" "A monster!"
Confronted with the unanticipated violent intrusion of a grotesque, disproportionate monstrosity, all of the ball attendants screamed in horror and chaotically fled in all directions. The wolf brutally shoved away each and every being, living or otherwise, in its unstoppable path of berserk destruction. Unwarily, Kotori's torch dropped onto the adequately furnished floor.
"Ah….!"
The makeshift brand was actually just a broken piece of disused wood extemporaneously wrapped in a thin strip of cotton cloth, and was on the brink of extinguishing. Fortunately, the fire didn't set the flammable carpet ablaze and burned out instead, leaving a faint black trail of charred smoke.
In an instant, Shidou and the others who had been masterfully disguised by the flame's illumination returned to their original selves. Be that as it may, their attires constituted the least of their concerns at that time, as an even more pressing obstacle had appeared before them out of nowhere. Without even a minuscule shred of regard or interest towards the frenziedly fleeing participants, the wolf ferociously charged at Shidou and the others straightaway.
"Hoh, I have repaid your petty kindness just now. How dare you little pigs treat me like some dog that runs errands willy-nilly?!"
The wolf acrimoniously howled with rancorous animosity, to which Shidou could only furrowed his eyebrows in utmost confusion, inquisitively wondering what he did to provoke such enmity from the wolf.
"The wolf from before….!? Why, didn't you eat Tohka's dumpling and turn good?!" "Hah! I had digested that stuff long, long ago and expurgated it already!"
The wolf barked as it patted its belly.
"The dumplings use that kind of system!?"
Shidou was unable to refrain from shouting his reluctance aloud. At that time, the castle's guards finally arrived and quickly aimed their barbed spears at the wolf, one by one.
"Your Majesty, please retreat!" "Leave this to us!"
However.
"Don't get too full of yourselves, weaklings!!"
The wolf mightily swept its frontal limb, which was the size of a fully grown tree, and effortlessly knocked a whole rank of soldiers airborne as a result, sending them crashing against the opposite wall along with the grand table and everything on it.
"Woah… as expected of an adaptation. Tohka-chan, try giving it another one of your millet dumplings!"
Nia instructed as she cautiously pulled out her loaded dual pistols. Tohka then inserted her hand into the packed bag which hung freely on her waist.
"Un, ready. Wolf, eat this!"
Tohka threw the millet dumpling with all the strength she could muster at the wolf's gaping mouth. But, just as the dumpling was about to enter the wolf's waiting mouth, it was abruptly stopped in midair as if time had been momentarily suspended.
"Wha….?"
Tohka yelled as her bleak situation fell into a disadvantageous predicament.
In that space, the shadowy figure of an old woman, who possessed a crooked nose and wore a matt-black robe, slowly floated into physical appearance.
"Hihihi, pathetic wolf. Carelessness shall be your demise."
The hideous woman ridiculed the wolf as she cruelly crumbled the caught dumpling into countless bits, inexplicably sending a cold chill down Shidou's spine.
Witnessing the malign occurrence, the Yamai sisters held their breaths with considerable trepidation.
"U-Uahh! It's that aged hag!"
"Shock. She's the elderly woman who lives in the candy house."
The Mephistophelean witch's sinister sneer grew even more horrifying. The slithering snake named Fear sluggishly crept up the twins' legs whilst constricting their remaining power with great intensity, and gradually ascended their svelte abdomens till their faces paled.
"Hihihihi…. In the flesh, abominable Hansel and Gretel. Your insolent souls shall cauterize in the Devil's mordacious hellfire for gourmandizing on my dwelling! Pity, I had graciously pardoned the thinness of your tender bodies and hoped to consume you plumped, but restraints will be of little utility to pardon you so graciously now!"
"Ahahaha! Hale and hearty despite the years eh, ancient human? Keep your filthy hands off my prey, this little pig and red riding hood!"
The wolf roared with avaricious, mocking laughter. Kotori's expression inevitably became severe.
"Kuh… the wolf alone is more than enough, let alone a witch!" "Heh? You seemed to have misunderstood something." "What did you say…?"
Kotori creased her eyebrows in disbelief as the wolf haughtily scoffed till the corners of its lips extended to its ears.
"——Who ever said that that was all?"
As the wolf finished its condescending intimidation, an immense volume of concentrated seawater spontaneously poured through the previously broken glass windows.
"Wha….!? This is…!"
The arcane brine looked as if it darkened the party hall somehow, and unexpectedly swelled into an irregular shape - the form of an ancient mermaid. Seeing the ghostly scene, Miku immediately pointed her finger at the ostentatious apparition.
"Ahh! You! The witch that tried to steal my voice!"
"...Hahaha, correct. I come to return the slap on my face that you gave me! Not only will I plunder your voice, I'll cut off your tongue as well!"
The ocean witch let out a contemptuous scorn. It seemed that the antagonistic villains from every story who bore spiteful grudges against Shidou and the others had collectively joined their evil forces in order to seek out vengeance.
Following closely was the seismic rumblings of gargantuan footsteps, which roughly mimicked the magnitude of several tremendous earthquakes combined. A brutish ogre which wore a loose loincloth made out of a skinned tiger pelt powerfully lifted a crude iron club and wrecked the castle's wall into rubble, barging into the hall.
"Uah… could this be the Oni from the demon island!?"
Tohka said with quivering shoulders as the ogre viciously bared its fang-like teeth.
"Ouf coorse! Me wait and wait and wait... forr you BITCH but neeever comme to me so me comme to youu!!"
"You obviously have nothing to do with us and came by yourself!!"
Shidou couldn't help but verbally express his discontented misgivings towards the obnoxious ogre's absurd l'esprit de l'escalier. The forest and ocean witches had their own reasons for amassing such intense hatred against Shidou and the others, but by the looks of it, that mentally-challenged ogre had simply never even met with Tohka before.
But the madness didn't end there. As the formerly changed wolf's partners in crime gathered one after another in the castle's hall, the now unguarded gates suddenly opened, revealing three spoiled women wearing over the top ball gowns, with hearts rotten to the core.
"Ohohoho! Cinderella! You think an overrated girl like you can attend the ball?"
"Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters…?! Ah, although you guys are just remakes who don't stand a chance, why are you being lumped with the witches and ogre there!?"
An underage youngster then naturally entered the room, for reasons unknown.
"The king's naked… because I said this; my father got thrown in prison. But I'll keep saying the truth, the king's naked!"
"Was there something so serious in the story!?"
The next instant, a massive fireball manifested in the sky, and within the flame emerged a bereaved ghost whose dark eyes reflected no light.
"O granddaughter… ignite all your matches… and reunite with me…" "The Little Match Girl's grandmother turned into an evil spirit?!"
Shidou exclaimed with a shocked demeanor.
A colony of innumerable bats flocked into the hall through the shattered windows, assembling into a humanoid form. The moist surface of the wetted floor then perpendicularly bulged into a zombie corpse, furthermore an indescribable, nerve- racking monstrosity which drove onlookers insane by mere sight manifested from the shadows.
"T-This is…"
"Ah, that one's mine. The vampire from Chapter 1 • Nosferatu, the living corpse from Chapter 2 • Undead Lord, and the unknown entity from Chapter 3 • Ancestral Deity— Silver Bullet's atypical massacre. This popular work of action and fantasy, "Silver Bullet", is currently being serialized in the weekly Shōnen Blast!"
"That's why Shōnen manga has violence issues!!"
Faced with Nia's shameless advertising, Shidou longingly pined to scream at the top of his lungs. Inside the vast party hall, gathered irrational freaks and evil villains from every plot. Furthermore, they had already surrounded the perimeter around Shidou and the others in order to prevent any escape attempts, slowly closing down the distance apart with each step.
"Uh….!"
The overwhelming pressure exerted on them was completely incomparable to the castle guards' formation before. That was to be expected. Right then, aside from a few distinct exceptions, the despicable, degenerate existences which forcefully encircled Shidou and the group were vile villains and alien monstrosities. In addition to the fiendish foes, their situation was invariably worsened by the fact that they were utterly incapable of utilizing their angels' abilities, be it offensive or defensive. Each of their perishable bodies physiologically detected the life & death crisis presented in front of them, resulting in a quickened heart rate and heightened brain processes.
"We won't lose to the likes of you!"
As everyone stressfully tensed up with anxiety due to the unfavorable circumstances, Tohka alone yelled a loud battle cry and suddenly leaped into the air, pouncing on the enemy with her sharpened katana readily wielded.
"Haaaaaa!"
However, before her blade could even land an attack on the ogre, the witches to its right and left cast an offensive spell and energy projectiles. Their magic targeted her vulnerable body, setting off some minor explosions in the process.
"Ack!?"
Tohka groaned as she unbearably suffered heavy attacks from both her flanks. Seizing the onetime chance, the repulsive ogre exaggeratedly heaved its iron club and swung it at Tohka from above her head with great force.
"Hahahaha! Tooo naiive, Momotarou!" "Uhh….!"
Tohka subconsciously instructed her feeble arms to somehow defend against the bone- crushing strike, but being in midair; she could not fruitfully exert any substantial force to move her hands and got savagely staggered onto the decorated floor.
"Tohka!!"
Shidou cried out her name with all his voice and rushed to protect her, or at least, he tried to. However.
"Letting your guard down is dangerous, little pig."
As Shidou inadvertently heard the wolf's cold voice from above, his abdomen experienced an intense impact without warning.
"Uaah!?"
He immediately understood why - his body had been swept by the wolf's colossal arm. Shidou's body flew across the capacious room, violently crashing into the hard wall and miserably falling onto the also hard floor afterwards.
"Ou… ch…" "Shidou!"
"S-Shidou-san!"
All the Spirits cried out with distressed worry for him and attempted to approach Shidou with unbreakable conviction, only for that very conviction to be mercilessly nullified as the wolf and their other enemies sadistically blocked their determined path.
"Too bad, you won't be going anywhere." "Huh….!"
"Y-Yoshino…."
"I-It'll be okay, Natsumi-san…."
The Spirits, some without resignation and some with uneasiness, earnestly snuggled close together. The antipathetic bad guys who neatly stood in a blockading row perceptively smelled this fear and laughed derisively, drawing nearer by the second.
"Prepare yourselves to be feasted upon!"
"Hihihihihi… Loosen up; I shall eat you from head to toe!" "Kehehe, wonder what a mermaid's tongue will sound like." "H-hyaa-…!"
Miku screamed in response while shutting her mouth tight.
However, Miku wasn't the only one compulsively shivering and trembling in fear. Despite their uncommon reactions overall, everyone was sweating profusely as they helplessly awaited the approaching monsters as if they had been condemned to the soulless guillotine.
"Kuh… bastards!"
Shidou muttered with his remaining strength as he supported his body forcefully. "Don't you dare… lay your hands on them!"
However, Shidou's emaciated body, being crashed destructively against the wall, was utterly unable to act according to his sheer willpower no matter how resolute, and his lethargic legs soon surrendered to fatigue, rendering his lower body completely paralyzed on the watery ground.
"Uah….!"
In spite of his twisted expression, Shidou decisively gritted his teeth and endured the excruciating agony. He pitifully clawed at the ground with his still functional hands, sluggishly crawling towards the Spirits, but it was already too late. The nefarious villains had already beaten him to it.
"Ahahahaha! Let's start with you!" "Kya….!"
"Y-Yoshino! D-Don't touch her you disgusting dog!"
The wolf dexterously controlled its paw and pinched Yoshino off the ground with its fingers. Despite Natsumi firmly clinging onto its thigh, the wolf simply feigned ignorance and sized Yoshino up in terms of edibility.
"Un un, looks scrumptious, little red riding hood!" "Uu…."
"Ahh! Eating Yoshinon will give you a stomachache!" "Kuh….!"
If that went on, it'd really be too late. Shidou's heart fretfully pulsated. Even if he could somehow catch up to them, the number of things he could actually do was extremely limited. At most, he could only hope to stall them for some time. It was futile, for someone who had been effortlessly hurled away by the wolf and was in the process of letting Yoshino be eaten.
That moment he realized that point.
All of a sudden, the meaningful verses Mukuro had spoken through the communicator intermittently flashed through Shidou's wavering mind.
'...If thou hath sealed me, couldst thou also ensure my protection? Hath thy sealed Spirits never sustained another fiendish foray?'
"....."
Shidou weakly extended his hand to reach for Tohka and the others, not stopping for even a single moment.
"I…."
The Spirits who had their powers purposely sealed by Shidou himself were currently being assaulted by various terrifying monsters. There existed only one cause for that, only one reason, which was fluttering through Shidou's dim consciousness as he pondered about his actions. If he hadn't sealed their spirit power, perhaps they could have stood a chance against Westcott's
"——Hey, it's not like you to worry like that."
At that time, a nostalgic voice which seemed to have fully seen through Shidou's personal thoughts and emotions resounded from somewhere.
"Hm….?"
"Huh….?"
The confused utterances of Shidou's bewilderment and the wolf's perplexity overlapped. "What's going on? That sound just now—"
The wolf, with one paw securely holding Yoshino in midair, looked around for the source of that voice with perturbation. However, just as its line of sight moved away from Yoshino…
"...Wha….!?"
A straight line streaked down the wolf's arm, obliquely dividing that limb into two adjacent sections.
"T-This is, impossible!" "Yaa….!"
Accompanied with the wolf's painful cries, Yoshino's petite body was dropped towards the floor, along with the animal's severed limbs.
Then, just before her body could touch the ground. "—Are you okay, Yoshino?"
Before her appeared a familiar boy who gently caught her falling body.
"Eh? T-That…."
Yoshino puzzled expressively as she tilted her head in order to briefly glimpse the boy's appearance. No, Yoshino wasn't the only one.
"Eh….?"
"H-How can this be?"
The other Spirits, as well as Itsuka Shidou himself, had all their attentions purely focused on the familiar boy and widened their glistening eyes impassively. Although so, their unforeseen reactions were undoubtedly inevitable. After all, the boy was expertly wielding a lengthy broadsword which was unquestionably Tohka's very own,
"Alright, you villains. Allow me, the guardian of the Spirits, Itsuka Shidou, to take you on!"
The facial features of the undaunted person who fearlessly said so, no matter from what perspective one looked at it, perfectly resembled Shidou himself.
"W-Who the devil are you supposed to be?! Suddenly appearing like that and speaking stupid—"
The wolf questioned as it looked at its chopped off limb with lachrymosity and angrily glared at Shidou.
However, Shidou failed to even grant the wolf the opportunity to disquietingly do so and raised
"Gah… Gaaaaaah!"
Leaving behind a deafening shriek, the wolf's severed body mystically transformed into torn book pages, drifting in the wind until it eventually fell onto the ground. Witnessing the vindictive slaughter that occurred right before them, the remaining villains held their breaths in awe as the tables turned against them.
"Wha….! Wolf was…?!"
"You… what winds blow such a divine warrior to these lands?!"
The two wicked witches wailed while trembling with absolute fright. Shidou curved his lips into a genuine smile.
"I'm just a high school student who happened to be passing by."
Shidou replied to him while determinedly trampled on the damp floor and spontaneously charged at the debilitated enemies with
He deflected the horrendous witches' cursed spells, fleetly sliced the iron club without any resistance, and punctured a wide hole in the ogre's deformed body. The wretched ogre gave out an earthshaking screech similar to the wolf's dying throes, and transformed into torn pieces of paper. However, Shidou's unstoppable force did not cease there. He fluidly channeled his physical power into his hands and feet, directly manipulating
Shidou blankly surveyed the surreal scene. "W-What's happening…?"
"Shidou!"
Tohka and the other Spirits quickly rushed to his aid after the once blocked path was subtly cleared.
"Are you okay, Shidou? Did you get hurt?!"
"N-No, I'm fine. More importantly, who's that…"
Shidou once again perplexedly gazed at the Shidou who was currently fending off their sworn enemies. Kotori then similarly furrowed her eyebrows with incredulity.
"That's you for sure… Say, are you able to use shadow clone jutsu, Shidou?" "No, I don't remember ever apprenticing a ninja…"
Shidou chuckled as Nia then verbalized an *ah*, as if she had realized something remarkable whilst fumbling her chin.
"Could Boy #2 be a character in this world?" "Eh…..?"
Shidou fumbled his chin in astonishment as well. Her words were quite sensible, frankly. Yet with that, another conflicting discrepancy would arise. They were trapped in an illusory world which comprised of multitudinous intertwined fairy tales. If Shidou wasn't included in the dramatis personae of a story, then character Shidou could only exist in—
—
"Aahhhh!"
At that moment, as Shidou mentally connected the congruent pieces of the puzzle up till there, Natsumi suddenly yelled in a loud voice that was rather unfitting of her petite stature.
"W-What's wrong, Natsumi?"
"...I-I know him…! I know, that guy…!"
Natsumi pointed at the Shidou, who was flowingly performing a magnificent battle against the villains, with her quivering finger.
"You know him Natsumi?! Really?"
"Y-Yeah… actually, we all should! Because that guy, that Shidou... was the character we all drew in the manga last month!"
"!!!"
Shidou and the other Spirits firmly held their breaths in utter shock at her headstrong words. One did exist; a story which they had thought was nonexistent, a story that portrayed Itsuka Shidou as the main protagonist. Shidou and the others had schemed a plot where they collectively drawn a manga wherein Shidou unanimously played the leading character, in order to cajole Nia, who was unable to fall in love with anything other than 2D.
"B-But…wasn't that a joint effort? To be saved by such a hero… it's way too coincidental!"
Shidou exclaimed his protests, to which Nia gently shook her head.
"I've said it before, Boy. Works of literature have no limits when it comes to finished stories and may very well appear in this world. Moreover, the authors of that manga have all gathered here. Don't you think the chances are pretty high?"
Dressed in her very own original manga character, Nia excitedly continued.
"And that Boy #2, whether he's the real Itsuka Shidou or not, he's depicted in your joint effort as the strengthened Itsuka Shidou who saves Spirits in order to flatter me!"
"W-What does that imply?" "Request. Please elaborate."
The Yamai sisters lightly inclined their heads to express their confounded incomprehension towards Nia's unceasing torrent of words. Thus, Nia resumed with a refreshed breath.
"In other words! He's the super-handsome, super-strong, ideal Boy sketched in everyone's hearts!"
As Nia finally ended her eccentric speech, Shidou brandished
"Hu…."
He then briskly combed his hair and approached Shidou unhurriedly. "Yo, everything alright, me?"
"Y-Yeah…"
Feeling completely unaccustomed to how he had never addressed other people in that manner before, Shidou made an effort to reply nonetheless.
"Thanks for saving me… me." "Haha, we sound like Kurumi."
Shidou responded as he laughed merrily.
Shidou couldn't help but laugh along, as he was confronted with the intriguing sensation of viewing his reflection in a mirror.
"But… you guys are in quite a tight spot. For us to be here, I presume that this must be Westcott's doing?"
Shidou asked with in a keenly manner.
Unaffected much by the extraordinary instance of two Shidous, Kotori bluntly nodded in affirmation.
"Un, I'll be straightforward since you're already aware of our situation. Do you know how we can return to our world? We need to go back fast."
Shidou nodded, unperturbed. "Oh, leave that to me."
"Eh?!"
Kotor shouted in discombobulation. That was unavoidable, as Shidou had leisurely spoken without indicating even an ounce of hesitation.
"Y-You can help us?"
Kotori asked, as Shidou then impressively demonstrated
"Un. This world was created with an angel's power, and can likewise be destroyed with that same power. Even though I'm a fictional existence, in terms of this world, the angel I use is very real."
However, Shidou continued:
"I can only open this world's exit. When everyone returns to the other world, Westcott may be there waiting for you."
"Wha….!"
Kotori widened her eyes, unable to accept the fact that she hadn't thought of that fatal but probable possibility before.
"What do you want us to do? We need to hurry to Mukuro and—" Just as Kotori's serious expression began to turn pale.
"I predicted that this would happen!!"
Nia shouted loudly, as if interrupting Kotori's words. "W-What Nia! You don't need to be so loud..."
"Ehehe, I've always wanted to try and say that line. How is it? Like a capable woman?" "Are you kidding me…"
Kotori said with eyes asquint. Nia scratched her head bashfully, as if to say 'ahh sorry sorry'.
"I've made the required preparations so Boy #2, you don't need to worry. Can you open the exit immediately?"
"Hey, what are you saying, Nia? Even if we return to our original world, won't all our efforts up until now be wasted if we appear in front of Westcott?"
"Hehehe, no need to worry."
Nia swayed her finger like a metronome, and drew back the corners of her mouth.
"You see, before I got swallowed here,
"That means…"
"Yup, unless that bastard stays there forever, the chances of meeting him are very low." Nia winked her eye, and the Spirits happily cheered in unison.
"Awesome, Nia!"
"Haha, very able indeed."
"Praise. So you're not only a drunkard." "Nyahaha, I'm embarrassed, praise me more."
Nia puffed out her chest complacently. Shidou then mightily propped
"Alright, is now okay?" "Un, if you would,"
As Kotori requested, the next moment, Shidou firmly nodded and closed his eyes in order to concentrate his energy, powerfully swinging
"——Hah!"
In an instant, a fierce gale of wind rippled from the sharp edge of
"You should be able to go back through this passageway."
Shidou smiled warm-heartedly while supporting
"About the Mukuro whom you mentioned earlier, she's the new Spirit, right? Do your best, me; you definitely have to save her."
"....."
Hearing Shidou's sagacious words, which sounded familiar to Woodman's parting words; Shidou felt his continuous heartbeat jump abruptly.
"...What are you doing, Shidou? Let's go."
Kotori put on an inconceivable expression as she looked at her reticent brother in vexation and eagerly waited for everyone to arrive at the transcendental fissure.
"Thanks for saving us again, and take care of yourself, Shidou." "Un, I'll send your regards to your counterparts in this world."
"Haha, I guess they're here too. Somehow that feels rather complicated,"
Kotori grinned as she waved him goodbye with her hand, and resolutely entered herself through the portal.
Following closely behind her, the Spirits each bade their grateful farewells to Shidou one after another as they entered into the rift. After everyone else had left, Shidou looked at Shidou.
"It's your turn, me. Go, they're waiting for you." "Y-Yeah..."
Shidou concurringly abided to Shidou's friendly command and headed to the passageway. However, he suddenly stopped in his steps once again, as if his legs had been pinned to the floor.
——Shidou.
Via Shidou's and the Spirits' creative imaginations, the fictional Shidou was the ideal Shidou that specialized to save Spirits. Facing this Shidou in person, a certain tiny wish sprouted within Shidou's pulsating heart. There are everlasting state of minds that should have been mutually connected, and ephemeral entanglements that he should have been struggled free of. Yet these particular things still stubbornly floated at the bottom of Shidou's heart like precipitous sediments.
"Hey… me."
"Un? What's wrong, me?"
"What you said was right. I'll be going to the new Spirit's, Mukuro's side. But—"
Shidou slightly pursed his eyebrows as he stammered to narrate Mukuro's story while hemming and hawing. How he was coldly rejected, how he was blatantly accused of ignoring the Spirits' personal opinions, and how he was simply incapable of denying that at all.
"....."
Shidou let out an earnest expression as he attentively listened to Shidou's pathetic confession, and lightly exhaled.
"I see… another hard-to-convince Spirit huh?"
"...I have a belief. When everyone was being raided by the villains, I thought that if I hadn't sealed them, they wouldn't have been so helpless… No, of course, if I didn't do that, they'd be in greater trouble, but…"
He was unable to fairly conclude an equitable verdict out of his apparent thoughts. Shidou forcefully scratched his head and continued.
"...Sealing Mukuro's power. I don't harbor any complaints about that. If I don't, DEM will launch another attack. But… I don't know what to do… what's your opinion? Do you think I even have the right to stand before Mukuro even though I still have nothing to refute her with? Can the indecisive me open the lock to her heart…?"
The Shidou who had stayed consistently silent for a period of time started to move his mouth.
"—If it's me, I'd do it again."
"But, Mukuro wishes to be undisturbed…"
"Although she says so, isn't it odd if you think about it more carefully? Saying that she locked her heart so that she wouldn't feel lonely, doesn't that sound like she can't bear the loneliness if she hadn't used her angel?"
"...That…was undoubtedly true."
If Mukuro was unable to experience the depression of loneliness, the grief of sorrow and the displeasure of wrath from the beginning, then it would be essentially unnecessary to cruelly lock her heart and emotions in the first place. There was probably no need to tell Shidou this.
"What she had said, no matter how I look at it, it feels like an S.O.S. signal from Mukuro herself. Therefore, you must go no matter what she throws at you. By the way, don't you already have the key to unlock her locked heart?"
"Eh….?"
Hearing Shidou's words, Shidou inclined his head. In the twinkling of an eye, he immediately understood where the unobvious significance of that sentence lied.
"...Could it be…" "Correct,"
The other Shidou nodded contentedly towards Shidou's uncovered reaction. "One more thing, you'll need to regard it as a separate matter,"
Shidou said this whilst thrusting his fist onto Shidou's chest.
"What are you thinking, me? Wasn't everything you just said about Mukuro? Although it's good to think about her, you won't notice her feelings with just that. Well, me, how are you going to treat Mukuro?"
".....!"
Listening to Shidou's useful lecture, Shidou abruptly held his breath. After a few seconds of silence, Shidou deeply inhaled, and exhaled again.
"...Un—Alright….Okay."
Shidou gradually said so, ever so slowly. The answer to a question that was excessively easy to discourse. When declared, however, there was always a feeling of releasing all the pent up gloom accumulated in the bottom of your heart up till then. Shidou grinned, most likely having perceived Shidou's decision.
"Do your best, high school student." "You as well, high school student."
Shidou and Shidou said good-bye by bumping their fists, and Shidou conveniently plunged into the rift created in that space.
".... Uu."
♢♢♢
♢♢♢
——The intimate sensation of his shoulders being gently shook back and forth gradually restored Shidou's latent consciousness. Shidou softly snorted and widened his unfocused eyes, catching the vague sight of his adoptive sister as she was holding her stretched palm right in front of his silly face.
"What are you doing, Kotori?"
"God, you finally woke up. One second later and I would've hit you for the twentieth time."
"...Eh? You've hit me 19 times already?! That many?!"
Shidou yelled angrily as he reluctantly placed his hands on his face, trying to feel the feverish heat radiating from the scalding redness.
"Just kidding."
Kotori replied with a sarcastic shrug.
As Shidou touched his face sensitively in order to reconfirm that the pain was definitely absent, he concurrently did a quick inspection of his surroundings and present circumstances. He wasn't located in the decrepit straw hut wherein he had previously awakened to his near-doom, rather he found himself barely lying in one of the many corporeal corridors of Ratatoskr's secret base, whose hardened cement walls and steel- reinforced concrete ceilings had all collapsed without exception into sizable heaps of scattered rubble.
The other Spirits were clustered together in one place and Tohka had placed her hands on Shidou's shoulders, gently shaking him. Everyone wasn't wearing patchy rough cotton outfits or resplendent ceremonial dresses anymore. Their attires had already reverted to their original, ordinary clothes.
"Really… didn't I say that we're running out of time? Stop dawdling around." Kotori stiffly crisscrossed her arms on her chest and exhaled perfunctorily. "Oh… Sorry about that. But—"
Shidou clumsily stood up with all the strength carried in his legs and lightly clapped his face a few times in order to clear his muddled head.
"—everything's fine now."
".... ? I see, well, it's good to see that you're energized."
Kotori tilted her head to one side with a tinge of suspicion, but immediately judged that it was not the time to sit idly, and conclusively motioned her chin to urge everyone.
"Anyway, we must make haste. Although the time we spent is shorter than we think, a surprise attack may befall Fraxinus at any moment."
"Un!"
"Understood."
The Spirits shouted in agreement and followed Kotori compliantly, running through the run-down corridor with resolution. Shidou wasn't far behind too, forging ahead through the bedraggled, dilapidated base as loud, reverberant explosions and ear-piercing gunshots echoed still. After randomly encountering and subsequently decimating a couple of
Fraxinus' dedicated hangar at last.
Perhaps the external surveillance camera had adequately recognized their respective identities or detected the dire situation beforehand, but Shidou and the others were allowed entry into the expansive hangar as Kannazuki's voice was heard from the loudspeaker.
"——! Commander! You're safe!" "Un, sorry to keep you guys waiting."
Kotori lightly raised her hand in response and continuously walked towards the airship's lower deck. Shidou and the other Spirits tailed behind her, and were instantly transported to the ship's bridge.
"—What's the situation?"
Once she entered the bridge, Kotori quickly advanced forward while swiftly undoing the button on her military-uniform jacket, hanging it loosely around her shoulders. She abruptly extended her bare right hand to one side, to which Kannazuki, who was obediently awaiting orders, respectfully saluted and handed over one of the many identical lollipops neatly arranged on the shelf.
Kotori gratefully accepted it, tearing the candy wrapper with voraciousness and putting the ambrosial treat into her mouth whilst simultaneously sitting down on the captain's seat. Shidou couldn't help but ruefully marvel at his sister's smooth, almost graceful, sequence of movements.
"Roger. At the moment, one Arbatel-type aerial warship is hovering above the base. Approximately 120 wizards have infiltrated the base. 21 confirmed casualties have been reported, including technical personnel, and 185 people have taken refuge."
"...I see."
As Kotori whispered mournfully, the characters MARIA was then observably displayed on the main monitor.
『There is no time to become crestfallen, Kotori. You must carry out your duties now.』"Un, I'm aware of that."
Kotori calmly exhaled in order to abandon her lingering attachments and made a firm resolution, lifting her head.
"—We will finish what we set out to do. Prepare Fraxinus EX for takeoff. I trust that the maintenance has been completed?"
"Roger!"
The crew members all yelled out in unison.
"However, it seems that the power in the hangar has been disrupted by the enemy. We're unable to operate the gate."
"Hm, I guess we don't have a choice. —Break through."
"Link the basis Realizer unit with the propeller and deploy Territory. Initialize camouflage and automatic evasion."
"As you command, launching the basis Realizer unit and engine juxtaposition." "Deploying Territory. ——We're ready to depart."
The trifling beeps and electronic tones of starting machinery coming from somewhere within the ship were accompanied by the crew's voices of exaltation. As they gradually grew more sonorous, Kotori softly nodded her head and shot a glance at Shidou and the others who were conveniently standing behind her.
"Get ready, brace yourselves."
"Oh, alright."
Shidou nodded his head and firmly gripped onto a pillar positioned beside the wall. The Spirits imitated his example accordingly, except for Origami and Nia who were holding onto his arms. The two were ultimately pulled apart by Tohka and the others though requiring utmost force to remove every reluctant finger clinging onto the poor boy's arms. Kotori sighed grudgingly and turned back her head to the front, giving orders in a commanding tone.
"Fraxinus EX, go!"
Afterwards, the whole vessel vigorously shook as if heeding her command. The primary monitor showed the hangar's inner walls being crushed flat by an overwhelming, invisible force, unyieldingly squashing it into mere scrap material.
A rather tingling, floating sensation enveloped the entire bridge, and the image displayed on the large screen transformed into the blue sky the next instant.
"Uohh…"
Shidou exclaimed softly whilst exerting force into his legs in order to stabilize his body.
An airship which utilizes a Realizer unit does not need to acquire aviation lift like that of an ordinary airplane in order to fly. On the contrary, the Territory which covers the whole ship allows the enormous vessel to float unconstrainedly. For this reason, it can fly in a way which defies the conventional laws of physics.
At that moment, a huge silhouette was confirmed to be flying in the sky and was shown on the monitor, resulting in an alarm being set off in the bridge.
『The enemy warship hovering above the base has been confirmed. What should we do? 』
Maria's voice was emitted from the loudspeaker. Kotori furrowed her eyebrows and uprighted the stick of her lollipop.
"We must proceed to space as soon as possible."
『Affirmative.』
"Even though we'll be subjected to graver harm, we mustn't slow down."
『Affirmative.』
"You know the rest, Maria."
『Affirmative.』
As Maria insipidly replied, Kotori held her lollipop between her fingers and pointed at front.
"Sort it out within one minute."
『That's the Kotori I know. 』
With Maria saying that rather happily, Kotori then issued directives to the crew.
"Discharge
"Roger,
The auxiliary monitors displayed an outline of Fraxinus, showing its rear section which resembled a giant tree glowing brightly. The next instant, some 'unknown entities', which appeared on the screen flew towards the endless sky.
The reason why they were described as unknown entities is simple, as those unknown entities were covered with invisibility camouflage. Shidou's naked eyes were unable to see them. Assuming the transparent
A few seconds later, they arrived in front of DEM's warship and those unknown entities simultaneously detonated. Even the enemy did not expect that to happen. The pitiable airship emitted billows of thick smoke and began its descent towards the surface.
"Hmm."
Kotori pointed her thumb downwards. "Time elapsed, 52 seconds."
"Just passable, we must recover that delay. Elevate altitude and rocket through the atmosphere in one go."
"Roger!"
Just as the crew responded, Fraxinus' body faintly vibrated and the picture on the main screen switched to the view underneath at an incredible speed. The mesmerizing scene resembled that of one taken by a camera attached to a rising balloon.
Before a few minutes even passed, the scenery shown on the main monitor had already separated itself from the sky. Pitch-black space crammed into the entire frame while countless of shining stars flickered luminously.
It exactly was the same scene that had been taken by the automatic camera previously. Shidou gulped, gazing fixedly at the footage.
At that moment…
The figure of a young girl sunken in tranquil sleep with fluttering golden hair appeared. "...Mukuro…!"
Shidou tightly clenched his fist as he called out the girl's name. Despite the fact that his voice could not reach the outside of the ship, Mukuro's eyebrows slightly quivered.
"...Huh?"
Fraxinus had most likely detected sound coming from the outside. Although weak, it was definitely Mukuro's voice which was transmitted through the loudspeaker.
Under normal circumstances, sound cannot propagate through the vacuum of space. But it was probably due to the Territory-like effect of her Astral Dress that allowed her voice steadily and clearly to vibrate into Shidou's eardrums.
"Thou ought to have heeded mine admonishments, thou whose origin art unchanged." Mukuro stretched her body and raised her right hand, lips quivering slightly. "——
With that verse of hers, a key-shaped staff materialized in Mukuro's right hand from the hollow void. She then stabbed
"——"Rātaibu -Unlock"."
Mukuro turned the key, creating a gigantic gate. She lifted her hand, and immediately flung it down as if executing a death sentence. The innumerable pieces of garbage dispersed throughout the nearby space were all attracted towards the gate and sucked inside, similar to how a black hole absorbs everything. The next moment, even more gates appeared around Fraxinus, pouring out barrages of uncountable bullets at the same time.
"U-Uawahh?!"
Shidou couldn't help but curl up when he saw the countless moving rocks of matter travelling towards the ship at considerable velocities. However, Kotori was not in the least flustered and promptly issued instructions.
"Territory, defense specialization!" "Roger!"
The auxiliary monitor screens gave out a thin light. Meanwhile, the innumerable projectiles instantly disintegrated right before contact with the ship's body.
"T-This is…"
"It's another story if we were directly attacked by an angel, but these small peas have virtually no effect on Fraxinus."
Kotori explained triumphantly as she turned her captain's chair 180 degrees towards Shidou.
"Alright, Shidou, it's your turn next. Are you ready?" "—Un, of course."
Shidou nodded his head with zeal as he exposed his determination. Kotori then widened her eyes as if she didn't expect his calm response.
"Although I don't know what you and the Shidou in the other world had chatted about, that ethos of yours isn't half-bad. Very well, let our date
As she said so, Kotori used her chin to signal the crew members operating their automation consoles. Around the outline of Fraxinus displayed on the monitor, a circular field enlarged.
"We will be expanding Fraxinus' Territory up to Mukuro's coordinates so Shidou, you won't need to worry about problems like air or cosmic radiation. You'll be able rely on your body to move in space. —After all, wearing a spacesuit during a date is just way too unromantic and insensitive."
Kotori shrugged her shoulders as if she cracked a joke, and continued her speech.
"You can depend on us for your basic movement control and defense. The Territory should be able to block any attacks like before. Shidou, you have to do everything possible in order to approach Mukuro. Begin strategy."
"....."
Shidou looked attentively once more at Mukuro who was subtly floating in the approximate center of the LCD monitor, and lightly nodded his head whilst exhaling a breath.
—At that time. "...A-About that."
Natsumi, who was shyly hiding herself behind Yoshino's also petite frame, unexpectedly spoke out.
"What's wrong, Natsumi?" asked Kotori, taken aback by the sudden voice.
"...No, it's nothing, it's a g-good, but Mukuro-san looks… f-frightening… shouldn't we go together? It'll be… what you think?"
Natsumi muttered hesitatingly while shifting her gaze solitarily to one side.
As if somehow triggered by her rapturous panache, the other Spirits visibly verbalized their supportive opinions as well.
"I-If I'm able to help… I-I'll gladly assist in guarding Shidou-san with
"Ah, good idea~. My
The Spirits variously requested Kotori with pleading puppy eyes, to which she let out a discomfited expression for a considerable period of time. Finally, Kotori had no other choice but to renounce her blatant misgivings and heaved a heavy sigh of surrender.
"You guys really… But only go when Shidou's life is in danger, this date was supposed to be for persuading Mukuro in the first place. A crowd of people approaching her without rhyme or reason would definitely alert her and make it difficult for us."
"Ooh!"
The Spirits forcefully nodded their heads towards Kotori's strict regulations. Shidou couldn't help but grin wryly at the sight of their rallied unity.
"Thanks everyone. I'll do my best so that you guys won't need to act."
Shidou steadfastly treaded towards and occupied the teleporter unit, which had previously transported him to the bridge.
"Well then, I'm in your hands, Kotori." "Un, begin transportation immedia—"
However, just as Kotori issued the final command, a red light illuminated within the bridge and a sharp, oscillating warning siren resounded throughout.
"What's going on?!"
"...! It's… an enemy! Above the Earth are three… no, four of DEM's space warships!!"
As Minowa shouted the urgent emergency situation, the digital footage of many gigantesque warships appeared on the monitor. The drastic change of events caused Kotori's face to flip in furious rage.
"Talk about bad timing… Although this was anticipated, I didn't think it would actually happen. Well, they'll turn out like that small fry before, no matter how many…—"
Halfway through her ireful words, Kotori's eyebrows marginally twitched. Her eyes were fixedly focused on the four great warships displayed on the screen, glued especially to the smallest ship of the quartet. But 'small' merely described its relative size. Her expression became severe, permeating with slight excitation. The ship's characteristic streamlined body was of a platinum finish, and its exterior appearance was obviously heterogeneous to the other three crude warships. Since they had all came there, the space warships were without a doubt carrying combat objectives. But the polished ship which exquisitely stood out from the four looked as if it was a special-purpose vessel specially made for a special high-ranking official.
Kotori rolled the stick of her lollipop and blurted the ship's name out. "Goetia…!"
"Wha…!" Shidou widened his eyes in shock.
"...Rather grudgeful eh, holding a rematch on the first day the newly built Fraxinus sets sail."
"Is there a problem…?"
Shidou asked while pursuing his brows a bit. Maria then replied through the loudspeaker.
『Don't worry. I'm different from the previous version. I will let the enemy know - the name of the world's number one airship.』
"Well said, Maria."
Kotori drew back the corners of her mouth into a grin and instinctively ordered the crew members.
"Deploy the double Territory! Expand the first layer to coordinates (6,2,2), set its attribute to space control, and set the second layer as defensive! Prepare for battle!"
"Roger!"
The crew members simultaneously responded to her improvisational instructions and quickly began operating their respective automation consoles. After Kotori observed the progress their work, she turned her head towards Shidou and gave him generous thumbs up.
"Mukuro's all yours, Shidou. Good luck in your fight, no, in this case it's… —Good luck with your love endeavors."
"Haha, what's that supposed to mean."
Hearing his sister's strange but somewhat fitting blessing, Shidou couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"You too, Kotori." "Un."
Following Kotori's brief reply, Shidou's body was delivered outside the ship without delay. His vision instantly changed from the ship's bridge to the infinite cosmos beyond. A levitating sensation shrouded his entire body.
"Ooh…?!"
Shidou shouted as his body was abruptly released from the constraining shackles of gravity, nearly rotating in place.
Nevertheless, precisely as Kotori had explained, there was an inconceivable feeling of profound stability as if an invisible hand was supporting him from behind. That was undoubtedly the Territory maintaining Shidou's body posture. Naturally, owing to the fact that he had absolutely no experience of swimming in space, that peculiar tingliness
could not be erased. But he could breathe normally and the temperature felt by his skin was appropriate. These regulated conditions were sufficiently enough to provide Shidou a suitable environment in order to converse with Mukuro casually.
"—Okay."
Shidou nodded his head gently, powerfully contracting his legs and pedaling through space. In accordance with the thrust accumulated from his motions, Shidou's body was propelled in Mukuro's direction as a result.
"——Huh?"
It was then that she finally noticed the annoying existence which was slowly nearing her. Mukuro threw her vision aside and caught sight of the approaching Shidou, solemnly narrowing her eyes in response.
"Thou, I recall… art named Shidou, regrettably with non-reminiscence. Did Muku not bid thee an age long adieu added brimming abhorrence?"
Hearing Mukuro's authentic voice for the first time without the means of any electronic devices, a tiny hint of tense nervousness mingled with thrilled exhilaration and a determined sense of duty evolved within Shidou's courageous heart as he attentively faced Mukuro.
"I'm honored that you remember my name. Could it be that you wanted to see me so badly?"
"...Huh?"
Mukuro inclined her head, but that did not imply that she didn't understand Shidou's persuasive words. Saying such words so boldly made her suspect that Shidou had accidentally bumped his head somewhere and became mentally impeded. However, Shidou didn't mind that at all and leisurely continued.
"Get ready, you spoiled child. You should know that my ego has no end."
Within the invariably dark world which separated heaven and earth, the heavy curtains unfolded to unveil a clandestine [date] between man and spirit.