Once Upon the Forsaken Aldebaran

"It may sound dumb but I haven't been to this part of Nichiyoubi before."

Kafka Ikari had something dumb to say, disengaging progress altogether in a sense of self-deprecating passion.

"Kafka… it's the heart of the city, how could you not?" I posed, doubting at the same time if my question merited anything at all. "You're an examinee so you should have at least attended a cram school during summer break."

"Meh, you're already accepted in college the moment you become a Level 4. I don't need to go to places if I'm not required to."

"I'm pretty sure that's not how it works," Tsukuyomi disagreed.

Kafka winced at him. "If you're unsure, enlist as a soldier right away."

And I sure didn't mind if they bickered around.

Nichiyoubi Center Area.

For some immediate reason, we ended up going to the central business district. While it's called that, it's not as busy as Tokyo's Shinjuku or the closer Shijo-Kawaramachi down at Kyoto. It's mostly academic by exactly being tattered by schools: unlike the cardinal institutions and the university, they don't have the military courses.

On a school day, the second day of the second semester, three unauthorized Magic students lurked in the progressive metropolis.

If we happened to be spotted by the police, we'd be scolded and reported for bad conduct. For the time, we were in our uniforms due to an urgent matter─and were risking ourselves for the exact situation. Luckily, saying it firsthand, we weren't straying far enough to get lost and we're healthy enough for some sprint.

Then in retrospect: granted, we successfully passed through our area unseen by the other students.

For how the events escalated from Ayase thrashing Nayami down to a building being destroyed in the process─they didn't seem too involved. More or less, Class 3-A has disappeared: the faculty has issued control of the damages, and classes were suspended for the day. As of the moment, all other students have gone home and the gates have already closed.

Regarding the spread of information, it seems to be contained within the school and the students.

Then back to the situation at hand: knowing some blind spots and unorthodox routes, I led both Kafka and Tsukuyomi to the subway station. We boarded the rapid transit and arrived thirteen minutes after ten stops at Shinomiya Station, the closest station to Nichiyoubi University. Our prime destination─the most insane place to meet someone important for our breakthrough revenge.

"Nichiyoubi University. When exactly did we decide it was the right place to go?" Kafka wondered out loud as he stretched his arms upward.

Tsukuyomi, as usual, provided a response. "We're defying someone stronger than our class combined, where do you think houses more Mages who can help us out?"

"Recruitment, then?" Kafka took his arm down, and yawned. "We should have gone to the prison, instead."

"It's not going to be a freakin' adventure tale…" I retorted, embroiled by the same sleepiness.

Tsukuyomi failed to catch the drift and proposed, "I know some students."

"I know some students as you do," Kafka retorted, albeit sounding drained. "So what? Can you take them out of class at this time of the day? Think, Origami, think!"

"Ha-ha! You're harsh…Kafka!"

"I hate how Yukihime enunciates my name already. Please don't make it more vexing than it already is."

"You're harsh…Kafka!"

"Hah, I shouldn't have retorted," he relinquished, foregoing all his aggression from his palm to the entirety of his face.

Expectations were cast and I wasn't heeded.

Nothing I could have done but progress through without shading them any relevant information.

I led still, we continued walking onwards─circled the university area until upon sight was a derelict mansion.

Rusted and vintage: the Higanbana House.

"We're here," I told them.

I─Shirayuki Otogibanashi─Kafka Ikari, and Tsukuyomi Origami were about to enter a situation we didn't ask for… we're Mages though, so it's a little too Human getting afraid of mysterious infrastructure.

"I see…." Kafka stood unfettered and evaluated, "It's been hanging to me how we would enter the campus, but we're not exactly going there, huh?"

"Yeah, Yukihime sure didn't mince words in where he wanted to take us," Tsukuyomi coursed his eyes into my direction.

"I didn't lie, because it's the loony bin dormitory of Nichiyoubi University."

"Interesting! It's perfect for an exorcist to live in." Tsukuyomi chuckled, with a little indignation to huff in the air. "I'm getting a bad feeling about what may happen inside this house."

"I sure do," Kafka seconded, agreeing with him for the first time.

The three of us walked into the solitary doorstep, and as the person in charge, I turned the knob…Of course, this got Kafka scolding me with his rebellious mood while Tsukuyomi stepped back.

Click, it opened and the abyss stared at us.

Heavy and powerful, we didn't cross. Heavier and more powerful, Kafka seemingly irritated to step upfront. I tugged his vestment, there waking him up from a trance.

Zap─!

Higanbana House unleashed a sonic boom, a heavy-hitting Sound spell swung unto us by the split-second. Kafka, gritting his teeth by the superfluous greetings, cast his spell accelerating a moment of his time and dodged. Meanwhile, Tsukuyomi had been expecting that he escaped such a miserable experience from intuition alone.

Left standing in front was only me─knowing the process of the damned entrance already.

Particles of dust and sand started to concentrate on the frame, and shielded me for the first time.

Solidifying into rectangular imperfection, mixed with heat and a blatantly unrefined science procedure─layers of terracotta shielded me a second time…Yet not enough to hold the barrage and broke it into pieces.

I dodged so as not to let myself be harmed, not to boast, but skilled enough to anticipate the next shot… a third solidified blade of sound was sharply thrown from inside Higanbana House.

I reached out my left hand to its trajectory.

Same technique was employed albeit reliant on intuition; particles of dust from the area stormed meters apart the entrance.

The layered sheets of terracotta started to break by two layers until then that the third, fourth, and fifth were sturdy enough, preventing the adjacent construction company from losing its silo.

Then there were no more surprise chains.

"Wait, like, what the fuck just happened?! This is more dangerous than I imagined! Fancy plan to kill us, huh, Yukihime?!" Kafka complained, now seriously brimming with his inherent toxicity.

I kept quiet, also not expecting what had just come into us.

I couldn't exactly comment on something funny, because I know I too was terrified. I've rehearsed my actions before─but even then, I failed to withstand them with only one move.

But to be fair, I think it wasn't just us who were terrified.

The security measure was there for a reason, and by no means we would have received even stronger retaliation from exuding politeness.

"Who are you? Identify yourself!"

A trembling voice─in the output of an old man's voice.

I shifted to the front door and actively presented myself. "Snow White is at your doorstep, thank you very much!"

Kafka and Tsukuyomi followed, respectively unnerved and poised.

However peculiar it was, it made the killing intent disappear and made way for a calmer voice, "Shiro?"

Light in the room then appeared at the blink of our eyes.

Rather than showing a horrific scenery where dead bodies are piled, it just showed a normal reception hall.

The first thing to be in view was a hallway until the sight of a stairs going up the second floor.

This made my two companions calm themselves, though only by little.

Although, the person who was inside was nowhere to be found.

It wasn't any mysterious deal, though. A trick into finding this person however was to look up and by a distance hangs an extended replica of the Gokuu pole. He apparently uses the pole as a foothold, so as to not be hit by a curse, wherein he can't touch the ground.

Kinda like Kagenui Yozuru.

"Surprise, Master Akahoshi," I greeted and waved my hand: sarcasm interjected.

Evidence of surprise from Kafka and Tsukuyomi: leaking magic aura from the excessive release of dopamine.

"Ah, I didn't recognize you for a second. My apprentices haven't entered for the last seven months so I thought of amplifying the force… Guh! It's been boring to the death that no one has brought me booze, I'm too sober that I'm having thoughts of stepping to the ground each day and night! You came at the perfect moment, young'un! Take my black card and buy a barrel of wine!"

"No." I dismissed─turning his request down.

"Whaddaya mean? Ya have an urgent business or somethin'?"

He catechized in his utmost exasperation, before really killing off, ironically, the killing intent.

Walking in the thin pole overhead, it sure got into Tsukuyomi's awe then, Kafka couldn't stop pulling on my uniform.

His voice tuned the softest since our very first encounter, he furiously and curiously inquired, "Yukihime! Isn't this person Aldebaran, the legendary returnee?!"

"That's the second Strongest Mage, Motoharu Akahoshi, and the world's first returnee from a parallel world." …I was supposed to say, but Tsukuyomi rained on my parade.