I was planning on performing the ritual alone, but…
“Let me help you,” Arisu offered, stepping over to me. Together, we drew the magic circle on the ground with special ink and scattered precious magical materials as a catalyst.
“It feels really refreshing doing this,” Arisu remarked with a smile.
Refreshing, huh? Wasn’t she with us during the night of the third day when we formed the exclusive contract with Sha-Lau?
“That time, it was mostly Rushia-san who did everything,” Arisu said when I asked her about it.
“Ah, right, I forgot about that.”
“Doing this kind of work with only you, Kazu-san… I think this is our first time,” Arisu noted.
Since being thrust into this world together, we’d fought side by side on many occasions. She knew me better than anyone else, and I felt that I’d come to know quite a bit about her as well—for example, her tendency to feel lonely and her lifelong search for a father figure.
“Thanks, this helps a lot,” I said, gently patting her head. She closed her eyes in contentment. I couldn’t imagine a day without her, even though we’d met just six days ago. Her presence had very quickly become something I took for granted, much like Tamaki and Rushia…
And Mia. The pain of losing her still gnawed at me.
“Kazu-san…” Arisu’s face clouded with sadness.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Mia did what she had to do,” Arisu said.
Yes, she might be right. If Mia’s sacrifice really did prevent the worst from happening… What I need to do is remember that and keep going ahead, together with Arisu, Tamaki, and Rushia.
“Arisu, I’m counting on you moving forward,” I told her.
“Yes, of course!” As if to pledge never to part, Arisu hugged me tightly.
✦ ✦ ✦
Just as we finished the two rituals, Leen’s hawk descended. “We’re ready,” it announced. “Come with me, please.”
“Has the situation changed?”
“It has. Please hurry. I believe you’ll be deployed immediately.” While the hawk hurriedly conjured a teleportation circle, it relayed, “The Black-Winged Mad Wolf, Algrafth, has requested our cooperation. Shiki and Yuuki wish to respond favorably.”
“So, it’s come to that…” I said.
“It appears the Ghost King is determined to pursue the Demon Lord, even at the risk of the world’s destruction,” Leen confirmed via the hawk.
With that, Arisu and I stepped into the teleportation circle.
✦ ✦ ✦
Minutes later, nine of us students were standing in the shade of trees at the base of our school mountain, slightly removed from the battlefield. Each of us, Rushia included, donned a jersey with the special cloth sewn into the back. A monster that resembled a black panther stood there waiting for us.
Yuuki had whimsically named it Coeurl, after a creature from classic science fiction. I briefly wondered if this was allowed, then realized that copyright laws weren’t exactly a concern here.
Upon our arrival, the seated Coeurl slowly rose to its feet. It scanned us with its red eyes before locking gazes with me, and its telepathic speech echoed in my mind.
“You’re the leader, then?”
I was curious why it had picked me for the leader… though technically, I did hold decision-making authority, so it wasn’t wrong.
“I am,” I replied. “Tell us what you know.”
“The Ghost King, Diasnexus, intends to use a Wedge located in this mountain to transition to another world. If he succeeds, this continent will collapse. My master wishes to prevent that. To that end, we and you could collaborate.”
“Do you have proof of Diasnexus’s intentions?”
Coeurl snorted—perhaps its version of laughter. “Proof is not something readily provided.”
Right, that figures.
“I appreciate the honesty. How long does this alliance last?”
“Until my master has vanquished Diasnexus. He is determined to defeat him here.”
“And if he escapes, or if you retreat?”
“Those outcomes are highly unlikely. But if so, our alliance will last until all combat against Diasnexus and his forces concludes.”
That seemed reasonable, though I knew that verbal agreements hardly guaranteed absolute trust.
“All right, we’ll agree to that,” I said. “What do you need us to do?”
“Diasnexus’s elite forces are trying to reach the Wedge. We need you to stop them.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s beneath what you call the main building, in the south wing.”
The basement of the middle school main building… I hadn’t expected it to be there.
“How did you find out about this?”
“Our spies infiltrated Azagralith’s ranks.”
“Spies… on our own side?”
Well, we were potential enemies to them, so it makes sense. Algrafth must have been preparing for something like this for a long time.
“All the spies we sent to you died,” Coeurl continued.
“The Doppelgängers… You sent them, didn’t you?” This was something we’d realized during our discussion with Shiki and Leen the day before. Despite the Doppelgängers infiltrating the high school section from the second day, but no information had leaked to Azagralith, so it’d make sense if they were Algrafth’s subordinates.
The Doppelgängers had created significant chaos in the high school, and one had even incited unrest while disguised as Shiba… For Yuuki, they must have been particularly detestable enemies.
Yuuki wasn’t saying anything, but when I glanced over at him, I saw him glaring sharply at Coeurl from behind his mask. The monster either didn’t notice or was unfazed by it. Suddenly, Coeurl’s whole body shuddered, its pointed ears standing erect.
“It seems Diasnexus’s elites have headed toward Chutoob. We have no time to waste.”
“All right,” I said, nodding decisively. “We can leave right now. We’re heading to the middle school main building, right?” I turned around to see everyone else nodding in agreement.
Our first party consisted of myself, Arisu, Tamaki, and Rushia. The second party included Yuuki and Keiko from the high school, along with Sakura Nagatsuki and the fire mages Yuriko and Shion from the middle school—five in all. Although we were only nine, excluding the ninja duo, all were elites with Rank 9 skills. Any strength that we lacked, we would fill with my familiars.
“Summon Familiar: Heavenly Turtle, Nahan.”
A gigantic turtle, about five meters in length, appeared before us. Atop its shell sat the upper body of an elderly man with dusky skin, dressed in Chinese-style garments reminiscent of a hermit. His eyes were closed in meditation, and his bald head shone under the light.
Even as the old man remained utterly still, the turtle’s head turned toward us and gave a slight nod. I nodded back at Nahan and encouraged everyone to climb onto its vast shell. It’s worth noting that this familiar, having been summoned with an enhanced summoning level of 4, was effectively a Rank 9 support unit.
“Nahan, can you carry all of us and go invisible? Not just normal invisibility, but something advanced enough to hide us from the undead?”
“It is possible, master.”
“Then, let’s move that way. I’ll give the directions.” Two of Leen’s hawks descended onto Nahan’s shell. Then Coeurl, too—Bold move, I thought—leaped onto Nahan’s shell. The heavenly turtle ascended into the air.
“It doesn’t spin like Gamera, huh?” Yuuki mused.
What is he talking about?
“Spinning at high speed would make it impossible to stay on…”