“There’s always been a limit to what we can do. In the past, we’ve never been able to defeat those kind of beings; at best, we’ve just managed to drive them away.”
Ah, Mr. Wan mentioned “we” there. So, he’s not alone; there’s some group backing him.
“Do you think your organization will be able to drive it away this time?” I asked.
“That’s difficult. That’s why I’ve come to consult with you.”
Wow, if even he says that…
“We’re not sure how well we can deal with this kind of opponent, either,” Shiki told him. “If we could defeat it, we would have done it in the other world.”
“Indeed. If only there was some way…”
“I’ll defeat the World Eater!” Kayla interrupted cheerfully. She had just swallowed a bite of Baumkuchen cake, and she licked her fingers before adding, “That’s why I came here!”
Mr. Wan narrowed his eyes at Kayla, who straightened her back and met his gaze head-on.
“I see, I see.” Eventually, the old man crinkled his already wrinkled face into a smile, and Kayla, catching the mood, grinned back.
Aww, what a heartwarming exchange…
“Is that all right with you, young lady?” Mr. Wan asked her.
“It’s what I was born for!”
“Then, I have nothing more to say.”
Wait, hold on. Doesn’t that sound a bit ominous?
“Kayla, are you hiding something from us?” I asked.
Kayla tilted her head innocently, and it looked for all the world like she had nothing to hide.
“Kayla, you mentioned that using your power to defeat the Demon Lord won’t cause any bad outcomes. You’re not planning on performing a suicide attack, are you?” I pressed.
“Suicide attacks are romantic, you know?”
“That sounds like something Mia would say… but that’s not the point!”
“Don’t worry. Kayla will be fine,” Mr. Wan said.
I glanced at him, and he replied with only a kind smile.
“We might have different definitions of ‘fine,’” Shiki murmured.
Ah, should we have considered that possibility too?
“Kayla, your body, your spirit, they won’t be harmed by using your power to defeat the Demon Lord?”
“Nope!”
“I see… Well, Mia wouldn’t let her daughter do something as dangerous as a kamikaze attack, right?”
Am I overthinking this? I wondered. Well, nothing wrong with that, I guess.
But then, what does our conversation with Mr. Wan imply? It’s concerning, but maybe pondering over it won’t help.
“To get straight to the point, could you tell us what kind of support you can offer?”
“Our direct support in combat might be limited,” he advised.
“What about indirect support?”
“We’re prepared to deploy a wide-area barrier around Tokyo Bay.”
A wide-area barrier, huh?
Rushia paused her enthusiastic eating to say, “Barriers can vary. Elder, what kind of barrier are we talking about?”
“It’s called a boundary barrier. It temporarily severs external paths, effectively cutting off the flow of magical energy from rifts used by those who traverse worlds.”
Boundary barrier. World travelers. Blocking magical energy from world rifts.
Although a lot of new terms had been introduced, I figured I’d grasped the essence of the conversation. The Demon Lord possessed infinite magical power, thanks to the power of the Wedge. And this barrier would sever the connection with the Wedge, blocking off that source of magic. Having infinite magical power can make any adversary extremely troublesome, as I’d demonstrated yesterday evening against Azagralith. If the flow of magic could be shut out, there might be a sliver of hope against even the most formidable foes…
With Kayla here, I’d like to believe we stand a chance.
“When can you activate this barrier?” Shiki inquired.
Mr. Wan replied that the personnel deployment was already complete. His group had been operating in the shadows, dealing with threats on their own if possible, or seeking—or waiting for—those who could. And now, we had arrived, as foretold by their prophecy, leading Mr. Wan to come to us.
Is it just an incredible coincidence that he’s the Greater Ninja’s master, or was that part of their plans all along?
“I see. Can I ask something that’s a bit off-topic?” Shiki continued.
“Please, go ahead, young lady.”
“Did you and your group rig the underground of our school?”
“There was a prophecy stating it should be done. However, I only learned of that department’s activities yesterday.”
Shiki and I exchanged looks.
“Does that mean the Wedge too?”
“The Wedge… I’m afraid I can’t say much about that.”
Okay, so Mr. Wan’s organization was only responsible for the cavity beneath our high school campus. They were unaware of the dungeon-like area beneath the middle school.
This revelation left us with more questions than answers.
“Perhaps during the transition, a fusion of spaces occurred,” Mr. Wan speculated after some thought. I nodded in understanding. Something like the Wedge couldn’t possibly be made in this world. According to the myths, it was gods who had created the Wedge. But there was no point in dwelling on that now.
“What about going back to the other world? Do you know how we can do that? Or how to bring back the kids who are still in that world to this one?” Shiki asked.
“If you can defeat the being that traverses worlds—the Planeswalker—residing in that rift, it should be possible to use it. I don’t know the specifics, though…”
“I see. Thank you.”
Shiki’s reasoning made sense to me. She probably assumed that either Mia or Kayla had secured a way back to the other world. And then, there was what Mr. Wan knew about the two worlds—about moving between them, what knowledge this Earth held, or whether Planeswalkers might act maliciously toward the other world in the future.
This was probably also why she’d asked about the school’s setup earlier. Either way, she’s determined to get back there, isn’t she?
Even with such nice parents and grandparents here; a safe, normal life…
Shiki chose not the warmth of her family but her subordinates, the thirty-some girls. She was ready to abandon everything, even her loving family, to return to that world of carnage.
All Mr. Wan said was, “Is that so?”
“What about the government’s stance?” she asked him.
“We’ve managed to have them comply with our wishes. Just now, we’ve evacuated all ships from Tokyo Bay. Evacuation orders have been issued for the entire bay area.”
Wait, these guys can tell the Japanese government what to do?
“That’s why I’ve come here, now that the evacuation procedures are complete.”
“Everything’s been arranged, then?” Shiki sighed.
It was fine by me, though. In the six days since we’d been sent to that other world, we’d continuously been the ace up everyone’s sleeve, shouldering myriad expectations, sometimes without even realizing it.
This time, it was the same deal. We had to overpower our enemy with our strength alone, even if that enemy was the Demon King.
“It’s too bad,” Shiki sighed. “I wanted to spend some time with my family. I haven’t even seen my dad’s face yet.”
“Oh, Shiki, you can stay here,” I offered. “You’d just be in the way on the battlefield.”
She glared fiercely.
H-hey, glaring at me like that isn’t going to scare me… much?
I lost the battle of stares and averted my gaze.
“But, Shiki, it’s true you’d be slowing us down.”
“I know, but! And what about after we defeat it? If we have to go back right away… What do you think, Kayla?”
“Hmm…” Kayla placed her hand on her chin, gazing up at the ceiling. “Probably, not much time?”
“See, I told you.”
“But, it’s just too dangerous…”
At that moment, another of Coeurl’s barks echoed from outside.
This bark sounded different, and we could all feel the tension ripple through the room.
“We don’t have any time to lose. Sounds like monsters have shown up near—”
Shiki’s words were drowned out by the ringing of a cell phone, which Mr. Wan took from his pocket.
After a brief conversation, he turned to us. “Bones… Skeletons, whatever they’re called? They’re heading this way.”