A few minutes later, Yukariko Shiki was back in the main room with us, arms crossed over her chest, back slightly arched, and a rather bashful smile playing on her lips.
“Sorry about that. I’m fine now,” she told us, although only she knew whether that was true. The trouble with her was that she was better at hiding her feelings than any of us.
We sat in our usual circle, with Kayla perched on my lap.
“Let’s start by sorting through the information. About what Wan mentioned…” As usual, Shiki took the lead in the discussion, and I think we were all grateful to take our minds off the heavy topics we’d been thinking about. The existence of an organization operating in the shadows against interdimensional drifters was shocking enough.
“Unfortunately, we can’t rely on them. In the end, it seems we’re the only ones who can defeat that crazy black sphere called the ‘Demon King.’ No, to be exact… Kayla, it’s all up to you.”
“Leave it to me!” Kayla threw up her arms in excitement, accidentally hitting my chin with the back of her head. Painful for me, amusing for Shiki.
“Okay, Kayla, listen carefully. We have to defeat the Demon King no matter what. Even if it means putting yourself in danger. Our priority is achieving our goal, not keeping you safe. Is that clear?”
“Wait, Shiki—”
“All right!” Kayla interrupted my protest, again puffing out her chest in pride. “Papa, you worry too much!” she added.
“Well, of course I do. I mean, it’s my daughter’s safety we’re talking about here.”
“I’m gonna become a bride someday, you know that, right?”
“What are you talking about that for?! You’re like, ten.” And just so we’re clear, I, as a father, will absolutely not allow you to date some random guy. Absolutely not.
“Anyway, let’s get back on topic,” Shiki said. “Ultimately, Kayla is essential for defeating the Demon King, so Kazu and the rest of us will be sure to protect her.”
“I’m happy to be so cherished!”
“Indeed. Essentially, as Shiki said, our battle strategy will revolve around protecting Kayla and getting her to the Demon King,” Rushia summarized.
“The problem is whether we can even reach the Demon King,” said Shiki. “Surveillance equipment, remote helicopters, drones… None of those could make it to him. We don’t know whether that’s because of space distortion, some kind of field, or magic that confuses perception…”
“Maybe we can get past it with Dimensional Step or Shape Lightning,” I pondered.
“Another issue is the enemy’s strength. If the Demon King sends multiple Flying Jellyfish, we’re in for trouble.”
Ah, that’s right. Flying Jellyfish are those annoying monsters that are immune to physical attacks. Arisu and Tamaki would struggle. We might manage, sort of, with alternative attack methods, but…
The real firepower comes down to Rushia and Kayla’s magic, and my familiars.
If the enemy relies on numbers, we’ll be in a tight spot.
“What’s more, with how many undead there are here, I think there’s a strong possibility that Ghost King Diasnexus is in this world, too.”
“Hey, what about Algrafth? Can’t he defeat the ghosts?” Tamaki asked.
Shiki shook her head. “I doubt it. The fact that Coeurl admitted he couldn’t contact Algrafth suggests he might not have been able to come to this world.”
“So, we have to face the Demon King and one of the Four Heavenly Kings at the same time, huh?”
We’d always known this was a possibility, but it didn’t make it any less intimidating.
Facing the Demon King, a Heavenly King, and the Flying Jellyfish all at once… That’s not just difficult; that’s a monumental challenge.
“I’d prefer if we could defeat the Ghost King first, then tackle the Demon King with some breathing room.”
“Kazu, do you have any ideas?”
“Maybe if we just keep crushing his minions, he’ll get mad and show himself.”
It was worth a shot.
Shiki snorted in amusement. Damn it.
“So, you have a plan then?”
“I think we should ask Mr. Wan’s organization for help.”
“Ask them to look for the Ghost King? Think that’ll work?”
The Ghost King has got to be a high level magician, I thought. He’s bound to use invisibility, which will make a visual search impossible.
“Besides, we’re short on time. There’s probably no way we can organize a widespread search.”
“We don’t need them to deploy personnel, but perhaps they could use some other abilities they have.”
Other abilities? What’s that, being mysterious again?
“Ah, right, they knew we were coming to Shiki’s house.”
“Right. So, I asked them earlier in the park if they could use their magic to find the leader of the undead, Ghost King Diasnexus.”
When did she manage that? I wondered. Then I remembered seeing them talking privately earlier. What an incredibly vigilant person.
“They said it might be possible with a catalyst.”
“A catalyst… So, they’d perform some ritual with it?”
“Sounds like it. They said the more closely related to Diasnexus, the better… Kazu, do you have any leads?”
Hmm, something related to Diasnexus, huh? That sounds tough to find… but wait.
“I’m curious, will Mr. Wan be performing the ritual himself? I feel like it would be complicated if we had to bring it to a lab or something.”
“Apparently, one of his colleagues is waiting near here. They can use some sort of search magic.”
“All right, that’s convenient then. Let’s ask them for help.”
I shared my idea with everyone.
“Are you sure that will work?” Arisu asked, unusually doubtful of my suggestion.
Well, I couldn’t blame her. The catalyst we were thinking of wasn’t exactly… conventional.
“If it doesn’t work out, we’ll think of something else. We’re not even sure if we can get to the ritual part.”
“But I think Kazu’s plan is worth trying.”
“I think we should try it, too.”
“Yeah, if it works, we’ll be ahead of the game!”
“Papa can do it! Go for it!”
No, Kayla, that’s not it. Everyone needs to work hard; this can’t just be me giving orders from behind.