Chapter 133

“Mm, if you do that to me, I’ll let the red shoe crush you. Eeeveryone here will get good and squished.” “Yeah. I’m sure we would. I don’t want to die, you know. I don’t want Menou and Sahara to die, either.” Pandæmonium held her friends’ lives hostage, while Maya held the ability to make Pandæmonium like herself. In this moment, they were an equal match. “That’s why I asked you to go away. I’ll let you live for now if you just leave us and go home, okay?” “You’re very cheeky for a pinky finger. Just who do you think you are?” Maya and Pandæmonium gazed at each other silently. Normally, they wouldn’t both be able to exist at the same time. One was a Human Error, the other the lost one who’d come before. Neither had a good reason to back down, yet they weren’t sure they could force their victory. As the staring contest continued, Maya suddenly looked away, her gaze turning to one of the theater seats. She’d noticed something written there. You should always sit and watch till the very end, even if it’s a B-movie. Good luck, Maya! It was Nono’s final message. Out of context, it seemed like a bizarre note to leave behind. But reading it and knowing it had been left by someone who’d foreseen all of this, Maya knew what she had to see. It struck her like divine revelation. “Tell me…” “What?” “Do you watch the credits before you leave?” Pandæmonium didn’t answer at first. Maya went on anyway, talking about herself. “I always stay until the very end, and I only start getting ready to go once the lights come on. It’s the polite thing to do.” “Right…” After that short response, Pandæmonium’s eyes glowed with red Guiding Light. “I suppose that’s just how it is, in the end. You and I are nothing alike.” Guiding Force: Sacrifice—Chaos Collusion, Pure Concept [Evil]—Summon [Fly through the sky.] Maya braced herself for an attack. Instead, Pandæmonium’s arms transformed into a monster’s wings. “I never want to turn into the likes of you, either, you know.” Pandæmonium beat her wings. Maya wasn’t sure what resonated with her, but apparently, she’d chosen to withdraw. “I’m sure both you and that lady will meet a much more exciting end than me swallowing you up.” She flew into the air to land on the top of the giant red shoe. Once she was aboard, the foot slowly rose, returning to the tear in the sky. “As long as you live with a Pure Concept, you’ll never escape the fate of a Human Error.” With those foreboding final words, Pandæmonium disappeared through the rift in the sky. “I’m well aware of that already,” Maya whispered. She and Menou were forced to grapple with that constantly. How would they pay the price for using their Pure Concepts? As Maya’s mind spun with thoughts that had no satisfying conclusion, a hand rested on her head. “Good job, Maya.” It ruffled her hair as it petted her. Maya looked up at Menou. “Were you listening?” “I was.” Menou nodded. She’d thought on the subject constantly since gaining the ability to use Akari’s Pure Concept. “But we’ve come this far to fix things, that problem included.” They’d sent the upper half of the environment control tower into the Mechanical Society, and Abbie had collected the top half of the Astrologer’s body. Once she analyzed those materials, they’d gain access to the Starhusk. If the Starhusk really was an otherworld repatriation circle, it would allow them to reverse engineer the conjuring construction of the otherworld summoning. Were they to connect with the core of the planet, the source of all the world’s power, then they’d be able to tear a Pure Concept away from a soul. Maya would surely make it. She’d said that her Evil conjurings didn’t consume too many memories. She wasn’t a lost cause like Menou. “Look. We should get moving.” Menou smiled and pointed down. Abbie and Sahara were on the ground. They’d sensed that the battle was over and were waving up at Menou and Maya. “For now, let’s go down there and brag that you sent Pandæmonium packing.” “Right… Yes! Good idea! You’re absolutely right, Menou!” There was still a lot to think about, but for the moment, Maya shook off her dark thoughts and descended to where her friends waited.