Chapter 214

She was running all over the Netherworld to put an end to the conflicts miring the realm—in the hopes this would save even one more person from tragedy. Along the way, she had obtained these two Dark Cores. “I’ll leave these with you.” “Please take them to Komari, if it’s not too much trouble.” “She should be looking for the Dark Cores with the Wicked God Slayer.” “Huh? Me? I have to go after Yusei. Thanks to the power of the two Dark Cores, I finally know where she is.” “I won’t be able to see you again for a while. But I’m counting on you.” “Don’t worry. Komari will do my part.” Nelia wasn’t able to enjoy the reunion. She wanted to talk more. To have dinner with her. But the woman had left them with the Dark Cores and parted like the wind. You could’ve at least waited until we reunited with Komari. Don’t you find it even a bit cold-hearted? she thought, but it must’ve simply meant the woman was just that busy. Her parting words had shocked Nelia. “You’ve grown so much. I know you’ll lead Aruka down the right path.” “Miss…” She’d strictly ordered them not to follow her. Not that it would have been possible to do so, as she’d vanished at the speed of light. They could only do what was within their reach. First on their plate was meeting back up with Komari. “Ahh… Lady Komari… Lady Komari…” “Vill?! I’m not the Commander! Don’t rub your face against me…” “What’re you doing?! Stop goofing around!” “Bweh!” Nelia smacked Villhaze’s head with a giant paper fan. “Meanie.” The blue-haired maid looked up at her with teary eyes. “I’m sick. I am suffering from Komarinium deficiency…” “And we’re going to find her! My mentor said Komari is working with Inverse Moon, but who knows if that’s true! The Wicked God Slayer might be torturing her as we speak!” “…!” Villhaze snapped out of it. “…You’re right. I’ve no time to lose toying with Esther.” “Am I just a toy…?!” Esther moaned. “So Lady Komari is looking for the Dark Cores with Inverse Moon, and in the process, they defeated Tremolo Parcostella at the mining city of Neoplus…” “Apparently.” Her mentor had told them of Komari’s general movements. The information had come from a mole she’d planted in Inverse Moon. But the spy lost track of them around the Toumor Republic, a big country in the south.” “We’ll go south first. We need more intel.” “Don’t worry. My nose will lead us to Lady Komari.” “I don’t think a dog would even be capable of that…,” Esther said. “Agh! The wind is getting in the way! If only I had sniffed her harder and deeper!” “Was Ms. Vill always this unhinged…?” “You hadn’t realized? She’s one of the two greatest sickos in the world, the other being Sakuna Memoir.” Nelia sighed. Just then, a lively voice came from the rest stop’s entrance: “Vill! Nelia! I found some freaks over there!” Colette Lumiere. A spunky girl without her right arm. The doctor had ordered her to rest and stay put, but she ran toward the group like she didn’t care. She insisted she was a part of the Komari Club, too. “…Freaks? You mean like this girl here?” “No! They’re, like, scary. But their uniforms are like Terakomari’s and Esther’s. Could this mean they’re part of the same unit…?” Nelia met Villhaze’s gaze. It would only take a glance to make sure. “Ohh! If it isn’t Lieutenant Villhaze!” Villhaze was stunned. There was a psycho gathering on the terrace of the village café. The members of the Seventh Unit of the Mulnite Imperial Army—the Komari Unit—were sitting around a table for a meal. Lieutenant Caostel Conto. Lieutenant Bellius Hund Cerbero. Captain Mellaconcey. Lieutenant Yohann Helders. “…Huh? Wh-why are those four in the Netherworld?!” Esther spoke for everyone. “A foolish question,” Caostel said with a grin that could get him jailed. “We’re in this world because the Commander is here, of course. The Seventh Unit has a duty to snuggle up to her side at every moment, like barnacles on the bottom of a ship.” “Ewww.” Colette cringed. Villhaze sympathized. “That’s no explanation, Caostel.” Bellius sighed. “Lieutenant Villhaze, you seem to be doing well. Glad to see you again.” “Did you also get warped here when the Dark Core collapsed?” she asked. “The Dark Core?” The vampires furrowed their brows. The quartet didn’t seem to be aware of the situation. Explaining it would be a hassle, so she decided to leave it for later. “…Could you please tell me what happened?” “A light covered the Jingshi, and we were transported. Now there are two suns, and the constellations are all different… Are we in another world?” “It’s been terrible. There are no Dark Cores here. Our wounds won’t heal, and we can’t use magic freely. I pine for the days when we could kill each other with reckless abandon.” “Check it! A dry world without explosions. Who caused this commotion? We wander around, feelin’ lost and weak. But some things don’t change—Caostel’s still a freak.” One of the lieutenants punched Mellaconcey, sending him flying. Please don’t fight away from the Dark Core, Villhaze thought. “So that’s how you wound up here. It appears you were sent here by force, just like us. How fortunate our paths happened to cross,” she said. “It’s no coincidence we found you,” Caostel said. “Excuse me?” “We reached this place by following the Commander’s smell.” “Lieutenant Conto, if you may excuse the rudeness, that is disgusting.” “Oh, I’m not the one who did the sniffing. Call Bellius gross. We followed his nose.” “Ah, then there’s no problem.” “Please explain why it’s okay now. Is Bellius not gross because he’s a dog? That’s racist. Say that in public in the Lapelico Kingdom, and you’ll get sent to an animal court where they’ll sentence you to be battered with a cold banana—” “Ahem, getting back on topic—Lieutenant Villhaze, is the Commander not here?” Bellius asked. “No…” There was no point in hiding it. Villhaze succinctly summarized what had happened to them from their arrival in the Netherworld up to their encounter with Spica. She only omitted the part where Komari lost to Tremolo once. “I see.” Caostel nodded. “So the Commander is currently with Inverse Moon.” “Yes. They should be looking for the Netherworld’s Dark Cores…” “Who cares about that?!” Yohann Helders finally spoke up, slamming his empty bowl on the table. “We gotta look for her ASAP! Terakomari’s weak! We can’t let her be with that killer psycho! She’ll get murdered!” “The commander is weak? What are you saying, Yohann?” Caostel said. “Are you blind?! Terakomari’s just a little feeble girl! Agh, we can’t waste our time here, we gotta go help her!” “Listen, punk. I won’t tell you not to get worked up, but just don’t get killed, all right?” Bellius said. “Why would I get killed?!” Everyone fought back the urge to point out how he was always dying, and Yohann began gathering his stuff. “You’ve got a short fuse.” Nelia sighed. “Yohann, was it? Do you know where Komari is?” “No idea! That’s why we gotta look for her, pronto!” “I shouldn’t have even asked. Bellius, will your nose get us anywhere?” “She’s south.” Villhaze looked at him with surprise. The dog beast-folk crossed his arms and looked in the direction of the rising sun. “I used all my mana to activate my olfactory magic. I don’t know her exact location… But she shouldn’t be too far from here.” Nelia took out a map of the Netherworld. Bellius drew a circle near the middle with his finger. “She’s around here… The God Slayer Tower… No, in the Holy Lehysian Empire…” “Dogs really can tell!” Esther looked at him with amazement. Caostel put his hands together and stood up. “There we have it. Get ready to head out.” “All right! Hurry it up, guys!” “Check it! You better make sure your gear holds up. Unless you’re lookin’ to go belly up.” “Shut up, clown!” Yohann and Mellaconcey bantered. Anyhow, their course was clear. They had to head to the Holy Lehysian Empire to bring Komari the two Dark Cores. Then, get rid of Star Citadel and Spica La Gemini and go back home. It shouldn’t be hard with so many comrades by their side. The Holy Lehysian Empire. The headquarters of the Holy Church in the Netherworld. A completely neutral city-state. This holy area was usually quiet itself, yet for the past few days, it had been seized by an abnormal fervor—a base clamor. The streets were filled with so many officials and soldiers from other countries that the Holy Church believers were the minority. At the center of the city was the Lehysian Cathedral. A grand number of VIPs engaged in fierce debate in the pope’s holy palace. “I’ve been saying again and again that you attacked first!” “No! We mobilized our armies because you invaded our territory!” “What?! Are you claiming our country’s armory exploded out of nowhere?!” “It had to be a failure of your management! Don’t blame us!” Forty-two people sat at the round table, all important delegates from the countries of the Netherworld. A curtain hanging from the ceiling read WORLD PEACE COUNCIL. Yes, that was the purpose of their debate—to find a path toward peace. “What are you plotting?!” “What are you plotting?! Using those inhumane weapons!” “Wasn’t it your nation that assassinated our diplomat?!” “Slander!” “The Heegen Kingdom and the Fayta Empire must be in cahoots!” “Calumny! We only want peace!” No roundabout words. They blamed one another outright. The point of this meeting was to find a way to stop the war. All year long, conflicts had been popping up out of nowhere across the globe. Nobody wanted more fighting, yet dignitaries heading to other countries were assassinated, important bases were attacked, and military ministers went off the handle, invading other territories. The nations collectively found this strange, and they had gathered in this neutral country to find the cause. “It’s like a zoo in here…” A sigh. A young Sapphire girl sat in the most prominent seat of the holy round table in the cathedral. She looked barely over ten. Her hair was white as snow, and her eyes wavered with concern. It was the pope of the Holy Lehysian Empire, Clenent DIV. Clenent DIV was the council’s organizer, but no one listened to the weak little girl. They all criticized each other in chaos. Tears formed in Clenent DIV’s eyes as she worried this would only get them further away from peace. “Enough! Talking is pointless! Let’s take this outside!” “Oh, you’re on! Let’s put an end to this here and now!” The two old guys grappled with each other. Violence at a peace summit. It should have been unbelievable, yet the other dignitaries fanned the flames, shouting, ““Show him!”” Punches flew, counters blew, and frenzy encroached the hall. Enough was enough. Whack! Clenent DIV slammed the table and stood up. “S-STOP FIGHTIIING!!” Silence. Clenent DIV used all her energy to speak. “You are embarrassing yourselves before God! This is a place of discussion! Take your brutality elsewhere! Let’s all have a sip of tea and calm dow—”