After the short and intense fight, we were left behind on our own.
“Master!” Lily shouted, her eyes pleading for a command.
“After them!” I said after a moment’s thought.
We would be safer waiting here for the exploration team or Kouzu’s group to return. However, it was possible the Evil Dragon would reach the Dimensional Cornerstones before then. Nakajima definitely possessed tremendous power, but unfortunately, he lacked my internal compass. If he lost sight of the Evil Dragon, it would be over. Freed from pursuit, the creature would effortlessly destroy the Dimensional Cornerstones. We couldn’t count on anyone else to be able to stop it.
“Mm! Got it!”
Everyone reacted to my orders quickly. Lily leaped high into the air, turned her hand into a feeler, and managed to land in the hole high up in the ceiling.
“Shiran!”
“Right away!”
Shiran responded to her call and used the feeler as a rope to climb up. During that time, Berta jumped toward the wall with the rest of us on her back, then kicked off to jump even higher, using her tentacles to grip the hole’s edge. Berta made her way through just as Lily finished pulling Shiran up. We all came out into the hallway on the upper floor.
“Where did that bastard go?” Lobivia muttered menacingly, glancing around for her prey.
Jinguuji was the bitter enemy who’d destroyed her home. Unlike when we’d met Okazaki, there was no need for her to hold it in. It was reasonable for her emotions to run hot. Regardless, she didn’t charge off and instead focused on guarding me. She had more than enough restraint.
“That way,” I said, stroking her head.
Relying on my connection to this world, I had a grasp of Nakajima and Jinguuji’s location. Even without that, it was easy to glean their general direction from the traces of destruction. They were apparently having an intense battle while on the move. It would be a simple matter to follow them.
“Shall we?” Berta asked, thinking the same thing.
“Hang on a sec,” I said.
“What is it?”
“We might be able to cut them off.”
Having transformed into the Evil Dragon, Jinguuji was headed straight toward his destination. That wasn’t equivalent to using the optimal route, though. He had a Dimensional Cornerstone, so he knew which way to go, but seeing that we were indoors, heading there in a straight line could lead him down inconvenient detours.
This was where we had the advantage. Some time had passed, so the Misty Lodge was slowly encroaching on this world. At this point, I could identify the shortest route to the end. Not having the exploration team was a problem, but we had no choice but to take the risk.
“Please go down the path I point out,” I said.
“Understood. Let’s go,” Berta replied, and just as she was about to start running...
“Wait up!”
Someone climbed up from the lower floor and ran over to us.
“Kubota. That was fast,” I said.
“The guys down there can handle themselves,” Kubota replied, grinning.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m your guard. Our leader commanded me. I gotta do my job right.”
There was no hesitation in his voice. I could feel how tremendous an influence Nakajima had on the exploration team members. Recalling his heroic mannerisms from earlier, that only made sense. In all likelihood, the only ones left in the exploration team were those who worshipped Nakajima. Thinking back on it, Iino and Shimazu were relatively composed despite the immense trust they placed in him. Kubota immediately pulled back his smile and turned a serious look my way.
“So? Where’d our leader go?” he asked.
“He’s chasing Jinguuji. I’m thinking of taking the shortest route to cut them off.”
“I see...” Kubota sank into thought for a moment. “In that case, it sounds like I should go with you guys.”
“I couldn’t ask for more.”
I’d figured he might go after Nakajima on his own, so this was a little unexpected. Naturally, I was grateful to have the support of a nicknamed cheater.
“Right on, it’s decided then,” Kubota said.
“Let’s hurry.”
Now joined by Kubota, we started making our way through the third world.