Chapter 50

“A’ight. When’re you clockin’ out?” “Mmm? In a little bit.” “Cool, then let’s go visit Machina and Sihlsy. They’re already on the move.” “Okay.” Matoi was hit with déjà vu. She had the feeling she’d seen Takahashi and Hizuki before. She shook her head to get rid of it. “So, hey, where’re you from?” Takahashi asked Matoi innocently. “Washington.” “Washington?! Wow-wee, that’s pretty out there.” “Ooh, I’ve never been,” said Hizuki. “Have you, Takahashi?” “No way! So how’d you get here?” “With a time machine,” said Matoi. An honest reply came out of her. But she didn’t mind. Her sincerity was part of her charm. “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! That’s awesome!” “Makes sense you don’t have any money,” said Hizuki. Matoi grabbed a fry while she watched the two girls laugh. Chatting with them was fun, but she had a job to do: Gather intel. She knew too little. The best course of action was to probe for info on the Eschaton Demon Lord Veltol, who had the highest probability of affecting the future’s causality. “Umm, excuse me,” said Matoi. “Hmm? Whassup?” “Do you happen to know somebody called Veltol?” Takahashi and Hizuki froze for a fraction of a section when Matoi said that name. “Yeah, that guy’s famous. He’s, like, the hottest streamer of the moment! I watch his stuff pretty often.” “Huh? Buh?! O-of course I know who he is. Yeah? Mm-hmm.” Unlike Takahashi, Hizuki was not a good liar. Matoi had seen in the reference room’s database that there was a popular streamer by the name Veltol, but there was no proof he was the same person as the Veltol she was looking for. I’m sure it’s most likely he isn’t. “Oh, you’re a fan?” Takahashi asked uncomfortably. Matoi ran her idea circuit at full speed to come up with a reply. The procurement of intel depended on her answer. Judging from Hizuki’s reaction, the two girls probably knew something. Of the many options available, Matoi’s democratic verdict mechanism chose the one with the highest chance of success. “Affirmative. I am a fan of Veltol. I would love to meet him. Do you happen to know how to get a hold of him?” “Sorry, no idea!” Matoi did not realize she’d made the worst choice. Takahashi had considered the possibility that Matoi was looking for the Demon Lord Veltol. But that aside, she would never sell the livestreamer Veltol’s info to any of his fans. Matoi could not have possibly known that. System partially restored. Measurement of immortal factor and causality interference now possible. Either thanks to the fries and milk or enough time having passed, a system message popped up in Matoi’s vision. Now I can finally begin my investigation in full. As a test, she tried scanning the two girls in front of her while grabbing a salty fry. Immortal factor and causality interference measurement: no reaction. They had no influence on the future’s divergence. The feeling she had just then must’ve come from a failure of her system or an irregularity in her idea circuit. That was her conclusion. She chatted with the girls for a while, until the clock in the corner of her eye marked 15:17. “I’m sorry, but I must go. Thank you for the milk and fries.” “Ah, don’t worry. Just bring some money next time, okay?” “See ya! C’mon, Hizuki, let’s go meet up with Machina.” “Give me a minute! I’m almost done.” Matoi said good-bye and went downstairs. She opened the door and stepped outside. The warmth of the restaurant made the cold outside hit harder. “I must look for Veltol and someone with a high causality interference value… I have little time, but a straightforward survey is the best choice. The time machine brought me to this city because the person who will change the future must be here.” She booted up a program while looking at the people walking by. Immortal factor and causality interference measurement: no reaction. Immortal factor and causality interference measurement: no reaction. Immortal factor and causality interference measurement: no reaction. “I guess it won’t be that easy.” She started to head downtown, thinking it would be easier to look somewhere more crowded, when she saw two people walking toward her. One of them was a fox half-therian. “That woman… That’s the detective I saw earlier in that back alley. What a surprise to come across her again… Coincidences do happen even in big cities.” The other was a man with long, black hair. “That man I have no memory of. Perhaps they met at her office.” The two looked at Matoi. Their eyes met. Matoi focused on the half-therian. Immortal factor measurement: no reaction. Of course, Matoi thought. But the next moment, her system rang an alert. Causality interference measurement: 100. “…Huh?” Her idea circuit froze for a second. “That can’t be. This woman I just met can change the future? That’s too big a coincidence… Maybe the system is still buggy…” Matoi ran a scan just in case, and the program was running correctly. There was no bug. Then she looked at the man with black hair. Immortal factor measurement: blue pattern. Confirmed immortal. Causality interference measurement: constant fluctuation between 0 and 50. That clinched it. The man was an immortal, and the woman was involved in a causality. The two were together. And the half-therian didn’t look like a villain out to destroy the world. Matoi did not think, did not hesitate, did not falter—she ran toward the pair. “Gulagalad, activate!” The mythical performance armament in her left arm glowed green. Then the Hero roared: “Time to change the future…!” Month of the Gryphon, Day 2, 2099 FE, 15:00 Veltol and Emi walked down the street by the elevated loop line on the border of Outer Shinjuku. They had just solved Emi’s pending case. “That’s one down… Heh, I truly am a gifted detective,” said Veltol. “And the part where you said shall give you the answers? Unbelievably cool.” “Right? It is my favorite Great Detective line. By the way, my trusty assistant—quite admirable of you to start by lending me a hand.” “Heh. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. And putting in the effort is always important to get good results, even when your talents are so self-evident.” “Hee-hee. I admit you were a great help to getting the case solved.” “…I did not expect to come across a second case in the middle of investigating an infidelity.” The outline of the case was as follows: A CEO suspected his wife of cheating on him, so Emi and Veltol headed to the couple’s house at the man’s request. The CEO, his wife, and the suspected adulterer were gathered there. After some questioning, the client went to take a bath; a little while later, a loud noise came from the bathroom. Veltol broke down the bathroom’s locked door and found the client bleeding from his head. Screams, yells, and chaos followed. Love and hate swirled in a messy vortex. Was the wife cheating on him? Was she faithful? Where would the case lead? So began the locked-room mystery with a total of six suspects—including Veltol and Emi! “Although the perpetrator was just the client’s pet slime seeping through the vent and making him slip,” said Emi. “You can hardly call an accident a case, eh? Initial reactions were greatly exaggerated.” “Too bad the job was called off after the client woke up suffering from amnesia and age regression from the blow to his head…” “And the wife was most certainly guilty, considering how she pumped her fist once she found out about the amnesia…” “A shame we didn’t get to taste the dinner…” Emi’s belly growled. “Assistant.” She tugged on the hem of Veltol’s coat. “What is it?” “Try deducing what I’m thinking now.” “Ha. Elemental. The sound of your stomach, the scent of soup: You are hungry. There’s a good udon place nearby. Shall we go there?” “A Great Assistant for a Great Detective!” They arrived at a small udon stand adorned with red curtains and lamps. The same place where Veltol had once shared a meal with the Hero Gram. “Wow, I’ve never been to an udon stand.” “It has both the Demon Lord’s and the Hero’s seals of approval. You will not be disappointed.” They ducked under the curtains and sat down. “Welcome,” said the cook. “One tanuki,” Veltol said. “Same for me,” Emi added. “A’ight.” “Tanuki, huh…?” Veltol muttered as he wiped his hands with a moist towel. “Hmm? Is there something about tanuki udon, my assistant?” “No, no. Did you know about the origin of the name? I shall tell you.” “Huh? Okay, tell me, please.” “Long ago, in a country called Japan, which was located on this same land, a shapeshifting mystical beast known as the tanuki went on a rampage in Kyoto-Fushimi. A legendary warrior by the name of Tota Tawara slayed the beast with the fabled Tonbokiri spear and cooked its remains, which he used to garnish udon. This was the beginning of tanuki udon. It is a most grand and heroic tale. I know this history thanks to the action game TOKIRO, which was based on real events.” “I heard magic didn’t exist on Earth before the Fantasion. But the tanuki could use it?” “That is the most fantastical thing about it…a creature with the impossible power to mimic other beings’ appearances. Truly an exquisite figure among mythical beasts. No wonder they are as popular as dragons. Machina owns a lot of tanuki merchandise.” Two udon bowls were placed on the counter before them. “Two tanuki. Enjoy,” said the cook. The broth’s aroma stimulated their noses. “Excuse me, dear assistant.” Emi looked up at Veltol and touched the tips of her pointed index fingers together. “Yes?” “A Great Detective doesn’t obtain great money even by solving great cases.” “Hmm?” “And I have many expenses…” “Oh, I understand. This is my treat. That was my intention from the very beginning. Don’t worry.” “Yay! That’s my Great Assistant.” “Why do you work as a detective, Emi?” “I wasn’t always a detective, nor did I want desperately to become one… Well, I kind of did, but that was a vague childhood dream. I didn’t have it in my life plans once I grew up.” Emi split her chopsticks in two. “I used to work at Technoram.” “Oh, Technoram? You certainly can’t judge a book by its cover, eh?” Technoram was one of the Greatest Six, the biggest corporations, which included IHMI and MAGTEC in their ranks. They mainly worked on the design and development of artificial spirits and the production of astral conductors. Veltol had failed to get a job after being resurrected from his five-hundred-year slumber, so from his point of view, the simple fact that Emi was employed made her an object of jealousy and respect. But his admiration trumped those emotions, since this was a big, well-known company. “Surprised?” Emi asked. “I was joking. I know your intelligence.” “Hee-hee. I was recruited when I was still a student, and I worked in the development division for a short time. Mainly developing artificial spirits.” “And you quit Technoram to become a detective? Why?” Emi paused briefly before responding: “My father was murdered.” A moment of silence. The only sound to break it was the slurping of udon. Veltol waited for Emi to speak. “My father worked for Technoram, too. He was chief of technical development. One day three years ago, he was killed on his way home.” “A mugger? Someone with a grudge? A power struggle?” “No.” Emi shook her head. “He had plenty of enemies due to his important post at the company, but it wasn’t that. I know who did it.” “The murderer collecting magi-eyes in Shinjuku as we speak?” Emi raised her eyebrows. “Bingo.” “You had a list of the Collector’s victims in your office. And not just the ones in Shinjuku; you researched all past cases thoroughly. I could tell you are putting great effort into finding the criminal. Elemental, my dear detective.” “Impressive, my dear assistant.” “I merely learned from the best Great Detective there is.” Emi giggled. “Three years ago, in London, my father became the first victim. Both his eyes were magic, and they took them both. By the way, I inherited one of his magi-eyes, although it’s quite weak; I can only see the flow of mana in the air.” Emi pointed at her eye. “I quit the day he was murdered and I started pursuing the Collector. But moving from city to city searching for the culprit was expensive. I ran out of savings and began doing some vague detective work to make a little money until I got enough clients that I started my own agency.” Emi spoke easily of it, but it was an arduous path. “Calling myself a detective made it easier to get intel and made me money. Two birds with one stone.” “So today’s case was part of that.” “Yeah. I need the money to move from place to place and investigate. Being a detective isn’t my main goal.” “You haven’t asked the City Guard for help?” “Of course I have. But the Collector moves from place to place, and getting the City Guards to share intel with each other isn’t easy. And there are many kinds of City Guards—some are only civilian efforts. Not to mention the corruption and bureaucracy. In the end, it’s easier for me to investigate on my own.” “Are you pursuing the Collector for revenge?” “No.” Emi smiled in self-derision. “I only want to know why my father had to die. I don’t intend to do anything to the Collector.” She paused briefly. “The Collector is my mother, after all.” Only broth remained in their bowls. “Your mother killed your father…?” “Her name is Emilia Chabatake. My parents got divorced when I was little, but she called from time to time. She was so kind; I still can’t believe she would kill my father.” “…This makes things easier, though. The truth is, I’ve been meaning to ask you to investigate the Collector and gather intel on an organization known as the Guild.” “Oh?” “There is a possibility the Collector might be connected to this organization.” “I hadn’t heard of the Guild, but if you’re also after the Collector, then I couldn’t ask for better help. Let’s talk about it once we’re back at the office. I’m pretty close to catching her, actually. I almost got her this morning, and I have a guess as to where she’ll appear next.” “Impressive.” “I am a Great Detective, after all. Anyway, let’s go back to the agency.” They said farewell to the udon chef and left. Veltol remembered that near the udon stand was the restaurant where Machina had introduced him to Takahashi. “That reminds me, Hizuki works around here…” “Want to drop by?” “I’ll just say hello—” As they spoke, a girl with blond braids came out of the restaurant in question. “Hey, it’s that girl…,” said Emi. “You know her?” “Yeah, I saw her this morning…” Then… …their eyes met. After a brief silence, the girl reacted. “Gulagalad, activate!” The copper-colored gauntlet on her left arm glowed green. She had just taken a step forward when— “Huh?” —Emi yelped in surprise, but the girl was already in her face. Emi could not react, as she wasn’t used to combat, but Veltol responded to the girl’s quick assault and covered Emi. “I see deduction isn’t the only thing in the job description. I did not peg detective work to be this dangerous!” She had closed the ten-meter distance in an instant; this was a skilled opponent. Veltol thought quickly about how to respond. Her aim is not me, but Emi… Her visible weaponry is the gauntlet on her left arm and this strange mana. Touching her would be unwise. However… There was no time to arm himself or launch a spell; he had no choice but to counter barehanded. “Time to change the future…!” the girl screamed as she raised her gauntlet in a fist. Veltol’s fist and the girl’s gauntlet, which produced glowing green lines on its surface, clashed. This armor…! Veltol’s unreinforced fist broke, crushing his skin, flesh, and nerves all the way up his forearm, leaving his fractured radius exposed. “Dell Ray!” His power was far from his glory days, due to the lack of faith, but he was nonetheless the immortal Demon Lord. His nerves, bones, flesh, and skin regenerated in the blink of an eye; his arm recovered its shape, and magic activated within the palm of his outstretched hand. A black flash crackled between him and the girl. Smoke filled their surroundings, separating Veltol and Emi from their attacker. “D-did you get her?!” Emi asked. “No, that had little effect. I don’t understand what’s happening, but things are getting interesting!” “That’s great that you’re having fun, but we should run!” “Run? What are you saying? It’s rare to come across a foe this strong!” Police sirens rang in the distance; they must have noticed the explosion. “Ummm, this is an order from your Great Detective! The City Guard’s coming—let’s just get out of here! We can’t look for the Collector if they arrest us!” “Heh. This displeases me, but I cannot disobey an order from the Great Detective!” “Thank good— Eep!” Veltol hoisted Emi up. “Let’s borrow that for our escape.” He headed to the side of the road, where an implausibly unsafe bike-model flying vehicle was parked. He broke the chains locking it to a streetlamp with a kick and mounted himself and Emi on the bike. “Umm, my trusty assistant? I just remembered the grotesque blow to your arm. You okay? It doesn’t hurt? I’ve never seen an immortal heal.” “Not to worry. I sense the loss of my arm, but I hardly recognize it as pain.” As he spoke, he took a PDA and cable from his coat’s inside pocket. He plugged the cable into the socket on the flying vehicle’s meter and connected it to his PDA. He tapped the PDA’s screen and booted up the key-breaker software Takahashi had developed. It was one of the many programs she’d periodically installed on Veltol’s PDA. Emi peered out from behind his back and asked, “What’s that?” “Latest_Unlocker_ver.122_20990629_Final_3.” “…I don’t know who made this or what’s in it, but I can tell that this person sucks at naming files…” The spell code flashed across the screen; Latest_Unlocker_ver.122_20990629_Final_3 cracked the lock and tricked the system into thinking Veltol was the vehicle’s registered user. The gauges lit up. “I never thought I’d be stealing a bike as a detective…!” “Ha-ha-ha! I have played the role of an outlaw swiping bikes and cars in plenty of games! My experience in simulations will get us through. Besides, we can always bring this vehicle back!” Veltol gripped the throttle. Naturally, he had no driver’s license or experience using a flying vehicle. “This is my first time driving in real life, but it appears to be quite simple!” Flying vehicles were controlled by magic—they were yet another type of magi-gadget. Veltol’s Sage Eyes allowed him to read the mana flow of what he touched and to understand its effects; he could learn how to handle it with a simple touch. “Hold on tight! Away we go!” He revved up the mana engine with a twist of the throttle, and simulated multi-linked chants activated spell after spell, beginning with Flight. The machine lifted off the ground, the muffle thruster lit up and expelled mana, and the vehicle blasted off in the direction in which they’d come, away from the attacker. At the same time, the attacker cut through the smoke like a speeding bullet. Her sprint had the highest efficiency biomechanically possible, perfect to the degree of being artistic. She gradually closed the distance between her and the flying vehicle. “Eep! Assistant! She’s catching up to us! On foot!” “She’s quite persistent! Very good! This would be no fun otherwise!” Emi and Veltol were both yelling over the blowing wind. “She appears to be after you! Any idea why?” Veltol asked. “I just know her from this morning, when she saved me from a murderer!” “A life debt! But that is hardly a reason to attack you! Hold on, I’ll increase the speed!” “Uwaaah! She’s coming, she’s coming! Go faster! But drive safely!” The flying vehicle accelerated in direct proportion to the force Emi hugged Veltol with, and they left the girl in the dust. As her silhouette shrank into the distance, she raised her gauntlet-clad hand. “What is she doing…?” Emi wondered aloud. The girl snapped her fingers. The clash of metal against metal followed. Then an abandoned flying vehicle right next to her disassembled itself in the blink of an eye. Its parts methodically spread out all around her before fusing into one shape. It resembled a certain creature that had gone extinct in Alnaeth. “A centaur?!” Emi exclaimed as she looked back. The girl’s lower half had turned into four metallic horse legs. Galloping thunderously, she raced to catch up with Veltol and Emi. “Assistant! We gotta go up to escape her! Up!” Veltol responded by tilting the vehicle’s center of gravity and pulling it up. He ignored all the alerts from the vehicle’s navi system and drove expertly—in great contrast to his in-game driving, where he always totaled or exploded the cars. He rose while threading through the other flying vehicles in the skies of Shinjuku. The city buildings and lights flew right past them. “This system of driving via flight magic alone is quite interesting!” “I’ve never ridden something this intense befoooore! At least in the skies we’ll…be…” Emi and Veltol saw the girl still following them. She used signs and wiring on the buildings as footholds while advancing through the shortest and fastest route with machinelike precision. “Eeeeek! Assistant! She’s still in pursuit!” Sheer building walls were no problem, either; the girl would simply snap her fingers, and the pipes and window edges would morph to provide her with footing. And it didn’t stop there. The metal surrounding her wrapped around her lower half to provide her with even more legs, like a spider. She transformed into an arachne. Veltol reflected on what he saw. That must be… “It’s the gauntlet’s power!” he shouted. “The mana around her moves when she snaps her fingers!” Veltol had just heard about Emi’s magi-eye allowing her to see the flow of mana. “She can control the metal within a two-meter radius. The finger-snapping could either be ritualistic or it might make the metallic sound resonate,” said Emi. Veltol agreed with her rundown of the gauntlet’s powers. The one thing he could add was that it had to be either a divine instrument or a magi-gadget of a supreme level, for his Sage Eyes did not let him view the workings of its power even though he’d touched it. “I thought this same thing when we solved the case earlier—your observation skills are definitely worthy of a detective!” Veltol boomed. “Hee-hee, keep the praise coming!” “I will, once we get rid of her…!” “…Whoa, Assistant, look at that! How is this real?!” Emi pointed at the girl breaking through an office building, crashing through the ceiling, and bursting through the neighboring building to keep pace with the flying vehicle. Veltol flew the vehicle even higher until it was above the building, but the girl smashed through another ceiling to reach the roof. She broke through the rooftops’ wire mesh, jumping from building to building in pursuit of Veltol and Emi. “She just ran through that office and spooked everyone!” Emi yelled. “Wah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! What a lunatic!” The girl crossed many buildings and jumped on the steel beams of one still under construction. She dashed over the unstable and narrow beams while creating footing with finger snaps, as though she walked on flat land. The building under construction was on a corner of the street—a dead end. Yet she snapped her fingers again to raise the steel beams and create a bridge in midair. She ran straight toward them. “Oh no, no, no, Assistant! She’s coming!” “I suppose we cannot escape a battle!” “No way! Keep running! Go faster!” Emi slapped Veltol’s back incessantly. “Stop it, you’re destabilizing my driving!” The girl jumped off the end of the beam. She then snapped her gauntlet’s thumb and middle finger. The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed. She was still five or six meters away. We remain beyond her gauntlet’s reach— Veltol’s train of thought was cut short. The gauntlet’s output rose to a palpable degree. Veltol carried Emi up and threw himself in the air without thinking. Then the flying vehicle morphed. The vehicle’s shell and parts turned into wires that wrapped around the seats and wrecked them. Robbed of its ability to fly, the vehicle began free-falling. Veltol and Emi plunged from the skies of Shinjuku with their ride. “Myaaaaaaaaaaaah!” “Shut your mouth if you don’t want to bite your tongue!” They plummeted toward an abandoned building’s rooftop. “An Hellun!” Right before they crashed, Veltol cast a spell to break their fall, and they landed noiselessly. A few moments later, the water tank on the rooftop was crushed under the weight of the falling girl. She used no magic to break the fall, yet she was unharmed. She raised a leg and set her fist on her knee to slowly stand up. The girl faced the Demon Lord and the detective under the cloudy sky. The enemy had caught up to them. They had no place or way to escape. “Well, Great Detective, what do you do when driven into a corner?” Veltol asked Emi. “U-uh… Just kick her ass!” “Heh. Excellent…” Veltol pushed up the brim of his hunting cap. “That is my area of expertise!” Mythic performance armament Gulagalad: control system restored. Area of effect restored; full-drive and overload modes available. Matoi closed the blinking system messages as she leaped down from the water tank she’d broken with her fall. During the chase, just before they could escape, part of her system had recovered, extending the reach of Gulagalad. She used her power on the flying vehicle. Once again, she scanned the two individuals. The results were the same. The man was an immortal human. The woman was a half-therian with an extremely high chance of being the causality’s source. Yet no matter how many times Matoi looked at her, this woman did not seem like a villain who would push the world down the path of destruction. But if doom was inevitable while she lived, Matoi had no option but to kill her. “I thought you were pretty friendly this morning, so what’s going on? Did I do something to upset you?” the woman asked. Matoi chose not to waste resources processing her quivering banter. “Hey, don’t ignore me!” “…Fine,” said Matoi. “What’s the relationship between you two?” “We are detective and assistant,” the black-haired man answered. “…Hand that woman over, and I will let you go.” The fluctuation of the immortal’s causality interference value was concerning, but the priority here was the woman. “First,” the man began, “I would believe it proper to introduce ourselves, since we’ve just met.” “…! You’re right!” Matoi nodded. Doc had taught her manners; one should give their name when meeting someone for the first time. She raised her voice, presenting her cutest and strongest self to the world. “My name is Matoi, and I am a member of the Guild… I’ve come from the future as one of the last Heroes of humanity!” “A Hero from the Guild…? That is a surprise. As is this talk about coming from the future… You’re not one to deal with logic, I see.” Matoi’s sensors noticed he’d reacted to the word Hero. The furrowing of his brows was slight and brief, but his anger was nonetheless tangible. “I shall name myself, too. I am the Demon Lord Veltol Velvet Velsvalt.” Doc’s words replayed in Matoi’s mind. “There’s a chance he might not be the one you have to defeat.” Veltol’s value kept fluctuating, while the half-therian’s remained at 100%. She was undeniably a key person in changing the future, and while the immortal calling himself Veltol might not have been the Eschaton Demon Lord based on his value, the uncertainty was no reason not to eliminate him. Veltol and Matoi spoke at the same time: “The Guild…” “Demon Lord Veltol…” “You have spared me the effort.” “You spared me the effort.” The Demon Lord resurrected from five hundred years in the past announced: “I shall capture you and make you talk.” The Hero from fifty years into the future announced: “I’ll destroy you…and change the future!” Matoi’s priorities shifted. The half-therian had poor combat skills. Matoi needed to focus her resources on the man. Past and future clashed in the present.