Chapter 6: One More Try (July 20th)

Crap, the wind blew me upside down! I was falling headfirst! Oh God, oh God, oh God!

“AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa... ah?”

The upside-down world suddenly turned right-side up, but the scenery before me had totally changed. I was at... my house?

“Sir Rekka, what’s the matter? You were yelling a lot.”

“Huh? What?”

I turned around to see Harissa standing in the doorway, peeking into the living room with a puzzled look on her face.

But... this all meant... I was alive, didn’t it?

“Ah, it was nothing, Harissa. I just remembered something scary.”

“I-Is that so?”

She seemed a little doubtful as she looked me over, but said nothing more.

“Then I’m going to go test my new magic.”

“Okay... Wait, huh?”

Did she just say her new magic?

“Hold it! Hang on a second, Harissa!”

Harissa stuck her head back into the living room when I called her name. She was holding her magic staff in one hand and the TV remote in the other. Seeing her like that, the fog hanging over my brain cleared, and I snapped to my senses.

That’s right... What was I wasting time for?

“Harissa, what’s today’s date?!”

“Huh? Um, it’s July 20th. I believe you mentioned summer vacation started today, Sir Rekka.”

“The 20th?! All right!”

So the time travel seemed to have worked. It was worth the near-death experience.

If I recalled correctly... after Harissa tested her new magic, she came back in the room, and we chatted a little before I left for the bookstore by the station. I’d run into Mio and Ellicia on the way there. So if Harissa was about to go outside to test her spell, then I had roughly 30 to 40 minutes before everyone appeared in the vacant lot. There was no time to lose.

“Harissa, you don’t need to test your magic after all!”

“Huh? Um... B-But this new spell is important...”

“It’s fine. I can tell you that it’ll definitely work and you can cross between worlds with it. That won’t be a problem.”

“Huh? Oh, r-really? D-Did I tell you about connection magic already?”

Harissa had a very confused look in her eyes, so I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her lightly.

“Listen, I don’t have the time to explain everything right now! But please, come with me!”

“Oh...”

A look of understanding passed over Harissa’s face as she realized something was going on.

“I see. Yes, of course I’ll go with you.”

“Thanks.”

I thanked her and went to go grab my phone from upstairs. I was going to need the other girls, too. But when I set one foot on the staircase, I remembered something else important.

“Oh, that’s right! After everything is over, I’ll visit your village with you, so don’t worry!” I turned back and declared rather forcefully.

I hadn’t been able to keep my promise last time, but I would this time for sure!

“A... Ahhh...”

I had probably said too much about the future with no explanation whatsoever. Harissa seemed a little confused again... But why was her face bright red?

▽

After contacting Iris and Nozomiya, where Tsumiki and Lea were, Harissa and I hurried to the empty lot where Mio was collapsed.

“Mio!”

Pushing my way through the tall grass, I found Mio and got her sitting up.

“S-Sir Rekka, who is this girl?”

Catching up from behind me, Harissa looked between me and Mio in surprise.

“I’ll tell you later. Please use your healing magic on her, Harissa.”

“R-Right!”

Leaving Mio in Harissa’s care, I picked up my phone and made a call.

“Iris? Where are you?”

“At the station. Tsumiki and Lea are here, too.”

“All right. I’ll be there in a minute.”

I left the lot and headed to the station where the three girls were waiting.

“Sorry for calling you here so suddenly,” I said.

“It’s fine, but what’s up?” Iris asked.

“I don’t have the time to explain. Iris and Tsumiki, did you bring what I asked?”

“Yeah. Well...”

“It was so sudden, we couldn’t bring a lot.”

Iris and Tsumiki showed me bags they were carrying.

“So? What do you want us to do?” Lea asked.

“Yeah, give us a proper explanation. I had to leave the restaurant to Tetra for this,” said Tsumiki.

“Come with me,” I said, beckoning.

Unfortunately, I was serious about not having time to explain, so I took the three girls back to the vacant lot with me.

“Sir Rekka!” Harissa ran over to me as we approached.

“How’s Mio?” I asked.

“She’s a lot better now, but she hasn’t woken up yet.”

Harissa glanced back at Mio, who was now lying in the shade of a tree.

“Who’s that girl?” asked Tsumiki.

“The idol MIO.”

“M-MIO?!”

Tsumiki’s eyes widened in astonishment. She took a long, hard look at Mio’s sleeping form. She told me last time that she was a fan of MIO, but it was pretty hard to recognize her without her usual wig.

“Thank you, Harissa. So, Tsumiki and Lea...”

“Yeah?”

“What is it?”

“Sorry, but could you carry her back to my house? I just called Satsuki and asked her to go unlock the door for you.”

“Hmm... Well, all right. But you owe us an explanation later. A real one, got it?”

At times like this, having friends who understood my bloodline was incredibly helpful. As soon as I got serious, they knew something was going on.

“Thanks, you two. I’m counting on you.”

After seeing off Tsumiki and Lea, who had Mio on her back, I turned to Iris and Harissa.

“So, what do you want me to do?” Iris asked.

“I’d like you and Harissa to hide for now.”

“Hide... where, exactly?”

“In that pipe.”

“What?!”

Despite Iris’s very vocal complaints, the two of them heard me out and crawled into the pipe anyway. And once all the preparations were in place, I waited for Ellicia to arrive. Not ten minutes later...

“Hahh...! Hahh...!”

Just like one week ago, a clearly panicked Ellicia came running into the lot.

“Hey, excuse me.”

And like last time, I called out to her. I didn’t want to change her actions here, if possible.

“?!”

“Is something wrong?”

Ellicia stared at me with a frown on her face.

At this point in time, she was probably thinking about how she wanted to give me the earring to protect it from Yang. If I said or did anything suspicious now, she’d probably just run back to the road. All I had to do was wait like a totally clueless passerby and... There we go!

“Stay put!”

“Huh?”

Ellicia walked towards me with broad strides as I pretended to watch her in confusion. I tossed a glance over to Iris, who was still hidden in the pipe. Ellicia grabbed me and dragged me towards the far back of the lot. She was going to escape with me by going through the brick wall there. That was her plan, but...

“Iris!”

I was going to change things up a little this time.

“Wh-What?!”

“I don’t know, either! But if this is what Rekka wants, then you’re mine!” Iris yelled as she jumped at Ellicia.

Not even Ellicia expected being attacked in a place like this. Iris managed to take her by surprise and restrain her without much trouble.

“A-Are you people from the Margaret clan?!”

She probably couldn’t think of anyone else who would try to capture her other than the Margarets or the organization, but I shook my head.

“No. You might not believe this, but I know about you and Yang and even Nartessia, and I know everything about what you’re trying to do and what’s about to happen.”

She looked aghast.

“I’m here to do something about it all... To resolve your story.”

And the only time I could do that was now. Here in this empty lot, before the organization was destroyed, the three main characters of Ellicia’s story would gather together. This was were everything would be decided.

“...Hm?”

Not long after, the second key player appeared in the lot—Yang. Seeing that we’d restrained Ellicia, he gave us all a very wary look.

“Yang.”

I called his name and took a step forward.

“Stop.”

I didn’t go any further.

“Who are you?” he asked skeptically. “How do you know my name?”

“Just look into my head if you want to know.”

Yang’s face twitched at being called out for his power like that, but he didn’t seem upset. He really was a calm and composed man.

“...Are you one of the Margaret clan?”

“Do I look like I know magic? No. I’m just a regular human who got dragged into this mess.”

I continued speaking without waiting for a response, then took another step towards Yang.

“Stop.”

“No, I’m going to walk straight to you. If you want to stop me, go ahead. I won’t do anything to you.”

Yang furrowed his brow. He could probably tell with his telepathy that I was telling the truth. That I was going to walk straight up to him without doing anything. If he’d wanted, he could have easily taken me out right then and then. And I was prepared for that—oh, yup, then came the fist.

“Ack!”

The blow nearly knocked me out, but...

“Hrngh...”

I gritted my teeth and withstood it. Then came another blow, this time a kick to my knee.

“Guh...!”

This asshole sure didn’t hold back... My head was spinning. My vision was blurry. Everything was starting to go dark...

“...Ngaaah!”

I regained my balance just before I faceplanted into the ground.

My vision was coming and going... but so what? At this rate, not only everything in front of me, but Ellicia, Yang, the whole world... Everyone’s future would go dark. I had to hold out.

“...The future?”

I could faintly hear Yang’s perplexed voice past the ringing in my ears.

“Yes. I came here from the future.”

I raised my head and looked directly at Yang. Or tried to. My vision was still blurry.

“That’s nonsense.”

“Shouldn’t you be able to tell if it is or not?” I replied.

Yang fell silent.

So far so good... The first victory was mine. I was within arm’s reach of Yang, and he was willing to listen to my story. That meant we’d cleared the first hurdle for resolving the story.

“Yang, I know what you’re trying to do... and how it ends.”

Even Yang couldn’t hide his surprise hearing a declaration like that.

“Yang, just read my memories,” I said as I pointed at my forehead.

“...What?”

“The result of the Psychic Hazard you caused... Just look at it. It’s all in there.”

“...”

“What’s wrong? Just by putting your hand on my head, you should be able to see everything I know from the future. What do you have to lose?”

I realized that no matter how I couched it, what I was saying was the very definition of suspicious. However, I also knew that Yang could tell I wasn’t lying thanks to his telepathy. He was still probably too overly cautious to agree to do it, though...

“...Don’t you want to know how your comrades end up?”

“...!”

That was the last straw. Without a word, Yang finally reached out and put his hand on my head.

My memories from the future began flowing into Yang. The showdown in the coal mine over Satsuki. The exchange between us after that. And then... Nartessia and the Margaret clan showing up.

“No...!”

I could hear a gasp escape Yang’s lips. He’d probably just seen the moment his comrades were annihilated. But what I really wanted him to see came after that. After that, when he lost control of his telepathy...

“What...?!”

When he showed me his memory of the devastated organization headquarters. The sight of all of his comrades disappearing into the flames... That was probably the tragic memory he was seeing right now.

“Ngh... ugh!”

Yang staggered backward, removing his hand from my head.

“That is what lies in your future.”

“That’s a lie... It can’t be...”

“You should know better than anyone that it’s not.”

Telepathy was a power that read information directly from the soul, not the electrical signals in the brain... or something like that. Okay, to be honest, I didn’t understand half of what Satsuki and Shirley had explained to me, but at any rate... The point was that not even a master con artist could tell a lie in their soul. What was held there was absolute truth. And while Yang’s power meant that no form of deception would ever work on him, it should also mean that he would be forced to recognize the truth when he saw it.

“Yeah, you might be a clever and composed guy. You probably planned your moves down to the finest detail before executing them...” I continued.

Two time lines ago—in the time line where Mio had used One More—Yang had pulled off the Psychic Hazard almost flawlessly. More recently, he’d killed himself trying to do it when he short-circuited his own brain. But two time lines ago, Yang had connected people’s minds successfully and told them all that the chaos he caused would spread across the world. In other words, something was different between the two attempts. He hadn’t been as desperate the first time around, and he’d been able to suppress the range of the clairvoyance to a manageable limit, meaning he could spread the Psychic Hazard as far as he wanted just by traveling the globe.

“But you know... no matter how perfect your plan is, something unexpected can happen at any time and ruin everything. In reality, last time you failed...”

“Then I’ll simply have to erase you here!”

“!”

Yang’s thick arm closed around my neck and lifted me up.

“Rekka!”

“Sir Rekka!”

I could hear Iris and Harissa yelling, but I raised a hand to try and tell them it was okay.

“Urgh...! Do you believe that the reason your plan failed... was because of me... and my bloodline?”

I had let Yang read my memories, which meant that he had to know about my bloodline now and what that meant. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that if I died here, there would be no one to get in the way, and his plan would go smoothly... Yes, that was a possibility. By eliminating me now, it was entirely plausible that things would play out like they had two time lines ago. But...

“Revenge... or your comrades? Which is more important to you?!”

“?!”

But in the end, possibilities are only possibilities. The idea of failure always seems so remote. Without personally experiencing it, it was no different to an imagined fantasy. But what Yang had seen in my head had definitely happened. The threat of the Margaret clan wiping out the organization... That potential reality was far more persuasive than I could be.

“You can still make it in time! So stop your revenge plot before it costs you your friends! Listen to me, Yang!”

“Tch...!”

Thud!

Yang loosened his grip, which sent me falling to the ground. I coughed violently, wheezing for air. I-I thought I was a dead man...

“Rekka!”

“Sir Rekka!”

“Yang!”

Iris and Harissa ran over to me, and Ellicia ran to Yang.

“Yang... You probably didn’t read my memories to the very end, but I have a message for you from Ellicia in the future.”

“...Me?”

Ellicia was surprised to hear her name suddenly come up. Yang just stared at me silently.

“I understand the pain and hatred we psychics felt, and of course I understand the anger that you feel personally, Yang. Part of me wants revenge on the world, too, and it’s a desire I could no longer deny once I heard the organization had been destroyed.” I passed on Ellicia’s message, careful to repeat it down to the word. “But even so, Yang... I believe these words from the future me will surely reach you through Rekka, so I’ll say it once more...”

Last time, before she betrayed the organization, Ellicia had tried to stop Yang from going through with the Psychic Hazard. His heart was too set on revenge against the world, and he hadn’t listened to her. But now that he knew what he would be losing in the future for the sake of vengeance over the past, surely her words would pierce his frozen heart like a sharpened pickax.

“Yang, don’t destroy the future over the past. No matter how miserable our lives have been until now... I’m happy today in the here and now, living together with you and everyone else as part of the organization. I want to treasure that, treasure every day, and move forward towards a brighter future with all of you... End of message.”

After silently listening to Ellicia’s message, Yang clenched his hands into fists. The reason why those fists were shaking was probably...

“This is your last chance,” I said to Yang. “I know what kind of life you’ve lived. I won’t deny that the world deserves to be punished for what it’s put you and the other psychics through... But even so, if you choose to go down that path, I’ll have to stop you with all my might.”

Yang still didn’t say a word.

“But that isn’t because of my Namidare bloodline or some sense of justice. It’s to protect my life and everyone else’s.”

I wasn’t a hero. I was just a normal high school student. Really, I wasn’t out to save the world or anything that grand. I just wanted to protect myself and the people I loved, just like anyone would. That was what kept me going.

“So ask yourself this: does Ellicia’s wish to live peacefully with her comrades mean less than your desire for revenge on the world? What do you think, Yang?”

Yang looked away from me and towards Ellicia standing next to him. His clenched fists finally relaxed.

“Our comrades may die. I’m prepared for that... that’s what I said when you tried to persuade me to stop this.”

“Indeed.”

“...I was wrong.”

Ellicia looked shocked at his sudden apology.

“It was easy to talk about being prepared... I thought that I was. Lucy and Stan were earnest when they agreed to it, too. Their hearts were ready, so I thought that... But foreseeing the deaths of our comrades just now... I can only say that I wasn’t prepared enough.”

“But you don’t need to prepare yourself for losing anyone,” Ellicia answered as she looked into his eyes. “Children born with psychic powers may be unhappy, but that unhappiness doesn’t have to last forever. The powers we have, and the power we have as the organization... Shouldn’t we be using all that to find happiness instead of wallowing in misery?”

“...Find happiness, huh? I’ve never thought of that before.”

“Honestly, you’re reliable, but you’ve always been dense... Haven’t you ever noticed the way Lucy looks at you?”

“What...?”

Ellicia teased Yang, who was looking at her questioningly.

“Um, I don’t really get it, but is everything solved now?” Iris asked.

She’d agreed to help me without knowing the first thing about what was going on. Her question disturbed the calm that had started to settle over the lot.

“...It may be too late for that,” Yang muttered solemnly.

“What do you mean?” asked Ellicia.

“We’ve already stolen the Margaret clan’s treasure. They’d never let us off easily.”

Yang was right to be worried. I was very familiar with how merciless the Margaret clan was, specifically Nartessia.

“Leave the negotiations with Nartessia to me,” I said.

“Do you have a plan?” Yang asked.

“Technically, yes.”

I wasn’t sure if it would work, but...

“Oh, my, to think I’d find you in a place like this.”

The last main character necessary to solve Ellicia’s story finally appeared—Nartessia, the head of the Margaret clan. I had to stand my ground. I stepped in front of Ellicia and Yang to protect them.

“Oh? And who might you be?” Nartessia raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you a psychic of the organization, too?”

“I’m not.”

“Hmm... Then what do you think you’re doing?”

The crimson girl grinned my way. She seemed to be amused, but I couldn’t let my guard down. I knew just how fearsome the girl behind that smile was, and I had tasted her wrath firsthand.

“I’m here to stop the war between the Margaret clan and the organization.”

“...Really now?”

Her smile unchanging, Nartessia’s eyes narrowed. Her interest must have been piqued by this stranger who knew the state of affairs between the Margaret clan and the organization.

“Let’s hear your name.”

“Rekka Namidare.”

“Rekka...That’s a nice name.” Nartessia complimented me with something of a threatening grin. “It’s true that it seems like you have nothing to do with the organization, but you don’t understand the serious crime they’ve committed by stealing my earring... If you did, you wouldn’t dare stand in my way.”

Ellicia and Yang silently listened as Nartessia spoke.

“So, tell me... what will you do, Rekka? How do you plan on stopping this war?”

Nartessia had once told me to highlight the benefits for all parties involved in negotiations. And I could only think of one thing that might get her to consider backing down.

“If the Margaret clan is willing to accept a ceasefire with the organization, then...”

“Then?”

“I’ll supply you with information on magic from other worlds.”

“Oh!”

Nartessia’s eyes went wide. It didn’t seem to be an act.

“A mage I once knew explained to me just how important heirloom magic is in magic society.”

Heirloom magic was passed down through generations of mages in a family, and they took great pride in it. In other words, it was like a precious family treasure. But Nartessia had also said something about wanting to refine the Margaret clan’s ancestral heirloom magic for the next generation.

“Unlike money or a regular inheritance, magic is constantly being researched and developed... The duty of the head of a magic family is to take heirloom magic to the next level before passing it down, so that one day you can arrive at the truth of magic.”

“That’s right. It seems you know your stuff.”

Yeah, well, I learned it from you, technically...

“So, Nartessia, if you had knowledge of magic from other worlds, wouldn’t that open another door to what you seek?”

“Oh? I don’t recall giving you my name...”

Oh, right... I still hadn’t told her yet. Well, it wasn’t something I could hide from someone like her.

“I came here from the future. We’ve met before, and... Well, a lot happened.”

“So, you know a mage, have knowledge of magic from other worlds... and on top of that, you’re from the future? You’re quite an outrageous fellow!”

Nartessia laughed, spinning her parasol in her hands.

“If you don’t believe me, then... Harissa. Show her any of the magic spells from your world.”

This was why I’d brought Harissa along. Seeing was believing, after all. It would be easier to convince Nartessia if she could actually see this magic for herself.

“Oh? That girl is a mage from another world?”

“Y-Yes... I am.”

Harissa cowered under Nartessia’s gaze. Nartessia had yet to do anything scary this time, but it wasn’t hard to guess her true nature...

“Um, then... Ealim Nekram!”

Harissa disappeared from sight the instant her chant ended.

“It’s not teleportation... but invisibility magic?”

“Y-Yes,” said the invisible Harissa.

“While it’s not that interesting of a spell, the chanting pattern and activation circle are nothing like the ones I know...” Nartessia mumbled with a hand under her chin in thought.

Would she accept or not? Her decision here would determine the outcome of Ellicia’s story. If she still said no, then...

“...”

In the worst-case scenario, we’d have to shake Nartessia off here and run away with Ellicia and Yang. Once we escaped, we’d take Iris’s spaceship to the organization’s headquarters and evacuate everyone before the Margaret clan attacked. Then we’d have to hand the psychics over to Shirley to hide them on another planet somewhere. Not even Nartessia would be able to hunt them down in space.

But that was all a last resort. There were still children in the organization. They shouldn’t have to live their lives on the run away from their home planet. And to that end, I prayed Nartessia would give us a positive response.

Then at last...

“All right. I’ll take you up on your offer, Rekka.”

“Really?!”

My shoulders fell in relief.

“But I have several conditions.”

“C-Conditions?”

“Well, it’s hard to believe everything you said after seeing just one spell,” Nartessia said with a laugh. “First, I’ll have you perform the ritual for a magical contract with me, ensuring that you have to bring me information on magic from other worlds.”

Perform a ritual for a contract? Like the one Satsuki performed for my duel with Messiah? Then it would be a demonic contract that was binding in a very literal way. If I recalled correctly, breaking it would rip your soul apart... Okay, so Nartessia wanted a way to make sure I wasn’t lying and wouldn’t run away.

“All right,” I accepted.

“Good. Next, let’s decide your time limit.”

“Time limit?”

“I mean the time limit for you to bring me said information, of course. Without that, you could easily delay the delivery by a decade or two.”

I had no intention of doing something that underhanded... but I guess it was only obvious that Nartessia would be concerned about it.

“Let’s see... There’s Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto... Your time limit is three days. Bring me the information on magic from another world by then.”

She was totally going to go sightseeing while she was waiting! This girl... Anyway, three days, huh? It had taken six days to get from the Ruler’s Dungeon to the Demon King’s castle, but Iris’ spaceship was faster than Lea’s Leviathan form. There was even an autopilot so we could sleep on the go, so three days should be more than enough.

“Fine, three days it is. But Nartessia, you won’t be staying in the same place, will you? So how do I get it to you?”

“I’ll give you the details on the time and place later. If you call this number, I’ll come meet you.”

“So, you have a phone...”

“I do not. It’s the number of the attendant I brought along with me.”

She probably meant Chelsea.

“My last condition is for the organization’s members to stay confined to their headquarters until we meet again. If you miss the deadline and break the contract, I’ll burn everything down immediately.”

“...!”

Ugh, of course she would think of something like that, too... There would be no point to anything if the organization ran off while she was waiting for me.

“Can you exclude Ellicia from your last condition? I need her to bring back the information you want.”

Technically, I needed Ellicia’s wall walking ability to clear the Ruler’s Dungeon, but there was no reaching Aburaamu without getting through the underground labyrinth, so it wasn’t a complete lie.

“I suppose. You may include that girl in the contract ritual if you wish,” said Nartessia.

With the negotiations wrapped up, Ellicia returned the earring and I exchanged contact info with Nartessia. Then we performed the ritual for the contract. With that, there was no backing down from this.

“Then I’ll see you in three days. I’ll be waiting to hear good news, Rekka.”

With those parting words, Nartessia left. Once I saw her spinning red parasol disappear around the corner, I turned to Yang.

“Yang, please take the comrades you were chasing Ellicia with and return to your headquarters. I promise I’ll return from the other world within three days.”

“I leave the rest to you then.” Yang glanced at Ellicia, then looked back to me. “In the worst-case scenario... look after Ellicia.”

“It won’t come to that.”

Yang and I nodded at each other, then both headed our separate ways.

“Now, let’s hurry!”

▽

Without even pausing to take a breath, we went straight to the Ruler’s Dungeon in the spirit world via Harissa’s connection magic. Our team was eight people strong this time: me, Satsuki, Iris, Harissa, Tsumiki, Lea, Mio, and Ellicia. I wanted to bring Hibiki and Rosalind, too, but they lived pretty far away, so meeting up with them would have taken a while. We were in a race against time, so I brought everyone who could gather immediately. There were other reasons why I limited our numbers, but we’ll get to that later.

“Wow, it really is like an underground dungeon...” Tsumiki was the first to speak up as she looked around the ornately decorated stone room.

“So, where’s this Corona girl you mentioned?” Satsuki asked.

Before we came, I gave everyone a rundown on the time traveling deal and what our objectives would be in the spirit world. Thanks to that, they already knew what we were up against and what we’d be doing from here.

“In the room back there! Everyone, follow me!”

Hero’s Sword in hand, I led the girls to the far room. Just like before, Corona was sealed in the stone dais.

“All right! Now I’ll just use the Hero’s Sword to...”

“Wait a moment!”

“Gwah!”

Satsuki whacked me on the head as I moved to release Corona’s seal.

“Wh-What are you doing?!”

“Corona’s obviously naked under there! What do you think would happen if you release the seal like that?!”

“This isn’t the time for that...”

“Wait, this is your second time coming here, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you came charging into this room knowing she was naked!”

“That’s not... Argh, there’s no point to this! Someone else release the Corona’s seal with the sword, then! I’ll wait outside!”

“I shall,” Lea answered as she stepped forward.

I handed her the Hero’s Sword and left the room.

“That was quite the amusing skit.”

“Shut up.”

I grimaced bitterly at R’s teasing. Honestly, I wasn’t trying to get a look at Corona’s naked body. Really. I was just in a hurry. In a rush. That’s all.

“Actually, Rekka... Considering your efficiency, you really must have come here from the future.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot to ask, but do you have any memory of the 27th, R?”

“Who knows? I can’t answer that.”

“Not that again...”

It was about what I expected, though. But there was something behind R’s words that sounded a little like concern... Did it have something to do with what she said before I jumped?

“Changing the past can mean taking on an unimaginable risk.”

Even though she couldn’t tell me whether she had her memories or not, R was still the same girl she’d always been. I told her I’d come back to the past to change the future... It wouldn’t exactly be strange for her to be a little worried about that.

But unimaginable risks, huh? I had to wonder what. Everything had gone smoothly so far. I hadn’t expected Nartessia to demand a time limit, but that wasn’t a problem with Iris’s spaceship. Yeah, everything was going fine... but for some reason, I kept getting this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I just couldn’t shake.

“Rekka, we’re done.”

Satsuki gave me permission to go back into the room with Corona, who was already dressed and awake.

“...Who are you people? Why do you have that sword?”

Corona’s eyes were locked on the Hero’s Sword, formerly known as the Demon Blade while it was in her possession.

“My name is Rekka Namidare. We don’t have much time, but in short...”

It wasn’t exactly easy to summarize a story that involved hero successors, time travel, and the end of the world as we knew it, but I did my best.

“...So, you’re saying you know who I am, and you saved me anyway?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“...”

Corona lowered her head with an uncertain expression. Last time, she only told us that she was the former Demon King after we’d been through thick and thin together. Bringing it up immediately like this may have been a little inconsiderate, but time was ticking, and we couldn’t stick around here much longer.

“Corona, this all may seem rude, considering what your intentions were when you were sealed here. But...”

I offered her my hand.

“Whether you’re a former Demon King or a former hero, the Corona I know cherished her ally Pastel and was nearly drowning in her own loneliness... You’re a normal girl, and one of my heroines.”

“...!”

“So, please, take my hand. If you want to atone for your past sins, I’ll help you out. Please let me save you, Corona.”

“You... No, Rekka...”

Corona hung her head, hesitated for a few moments, then nervously looked up... And grabbed my hand.

“Thank you,” I said. Then I turned back to everyone else. “Now, let’s get out of this labyrinth already!”

Our escape route would be the same as last time—straight through the ceiling. Everyone would hold on to Ellicia, then we’d go straight up with her wall walking power. We couldn’t use Iris’s spaceship or Lea’s Leviathan form for fear of destroying the dungeon and burying ourselves alive in a collapse. Considering the number of people we had with us—and this was one of the reasons I’d wanted to keep it low—I had Satsuki and Lea use flying magic to lift us all, but...

“Rekka, aren’t you clinging to Ellicia a little too tightly?” Satsuki asked.

“Look who’s talking! You’ve got your arm around his waist! There’s no need for that, is there?!” shouted Iris.

“Wouldn’t it be better for Rekka to hold Ellicia’s ankles?” Tsumiki pointed out.

“But then I... um... I’m wearing a skirt, so...” mumbled Mio.

And on they went...

“I don’t mind where he touches me,” Ellicia said, trying to put an end to it.

But...

“We do!”

The other girls were immediately opposed.

“...I’ll wear a blindfold and hold her ankles. Will that do?”

Somehow, that managed to appease everyone. Then we all got into position and grabbed on to Ellicia.

“Won’t this be too much weight for me to move...?” Ellicia asked skeptically.

“Once the flight magic activates, the effect of gravity will be negated completely. You won’t feel the weight at all,” explained Satsuki.

“I see.”

Ellicia sounded relieved.

“All right. Ellicia, Satsuki, Lea... Let’s do this,” I called out.

Satsuki and Lea cast their magic on everyone, and our feet lifted up off the floor.

Once we got going, we saw the same scenery as last time. A hundred floors of underground labyrinth steadily passed by us and, before long, we reached the surface.

“So, this is the spirit world...” Harissa looked around at the green landscape, whispering to herself.

I knew her relationship with spirits was complicated, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

“Iris, can you bring out your spaceship?”

“Yup, yup!”

Iris opened her shoulder bag. Thanks to the wormhole technology it used, she reached in and pulled out exactly what I asked her to.

“Wah!”

“It’s a real spaceship...”

Mio and Ellicia both were both rightfully stunned to see a spaceship for the first time.

“All right! Hurry up and get in, everyone!”

We all climbed aboard and set off. Our destination was the valley overrun by Ghostdemon sickness and swarming with zombie fairies: Windsong Valley, where Lyun and her sister lived.

▽

Ghostdemon sickness caused those infected to attack sources of mana on sight, so we couldn’t send just anyone into the valley. I took Iris with me, and we descended in search of Lyun and her sister, who were running around the forest right now.

“So, where are they?”

“Satsuki checked before we came down and said they’re towards the southern side of the valley. But they’re being chased by zombie fairies, so they won’t stay in one place for long. Let’s hurry!”

We could have stayed in contact with Satsuki through Lea’s telepathy and tracked them in real-time, but having spells cast on us would have just made us targets for the zombie fairies.

Iris and I ran through the valley overgrown with trees, heading south. That was the only clue we had to go off of. The physical abilities of an Earthling and a Fineritan didn’t even compare. I never would have been able to keep up with Iris under normal circumstances, but I was desperately moving my legs just as fast as I could.

Memories of last time lingered in the back of my mind. The sound of Lyun’s screams. The tears in her eyes when she told me I didn’t make it in time...

“This isn’t good, Rekka! The sun’s almost gone down!”

“Iris! Leave me and run ahead!”

“How about I carry you on my back?”

“What are you going to do if your hands are too occupied to save Lyun’s sister?! Forget about me! Let’s split up!”

“...Fine!”

Iris nodded with a serious look on her face, then took off at full tilt.

“Man...”

There was honestly no way I could match her speed like that. But that didn’t matter. I had to try! I never even had the chance to try and save Lyun’s sister last time. I’d gotten to come back thanks to Mio, but this was it. My last chance to make things right. I was determined to save her this time!

Which meant, of course...

“Wah!”

That I had to go and trip! Damn it!

“Ow...”

I groaned and pressed a hand against my forehead, which I’d bumped in the fall. Fortunately, it seemed like my only real injury was a sprained ankle from tripping over that tree root, but this was really going to set me back...

“Hm?”

Why were the zombie fairies looking over there? Actually, it was hard to tell which way they were looking when their eyes were completely red, but for some reason, they were all facing the mountain summit. I looked towards the mountain, too, but it was too dark for me to see anything. That should have been true for the zombie fairies, too... Wait a sec.

“These guys go after sources of magical energy...”

But magical energy was usually stored inside the body, right? That was why Harissa seemed to glow when she used magic. She was tapping into that energy. If it were constantly active, then she would sparkle all the time... So did that mean they’d spotted Lyun?! I couldn’t know for sure, but they weren’t looking in the same direction that Iris had gone.

“Oh no!”

Hedging my bets, I took off in the direction the zombies were looking. With the sun going down, the woods had gotten pretty dark. I didn’t know exactly what time Lyun’s sister slipped. She’d only told me that it was on the night of the 20th. But that could be any second now...

“Eek!”

Wait, who was that screaming?! Should I call out to them?! No... Everything would be ruined if they got scared and ran the opposite way.

I desperately ran towards the voice. I was almost completely out of breath at this point. And my vision was only getting worse in the darkening forest. I lost count of how many times I nearly tripped again, but I caught myself every time and pressed on.

Before long, I arrived at a clearing in the trees. Grateful I didn’t have to actively avoid tree roots here, I ran up the slope. Not a few seconds later, two girls appeared at the top of the hill.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Lyun and I both reflexively came to a stop at the sight of each other. But before either one of us could say anything...

“Oh!”

The other girl—most likely Lyun’s little sister—slipped when she came to a stop and lost her balance.

“When we were running, she slipped on a slope and hit her head on a tree stump.”

What Lyun said last time flashed through my head.

“!”

I didn’t even have the time to yell anything. I immediately broke into a sprint and headed for the bottom of the slope Lyun’s sister was tumbling down.

“Gah!”

Lyun’s sister was small like Lyun was, but her rolling into me at full speed felt like getting hit by a cannonball. I’d braced my legs for the impact, but that didn’t stop me from flying backwards. At this rate, we were both gonna hit that tree stump!

No, I couldn’t fail here!

“Fnnnggghhh!”

I kicked my leg out behind me towards the tree stump and cushioned our impact as we slammed into it.

“Aaaaah!”

The foot I kicked the stump with was throbbing like crazy. The force of two people falling at once was no joke.

“Uwah!”

“Kyah!”

Unable to stay on my feet any longer, I fell on my butt while still holding Lyun’s sister to my chest. She let out a little squeal.

Ow... I hurt my back falling against the tree stump.

“Sophie!”

But nothing else mattered once I saw Lyun running towards us.

“Sophie! Sophie!”

“Sis...”

“Thank goodness! Are you all right?!”

Lyun hugged her sister, completely unconcerned that she was basically still sitting in my lap.

Whew... I managed to protect them this time. Both of them.

“Um... Thank you.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I waved my hand and stood up.

“Rekka!”

That was when Iris appeared in the clearing from the opposite direction. She’d probably chased the zombie fairies in a circle...

“Aaagh...”

“Hurrrgh...”

“Rrrgh...”

Which meant that the zombies were here, too.

“Iris, we’ve saved Lyun and her sister. Let’s get outta here.”

“Leave it to me!”

Now that Lyun and her sister were safe, the rest was easy. A large horde of zombies was trying to surround us, but with the press of a button on Iris’s warp watch, we were out of the valley in a flash. From there, we took Lyun and her sister back to the spaceship.

“Huh? What? What is this place?”

“Look, sis! The walls are shiny too!”

The siblings were extremely confused over suddenly finding themselves aboard a spaceship, but at least they were alive. I was finally starting to feel relieved, but...

“Rekka, Corona is in trouble!”

The next problem was upon us already. Satsuki led me to one of the spaceship’s bedrooms, where Corona was on the bed struggling to breathe. Fortunately, I knew how to deal with this, too.

“It’s all right, this is the same as last time. Corona will get better if she hears Mio sing.”

“Really?” Harissa, who was caring for Corona, let out a sigh of relief.

I then asked Satsuki to bring Mio over.

“Mio, I’m sorry for asking so suddenly, but could you sing for Corona? We need your song.”

“My... song?” Mio hesitated, her voice wavering at the sudden request.

“Yes, please.”

“...”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well... um...” Mio mumbled.

Looking at her, I realized the hand she was holding to her mouth was quivering. Was she scared?

“Mio? Are you okay?”

“U-Um... Yeah, I’m all right...”

Mio stood next to the bed and tried to sing, but the only sound that came out of her mouth was the chattering of her teeth.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“I’m... I’m sorry.” Trembling, Mio shook her head.

What in the world could be wrong? Confused at how strangely she was acting, I patted her on the back. I was trying to calm her down, when suddenly...

Thud!

“Sophie?!”

I turned back to see Lyun’s sister on the floor, panting for breath.

“Snap out of it, Sophie! Get up! Please!”

“What?! What’s wrong?!” I asked.

Lyun looked up at me with tearful eyes.

“It’s Ghostdemon sickness.”

That was a shock.

But now that I thought about it... the two of them had been running around the valley for a while now. It was possible they’d contracted the disease and the symptoms just hadn’t manifested... until now.

“You can purge the infected mana from the astral body, right?! Won’t that work?!”

“No! Sophie doesn’t have much mana to begin with! She can’t purge any more than this!”

“S... Sis...” Sophie called out weakly.

If memory served, Ghostdemon sickness worked by wearing away at your material body until you couldn’t move before it gradually ate away at your astral body. Sophie had collapsed and couldn’t move, but that at least meant her astral body hadn’t been taken over yet.

“So if we can restore her mana, she’ll be okay, right?!”

As long as she was still in her right mind, all we had to do was restore enough mana for her to be able to purge the infected part without putting her in any danger. I turned around to Tsumiki.

“Tsumiki! You brought your dark matter, right?!”

“Huh? Yeah. You told me to bring some when you called, so I filled up a whole tupperware container with it.”

“Go get it! And cut it up as small as possible!”

“R-Right!” Tsumiki rushed out of the room to fetch her bag.

“Rekka, what are you going to do with the dark matter?” Lea asked me with a curious look.

“We discovered that dark matter restored mana last time. In fact, it works so well that it’s hazardous for a normal human, but it’s fine for species that can handle large amounts of mana. Like you and spirits.”

From what Lyun had said, it didn’t sound like Sophie had anywhere near the amount of mana Lea or the Demon King had. We’d have to give her as little dark matter as possible...

I was worried, but we placed Sophie on the bed next to Corona and waited for Tsumiki.

“Sophie...” Lyun muttered her sister’s name as she held her hand.

It was a little worrying to have someone else collapse after Corona, even though we had a plan to counter it.

“Mio, you still can’t sing yet?”

Mio’s song had a special power that could do more than just alleviate the sickness. It instilled peace in the hearts of all who heard it. If she would sing for us, we could probably calm this whole situation down a fair bit.

“G-Give me a moment...” Mio said, taking deep breaths.

Even her exhale was shaky... It wasn’t like this last time. She’d sung for us several times in the spirit world. What had changed?

“...!”

That’s right... Her memory. This time, Yang hadn’t sealed her memories. That meant she still remembered everything about the Psychic Hazard and about being pushed off a roof before traveling back in time. She couldn’t remember most of her memories last time, and never remembered the last moment before being pushed. And... R’s words resurfaced in my head.

“Mio’s been carrying a story with her from the moment she met you at that empty lot.”

Mio had escaped the catastrophe of the Psychic Hazard the moment she traveled back in time. The only thing she’d brought with her were her memories. The current Mio couldn’t read hearts through telepathy anymore. Yet even so, my bloodline still drew me to her... Just what was her real story about? If I couldn’t figure that out, I wouldn’t be able to get her a happy ending.

“Rekka... H-Hold my hand...”

“Sure.”

I took Mio’s outstretched hand. It was still trembling. And it probably would be until I resolved her story. But for the time being, I held her hand gently to try and keep as much of her fear at bay as possible. And it seemed to help a little. Mio then closed her eyes and slowly started singing. Her voice wasn’t particularly high- or low-pitched, and it was slightly shaky, but it began filling the room and seeping into my heart.

Before long, everyone who had been so restless before was captivated by her song. Corona, Sophie, and Lyun... their expressions softened as they listened.

Thank goodness. All that was left was to give Sophie the dark matter... or so I thought.

“What..?” said Sophie in a daze. She suddenly sat up in bed as though nothing had happened.

“Huh?” We all gasped a little at the suddenness of it.

“...Hm?”

Corona opened her eyes after hearing Mio’s song, too, but I’d expected that. Wait, this wasn’t good... Why had Sophie recovered like Corona had?

“Sorry for the wait! I brought what you asked for... Huh? What’s wrong?”

Tsumiki ran back into the room, a little out of breath. After looking around, she sensed the strange atmosphere that had fallen over us and cocked her head to the side.

▽

“...So, Corona is also suffering from the Ghostdemon sickness?”

“Yes, that’s how it seems. According to the Magic of Omniscience, they’re both afflicted with the same illness.”

“So, that’s what it was...”

Thinking back on it, Corona’s symptoms had included fatigue and a fever so high she was barely conscious. It was the same as the early stages of Ghostdemon sickness. If the two of them had the same condition, then that would explain why Mio’s song had healed them both, but something didn’t add up.

“Mio sang in Windsong Valley last time, too, but it didn’t cure the zombie fairies... How come?”

“Corona and Sophie still have control over their minds, but the valley fairies were zombies like you said, right? Maybe that’s the difference?” Satsuki theorized.

So, even here in the spirit world, it seemed early detection made a huge difference in someone’s prognosis.

“Who cares?! More importantly...!” Lyun raised her voice and grabbed Mio’s hands tightly. “Please! If your song can heal Ghostdemon sickness, hurry and save the valley...!”

Her request was reasonable, however...

“Ah... uh...”

Mio looked at their hands and whimpered. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and her breathing quickened.

“...”

Did Mio have an extreme phobia of singing...? It really seemed like she hated singing in front of a crowd. She seemed to be really troubled last time, too, like when we were on the run from the Spirit King’s many pursuers. Thinking back on it, she wasn’t happy about having to sing to attract the zombie fairies in Windsong Valley, either...

“Come on! Please!” Lyun begged.

But Mio’s song was the only way to cure Ghostdemon sickness. I could tell she didn’t want to sing, but we couldn’t just disregard Lyun’s desperate pleas to save the valley... What were we supposed to do?

“Rekka...” Satsuki whispered.

“Yeah, I know.”

And on top of everything else, Nartessia had given us a time limit. While Iris’s spaceship had saved us time so far, we still didn’t have any to waste. Should we save Windsong Valley from Ghostdemon sickness here and now? Or should we leave, deliver the Aburaamian magic to Nartessia, and solve Mio’s story first before returning to the spirit world and dealing with the problems here? Considering the time limit we had, it’d be better to go to Aburaamu and stock up on Red Threads to return to Earth, but how would we convince Lyun?

“Rekka, Rekka! There’s a big problem!”

Suddenly, Iris came running into the room in a panic. She was supposed to be flying the ship.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just come with me!”

Iris forcefully grabbed my hand and dragged me to the bridge. Seeing her panic, everyone else followed.

“There! Look at that!”

Iris pointed at the monitor. Windsong Valley, where we’d just escaped from, was displayed on the screen.

“What?!”

A massive swarm of zombie fairies was currently flying up and out of it.

“No way! Where are they going?!” Lyun looked as pale as a ghost.

“Wh-Why...?”

Had they gone on the move because their only remaining targets—Lyun and Sophie—weren’t there anymore? But if that was the case...

“Why are they all heading in the same direction?”

Ghostdemon sickness took over the minds of their victims, turning them into zombie-like creatures whose only desire was to consume mana. They shouldn’t be able to coordinate with each other like this if they weren’t actively following something. So why did it feel like someone was commanding that swarming mass like a hive mind? Moreover...

“Lyun, the direction they’re flying off in... That’s the direction of the capital, isn’t it?”

“Huh? It... Yes, it seems like it.”

Were the sickened fairies headed to the capital because someone had willed them to? I had an absolutely terrible premonition about this...

“Lyun, we’re going to head to the capital first.”

“Huh?! But what about the valley?!”

“I have a really bad feeling.”

The fairies and spirits with Ghostdemon sickness would still get up again after being hit with Lea’s water magic. They weren’t easy to take out. Getting more information about what these spirits were up to became our immediate priority. The mana spring had dried up, causing Ghostdemon sickness to run rampant. If this was happening all over the spirit world, then...

▽

We headed to Arbast as fast as Iris’s spaceship could carry us, and we arrived in the capital by sunrise the next day. We were met with an unthinkable scene—the sky above the city was like a thick black fog of sickened, berserk spirits and fairies, and on the ground, the city was surrounded by an army of demons.

“What’s going on...?” I muttered, dumbfounded.

Lyun was completely at a loss for words.

We flew straight for the Spirit King’s palace in the center of the capital to try and get some information. After the spaceship touched down, we grabbed one of the spirit soldiers panicking in the palace and asked him what was going on.

It was the worst possible scenario.

The fairies and spirits afflicted with Ghostdemon sickness were being controlled... by a Demon King invading the spirit world.