Junko viewed the ocean, but not in a romantic sense.

—No one in the empire has looked at the ocean like this before.

She was looking out the window of the headquarters quickly built on a viewing platform of a seaside town. The footage was being sent to the headquarters, but a manual that seemed to have been used since ancient times said that seeing the enemy with your own eyes was best.

Junko and the Hattori ninja forces under her command were in charge of relaying information from the front lines while her father commanded the actual front line unit. He could not head out to the front lines himself, but a member of the family had to be there to maintain their honor.

The land unit was gathered in that seaside town. Military land vehicles, soldiers, and air vehicles had been supplied to each division due to the emergency situation. Their guns were all turned toward the sea.

Several shadows were visible on the ocean horizon. They belonged to the submarines.

—But Yuuko said they aren’t moving anywhere.

Junko had heard the situation thanks to an encrypted transmission from Yuuko, but she had not informed the Hattori ninja forces working here.

—The Republic’s king must be an incredible person, but he isn’t trying to start a war.

She could tell Yuuko was not lying, but it bothered her that the king named Marine had abandoned the battlefield. It suggested he had something more important to do.

“I hope nothing happens,” she muttered aloud without thinking.

“Milady, kindness is taboo here,” rebuked a Hattori ninja.

“I know that.” She nodded. “But after seeing that…”

“That” referred to the footage of Kei sinking the submarines, but she had only seen the edited version. It had looked like the Republic attacked first and the later slaughter was not included.

She thought Kei was overwhelmingly powerful. That strength had not been an act. She did not know how serious the Republic had been, but the empire had been…no, Kei had been superior when it came to magical combat.

“I understand worrying about the damage to the Republic, but that kind of compa.s.sion is taboo.”

“That is not what worries me. It scares me that Esper of CIMO 8 is accepted by the world.”

Junko’s concern came from the prime minister’s announcement. He had said that the demon king had destroyed the Republic’s submarines. Also, Akuto had supposedly become a “great demon king” after giving into the might of the empress and had then sent a subordinate demon king to handle the Republic.

“True. I doubt the government has control of him.”

“That is not all. The people’s reaction scared me. If this is viewed as the empire’s secret weapon, none of them see a problem with it. Their view of the demon king is changing. I cannot believe that it has changed so much just by having an external enemy show up.”

Junko’s voice held more surprise than hatred.

“The empire’s greatest fear is being seen as its greatest power. I do understand how you feel, but that seems to be what has happened.”

Junko understood that too, but understanding it was not enough to erase the fear.

“In that case, how are we supposed to react if an even more external threat shows up? Do we rely on humanity’s greatest weapon and confront it?”

“Now is not the time to think about that.”

The ninja scolded her, but Junko could not accept it. She may have been instinctually sensing that the situation hinted at the existence of a true G.o.d that she had believed was a lie up to this point.

“He was always saying that people viewed their surroundings as a story, but why do I feel such a great tragedy approaching because something has appeared that does not fit in the story?”

“Milady…”

“Sorry. I will do my job as the decoration on the front line. Then again, all we are doing is preparing for a conflict that might not even happen. And even if it does, it will be nothing more than a skirmish and there is no reason we should lose. Isn’t that right?”

Junko spoke as if she did not believe it herself, but the members of the Hattori ninja forces nodded.

“Of course that’s right, milady.”

However, that answer did not come from the heart.

—No one can be strong at times like this.

Junko turned back to the horizon and let out a long sigh.

She began to wonder if everything happening now was a lie.

“If I head to that Merlai village, there is a chance I can meet the empress, right?”

Marine spoke to Hiroshi who was carrying him.

Hiroshi flew across the ocean, checked the coordinates of the Merlai village that Yoshie had sent him, and nodded.

“We still haven’t received any word from them, but she had bodyguards. She should be fine.”

Marine had asked to be taken directly to the empress. And if the Jewel Branch of Hourai was there too, that was all the better. Taking him there was sure to increase the odds of avoiding war. At the very least, it was a better chance than having the king return.

“Why did you only contact your country instead of returning?”

“The fact that we are a republic and yet have a king means that the king does not have absolute power. The congress of n.o.bles has real power and I cannot stop them if they are in agreement.”

“Will the n.o.bles choose war?”

“We already hated the empire and they are sure to have seen what happened.”

“I…can understand that.”

“I contacted them to tell them I am alive, but the n.o.bles are desperate to send out the military,” said Marine. “I was forced to accept that much, but our goal is to seal the dreadful Formless Power using the Jewel Branch of Hourai.”

Hiroshi realized this legend of the Formless Power was different.

“The Formless Power is dreadful? And why do you hate the empire? There’s a lot I want to ask, so could you just go back to the beginning?”

“The Republic is a country made up of the people who broke free from the empire. They opposed the empire’s rule that used the system of the G.o.ds and it grew into a conflict, but they lost and were forced to escape to the bottom of the ocean.”

“Why the bottom of the ocean?”

“That was the only new land. It also helped that they were able to manipulate their DNA. But the biggest reason was…”

“The biggest reason was?”

“No, never mind. That is a sad reality.”

Marine shook his head and Hiroshi did not press further.

“Since then, our nation has lasted just as long as your empire. Interaction with the empire was forbidden and that was enforced to a large extent. Even so, the people of the Republic have visited the empire on occasion. There are plenty of rumors of that.”

“There are plenty of rumors here of monsters appearing from the sea, but I find it hard to believe the G.o.ds would overlook that.”

“We are a mana culture just like you, so we would have been recognized as unbaptized foreigners. We have our own system to replace the G.o.ds and our system allows everyone to use magic equally.”

“And that doesn’t lead to conflicts?”

“People can only use magic on the level of their personal mana. We have forbidden modifications to increase an individual’s mana like that demon had done and that restriction is strictly enforced. There are differences in magical strength between individuals, but it is only a slight variation. It might help to think of it like a society where people are allowed to carry weapons.”

Marine had referred to Kei as a demon.

“So that’s why you lost.”

“We had mana weapons and mana cancelers, but his strength simply outdid all that. I now know that the human will’s control over mana particles is the greatest weapon. At the same time, I have greater respect for our ancestors who cast that aside and created the Republic. There is only one power that can overcome that.”

“Which is?”

“A sealed weapon from before our mana civilizations. It is known as a nuclear fusion explosion. I a.s.sume you have at least heard of it.”

“I know it is the ultimate form of energy. Of course, it can’t be controlled at all.”

“Our mana civilizations were created by casting that aside.”

“Are you saying that’s what the Formless Power is?”

Hiroshi was taken aback, but Marine smiled and shook his head.

“No, it isn’t. In the Republic, the Formless Power is said to be the power that gave rise to our minds. It is believed to bring about true liberation. Personally, I say it must be researched before it is used.”

“The empire says it is the power that leads the people,” said Hiroshi.

Marine gave a thoughtful look.

“I want to say a legend is just a legend, but that may be too optimistic. Then again, it is also somewhat nihilistic to say there is no such thing as a power that leads the people.”

“The legend told by the Merlai says it will bring about a good result if used by one with a good heart and it will bring a bad result if used by one with an evil heart.”

“It seems strange to be using good and evil as such an absolute standard. Of course, ‘true liberation’ is far too vague as well. But since it gives an image of destruction and creation, I do not think we should deal with this power too lightly.”

“In that case, you should get along with the empress and her bodyguards.”

Hiroshi smiled and Marine saw it through the open mouth of his visor.

“Then is no one trying to release that power?”

Marine smiled as well.

“No. There’s nothing to worry about,” said Hiroshi.

The Merlai island finally came into view.

“We’ll be there soon,” said Nonimora excitedly.

The tower they had been following looked very close now. In fact, it had grown so large they could not see the whole thing at once. If they craned their necks upwards, they could just barely see the light at the peak.

“We need to make contact once we reach the village. A lot of people have to be worried. Oh, right. Is it even possible to contact the empire from the village?”

Nonimora nodded at Akuto’s question.

“You can use mana in the village, so you can make contact.”

“Then can we hurry back with a transfer?” asked Korone.

“Good question. It should be possible,” agreed Akuto.

But Nonimora shook her head.

“The village doesn’t have enough energy for a transfer all the way back to the empire.”

Just as mana was not infinite, the energy it used was also limited. They may have lived in a magic civilization, but they were merely using the energy supplied to them. The imperial mainland transmitted energy through the ground or through the mana itself. This made the energy usable in almost any part of the empire’s territory, including over the sea, but the Merlai village only had the energy from their own energy facility due to the surrounding trees that absorbed mana.

“While you can make contact, it will be pa.s.sing through the high-alt.i.tude mana, so it won’t be very effective,” added Nonimora.

“But you were really powerful,” pointed out Akuto.

It had taken an incredible amount of power to grow the plants that had enveloped the school and Nonimora’s speed during the battle had been remarkable.

“I mentioned it earlier, but I used a portion of the Formless Power for that. I have a good heart, so it produced good power. It isn’t that difficult a thing.”

She smiled innocently.

“The Formless Power, hm? I don’t know what that is, but I have a feeling we should follow the legend of the Merlai since you have the closest contact with it.”

“Anyway, I want to eat some rice when we get there,” said Keena.

“You haven’t had rice in a while, come to think of it.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have much rice. We eat moco-moco.”

“Ehh?”

“Don’t worry. It’s really good. And when you’re visiting a different place, you should eat different things. By the way, you’re in a much better mood than yesterday. Did you have hem-hem with him? If you do it right, that can really bring harmony between a guy and a girl.”

As she spoke, Nonimora elbowed Keena in the b.u.t.t.

“I already told you…”

Keena blushed and wasn’t sure what to say.

“A-anyway, the jungle’s opening up.”

Just as Akuto said, their vision opened up as they stepped out from between giant trees. A wooden village was visible beyond some shorter trees and gra.s.s.

“Oh, it’s the village. I’ve made it back.”

Nonimora sounded deeply moved.

The village was made up of ten to twenty buildings. None of them had multiple stories and they all had simple designs with gra.s.s roofs. They were located on either side of a central road and a river flowed by on the other end of the road.

“Hey!” called out Nonimora.

Faces started appearing in the windows. They all had the same skin color and large, curious eyes as Nonimora.

“The tribe leader is back!”

“Call the elder!”

After those voices, a crowd of villagers appeared. Not many seemed to have been working and their ages ranged wildly. There did not seem to be a difference in the features of the children and the adults. They all wore rough clothing, but some wore the same style of clothing as Akuto’s group.

“This village likes to keep things loose. You might find some things rude, but worrying about it will only make you hungry. Try to let loose while you’re here. Don’t let your pakk-pakk get loose, though. Guys don’t like that.”

With that comment, Nonimora walked further into the village.

As Akuto, Keena, and Korone followed, the villagers peered curiously at them.

“Eh heh heh.”

Keena waved at them and the villagers waved back.

Korone made a V-sign and some of the villagers began copying her. When Korone noticed, she brought her right hand around behind her head and tugged up on her left ear. The villagers copied that with a smile as well. She then wrapped her arm around her neck to bring her right elbow up to her face and licked the tip of her elbow. The villagers tried to copy her, but they looked confused and surprised when they could not. Finally, all of them were desperately trying to bring their elbows to their faces.

“Stop giving them strange new fads,” said Akuto.

Korone expressionlessly rotated her elbow at a strange angle.

“This is how to tell if someone is a L’Isle-Adam. Feel free to use it if you are ever having difficulty determining if someone is one.”

“Who gave you that ability?” he complained.

Meanwhile, Nonimora said they had arrived at their destination.

At the center of a park on one end of the village was a building that looked modern even by the empire’s standards. The village contained a mixture of inorganic and organic structures and it was unclear which one was dominant. Simple organic houses were preferred for residences, but facilities even more modern than the imperial mainland were used for the few infrastructure maintenance buildings.

However, the park building was of a different style than those for infrastructure maintenance. If anything, it looked more like the series of structures they had seen in the moon city. Most likely, the buildings of the dawning age of the empire had looked like that. The tower that was said to seal the Formless Power rose up from that building like a thick tree.

“Is this the building you said had the ship to the star?” asked Akuto.

The building was about five stories high and about the size of a general hospital. It was too small to hold a s.p.a.ceship.

“Yes. The ship isn’t all that big. It’s about the size of a few trucks from your empire.”

As Nonimora said that, an old man walked out of the building. His eyes and mouth were buried in the thick wrinkles covering his face. His face seemed to be made from nothing but a few horizontal lines. Akuto guessed he was unimaginably old.

“Oh, elder!”

Nonimora energetically raised a hand.

One of the elder’s wrinkles opened and a voice escaped.

“Welcome back. Who are they?”

“The empire’s current empress and her bodyguards,” explained Nonimora.

Keena and Akuto greeted the elder and he let out a light groan that might have been a laugh.

“Ho fo ho. I a.s.sume that means the Jewel Branch of Hourai is here?”

“It is.”

Keena pulled the box from her bag and Nonimora explained.

“Yeah, she brought it with her. Empress Soga Keena here said she would give the position of empress to me, but after speaking, we decided to come here.”

The elder nodded.

“That is fine. Please, come in.”

He began walking again and the others followed him inside.

Akuto’s intuition told him the building had been created as a laboratory.

“The Jewel Branch of Hourai is the key for the ship to the star, but that is not all.”

The elder began speaking despite no one asking any questions.

“Nonimora said it is needed to use the Formless Power.”

“True, but that wording is not the best.”

The elder boarded an elevator, waited for the others to follow, and pressed the b.u.t.ton for the fifth and highest floor. The elevator ascended, the door opened, and they stepped out into a large floor with no walls. It was filled with a thick cylinder that was likely the tower entering the building. A portion of the tower’s wall had a hole in it. But the word “hole” was not quite right as the cylinder was hollow. The hole felt more like a door to the inside.

“This is the ship to the star.”

The elder pointed inside the door.

Just as Nonimora had said, a streamlined ship about as large as a few trucks was located inside. But if they had not been told it was a ship, they might not have viewed it as one. It looked more like a missile sitting on its side. It was silver, it had no windows, and it had no writing on the surface.

“The Formless Power is sealed inside here,” said the elder. “Even if we have nothing, we can use a portion of that power.”

Nonimora nodded in agreement, but Akuto found that answer difficult to accept.

“What exactly is the Formless Power?”

“It is a mysterious power. But I suppose that does not answer your question. If I had to explain it, I would say it is like the human mind. It is as if tens of thousands of human minds were gathered together. This is only a portion of it here, but it is still a tremendous power.”

“It doesn’t seem like you would need a power like that very often,” said Keena.

“Precisely,” agreed the elder. “But there is something you must know. You should think of the Formless Power as a living being. It is said the Jewel Branch of Hourai chooses the emperor or empress, but you could also say that the Formless Power chooses them.”

“Why do you know that?” asked Keena.

He touched the side of the tower and a mana screen appeared.

“I am the third generation of researchers. But there is nothing more to research, so all I can do is pa.s.s down my knowledge.”

“What do you mean there’s nothing more to research?” asked Akuto.

The elder gave the same strange laugh as before.

“Ho fo ho. Once I knew it was a collection of human minds, there was nothing more I could do. If you have some knowledge, then you might understand this better: this ship to the star contains a device to hold an energy field in place. In other words, it is nothing but an empty container. But when devices to measure electric potential and magnetism were attached to the container, it reacted. That reaction is displayed at the top of the tower. The subtle changes are shown with color.”

“It’s empty but it reacted? Are you sure it wasn’t just a mistake?”

“I have detected energy coming from empty s.p.a.ce. The Formless Power might be an infinite power.”

“Infinite…”

Akuto was dumbfounded.

“But the most mysterious aspect of all is why I referred to it as a living creature. The reaction from the Formless Power can be changed with human emotion. As Nonimora told you, the people who have lived in this village long enough can borrow a portion of the Formless Power.”

Akuto found something about that hard to accept.

“Are you sure that isn’t us jumping to conclusions? How could a power understand human emotion?”

“Naturally, everyone thinks of that as impossible. But they understand when it comes to a living creature. Emotions are nothing more than input and output. The process may be quite complex, but set rules can be quickly determined. However, the bigger problem is the fact that this power is welling up from empty s.p.a.ce. This actually seems to support the unscientific idea that, if complexly bonded amino acids cannot produce consciousness, that consciousness must come from empty s.p.a.ce. And to put it simply, this is the truth, so there’s no use arguing.”

“The truth?”

“The Formless Power has taken a liking to Nonimora. She seems able to communicate with it the best. Even dogs can prefer some people over others, right? But the foundation of that preference cannot be explained with science.”

“Whether you accept it or not, the truth is the truth, huh?”

Akuto stopped arguing, but that brought a problem to the forefront.

“Then did you send Nonimora out in order to…?”

“Yes. The empress needs to come up with an approach for dealing with this power. At the very least, it is a problem that the Formless Power likes her even more than Nonimora.”

Even if Akuto did not accept the elder’s explanation, this power did seem able to amplify magical power. It was a political problem if the empress could use it.

“But first, you should return the Jewel Branch of Hourai,” said the elder.

“Return it?”

Keena sounded confused, so the elder pointed at the ship to the star.

“The tower, ship, and everything else here save the Formless Power were created during the dawning age of the empire and I know what they are for and how to use them. The Jewel Branch of Hourai is the same. It is meant to control the Formless Power, but it is primarily a safety device that can erase it.”

“It erases it?”

“That is why it is said to choose the emperor or empress. It is thought that the Formless Power behavior is similar to deciding whether it will disappear or not.”

“Then it isn’t like only the one using this can use the Formless Power, right?”

“People near it such as Nonimora can also use it, so do not worry.”

“Then…”

Keena pulled the box from her bag and removed the Jewel Branch of Hourai from that.

It was a wooden branch that gave off a dull light and had a few jewels attached.

The elder touched the surface of the ship to the star and holes for spheres to be inserted appeared.

“Those don’t look like they’re for a branch,” said Keena in confusion.

“Remove just the jewels,” said the elder.

She removed the jewels along with the small branches they were attached to. The main central branch remained as a short staff with a round stone at the end.

She placed the jewels in as if sticking small branches into the holes opened in the ship to the star. The holes had opened in just the right sizes for the stones, so they fit perfectly.

“That should do it, right?”

Keena lightly waved the staff that had been the Jewel Branch of Hourai, but she began looking around the area before seeing what it did.

“What is it?” asked Akuto.

“A bug,” she muttered while continuing to look around.

“A bug?”

“Yeah, there’s a bug. …Kyah!”

As she screamed, the Jewel Branch of Hourai was knocked from her hand.

“What!?’

“Eh!?”

Akuto and Nonimora cried out because the Jewel Branch of Hourai flew perfectly horizontally instead of falling to the ground.

At first it seemed to be flying on its own, but the insect clinging to it began to grow larger.

“Ohhh!?”

Nonimora could not help but cry out in surprise.

It had only been as large as a small fly to begin with, but it had grown to about thirty centimeters.

“So that’s it! He’s who destroyed the ship!”

Akuto caught on instantly.

A thirty centimeter human was flying while holding the Jewel Branch of Hourai which was as long as him. He seemed to be a magician who could grow and shrink and he had likely been aboard the ship from the beginning.

“I was waiting for this moment!”

The voice was high-pitched due to the small size, but it was indeed the voice of a human man.

He wore a body suit and mask that must have been able to grow and shrink with him. The suit’s design was not recognizable, but he was clearly a member of CIMO 8.

“Insects must be exterminated!”

Korone swiftly pulled a gun from her bag, but the enemy seemed to have predicted that. He flew toward the floor’s emergency staircase with the same speed as an insect. It almost looked like he moved instantly.

“If all you’ve got is speed…!”

Akuto held his hand out toward the emergency staircase and used mana to restrain the insect man.

But…

“…Eh?”

He was confused because he could not use mana properly.

“What is going on?”

Seeing that Akuto could not feel anything, Nonimora ran forward. She was fast, but the insect man was faster and smaller. He escaped her grasp and quickly escaped outside through the ventilation window. She began angrily stomping on the stairway landing.

“He got away!”

“Sorry. I couldn’t use mana properly,” said Akuto as he arrived at the stairs after her.

“That is most likely due to the low amount of energy in this area,” said Korone. “The amount of energy you can use was reduced and you could not handle that unexpected gap.”

“He took it from me. What do we do?” asked Keena.

“I cannot say this is not a problem,” answered the elder. “But it should be fine for the time being. Anyone can use the Jewel Branch of Hourai, but the Formless Power will only respond to a member of the imperial family.”

“Then I guess we’ve avoided the worst case scenario. I don’t know what CIMO 8 is plotting, but…”

Akuto was cut off when Keena received a telepathic call.

“Ah,” she said as the signal came from her handheld device. “The villagers were so much fun I forgot to call. It’s from the old man.”

Keena pulled out her device, answered the telepathic call, and a screaming voice immediately responded.

The voice belonged to Yuuki Jouji of the Imperial Knights.

“Not so loud. Um, our ship suddenly crashed and…”

She tried to explain, but Jouji cut her off while sounding on the verge of tears.

Jouji began to explain the current situation.

As Akuto listened in, he realized the “worst case scenario” he had mentioned before might be happening after all.

While traveling over the Merlai island, Hiroshi’s visor displayed a warning and he informed Marine.

“Sorry, but this doesn’t look good.”

“What happened?”

“We’re surrounded by a type of field that is this suit’s weakness. It would take too long to explain, so just think of it as the enemy trying to drain the suit’s energy.”

“There is mana here, so I can fly too. I thank you for carrying me this far. I would not have made it on my own.”

After thanking Hiroshi, Marine moved away and asked him a question.

“Does that mean there is an enemy nearby?”

“Yes. This is someone working with the one you called a demon.”

Marine’s expression changed when he heard that.

“Then they are my enemy as well. I will make up for what you lack.”

“That would be a huge help. They’re straight ahead and about fifteen degrees up.”

Hiroshi used the information on the visor to locate the energy and informed Marine. The man seemed to see the target because he nodded.

A flying ship floated there. It was about the same size as the empress’s private ship. It was near the limit of what an individual could own, but the exterior made it clear this had not been bought commercially. It was colored black to hide its affiliation and obvious weaponry was left exposed.

“Their organization is named CIMO 8.”

Hiroshi spoke the name bitterly.

“The mana here is thin and there is not much energy. I’m not certain I can manage, so we might have to fall back.”

Despite the clear hatred in his eyes, Marine spoke calmly.

That made him seem very much like an adult to Hiroshi.

“If we can destroy the virtual alternate dimension producer, I can fight freely. As long as we manage that, we won’t lose.”

“Understood,” said Marine with a nod.

“I’ll do what I can while my energy lasts.”

Hiroshi flew toward the flying ship and watched the energy gauge in shock. It was lowering much faster than normal.

“What?”

He tried to figure out why. It likely had to do with the black flying ship. Not only was it dispersing mana, but it seemed to have its own energy unit as well. It seemed to be the same system as the Brave suit and it was absorbing the suit’s energy.

“Not good… Sorry, but I have to back off!” shouted Hiroshi.

He quickly accelerated toward the jungle below to avoid death from his suit running out of energy. Down there, he could at least release the suit and hide himself.

—If that’s the same tech as the suit, this must be USD’s doing.

He descended to the jungle while silently apologizing to Marine.

After Hiroshi descended to the jungle, Marine began fighting the flying ship, but Hiroshi was not the only one watching.

They were fighting in the airs.p.a.ce near the Merlai village, so it was visible from the ground there.

“The insect man flew that way. His mana is almost undetectable, but I have good eyes.”

Nonimora pointed toward the flying ship. She had run outside the building in pursuit of the stolen Jewel Branch of Hourai, but it seemed she had been too late.

“So he has allies on that ship.”

Akuto tried to gather mana in his hand to use magic, but it did not work very well. He had yet to grow used to the thin mana and low energy of the land.

“He said some place called the Republic has attacked and war is about to break out.”

Keena looked at Akuto worriedly.

“I don’t like not knowing the full situation,” he muttered. “And who is that fighting up there?”

Korone held out a telepathic communicator. Ever since he had become able to easily make telepathic contact on his own, he had not used that sort of item.

“A telepathic call?”

“It is from Kita Yoshie-san. It seems she has all the information.”

Sure enough, Yoshie was in the same headquarters as Yuuko and she began explaining the situation with almost no introduction.

“Why is he fighting CIMO 8?”

“Could this get any worse? I’m ashamed to admit it, but we just had the Jewel Branch of Hourai taken from us.”

“I want to get back there as soon as I can, but there’s too little mana here to transfer back.”

“The same as me?” asked Akuto in surprise.

“Does CIMO 8 want to start a war?”

Akuto raised his voice.

“That’s what’s been going on while we’ve been wandering around the jungle?”

He was now convinced that CIMO 8 had intentionally sent them into the jungle.

“Then I’ll go rescue him.”

Akuto looked up into the sky, but the battle between the flying ship and Marine was already over. Marine seemed to have lost consciousness and he was being sucked inside the ship’s hatch while still floating.

“It looks like I’m a step behind on everything today,” he said bitterly.

As Marine entered the ship, someone else flew out.

After descending into the jungle, Hiroshi had made sure he was far enough from the flying ship and released his suit.

“Tch. What am I supposed to do? How useless is this thing?”

He began complaining about the Brave suit, but to his surprise, someone answered him.

“Sorry about that, but there is still a way.”

“Eh?”

At first, he thought the bracelet that transferred the suit in had spoken, but his expression stiffened when he looked in the direction of the voice.

“I am aware this is quite selfish of me.”

Kento appeared from the jungle. In other words, this was USD, the mastermind behind the entire incident.

“Kh!”

Hiroshi frantically prepared to fire a mana sphere, but realized there was no mana around him. He felt surprise and fear at this fact, but he managed to suppress the fear when he noticed the surprisingly relaxed expression on Kento’s face.

“Are you my enemy or my ally?”

“Are you that insistent on having a clear answer to that? Unfortunately, not even I know the answer.”

Hiroshi realized that bizarre statement was unlike Kento’s usual daring self.

“What is with you? You released my suit when he was made into a demon king, but you let me fight out at sea and now you appear before me. What are you trying to do?”

As Hiroshi raised his voice, Kento adjusted his gla.s.ses and spoke calmly.

“I created the ship up above, but The One is currently aboard it.”

“What about it? You already said he betrayed you and I refused to help you. If you have something to say, then out with it! And as I said before, if you have a way of defeating that dog, then tell me!”

Hiroshi’s emotions exploded out, but Kento cut in.

“The One plans to give the Jewel Branch of Hourai to the Republic’s king.”

“And?”

“Not even I know what will happen if he uses that power. But I have a vague idea what it is.”

“And what is that?”

“The Formless Power is the sealed minds of all the people from another dimension and he is trying to free them.”

Even as frustrated as he was, Hiroshi took a moment to think.

“I don’t really understand what that means, but that isn’t just because I’m stupid, is it?”

“The One made use of the fact that it is so confusing. He made it sound like it would release further power into our magical civilization.”

“You don’t like getting to the point, do you? I’m sure there are all sorts of annoying theories behind this, but what are you trying to say?”

“I want to make sure the Republic’s king does not use the Jewel Branch of Hourai.”

Hiroshi laughed at that.

“Then don’t worry. He isn’t that kind of guy. If you want to stop it, then just stop that ship. You made it, right? I’m sure you can stop it just like my suit.”

“I of course made sure I would be able to stop it at any time, but I can’t do that now.”

“Why!?”

“The One has taken a hostage.”

Kento’s expression stiffened.

“I didn’t take you for the type to have that kind of weakness. So I just have to save that hostage, right? The One can’t see us here, so he won’t know you asked me to do this. Who is this hostage?”

Hiroshi did not even bother hiding his irritation and he noticed some hesitation on Kento’s face.

“What is with you? Is it because of this hostage that you’re acting weird?”

“Kei,” cut in Kento. “The hostage is Kei.”

“Eh?” said Hiroshi in surprise. “You mean the guy who was turned into a demon king?”

“Yes.” Kento nodded. “I investigated that device after the fact and I discovered an extra system The One added into the process. It allows him to freely make Kei self-destruct.”

“How could someone do that to an ally!?” reflexively shouted Hiroshi.

Kento shook his head sadly.

“That’s just the kind of allies we are.”

“You don’t seem all that nice yourself. …But wait. If you were only allies on that level, how does he qualify as a hostage? And your line of work is dangerous, so you had to know he would die eventually!”

Hiroshi came to a certain realization as he spoke.

Kento’s expression and behavior held the unease of worrying for another. He noticed the same thing he felt when he was worried for Yuuko.

“Wait. Don’t tell me…”

Hiroshi shook his head. Kei was male, but he did have a bewitching aura.

Kento slowly nodded.

“I am worried about Kei,” he said.

That fit with Kento’s overall behavior, but Hiroshi still had difficulty accepting it.

“So that’s your weakness. But so what? You had to have seen what he did to the people of the Republic!” he shouted. “Wasn’t that why you didn’t take my suit from me then!?”

Kento suddenly lowered his head.

“Please.”

“Eh?”

Hiroshi’s momentum ground to a halt.

“Will you please stop him? Even if he has to die, I want you to kill while he does what he has chosen to do. I don’t want him to be killed by The One.”

Hiroshi was unsure what to say.

“D-don’t be selfish! He was so cruel… And it was his decision to become a demon king. It was all so he could do that. So…so…”

But as he thought, he realized Kento’s wish was the same thing he wanted to do.

And more importantly, Kento had bared his emotions and bowed his head.

Hiroshi was confused, but something inside him produced the answer to it all. He was aware this was an answer Akuto could never give. He had often wanted to be like Akuto, but he now felt like he had found a path all his own.

“Depending on what happens… I really will kill him.”

Hiroshi gulped as he finished speaking.

“That is fine. He would prefer to die after being defeated. That’s the kind of person he is.”

“But the suit might not be enough. Can you at least give me some information on The One?”

“Don’t worry. I said there is still a way, didn’t I? I will release the suit’s functionality. You should be able to manage like that. Just follow the suit’s voice instructions.”

Once they began talking about an actual strategy, Hiroshi’s head gradually cooled off. Even so, he was aware there was no need to change his mind.

“Where is Kei?” he asked.

Kento’s eyebrows moved slightly.

“He should be confronting the Republic’s army to ensure their king will do what he is told. That king saw Kei’s earlier slaughter, so further attack should make for a decent threat.”

“Is that how The One does things?”

Hiroshi put on the Brave suit and waited for Kento to make his adjustments. The man used a cord to attach a small device to the back of the suit and began manipulating the device.

“If you can power me up, why head for Kei rather than the ship?”

“I’m not sure you can stand up to that ship and The One would try to threaten you with war as well. In that case, it’s better to stop Kei and reduce the possibility of war.”

“Makes sense. But will I make it in time?”

“I’ll give you a transfer spell. Use it once you approach the mainland and secure enough mana and energy.”

“Understood.”

Kento finished his adjustments to the suit and nodded toward Hiroshi.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Sure. I’m not going to forgive you, though.”

As Hiroshi flew away, the battle with The One’s ship was already over and he did not see Marine anywhere. The man had not fallen down, so he had either been captured or agreed to negotiations.

“Why you are going out of your way to give me that?”

Marine was embarra.s.sed by his circ.u.mstances, but his gaze remained resolute.

“Can you not simply accept it as kindness?” asked The One.

He was curled up on a large and shallow bucket-shaped cushion just like a dog.

This was the flying ship’s lounge. Marine sat in a chair placed before The One and he was not restrained in any way. He simply looked like a man sitting with a dog.

But the situation created great tension. Marine had lost yet survived and he had been invited into the ship. That was humiliating to him, but he was not the type of man to despair or lose all hope over that. The One seemed to have realized that.

“We believe this power brings about true liberation, so I cannot use it so lightly.”

Marine looked toward the Jewel Branch of Hourai that lay on The One’s cushion. At first glance, it looked like a normal stick, but Marine knew how special it was.

“I am aware your legends treat it that way, but what do you think ‘true liberation’ means?” asked The One.

“Liberation is the Republic’s ideal. The empire refers to it as black magic, but we are the founders of that ideal.”

“But you have already achieved that, have you not?” reb.u.t.ted The One. “Magic has been freed for all. Or do you begrudge them for making you live under the ocean for so long? Do you view liberation as the defeat of the empire?”

“That desire does exist in me as an emotion, but that is not the core of my ideals. Acquiring eternity is the true meaning of liberation.”

“And?”

“We believe that the soul exists. A true soul, not the soul spoken of by the G.o.ds who created the empire.”

“In other words, there is an afterlife? It seems the people of the Republic are actually more religious than the people of the empire.”

The One’s tone was mocking, but Marine’s calm remained intact.

“You can think that if you want. Many of us do not fear death.”

“Because death is liberation?”

“They also believe death should be given to the empire and that the Formless Power will do just that. In other words, they believe that one can freely control death with the Formless Power.”

Marine had the look of a man faced with a difficult question. The fact that so many of his people felt that way showed just how greatly they resented being bound to the sea by the empire.

“From the look on your face, I take it you do not believe that,” said The One.

“Correct.” Marine nodded. “It is wrong to desire destruction from the Formless Power. It is even worse to think all mankind should become nothing more than souls.”

“But,” emphasized The One.

“But?”

“But we know that to be the truth. That is, that humans can become an eternal thought ent.i.ty.”

Marine sensed something from that statement.

“You mean…it’s true?”

He could not believe it, but The One began explaining as if it was all obvious.

“Yes. After all, the Formless Power is made up of the souls of another race. The people of the empire are plotting to use that power as they see fit.”

Marine did not immediately reply, but after some thought, he gave a small nod.

“And what are you trying to do? Aren’t you part of the empire’s government? If so, I must ask what your true intentions are.”

The One stood up from the cushion.

“I see. My true intentions, hm? In that case, I must start by revealing my ident.i.ty to you. I am what you refer to as an alien.”

Marine’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Oh?”

His voice held a note of disbelief, but The One continued undeterred.

“The Formless Power is made up of my race’s souls. I wish to release that power because that would be the liberation of my race.”

“What will happen if they are liberated?” cautiously asked Marine.

He was using this answer to judge the truth of The One’s words.

“Revolution,” answered the dog calmly. “The very revolution you desire from the bottom of your heart.”

“Revolution!”

The calm left Marine’s voice for once.

That showed this desire truly was hidden deep in his heart.

“You wished for a future where the people of the empire and the Republic would truly share mental bonds and you saw that possibility in the Formless Power. Am I wrong?”

Marine remained silent, but not out of opposition. He could only imagine that The One had seen right through him.

“You can think of the Formless Power as something that grants the people’s wishes.” The One’s voice grew louder. “If it is released, my race’s souls will resonate with your human souls, it will influence your human hearts, and you will gain a magical power…no, a power even greater than magic. Isn’t the ideal of the empire’s black magic and the Republic’s magic to have a power that is directly influence by the human mind? That lies here. Release the Formless Power and you liberate us all. This will create a true interaction between our hearts and that will provide you with new magic.”

“New magic…”

Marine could tell his heart was violently shaken.

The dog before him seemed like the demons spoken of in legends. The dog tempted him with precisely what he wanted.

But Marine managed to retain his calm.

“I need more time. Releasing that power should not be a spur of the moment decision.”

He wiped sweat from his brow.

Their long time at the bottom of the ocean had created an intense desire for a world of mutual understanding. He had always thought of it as nothing more than a dream, but he could not help but feel something tremble inside him when the real possibility lay before him.

“Actually, I think you should make your decision sooner rather than later.”

The One shook his head and displayed a mana screen.

It showed the demon named Sakura Kei facing a Republic submarine unit.

“What!?”

Marine was left speechless.

“Will the n.o.bles of the Republic listen to what you say?”

The One smiled cruelly.

Marine was now certain that this alien could read human minds.

He grew concerned he could not oppose such a being, but he tried to bluff.

“They will. And I am sure there are those who love peace in the empire. It is too soon to a.s.sume it will develop into-…”

“That’s right,” cut in The One. “War does not happen so easily. But your obvious concern shows you do not trust people that much.”

“Why do you desire the release of the Formless Power enough to use threats like this?” asked Marine bitterly.

“Because I wish to see what humans truly desire. There are some coincidental and intentional aspects to the beginnings of wars. But if humans truly brought forth what they desire, what would happen? I must find that answer.”

The One laughed.

“It’s nothing but curiosity?” asked Marine in astonishment.

“No. There is a deeper meaning, but you humans would not yet understand. Now, it is time you bet on this. There is no time left. Will you do nothing and watch as your nation is destroyed in war with the empire or will you use the Formless Power and grant the wishes of the Republic’s people?”

After The One’s somewhat theatrical statement, something happened in the footage on the mana screen. The submarines fired a missile into the air.

“No!” shouted Marine.

He knew what that missile was. Unlike anti-air or anti-surface missiles, the trail of smoke began to stretch high, high into the sky.

“Oh? That is the weapon that was abandoned in ancient times, isn’t it?” asked The One mockingly.

“It is a nuclear missile,” said Marine in despair.

That ballistic missile would rise high into the sky and drop down, so it was difficult to shoot down and could attack from a long distance. The warhead was nuclear, so a direct hit could break through even the mana civilization’s strongest shield.

“So this is your countermeasure against a demon. I do not know whether to call this an unfortunate fate or mankind’s just deserts.”

Marine wordlessly reached out toward The One’s nihilistic smile.

“What is it?”

The devilish dog gave a derisive laugh.

“Don’t play dumb. This is enough. I don’t want to give my answer in words.”

Marine approached and the dog’s smile widened enough to show off his gums.

“Now, what is it humans desire? And what is it you desire?”

The demon grabbed the magic wand with his mouth and handed it to the man.

“Please make it in time.”

Hiroshi rushed, but the suit simply could not move fast enough.

He heard Yuuko’s panicked voice over the communicator.

“Yuuko-chan, what do you mean?”

“Is it turning into a war?”

“Please don’t rush to action. If I can quickly defeat that demon and show we aren’t all like that, we can still salvage this.”

Hiroshi checked the mana density and the amount of energy filling the atmosphere.

“Still not enough to transfer.”

As he was growing impatient, he heard Yuuko screaming over the communicator.

“Wait… Yuuko-chan? What is it?”

He received no response.

He only heard Yuuko shouting and he could hear tense voices in between her shouts.

“What’s going on!?” he shouted into the communicator.

Finally, he received a response from Yoshie.

Yoshie’s tone was much more serious than usual.

“Wait. You can’t mean the missile hit them…” he said.

“What?”

For once, Yoshie’s roundabout expressions seemed suited to the situation.

And then the footage reached Hiroshi.

“Wait a minute. What is this…?”

“The Jewel Branch of Hourai has already fallen into The One’s paws,” said the CIMO 8 member who could shrink his own body.

“And the Republic’s king is with him. Why are you trying to have him use the Jewel Branch of Hourai?” asked Akuto.

The sky was controlled by that CIMO 8 member and the countless giant insects he had created. They resembled rhinoceros beetles and they confronted Akuto with clear ferocity.

The One’s flying ship floated in the sky past the insect army. After delivering the Jewel Branch of Hourai there, the man had sent out these insects to cut off Akuto’s pursuit.

“That’s right!” agreed Nonimora. “You’re really annoying! Let us through! The Jewel Branch of Hourai is dangerous if someone with an evil heart uses it!”

She floated in the air with Akuto as they tried to at least approach The One’s ship, but they could not fly as normal due to the insufficient mana density and energy quant.i.ty.

“There is no reason to be in such a hurry. By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Codename Morlock of CIMO 8.”

The man named Morlock was currently half the size of a normal human.

“I appreciate the greeting, but I’d rather you answered our question.”

“You will find out soon enough, but I suppose I can tell you now. To put it simply, we want war.”

“That’s all?”

“For me personally, yes. There are others with more complicated ideas, but their plans won’t advance without a war. This will result in a wonderful world once it is all over.”

Morlock grinned.

“He creeps me out,” said Nonimora with a look of disgust.

“So if you get down to it, is CIMO 8 just insane?” muttered Akuto as he took a combat stance. “I couldn’t do anything before, but I’m getting used to this lower level of mana. I will be making my way past you next time.”

Morlock gave a mocking laugh.

“Not a chance. I’m an expert at conserving energy. You cannot hope to defeat me even with two of you. I always leave half of my body in a virtual alternate dimension, so I can change my size in reality and more efficiently use energy. Do you understand what that means?”

Morlock was attempting to brag about his ability, but another voice cut in.

“A-chan! It’s an emergency! It’s about Junko-chan!”

Keena shouted out from below where she had been in contact with the palace.

Her panicked state brought a change to Akuto’s expression.

“What did you people do?”

He turned a cold glare toward Morlock.

The look was enough to make the man flinch back despite his previous confidence.

“Uuh… Y-you can see that for yourself. Heh…heh heh…”

“What is that?” asked Junko.

As she looked out the window of the front line headquarters, she saw a trail of smoke rise up from the sea.

“It is a ballistic missile,” explained a member of the Hattori ninja forces. “It ascends to satellite orbit and then descends from there. Don’t worry. We can take it out as it falls. We have already given instructions to the aerial unit. Unless it has a nuclear warhead, we can suppress the explosion itself.”

“Unless it has a nuclear warhead?” she asked.

He nodded.

“We cannot suppress a nuclear warhead with mana, but that technology was abandoned long ago. They wouldn’t be using one.”

“I hope you are right. Anyway, this means a war is beginning, doesn’t it?”

She sounded disappointed.

“It may be unavoidable now,” he agreed.

Suddenly, Junko felt a chill on her spine.

—What is this unpleasant feeling?

She looked around the headquarters and it seemed everyone there shared the same feeling.

“Hey, did you feel something?” she asked.

People responded in turn.

“Yes. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“This is not a magical phenomenon. How strange. There’s no reaction in the mana at all.”

“Is it coming from above?”

Someone looked up into the sky.

Junko followed suit and looked up from the window.

It was starting to rain.

—Rain? There was no sign of this earlier and isn’t the weather controlled in this region?

But as the beads that looked like raindrops fell on the ground, those areas burst into flames.

“What!?”

She stared intently at it.

She could not see the flames clearly. The flames had no color and they merely caused the air to shimmer like a heat haze.

But they did not vanish. The colorless flames gradually spread across the ground. The gra.s.s burned, the green turned to black, and it all collapsed into ash. The same thing occurred everywhere that the raindrops fell. Rather than raindrops, it may have been beads of fire itself that was falling from the sky.

“Ahhhhh!”

A member of the Hattori ninja force cried out in fear at the sight before him. Junko followed his gaze and saw the source of his fear. The rain of colorless flames had started to melt the outer walls and windows of the viewing platform being used for the headquarters.

“Do not panic!” shouted Junko. “Try to use our shields!”

But she only received screams in response.

“We already are!”

“What!?”

The rain poured down over a wide area and started to turn everything there into ash.

“I-is this the enemy’s weapon?” asked a frightened voice Junko did not recognize.

“I do not know. But this cannot be happening!”

The flames were neither red nor blue and they burned through everything around them. The viewing platform itself was on the verge of collapsing. The view from the melting window showed the outer wall loudly crumble and then start to turn to ash and scatter in the wind.

Junko’s face twisted in fear.

This was not the fear of facing certain death.

That rain of colorless flames looked like the malice of humanity to her.

She trembled and crouched down.

She felt as if depthless malice was bearing down on her.

Everyone watched it happen.

The invisible flames fell from the sky and burned through the city and the troops.

Everyone interpreted it as intense malice.

“a.s.sume for a moment that divine punishment exists,” said The One. “You think of it as coming from heaven, but it would only feel like divine punishment if someone down here wished for it to happen. After all, if good people are burned away, it would be viewed as nothing but an unfortunate event. That means this is the reflection of someone’s heart. You wished for this. You of course wished for the elimination of the missile and that is what happened. But you also granted the wishes of the Republic’s people. Some of them must have wished for the empire’s army to be turned to ash.”

Marine could tell better than anyone that The One was not lying. His connection to the Formless Power told him that power had truly granted the