Chapter 5 - Hero
“Ooh!”
Tohka, whose dazzling semblance was spectacularly ameliorated by the phenomenal mirage-matches, broadened her two twinkling eyes as she studied the interior of the palace's exhibitory special-purpose hall. She wasn't alone, as the Yamai sisters and Yoshino also vividly exposed their ardent enthusiasms while they inspected the gallery-like court in enthrallment.
Of course, that couldn't be helped. Shidou and the other Spirits were currently located inside the lavishly sumptuous party hall within the royal castle - a place which only existed within imaginary fairy tales.
The crystal chandelier which sparkled in glorious splendor like rare diamonds perfectly complemented the velvety vermillion carpet that impeccably bore no flaws. Even the marble pillars and the lofty stairways were designed with an exquisite avant-garde touch which put even the most refined aristocratic mansions to shame. Atop the grand oak table, that could easily be mistaken by peasantry commoners to be a ceremonial article used for holy rituals, were luxurious culinary delicacies and exotic gourmet food.
The majority of the people who gathered there were mostly from families of noble lineage or descendants of renowned craftsmen and scholars. Everyone attending the ball was wearing classy, à la mode attires and was playfully bantering with each other in eloquent miens.
Shidou and the others had heavily relied on Kotori’s sudden inspiration and finally succeeded in surmounting the guard of the castle's gate. Despite this, the guard was still profoundly befuddled when he saw them. They were a group of shabbily-dressed people that suddenly re-appeared in distinguished formal clothing out of nowhere. A modicum of doubt and suspicion did arise, especially since the guard had memorized their facial features obliquely, but that was all.
“Ah everyone, I understand your state of minds, but don't wander too far. If you go out of the flame’s range, your true self will be revealed. Especially you, Tohka. You'll turn into Japan’s number one in an instant. Before that, bringing a katana to a VIP party is anything but reassuring.”
Kotori informed them as she raised the emergency torch.
“Umu! Understood!”
Tohka replied with plenty of vitality.
However, a few seconds later, next to Tohka, the Yamai sisters defiantly charged out of the flame’s limited range instead.
“Uohh?!”
“Predicament. How unfortunate.”
Kaguya’s and Yuzuru’s beautiful dresses instantly reverted back to the ragged patchy clothing that their representative characters had worn. The two let out unusual yells of bewilderment and speedily swayed their bodies like trained gymnasts, coordinately leaping backwards afterwards.
In spite of the fact that a few participants had their utmost attentions unimaginably evoked by the Yamai sisters’ elicited yelps, Hansel and Gretel were not witnessed by any of them owing to the brevity of the two’s evanescent affair. Observing the volatile scene from afar, Kotori sighed in a rather derogatory manner.
“Really, didn't I say to be careful? It wasn't easy for us to sneak in here.”
“S-Sorry…”
“Apology. I will exercise caution hereafter.”
Disheartened, both of them reverently lowered their heads to express their remorseful regrets. Kotori could only shrug her shoulders helplessly.
“Alright… anyway, where's the said mermaid princess?”
“Uu… I can't see anything like that around here.”
Just as Shidou keenly glanced around the expansive hall, an anonymous figure could be seen conceitedly approaching him out of the corner of his eyes.
“——Good evening, pretty Miss.”
“Ah?”
The unexpected salutation caused Shidou to turn his line of sight towards the source. Before his eyes was a confident youth wearing a swallow-tailed coat, carrying himself with ease and natural poise.
“May I have this dance?”
The youth gently smiled and extended his hand deferentially. Seeing this, Shidou looked towards Kotori instead.
“Haha, he's asking you out. You're rather well-received Kotori. Onii-chan is jealous.”
Yet the youth unfathomably shook his head and gazed directly into Shidou’s eyes while opening his mouth once again.
“N-Not the little lady over there, I'm referring to you.”
“....Ah?”
Hearing the youth's words, Shidou grimaced in perplexity. But he promptly recalled that his current appearance had been transformed into the cute Shiori-chan through of
Kotori’s matches. However, Shidou had absolutely no interest in partaking in a dance with another male. Moreover, if he accidentally went out of the match’s reach during the waltz like dance, he would immediately return to his original male self. This kind of matter couldn't even happen to Cinderella.
“.....Not her?”
Shidou, in cold sweat, pointed to Kotori, to which the youth shrugged his shoulders as if to say ‘you're joking’.
“Such a humorous Miss, but that pitiful little lady over there will feel bad. See that tasty cake on the table there? Why don't you go eat a slice or two?”
The youth ludicrously ridiculed Kotori, as if he was coaxing an upset child. In a split second, blue veins could be seen popping out of her temples angrily.
“W-What did you say?!”
“H-Hey calm down, Kotori.”
Not wanting to trigger any tumultuous disturbances there, Shidou hurriedly restrained his furious sister's shoulders. Just in time, a woman who appeared to be the Master of Ceremonies emerged on the grand stage situated inside the room, verbosely making a speech to all the guests present.
“——May I have your attention please. In a moment, we shall be given the privilege to witness, in person, a seldom seen mermaid princess’ enchanting serenade!”
Hearing the statement, the entire assembly hall vehemently flared up with ebullient exuberance. Even the youth who had invited Shidou just now was zestfully viewing the raised platform in high spirits.
“L-Let’s go, Kotori. There's our objective, we should look for a better position.”
“Hmph, fine. Let's go, everyone.”
Kotori did not hesitate to blatantly show a resentful expression as she beckoned everyone else to head for an advantageous stead. Following closely, the curtains on the stage slowly unfolded left and right, little by little. Instantly, the vast hall was enveloped by noisy excitement and passionate sighs.
“Wow…”
“A real mermaid!”
“So beautiful…”
Perhaps the theatrical scenery served to imitate the coastal seaside. The stage was nicely decorated with water and a beach, along with some large sandy stones scattered here and there. Atop one of the rocks sat a lovable young girl whose body had the exterior appearance of a fish from waist down. She possessed slightly wet hair and a swimsuit made out of polished shells; brightly smooth skin and a moist pair of eyes. It was self-explanatory; she was the very epitome of the fairy-tale Mermaid Princess.
However.
“Kyaa—?! Where is this place—! Where's Darling!? Where did everyone go—?!”
She was the Spirit who also got swallowed into that oneiric world along with Shidou and the others, Miku.
Miku haphazardly flicked her tail fin while cacophonously shrieking with a loud, blood-curdling scream. She was undoubtedly unparalleled in beauty, yet utterly spoiled in many ways.
“Quiet down, you have an audience.”
“Even if you say that…”
Miku puckered up her eyebrows with indignation and embarrassedly said so. The emcee then continued whispering into Miku’s ear.
“Now now, struggling is useless since you've been purchased by our generous King. You should serve the King by singing a song. I heard that mermaids have very pleasant voices, so let these honored guests who've come from distant lands indulge in your mellifluous singing.”
“I refuse! Although my voice is the best, I didn't agree to serve some company producer or some King that I don't know! I don't work for things that have nothing to do with me!!”
Miku yelled as she arbitrarily turned her head to one side.
Miku’s defiant rebuttal caused a rather confused uproar among the populous crowd in the hall. The emcee, who thought that it wasn't too encouraging to allow such a rebellious attitude towards the King to be seen in public, put on an incisive look and fiercely glared at Miku.
“You're the castle's property now. If you aren't obedient, the King will not be pleased.”
“Hmph! I don't care!”
“Well can't do anything about it. A mermaid that won't sing is good for nothing. Go be tomorrow's soup stock then.”
“Waa! Miku likes to sing!”
Dreading being stewed into fish soup, Miku made an effort to smile obsequiously. Watching the whole argument, Shidou feebly forced a wry laugh.
“Captured again huh… Miku.”
“Un. Looks like she was sucked into the fairy tale, Mermaid Princess…. Is this how the story goes though?”
Kotori was utterly flummoxed by the unorthodox turn of events, replying to Shidou while inclining her head to one side.
In any case, they weren't going to let Miku become the soup stock just like that, she was already miserably pitiful to be compelled to sing unwillingly so Shidou and the others advanced a few steps forward towards the stage. At that time, Miku finally noticed their striking presence and opened her eyes, filled with hope.
“...Darling! Everyone! Are you okay…”
“Yeah, we're fine. We heard that there was a mermaid princess in the castle so we came to visit…”
“Ah….! Where did you find such fancy dresses! And Darling is Shiori-san!? Ah! Ah! I wanna listen to the detailed development!!!! Did you record any notes?!”
She resembled a stranded fish put back into the water. Miku’s eyes glistened rather lustfully as she flapped her tail fin on the water surface nonstop. Although her vivacity wasn't detrimental, the whole matter wouldn't be settled so easily. Shidou spread out his arms in order to sober up Miku.
“C-Calm down… Anyway, how did you end up like that?”
Shidou asked sweat oozed out from his forehead.
“I was already like this when I woke up in the sea. When I was searching for everyone, a wicked witch approached me and offered to turn me human in exchange for my voice.”
“Oh, so that's how it is.”
Shidou advertently nodded his head in acknowledgement towards Miku’s case. Indeed, her featured story did vaguely adhere to the plot of the fairy tale, Mermaid Princess. Impression-wise, however, the mermaid princess was supposed to fall in love at first sight with a handsome prince on land and seek the witch for a forbidden method to become human. At least, that's how the storyline develops. 1
“But if you're still mermaid that means…”
“That's right. Hard to believe that witch tried to steal my voice. When I declined and wanted to leave, she even kept bugging me to death! So I smashed her with my tail once and she ran away.”
Miku said this with a grin.
Shidou could only go with the flow and laugh along *ahaha* at Miku’s coup de théâtre.
Although the witch didn't know inside information, the deal she unknowingly proposed was simply too foolish. Miku was a popular idol and simultaneously a talented vocalist; therefore, her voice equaled her life. There was no way that she'd accept the trade.
“But… when I tried to find you guys in this state, I got caught by some fishermen on the shore…”
Shidou comprehended her situation and nodded acquiescently. True, her appearance was rather conspicuous and had made it difficult for her to flee on land. As he and Miku talked, the emcee that had been glaring at Shidou and the others from the beginning raised an objection.
“...Monsieur, is there a problem with this mermaid?”
“Ah it's like this. She's actually our friend, can you release her?” requested Shidou bluntly.
“Friend…the mermaid? I find that hard to believe. Even if that is true, she already belongs to the King. I cannot accept your demand, so please give up.
The woman replied back in a stern tone.
“H-How can you be so unreasonable? What about Miku’s free will?”
“It doesn't matter with that kind of creature. She doesn't need a will since the King owns her.”
The cheerless host warned them in a desolate manner, causing the Spirits behind Shidou to take offence from her deliberate wordings and expose penetrating gazes.
“Uu… you don't need to be so rude.”
“E-Exactly…! Miku-san isn't something for display!”
“Ah but, a line like ‘You're mine, you don't have the right to refuse’ has an air of a Shōjo manga. Touching, right? In my opinion, it depends on the speaker. Boy, try saying that.”
“...Don't make things complicated, shut up Nia,”
Natsumi said so half-heartedly, causing a chuckle from Nia.
“.....”
The host pursed her eyebrows in annoyance towards their refusal to comply, and clapped her hands a few times.
“Guards! These ladies shall be going now. Please see them off prudently.”
Immediately afterwards, a number of armored guards responded to her call and surrounded the group, making a clamor as they resonated throughout the hall.
“Wha….!”
“Heh? Dare you disrupt peace?”
“Challenge. We will be forced to use force.”
The Yamai sisters’ expressions morphed into merciless frowns. The two adopted an offensive stance, slightly leaning forward as if ready to kill at any moment. The wary guards were alerted in response and assumed an encirclement formation.
“Haha, you have quite the nerve. Very well, those that feign fearlessness towards Death, bring it on! Even without our angels we won't lose to scum like you!”
“Request. Allow Yuzuru and Kaguya to slaughter open a bloody path. We'll leave Miku to Shidou and the others.”
Shidou let out a bitter look. He was against the obligatory usage of violence, but now that the state of affairs had deteriorated to such an irreversible extent, there was nothing he could do about it.
“Uh… I guess we don't have a choice. Everyone!”
“Ooh!”
“Alright!”
The Spirits collectively shouted a courageous war cry. Tohka unsheathed her blade from its scabbard and Nia skillfully reloaded her dual pistols. However, through Kotori’s magical matches, those deadly weapons took on the deceptive façade of being mere bouquets of harmless flowers. Nevertheless, both factions entered their respective battle formations and the scene brimmed with tension on the verge of eruption. If another turning point were to decisively reoccur, a fight would undoubtedly break out.
On the contrary, someone else spoke at that time.
“....What's the meaning of all this raucous disorder?”
An austere voice reverberated throughout the combat-stricken ambience from the spiraling flight of stairs leading to the upper levels.
“.....!”
As the unyielding voice reached the emcee’s ears, she inconceivably widened her now startled eyes in a flustered manner. Meanwhile, all the stares and gazes in the hall converged at the source of the articulate enunciation.
“H-Hey…”
“Isn't that——”
“It can't be… how lucky am I to be granted the opportunity to witness with my own eyes…!”
All the party participants gave out amazed yells of overwhelming surprise while the host could only lower her head in deep veneration towards the revered voice, as if she was suffocated by the intoxicating utterance.
“Forgive my impertinence, Your Majesty. Some uncouth commoners have come to wrest away Your mermaid, that is fully Yours in all entirety. My humble self wishes to banish them, and banish them I shall, with immediacy.”
“Your Majesty?!”
Shidou abruptly lifted his head in shock towards the woman's words, moreover her completely disparate attitude. That was to be expected. The King was the master of the castle. That meant that every guard there obeyed the King, and that the King was Miku’s owner - lucky. If they could persuade the King, then perhaps they could somehow subdue the escalating dispute.
“A-About that! We are… the mermaid’s friends! So….. eh?
Shidou argumentatively debated as if he was pouring out his innermost grievances, only to brusquely cease his speech halfway through. The reason was simple. The King looked extremely familiar to him.
“O-Origami?!”
Shidou couldn't help but shout loudly. Before his eyes stood Origami, who was wearing a high-grade loose red overcoat and a jeweled royal crown on her head.
“——Shidou.”
Origami declared tranquilly while observing the condition of the hall. She nodded with keen insight of the circumstances, and let her overcoat flutter leisurely in the wind.
The next moment, Shidou and all the Spirits widened their eyes with shuddering shoulders, except for Miku who exclaimed an *ahh*. It couldn't be helped. After all, under the red overcoat, Origami didn't have a single stitch of clothing on. Yet she showed no trace of bashfulness or embarrassment on her face and even unhurriedly descended the stairs with a complacent expression.
“I-Is that the rumored…?”
“Y-Yeah… What a fantastic dress!”
“E-Exactly! Simply mystifying!”
Quite a stir was once again created in the room, but the dialogues seemed rather forced compared to before, almost in sarcastic manner. Origami didn't have the slightest care about the satirical uproar and merely forged ahead towards the raised platform. She exaggeratedly swayed her overcoat as if issuing a manifesto.
“They are my guests. No harm towards them is permitted. Return to your respective posts.”
“B-But….”
“Do I have to repeat myself?”
Origami distorted her countenance as she glared fixedly into the self-deprecating host’s eyes, causing the woman's body to shiver in fear.
“Uh…! M-My deepest apologies!”
The host deeply bowed her head once again and withdrew together with the guards. After intently seeing them leave, Origami shifted her vision towards Shidou and the others.
“Shidou, everyone, good to see you're okay.”
“Y-Yeah… are you… uh… fine as well?”
Shidou didn't know where to look as his eyes frantically darted everywhere. Origami naively tilted her head, unaware of what Shidou was ambiguously hinting at.
“I don't understand what you mean.”
“Ah… you didn't encounter any… plunderers, did you?”
Just as Shidou was measuring his words tactfully, Tohka bolted upright and pointed at Origami straightforwardly.
“O-Origami! What happened to your clothes?! You aren't wearing anything!”
The next moment, a storm of protest brewed inside the hall.
“That lass… how dare she say something so audacious!”
“Talking ill of the King's clothes like that… she'll be hanged for sure!”
Frightening utterances and suchlike could be heard from all four quarters of the crowded room, far and near. What kind of tyrannical, despotic rule did Origami ruthlessly implement to inflict such terrified veneration and fearful reverence upon the hearts of her subservient followers? However, that was presumably a nontrivial matter of which was caused by the storyline that Origami was intermingled with, and she wasn't necessarily responsible for the outcome. Nevertheless, Origami didn't even look like she detested Tohka’s impudent statement in any way. On the contrary, Origami barefacedly shook her head as if she was sympathizing with poor Tohka.
“This was purchased from a travelling tailor. My clothes are invisible to those who do not love Shidou. If you are unable to see it, then that means, Tohka… you…”
“Wha…!? W-Wait a moment!”
Tohka objected in a hurry as she glued her eyes onto Origami’s body.
“U-Uun… this is… a beautiful skin colored outfit!”
“You don't need to force yourself, Tohka.”
Kotori consoled her while gently patting Tohka’s shoulders.
“Origami, you've been fooled. No matter how you look at it, those are The Emperor's New Clothes.”
“.....”
Origami remained motionless for a short period of time, and then closely tightened the front of her overcoat afterwards. On a side note, Miku was bawling, ‘Ahh let me see some more!’
The Emperor's New Clothes. The emperor was fraudulently tricked into buying ‘clothes that fools cannot see’ by a couple of dressmakers, making a fool of himself instead. It
was a rather well-known fairy tale that even Japanese people would have definitely heard of, however.
“I didn't notice at all,”
Origami muttered in an emotionless tone.
“Don't you guys think it's quite passable?”
“They told me that people who cannot understand love cannot see it, so I bought it in advance.”
“I-Is that so…? Scary how a wizard's imagination is.”
Kotori grimaced while subconsciously wiping sweat off her forehead.
“Well, now that we've found everyone, it's about time we look for a way out of this world.
Although our perceptions of time are different from the external world, a rather long period of time has passed since we came here.”
Kotori sequentially shifted her gaze towards Miku and Origami as she continued explaining the elaborate intricacies of the Adjacent World to them, roughly summarized of course, and posed a doubtful query.
“The both of you were transported to two different locations, right? Up until that point, did you encounter any characters that might be able to escape this world or maybe any items that could have the same effect?”
Origami and Miku briefly faced each other for a short moment, and strongly shook their heads in denial afterwards.
“Nothing special.”
“I didn't see anyone too, ah except for the witch and fishermen.”
“I see…”
She didn't expect anything bright or outstanding, but Kotori couldn't help but sigh regrettably with disappointment. The next moment, a narrow window of hope unraveled as Origami continued her speech.
“Currently, I am the ruler of this country, and can issue a nationwide announcement. I should be able to order the citizens to search for something similar to that.”
“Good idea, power in numbers huh. This way is far more efficient than us looking everywhere. I'll leave it to you then.”
“Understood. But what should we search for, specifically?”
Origami inquired, to which Nia was the one who answered this time.
“Uu—Yeah, this world is pretty open to broad interpretations in the first place, so I think relics or treasures which grant wishes exist here. Like Aladdin’s magic lamp or One-Inch Boy’s little hammer. Even though both manga and video games have dimension-transcending espers, the former’s more popular so we should have a higher chance.” 2
“Alright then. I'll immediately——”
At that very moment, the moment Origami responded.
A deafening resonance of shattering glass loudly echoed throughout the filled hall as a gigantic wolf vigorously collided with the castle's fragile window casements, crashing the entire party in a rampage.
“H-Hyaaaaa!”
“A monster!”
Confronted with the unanticipated violent intrusion of a grotesque, disproportionate monstrosity, all of the ball attendants screamed in horror and chaotically fled in all directions. The wolf brutally shoved away each and every being, living or otherwise, in its unstoppable path of berserk destruction. Unwarily, Kotori’s torch dropped onto the adequately furnished floor.
“Ah….!”
The makeshift brand was actually just a broken piece of disused wood extemporaneously wrapped in a thin strip of cotton cloth, and was on the brink of extinguishing. Fortunately, the fire didn't set the flammable carpet ablaze and burned out instead, leaving a faint black trail of charred smoke.
In an instant, Shidou and the others who had been masterfully disguised by the flame’s illumination returned to their original selves. Be that as it may, their attires constituted the least of their concerns at that time, as an even more pressing obstacle had appeared before them out of nowhere. Without even a minuscule shred of regard or interest towards the frenziedly fleeing participants, the wolf ferociously charged at Shidou and the others straightaway.
“Hoh, I have repaid your petty kindness just now. How dare you little pigs treat me like some dog that runs errands willy-nilly?!”
The wolf acrimoniously howled with rancorous animosity, to which Shidou could only furrowed his eyebrows in utmost confusion, inquisitively wondering what he did to provoke such enmity from the wolf.
“The wolf from before….!? Why, didn't you eat Tohka’s dumpling and turn good?!”
“Hah! I had digested that stuff long, long ago and expurgated it already!”
The wolf barked as it patted its belly.
“The dumplings use that kind of system!?”
Shidou was unable to refrain from shouting his reluctance aloud. At that time, the castle's guards finally arrived and quickly aimed their barbed spears at the wolf, one by one.
“Your Majesty, please retreat!”
“Leave this to us!”
However.
“Don't get too full of yourselves, weaklings!!”
The wolf mightily swept its frontal limb, which was the size of a fully grown tree, and effortlessly knocked a whole rank of soldiers airborne as a result, sending them crashing against the opposite wall along with the grand table and everything on it.
“Woah… as expected of an adaptation. Tohka-chan, try giving it another one of your millet dumplings!”
Nia instructed as she cautiously pulled out her loaded dual pistols. Tohka then inserted her hand into the packed bag which hung freely on her waist.
“Un, ready. Wolf, eat this!”
Tohka threw the millet dumpling with all the strength she could muster at the wolf's gaping mouth. But, just as the dumpling was about to enter the wolf's waiting mouth, it was abruptly stopped in midair as if time had been momentarily suspended.
“Wha….?”
Tohka yelled as her bleak situation fell into a disadvantageous predicament.
In that space, the shadowy figure of an old woman, who possessed a crooked nose and wore a matt-black robe, slowly floated into physical appearance.
“Hihihi, pathetic wolf. Carelessness shall be your demise.”
The hideous woman ridiculed the wolf as she cruelly crumbled the caught dumpling into countless bits, inexplicably sending a cold chill down Shidou’s spine.
Witnessing the malign occurrence, the Yamai sisters held their breaths with considerable trepidation.
“U-Uahh! It's that aged hag!”
“Shock. She's the elderly woman who lives in the candy house.”
The Mephistophelean witch's sinister sneer grew even more horrifying. The slithering snake named Fear sluggishly crept up the twins’ legs whilst constricting their remaining power with great intensity, and gradually ascended their svelte abdomens till their faces paled.
“Hihihihi…. In the flesh, abominable Hansel and Gretel. Your insolent souls shall cauterize in the Devil's mordacious hellfire for gourmandizing on my dwelling! Pity, I had graciously pardoned the thinness of your tender bodies and hoped to consume you plumped, but restraints will be of little utility to pardon you so graciously now!”
“Ahahaha! Hale and hearty despite the years eh, ancient human? Keep your filthy hands off my prey, this little pig and red riding hood!”
The wolf roared with avaricious, mocking laughter. Kotori’s expression inevitably became severe.
“Kuh… the wolf alone is more than enough, let alone a witch!”
“Heh? You seemed to have misunderstood something.”
“What did you say…?”
Kotori creased her eyebrows in disbelief as the wolf haughtily scoffed till the corners of its lips extended to its ears.
“——Who ever said that that was all?”
As the wolf finished its condescending intimidation, an immense volume of concentrated seawater spontaneously poured through the previously broken glass windows.
“Wha….!? This is…!”
The arcane brine looked as if it darkened the party hall somehow, and unexpectedly swelled into an irregular shape - the form of an ancient mermaid. Seeing the ghostly scene, Miku immediately pointed her finger at the ostentatious apparition.
“Ahh! You! The witch that tried to steal my voice!”
“...Hahaha, correct. I come to return the slap on my face that you gave me! Not only will I plunder your voice, I'll cut off your tongue as well!”
The ocean witch let out a contemptuous scorn. It seemed that the antagonistic villains from every story who bore spiteful grudges against Shidou and the others had collectively joined their evil forces in order to seek out vengeance.
Following closely was the seismic rumblings of gargantuan footsteps, which roughly mimicked the magnitude of several tremendous earthquakes combined. A brutish ogre which wore a loose loincloth made out of a skinned tiger pelt powerfully lifted a crude iron club and wrecked the castle's wall into rubble, barging into the hall.
“Uah… could this be the Oni from the demon island!?”
Tohka said with quivering shoulders as the ogre viciously bared its fang-like teeth.
“Ouf coorse! Me wait and wait and wait... forr you BITCH but neeever comme to me so me comme to youu!!”
“You obviously have nothing to do with us and came by yourself!!”
Shidou couldn't help but verbally express his discontented misgivings towards the obnoxious ogre’s absurd l’esprit de l’escalier. The forest and ocean witches had their own reasons for amassing such intense hatred against Shidou and the others, but by the looks of it, that mentally-challenged ogre had simply never even met with Tohka before.
But the madness didn't end there. As the formerly changed wolf's partners in crime gathered one after another in the castle's hall, the now unguarded gates suddenly opened, revealing three spoiled women wearing over the top ball gowns, with hearts rotten to the core.
“Ohohoho! Cinderella! You think an overrated girl like you can attend the ball?”
“Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters…?! Ah, although you guys are just remakes who don't stand a chance, why are you being lumped with the witches and ogre there!?”
An underage youngster then naturally entered the room, for reasons unknown.
“The king's naked… because I said this; my father got thrown in prison. But I'll keep saying the truth, the king's naked!”
“Was there something so serious in the story!?”
The next instant, a massive fireball manifested in the sky, and within the flame emerged a bereaved ghost whose dark eyes reflected no light.
“O granddaughter… ignite all your matches… and reunite with me…”
“The Little Match Girl's grandmother turned into an evil spirit?!”
Shidou exclaimed with a shocked demeanor.
A colony of innumerable bats flocked into the hall through the shattered windows, assembling into a humanoid form. The moist surface of the wetted floor then perpendicularly bulged into a zombie corpse, furthermore an indescribable, nerve-racking monstrosity which drove onlookers insane by mere sight manifested from the shadows.
“T-This is…”
“Ah, that one's mine. The vampire from Chapter 1 • Nosferatu, the living corpse from Chapter 2 • Undead Lord, and the unknown entity from Chapter 3 • Ancestral Deity— Silver Bullet’s atypical massacre. This popular work of action and fantasy, 《Silver Bullet》, is currently being serialized in the weekly Shōnen Blast!”
“That's why Shōnen manga has violence issues!!”
Faced with Nia’s shameless advertising, Shidou longingly pined to scream at the top of his lungs. Inside the vast party hall, gathered irrational freaks and evil villains from every plot. Furthermore, they had already surrounded the perimeter around Shidou and the others in order to prevent any escape attempts, slowly closing down the distance apart with each step.
“Uh….!”
The overwhelming pressure exerted on them was completely incomparable to the castle guards’ formation before. That was to be expected. Right then, aside from a few distinct exceptions, the despicable, degenerate existences which forcefully encircled Shidou and the group were vile villains and alien monstrosities. In addition to the fiendish foes, their situation was invariably worsened by the fact that they were utterly incapable of utilizing their angels’ abilities, be it offensive or defensive. Each of their perishable bodies physiologically detected the life & death crisis presented in front of them, resulting in a quickened heart rate and heightened brain processes.
“We won't lose to the likes of you!”
As everyone stressfully tensed up with anxiety due to the unfavorable circumstances, Tohka alone yelled a loud battle cry and suddenly leaped into the air, pouncing on the enemy with her sharpened katana readily wielded.
“Haaaaaa!”
However, before her blade could even land an attack on the ogre, the witches to its right and left cast an offensive spell and energy projectiles. Their magic targeted her vulnerable body, setting off some minor explosions in the process.
“Ack!?”
Tohka groaned as she unbearably suffered heavy attacks from both her flanks. Seizing the onetime chance, the repulsive ogre exaggeratedly heaved its iron club and swung it at Tohka from above her head with great force.
“Hahahaha! Tooo naiive, Momotarou!”
“Uhh….!”
Tohka subconsciously instructed her feeble arms to somehow defend against the bone-crushing strike, but being in midair; she could not fruitfully exert any substantial force to move her hands and got savagely staggered onto the decorated floor.
“Tohka!!”
Shidou cried out her name with all his voice and rushed to protect her, or at least, he tried to. However.
“Letting your guard down is dangerous, little pig.”
As Shidou inadvertently heard the wolf's cold voice from above, his abdomen experienced an intense impact without warning.
“Uaah!?”
He immediately understood why - his body had been swept by the wolf's colossal arm. Shidou’s body flew across the capacious room, violently crashing into the hard wall and miserably falling onto the also hard floor afterwards.
“Ou… ch…”
“Shidou!”
“S-Shidou-san!”
All the Spirits cried out with distressed worry for him and attempted to approach Shidou with unbreakable conviction, only for that very conviction to be mercilessly nullified as the wolf and their other enemies sadistically blocked their determined path.
“Too bad, you won't be going anywhere.”
“Huh….!”
“Y-Yoshino….”
“I-It’ll be okay, Natsumi-san….”
The Spirits, some without resignation and some with uneasiness, earnestly snuggled close together. The antipathetic bad guys who neatly stood in a blockading row perceptively smelled this fear and laughed derisively, drawing nearer by the second.
“Prepare yourselves to be feasted upon!”
“Hihihihihi… Loosen up; I shall eat you from head to toe!”
“Kehehe, wonder what a mermaid’s tongue will sound like.”
“H-hyaa-…!”
Miku screamed in response while shutting her mouth tight.
However, Miku wasn't the only one compulsively shivering and trembling in fear. Despite their uncommon reactions overall, everyone was sweating profusely as they helplessly awaited the approaching monsters as if they had been condemned to the soulless guillotine.
“Kuh… bastards!”
Shidou muttered with his remaining strength as he supported his body forcefully.
“Don't you dare… lay your hands on them!”
However, Shidou’s emaciated body, being crashed destructively against the wall, was utterly unable to act according to his sheer willpower no matter how resolute, and his lethargic legs soon surrendered to fatigue, rendering his lower body completely paralyzed on the watery ground.
“Uah….!”
In spite of his twisted expression, Shidou decisively gritted his teeth and endured the excruciating agony. He pitifully clawed at the ground with his still functional hands, sluggishly crawling towards the Spirits, but it was already too late. The nefarious villains had already beaten him to it.
“Ahahahaha! Let's start with you!”
“Kya….!”
“Y-Yoshino! D-Don't touch her you disgusting dog!”
The wolf dexterously controlled its paw and pinched Yoshino off the ground with its fingers. Despite Natsumi firmly clinging onto its thigh, the wolf simply feigned ignorance and sized Yoshino up in terms of edibility.
“Un un, looks scrumptious, little red riding hood!”
“Uu….”
“Ahh! Eating Yoshinon will give you a stomachache!”
“Kuh….!”
If that went on, it'd really be too late. Shidou’s heart fretfully pulsated. Even if he could somehow catch up to them, the number of things he could actually do was extremely limited. At most, he could only hope to stall them for some time. It was futile, for someone who had been effortlessly hurled away by the wolf and was in the process of letting Yoshino be eaten.
That moment he realized that point.
All of a sudden, the meaningful verses Mukuro had spoken through the communicator intermittently flashed through Shidou’s wavering mind.
‘...If thou hath sealed me, couldst thou also ensure my protection? Hath thy sealed Spirits never sustained another fiendish foray?’
“.....”
Shidou weakly extended his hand to reach for Tohka and the others, not stopping for even a single moment.
“I….”
The Spirits who had their powers purposely sealed by Shidou himself were currently being assaulted by various terrifying monsters. There existed only one cause for that, only one reason, which was fluttering through Shidou’s dim consciousness as he pondered about his actions. If he hadn't sealed their spirit power, perhaps they could have stood a chance against Westcott’s <Beelzebub>. No, it wasn't limited to that occasion alone. Like Mukuro had said, Tohka and the other Spirits had been plunged, time after time, into numerous perils in the past. Shidou had sealed their powers in order to save them, but conversely, for this very reason had Shidou unknowingly endangered their lives as well. His aching heart felt as if it had been shattered into pieces. Had he been doing the right thing all this time? Or was saving Spirits just some insignificant medium to fuel his egoism like Mukuro had said?
“——Hey, it's not like you to worry like that.”
At that time, a nostalgic voice which seemed to have fully seen through Shidou’s personal thoughts and emotions resounded from somewhere.
“Hm….?”
“Huh….?”
The confused utterances of Shidou’s bewilderment and the wolf's perplexity overlapped.
“What's going on? That sound just now—”
The wolf, with one paw securely holding Yoshino in midair, looked around for the source of that voice with perturbation. However, just as its line of sight moved away from
Yoshino…
“...Wha….!?”
A straight line streaked down the wolf's arm, obliquely dividing that limb into two adjacent sections.
“T-This is, impossible!”
“Yaa….!”
Accompanied with the wolf's painful cries, Yoshino’s petite body was dropped towards
the floor, along with the animal's severed limbs.
Then, just before her body could touch the ground.
“—Are you okay, Yoshino?”
Before her appeared a familiar boy who gently caught her falling body.
“Eh? T-That….”
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