Episode 4: To the Hometown

* * *

The Star Whale was crying.

It measured only 100 meters from end to end — a creature as small as a speck of dust against the vastness of the universe.

It tore through the void at 10 to the 1,298th power of the speed of light, bringing tens of thousands of dimensions to their end in the blink of an eye.

It was simply lonely. It kept running through the infinite universe, just wanting someone to be there.

Someone, please. Stay by my side.

Don't leave me all alone.

Please, stroke my head with gentle hands.

Having accelerated to the 1,298th power of the speed of light, the creature could no longer stop itself. It would invert time and law alike and run forever.

All it wanted was to reach a place where humans lived. But the whale crushed dimensions beneath it — eternally, endlessly, killing humans forever.

That single whale-child was already something far beyond any god. An existence that had vastly exceeded the speed of light had drifted far outside the reach of any ordinary science. The creature was, by now, the very phenomenon of world-destruction itself.

"Someone. Please."

The whale crushed the universe while it cried.

"If we cannot be together — then at least—"

Even so, the whale prayed to God.

"Please — kill me."

* * *

When I woke up, I — Kotoyorozu Kotoha — was crying.

"...Huh?"

I looked up instinctively, but all that met me was the elegant ceiling of a luxurious hotel room.

(Someone was crying, I think.)

I'd felt a powerful voice of the heart — from the sky. And not from any ordinary altitude, either. It had come from far beyond the atmosphere, beyond the stratosphere, beyond even the habitable zone, from some distant reaches of the sky above.

"Was it... calling... me?"

My heart was pounding hard. I took a deep breath and put my hand down on the bed.

"...Mmm..."

Something squished.

"...Squish?"

"...Zzz... zzz..."

There was a sleeping woman in my bed.

"......"

I was speechless. If there had been a mirror, my face would have been dead white.

"...Mmnya..."

The girl — the Black Demon Lord — was lying right there in my bed, her eyelids fluttering open.

"Morning, darling... ♡"

She laughed bashfully, her voice like warm honey.

"Wha — wait — hold — huh — wh-wh-wh-what is — this—"

"...Darling... last night was amazing. I couldn't sleep all night. I'm exhausted."

"What are you even talking about?!"

She giggled. She wasn't in her usual black attire but a pure white shirt — oversized, probably mine. ...She was wearing something underneath, right?

(I-I'm too scared to ask...!)

No, wait!

"Why is the Demon Lord sleeping in my room?!"

"Huh, but we're married, aren't we? ...And yet you never came to my room, darling. Even after all those signals I was sending you during those endless meetings."

"There's a lot I want to say, but — what signals?"

"This. Ba-wink ☆"

The Black Demon Lord gave a clumsy wink.

"Oh, that. I thought you were having a seizure."

"It's not a seizure! It's a beautiful girl's idol wink!"

The moment she shouted it, the Demon Lord caught herself, cupped her cheeks in both hands, and squirmed shyly.

"...We did it, didn't we. Our first couple's comedy routine."

"Wait, hold on. Seriously hold on. ...When did we become a couple?"

The Black Demon Lord's eyes went perfectly round.

"The other day! At the Sky Tournament, I gave you a reverse proposal, didn't I? — Though I hate how the word 'reverse' implies a woman proposing is somehow backwards."

"You're getting sidetracked."

"Anyway — and then darling said, 'Yeah, sure ♡ We'll be together forever ♡'!"

"I didn't say that!"

"You did!"

"I didn't!"

"You did! Because after that, a rainbow-glowing pony appeared behind you, and we rode through the wide night sky together! Then fireworks went off, and they were all... ...wait?"

The Demon Lord turned beet red and jumped up.

"—That was a dream!"

Her shirt nearly flipped up when she jumped, so I desperately looked away.

"Oh man, sorry! This happens to me sometimes. I'm pretty messed up, y'know — I hallucinate and sometimes think dreams are real. So embarrassing. We're not married at all!"

"...This person is something else."

She really did live up to the Demon Lord title she gave herself — no one among the colorful residents of Fructus was as unpredictable as her. Her face still red, she curled up on the spot.

"Ughhh... so embarrassing... this might be the kind of embarrassing I can't actually handle. D-don't look. Don't look at me. I'm an introvert with communication issues who forces herself to be outgoing to get close to people, so my basic human skills are too low for unexpected situations like this. No way, no way, no way."

She was pretty adorable, honestly. I felt a flicker of warmth and scratched the back of my head.

"W-well. Don't worry about that at all. I don't feel bad about it or anything."

"...Really?"

"...Yeah."

The Black Demon Lord smiled — a warm grin spreading across her face. Like any ordinary girl would, when she was too happy to hold it in.

"Oh, actually. Don't look at me. My smile is ugly."

"No, that's definitely not true. I think you're cute."

"...Myaum..."

The Black Demon Lord stared at me with narrowed eyes, her face crimson.

"...Kotoha-kun, you're such a playboy. I bet you say that to everyone."

"N-no, that's not—"

I couldn't exactly deny it. I'd never been good at hiding my feelings — when I thought something was cute, I just said so. Like the Black Demon Lord, I was fundamentally bad at socializing, underneath it all.

"Well then. Let me try again."

The Black Demon Lord cleared her throat and stood up.

"Kotoyorozu Kotoha-kun. Please marry me."

"...I'm sorry."

"Why not!"

The Black Demon Lord pushed me down onto the bed, half crying.

"Why why why! Is it because I have delusions and I'm a weirdo?! Because I can't cook?! Because I obviously have zero experience and seem like too much trouble?! Waaaah, that's so mean!"

"No no no no! That's not it!"

She shook me back and forth on the bed. I was flustered, but I knew I had to explain myself properly — because I really did like her.

"—I'm part of the Apocalypse Stagnation Committee! I can't be with a Demon Lord who wants to bring about the Apocalypse!"

"...Can't you somehow overcome that with the power of love?"

"Even if you say that..."

Honestly, I felt incredibly fond of the Black Demon Lord. I admired her — felt drawn to her from somewhere deep down. If we'd just been ordinary classmates, we probably would have met, become friends, and ended up dating in no time.

"Kotoha-kun... the Apocalypse will come eventually."

Her tone shifted as she murmured. The playful attitude was gone — replaced by something darker, more resolved.

"It might be because of this 'Star Whale.' Or even if humanity overcomes this crisis, there are thousands, tens of thousands of monsters in this world that could annihilate the universe..."

I knew that. The Apocalypse was close. That was why we were stagnating it.

"So you're saying it's pointless to stagnate the Apocalypse?"

"I'm not saying that. I just... think we're putting our efforts in the wrong place."

I didn't follow her, and it must have shown. She met my eyes with a serious look.

"—We have to find the best happy ending."

"...Huh?"

"The Apocalypse will definitely come eventually. So we should make sure we meet the best possible Apocalypse."

She went on, seeing I still didn't understand.

"So — for example — what would you think if there was an Apocalypse that wished for 'the world to be reborn'?"

"Eh..."

"What if there was an Apocalypse that wished for 'daily life to continue forever'? Or one that wished for 'a redo of history'? An Apocalypse that wished for 'another Big Bang'...?"

"That's — what you're calling a happy ending?"

The Black Demon Lord smiled like a hero.

"The world will end. There's no avoiding it. I'm searching for hope beyond that."

I was speechless. This girl called the "Demon Lord" had made all of Fructus her enemy for this purpose. She believed in hope even while opposing the Three Great Academies.

"You..."

I found myself staring at her, a murmur escaping.

"...You really are a beautiful person."

"Eh?"

Come to think of it, it had been that way since we met on the ship. She was challenging people I could never dream of fighting — all by herself, head-on. As the Demon Lord, while smiling.

"...I really do like you."

"...I know. I can tell. You can too, right? My feelings."

"Yeah. — But, I'm sorry."

"...No?"

"I've made precious friends. There are people I want to protect. So at least until everyone can happily live out their natural lives, I want to stagnate the Apocalypse. I'm... just an ordinary guy. ...Sorry."

"No, it's okay. I kind of thought you'd say that. Because you want your youth, right? Like a light novel protagonist."

Right. The Black Demon Lord and I were fundamentally incompatible. Absolutely. Completely.

"Then, Kotoha-kun. Want to make a promise?"

"What?"

"If you can't stagnate the Apocalypse. ...Right before the world ends."

Her gaze pierced straight through me like sunlight.

"—Let's get married."

What an incredible person, really. Because getting married right before the world ended would be meaningless. We couldn't have children or go on happy dates together.

This person truly only wanted love itself.

"Okay."

I nodded, simply and honestly.

"When that time comes, I'll give you every last moment I have left. All of it, just to love you."

"Oh... ohhh... s-saying that with such a straight face... um... ahh... ♡"

The Demon Lord's eyes darted around. Then she broke into a gooey smile.

"But just so you know — I won't let the world end while I'm alive."

"We'll see about that. I'm going to make it a happy ending first."

She was the Demon Lord — through and through, she lived to destroy the world. But if I could be beside her when she achieved that goal, I thought, then it would be a kind of happiness.

Even if she was the Demon Lord — she was someone who walked toward hope.

"S-so, Kotoha-kun... it's still early morning, so..."

"What?"

"Want to... do it? Premarital relations... ♡"

"W-w-w-we're not doing that!"

"Why not?!"

No way that would happen! ...Or would it? I didn't know!

"B-because we can't! A man and woman who aren't even dating, doing that — it goes against the warrior's code!"

"Wh-why are you so serious about that! Come on, just enjoy some casual sex!"

"Absolutely not! I won't sleep with a girl unless I'm prepared to protect her for life! What we just did was basically that whole 'let's get married if we're both still single at thirty ♡' rough blueprint! Until the Apocalypse is confirmed, I definitely can't do something like that!"

"You stubborn jerk!"

The Black Demon Lord pushed me down onto the bed by force.

"Come on...? We don't hate each other... I mean we're basically engaged... ♡ You keep sneaking dirty looks at me anyway... Right? Let's just feel good for a bit?"

"No! If I just drift into sex like that, I won't be able to face my future girlfriend!"

"Your future girlfriend is me!"

"...Sorry, but I'm going to pursue normal romance for the sake of my youth."

"What?! I'm devoted only to you, darling!"

I liked the Demon Lord, but that was a separate issue entirely. Even if I'd promised to marry her when the world ended, I intended to get a normal girlfriend until then.

"I'm going to live, fall in love the normal way, and marry someone I love! And I'm going to stagnate the Apocalypse!"

"Y-y-you! How can you declare you'll cheat with such a straight face?! Are you a man from the Showa era?!"

Because — that was my fight. My battle for youth. Just as destroying the world was the Black Demon Lord's fight, I had to live out my own.

"...Oh. So sorry, but if I marry someone else first, our promise is off."

The Demon Lord stared at me in silence.

"—I'll kill you ♡"

She smiled sweetly.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

The Demon Lord's black shadow stretched out. That shadow, threaded through with blue geometric patterns, swelled three-dimensionally into a small shadow giant. It locked me in a full nelson and yanked my pants down.

"W-w-w-w-wait, what are you doing?! Hey!"

"For a second there I thought I'd just kill this enemy of women. But then I was like, I kind of love how insane he is too. Because we're both crazy, so we match. We really are perfect for each other."

"Then why did you pull my pants down?!"

"Because I was still pissed off. So I figured I'd just go ahead and do the thing."

"This person is way too Demon Lord!"

"It's fine, it's fine ♡ Once we start you'll feel so good you'll forget your dumb convictions ♡"

I thrashed around desperately, trying to protect my underwear. But the blue shadow, loyal to the Demon Lord, had my body locked in a firm grip and wouldn't let go, slowly, slowly working my boxers down.

"...Oh, crap. I don't have a condom. Kotoha-kun, do you have one in your wallet or something?"

"I don't have one! I don't have a girlfriend!"

"...The fact that you have zero interest in sleeping with anyone but a lover is cute. Very virgin-coded lol"

"Shut up."

My boxers were halfway down when it happened.

"K-Kotoyorozu-kun, good morning. ...Thanks to you taking care of me yesterday, I'm feeling much bet—"

The door clicked open. In walked President Elif.

"............................................"

President Elif saw me locked in a full nelson with my boxers being pulled down, on the verge of being reverse-assaulted, and her pupils went wide. In that instant, a pistol materialized in her palm.

"—Prosaically (Bill Cup)."

President Elif pulled the Gunscar's trigger over and over, but no shots rang out — just the slide snapping back and forth, click-click-click-click. Not a single bullet fired.

"...Tch."

Realizing nothing had happened, President Elif clicked her tongue.

"...Ah. So the bullet in the meeting room was yours, President~ ♪"

* * *

[No. XXX: "Prosaically (Bill Cup)"] — Gunscar

"Shoots through the past." Handgun-type Gunscar. Fires bullets into the past. Extremely wide range — temporal range extends up to 30 years back, spatial range covers a 300km radius.

* * *

"You okay, Prez-chan? That's your ace in the hole, isn't it?"

"Black Demon Lord. Against an Apocalypse of your level, I would certainly consider using it — given the circumstances. Well, I had originally planned to use you, but — if you're going to lay hands on Kotoyorozu-kun—"

President Elif's gaze filled with murderous intent. The Black Demon Lord's shadow radiated a deeper, fiercer blue light.

"W-wait, please! The Black Demon Lord didn't do anything wrong!"

I hurriedly yanked my pants back on and stepped in front of her.

"A lot of stuff happened! And I said some really insensitive things! But I couldn't just give in — she understood that, and she acted on impulse!"

"A-acted... on impulse... to do what...!?"

The surprisingly innocent president didn't understand what a man and woman did together — or rather, she was pretending not to.

"No really, it's true. That attitude of yours — I'd be justified in killing you for it, darling. Well, I'm the type to forgive anything once it's water under the bridge. Besides, if I destroy the world before you get married, that solves the problem. And if you come back to me in the end, whatever."

"Ahaha. Well, when the world ends, sure."

I was aiming for youth. The Demon Lord was aiming for the end of the world. If the endpoints of those paths ever intersected, we would join hands. That wasn't a contract — it was a promise. Like children pinky-swearing to play together again tomorrow.

"It's a contest. Demon Lord."

"Bring it on."

If I had to name what the Demon Lord and I were to each other — I'd probably call us comrades-in-arms. Our paths were polar opposites; we were enemies. Yet deep in my heart, I felt a strong connection.

"...What are these two smiling about?"

President Elif just crossed her arms, question marks practically floating above her head.

* * *

My name was Koyama Yukitoshi. Age twenty-five. Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, rank of second lieutenant. As a tank platoon commander, I was scheduled to be deployed to the Sumida Ward area.

"This is 8th Platoon, Lieutenant Koyama. Captain Kato, please respond. Over."

I pressed the transceiver to my ear and tried desperately to reach my superior. No response. Inside the dim tank, my subordinates watched me with tense, waiting eyes.

"...No good. The captain's down."

"Connecting to another platoon."

A private muttered and started working the communications equipment.

"Retreat or engage to the last. What's the call?"

"But, Lieutenant — even if we retreat, where to? We don't even know where the enemy—"

Without warning, a tremendous roar shook the air. I threw open the tank's hatch and looked outside.

"What — the Skytree—"

Tokyo Skytree had snapped clean in half at its center and was about to crush Sumida Ward. I stared at it through my binoculars, dumbstruck.

"Found the 'enemy.'"

It was a girl holding a white guitar, radiating a cherry-blossom-pink glow.

"You serious? That's the enemy?"

A nineteen-year-old subordinate muttered. I couldn't muster a single thought beyond the same reaction.

"She's... punching an F-15J..."

The Air Self-Defense Force's main fighter jet, the F-15J. Also known as the Eagle. Maximum speed: Mach 2.5. Range: 4,600 kilometers. Armament: 20mm cannon, air-to-air radar missiles, air-to-air infrared missiles.

Both the Eagle and the cherry-blossom girl were flying at roughly subsonic speed. But the girl's maneuverability was on a completely different level. If the Eagle turned in flight like a bird, the girl moved like a dragonfly.

"Damn..."

She ran in straight lines and turned at right angles like lightning — at subsonic speed. Destroying every incoming missile with her guitar, she gradually closed in on the F-15J and knocked it out of the sky.

(This isn't the time to be watching in awe!)

Because that was the "enemy." The one who single-handedly held off the combined forces of the Air Self-Defense Force, Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Ground Self-Defense Force — an alien.

"Lieutenant, we can't reach any other platoons either! What do we do?"

"...They're probably all wiped out. Everyone but us."

At the hands of that ridiculous rabbit-eared, cherry-blossom-haired girl swinging her guitar around. That was the blunt reality of the first "Tokyo Urban Warfare Exercise." The Self-Defense Force personnel had been wiped out — all of them, leaving only a single platoon.

— Koito Hikari was unscathed.

Even if this was just a simulation in virtual space.

"...How the hell are we supposed to beat something like that?"

* * *

"Now then, Kotoyorozu-kun. ...Or should I call you the Great Archdemon of Lust?"

After finishing another meeting, on the way back in the car. President Elif fixed me with a long, flat stare.

(The incident with the Demon Lord was three whole days ago!)

She kept bringing it up like this from time to time, watching me squirm, clearly enjoying every second of it. This person was just plain mean.

"...I'm not the Great Archdemon of Lust. If anything, I'm the one who exercised restraint."

"That's beside the point."

"You're the one who brought it up!"

President Elif laughed with amusement when I protested. She didn't seem actually angry.

"Kotoyorozu-kun. — Starting tomorrow, you're off duty, ja ze."

"...Huh?"

"The Japanese government lodged a... well, not quite a protest, but they did have something to say. 'When will you finally trust us?'"

So the Japanese government had known about my Apocalypse — "Whisperer." Was that what this meant?

"It seems they've been investigating your past."

I was originally from Japan. Records from school or child protective services might have notes like "seemed able to read minds" — that wouldn't be surprising. They might have had their suspicions from the start.

"Thank you for everything this time. Thanks to you, things went quite smoothly."

"Is there anything else I can help with?"

"Heh. You want to help?"

"Well, of course—"

President Elif peered into my eyes.

"— Why?"

"Eh...?"

"Tell me. Why do you want to help me?"

Well, of course—

"...The world's in crisis. It's only natural."

"...Hah. Too natural — boring."

The president rested her cheek on her hand and gazed out the window, looking bored.

"What kind of answer would have been interesting, then!"

"Hm? I wanted you to say 'I just want to spend more time with you, President Elif~~'"

"Wha—"

"I mean, we agreed to 'start as friends,' but you don't seem interested in moving forward at all."

"Th-that's—"

Half of me thought she was joking. Actually, I still did.

"Yet you got engaged to the Black Demon Lord."

"That's differ — actually, it's not, but still!"

"You're not interested in me at all, are you?"

"That's not—"

The moment I panicked and tried to shout, the president leaned in close and brought her face near mine.

"Not what?"

"Ah... uh..."

"'That's not'... what...?"

Her sparkling eyes reflected the lights of nighttime Tokyo as she stared at me intently. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her lips faintly moist. My mind went blank and my face burned unbearably hot, but—

"Of course... I'm interested... very much so... In you, President... I think you're wonderful..."

"Hehe."

"Why are you laughing! Stop playing with me!"

"Hm? No, this is different. My heart's pounding — I'm just barely keeping my composure."

"...!"

"You have a cute side, you know, Kotoyorozu-kun."

I was being teased and getting even more flustered, but President Elif's face was definitely bright red too, and she was even slightly sweating. If I peeked into her mind, she'd probably be a mess.

"Anyway, Kotoyorozu-kun, you're relieved of duty for now. Until a week from now, when the Necromancy Dimension portal opens."

Learning when the portal would open was a recent development. Through cooperation between Azure Academy and the Anomaly Research Institute, and the efforts of Azure Academy's intelligence operatives, the information had been slowly coming together.

"Rest up until then. Once things start, you won't have time to."

What I really wanted was to help her more. Partly because I wanted to be useful to everyone, and partly because President Elif was the type to push herself too hard — which worried me.

"Personnel from Azure Academy have been arriving in droves too. The advance team — Koito's squad — is taking a break for now."

"Ah, I see."

"A brief respite. Get some good rest."

I understood that resting was part of the job. But while we rested, President Elif would keep working. Somehow, that felt like exactly the kind of person she was.

"Hehe. What's with that face? Being too serious is a bad habit of yours, you know."

"...B-but..."

"I know. Why not visit your hometown? It's been quite a while since you've been back, hasn't it?"

Manazuru Town, Kanagawa Prefecture. A small, hilly port town by the sea. A place with more bad memories than I could count. But... not many, but... there were good memories too.

"Come to think of it — where's your hometown, President Elif? Is it Fructus?"

The president glanced away, looking indifferent.

"I don't have a hometown. No one is waiting for me. No one remembers me. That's all."

I felt like I finally understood why I found it so comfortable being around her.

"...Haha. Then we're almost the same."

"...Heh. I suppose so. Probably the same as you."

The president smiled, looking amused. That smile held a fragment of sadness.