Episode 7: From the Cherry Blossom Dimension

* * *

Boom! Boom! Boom! Pi-hyarara. Sharan, sharan, sharan!

(This is just like a festival!)

Festival music echoed through all of Tokyo. I—Kotoyorozu Kotoha—ran caked in mud and wounds while the festive sounds rang around me. Boom—rainbow-colored fireworks bloomed across the night sky.

"So this is the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation. The age of divine immortals has arrived."

Running, fleeing, dodging—President Elif was already battered too. But we weren't allowed to stop. The outcome of this war rested in our hands.

"The yokai are holding back the death spirits. In the meantime, Von will reorganize the forces and counter them."

"But there's such an incredible number of Anomalies. Maybe they could just win like this—"

When I asked, President Elif shook her head.

"...The Collective Illusion is an ancient lost principle. Walking must be agony for the Anomalies. Even within the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation."

"Huh?"

"They probably don't have much Anti-Reality left. They can't use miracles. All they can do is swing their weapons and fangs with their massive bodies. They're just buying us time."

When I thought about it calmly, she was right. The oni and fox spirits didn't use any mysterious magic. They just closed in, punching and blocking. They were nothing more than the dregs of miracles.

"But precisely because of that—"

Precisely because the divine immortals and fox spirits were buying us time. Precisely because they gave us time to move.

"—You're the commander-in-chief of the Necromancy Dimension, aren't you?"

We faced a single death spirit in the deserted Ameyoko.

"..."

At first glance, that death spirit soldier appeared no different from a regular soldier.

Kaburagist here. Beginning retreat.

Headquarters, come in. Urgent. Please respond.

But faint yet numerous thoughts were directed at that single soldier. President Elif, Luna-san, and I had been chasing this one for hours. We'd been cleverly evaded and obstructed, but now—we had cornered her.

"...I suppose that's that."

A girl's voice rang out from the death spirit soldier. She grasped her own skull and slowly peeled it off. It had been merely a mask. She was—a rabbit-eared girl with indigo hair.

"I knew that girl with the threads was slowly picking apart our forces. ...But how exactly did you decode our encrypted communications?"

She had rabbit ears similar to Koito-senpai's. She narrowed her dark indigo eyes—the color of the deep sea—and smiled mysteriously.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself. People of the Cherry Blossom Dimension. I'm the 'Indigo Rabbit.' In the Necromancy Dimension, I handle overall tactical command and the development and operation of portals to other dimensions."

Indigo Rabbit. The stylish girl clad entirely in a steel dress seemed far too small to be called a commander-in-chief.

"Allow me to introduce myself as well. I am Elif Anatolia. In the Cherry Blossom Dimension, I serve as the leader of an Anti-Reality organization. It's an honor to meet you."

Indigo Rabbit's eyes went wide.

"You're... the leader? Meaning, the person in charge?"

"That's right."

"Then why on earth would you come to the front lines?"

"To request a meeting with you, as a leader."

"...What?"

Indigo Rabbit looked dumbfounded.

A meeting? Now? One of our dimensions will definitely be destroyed. There's nothing to discuss.

Due to the Star Whale's trajectory, one of the two dimensions would definitely be destroyed. That was certain.

"But may I ask—why are you on the front lines despite being the supreme commander yourself?"

"Oh, that's simple. I'm—the strongest in the Necromancy Dimension."

She laughed as if it were nothing. And I knew that wasn't a bluff. She had been planning to infiltrate Shinobazu Pond alone and destroy the Iron Heart.

"So then, what exactly is this meeting about? One of us is destined to be destroyed, you know?"

"—We will destroy the Star Whale."

Indigo Rabbit's eyes flew open. Then she snorted, as if she'd heard some ridiculous fantasy.

"...I don't have time for such delusions. Do you know its speed?"

"The speed of light to the 1,298th power. A ridiculous speed that puts the theory of relativity to shame."

"The energy involved is extraordinary. There's no way you can destroy it."

"We can."

President Elif Anatolia stared directly at Indigo Rabbit in the deserted Ameyoko.

"Koito Hikari can do it."

The girl who couldn't handle spicy food, who was lazy, who always goofed off and laughed—the strongest girl in the Base Dimension.

President Elif believed from the bottom of her heart. In her Half-Wing. In Koito Hikari-senpai. She believed that girl could somehow handle even a monster that surpassed the theory of relativity.

"Koito... Hikari. ...I know of her. The rabbit who wields cherry-colored miracles."

"Then this should be quick."

"The 'cherry' miracle is certainly strong. Far beyond my 'indigo.' In pure strength alone, it surpasses 'azure' and 'gold.' But even so..."

For a moment, Indigo Rabbit said things I didn't quite follow. But President Elif seemed to understand. The president stared directly into Indigo Rabbit's wavering eyes.

"We mean it. We intend to destroy the Star Whale."

That was the Apocalypse Stagnation Committee's plan. Hold back the Necromancy Dimension while destroying the Star Whale. If we could take down the Star Whale, the two dimensions would no longer have any reason to fight.

"I want you to see it with your own eyes. Won't you come with us? —To Azure Academy."

Indigo Rabbit hesitated for a moment. But she quickly realized there was no reason to refuse. Because at this rate, the Necromancy Dimension would win anyway. And it didn't matter how they won.

We have no return portal.

Win or lose, all soldiers who came to this dimension—will perish.

If that was the case, there was no harm in letting herself be won over by this girl Elif Anatolia's pitch. Indigo Rabbit was the supreme commander, but she knew they could win even without her.

"...Let me be clear—even if I believe you, we won't stop our attacks. We'll keep trying to kill you with everything we have."

"That's fine. In exchange, if we succeed in destroying the Star Whale before you destroy the Iron Heart—"

"Very well. In that case, we'll have a ceasefire."

Indigo Rabbit extended her hand. President Elif grasped it and smiled slightly.

* * *

Azure Academy's space development center was located on a small floating island at the southern edge of District 12.

"Final check, okay. First GO/NO-GO decision—GO!"

Rising from the rocket launch pad was a massive pure-white rocket. Its name was Ibis-2. Azure Academy's newest and largest rocket, designed to travel beyond space to other dimensions.

"Please. Koito-senpai. Save everyone—save the world."

One of the researchers stared up at the rocket under the blue sky and pleaded to Koito with a voice on the verge of tears. Even faced with the world's destruction, Koito wore an easygoing smile like sunshine.

"—Of course! This is a piece of cake."

She was already wearing a uniform modified to withstand the space environment. Through Anti-Reality methods, it was far lighter and easier to handle than a conventional space suit.

"Still... when are we launching?"

Koito muttered impatiently. In the spacious space development center, the one who answered her was a petite woman with curly black hair who appeared to be in her fifties—Nguyen Bao Lan.

"Koito... you, honestly. How many times do I have to explain this?"

"But! My cute juniors are fighting hard down on the ground!"

Nguyen understood that feeling all too well. She was worried sick about her superior officer, the commander of the Arboreal Knights—Platinum. Platinum had spent her childhood under Nguyen's care. Nguyen thought of that eccentric knight like a daughter. Platinum was surely fighting a life-or-death battle right now.

"There's nothing we can do about it! Breaking through dimensions this forcibly requires perfect calculations and perfect timing! ...The fact that we can even launch today is practically a miracle."

The destination of Ibis-2 was the Star Whale's trajectory. Azure Academy would intercept the Star Whale in an uninhabited dimension. Dimensions were fluid, unstable things, like bubbles gathering on the surface of a sponge. Without building a large-scale portal over a long period of time, travel between them was difficult.

"The lab team has done well. They've determined there'll definitely be a launch window sometime within the next six hours. All we can do is be completely prepared. ...Am I wrong?"

"...I'm tired of hearing that lecture. Hmph!"

When that timing would come—that wouldn't be known until the very last moment. That's how unstable different dimensions were. While everyone was fighting, Koito could only wait here. That was frustrating.

"Just call me when it's time and I'll be right back!"

"Even at your speed, it takes an hour from here to Japan. Not a chance."

Azure Academy's space development center was located in a subspace above the equator. This place, accessible only through specific methods, took time to travel to and from the surface even at Koito's speed.

"But if I use Shamshir..."

"What if you become incapacitated on the ground? What if there's an enemy who can interfere with spatial Anti-Reality like Shamshir? This entire operation depends on you."

"Ngh... ngh."

She had nothing to say to that. Nguyen was used to lecturing Koito. It had been that way since she was a child.

"Oh! Koito, good news."

"! Can we go now?"

"You have a visitor. Weren't you wanting to meet them?"

Koito turned around. There stood Elif, Kotoha, and Luna. And—Indigo Rabbit. They had just arrived at the space development center from the surface in a small jet.

"Wow. So this is a rocket. I've read about them in books."

Indigo Rabbit murmured, and Kotoha tilted his head.

"...Read about them? Don't you have rockets where you're from, Indigo-san?"

"Of course not. That kind of advanced civilization doesn't survive. You've seen our soldiers, right? Even our weapons are just bows and arrows."

The Necromancy Dimension's civilization had long since collapsed. All that remained were numerous Anti-Reality rituals and the portal technology that had been Indigo Rabbit's research subject for a thousand years.

"Nice to meet you, Cherry-colored Rabbit. I'm Indigo Rabbit."

"Don't give me weird nicknames on our first meeting. I'm Koito Hikari. But I suppose I'll play nice."

Even to the enemy's commander-in-chief, Koito Hikari smiled without reservation. She fundamentally didn't distinguish between good and evil, friend and foe. Indigo Rabbit looked slightly surprised, then gave a small nod.

"Elif Anatolia, was it? ...I see—now I understand what you meant."

The tremendous energy radiating from Koito Hikari. It was abundantly clear that she was no ordinary being. As someone who bore the same "rabbit symbol," Indigo Rabbit understood it painfully well.

"—It would be fifty-fifty."

Indigo Rabbit announced calmly.

Truly incredible. This is the purest 'cherry' I've seen... since I visited the great cherry tree.

But probably... even so... she can't beat the Star Whale...?

Kotoha was the only one who noticed her words were lip service. Indigo Rabbit said fifty-fifty, but she privately estimated the odds at around ten percent.

"Fifty-fifty? No such word exists in my vocabulary. Koito Hikari is eternally undefeated! I'll blow past kings and gods without even trying."

But that sunny smile reassured Kotoha. She had never broken a promise. He believed from the bottom of his heart that Koito could definitely win.

"Indigo Rabbit-san. There's something I wanted to ask you."

Koito stared directly into Indigo Rabbit's eyes.

"—Why did you attack our dimension?"

"...Oh? What do you mean, why?"

"You're immortal, aren't you? You've surely lived for a long, long time, and many of your people grew tired of it and chose death. So why..."

"Why dregs like us would still try to protect our dimension—that's what you're asking."

Just as Koito said, humanity in the Necromancy Dimension had nearly perished. Their population was far too small to begin with, and the death spirits had lost their reproductive functions. By and large, no one clung to life anymore.

"Well, yes. Especially the soldiers who invaded the Cherry Blossom Dimension—they burn through all their Ectoplasmic Fluid over here and die."

"What was it you wanted to protect so badly?"

Indigo Rabbit's gaze turned achingly gentle.

"Three hundred years ago, a child was born among us."

"...Huh?"

"We'd known about the Star Whale for about a thousand years. But we were already sick and tired of living. Everyone thought it would be a fitting end."

Those who had grown weary threw their own Ectoplasmic Fluid into the furnace. That was the world they lived in. There was nothing fun left anymore. They simply existed. That was all.

"Friends kept dwindling. Everyone wallowed in despair. Fantasizing about death was the only pleasure left. But among us, there was just one girl who reached for hope."

"...What did she do?"

"She had a child. It was quite a blasphemous ritual. What was born was very different from us. But that creature with its mortal span of life—it was beautiful."

Before anyone had realized it, watching over those children's daily lives had become hope for the immortals. Every time a child died from illness or accident, they cried until their tears ran dry. It was the first emotion besides despair they had felt in centuries.

"A hundred children are alive. ...They're alive. They burn through their short lives, all of them striving desperately to live. That's why we came. We came here for the future."

To protect just a hundred artificial lives, they had been willing to destroy a dimension with seven billion inhabitants. Because those children were precious. —There probably wasn't anyone in the world who could deny that feeling.

"...I see. I'm glad. I couldn't bring myself to hate any of you."

Koito smiled, and meant it from the bottom of her heart. She had never been very good at hating people.

* * *

Emergency announcement! Emergency announcement! The ultra-long-range dimensional anchor has been successfully deployed!

The announcement from the control room rang through the space development center. Nguyen's shoulder gave a small twitch.

The shuttle will launch within one hour. The three crew members, please proceed to the boarding gate!

It was terribly sudden. But it was also exactly according to plan. That was precisely why they hadn't gone to reinforce the ground forces—they had been waiting here for this.

"Well then, I'd say it's about time to use this. ...I wonder if that guy's dead yet."

Nguyen drew a handgun from inside her coat. It was Weeping Giant Bird (Alp Kara Kush)—the Gunscar that discontinuously revives its dead owner. She fired it at the ground.

"...Ha! It's my turn!"

The small bullet swelled, and from within it emerged a completely naked Termibek Janebekova. He had committed suicide on the spot after setting off the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons alongside the King of Anomalies.

"Teru-senpai. Clothes, clothes!"

Koito covered her eyes, face beet red. Ignoring her, Kotoha handed Teru his jacket. Teru finally noticed the women staring and furtively scrambled behind some cover.

"...Please forgive me for placing everything on your three shoulders."

Elif gazed at the three of them. Koito smiled. Nguyen shrugged. Teru looked away. Those three were the warriors who would board Ibis-2.

Koito started walking, then stopped dead and turned around.

"Wait a moment—I need to use the restroom before I go."

"That's actually pretty important. It's going to be a fairly long trip, after all."

"So... Kotoha! Come with me!"

When his name was called, Kotoha's eyes went wide for a moment—partly because it was the first time a girl had asked him to tag along to the bathroom, but he quickly understood what she meant.

"Well then, everyone—see you later!"

Teru and Nguyen headed toward the boarding gate. Koito and Kotoha headed toward the restroom.

Only Elif watched their backs, looking like she was about to cry.

* * *

* * *

(So this is my first time inside a women's restroom) — that thought felt oddly like something happening to someone else. Koito-senpai didn't go into a stall. She just cupped water from the faucet and splashed it on her face.

"...Kotoha. Please pass my regards to everyone."

Koito-senpai wiped her wet face with her sleeve and smiled beautifully.

"Koito... senpai... then, does that mean...?"

I already knew. I could piece together the shape of this operation. To defeat the Star Whale, Koito-senpai was going to another dimension. In a massive rocket.

(But... what about the way back...?)

There was none. They didn't have the resources to build one. They didn't have the technology. They didn't have the time.

"Phew... yeah."

Water droplets dripped from her bangs as Koito looked up at the ceiling.

"C-can't Shamshir's ability do something?"

"I'm bringing a Seal, just in case. Simon should contact Koshiba at the right moment. But apparently it's better not to get our hopes up — they say there's almost no chance Shamshir can reach across dimensions."

Shamshir's range was infinite. But that was within this infinitely vast universe. In the astronomically enormous outer universe beyond, it probably wouldn't work.

"Then... Koito-senpai... is really...?"

"Yeah. This is where we say goodbye, it seems."

Like it was nothing at all. With that same bright, sparkling smile as always.

"Geez... you idiot."

Koito-senpai gently pulled me into her arms as I was about to cry.

"This is something I have to do. I'm the only one who can."

"I... I... will I really never see you again, Koito-senpai...?"

"Ahaha, I'll always be right here in your heart. ...In everyone's hearts, you know?"

I thought desperately. For any way she wouldn't have to go.

(Because... because... she's our Koito-senpai, isn't she?)

We were Koito's squad. Koito-senpai was always at the center, and because she was always smiling, we could smile too. Because she was always so carefree, we'd been saved so many times.

"R-right! Then — what about defeating the Death Spirit Dimension people after all? With your power, Koito-senpai!"

"For whose sake would that be?"

"...Eh?"

"For the world's sake?"

No. That would be for me. For us. For the precious days and the friends we had.

"...Caitlin said something to me. Asked what I would do with this 'strength.' I... didn't want to think about that kind of thing. I wasn't particularly interested. But at the very least, what I think is..."

"...Yes?"

"— I don't want to have regrets."

That was the only thing humanity's strongest girl had decided. So simple, and yet so difficult for precisely that reason — a noble wish, quietly held. I swallowed my words.

"And you know, Elif-chan is treating it as classified, but... apparently the Death Spirit Dimension has other portals prepared. You've noticed, haven't you?"

"...Yes."

I had spent about an hour with the Indigo Rabbit. I had noticed their trump card and had already reported it to President Elif.

"Tell me? What's their ace in the hole?"

"...About a thousand portals from the Death Spirit Dimension are positioned above the stratosphere."

"Uh-huh."

"If they can't win the ground battle against us, they'll activate on a timer."

"Ooh, and what's coming through?"

"...Corrupted Death Spirit giants."

That was the Death Spirit Dimension's last resort. The reason they were fighting so desperately on the ground was to end the battle before that measure was triggered.

"Soon, ten thousand corrupted giants will fall from a thousand portals onto Tokyo and cities around the world. Like that red butterfly... and they'll scatter even more powerful corrupted particles."

"Typical Kotoha. Your intelligence-gathering is way too useful."

"Gas masks won't help. Japan's human population will... be wiped out within minutes."

Koito-senpai nodded.

"I thought it might be something like that. This battle was lost from the very start. For them, the only thing that mattered was probably... how much damage they could minimize."

"B-but still! If it's you, Koito-senpai!"

"Could I defeat ten thousand giants? Sure, I could. But how many billions would die while I'm doing that? Could I... protect the Iron Heart? Those two things... I'm not confident about."

Koito-senpai was invincible, the strongest. But that didn't mean she could definitely protect everyone. She was clumsy like that. She had understood that from the very beginning.

"Koito... senpai..."

Had this person... intended to die from the very start?

"Since when... have you had this planned...? This operation... how long have you been preparing it?"

"Hmm. Quite a while ago. We all went to Manazuru to have fun, remember? A little before that, I think..."

"That... long ago...?"

Koito-senpai gently stroked my head.

"You're such a good kid. ...You really didn't peek at my heart, did you? I was actually pretty nervous about when you'd figure it out — I had a bit of a scare every time."

"Really?"

"Elif-chan kept nagging me to take short-term Memory Processing Agent. You know, even if you read my mind, it wouldn't matter if I'd already forgotten the classified information? She said the effect wears off after about twelve hours or something."

When she said that, I remembered. President Elif kept Memory Processing Agent in her pouch. Had that been a countermeasure against my mind-reading? Well, it didn't matter now.

"Koito-senpai... Please... don't go..."

I gripped her clothes tight.

"I don't want you to. If... if you're gone, I — "

Everyone would grieve. What would happen to Mef? To Koshiba? Would they be able to recover? Luna-san and Wu-senpai would surely cry too. I couldn't even imagine a world without Koito-senpai.

"Hehe. — That's the same for me, you know?"

But she sparkled as she smiled. Just like always. Like when she was eating delicious sweets with everyone — just an ordinary girl. Because that was who Koito Hikari was.

"I love everyone. Mef and Koshiba are so adorable I can't stand it, and I promised Luna-san we'd drink together when I'm older. I owe Wu-chan... more than I can ever repay. — And then there's you."

"Me... what about me?"

"Every time I see you smiling, I feel happy."

Koito-senpai wrapped her hand around the back of my head and held me tight.

"I'm so glad I brought you to our group. That's what I think. I want you to be even happier. When I look at you... I can remember why I'm here."

"Everyone is precious to me. I don't want anyone to disappear. That's why I'm going."

— To the edge of the universe and far, far beyond. Riding a massive rocket, to fight a whale stronger than any god. For everyone. For the people she loved.

"Sen... pai... hhk..."

"Hey now. Geez... no crying, okay? From now on, you're the one who has to protect everyone. The others aren't as strong as you."

"I'm... I'm... weak... sniff... I've always... been weak... sniff..."

"No. You're a strong kid. I know that. That's why I can entrust this to you."

The time left wasn't much. Koito-senpai knew that. So at the very end, she pulled me close — tight — then bounced back and smiled like she always did.

"I've got to go now. I'm so glad we got to talk one last time! ♪"

I tried desperately to say something back. But all that came from the back of my throat were tears, and I knew I couldn't direct those at her. So desperately. Desperately. I just reached out my hand.

"...Oh, right. I almost forgot about the promise from before. Let me do that before I go."

"Eh?"

Koito-senpai bounced close to me again and brought her lips near my cheek.

"...Chu. ♡"

That was — the promise from back then. That if we won the Representative Battle, she'd give me a kiss on the cheek. To me, it already felt like a distant memory.

"I'm off! Bye-bye, Kotoha! Take care!"

A smile as delicate as cherry blossom petals. I would never see it again. She ran off lightly, and I collapsed on the spot and started crying like an idiot.

* * *

About forty minutes had passed since parting with Kotoha. The three of us — myself, Teru, and Nguyen — were crammed into space suits and packed like sardines inside the narrow rocket.

"Hey, it's so cramped in here!"

"You're always complaining! You barely made it on time and you're acting all high and mighty!"

I was supposedly one of the Wings at Azure Academy, which meant I was at least theoretically pretty important. But Nguyen Bao Lan never stopped treating me like a child. Not that I could blame her — she was the oldest Gunscar user at Azure Academy, and she'd been scolding me since I was little. I found her a bit hard to deal with.

Comms check. Can you hear me?

The voice resonating directly in my mind was Von Simon's. Teru was the one who answered.

"No problem. How about on your end?"

Troop reorganization is complete. The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons is performing better than expected. We can still hold out.

"Ha, all thanks to me. You should praise me and build a statue or something."

Shut up.

Come to think of it, this might have been the first time I'd seen Teru this energetic. He was famous for being weak around girls — whenever I talked to him, his face would turn beet red and he'd just open and close his mouth like a fish.

Communications will be conducted through Praise Chaos (DISCORD). It's quite special — a talented Half-Wing.

From behind Simon, a love-struck voice: I-is that a proposal!? The only sound that followed was Simon hurling a book — or something — at her.

It was originally an ability created for communicating with other dimensions. It should work without issue even within the Parallel Law. Additionally, the rocket's armor has been made extra thick to maintain the Base Dimension's environment — inside it, you should be able to activate your Gunscars without any problems.

"Roger. So you're saying I should use my ability inside the ship, hm."

Nguyen's Gunscar was the key to this operation. Her coming along had been a necessary condition.

That will be all. I wish you success.

With absolutely no lingering sentiment, the connection cut off. Nguyen and I couldn't help but laugh. This was exactly why that man wasn't very popular with his subordinates — telling members heading off on a do-or-die mission just "I wish you success." Really.

"Nguyen. You didn't need to come along! I could have managed on my own!"

"I've been telling you for years, haven't I? Your weakness is that you've never experienced failure. Be a little more humble."

— I didn't feel much tension. From what I'd heard from others, you're supposed to feel nervous or sad when going on reckless missions like this. But I really didn't.

(When I close my eyes, all I see are the fun memories with everyone.)

The hot spring we went to recently was the best. It was spacious, the water was slightly slippery, and it felt so good. The men and women were separated, so it was a little lonely without Kotoha there. For dinner, they served sashimi of big sea bream and flounder, and it was really delicious. The fireworks were so beautiful I'd never forget them.

(I really am... this is enough for me, isn't it?)

I didn't feel sad, or that it was hard. I just thought — I was happy.

"What are you smiling about, hm?"

"Right now, I don't really feel like I'm going to lose. I feel like I can just go home normally."

"Heh... that's so like you."

That's right. Because something like that couldn't possibly happen. Sure, I was the strongest, but I didn't have any convenient ability to travel to another dimension by myself. Besides, the Star Whale's energy was on a completely different level. Even if I went all out, I had no confidence I could win.

"G-Gue... Nguyen... Ko... Koi... Koito..."

Sure enough, Teru got nervous around girls — he was stammering badly, his voice cracking. He took a deep breath, then looked at us squarely.

"— I'm sorry. This is the Lab's mistake."

"...Huh?"

"Because our overall technical capabilities weren't sufficient, we had no choice but to rely on individual special abilities. This is our defeat. And because of that, we had no choice but to rely on you two. I'm sorry."

What a serious guy. He didn't need to think of it that way. Weakness was never a sin. So that was why he boarded this ship — to burn the final moments of two warriors going to their deaths into his own eyes.

— Fifth GO/NOGO decision... GO! Beginning countdown!

In twenty more seconds, this rocket would depart for space. Toward the far-off outer dimension. We would never return to Earth again. But there was no sentimentality. No room for it.

"Now then, let's go! — To save the universe!"

Because what we were about to challenge was a monster more powerful than god. The most terrifying phenomenon in human history, capable of destroying tens of thousands of dimensions in a single breath. We weren't going to die. We were going to fight!

"Kyaa! It's moving! Scary! I'm not good with roller coasters and stuff!"

The rocket vibrated with tremendous force. I felt the G-forces throughout my body, and the view outside the window turned blue. The engine burned fuel, and an explosion-like light hurled the massive craft into space.

"What!? You fly around on a guitar and this scares you!?"

Nguyen dutifully retorted, and that made me a little happy.

"We're passing through the stratosphere. This is space now!"

Teru shouted while looking out the window. Space — the world of night and the blue Earth drew a contrast so beautiful it was almost terrifying.

"O-once we exceed... escape velocity... i-it's time for you two to step up. Count on it."

Teru kept muttering without making eye contact until the very end. But he was someone who, like Mef, sometimes became so straightforward it was scary — so I thought that much awkwardness was kind of endearing.

Communication from command. You've entered the planned trajectory. Begin acceleration.

"Roger! Then get ready, Koito!"

Nguyen readied her Gunscar — Compressed Victory (Win Zip). It was a Gunscar that compressed time. From now on, this rocket would have to far exceed the speed of light to cross dimensions. That was the condition for passing through the "Space Holes" — tears in spacetime scattered throughout the universe — to reach another dimension.

"Termibek."

Teru looked at Nguyen. She wore a gentle expression.

"I know the Lab has been working hard. But... could you go easy on them once in a while, hm? It's too much for Platinum alone to handle you all."

The Arboreal Knights, the school's internal police, were a thorn in the Lab's side — always causing problems. But because Nguyen Bao Lan, an outstanding woman, had been maintaining the balance for many years, they'd somehow managed until now. From now on, that wouldn't be the case.

"......Yeah. ......I'll try."

Teru murmured clearly, with strong resolve. Nguyen smiled with relief.

"All right, here we go! Nguyen Bao Lan! The gamble of a lifetime!"

Her bullet was fired into Ibis-2. At that moment — time stagnated.

"— Now then, Koito. Can you hear my voice, hm?"

I tried to nod. But my body was too heavy to move.

"Don't strain yourself. Right now, everything except your neural activity and Ectoplasmic Fluid has been put in temporal stagnation — roughly one ten-thousandth of normal speed, hm. Your physical body shouldn't be able to move at all."

She had compressed everyone's time except her own. I was holding my guitar.

"The only things not stagnated in this world right now are your mind and the forces acting on this rocket."

"......"

"You're going to release cherry-colored miracles at full power. The Lab guys have drawn an Anti-Reality conduit. You can kind of sense which direction to release them, can't you?"

It wasn't visible. It had no smell. But somehow, I understood — where I should release the cherry-colored miracles, and how. I let Cherry Red Pistol loose.

"!"

Nguyen's eyes widened. That was because of the tremendous cherry-colored miracles erupting from the rocket. That impossibly massive ball of energy had already been released to far-off distances.

"...I see. You really were... all along... this much..."

Nguyen smiled gently and patted my head. I remembered when she used to do that when I was a child. For me, who had been fighting on the front lines since elementary school, she was the only adult who had watched over me from up close all this time.

"From now on, I'm going to compress ten years of time. During that time, you keep releasing cherry-colored miracles. That will increase the ship's speed. Over ten years, we can accelerate up to twenty times the speed of light."

So I had to cover this rocket with cherry-colored miracles and protect it from the tremendous impact. I understood. I remembered. But I wanted to hear her explanation.

"Using an application of my ability, I'll protect you from the Urashima Effect. When you arrive in the other dimension, only a few minutes should have passed on the surface."

I didn't really understand the difficult stuff. But I figured it meant Nguyen would handle all the hard parts — because she was always someone who walked that kind of path.

"Hold tightly to the 'will' to manifest your power. Okay, hm? Now I'm going to stagnate your thoughts too. Only your Ectoplasmic Fluid will move. ...When you wake up next, you'll be in another dimension."

Just then — lonely. That was all I thought. And I finally felt it, truly.

"Well then, goodnight, Koito, hm."

She crinkled her already-wrinkled face even more and smiled beautifully.

"— I'm leaving the rest to you."

I closed my eyes.

* * *

I woke up. Or maybe I should say I regained consciousness.

"...Huh?"

It felt like not even a second had passed. Like I'd only blinked once.

(Ah. Earth's gone.)

When I looked outside the spaceship, Earth wasn't there — that was all. In this vast universe, the scenery didn't really change much. So I felt kind of let down.

"...Nguyen?"

I finally noticed that the woman in the space suit sitting next to me was slumped over.

"......Nguyen?"

I called her name again and shook her shoulder. But she was like a cheap ragdoll from a 3D game — she didn't respond at all.

"Koito. ...Nguyen is. Already."

Teru murmured. I already knew, really. Nguyen had probably used up all her strength.

(This is sad.)

I felt like crying just a little, but I smiled instead.

"Thank you... Nguyen."

Because the last words to someone you loved should be like that — I thought.

"Simon. Can you hear me?"

...Ye... Can hear... Now... From this... dimension... disappeared...

I could hear some of it, but the voice kept cutting out. Rather, the fact that this voice could even reach across a separate dimension infinitely far away was an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind Anti-Reality.

"This seems to be another dimension alright. So what should I do from here?"

"This dimension is a newly born universe. The laws aren't stable. The concepts of distance and light are vague. In other words — it's small. By the standards of our dimension, it's less than thirty kilometers across."

Teru no longer seemed nervous around me. Probably because this wasn't the time for that anymore. I thought Nguyen's death had helped him overcome something too.

"The Star Whale will visit this dimension in about ten minutes. Koito, you're going to cover this entire dimension with cherry-colored miracles and capture and destroy the Star Whale."

"Can I do it?"

"Can't calculate it. Some idiot kept dodging the Lab's measurements."

I felt kind of bad about that. But I didn't want to, okay?

"But it's fine. Doesn't matter. If you don't win, the world ends anyway."

"......"

"So... win. Can you do it? Koito Hikari."

I nodded. Even if I won, I couldn't return to everyone. I couldn't eat crepes together with everyone anymore. But if I won, everyone's daily life would continue. I could become part of Koshiba's and Mef's and Kotoha's tomorrows. That was somehow sad, but also happy.

"Hmph, of course I'm going to win. Who do you think I am?"

I snorted. Teru smiled with satisfaction, and I thought I was glad this guy had come along. If I'd been alone, I might have cried from loneliness. Just as I was thinking that — a message came through.

...Teru! Te... ru! Respond...! Emergency... situation...!

"Huh? What's wrong, Simon!? Did something happen?"

Teru asked, and a shouting voice echoed from the speaker. It sounded terribly haggard — quite unusual for such a calm man, I thought.

The one there is... not Koito... Hikari...!

For a moment, I couldn't process those words. But as I slowly digested them, their meaning became clear. I felt my blood freeze with terror. No. Impossible. That can't be right... Can't be. I'm me, but I'm not me. Normally that wouldn't make any sense. But there was one boy who could do it.

The one sitting there is — Kotoyorozu Kotoha!

I had been a fake Koito Hikari all along.