Chapter 2: The Capture God is My Savior – Majima City I, Part I
"No! Why does this happen to me? This isn't fair! Do other gamers have their games whisked away like that?" bawled Angelo. He bashed his keyboard twice and tossed it aside. Plastic keys scattered all over the granite floor.
"Deep breaths, Angelo," he said to himself. "This is the first time it has ever happened. This will be the last time it ever happens. Tantrums are for the inerudite." Angelo knelt down on the floor and picked up the keys. He set the keyboard on the table and began to fit in the missing pieces. Now I have to go find No. 42. Argh. Another event added to my long to-do list.
He stared at the multiple screens set up on the wall. How did that item get in the system? Only an external source is possible. I have to investigate this. In the future, this cannot happen again.
He sat down in his high-rise chair and typed furiously. I hate being short. But being taller would make me an adult, and I don't like those people, either. Angelo checked all of the areas of the maze, but found no portals or transports of any sort.
Objects don't just appear out of nowhere! That is a natural law! But wait… could it be? He suddenly came up with an idea. Every Keyblade replica that I made before was consumed in some way. Perhaps this one is a successful one, and someone targeted the Keyblade with the Ether? Okay. Now I have to find No. 42.
Angelo looked around the room. I'm finally alone. This is what I wanted, right?
42 felt his blood boil, and every muscle in his memory overcharged with energy. The Keyblade seemed to have a heartbeat, resonating with his own. So this is what it feels like to have magic, he thought. A light breeze blew over him.
He landed in the middle of what looked to be like the rooftop of a building. 42 looked around and saw tall buildings everywhere around him, along with rows and rows of houses. People were scattered below him, and for some reason they all wore matching clothes, yet each gender sported a different outfit.
So this is what it's like to be in a big city, he thought. This must be a school, and those must be school uniforms. Who knew that a world like this actually existed?
42's memories of his own childhood were fuzzy. Though he had access to the internet, his experiences with it were blurred. They must be fabrications of Angelo's program, he thought. Now he had the chance to explore reality.
But wait! Angelo could be looking for me. I better get to the Subspace Core, fast.
Suddenly, the sound of a door clicked behind him. A student wearing glasses walked out, carrying a device of some sort. He must be working with Angelo! That thing must also be connected with the Corridor of Darkness! 42 thought to himself as he tensed up. But before he could do anything, a screaming girl ran out of the door. A flowing fabric rested on her shoulders.
"Kami-nii-sama! Look! I brought a bento,"she said. 42 noticed her carrying a boxed lunch in her arms, and he swore that he heard growling sounds coming out of the box.
That girl called the guy divine brother. So people in other worlds are strange as well. But I've gotta stay alert! I have no idea who that guy is!
The person immersed in his electronic device produced no response. "Kami-nii-sama, why won't you eat?" asked the girl. 42 saw a skull-shaped hairpiece on her black hair. Is she into this kind of stuff? He thought.
The girl walked up and dragged the boy away from his device. "Hey!" he said. "At least let me save!"
Save…? Don't tell me… 42's left eye twitched. That thing… is a game console. And it's not the type of game I was in. That's an honest-to-goodness game, something people actually enjoy properly.
The glasses boy looked at 42. "Hey, you're not from this school. How did you get here?"
42 gulped. There was no way for him to explain what he had just been through. But there's no other way out. "I don't think you'll believe me," he said.
"After what I've gone through, I'll believe anything," said the boy. He then choked as the girl stuffed the boxed lunch down his throat.
"Well, I come from another world," said 42.
The boy was unfazed. "Let me guess, you're from Hell, and you're here to catch weiss," he said. "Good! You can have my job. I'm sick of it."
"I don't know what you're talking about, honestly," said 42. "I don't even know where I am."
The girl looked into 42's eyes. "Nii-san, I think he's telling the truth."
"Kami-nii-san" adjusted his glasses. "Hey… where are you from? That's not a school uniform, yet you look to be my age."
Where am I from? Nowhere. "I'm from Sunrise Town," said 42.
"Sunrise Town?" repeated the boy. "Somehow that sounds like a map in an RPG game," he said. "So you're really from another world. Well, this is Majima City, which is in Japan. Japan is part of the continent of Asia, which is on planet Earth. Earth is part of-"
"Stop it! You're giving me a headache," said the girl. "Anyway, what's your name?"
"I'm… 42."
"Okay, that confirms it," said the boy. "With a name like that, you're definitely from a game. Well, in any scenario, I'll introduce myself. I'm Keima Katsuragi."
"I'm Elucia de Lute Ima! But you can call me Elsie! I'm a devil that came from New Hell," said the girl.
"Keima. Elsie. It's nice to meet both of you." 42 looked into the distance. This is the first time that anyone ever treated me like this.
Elsie's hairpiece began to glow. "Nii-san! We got a runaway spirit on the loose! She's probably downstairs, right below us!"
Keima groaned. "Alright, 42, here's a quick briefing on runaway spirits, also called weiss. They are annoying demons that crawl into the crevices of a girl's heart. But in order to get them out, that space needs to be filled in, usually with love. So I have to get the girl to fall in love with me. There is a certain divine goddess out there who doesn't quite approve my methods, though…" Keima thought of a girl with two braids and red ribbons, along with a halo on top of her head. She gave a cold stare.
"Isn't that impossible?" asked 42. "I mean, to make every target fall for you."
Keima laughed. He pointed to his device. "I'm the Capture God! I have conquered all galge games in existence! But reality is inferior to the game world, so I try to make minimal contact with others." He pointed to the collar around his neck. "However, I was forced to make a contract with Hell, and now I either do my job or get my head chopped off."
"And if he dies, I die too!" screamed Elsie. She showed her own collar.
"I see. But there is nothing I can do," said 42. "I haven't met too many people in reality, yet…"
"Finally, someone who understands me!" said Keima. "Now, you must hide yourself from the other students. They'll go ballistic over a new person. Elsie's hagoromo can hide the user. It can also change into any form."
Elsie wrapped 42 with the flowing material. "There! Now no one can see you!"
"By the way, who is the host this time?" asked Keima.
The trio entered the door and walked down the stairs. This school is huge, thought 42. There's more people here than in the whole town.
Elsie widened her eyes. "Oh, no…" she looked at a short girl with blonde hair.
Keima adjusted his glasses. "This is impossible. She was already conquered! Did another gap open in her heart?"
"I don't think that can happen," said Elsie. She covered her mouth.
42 saw more than what the others did, or what Elsie's detector could trace. He sensed a gloomy energy engulfing the girl.
"I'm sorry, Keima… this is my fault," said 42. "I think that… when I stepped into this world, I opened a pathway for the dark entities of my world to crawl through. You see, I'm actually running away from something." It's definitely the Heartless, he thought. They must be capable of this.
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. What matters is that we get the job done," said Keima. "That girl's name is Mio Aoyama. She was my second conquest. But her memory of me was erased, so it's all fine."
"No," said 42. "I have to deal with this." He made a hand gesture to beckon the Keyblade, but Keima stopped him, despite his inability to see him. "Don't get involved. I'm sure you have a way to deal with this, but unnecessary violence will occur. This conquest will drive out whatever you're looking for, and then you can take action."
"Nii-sama calculates everything," said Elsie.
"Alright," said 42. He followed Keima as they walked down the stairs. They approached Mio in the hallway.
"What? More commoners?" she said. "I don't have time for so many of you." She turned around and walked away.
"Damned Heartless!" 42 replied. He stepped up to Mio.
"Heartless? Me? Who said that?" asked Mio.
Keima whispered, "What the hell, 42? You almost ruined everything!" "Uh, nothing, ma'am! I'll just… be on my way." He walked away, along with 42 and Elsie. "Lunch break is about to end."
42 followed them to class and sat on the floor next to Keima. Keima immediately took out a game console and began playing. Everyone was oblivious to his actions, even the teacher. However, no one knew that he was actually in deep thought.
Her demeanor, her actions, they were just like before! She reverted to her old self! Is this the power of the so-called darkness of 42's world?
42 was interested in the interaction between the other students and the teacher. They were all so cooperative, unlike his past experiences. Before he knew it, the school bell rang.
"Mio is the type of person who acts rich," said Keima, outside of school. "However, the truth is that her wealth disappeared when her father died. If she has truly regressed, then she would still pretend to be the daughter of a wealthy man."
"We can follow her home," said 42. "We can gather more information like that."
Keima smiled. "I like your way of thinking. But I already know enough about her. Now all I have to do is to reveal her secret to her, and then I'll proceed to be her servant. This is what happened before, and it should work again. Elsie, go home; when I have successfully captured her, 42 will notify you."
"But I want to be part of this too! I'm not that useless!" Elsie pouted as she walked away.
"Remember! Whatever happens, the goddesses must not know of this!" said Keima.
"Goddesses?" asked 42.
"That's a long story." At this moment, Mio walked out and looked at Keima. "You again, commoner?"
"Commoner isn't a nice word, especially when it's used the wrong way," said Keima. 42 detected a strange sincerity in his voice.
"What are you talking about?" asked Mio.
"I'm saying that you aren't rich. You flaunt your money, but when you go home you return to a small apartment, and your father has died, along with your wealth." Wow, that came out quick, thought Keima.
Mio widened her eyes. "What… what are you… you stalker! How do you know of that?"
"Do not worry!" said Keima. "For now, I shall be your servant!" The plot has been abridged, but the key details are here! I can still pull this off!
"…Fine," said Mio. "But you must never, ever tell anyone about what you just said!" She pointed at Keima.
"Of course I won't, a servant will not jeopardize his mistress," said Keima. He took a bow.
"Then, your first job will be to take me home!"
"Of course, of course… ah, let me find a suitable vehicle for you…" Keima turned around and looked for Elsie, but found a pumpkin carriage pulled by a bicycle.
Damn you, Elsie… why can't it be something normal? "Ah! There you go. Get on, madam," said Keima. In the corner, Elsie blocked 42 from anyone's view.
"How long will this last?" asked 42, as Keima pedaled away.
"Oh, a couple of times will be enough. I won't be surprised if only one encounter is needed for nii-san to conquer her. Mio already has an inner impression of nii-san, so she'll fall quickly," said Elsie.
"I'm going to follow him," said 42. "Give me the hagoromo." Elsie wrapped the robe around his body. "If the Heartless, the enemy, jumps out of that girl, I have to be ready to fight."
Elsie climbed into the robe. "Then I'll come with you! I'm sure nii-san will need my help later as well. But please walk slowly; most of the robe was used to make that carriage, so there's not much left. I don't want to slip out."
"Katsuragi, why are you treating me like this?" asked Mio.
"Pant, pant, the reasons are hard to explain," said Keima. It was hard for him to pedal and talk at the same time.
"Stop the carriage!" ordered Mio. She arrived at the mansion that once belonged to her.
"Oh? Do you intend to visit this place, Mio?" asked Keima.
Mio jumped off the carriage. "Why do you address me as if you know me well? What's going on? What are you really trying to do?"
No! She's ruining the plot! "I don't get it," said Keima.
"You're trying to get close to me, aren't you? I've felt this before. I can't remember what really happened, but this happened before and I don't think it ended well!" shouted Mio.
This behavior… is abnormal! Somehow the plot was abridged in an abrupt way! This is the work of those "Heartless"! I can no longer see the ending! "Listen, Mio, I can explain…" he got off the bike.
Dark energy erupted around Mio like a small active volcano. "I don't care! Stay away from me, or I'll call the police! Ahhhhh!" Mio's heart floated out of her body, and a white spirit flew out of the crack in the heart. However, the heart was engulfed by dark matter, and coated the spirit with red-striped black armor. The spirit's eyes turned yellow, and a scythe materialized in its right arm.
Mio fell to the floor in a coma. Keima ran up to her body and shook her. "Wake up!" He stared at the monster in the eye. So this is a Heartless... combined with a weiss?
The weiss roared and swung its scythe at Keima. Keima held up his arms and closed his eyes as a response, expecting impact, but the scythe met another target.
Keima opened his eyes and saw 42, standing in front of him, with a giant key in his hands, blocking the scythe. "At this point, I'm ready to expect anything as well," said 42.
"Go, 42!" shouted Elsie in the background.
Keima laughed. "What's that weapon you got there? It's really strange!"
42 jumped back. The weiss roared again, and entered the mansion gates. "This? It's called the Keyblade. I'm not sure of all of its functions, but I'm certain that it can defeat the Heartless." He pointed the Keyblade at the enemy. "It's my fault that the Heartless got here. I'll be the one to get rid of it."
Keima adjusted his glasses. With this, I can see the ending after all!
A/N: The World God Only Knows is the property of Tamiki Wakaki.