Chapter 10: Expedition (1)
"And you're sure about this, Nanashi?"
"I am. Sitting out on the process of earning everything that will give me my new body and a brand new lease on life sounds just way too pathetic."
Haruki stared at the boy's cane, aforementioned youth leaning heavily onto it.
"You understand my concern, yes?"
"Papa just doesn't want you to do something beyond your means and perish during the process of it, Nanashi. That would make everything you've gone through thus far pointless and a waste of time and effort. And it would make sister extraordinarily sad."
Ayaka's additional warnings merely caused the youth to shrug, responding, "I get it, I honestly do. But Manaka agrees with me and she's the one who'll be doing most of the heavy lifting once we're there, it's her call."
Taking a deep breath Nanashi met the gazes of the worried pair, requesting, "I know this seems stupid - hell, it is stupid - but it's just something I gotta do...it's my life and I want to fight for it."
Cerulean eyes glittering with satisfaction Manaka met her family's resigned expressions with a confidant smile, stating, "You need not fear for us, inbetween my genius and Nanashi's eyes we shall survive our destination with little trouble!"
"Don't jinx us, Manaka."
Giggling at her friend's grumbled words the pale-blonde merely activated her circuits with a low hum of potential energy, Nanashi facing Haruki and Ayaka with a determined expression.
"We'll succeed and I'll try to keep Manaka in line. No promises."
"I do so resent the implications that I am some unruly and trouble-prone child given to wandering off, dearest friend~!"
The falsely cheery words accompanied a harsh pinch of the boy's cheek, his expression deadpan as he announced, "Kind of proving my point for me, Manaka."
Sighing heavily Haruki nodded in acceptance as Ayaka still seemed uncertain of the whole venture, the older man stating, "Then take care and be safe...the Reverse Side of the World is no simple place for a human to survive."
"Of course, papa! We'll be just fine~!"
Without further ado the magus began to pulse her circuits, the glow of their operation seeming like a miniature light show as Nanashi activated his own mana channels, the familiar and welcome strength of reinforcement magecraft suffusing his weak and pathetic body, bolstering it into something resembling a normal, functioning organic machine.
His breathing was easier, his back stood straighter...hell, even his heart beat stronger, the boy unable to stop the grin that pulled at his lips everytime he employed the art. It was like being an actual, healthy teen. Better than healthy.
"Heh, I'd like to see those punks in school try messing with me when I'm using reinforcement. See who the real top dog is."
Setting aside the juvenile fantasy in favor of ensuring he was ready for the journey ahead of them Nanashi squared his shoulders, giving Manaka a glance as the girl responded with an excited smile, eager to go on what she no doubt considered an incredibly exciting adventure.
"Well, exciting certainly seems like an apt descriptor. From the sounds of it not many magus have attempted to travel to the Reverse before."
"Ready, Nanashi?"
"Yeah, go whenever, Manaka."
Raising her hands the girl began to channel her power, the inside of the Sajyou family workshop twisting and compressing as they began to make the journey to the flipside of reality - a descriptor Manaka and Ayaka had been quite displeased to hear him use - as color and light faded to blackness…
The duo stumbled slightly as they arrived at their destination, Nanashi immediately feeling a pressure assail his body and soul-
-but the practice Manaka had put him through bore fruit, his reinforcement providing a sort of natural repellant to the rampant mana of the reverse side of the world that would have otherwise turned him to a burnt husk as his circuits overloaded from taking in an excessive amount of the mystical juice.
An art that relied upon having a fairly decent sized reservoir of power but thankfully he was gifted in that at least.
"Well, we made it."
"Did you expect otherwise? How cruel, to have such little faith in me and my abilities."
"You know what I mean."
Ignoring Manaka's playful smirk Nanashi instead took his first real look around at the vaunted Reverse Side of the World, where he would ideally gather the materials and pieces of his new body that would give him a life of freedom and excitement.
It was...astonishingly beautiful.
Distant snow-capped mountains, rolling and gentle hills of verdant green with healthy trees occasionally dotting them, a forest a couple kilometers away from them and a soft breeze that caressed his skin like a tender embrace.
And the air was simply incredible. Clean and crisp, free of any trace of human pollution or corruption, untouched earth and healthy greenery suffusing his nostrils like the sweetest of nectars.
If only he had the luxury of taking his time to smell the proverbial roses. But they were on a timetable, his body was still fragile and weak, extended use of reinforcement would slowly but surely heat and stress it, leading to a compounding series of issues that couldn't be ignored or minimized unless he returned to the human world where his circuits could have a chance to stabilize without fear of spontaneously combusting.
"Well, Nanashi? Is there any direction in particular you wish to travel to?"
Deferring their path of movement to him the boy shook his head clear of distracting thoughts and rampant curiosity, instead letting his mystic eyes do the searching for him.
While the terrain and makeup of the reverse side of the world was alien to his vision some things remained consistent, such as certain objects having more 'weight' to them than others, even if aforementioned weight felt more...distant? Like trying to catch a glimpse of a spiderweb ten meters away with only sporadic sunlight to aid in the search.
But one thing was for certain...the forest off to their right was undoubtedly the place to go, there being a clear concentration of mystic power and purpose located within it.
"Guess we're going to get all Hansel and Gretel for the first leg of our journey. Let's start searching that forest over there, see if we find anything interesting."
A radiant smile lit up Manaka's expression, tone excited as she asked, "If we find a witch, may I be the one to push her into the oven~? I've always wanted to reenact a fairy tail at least once in my life!"
Nanashi gave her a strange look.
"Sure, Manaka. If the opportunity arises you're welcome to cook someone alive. Go for it. Now c'mon, no telling how long I'll be able to last in here."
"Of course, lead the way."
"So what manner of phantasmal beast should we hunt first? A dragon? I think a dragon's heart would prove to be quite the useful source of mana production for you, Nanashi. And you do not have the strongest of organs within your chest right now regardless, you would undoubtedly quite enjoy having a nigh-unbeatable one residing within."
"Quite frankly I wouldn't mind just a simple heart that worked normally. And how the hell are we supposed to first find and then slay a dragon? Aren't they like one of the strongest creatures in this world to begin with?"
Manaka pouted, arching an eyebrow as she inquired, "You do not think I could handle such a creature?"
"It's not that - even though it kinda is - it's just that I would be useless in that kind of a conflict and I don't want you to fight all my battles for me, maybe getting hurt beyond your ability to heal in the process."
"Hmph! Such a lack of faith."
Despite the dismal words the magus girl couldn't help but feel a strange warmth at his worry and doubt, of his concern over a topic that she felt was rather silly.
"I suppose I should take his advice...if only to make him feel more at ease. He's such a fragile little boy, after all."
"I think we should try to find some of the more 'sentient' denizens of this world. There's stuff like Yokai, demihumans and the like in here, right? They'd probably be willing to talk or swap information, wouldn't they?"
Manaka gave the youth a look that made him feel fairly stupid, responding, "True, there are some that would no doubt see our arrival as more of a curiosity than a threat...but remember, silly Nanashi, that humans are the reason so many phantasmal species had to flee to this world in the first place. A fair number may view our presence as confirmation that their safety and sanctuary is again under threat."
Staring at the pale-blonde as she gave him a smile that was equal parts superior and reprimanding the youth huffed out a sigh, grumbling, "It can never be easy, can it?"
"You assumed the journey to a second life with a superior form would be one of ease and comfort?"
"Course' not. But I was hoping it would at least be simple."
The cerulean-eyed magus merely gave Nanashi a condescending pat on the cheek, dull crimson eyes rolling in their sockets at the action.
"Yes yes, I'm a dull simpleton that can't tell his ass from...his…"
"Nanashi?"
Tilting her head at the boy's sudden pause as he stared into the distance she was replied to with a calm utterance of, "Manaka? Was that tower there before? Because I sure as hell didn't see it when I was looking out over the scenery."
Following his finger the magus blinked, herself surprised at what had seemed to spontaneously appear before them.
An old, medieval tower that stretched high into the sky and possessed a number of balconies and other observation platforms, the kilometers around it covered in a riot of vibrant and multi-colored flowers...the presence of a bounded field of immeasurable strength and complexity was what truly drew Manaka's attention, however.
"How interesting~! We seem to have stumbled upon something truly fascinating, Nanashi. We should investigate!"
Looking like he thought the exact opposite the boy mumbled, "Uhh...you sure about that? I'm no expert like you are but even I can sense the bounded field around that thing, it doesn't look like the kind of shield you could just waltz into with no difficulty whatsoever-aaaaaaaand she's already on her way there. Awesome."
Sighing to himself before following in Manaka's wake the youth watched her crouch in front of a seemingly arbitrary piece of pasture, fingers tracing some strange shape that was beyond his perception. Sure, the entire place reeked of power and mystery to his mystic eyes but after seeing Manaka and Abigail on a fairly consistent basis things like that had lost some of their spice.
"Anything interesting about it? Aside from the, you know...interesting bits?"
Feeling like an idiot for that statement Manaka was a bit too enraptured with her examination to reply to his less than stellar usage of language, merely stating, "It's a bounded field of quite a complex and powerful nature. Nothing I could not deal with, naturally, but in this realm?"
Her cheek puffed out in a gesture of vexation.
"It will be quite difficult - if not impossible - to break past it since I need to ensure the mana of this world does not encroach upon my own. So annoying!"
Quickly setting a hand on the girl's shoulder Nanashi stated, "And that's why I want you to be careful, Manaka. Connection to the Root or not you aren't invincible in this place."
Her eyes bored into his own, tone frosty as she inquired, "If I am not invincible then what does that make you, Nanashi?"
She regretted the words the instant they left her mouth - the boy grimacing at the unfortunate truth of the statement - but refused to apologize, instead returning her attention to the bounded field and noticing something potentially exploitable.
"Hmm...this field seems more centered around keeping something in rather than something out. If that is the case then collapsing the field is not required, I can merely allow us to travel through with little expenditure of energy."
Evidently deciding to move past their brief spat Nanashi asked, "How long do you think that will take?"
Manaka rose to her feet, smirking as she gestured with one immaculate hand towards the tower.
"I've already succeeded in doing so. The field was rather simple to exploit when you have knowledge such as mine."
"Evidently...well, might as well go and see what someone went to great lengths to seal inside, I'm sure it's nothing dangerous."
Giggling at his clear sarcasm Manaka skipped along in her friend's wake, the walk to the base of the construct taking a few minutes where they paused before the large, wooden doors that lead inside.
"So...do we knock?"
Manaka merely smiled before pushing her way inside, Nanashi sighing in resignation as he followed her inside.
The interior of the bottom floor was...homely.
A collection of rugs, tables and assorted cookware was present while artful displays of various flowers and other greenery dotted shelves or hung from the ceiling, a simple staircase off to the side leading further into the tower.
"Huh. I honestly thought this place would be a bit more...creepy? Impressive? Definitely not cozy."
"Hmm…"
The idle hum of contemplation from the female magus as she examined the room didn't fill Nanashi with much confidence but he shrugged it off, instead approaching one of the larger flower pots, containing something that resembled a small tree more than it did a flower, the boy inhaling deeply of the scent as he smiled in appreciation, coming to a stop before it-
"While I'm quite flattered that you enjoy my aroma, I would much rather prefer the attention of a lovely young lady instead of yourself."
-and blinking as on the other side of the plant was an incredibly handsome man, pale hair with odd highlights adorning it as a refined shirt and pants adorned his tall frame, glittering eyes of shifting color staring deeply into Nanashi's...from no more than a few centimeters away, seeing as he had been hidden behind the collection of greenery.
"HOLY SHIT!"
His arm snapped upwards and unleashed a blast of wind, the stranger being picked up and thrown against the wall where he limply collapsed against a table full of silverware and plates, groaning dramatically as the youth prepared himself for a fight.
"Now that was a rather rude thing to do when trespassing upon one's home…"
"Well then fucking say something next time! Jesus Christ that scared the shit out of me!"
Glancing towards Manaka to see what her reaction was Nanashi was left blinking as she merely snapped her fingers, delightfully stating, "Ah, so that is your identity~! In hindsight it makes rather perfect sense, given the flowers, tower and bounded field."
Giving the pale-blonde a sidelong glance the homunculus mumbled, "Well? Want to share that revelation with me, Manaka? Any hint as to whether he's a threat or not?"
A sudden clatter accompanied the man smoothly rising to his feet as if he hadn't just been violently smashed against a wall, perfect features taking on a grand and prideful tinge as he eloquently announced, "Oh it does my heart well to see that there are still those who recognize my great and awe-inspiring presence. Especially a polite and lovely young lady like yourself!"
Bowing theatrically the mystery male stated, "Allow me to properly introduce myself...Magus of Flowers Merlin, at your service, young children~!"