Yahooo~~ Another weekend. Another chapter…^^
Enjoy :D
Chapter E5: Chez Raspoutine.
As the four of us stepped through the gate, the doors closed behind us without a sound.
Finally separated from the world, we proceeded through this white space towards the second temple entrance.
"This is the whitest thing I've ever seen." (Elaine)
"I cannot say I like it here too much." (Touma)
A space white as far as the eye could see. It seemed almost as if it were declaring that it'd not forgive even a speck of dirt inside it. A zealous, violent-feeling place.
…I felt as if it were looking right through me, my sins exposed to its all-seeing eyes. It filled me with unending revulsion.
Or maybe I was just tired.
"Hey, Kamijou-san. Let's hurry!" (Elaine)
Elaine, on the other hand, sounded like she was going to a picnic. Her bright, easy-going spirit once again dispelled the shadows from my heart.
A difficult one-on-one fight awaited me beyond this space. No one would help me this time.
My opponent was Solon Ehrenstein. A young man who revered the future… and was a complete enigma on all other points.
He was someone I could instinctively tell was a monster among monsters.
"Huh? It's growing dark?" (Elaine)
Elaine, who walked ahead of us, scurried back to my side. Clasping onto my hand, she proceeded to glance around, unease coloring her features.
True to her words, the white space was slowly dimming in color.
And with that, the high spirits she possessed just before vanished as if they were never there.
"It's alright, relax! Just keeping walking forward and soon we'll be out." (Anna)
"Oh, I can see the exit. Guys, don't get lost now." (Nika)
Obeying the words of our friendly saint and witch pair, we proceeded towards the small black dot flickering in the distance.
"…" (Elaine)
Elaine clutched my arm even harder. I didn't mind, but I wished she relaxed the force of her grip a little bit; it was quite hard to walk this way.
We slowly moved towards the dot. With each of our steps, the surroundings continued to dim even more— eventually shifting from pure-white to a monotone grey.
"Sorry. I'm not good with dark places." (Elaine)
"Really?" (Touma)
"Well, a lot did happen back then…" (Elaine)
Ah, indeed.
That school was pitch-black, wasn't it? It was understandable if the incident traumatized her.
There was no helping it. I aligned my steps to match hers and, stumbling a little due to her pull, proceeded towards the exit.
It appeared that the dot was the exit itself.
"Um… I think this one is mine, and that one's yours." (Elaine)
As we stood before the black doors in a monochromatic grey world, Elaine addressed me. I did not contest her analysis, and thus, like before, we put our keys into the keyholes and turned them.
The door began to open silently.
And instead of light, darkness seeped in through the open door.
"Uh…" (Elaine)
Disheartened by even deeper darkness, Elaine clutched on my arm again, with even more force than before.
The town was veiled by a murky nightfall.
Seeing what had become of the colorful Paris, everyone gasped.
"Paris surely has… changed." (Nika)
We could barely make out the contours of the city. Had it not been for the towering Eiffel Tower in the distance, I might have mistaken the city for something else.
There were some flickering electrical lamps paving the streets. Yet their faint light only added to the desolation pervading the scenery.
It wasn't pitch black as so you couldn't see, but it was far from the lights you'd expect from an actually inhabited town. This gloom was probably the manifestation of its current guardian's will.
"Think this is all Solon Ehrenstein's influence?" (Anna)
I could hear the uncertainty in Anna's tone.
Influence… Could one devastate a city to this level with "influence" alone?
As we proceeded further into the town, we soon noticed another thing.
"…They've been sliced off." (Nika)
Nika summed up the whole situation in a single sentence.
Indeed, I had noticed it before… when I saw the state of the Eiffel Tower. Yet I needed confirmation.
…Yes, most of the buildings in the city were completely wrecked. Vertically, horizontally, diagonally— they were bisected at every angle in the book.
"Sliced, or rather, cleaved off, maybe? Holy cow. Is there even a sword capable of such a thing?" (Anna)
Anna tried touching the cross-section of one of the buildings but jerked her finger away the very next instant, a pained expression on her face.
Her fingertip grew the color of crimson.
"The blade was so sharp, it left even the cross-sections sharp as razors. If you forget and rest your hand on one of these, it'll get sliced all the way to the bone." (Anna)
"Th-That's g-goofifying…" (Elaine)
"…Elaine, should we expect to lose you when you trip on your own feet?" (Nika)
"Don't give me that excited look! No one likes watching such s-splatter movies worldwide!" (Elaine)
"Yup, it would be a pretty dumb way to go. Well, whatever. I guess we can make an exception, and help you on this a little." (Anna)
Anna and Nika exchanged glances and nodded. They then proceeded to press their index fingers against Elaine's forehead.
"May the curse of Darkness befall any who would seek to harm her!" (Anna)
"May Akasha guide your way!" (Nika)
White light and impenetrable darkness paradoxically engulfed Elaine.
"I've made you a passive defensive barrier. Darkness will automatically eradicate anything that might come at you with malicious intent." (Anna)
"I've installed an automatic guidance system for you. Akasha will guide you away from futures where you tumble, or accidentally lean on these things." (Nika)
"U-Um… Thank you. But what about Kamijou-san?" (Elaine)
Elaine stole a glance at my face. But Anna shrugged.
"He won't need it. I mean, he's gonna have a deathmatch with the guy who caused these things. Our barriers would do him as much good as paper armor." (Anna)
"…I imagine so." (Touma)
Not to mention my sturdiness was on a whole other level than Elaine. Touching a few razor edges should hardly constitute a problem.
"Well… I guess now we should start looking for that Ehrenstein bloke." (Anna)
"Elaine… Can you see anything?" (Nika)
"Eh? Mhm… Wait a second…" (Elaine)
Elaine's eyes flashed golden, allowing her to gaze into the mysteries lurking behind this façade of a world.
"…Weird. I can't see anything odd in particular." (Elaine)
"Oh? Then he's not around, maybe sleeping… I guess we have no choice but to start walking and look for anything suspicious ourselves." (Anna)
Do guardians even need sleep?
I wondered... Anyway...
"What are we looking for, exactly?" (Touma)
"I dunno. But this is Solon Ehrenstein's sanctum— it should be full of hints to his beliefs. It might be a good idea to gather some intel before the fight, don't you think?" (Anna)
Hmm. A reasonable approach.
…But for some reason, I was having a bad premonition of sorts. Especially with Anna sporting that excited grin. That is almost never healthy for us.
"Um… Anna?" (Elaine)
"So we're to look for clues, correct?" (Touma)
"We sure are." (Anna)
"Mind explaining why we came straight to this place, then…?" (Nika)
"Ah, don't sweat about small things." (Anna)
After we walked for roughly fifteen minutes around what seemed to be the 8th Arrondissement, Anna suddenly chose a bisected building at random and dragged us down the stairs to its basement.
Where are we—
"Aaah… I adore places like these." (Anna)
Inhaling a deep breath of the club's air, Anna suddenly seemed to be having the time of her life.
"Whoa… This is a club, right? The place where rich men and glamourous women gather and do stuff?" (Elaine)
"Given the name of the establishment is Chez Raspoutine. I don't doubt." (Touma)
It was a nightclub, and a very luxurious one at that.
"…What a devilish place." (Nika)
Saying that, Nika nonetheless glanced around the club with utmost interest.
Elaine, on the other hand, had a troubled expression on her face. She probably felt very much out of place.
Anna, meanwhile, humming a jovial tune to herself, disappeared into the furthest reaches of the establishment.
"Nika! Elaine! Come o'er here a bit!" (Anna)
"…?" (Nika)
"O-Okay, wait a moment." (Elaine)
"Hmm. I cannot say that I have a good feeling about this…" (Touma)
As Elaine and Nika disappeared into the depths of the establishment as well, I was left completely alone. With nothing else to do, I picked up a whiskey bottle and started playing with it in my hands.
"The Glenlivet, 49 years of age… Mhmm." (Touma)
I've never noticed a bottle of whiskey in my world. I heard it was manufactured sometime during the past, but our alcohol history likely went off track somewhere.
Thus, I have spent my whole life having nothing to do with alcohol.
But in this world, there was no longer a need for me to hold back anymore, nor did I intend to.
Maybe I'll have a little taste of this.
"Hmm…" (Touma)
Although I did not meet the legal age requirements for this world, I should be alright as far as the biological requirements are concerned. I'm sure my body could metabolize any amount of ethyl alcohol in my system.
However… I heard that there were various ways one could drink whiskey. Diluting it with water was one, for example.
"Maybe it's best to ask a specialist…" (Touma)
"You called?" (Anna)
At the mention of the word "specialist," Anna's voice reached me from behind. Thinking perfect timing, I glanced back, and, as if having met the gaze of Medusa, turned to stone.
I could swear my body would shatter into a million pieces if someone touched me.
"Is this your first time here, Mister~?" (Anna)
"…" (Touma)
"Don't worry. This "Divine Witch of the Night" will teach you everything you need to know." (Anna)
"…" (Touma)
"Touma. This is the cue for you to say something. You'll never be popular with girls if you're like this." (Anna)
"No, um… I was just wondering what you guys were doing." (Touma)
Anna seemed to have changed her clothes.
…She donned a dress that probably belonged to a rich socialite.
The slit of her dress was so long and revealing I couldn't help but imagine the indecency that would occur if she as much as raised her leg up a little.
But at the same time, the dress exuded an aura of elegance: the kind that suited a billionaire heiress.
…Was this her plan in coming here all along? Playing around in fancy Parisian clubs while teasing me?
"Well, sit down, sit down. I'll take care of you. Do you smoke?" (Anna)
"No, I don't." (Touma)
"The other two will come shortly." (Anna)
"…The other two?" (Touma)
Oh…
"…Anna, I'd appreciate it if you returned my clothes." (Nika)
Nika too, huh.
She slowly drew in closer to us, stealing embarrassed glancing at me.
She, too, wore a luxurious dress like Anna, but her version had a very "frank" chest region instead.
However, be that as it may, her dress looked as if it was handmade from the highest quality silk and sported very complex embroidery work.
Definitely, the type only the richest flowers of the high society could afford or wear.
"Hey. Let's go over there." (Anna)
Anna forced me down a sofa, and Nika, having no other choice, sat down beside me.
"W-Would you like something to drink?" (Nika)
"Oh, good idea! Touma, name your poison." (Anna)
"Um…" (Touma)
Now I know that I said I wished to taste the Glenlivet earlier…
But should I really be drinking in this situation?
I am sure that my body could process alcohol, but since I've never tried it before, I was not exactly confident in my own hypothesis.
And where was Elaine, anyway?
"Um… N-Nika?" (Touma)
"Y-Yes…?" (Nika)
Taken a bit off-guard, she turned to me and drew closer. Trying not to pay attention to her ample… *ahem* cleavage, I asked her a question, with perfect composure.
"What happened to Elaine?" (Touma)
"Oh? I thought she was right behind me—" (Nika)
"I'm here." (Elaine)
Elaine's flushed face peeked out from behind one of the pillars. She glared at me, for some reason.
"What's wrong?" (Anna)
"Can you come already? We are all embarrassed here just the same." (Nika)
"U-Uh… Uh… O-Okay… H-Here goes nothing." (Elaine)
She sprang from the protection of the pillar, glaring at me with teary eyes.
The glittering-black sequin dress she wore was incredibly short on both sides.
While it certainly looked glam and very expensive, I was struggling to see a point in such a garment's existence.
Probably sharing my opinion, she closed in on us, clutching at trying to pull her decollete up with one hand, and the hem of her skirt down with the other.
"W-Why am I wearing this?" (Elaine)
"Ah, sorry." (Touma)
I felt like I owed her an apology for some reason.
To make her feel more comfortable, I closed my eyes.
"O-Oi! A true man would open his eyes and not let a single detail slip by in this situation, Touma!" (Anna)
"…" (Touma)
"Wow, now the Toumoron is ignoring me! Elaine, you tell him to open his eyes already."
"B-But… isn't this b-better? This is way too embarrassing for me." (Elaine)
"Don't worry. Nika's half-exposed melons are more embarrassing than yours." (Anna)
"! D-Don't look over here, Touma!" (Nika)
With those words, she pretty much stuck right next to me.
…I could sense her logic— it was indeed very much harder to observe her from such close proximity.
But let me tell you one thing, Nika Kurylenko.
This strategy was the worst of all possible options at your disposal.
"Erm… Touma? Why are you sitting so close to her?" (Elaine)
She glared at me with an extraordinarily irked look.
"I would like to know why myself…" (Touma)
"Because I'm embarrassed." (Nika)
"…" (Touma)
"…!" (Elaine)
Nika's voice was coming merely centimeters away from my earlobes, making my heart beat faster.
Meanwhile, Elaine, observing us, seemed to grow more and more irritated.
…All of this was very strange. Why did I end up in this situation?
"Hehehe. Why don't we order you a whole bottle, Mr. President? And let's do a champagne tower as well."
Anna was completely absorbed in by the atmosphere. Or perhaps she was simply more interested in how Elaine's reacts…
Either way, leaning on me suddenly with all her weight, she gently began to trail her finger along my chest.
Anna was quite diligent in playing her role as the "Divine Witch of the Night." Though, now that I think about it, didn't Nika once mention Anna to be a maiden?
"Mr. President. You just thought something bad about me, didn't you just now?" (Anna)
She proceeded to poke into my sternum.
"…K-Kamijou-san. I know the situation right now is not your fault, but you have the option of moving away from them, you know." (Elaine)
"B-But… I cannot stand up in this position." (Touma)
My body had sunk deep inside the embrace of this exceedingly soft sofa. Well, I could probably still stand up if I put some serious effort into it, but…
"Mhm… Whatever. I get it. If that's the case, then—" (Elaine)
Elaine pushed the table away and, forcing my legs apart, tried to insinuate her hips in the tiny space of the sofa opened in-between them.
"Wow, that's really bold, Elaine!" (Nika)
"Elaine, I had no idea you were such a perv! Consider my horizons widened~ Ufufufu~!" (Anna)
"Shut up, jerks!" (Elaine)
"Um. Does that include me, too?" (Touma)
"Of course! There's no way the jerk-lord won't be a jerk!" (Elaine)
Oh. It appeared I'm nobility.
Either way, Elaine had her full weight on my knees.
What should I do?
"Hm? Just relax, and open that bottle over there. You can also try patting Elaine on the head and attempt to come up with something deep and thoughtful to say." (Anna)
It appeared that I had spoken my thoughts out aloud. Anna gave me a very helpful answer.
"Maybe some other time. Now I would rather concentrate on Solo—" (Touma)
"There's no way we can do that unless he exposes himself. Let's catch a breather while we can…" (Anna)
…I wasn't entirely sure whether I should trust her on this particular matter.
"Is me being here so unpleasant for you?" (Elaine)
She leaned on my body, looking up to me.
In this position, it wouldn't be an understatement to say she was practically lying on top of me.
"It isn't… unpleasant." (Touma)
I let out a deep sigh.
Kanzaki would probably kill us if she knew what we were doing here. One "swoosh" and it'll be over.
"Of course it isn't. What man, I mean beast, would complain about having the chance to deeply scrutinize Elaine's bountiful chest "valley" all while being crushed to death by Nika's melons?!"
I wish she wasn't calling me a beast, at least.
Nika's melons aside, I was diligently trying to keep my eyes from straying to the said valley, for her knowledge.
"…" (Elaine)
Even Elaine was rendered speechless by her own predicament.
"…" (Touma)
"I-Is it still visible?" (Elaine)
She asked me as she pressed her body even more against mine. It was probably an attempt to go underneath my sphere of vision, much like what Nika was attempting earlier. Its effects, however, were clearly the opposite.
Now it looked as if she was emphasizing her bosom even more.
But I couldn't exactly say that.
"No." (Touma)
I declared that with my gaze still fixed on the wall.
"Then look at me, at least!" (Elaine)
I replied her with silence, prompting Elaine to take my head in her hands and force me to look at her face.
Our eyes met once again.
I concentrated on looking straight into her eyes, ignoring everything in my peripheral vision.
And those were beautiful green eyes indeed, though I thought twice about praising them in this situation.
"…" (Touma)
I truly didn't understand women.
Didn't she feel embarrassed when I looked at her? So why was she suddenly pouting when I was not looking at her at all?
"…" (Nika)
"Wh-What's going on? Why are those two gazing at each other like adolescents in love? It is not looking right in this setting, you know." (Anna)
"Wha?! What the hell are talking about, Anna?!" (Elaine)
"Well, poor Touma is having his hands full trying not to look where he isn't supposed to." (Anna)
"Anna, please stop talking." (Touma)
In response, Elaine let out a jovial giggle.
"…This guy's secretly a perv. I know he's enjoying it!" (Elaine)
That was slander, Elaine.
"No comment." (Touma)
But I wisely decided not to open my mouth on that matter. As a matter of feminine charm, it was an uncharted territory for me.
While rebutting them was the correct thing to do… actually doing so might greatly shorten my life, considering the situation.
"But I see: even you get embarrassed in a situation like this. Ehehe~" (Elaine)
"I don't. Well, maybe I do. This situation is certainly embarrassing." (Touma)
"Don't worry. I'm embarrassed, too. My heart is pounding like a locomotive." (Nika)
With that, she latched onto my arm even tighter. I could feel her body heat run along the entire length of my arm as two inexplicably soft things pressed against my biceps.
What she said was indeed true… I could feel her heart beating like a drum.
No… This wasn't good!
It was not good to pursue this train of thought any further.
Anna! Help me for once, at least!
"Well, even a season veteran such as myself might feel a tad flustered in this situation." (Anna)
"Even you, huh." (Touma)
"K-Kamijou-san! Why are you looking at them again? Look at me!" (Elaine)
Elaine yanked my head back to her again.
I was a little bit concerned by the sound my neck bones made when she did that.
"Yep. Way better." (Elaine)
"H-Hey! Not way better for me!" (Anna)
"I can't let Kamijou-san's pure gaze fall on such shameful dresses." (Elaine)
"…I think yours is the worst." (Nika)
"Oh, by the way…" (Elaine)
(She changed the subject!) (The Two)
"…how about we have our lunches? It's almost lunchtime. Anna, can you pull them out of that place?" (Elaine)
"Right away. Um… this one's mine. This one's Nika's. This one's Touma's. And this one is yours, Elaine." (Anna)
"…" (Touma)
"What's up? You kinda froze in time there." (Elaine)
"No… I think…" (Touma)
Oh, sh*t.
The terror overcoming my senses was enough to mess up my way of thinking.
All of our lunches seemed to be visually identical, but, somehow, I felt an aura of doom around mine.
"Y-You don't need to force yourself to eat it if you think it's bad. If you're already full, I don't mind if you threw it away." (Elaine)
Thank you for your motherly kindness, Elaine.
But, thanks to that, I now lost my last chance to turn back.
"Alright, Mom, here goes…" (Touma)
"Eh? Why are you calling me your mother?" (Elaine)
"That is not what I meant." (Touma)
…I blurted out my thoughts without thinking. W-Well, let's eat those meatballs already.
I picked one of them up and took a bite, chewing upon its meaty texture.
And in that very moment.
Everything got torn apart.
W H A T?!
It was as if a grenade had suddenly exploded atop my tongue… causing a fiery tempest to swirl up inside my mouth.
A fire-storm ravaged my oral cavity, twisters tearing my flesh apart.
The blistering flavor of the Carolina Reaper overwhelmed all else as it assaulted me for a K.O of extreme spiciness.
"GWAAAH?!" (Touma)
It hurt! It hurt so much! I could feel my tongue melting like butter in its infernal heat. It was like I had taken a bite out of lava.
I would never be able to look at meatballs with the same eyes ever again.
This trauma was just too overwhelming!
Meatballs… are scary!
Calm down!
I started to lose track of my own thoughts. This wasn't good! All that character development will go to waste if I devolved into a little girl.
An-Anyway, the most important thing now was…
Water! Water, water, water! Or any other liquid would just do fine…!"
"Oh. Looks like it was Touma who picked up the "special" lunchbox, after all. Here… have some water." (Anna)
I poured the liquid from Anna's glass into my mouth in a heartbeat.
But as I did, the inferno that had been sweltering inside my mouth only grew larger, as if imbued by a backdraft phenomenon.
"Bweeeh~" (Touma)
As a result, I spat it back out, propelling all sorts of things from my mouth.
And it was then that I realized that the liquid Anna offered me was no water at all.
It was alcohol.
Maybe vodka or whiskey, perhaps.
I couldn't say for certain what it was: my tongue had been paralyzed, rendered completely numb to all such trivial stimuli.
"Aiyaaaa! Why did you spit it all on my face?! My eyes!" (Anna)
Anna screamed. With her half-drenched appearance, she made for quite a pitiful villain.
"Kohh! Khehh! Khahhh!" (Touma)
My body probably enacted revenge upon her out of pure reflex.
"Wasn't that some potent stuff? Made me quite surprised as well." (Elaine)
"You're quite evil, Elaine!" (Nika)
"Haha~ Thank you~ Anyway, here you go~" (Elaine)
Elaine presented me with a glass of actual water.
"Tha…. Ghh! You….gwah! Very…. *gulp* much!" (Touma)
Letting out cries like a dying warthog, I proceeded to drink from my glass.
Unfortunately, the water didn't help much.
The spiciness was turning into sheer pain now.
"GYAAAH! My eyes! I think that Carolina b*stard burned out my eyes! My lips hurt, too! I feel like I kissed a volcano or something! Huh?! Is this also a form of an indirect kiss? Don't tell me I have to get excited by this!" (Anna)
"You shouldn't. I have never heard a more terrifying indirect kiss in my life." (Nika)
Thank you for temporarily playing my role as the logical man in the group, Nika.
I signaled my appreciation to her with a well-timed thumbs up.
"Anyway, could you open your mouth for a bit?" (Elaine)
Elaine pushed something cool and soft into my mouth.
I tried licking it, and my raging tongue grew placid and serene, in contrast to before where I couldn't even speak because of the pain.
"This is… butter!" (Touma)
"Yep, butter. Water doesn't work on a spiciness-ravished tongue, but butter does. The lipids in it work wonders I'll have you know!" (Elaine)
Ah, I concur!
I could really feel the reaper's spiciness grow fainter by the moment.
"I should have given you this from the start, sorry." (Elaine)
Perhaps she had packed this thing in advance in preparation for dealing with the aftermath of her "deluxe" lunchbox's victim.
"Ah… Yeah!" (Touma)
Saying that… I took another bite of Elaine's meatball. Everyone jolted (Anna tried running away) in response to my action.
But this time I was prepared.
Having analyzed how butter mitigated the heat, I had worked out a remedy.
I synthesized casein to immediately breakdown the Reaper's spiciness-inducing chemical— capsaicin.
Then, for good measure, I synthesized sedatives in my body, damping my taste-buds partially to counter its initial fiery blast. I also manipulated my bioelectricity to shut out signals relating to spiciness from reaching my brain.
Thus, I was able to taste the meatball without the spiciness interfering.
"Are you alright?!" (Elaine)
"It's pretty good once you get used to the heat. Want to try one?!" (Touma)
"No thanks. I'm good!" (Elaine)
With the Reaper rendered impotent, the food proved to be surprisingly edible.
And thus, with a couple of distractions along the way, our lunchtime finally drew to a close.
The three were still glued to me.
"Wanna drink something to commemorate the occasion?" (Anna)
"…Maybe, but after the battle." (Touma)
I considered it, but I'd rather have all of my faculties in pristine condition during the fight.
I wasn't the type to need alcohol to overcome fear. I could topple the same with courage, willpower, and determination alone.
Crusades were not for people who couldn't even muster that much.
"Then let's take this bottle with us." (Anna)
"Can't we just make one ourselves after we get back home?" (Touma)
We have that aqua vitae, after all.
"I beg to differ. If we make use of aqua vitae to make something we've never tasted before, how are we supposed to know if it got shafted like our tart-mold?" (Elaine)
"Yeah. You have to be precise in asking that thing what it is that you want. Else you can expect to drink plain water out of a fancy whiskey bottle." (Anna)
With that, Anna was about to stuff some vintage bottles into her pocket dimension, when suddenly Elaine stopped her…
"H-Hey. Can I smell it a little?!" (Elaine)
"Hm? Yeah. Sure!" (Anna)
Anna expertly popped the cap of a 50-year-old vintage Balvenie and held out the bottle to Elaine.
Elaine timidly drew her nose closer to the bottle's neck, and took a small sniff.
"Whoa." (Elaine)
Her features warping, she promptly drew away.
"Oh, was it that bad?" (Anna)
"N-No. I was just surprised. I don't know how to describe it. The smell was kind of sweet but not sweet at the same time, you know." (Elaine)
"You've never tasted alcohol before, have you?" (Anna)
"Well, I'm not exactly at the legal age, so…" (Elaine)
"Hmm. That's understandable. You should probably stop sniffing around bottles as well. I don't want to get into legal trouble, you see…" (Anna)
"Sniffing should be alright… no?" (Elaine)
Please don't look at me, Elaine. I don't know anything about the legal rules of this place.
But I would still refrain from sniffing alcohol till I was of the lawful age.
"…Umm. Anna, lem'me have a sniff, too." (Nika)
"Eh? S-Sure! Knock yourself out~" (Anna)
Anna handed the bottle to Nika. The Saint drew her nose close to the bottle opening, and took a quick sniff.
"Ugh… So this is what bottled sin smells like… Ugh" (Nika)
A shadow of sickness took over her countenance, and she covered her mouth with both her hands.
…W-Wait a second.
There were limits to how weak to alcohol one could be. And while I'm at it, could you please get away from me, Ms.?
"Ugh… This isn't good… I feel sick!" (Nika)
"Y-You just sniffed that, right? Anyway, go to the washroom at once!" (Anna)
"Washroom… Uegh!" (Nika)
Nika, almost retching, clung harder to me instead.
Nooo…
"Wow! She got worse from just hearing the word…" (Elaine)
"Don't worry. I have it under control. Oracles don't puke! Gweeh~" (Nika)
"You liar! I can already see it on its way up! Get lost to the washroom, you buffoon~" (Anna)
Seeing her grow worse by each passing second, Anna stood up. Nika seemed to be at her limit, too.
"Move your *ss!" (Anna)
"..!" (Nika)
Eventually, Anna succeeded in shunting Nika to the restroom, thus saving us from the ultimate catastrophe.
I couldn't help but mentally scream like a little girl at the very thought of what would have transpired had Anna failed to pull Nika away in time.
I'm not sure if I could've made through it alive.
"Well, that was fun~ I pinched… I mean, borrowed the dressed, so let's continue this sometime later." (Anna)
"Uh… Now that I'm outside the memories of that dress feel more embarrassing. I'm not wearing that thing ever again!" (Elaine)
"How could I not hold my liquor like that…? I must've gotten drunk from the atmosphere… Ugh." (Nika)
Nika seemed still pretty sick.
"Well. Now that we're all well and rested, I suggest we start looking for things seriously. Elaine, can you check the vicinity with your eyes again?" (Anna)
"Ah, yeah. I'll get right to it. Mhm… it's kinda hard to use them consciously, you know." (Elaine)
"Oh, in such a situation, it might be a good idea to come up with a "catchphrase" for your thing. Your powers are gonna be a lot easier to use if you drill it to your head that Elizabeth's eyes will activate whenever you utter a select phrase." (Anna)
"Catchphrase? Like a keyword?" (Elaine)
"Yup. Exactly. It can be anything. Well, though it'd be better if you chose a word you wouldn't use in daily conversations." (Anna)
"…So it is like naming a spell? Or an attack, maybe?" (Elaine)
"Oh, that's good! Something like "O dusk, envelop me in your darkness!" or "super-duper tech-mech eyeball beam!" would be cool." (Anna)
I thought Anna's suggestions had some problems. Or rather, were out of the question entirely.
"Mhm… A name, huh. Lemme think… mmm…" (Elaine)
"Its previous owner seemed to have used the word "boot" to activate her powers." (Nika)
"What do boots have to do with this?" (Elaine)
Boot as in booting up a computer.
"Anyway, that's what she used to say. Try saying the word… Perhaps, it might work." (Anna)
"A-Alright. Here goes nothing. B-Boot!" (Elaine)
At that very moment, Elaine's green eyes started glittering with light as her golden pupils stared at the world beyond.
"Ah, it really worked." (Elaine)
"Then let's just roll out with "boot."" (Anna)
"Ueeeh~ But I wanted a cooler name… Like with demons, and gods, and twilights, and Ragnarocks, and other rad things!" (Elaine)
"Let's leave that stuff to Touma. Anyway, do you see anything?" (Anna)
I wasn't particularly keen on getting a bard's role all of a sudden… Well, maybe I was a little.
"Hmm… Let's see… Huh?!" (Elaine)
Terror contorting her features, Elaine suddenly shuddered. Anna gave her a worried look.
"H-Hey. What happened?" (Anna)
Elaine, her face pale as a ghost, clung to my arms.
"Are you alright?" (Touma)
I could tell she certainly wasn't, but I thought it'd help her relax if I asked her calmly, and keep the tension from appearing in my voice.
"There were… there were heads. Hundreds of severed heads mounted on spikes! He's waiting for us." (Elaine)
"Did you figure out where?" (Touma)
Elaine pointed her still shaking finger in the general direction of the Eiffel Tower without letting out a sound.
"Roger. Elaine, you wait her—" (Touma)
"Take her with you." (Anna)
"…?" (Touma)
"Take her with you. You need to get used to fighting with her on your side. Tragedy's the only thing that awaits you if you two keep acting on your own." (Anna)
"B-But!" (Touma)
I knew that Anna made a fair point.
Yet, for some reason, I couldn't help but grit my teeth.
This was the very first time I felt a hint of antagonism towards Anna Sprengel— my savior.
I didn't like how she was willing to send Elaine into danger without batting an eye.
"Calm down, Kamijou-san!" (Elaine)
Elaine took my hand in hers and smiled. It really wasn't fair, you know.
I wasn't even able to voice my objections.
"I'll go. I mean, there's a possibility my eyes could prove useful, right?" (Elaine)
"…" (Touma)
"Didn't you promise to protect me? It made me really happy, you know. It wouldn't be nice to take back what you said, alright?" (Elaine)
She flashed a beaming smile.
Yet all I could see was a girl forcing herself to smile for me.
"I-It's alright. I can run pretty fast, and people say I have good luck and all." (Elaine)
I took a deep breath, repressing the complicated feelings I harbored towards Anna and Nika on this matter, and all other thoughts holding me back.
If Elaine herself would go this far…
"All right. Do you remember our promise on the roof?" (Touma)
"Of course. I'll bolt as soon as you give me the signal. Right?" (Elaine)
"Yes. Then… Shall we go?" (Touma)
Elaine firmly clutched at my arm again.
"Alright. Alright. Have a good time!" (Anna)
Anna saw us off with a refreshing smile on her lips. Elaine answered her with a reproachful look.
"Darn. What's up with that beaming mug? We're heading off to war here…" (Elaine)
You can say that again, Elaine.
Yet the tone of her voice suggested there was no genuine scorn directed at Anna in her heart.
It seemed like Elaine Le Fay wasn't even a bit hesitant to take in and come to terms with the idea that she was being sent off to a possible death.
That behavior mystified me.
Actually, now that I thought about it…
The very existence of this girl, Elaine Le Fay, was by itself a bit strange.
"You seem to enjoy playing the villain a lot…" (Nika)
Nika, looking at the receding backs of the two, gave Anna a hesitant glance.
"Mhm. I have no idea what you're talking about…" (Anna)
"You sure this is wise…?" (Nika)
"Are you kidding me? Wise my *ss. It'll be a disaster if they died on the second temple of all places." (Anna)
"Then—" (Nika)
"People don't grow up if you coddle them too much, Nika." (Anna)
"But this is going overboard. We could at least…" (Nika)
"At least, what? Help them? Well, if we jumped that Ehrenstein boy with the three of us we'd probably make short work of him. But Touma will not grow stronger that way." (Anna)
"You are talking about his magic name…" (Nika)
"Yes. The chorus will only grow worse along the way. And a mind without a concrete purpose won't hold long against the relentless siege of mental contamination. This is something you know, correct?" (Anna)
"I agree, but…" (Nika)
"No buts. Most of them found their callings in midst of battle. I'll pray that Touma is the same." (Anna)
"You mean like finding one when he's forced to live to protect Elaine. But… what about Elaine, then? I don't think she can fight at all." (Nika)
"It's fine. That barrier I made for her is some serious stuff. Nika, I assume your guidance system is not something to be taken lightly, either." (Anna)
"It is supposed to be a Magic-God class spell…but…"
Anna's barrier could passively sense all sorts of attacks— be they physical, mental, or magical— and automatically destroy them.
Nika's guidance system, on the other hand, would predict the future, and passively guide the caster through the relative safety of causality.
They were not easy to make even for people like them.
Yet this was Solon Ehrenstein's sanctum. A place where he reigned as a god.
As such… those passive skills were not enough to face him in battle directly.
However, they should be able to provide Nika and Anna with enough time to save her at the very least.
They were not going to allow Elaine Le Fay to die. And they hoped the Touma wouldn't either.
That was the real situation.
"Nevertheless… what the hell did he use to cleave these things like that?" (Anna)
"Maybe he has found a way to apply air magic to his sword." (Nika)
"Air magic? Like seriously, Nika? You wouldn't end up with such clean wreckage with just air magic alone! Just look at that. He has sliced through every single thing that was inside that building along with it. What kind of sword does that?"
A building with its upper portion missing loomed in front of Anna's pointed finger.
Its concrete walls, toughened glass windows, steel desks, computers, fridges, kitchen utensils, and even groceries had been cut through in a precisely straight line.
"Not to mention: where did all other halves go? Did the blast launch it into space or something? Not to mention, even if that were to be the case, isn't it normal to expect pieces of at least one or two things lying around?"
"Maybe his weapon can sever reality itself… Like Curtana?"
Not to mention there were plenty of other mythical weapons with such powers, too.
Other than Curtana, there was Caladbolg from Celtic legends, and Tyrving, that Odin's descendants made dwarves craft in the tales of the Norse.
The very name Caladbolg came from Middle Welsh of "hard-cleft." It was a sword that could cover the distance of the rainbow in a single swing and held power enough to slice off mountain tops.
Tyrving, on the other hand, was a cursed blade that could cut through diamond like butter. As long as it was allowed to take at least one life every time it was drawn, it guaranteed victory in any battle.
It was also said to enslave its wielder in exchange for three wishes.
All these blades didn't cut through the physical body of the body, but rather sliced the universe itself.
Thus, even the strongest of armors mattered little in front of those blades.
"It can't be Curtana. I don't see any shadow metal lying around." (Anna)
Shadow metal, or the incomprehensible wreckage of higher-dimensional origins, was the usual aftermath for a swing from Curtana as it sliced through the totality of dimensional space.
"Also, I think we would have known if it were to be lost by the English monarchy." (Nika)
"Exactly!" (Anna)
"Then what if it were Caladbolg or Tyrfing? Maybe he's got one of those…"
"That doesn't seem to be the case, either. Unlike Curtana, it is impossible to wield them with such accuracy."
For Anna knew that in exchange for great power, those blades had to sacrifice wieldiness.
They were huge, heavy, poorly-balanced blades that would start cutting through the continuum of the world the moment they'd find themselves relieved of their sheaths. It was nearly impossible to control their trajectories with precision.
All these blades were designed to decimate armies, their smiths never had one-on-one fights in mind.
Not to mention that… even if one did manage to get their hands on one of those mindboggling swords, they would still be unable to leave a cut as precise and beautiful as the one Anna was staring at.
Hence, it could be declared for a fact that there was no weapon in existence that could slice through the very fabric of reality with such beauty and surgical precision to leave their edges sharp as a razor.
"Then this phenomenon should be related to his magic name… Or…" (Nika)
"Or what?" (Anna)
"Or he might have a weapon that no one has ever heard of before." (Nika)
"…I pray that's not the case— we can't prepare for something we don't know." (Anna)
Anna gave Nika a resigned shrug.
"Look over there…" (Nika)
The few traces that so faintly colored the jet-black sky— clouds— suddenly started swirling around as if on fire.
It seemed like Solon Ehrenstein was finally making his move.
"So begins the battle, huh…" (anna)
As if on cue, the remaining half of the Eiffel Tower was bisected vertically in two.
Clutching Elaine tight in my arms, I soared through the skies.
"Uh…" (Elaine)
"Still afraid…?" (Touma)
"Y-Yeah, a little." (Elaine)
She wasn't used to this method of travel yet, and neither could she fly herself. I couldn't blame her for finding the experience uncomfortable.
"I have my hands tight around your hips and nape, so there is no way you could possibly slip through." (Touma)
"U-Um… Can you say that again, a little bit more romantically this time?" (Elaine)
A challenging request indeed.
So in short, I had to convey the fact that she had more than enough proper leverage and shouldn't worry about falling to her death in an arousing way, somehow.
"I will never let you go. As long as I live." (Touma)
"…Nyaaah! Nyaaah! Nyah! Seriously… Nyaaaah!" (Elaine)
It appeared to have worked, though I wish she didn't flail around too much during that display of her maidenly bashfulness.
"Elaine, can you see anything other than the pikes?" (Touma)
"Yeah. I glimpsed him sitting down before the Eiffel Tower." (Elaine)
"I see…" (Touma)
I used AIM to temporarily divert more oxygenated blood to my eyes, thus enhancing my vision.
It was true. There was indeed something on the ground in front of the structure.
Wait, no… I think that was actually him. Solon Ehrenstein was actually sitting cross-legged on the ground, waiting for us.
"Elaine, are you alright?" (Touma)
"Yeah… I totally am." (Elaine)
Elaine took a deep breath with which all of her anxiety seemed to evaporate.
Even the rates of her heart and breathing seemed to have evened out. Only the sweat on her forehead hinted at the tension of the situation.
What about me?
I could adjust my fear levels with adrenaline, artificial hormones, and AIM, but I wondered if I could've remained collected as she was without them.
I tried imagining being in her shoes for a bit, but soon decided such thoughts held little practical value, and discarded them.
I landed on the ground, and proceeded towards the towering structure (or what remained of it) on my own two feet.
And then it finally caught my eyes.
Guest Reviews and Author Notes:
Mr. X: Yea, man. I hope so as well. These glitches f**k everything up. Lately, they've been popping up everywhere :(
Hmm. A date-plan, huh. Sounds nice. Maybe I'll make them do something to that extent. Also, I want to make them kiss earlier, too :)
Thanks a lot for your review. I'm really glad that you found my story to your liking.
Alright, now onto the other trivia…
I went a bit carried away, it seems… but as long as it didn't turn NSFW I think it turned out well. I wanted to get in some slice-of-life chapters (if it can be called that, perhaps filler might be a good word) before we move on to the main story.
Elaine is quite forward, ain't she? She's cut out of a completely different cloth than Nika (who comes off as reserved, somehow, whenever I write her). Elaine, on the other hand, knows what she wants, and is pretty upfront with the whole business.
Anyway, it's fight night once more next weekend…
I hope Touma survives… jaja.
Then again, we know that he will, right? ^^
Anyway, see you next week…
R&R if possible… your words always motivate me.
Ciao…
~VG out~
[P.S: The Profile Page has become too clunky, and this site doesn't support links. Therefore, I plan on releasing the contents of the Page, and the image I posted earlier as a separate story. It will contain characters and cosmology... (basically the stuff with spoilers from Profile Page). The Profile Page will only contain the story summary and other un-spoilery content. It will be up soon... Please don't forget to check it out if you weren't able to check the Imgur link ^^)