Yuuta's pen aimlessly wandered about his page, sketching out abstract shapes as his mind drifted elsewhere. Nibutani, the most popular, beautiful, and intelligent girl in school, wanted to join Rikka's Far-East Magical Napping society. If that wasn't supposed to sound strange to him, then he was clearly missing something crucial.

She never once struck me as the type who would be interested in witchcraft or magic. Maybe it's the napping aspect? No, that can't be it; there has to be another reason she's joining. But what is it? Power? Recognition? Maybe... me?

Nononono, take a step back! Gambling on those kinds of things is just a setup for disaster! But I can't stop wondering…

Yuuta had initially planned on leaving the club once it obtained more members, taking his magic powers with him to make his life easier. It would be better to practice magic away from the person who would ceaselessly remind him of his chuunibyou phase, not to mention it minimized the risk of another encounter with Touka; heaven forbid she went after him as well. But the mystery Nibutani joining continued to aggravate him; he just couldn't find it within himself to leave.

Speaking of which, he still had no idea what constituted club activities for a group that consisted of two delusional cultist-like madwomen with magic powers, a napping enthusiast, himself, and Nibutani. For all he knew, they could be summoning demons, hunting for ghosts, trying ESP stuff, or even just napping together. Now that he thought about it, that last one didn't sound half bad if he got a chance to see Nibutani while she was sleeping…

He quickly brushed away that impure thought and glanced down at his sketchbook, and gasped. He realized he had unintentionally sketched out a depiction of him and Rikka in their costumes. Quickly, he tore the page out and stuffed it into his pocket before anyone could see.

Pushing aside that embarrassing incident, Yuuta headed to the clubroom, where Rikka told them they would see him again. As soon as he opened the sliding door, he was met with a blinding white light.

"Gah! What the heck…" he said out loud. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Rikka and Dekomori standing in front of the door with flashlights.

"How deathly interesting!" Dekomori said as they flicked off their lights. "The Dark Flame Master arrived in the same manner as which you predicted, Master, but 12.381 seconds earlier."

"That's the power of the Saturnus Summoning Circle," said Rikka. "It bends reality to obtain help."

"What on earth are you guys doing this time?" Yuuta blinked, trying to clear the spots from his eyes.

"We're testing the structure of this reality to ensure it will not crumble upon our next task," said Rikka. 'Such an event would make our entire goal futile,"

"I know that part, but what's up with the decor?" Yuuta indicated to the large blue circle with the pentagram drawn onto the floor.

"Well, duh, it's a summoning circle that breaks the lines between reality and fantasy, between life and death, and between space and time and all of that," said Dekomori.

"And we need one here because, why?" said Yuuta.

"Of course, your memories have yet to return," said Rikka, as she put away the flashlight and stepped to the edge of the circle. "Using this summoning circle, we can visit other worlds adjacent to ours, as well as summon beings from said worlds as well. Our ultimate goal, destroying the Invisible Boundary Lines, is unachievable from our world, as the only way to do that is with an ancient artifact created by the Wicked Lord: The Exalthumanemah."

"It was originally meant to be used to power the world's largest popcorn machine," said Dekomori. "But the Dark Organization stole it and now uses its unlimited magical power to sustain the Invisible Boundary Lines."

"The Bureau is the only one who knows its highly defended location." Rikka continued. "And it's not in our world, or my Wicked Eye would've found it by now,"

Without thinking, Yuuta began to slot the pieces together.

"So, if the Invisible Boundary Lines wrap around this world like a force field, then they could be projecting them from the Exalthumanemah while it's in an adjacent world!"

"Precisely. If we can find the Exalthumanemah in another world, get past the Bureau's defenses, and then destroy the artifact, the Invisible Boundary Lines will shut down forever!" Rikka snapped her fingers. "You're catching on quick, Dark Flame Master,"

Yuuta mentally slapped himself.

Dagnabit! Without thinking, I started using my weird manga logic again!

Dekomori cleared her throat.

"The Bureau is most likely defending the Exalthumanemah with demons, so we're visiting all the worlds that have demons. But to find those, we need demonic components to use as a sacrifice!" she said.

Like chum for a shark.

"If that is all your questions, then I shall begin the next summoning," Rikka squatted down. Upon closer inspection, Kumin and Chimera were sound asleep in the center of the pentagram.

"Ah… Sacrifice me to the dark lord and let his reign be endless," Kumin muttered.

Rikka knelt in the middle of the circle and placed her hand on the ground, similar to some occult manga Yuuta might've read.

"In the name of the Eye of the Wicked Lord, I summon thee. Thy true name: Murderer of the Darkness. I summon thy flesh, thy bones, thy blood, all devoid of this world, sustained by the very emotions by which I am burdened."

As she chanted, the circle suddenly began to glow pale blue, filling the room in turquoise light. Yuuta took a few steps back in astonishment before he realized upon closer inspection that the circle was actually made out of LED strips and that Dekomori had turned them on during Rikka's chant.

"Why would you put lights in it?" said Yuuta.

"Because then the Eye of the Wicked Lord does need to expend excess mana to make it glow! We are very resourceful, Dark Flame Master," Dekomori said, confidently flipping her hair.

"Why not just have it not glow at all?"

"Wha…? How could you even suggest such a thing?" Dekomori stomped and started swinging her hair. "A magic circle without glowing light like a battle without the proper poses!"

"Again, why do you need to pose?"

"Why, because posing stirs the imagination, which is key for unlocking magical potential!" Dekomori proceeded to strike an absurd pose to prove her point.

"That's… actually consistent with what I heard earlier, but who makes up this stuff?"

"Why, our previous leaders, Dark Flame Master," said Dekomori. "The art of posing, catchphrases, and using the proper vocabulary to increase one's coolness and thus magical aptitude was perfected by the previous Wicked Lords. They became so proficient at their poses and attire that the rest of the Nemah and Exalt shunned them, for they were simply too awesome for their comprehension, as told by the Wicked Eye herself!"

"...Wait a minute, are you telling me that you and Rikka, as well as your entire faction, were also considered chuuni weirdos even among those who used actual magic?" Yuuta said in astonishment.

"If you are asking if the faction of the Wicked Lords were always outcasts because of their dangerous and very cool powers, then yes, that is the case." Dekomori put her hands on her hips.

That makes… way too much sense. I should've figured that authentic mages and warlocks wouldn't act the way they do.

Just then, the door opened to reveal a familiar face.

"Hi everyone! Sorry, I'm late; cheerleading practice took longer than I thought," Nibutani said, still dressed in her cheerleading outfit.

"GAH!" Yuuta quickly pulled his sleeve over his bandage and returned to a standing position. "Oh hey, Nibutani, nice to see you!"

He could now confirm. The class rep did look AMAZING in that skirt.

Rikka was the first to move. She zipped out of the circle and into a spot uncomfortably close to the orange-haired girl. Dekomori shut the door as Rikka proceeded to scan her from head to toe, much to her embarrassment.

"So, I take you to wish to join our organization?" said Rikka, leaning even closer to the point where her face was almost touching the other girl's. "But for what purpose?"

"Oh, you know." Nibutani chuckled and tried to look away while her face turned redder. "...reasons.'

That was incredibly suspicious! I need to know more!

"Master, that phrasing is very peculiar. She could easily be an enemy," Dekomori spoke aloud what Yuuta was thinking. Well, for the most part.

"Nonsense, Dekomori. My Wicked Eye shall reveal the truth of this girl. Remember, Shinka Nibutani. Once your mind has been pierced by my eye's infinite power, there is no going back to the life you used to know. You may leave now with this information,"

"Oh, don't worry about it, I'm absolutely joining, no questions asked!" said Nibutani.

"Then, let us begin the examination," Rikka pulled down her eyepatch. Upon seeing Rikka's ghostly yellow eye, Nibutani did a double-take. "Hmm… yes… I see. Her AP is easily high enough, ten times the human standard. She could've easily been a high-ranking Exalt in a previous life. A capacity for healing and enhancement spells, as well as control over heavenly spears. Standard issue magical control… and unusually pure fae ancestry. Yes… I can sense this one's true age… at least 1000, possibly more.

Nibutani suddenly began to sweat.

"Uh… how are you getting all of this?"

"The Wicked Eye always tells the truth," Rikka covered her eye once more. "She shall be a great ally to us, but her Chuunirization is quite heavy. Let us begin the de-Chuunirization ritual."

"Wait, wait, guys, are you sure about this?" Yuuta moved between Rikka and Nibutani. "We really shouldn't be cramming all of this stuff on a new member, especially given the nature of our club-"

"Really, Yuuta, it's fine." Nibutani smiled. "Magic can't be as simple as other things, so I don't mind if there are some requirements I have to meet or hoops to jump through,"

"If you say so…" said Yuuta. He was surprised at how willing she was to go through with Rikka's bizarre plans.

"If you will, please step into the summoning circle," said Rikka.\

As Nibutani wordlessly did as she was told, Yuuta whispered in Dekomori's ear.

"How come she didn't do this thing for me?"

"Not enough people,"

"That's the reason why?"

At once, the lights shut off, and the circle began to glow.

"Woah… that's amazing," Nibutani muttered.

"Oh, that's just LEDs," said Yuuta. "But believe me, it gets weirder,"

As this occurred, Kumin stirred from her nap and yawned.

"Oh my…" she said. "Am I having this dream again?"

"Nibutani Shinka, let us start with introductions," Rikka said, indicating around the room. "You know us as Rikka Takanashi, Dekomori Senae, and Yuuta Togashi. However, inside this room and whenever magic permits, we are referred to as our True Names. I am the Wicked Lord's Eye, more specifically the 95th holder of such. Dekomori is the Mjolnir Hammer, the greatest warrior who ever lived. And Yuuta is the Dark Flame Master who carries a ruthless dragon in his right arm, hence the bandage,"

"Eh? Don't say it out loud-" Yuuta tried to interrupt her, but it was already too late.

"Soon, we shall learn your true name upon the ritual's completion. But first, we must recite the four elemental poems in the correct order. First, Dark Flame Master shall read the Poem of Fire, which I have asked him to bring to the club,"

Yuuta sighed and pulled out the odd piece of writing he created in 7th grade.

"Next, I shall call upon my Wicked Eye to imbue unto me the knowledge of the Poem of Water. After that, Kumin shall recite the Poem of Wind, which I have transferred to her dream telepathically. And finally, Dekomori Senae will read the Poem of Earth from the Mabinogion."

"Uh… sounds like a plan?" Nibutani said.

"Dark Flame Master, begin the poem!"

"Alright then…"

The four of them stood around Nibutani on opposite ends of the circle, forming a square.

Yuuta spoke aloud.

"Fire cleans rot from a fallen tree and returns what was to what is,

Incinerating ignorance and ideocracy

Rejuvenating a dark forest devoid of sun

Enchanting us with beauty and passion for the brief moments of burning before it begins to fade,"

Then, Rikka continued in the most dramatic and over-the-top voice that she could muster.

"Water bursts forth from its constraints

Alleviating the dust and debris from the land

Terraforming the wasteland into a shining oasis

Experiences new and old sprout from the stream

Readily changing to the new regime."

Kumin cleared her throat and started to recite in a Shakespearian fashion.

"Wind carries love from the south

Integrating oddities and mysteries from far away

Neglecting all inhibitions from the past

Deciding on a whim where to go next."

Finally, Dekomori reached into her bag but let out a gasp.

"Ah! It's gone!" she exclaimed.

"Huh?" said Rikka.

"The seven-colored copy of the Mabinogion! It's gone! I had it carefully hidden inside here; it must've been stolen!" Dekomori said, dramatically dumping out the contents of her bag in a mad panic.

"Then, we shall pause the ritual until Dekomori can locate the Mabinogion. Sorry, Nibutani, you can walk out now,"

"Oh, okay?" Nibutani said. Yuuta cleared his throat.

"Uh, is it really okay to interrupt a ritual like this? Are you sure it won't have some kind of consequence? I mean, won't we get cursed or something?" he said. Rikka waved her hand.

"Oh, Dark Flame Master, of course, nothing bad will happen. It's just like when you pause a play. Sheesh, you watch way too much anime,"

"THAT'S COMING FROM YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE?!" Yuuta exclaimed. "Anyway, what did she say? She lost her… Mapplenaga? Mapoclypedia?"

"Mabinogion," Nibutani corrected. "It's a term meaning the earliest prose stories of the literature of Britain."

"Huh, I guess Yuuta isn't the only one here who knows random weird historical facts," said Kumin, cheerful as ever, despite Dekomori now tearing apart a good portion of the clubroom

"Weird?" said Nibutani in an uncharacteristically firm tone. "I mean… uh… it's just a little something I looked up. You see, the stories referred to as Mabinogion were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main sources manuscripts, created somewhere between 1350–1410, not including a few earlier fragments. The title covers a collection of eleven prose stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy, and humor, and created by various narrators over time."

"Not that one!" Dekomori angrily snarled at Nibutani. "I'm talking about the True Mabinogion, detailing the life and wisdom of the almighty mage, Mori Summer. She has lived for over a thousand years and communes with fairies to bring peace, kindness, and love to a society that desperately needs it! Her word is more than the gospel; it is the ultimate truth and-"

"ACK! I get it, I get it!" Nibutani shouted in annoyance, covering her ears as Dekomori continued

lifting up random objects, including a very surprised Chimera.

"Forget about that!" she said, a manic look in her

eyes." I need my book! Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? WHERE IS IT?!" Dekomori scrambled about the room, even going so far as to shake Kumin rapidly.

"Oh, this is interesting," she said.

"Stop being so passive!" said Nibutani.

"Oh, calm down," said Yuuta. "I have that book. You left it in the teacher's lounge yesterday, so I took it home with me by accident. It's at my house right now,"

Dekomori dropped Kumin and immediately conjured her hammer. Without the extra space that the Overlap provided, the enormous golden weapon took up nearly the entire clubroom.

"Give it back… GIVE IT BACK RIGHT NOW!" Dekomori screamed and threw her hammer in Yuuta's direction. He panicked and dove out of the way. Nibutani had her hand on her chin as if she was thinking.

"I get it, I get it; I'll bring it back on Monday!"

Today was Friday. Yuuta planned on relaxing that weekend, and he also didn't know where Dekomori lived. Just then, Nibutani leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Hey, can I speak to you in private for a moment?"

"Uh, sure?"

"So, what did you wanna talk about?" Yuuta smiled and tried not to look nervous.

"Are you doing anything this Sunday?" said Nibutani, not seeming at all bothered by his obvious embarrassment.

"This Sunday… no, I don't think so,"

"Then, would you mind if I perhaps came over that day?"

"Eh?" Yuuta did a double take.

"Oh, is there something important going on?"

"Huh? Oh no, not that, it's just well…" he scratched the back of his head. "There's not really much to do at my apartment,"

"That's alright!" Nibutani winked. "I just wanted to talk with you alone for a while. So?"

"...And that's what happened," Yuuta recounted the conversation to Rikka. The two of them currently resided in his bedroom after completing both of their homework.

"I see…" said Rikka.

"Hey, are you even listening?" said Yuuta. Rikka was currently digging underneath his bed.

"I was hoping to locate something that could jog some of your lost memories," said Rikka. "However, all I found was this,"

She held up a magazine that Yuuta had stashed under his bed for a reason…

"GAH!" he tried to snatch it out of her hands, but she swiftly shifted over a couple feet as she opened the book. Rikka's face then immediately turned red as she dropped the magazine.

"Dark Flame Master, your mind has been corrupted by human creations."

"Sorry that you had to see that." Yuuta tucked the immoral book away. "Anyways, you're a girl. What do you think I should do in this case? Do you think Nibutani likes me?"

"I don't know much about romance," said Rikka. "However, I can use my Wicked Eye to tell you if you succeed in winning her heart or not,"

"Really?" said Yuuta.

"However, I must advise otherwise. Once I have seen something through my Wicked Eye, nothing can be done to change it. Your chance of success will either be 100% or 0% if I do this and if it happens to be 0% you might as well stop trying," Rikka said, raising a finger. "That is the reason why I haven't used my eye to look forward into the future where I find the Invisible Boundary Lines. I want there to always be a chance, no matter what,"

"I guess you have a point there," said Yuuta. "But seriously, can't you give me some advice?"

"Well, I suppose if I felt attracted to someone…" said Rikka. "I'd want them to be willing to put in considerable effort for my attention, like slaying a dragon to give me its tooth or something. It'd also be great if they understood how to pose proficiently as well as speak with the traditional tongue of the Wicked Lords,"

"Well, that doesn't help at all," said Yuuta.

"Then perhaps I should accompany your interaction to provide needed assistance?" Rikka suggested.

"That would be very suspicious looking!" said Yuuta. "Wait, what are you doing this Sunday,"

"That would be classified info-OW! Nothing in particular,"

Ah, and here we have an issue. Her antics could be detrimental to my chances. I better find a way to get rid of her during the day.

"Then, I have something that I think you'd be interested in," Yuuta said, pulling out one of his Dark Flame Master notebooks. "Look at this,"

In the notebook, there was a depiction of a steel pylon standing next to some buildings. There was also a drawing of the sun with a radius next to it. Underneath was a description.

"You mentioned there being other worlds, and I think I managed to find one. A portal that opens only at certain times,"

"Really? Amazing! I always thought that the boundaries between worlds could only be crossed via powerful magic!"

"Yeah, if you complete this small ritual, then you can access the portal. But it's a pretty long walk away, and you need to follow these instructions and get the timing just right. If you and Dekomori use your powers on it, it might just open for you. And hey, I was thinking to myself earlier that if the Bureau, or whatever you called it, wanted to keep an eye on the Exalthumanemah, then they might've installed some kind of secret route to it or something..."

Rikka looked as if she'd just had a religious experience, her face flushed, her eyes gleaming, fists clenched, her mouth opens slightly in sheer amazement.

"Yuuta… if what you say is correct… we might just have ourselves a one-way ticket right to the Exalthumanemah!

If I could get a hold of it, we could topple their whole regime! Thank you for this Yuuta; with this, I shall carry out my destiny!"

"Ehehe, no need to thank me," Yuuta said, rubbing the back of his head.

"But of course, I do! I was starting to seriously doubt whether you really understood what it meant to be like us, but clearly, you still have a bit of the Dark Flame Master inside of you! I'm extremely grateful for this. You can leave it to the Eye of the Wicked Lord!" Rikka did a pose that Yuuta honestly thought was kinda cute.

On Sunday, Rikka and Dekomori set out to find the gateway to the other world. Dekomori was just as, if not more excited, to locate the other world, though for seemingly different reasons than Rikka.

"I want to eat food from the other world!"

Of course, this allowed Yuuta a prime opportunity to head over to the train station to find Nibutani. Now, he was used to seeing her in her school uniform or cheerleader outfit, so seeing her in casual clothes was a unique experience, to say the least. As if he had just pulled a 4-star version of his favorite character.

"Oh, there you are, Togashi!" she said.

"Hi, Nibutani," he said. He couldn't really think of anything else to say at that moment.

And thus, a significant turning point in Yuuta's life began.