Kazuma woke up with an intense headache that was overtaking his head. He groaned as he sat up. "Why am I sleeping on the floor?" he muttered, rubbing his temples. As he opened his eyes, he realized something wasn't right. This wasn't his school or his usual surroundings, but a train. A strangely pristine new train.
"What happened…" he murmured, trying to piece together how he ended up here. Fragments of memory surfaced as he glanced around, his gaze stopping on a familiar figure not far from him. Megumin was lying on the floor with the set of clothes she used back at the Red Prison School. Images of their graduation ceremony and her dramatic explosion magic flashed in his mind.
"MEGUMIN!" he shouted, startling her awake.
Megumin jolted upright, her crimson eyes wide in alarm. "What is it?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her groggy tone drew the attention of the others, and soon both Aqua and Darkness stirred, raising their heads from where they'd been slumped. To Kazuma's astonishment, glowing halos flickered to life above their heads.
"Wait… did we die?" Kazuma asked aloud, his mind racing. "No, that doesn't make sense. Dying means ending up in that white void where I met Aqua, not on some train! Hey, what's with the halos?!"
His outburst made the girls look at him in bewilderment. Megumin frowned as she stepped closer, peering at him. "Kazuma? Is that… you?"
"Of course it's me! Did that flashy stunt you pulled during graduation mess with your eyesight or something?" Kazuma snapped at her as he felt incredibly frustrated by her hijinks.
"Huh… Kazuma, I think something strange happened," Darkness said cautiously.
Before Kazuma could reply, Aqua burst into loud, mocking laughter, pointing at him as tears welled up in her eyes. "Bwahahaha! Kazuma, you need to see this! Hahaha!"
Kazuma's frustration just grew larger. "If something's wrong, just tell me already!" he demanded. But as he stood up, something felt… off. The world seemed larger, or rather, the girls appeared taller, no, a realization dawning on him causing him to feel horror. It wasn't that they had grown, he became smaller.
Panicked, Kazuma rushed to the window beside him, desperate to see what had changed. The reflection staring back at him wasn't his own. Gone was the image of a young man. In his place stood a humanoid tanuki, clad in clothes eerily similar to his usual outfit but adjusted to fit his smaller, fur-covered frame.
"What the hell is going on?!" he yelled, his voice higher-pitched and laced with panic.
Before he could process the situation, something outside caught his attention. On the horizon, towering skyscrapers pierced the sky, their sleek, modern designs unlike anything he'd ever seen.
"Wait… are we on Earth?!" he blurted out, his confusion deepening as he tried to make sense of this surreal new reality.
"Kazuma! Where is my staff?!"
"Emilia! Are you alright? You… you can't be dead, can you?" Subaru asked, his voice shaking with worry as he gazed at the silver-haired half-elf. His eyes were fixed on the glowing halo above her head. Subaru had seen enough stories to know what that usually meant, death. Though how that was possible in their case, he couldn't begin to guess.
"Subaru, what happened to you?" Emilia asked, her own confusion evident as she stared at him. He wasn't the Subaru she knew, his body had turned into that of an automaton, metal replacing flesh.
"I don't know what's going on," Subaru replied, his voice tinged with exasperation. "But even with this metallic heart, I can still feel it beating whenever I look at you."
"Haha. You really don't change," Emilia said with a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Barusu looks pathetic," Ram starring at Subaru mockingly.
"Sister, you shouldn't say that to Subaru," Rem interjected gently, as though scolding her.
"Lia, do these clothes suit me?" Puck asked suddenly, spinning in his new attire to draw their attention to the well-tailored suit he was wearing.
"Huh? Where did you get those?" Subaru asked, blinking in disbelief.
"I… don't know?" Puck replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "When I woke up I was using them."
As their conversation went on Emilia looked down and saw an item right in front of her foot. "What's this thing?" She asked, picking up a strange object that layed on the floor.
"That's a gun!" Subaru exclaimed, his voice rising in alarm as he recognized the weapon in her hands.
"A… gun?" Emilia tilts her head in confusion as she inspects the weapon closely with the barrel pointing forward.
"Wait, don't point that at me!" Subaru yelped, taking a cautious step back.
"Subaru, how do you know about these?" Emilia asked, her curiosity growing as she examined the engravings.
"I've seen them in the past, trust me, don't point this to anyone without knowing if it is safe," Subaru said, scratching the back of his head nervously.
"Barusu being actually useful for once? Truly, the world must be ending," Ram quipped, her smirk as sharp as her words.
"Oi, that was completely uncalled for!" Subaru shot back. He then turned his attention back to Emilia. "Anyway, I'll explain how they work. Just please don't point it at me again."
"Hey, Bubby, do you know where we are?" Beatrice asked cutely, tilting her head as she addressed the other spirit.
"I have no idea, Betty," Puck replied with a shrug to the small girl as she hugged his leg.
"I guess I'll have to explain what a train is too," Subaru muttered, sighing as he overheard the conversation between the two spirits.
"Lord Ainz, is there a problem?" Albedo called from the other side of the closed train door.
"Demiurge, did we do something to irritate Lord Ainz?" Mare asked, a small halo floating above the dark elf's head.
"I don't know, Mare. Lord Ainz rushed to this room before anyone could even see or speak to him. I believe he might be studying something," Demiurge explained to the best of his ability, adjusting his collar with his froglike hands.
"OUR. LORD. EVEN. IN. A. MOMENT. IS. ALREADY. MAKING. PLANS. TRULY. LORD. AINZ'S. MIND. IS. BEYOND. ANY. OF. US," Cocytus proclaimed as he flexed his massive automaton body.
"Shalltear, why are you crying? What happened to you?" Aura asked Shalltear as she poked the halo over the vampire.
"Uwooogh!" Shalltear cried as the image of her master burned in her mind. "Lord Ainz, please, let me see it again. Just one more look."
"Shalltear, what are you talking about?" Aura asked again, more confused.
The guardians began to bicker, unable to make sense of Shalltear's words. Unbeknownst to them, Ainz sat in a separate train car, both hands on her face.
"Why is this happening to me? Calm down. Calm down." Ainz tried to steady herself, but worry confusion, and fear overwhelmed her mind.
She looked at her skeletal hands and part of her forearm. The only parts of her body that remained were pure bone. Her form had completely changed and shrunk. Now, her appearance was that of a little girl. She had too lost her passives of an undead overlord.
Everything had happened so fast. Ainz struggled to piece together what had occurred and prepare herself for what might come. But she couldn't focus. A single image kept resurfacing in her mind, filling her with regret and fear—regret for failing to say goodbye and fear of loneliness.
Ainz wanted to remain there, taking her time to process the situation, but something caught her attention.
"Lord Ainz!" It was Shalltear, crying out for her.
'I can't just stay here,' Ainz told herself. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her emotions, arranging her expression into the most neutral face she could manage. Then, she walked to the door and slowly opened it. "Guardians, I'm sorry for leaving you behind. I was…"
Before she could finish, Shalltear and Albedo lunged forward, wrapping their arms around her in a tight embrace.
"Lord Ainz is… so cute!" Shalltear exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter what form you take, Lord Ainz. My love is unshakable," Albedo declared passionately as she tried to kiss Ainz.
"Aura! Mare! Cocytus! Demiurge! Help me!"
"Everyone, take your positions!" Tanya commanded as she stood alone inside the train.
"Yes, ma'am!" The soldiers of the battalion responded in unison as they remained in a line.
'Only Visha and I remain as normal humans, capable of using our weapons to their fullest extent,' Tanya thought grimly, glancing briefly at herself and Visha. Both of them shared halos above their heads. 'This is certainly the work of Being X, that bastard. But something feels off, he wouldn't stay silent at a moment like this.'
Outside the train window, the city stretched out, blanketed in pristine snow. Tanya's sharp eyes scanned the white streets and peculiar architecture as she held up a document. "From the looks of it, we're going to be divided," she announced, her tone calm but edged with irritation. She tapped the paper in her hand. "According to these documents, Visha and I are being sent to different 'schools.'"
"Major, shouldn't some of us accompany you?" Visha was worried, while she knew Tanya's skills, she didn't like the idea of leaving the Major alone in unfamiliar territory.
"No," Tanya replied firmly, pointing to the fourth penguin sprawled unconscious on the floor. "You four will stick together and protect Rerugen in the meantime. That's an order."
"But, Major…" Visha began to protest.
"There's no need to worry about me," Tanya interrupted, her voice resolute. "I can take care of myself. This isn't the advantageous situation I wanted, but it's the best one we have for now."
"...Understood," Visha replied reluctantly, bowing her head.
"The train is about to leave. You're dismissed," Tanya concluded curtly as the train's whistle blared sharply.
"Yes, ma'am," the soldiers responded, saluting as the train doors slid shut.
The train jerked into motion, its wheels clattering against the snowy tracks.
Tanya took a seat near the window, her gaze drawn to the passing scenery. Amid the peculiar landscape, one statue caught her attention, it was a pure stone statue of a small girl with an oversized mustache, standing proudly amidst the snow.
"This place truly is strange," Tanya muttered, her sharp eyes narrowing as the train sped toward the unknown.