Volume 12, Chapter 4: A Wonderful World

Akuto knew he had been set up, but he had come here because he wanted to fight.

Marine also knew he had been set up, but he had come here because he felt a need to stick to his beliefs.

The bait was the Jewel Branch of Hourai. The One had left it on the empty rocks at the peak of the empire’s tallest mountain. There, it glowed gold as if naturally growing on the rock.

Akuto and Marine faced each other on either side of it and they were both close enough to immediately reach the Branch if they ran forward.

“I had a feeling he was after this,” groaned Akuto.

“But I never thought he would leave the Jewel Branch of Hourai and run,” groaned Marine.

“He must have set up the timing perfectly.”

“But what will you do? I intend to use the Branch to stop the meteor,” said Marine in a quiet voice containing a strong will.

“I intend to do the same,” replied Akuto.

“Then we have the same goal. Can’t you leave this to me?”

“I could ask the same of you. You have no intention of handing it over to someone else afterwards, do you?”

Akuto grinned and Marine smiled back.

“This is an important treasure for my people. I couldn’t possibly hand it over.”

“Then we have only one option here.”

“I would prefer to avoid this if possible.”

“Why?”

“Because this is a type of war. Look, there are several cameras flying around.”

Marine pointed around their surroundings and Akuto spotted several automatic machines flying through the sky.

“So the resolution here will only intensify the war? I certainly don’t like that.”

However, that was not an agreement with Marine’s statement.

“But even so, I want to end this with my own hands.”

“That is because you lost someone important to you, isn’t it? I sympathize with you, but I’m not the person you should fight to settle that.”

Nevertheless, Marine did not reject the idea of fighting.

“I’m not so sure.” Akuto shook his head. “You bear the deeds of your people.”

“I see. I am merely being stubborn for my people’s sake, so perhaps I can’t advance beyond that level.”

Marine gave a self-deprecating smile. When that smile suddenly stiffened, it acted as a sign and he stepped toward the Jewel Branch of Hourai.

Akuto also stepped forward to stop him.

“Hoo!”

Marine let out a breach.

“Hah!”

Akuto cried out.

The two of them struck simultaneously and the sound of clashing flesh was intense.

Marine’s left hand diverted Akuto’s right fist and Akuto’s left elbow deflected Marine’s right fist.

“Kh…”

Akuto took a step back and brought a hand to his elbow.

Marine’s left hand must have also been damaged because he stepped back and wrapped his right hand around the fingers of his left.

For the moment, they were even.

“In the end, have you ever thought about what the Formless Power is?” suddenly asked Akuto.

“You’re asking that now?”

Marine sounded suspicious and Akuto’s face twisted in self-condemnation.

“I was…definitely wrong about something. The One left the Jewel Branch of Hourai and fled. That is very odd.”

“That is indeed odd,” quietly agreed Marine. “In front of my people, I could not back away from the Jewel Branch of Hourai or pursue The One, but…”

“That’s right. It means he no longer needs the Branch.”

Akuto’s assertion caused Marine’s cheek to twitch.

“So that’s it… I should have realized it sooner. Sending this meteor was The One’s goal. He used the Branch to call in the meteor.”

“That’s my guess. So answer me. What is the Formless Power?”

At Akuto’s insistence, Marine answered.

“I have given it constant thought and I believe it is a manifestation of the people’s wills.”

“I agree, but if that’s all it is, don’t you find it strange?”

“Find what strange?”

“Your Formless Power appears to be controlling mana and producing energy.”

“Of course. It has long been said that is how to use it. And we are indeed descendants of a mana civilization.”

“But the power your people used to burn away the imperial mainland appeared to be different.”

“Mh?”

Marine began to think.

“What if there are two Formless Powers?” asked Akuto.

Marine froze in place.

“That would make sense. There is a Formless Power that is awoken by the Jewel Branch of Hourai and a Formless Power that is sealed in the capsule located in the Merlai village. What I am using is the latter.”

“So let me ask again: why did The One return the Jewel Branch of Hourai?”

Akuto took a fighting stance as he asked and Marine instinctually did the same. However, his expression made it clear he did not understand why the boy had done so.

“Wasn’t it because that meteor is his goal? I don’t understand why you keep asking about this. If my people’s Formless Power can be controlled using the Branch, I should be able to deal with the meteor.”

“You are right about that, but there is one thing you don’t understand!”

“What?”

Marine frowned.

“You can’t control the will of your people with the Branch!” shouted Akuto as he threw a fist.

Marine caught the fist on his arm and was blown backwards.

“Gh! So that’s it. The Branch releases the Formless Power, but to control it…”

He muttered bitterly but soon shook his head.

“No! Even if that’s the case, my people have mastered the use of the Formless Power!”

He charged toward Akuto and threw a fist of his own.

Akuto guarded against the fist and was also blown backwards.

“Gah! I’m trying to say that arrogance is a mistake! The One has predicted that is impossible!”

Akuto charged forward once more and swung his fist.

Marine swung his fist toward Akuto at the same time.

Their fists crashed into each other and great sound and light scattered throughout the area.

“Impossible?”

“Yes, and I agree.”

The two of them glared at each other while pressing their fists together.

“What do you mean?”

“I doubt the Formless Power belongs only to the Republic. It must take in the general will of all mankind. Both Keena and you could use the Jewel Branch of Hourai. When you get down to it, you’re both human!”

Akuto and Marine both grinned.

“I’m such an idiot. I should have realized it.”

“It was holding a conversation that led me to realize it. Conversations are important.”

“Then are you saying we should hug and pray for the world?”

“That would be fine, but you already have the answer, don’t you?”

They nodded toward each other and Marine’s fist immediately flew toward Akuto.

“We have to compete for victory here!”

Akuto caught the fist on his forehead and a dull sound filled the area.

Blood flowed down his face.

“And the winner will show mercy to his opponent!”

He punched back.

Marine was unable to evade, so he took the blow on the cheek. The impact twisted his neck and he just barely avoided being knocked away. He forced himself back forward and returned a punch toward the cheek.

“In the end, that’s the only answer!”

Akuto also caught the blow on his cheek. He stubbornly refused to let his neck twist, he kept his feet in place, and he gritted his teeth while facing forward and stopping the full force of the attack.

“But you have to understand that their overall will is bound to ultimately turn toward destruction!”

This time, Akuto’s left fist flew toward Marine.

“This comes down to who the meteor ends up falling on!”

Marine replied with his own left.

Their fists audibly slammed into each other’s face at the same moment.

Bones creaked.

Blood flew.

Teeth broke.

It all formed a single shockwave that flew back from their heads.

For an instant, the two of them stopped.

“Hah. A meaningless fistfight is surprisingly painful.”

“That’s what petty stubbornness gets you. It’ll stop if you give up, though.”

Marine seemed to be provoking Akuto, so he laughed.

“Don’t joke. I’m sticking with this to the end.”

As he spoke, he healed his wounds with mana and Marine did the same.

The battle would only end once one of them ran out of willpower.

Akuto dug his feet into the ground.

Marine did as well.

Their four feet gouged holes into the stony mountain peak.

They faced each other with only a few dozen centimeters between them.

“Shall we do this?’

“I was just about to start.”

It was unclear whether Marine or Akuto was first, but their fists crossed at high speed and their heads were harshly rattled.

“Do guys get stupider the stronger they are?” asked Yoshie as she watched Akuto and Marine’s confrontation on a monitor.

“Based on these two examples, it would seem so,” answered Korone.

“But why are they fighting?” asked Yuuko in fear.

“We have concluded it is because they are stupid,” calmly replied Korone.

Yoshie was borrowing the control room. Keena and Korone had arrived twenty or so minutes earlier and Akuto had left them there before pursuing The One.

Keena had been opposed to it and had insisted she go along if he did go, but Korone had seriously demanded she remain behind.

“After seeing what happened to Etou Fujiko-san, you cannot be careless.”

It was only then that Yoshie had learned of Fujiko’s fate, but she had fought off sorrow and remained calm.

As the others fell into sorrow, she had done everything she could to analyze the documents Fujiko had left behind.

As a result, she had found support for what Akuto and Marine were arguing and she decided to explain what that meant to everyone.

“I need to explain this all from the beginning.”

With that, she opened a connection to Brave and the yacht Lily was flying. Those two also needed to understand the situation.

replied Lily.

Brave seemed to be in a situation where he could not speak, but he gave a breath to show he was listening.

“Listen up,” continued Yoshie. “The Formless Power is a supernatural power that existed before our mana civilization.”

“Right. And that was when the Jewel Branch of Hourai and the Swallow Cowrie were created. The danger of the Formless Power was also alluded to at the time, but it only vaguely says it ‘could easily destroy mankind’.”

She almost seemed to be joking, but Lily’s tone was serious.

“Exactly. Anyway, this is where it gets complicated. They researched the brains of those who could use the Formless Power and the result of that research was mana. Mana is an artificial Formless Power. It was the success of that research that brought our mana civilization to mankind.”

Yoshie’s words brought silence.

Lily was the first to break the silence.

“I was only taught that the imperial family began the mana civilization,” groaned Yuuko.

“I cannot find anything referencing this in the databases I have access to,” agreed Korone.

“And the technologies and research that went into that research of the Formless Power were all deemed black magic. Thinking about it now, the rituals concerning the demon king and the Gods’ worship of the Law of Identity were linked to the Formless Power.”

As she spoke, Yoshie checked the documents Fujiko had left.

Yoshie immediately answered Lily’s question.

“But none of them knew true black magic, did they? This is nothing but speculation, but perhaps the origins of our mana civilization were disguised as a harmless theme park. The Merlai are the descendants of that and a group of them that worshiped the Formless Power fled under the ocean to form the Republic.”

said Lily in surprise.

“If we assume that, a lot starts to fit together,” agreed Korone.

Yoshie nodded and continued on.

“That would also explain the two Formless Powers that Akuto-kun and Marine mentioned. The one used by Marine or Nonimora is the Formless Power sealed inside the Swallow Cowrie and the one used by the people is the one that could destroy the world.”

“About that. What is the difference between the two?”

It must have bothered Korone to not have any data on this because she asked an honest question for once.

“Most likely, the Formless Power sealed within the Swallow Cowrie came from outside the universe.”

Lily was surprised once more.

“I don’t have any proof yet, though. On the other hand, the one granting the people’s wishes could be called our collective subconscious.”

“Then the reason those two are fighting…” muttered Korone.

Yoshie sadly shook her head.

“Exactly. They have reached the same conclusion based on conjecture. The people’s collective subconscious has produced a new power that mana cannot influence and that has called in the meteor.”

“That’s what it would mean,” said Yoshie in resignation. “And even if it isn’t, we don’t know whether the meteor can be eliminated or not.”

“But…” said Keena. “But if everyone hopes for the meteor to go away, won’t it happen?”

With a serious expression, she brought her hands together as if praying.

Yoshie nodded as if to say she knew that.

“Of course… Of course that’s what I want to happen. But…”

How many people would be able to forgive the Republic’s people in this situation? And Akuto could easily tell what the imperial people were thinking.

A heavy silence fell.

It was Lily’s cheerful voice that finally broke it.

“Eh?” asked Yoshie.

Lily spoke lightly and Yoshie could only answer.

“Yes. That’s the Swallow Cowrie. The other two are the Robe of the Fire Rat and the Dragon Neck Jewel.”

“Yes. The Robe of the Fire Rat supposedly opens the door to the world of the afterlife. We have that one and it may be like high level necromancy. Or maybe it’s a device to travel between dimensions. Anyway, the other is Peterhausen. If you sum it up, that one acts as combat ability for the demon king, a device, and a guide.”

Yoshie answered the question, but she could not help but ask a question of her own.

“Hey, what are you planning to do?”

Lily’s voice contained an embarrassed smile.

“But…”

Yoshie could not respond and Lily continued speaking lightly.

After ending the transmission, Lily turned toward the student council officers.

“You all don’t like the sound of possibly dying, do you?”

The three of them were taken aback by the sudden question.

“No, arinsu.”

“No, gya.”

“Guga.”

“I didn’t think so.”

Lily looked up at the ceiling from the yacht’s pilot seat.

“Why are you asking that, arinsu?” asked Michie. “I-I mean, I know that meteor is falling, arinsu. But…”

“Th-that’s right, gya.” Kanna sounded worried. “That’s a bad omen, gya. You were the one that said there was a chance we could do something about this, gya.”

“Well… I was just thinking that there’s a possibility this path is leading us somewhere different from normal.”

Lily’s voice was serious for once.

“President, don’t get so serious, gya.”

Kanna tried to laugh it off, but Lily turned a serious look in her direction. Kanna’s smile stiffened and this time Lily began laughing.

“Ah ha ha ha ha.”

“Heh…heh heh…”

Michie gave a stiff smile as well.

“Guga guga guga.”

Once the reserved Arnoul asked whether it was okay to laugh, Kanna finally began smiling too.

“I guess what I’m saying is, I want to be with all of you when I die.”

Embarrassment filled Lily’s smile.

“Don’t say that, arinsu.”

“Yeah, gya. We already knew that, gya.”

“Guga.”

The three officers gave embarrassed smiles as well.

The yacht’s autopilot then gave a warning tone and the ship began descending.

“We’ve arrived,” said Lily.

They had arrived in the center square of the Merlai village.

“But…this is strange, gya.”

Kanna was watching the village through a monitor.

“There is no one here, arinsu,” agreed Michie.

“I don’t detect any danger.”

Lily checked the monitor, exited the yacht’s hatch, and looked around.

“But it it’s too quiet.”

The Merlai village was surrounded by a forest and contained abundant nature. The houses were made of wood and they looked fairly shabby. However, the most notable fact was the complete lack of people. If they were in the houses, they would have at least peeked out as the yacht approached.

“There should be quite a few residents…”

Lily used a glance to tell the three officers to be on their guard.

Kanna lowered down and her ears pricked up. Her ears and nose were especially sensitive.

“That way, gya.”

She pointed outside of the village.

“What’s over there?”

“A dog’s voice and Nonimora’s voice as she fights, gya.”

“A dog? So is it The One, arinsu?”

After Michie’s comment, they all ran that way.

The tower was visible ahead of them.

“The tower. Does that mean what I think it does?” muttered Lily.

The sealing capsule, the ship to the star, and the Swallow Cowrie were there.

“Is The One still after something, gya?” asked Kanna.

The others’ eyes began to glitter.

“Does that mean there’s something he still hasn’t done, arinsu?”

“If so, it means we still have a chance!”

Lily grinned as she and the three officers slid into the front yard of the laboratory below the tower.

There they found The One and Nonimora fighting.

“You really were after the village!”

Nonimora stood at the laboratory’s entrance while spinning a spear around.

“I tried to be as careful as possible, but I ended up putting this off until the end.”

The One slowly approached Nonimora.

That was when the two of them noticed Lily’s group approaching.

“New enemies?”

Nonimora turned a sharp glare toward Lily because she did not know the girl.

Noticing that look, Lily audibly struck the glove on her hand.

“Nope. We’re here to help.”

The three officers walked up behind her.

“We’re here too, arinsu.”

“Gya.”

“Guga.”

The three of them prepared for combat. Kanna had already fully transformed into a beast while Michie and Arnoul began moving to either side.

“Hm, so I’m surrounded.”

The One looked around.

The student council was used to working together, so The One truly was surrounded.

“Now, then. How about you just give up?”

Lily held up a fist.

“It is true I don’t think I can win against all of you while in this body.”

Despite declaring his own weakness, the dog smiled fearlessly.

“But sometimes you can get lucky. I should manage somehow.”

“Lucky?” Lily grinned. “I see nothing but bad luck for you here.”

“You will eventually understand,” said The One.

But before he finished speaking, Lily began her attack.

“Is that…so!?”

Something could be heard cutting through the wind and Lily’s hand stretched toward The One even more quickly than the sound.

“Tch!”

The dog evaded with his canine swiftness, but Lily gave a fearless smile.

“Hah!”

With that shout, the direction of her arm turned at a ninety degree angle.

“What!?”

Her arm was now headed for the point The One had jumped to.

“Gwah!”

The fist’s second attack struck him on the side and sent him flying away.

“This is my special technique.”

Lily bared her teeth.

While still flying through the air, The One righted himself, landed on all fours, and looked to Lily in surprise.

“There shouldn’t be any mana in this area.”

“I came on a yacht that I loaded with a mana disseminator and energy generator!”

Lily launched another attack.

Bringing those two things would allow one to use magic and the area was already densely filled with mana, but it was the same for the enemy.

“In that case, I can fight on even footing!”

The One created a mana shield to block Lily’s attack.

Mana light was deflected with a dull noise, but Lily still looked confident.

“Even footing? We aren’t even!”

She began launching attack after attack into the shield that had defended against her.

“Oh!”

The One cried out in surprise as the impact knocked the shield and him away.

“Ohh! Not bad!” said Nonimora cheerfully.

“Don’t underestimate someone who gets into as many fights as I do.”

Lily proudly placed a hand on her hat.

“Now, there’s a lot I want to ask you about.”

She cracked her fingers and approached The One.

He seemed to have taken damage because his canine mouth was gasping for breath.

“Heh. Do you think you’ve already won?”

Whether it was a bluff or not, scorn filled his voice, but Lily paid it no heed.

“I have already won. In fact, a little puppy can’t put up a satisfying fight!”

She launched the next attack and the single tremendous impact instantly broke through The One’s shield. Her anger had clearly increased her strength.

“Ohhh!”

The One was beginning to panic.

Once her fist instantly sank into his forehead, his voice of confusion became a scream.

“Gyaaaah!”

His forehead was pressed down, his jaw was slammed to the ground, and the recoil sent him spinning through the air.

Once he flew up into the air, Lily grabbed him with her left hand.

Her open hand jabbed up to his jaw and constricted his windpipe.

“Gwoh…”

He was lifted further into the air by his throat.

“Hah. I’ve got myself a dried dog.”

She sneered at him.

“Ohh, the president is a little different from normal, gya!”

“She’s definitely angry, arinsu!”

Kanna and Michie grew excited.

“Now, now. Don’t make a fuss. This is about at my full strength.”

She grinned and squeezed The One’s throat even further.

“Gh…gh…” he groaned.

“Now, how about you start talking?” asked Lily. “First, you can tell us who you are.”

“Hm? What are you doing? You aren’t going to kill him?” asked Nonimora as she walked over.

“The situation is pretty complex, so I have some questions for him.”

With that explanation, she added her right hand to his throat and shook him.

“Dammit…” He continued groaning for a while, but he could not resist much in a dog’s body and he must have given up because he began speaking in an arrogant tone.

“You leave me no choice. What do you wish to know?”

“Don’t get so full of yourself, dog. I asked you who you are, so answer me.”

She added more strength.

“Kh… I am what you would refer to as an alien.”

“An alien?”

Lily had expected that answer, but it was still a surprise to hear it said aloud. It seemed the same was true of the others because their eyes opened wide as well.

“That’s right.”

He spoke sadly as if he had given what answer he could, so Lily said something else.

“Just to be clear, we can’t detect anything outside the solar system.”

“No, you can’t. But there is something beyond there: another universe.”

The One seemed to feel more leeway because he began speaking like a teacher.

“In other words, this world ends within the solar system?” asked Lily to make sure.

“Yes. This world goes no further than that and the other world is more or less the same.”

“So you broke through the barrier and passed between worlds to come here?”

“Yes, but I was only able to come as a thought entity. What you refer to as the Formless Power is an aggregation of the minds belonging to the aliens like me.”

“Wait. Aren’t there two different types of Formless Power?” asked Lily.

“Yes. We are…That is, the alien thought entities are stored in this tower.”

He pointed a front paw toward the tower using what limited movement was available to him.

“That’s the power Marine and I use, isn’t it?” asked Nonimora.

“Yes, but the Jewel Branch of Hourai created to control it ended up able to release the full Formless Power.”

That comment gave Lily a very bad feeling.

“The full Formless Power?” she shuddered. “You mean the Formless Power the Republic’s people are using is mankind’s Formless Power?”

Mankind’s Formless Power would be an aggregation of the race’s minds. She could not predict what it would mean for that energy to be used while the race still lived, but she doubted it was anything good.

“Yes. Man once sealed it as it was uncontrollable, but it has now been revived by happenstance.”

The One spoke as if it were funny.

“Uncontrollable?”

“Yes. I am the last survivor of my race. In its own destruction, my race became the Formless Power and ended up inside the capsule you refer to as the Swallow Cowrie. I am a thought entity that separated from that.”

The One’s tone belied the horrifying words.

“In your own destruction, you became the Formless Power? How were you destroyed?”

“By attempting to use the Formless Power in our world, of course.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Yes. The Formless Power supposedly has no will, but for some reason, it works to destroy its race. Although that might be nothing more than a manifestation of the race’s hatred for and desire to destroy other parts of itself.”

“That means…”

Lily felt a something cold run along her spine and The One laughed as if to confirm her fears.

“Ha ha ha ha! Yes! It is working to destroy mankind. That is exactly what is happening now! The Formless Power called in that meteor!”

The student council officers and Nonimora were left speechless.

“But you don’t gain anything from destroying another race! Do you just want to spread destruction?”

Lily alone was able to speak and The One laughed off her question.

“Ha ha! Of course not. I’m not Sakura Kei. The Formless Power works as an infinite power in its world, but once it destroys a race, it is released outside the world once more. You could say it grows volatile.”

“So if mankind is destroyed…”

“Precisely. The Formless Power will grow volatile and I will be able to free it. Or to put it in more common terms, my race will finally be able to rest in peace. It is only natural to not want the minds of your race to be used as mere power!”

The One began laughing as if he had gone insane.

Lily and the others felt something cold sinking in their stomachs. If that were the truth, a truly repulsive fate awaited them. Humanity would be destroyed, wander the universe as a group consciousness, and ultimately begin the destruction of another universe’s thought entities.

“What the hell!? I refuse to believe that! It sounds like a curse!”

Lily shouted out, but not at The One or anyone at all.

However, The One still sneered at her.

“Hah! That’s right! It’s a curse! The universe itself is structured like a curse! If you understand, then settle down and be destroyed! There is no stopping it now!”

He laughed triumphantly and Lily gathered strength in the hand reaching toward his throat.

“Don’t laugh!”

“Gh…”

His face began to change color. Even with his canine face, it could visibly be seen growing a reddish purple.

Muscles and veins appeared on the surface of her hands as she strangled him.

“If you’re a thought entity, that means it doesn’t matter if you die, doesn’t it?”

“Gh… Ha…ha… Exactly. Kill me…if you like… It will…change nothing…”

His neck gave an audible snap and the dog stopped speaking.

“President… There was more you could have asked him,” said Michie in confusion.

However, Lily glared harshly back at her.

“I’ve heard enough. The origin of mana, the Gods’ worship of the Law of Identity, and that which has protected the imperial family. It all connects together. All that’s left is figuring out what to do about the meteor.”

Lily pointed into the blue sky even though nothing could be seen there yet.

“We aren’t all going to die are we, arinsu?”

Michie sounded worried.

“I don’t like it from a humanitarian perspective, but we should probably evacuate.”

Yoshie spoke calmly after hearing the situation from Lily.

She always had a cool personality, but it was still impressive that she did not panic in this grave situation.

“Evacuate? Where are we even supposed to go?”

Yuuko’s voice was trembling and she had grown completely pale.

Almost everyone in the command room had panicked. The battle was only growing worse and the Republic showed no sign of ending its invasion despite Marine swearing he could stop them. Or rather, the Republic’s physical weapons had stopped attacking, but the rain of colorless flames caused by the Formless Power continued to pour down on the empire. That showed just how much the Republic’s people hated the empire.

“Well, the surface is out of the question,” said Yoshie.

She opened a mana screen that displayed a simulation of the meteor strike.

When the giant meteor struck the earth, it created an explosion large enough to penetrate the atmosphere and it tore up the earth’s crust. The shockwave that spread in a ring circled all the way around the planet and blasted upwards on the opposite side like a volcano eruption. Simply put, everything from the surface to a few kilometers up would be utterly destroyed and very few humans lived more than three kilometers above ground.

“We could flee to space, but our resources would not last,” said Korone.

The moon base had been destroyed and the space station had lost almost all functionality.

“Listen. I’ve thought about this as rationally as I could and…well, it would take a while to explain, but the only one to truly survive will be Soga Keena,” said Yoshie.

“Eh?”

Yuuko was dumbfounded.

Keena looked shocked and leaned toward Yoshie.

“Wait. We can’t let that happen. What do you mean?”

But Yoshie was perfectly calm.

“As I said, it would take a while to explain. First, we have to assume my theory is correct. That is, the theory that this world is a fiction someone created. In that case, the key to all this is the Law of Identity. If the Law of Identity and the empress who can communicate with her and use various special items survive, we can prevent the creation of humanity’s complete Formless Power.”

“But how can you ensure her survival?” asked Korone.

“The Swallow Cowrie is a spaceship and a storage capsule. She will be placed inside, put in a state of cold sleep, and sent into orbit.

“Eh?”

Keena was at a loss for words and a stir passed through the Suhara followers in the command room.

“If we do that, it should give us about a millennium of leeway,” calmly continued Yoshie.

“A millennium!? What are you talking about? Are you saying everyone else will die?” shouted Yuuko in confusion.

But Yoshie still remained calm and nodded.

“You can’t think of death like that. If my theory is correct, there is an afterlife and the Robe of the Fire Rat can be used to move to and from it.”

“Eh? Then…”

Keena appeared to have realized something.

“Yes. Only the demon king can use it, so this will be our plan: the empress, the demon king, the Jewel Branch of Hourai, the Robe of the Fire Rat, the Dragon Neck Jewel, and the Swallow Cowrie will be brought to the old space station in orbit. The empress will be put in cold sleep and the demon king will enter the world of the afterlife once the meteor hits.”

“What about the other people?” asked Yuuko.

“All of them, myself included, will die,” said Yoshie jokingly. “Every single one.”

“Wait…”

“I understand you’re hesitant, but we have no choice,” declared Yoshie.

Silence fell and it was Keena that broke it.

“But what will A-chan do in the afterlife?”

“I don’t know.”

“Eh?”

“I really don’t know. It’s possible he’ll be able to bring everyone back, it’s possible there’ll be nothing he can do, and it’s possible only he’ll be able to come back.”

Yoshie shook her head as she spoke.

“Wait. How irresponsible can you be?” protested Yuuko.

“Emotionally, I’m against it too, but we have no other option.”

Yoshie shrugged.

Punch, be punched, and heal.

Akuto and Marine repeated that process countless times.

Despite wounds they could not heal in time appearing on their bodies, they continued to give more wounds to each other.

Each strike was enough to easily smash stone, but they were receiving those blows again and again.

“What good is being so stubborn if it won’t even stop the war!?”

“It’s better than refusing a ceasefire because of a grudge over a girl!”

“You won’t gain anything by winning here!”

“This is more valuable than your outburst of anger!”

Even so, the speed of their barrages began to drop.

After a punch, they would rest and their shoulders would rise and fall as they gasped for breath.

“Aren’t you just about out of strength?”

“Your chin is rising. You haven’t trained enough.”

As they insulted each other, they punched the other in the gut.

“I can’t believe we’re fighting when we might all be destroyed soon,” said Marine.

“Long ago, there were stories about all mankind joining together when an extra-universal threat arrived.”

Akuto gave a cynical smile.

“Looks like those were lies.”

“There were also stories of the world being united by a great wise man or dictator.”

“Those were lies too.”

“It’s a bit heartbreaking, but I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“Agreed. By the way, aren’t you about at your limit?” spat out Marine while gasping for breath.

“Not even close,” said Akuto while panting heavily.

“Liar.”

“Then let’s settle this. Let’s see which is stronger, the willpower of a nation or anger over a girl’s death.”

Hearing that, Marine smiled as blood flowed from his lips.

“Sure.”

The two of them raised their fists and the air around them roared.

Two whirlwinds spun up and formed tornados that crashed into each other.

In the center, the two of them clashed fists.

Blood spray, pieces of flesh, and fragments of bone mixed into the tornados.

It must have lasted for several minutes, but then they suddenly stopped and the tornados vanished.

The two battered men were visible once more.

Their fists had lost their original form and they pressed those simple masses of flesh into each other’s face.

Akuto’s knees bent and he wobbled, but before he fell, Marine collapsed backwards.

Dust rose into the air and Marine stared blankly up into the sky.

“So anger…outdoes a nation,” he muttered.

“That’s probably the natural state of things.”

Akuto pulled his feet out of the ground, walked over to the Jewel Branch of Hourai, and picked it up.

“What will you do now?” asked Marine.

“It may be hopeless, but I’m still going to try and stop the meteor,” he answered.

However, the situation had advanced in the complete opposite of what Akuto had expected.

To stop the war, Brave had attempted to persuade Marine’s sister on the Republic’s front lines, but he had only succeeded once the Republic’s people accepted the existence of the meteor.

“Understood. I will have the military withdraw,” said the princess who was Marine’s sister.

But Brave did not feel delighted that she understood. This was the result of showing her the data Yoshie had sent him.

It was also her reaction to seeing Marine’s defeat on the monitor, so it was not a good sign for anyone.

“I’d rather not point it out, but isn’t it a bit late to change your mind?” said Brave.

The two of them faced each other on the bridge of the princess’s ship because she had invited him in to negotiate.

However, she merely smiled calmly.

“That is how politics work.”

“Anyway, you can help the empire stop the meteor by…”

She cut him off.

“We will be returning to the bottom of the sea. That gives us some small chance of survival.”

“Eh? You can’t mean that!”

“The odds of stopping the meteor with our technology are more or less zero, so we will choose the path of survival. The ocean is several thousand meters deep and some areas are sure to escape the destruction.”

“But…”

Brave refused to give in, but the princess’s expression did not change.

“This is how politics works. By the way, I could invite you in as an honorary citizen.”

Brave shook his head.

“No thank you. I have my own job to do.”

Brave left while filled with despair.